Happy St. Patrick's Day, may God's favor and blessing cover you this day.

“…the Holy Spirit has made you the overseer…” (Acts 20:28)

St. Patrick lived his years as a great example for us today. But he didn't live it out simply by "the luck of the Irish," as some may say, for one theme shines through it all: God’s Presence and Sovereignty are powerful.

10 Things You May Not Know about St. Patrick:

1. St. Patrick was actually not Irish, he was born in Great Britain in the yr. 387, and was kidnapped by pirates at the age of 16, and taken to Ireland where he served as a slave for 6 yrs.

2. During those yrs., he worked as a shepherd, under harsh authority, often alone, hungry, and cold. He says it was during those yrs. that God's Presence became very real to him, and he began a close, intimate walk with the Lord.

3. St. Patrick shares in writings that he prayed many prayers through the day, and even into the night. He shared these words of his time in captivity, "and the faith grew in me, and the spirit was roused, so that, in a single day, I have said as many as a hundred prayers, and in the night nearly the same, so that whilst in the woods and on the mountain, even before the dawn, I was roused to prayer..." He wrote a famous prayer still recited today called the prayer of St. Patrick or St. Patrick's Breastplate.

4. God awoke him one night and said, "Your way of escape is here." St. Patrick walked 200 miles to a ship where he was able to secretly escape to get back to his homeland.

5. Over time, as St. Patrick began to study God's Word, he sensed God leading him back to Ireland to share Christ with the people. He shares in his writings of a dream in which he heard the "voice of the Irish" begging him to "come and walk once more amongst us." He knew very well this could mean certain death, for the Irish at that time were a barbaric, pagan people.

6. God blessed St. Patrick greatly as he went to Ireland and taught, served, and ministered to the people. Revival broke out, thousands of people were saved, it was reported that he baptized over 120,000 people and founded 300 churches. It was said that Patrick found Ireland heathen and left it Christian, resulting in Irish missionaries re-evangelizing Europe in later centuries. History recounts that because many of the people at that time were illiterate, they would memorize long passages of scripture such as Psalm 119, the longest chapter of the Bible, and pass their teachings down to their children. 

7. History tells us that St. Patrick used the 3 leaved clover to teach about the Trinity, God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit - how they are one, yet 3.

8. Legends say that St. Patrick drove out all the snakes of Ireland. But reality is, there were never any snakes there to begin with. Historians believe that this story is actually related to the fact that St. Patrick bravely stood up against the pagan gods and the king's command to worship them, thus driving out dark forces.

9. St. Patrick died on March 17th, 461 in Ireland. It's been recorded that his favorite color was actually blue, he wore it all the time, yet green became the choice for the celebration of St. Patrick's Day since it's now the official color of Ireland.

10. One thing we learn from studying this amazing man's life. It wasn't about leprechauns, 4 leaf clovers, wearing green, or about luck.His life was simply about the amazing Sovereignty and blessing of God, about obedience to His call, about prayer and faithfulness. 

May the example of this godly man from years ago, spur us onward even today.

His life reminds us:

- We can trust God with our days.

“My times are in your hands…” Ps. 31:15

- We can trust that He will bring purpose through even the darkest of times.

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." Rom. 8:28

- We can trust His Sovereignty and Power over all. 

"For you bless the righteous, O Lord; you cover him with favor as with a shield." Ps. 5:12

- We can be assured God's presence is always with us and His plans for us are good.

"For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor; no good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly." Ps. 84:11

A Prayer of St. Patrick:

"As I arise today,

may the strength of God pilot me,

the power of God uphold me,

the wisdom of God guide me.

May the eye of God look before me,

the ear of God hear me,

the word of God speak for me.

May the hand of God protect me,

the way of God lie before me,

the shield of God defend me,

the host of God save me.

May Christ shield me today.

Christ with me, Christ before me,

Christ behind me,

Christ in me, Christ beneath me,

Christ above me,

Christ on my right, Christ on my left,

Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit,

Christ when I stand,

Christ in the heart of everyone who thinks of me,

Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,

Christ in every eye that sees me,

Christ in every ear that hears me.

