St. Patrick's Day

So today is St. Patrick's Day. My last name happens to be Patrick and I do have some Irish blood in me (maybe that explains why I have such a temper at times). Anyway, Saint Patrick himself was a pretty cool guy and we can and should learn some things from him. I just wanted to highlight 3 of his quotes and make some comments about how they apply, so here goes:

(Conviction)

"The Lord opened the understanding of my unbelieving heart, so that I should recall my sins."

This quote really gets to the heart of salvation. Our hearts are naturally selfish and even in our best attempts to become less selfish, our motives are selfish, showing our sinfulness. God acted as Savior while we were still selfish and sinful (Romans 5:8).

However, God doesn't just leave us in the slavery of our sin; He frees us and sanctifies us. For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery (Galatians 5:1). 

To use more Biblical terms, God convicts us of our sin and shows Himself to be Savior. Once saved, though, we sanctified. In other words, the conviction leads us to the challenge.

(Challenge)

"If I be worthy, I live for my God to teach the heathen, even though the may despise me."

Likewise, this quote also reveals the heart of the Gospel. We are not worthy, but we know Christ, who is infinitely worthy, so despite being despised, we should "live in a manner worthy of the Gospel" as Paul puts it (Philippians 1:27). This challenge is included in salvation and involves sacrifice for the sake of the Gospel.

God spoke to us who believe through the message of His Word and the moving of His Spirit. God values communication. After all, He spoke the world into existence. But God doesn't just speak to us; He desires to speak in us and through us daily.

God's glorious grace reached toward us while we were still slaves to sin and freed us to become freedom fighters for the sake of the Gospel. Many more than 27 million slaves fall into this kind of slavery and the punishment is far worse than the horrors of human trafficking.

His grace was powerful to save us, but we are not the end-God wants us to share His Story with those we come into contact with. No believer is excluded, but the challenge leads to a comfort and that is extended to all believers as well.

(Comfort)

"Christ beside me, Christ before me, Christ behind me

Christ within me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me,

Christ on my right, Christ on my left

Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down, Christ when I arise."

We cannot forget that the conviction that leads to the challenge, but neither can we forget the comfort that accompanies the challenge to make disciples. Christ Himself put it this way as part of the Great Commission, "And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:20b).

Happy St. Patrick's Day!