Tims Tidings March 15 2015

Today we will explore the text of a woman who “gives God what she had.” Last week we observed a woman that “did what she could.” It is noteworthy to me that the subjects of these two Scriptures are not rich, powerful or famous. We don’t even know their names. Yet their devotion to their Lord resounds through history. Like these women, we are called to have hearts that care and to give gifts that cost in the name of the Lord who provides. We are called to prayerfully listen for God’s guidance and to follow it in our daily living. We can reliably discern God’s will as we reflect on scripture, listen to the counsel of Christian friends, hear the voice of God’s Spirit in our hearts, and pay attention to circumstances. Many of you do just that and God is blessing your lives and ministries in good times and tough times alike. Sunday after the 10 a.m. worship service we will have an Irish Potluck that reminds many of Saint Patrick. Protestants don’t believe that saints have any special powers; they are examples. People like you and me that God uses in extraordinary ways. Here is part of his story: Patrick grew up in England son of well to do parents. In the early 400’s AD, when Patrick was about sixteen, he was captured and carried off as a slave to Ireland. Patrick worked as a herdsman, remaining a captive for six years. He writes that his faith grew in captivity, and that he prayed daily. After six years he heard a voice telling him that he would soon go home. Fleeing his master, he travelled to a port, two hundred miles away, where he found a ship and, after various adventures, returned home to his family. But that’s not all… Patrick recounts that he had a vision a few years after returning home: “I saw a man coming, as it were from Ireland. His name was Victoricus, and he carried many letters, and he gave me one of them. I read the heading: "The Voice of the Irish". As I began the letter, I imagined in that moment that I heard the voice of those very people who were near the wood of Folcut, which is beside the western sea—and they cried out, as with one voice: "We appeal to you, holy servant boy, to come and walk among us." Patrick left the good life he had, and he returned to Ireland, the country of his captivity. There he served as a powerful evangelist and led thousands and thousands to faith in Jesus Christ. Like the women in our scripture, we see Patrick having a heart that cares and a gift that costs. God used him powerfully. May God do the same with us today!