St. Patrick's day history, outreach ideas, and encouragement

St Patrick's Church of Ireland, Kilrea (/http://www.geograph.ie/)

It is again time for St. Patrick's day. Don't just merely go through the motions this year celebrating green, shamrocks, and leprechauns without really knowing why. Read on and be informed about what St. Patrick's day really means. Be inspired of some ways that you can share the love of God this St. Patrick's day!

Who is St. Patrick?

St. Patrick was born in Wales or Scotland in 389. He was captured by pirates when he was between 16 and 22 years of age and sold as a slave in Ireland.

While in Ireland, Patrick (then named Maewyn Succat) became very close to God- praying almost constantly, and becoming very repentant of his sins.

Meawyn finally escaped to his homeland, where he saw a vision from God telling him to go back to Ireland to share the love of God and plan of salvation with the Irish people. After completing his schooling and taking on the Christian name, Patrick, he did indeed go back to Ireland.

Patrick used common Irish symbols to explain the plan of salvation to the Irish people. One symbol he used was the shamrock. He explained that God is actually 3 parts of one Being-Father, Son, and Holy Spirit- just as 3 leaves make up one shamrock. Patrick converted about 12,000 druids to Christianity from paganism. He also started 300 Christian churches.

So, you see, on this day we can be encouraged by this man who responded to God's leading and used his life to honor God and share His love. Let us thank God today for all of the souls who were told of the gospel by Patrick. Let us also be encouraged to be sensitive to God's leading in our own lives and live a life that matters- a life lived for Him.

How you can share God's love on St. Patrick's day

• Share with others the real reason we celebrate this day- in remeberence of a man whose life was spent furthering the Kingdom.  If you encounter someone who doesn't know the history of St. Patrick, tell them. Don't forget to include the message of salvation, perhaps sharing the analogy of the shamrock and the Trinity to increase understanding.
• Send a Christian ecard to your online contacts for St. Patrick's day. There are many inspiring ones to choose from at Crosswalk.com.
• Pray! As Harvest ministry suggests, every time you see green on St. Patrick's day, pray. Pray for the person wearing green. Pray for peace and true evangelism in Ireland today. Pray for those who don't know the gospel. Pray to be sensitive to God leading you to fulfil  your purpose and share His message of hope, love, and salvation.

Be Thou My Vision

This is a very encouraging and beautiful song to remember on St. Patrick's day.  It is a hymn that is said to have been song by St. Patrick and others one night when he unknowingly defied a royal decree by lighting candles when the king had ordered no candles to be lit. You see, it was the night of a pagan spring celebration, and the king was supposed to light the first fire of the night. When the king learned of St. Patick's innocent mistake and heard the beautiful sining, he let the worship service continue. 

Here is the hymn, which speaks of God being our vision and reason for living:

For St. Patrick day children's resources and ideas, click here.

Have a blessed St. Patrick's day!

Feel free to leave a comment below.

You can receive an email each time a new Christian Ministry article is posted by clicking the "Subscribe' button above this article and inputting your email address.

Stay up to date with the author by following her on Twitter:

By TwitterButtons.com