Amen."

The pastor needs to know.

Write that down in big letters. The pastor needs to know.

He is the undershepherd of the church.

The pastor of the small church proudly informed the guest evangelist that “Our church is a generous people” and “they always take good care of visiting preachers.”

As he handed the guest the offering the final night of the meeting, the pastor said, “I don’t know how much it is, and I don’t need to know.”

He should have “needed” to know. When the visiting preacher returned home, he opened the envelope and counted the offering given to him.

It was not sufficient to cover his mileage.

And yet that host pastor went on his way, confident his people had done the right thing and honored God with their generosity.

Now, let me say…

Had the host pastor informed the guest at the time he issued the invitation that “We are a small church, and while we will do the best we can with the offering, it may not be as much as you need or as we would like to give you. But if the Lord leads you to accept our invitation, we would love for you to preach in our church,” he would no doubt have accepted.

Preachers do this all the time, preach in places where the congregation can give them little or nothing (jails, nursing homes, mission churches, etc.).

But integrity demands that the host tell him that up front when he’s being invited to a church that can not sufficiently meet his needs.

Some pastors would be surprised–and embarrassed–to know things going on in his church.

He should. He needs to.

The pastor should know the salaries of everyone who works at the church. And have a say-so in how those salaries are determined and raises are given.

He needs to know if full-time ministerial employees are earning money outside the church with other jobs or sideline ventures. It is not enough for them to say, “My free time is my own business.” The church would want to know if the pastor had taken on a second job, or had started a mail order business over the internet. Likewise, with a staff member.

He needs to know the spiritual condition of his people as much as possible since Hebrews 13:17 says he will give account for their souls (as scary a thought as it’s possible to have!).

A faithful pastor would want to know how his people are treating the visiting evangelist.

A pastor informs the guest preacher, “A member of our church has this cabin and loves to provide it for guests at the church.” Or, “One of our families has an apartment over their garage which they make available to preachers and missionaries visiting our church.”

Often that turns out to be a blessing, as the host family takes joy in seeing that it is clean and well supplied.

But sometimes, that is not the case.

What if the cabin/apartment is unclean? Insects in the corners of the floors, dust where it shouldn’t be, that sort of thing.

A faithful pastor would want to know the church’s guest was being well-provided for.

The pastor who sends his guest preacher to a cabin or a home should make sure that it is safe (some cabins can be amazingly remote and isolated), that it is clean, that the sheets are freshly laundered, and that the fridge and pantry are sufficiently stocked. How to do this? The simplest answer is to have a Hospitality Committee, and turn the matter over to them. The pastor will simply make sure they are on top of their job, and then one thing more…

During the time the guest is at his church, the pastor visits with him. He takes a look around, goes into the bathroom, checks everything. (It’s not enough to ask the guest. In most cases, he will not want to hurt feelings and will endure anything.) If matters are less than satisfactory, a loving pastor will take action immediately. He should help the guest get his things together, then move him into the nearest Holiday Inn Express or Hampton Inn. (He does this with no fanfare, as quietly as possible.)

And yes, he should prepare for the fallout which is sure to come. But he did the right thing. 

“Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but deceitful are the kisses of an enemy” (Proverbs 27:6).

In a larger church, the pastor cannot know all these things. So, he relies on faithful colleagues to do so, and makes sure they are doing their job.

The pastor who wants only to preach and not be bothered with what’s going on in the church is not worthy of the title shepherd.

It’s hard work shepherding a flock. No one who does not want to work hard should ever go into the ministry. The hardest thing in my life is finding funds to keep my ministry afloat and resurect Gods churches that he paid for and have gone into the hands of non-believers. Making them believe is easy as I am proof and testimony of Gods work and spirit in Christ.

God bless you, all Pastors. Be faithful. The work is hard, the time is short, but the pay is great. Not in dollars but in souls