An Irish Blessing
St. Patrick’s Day – 3/17/2025
History of St Josephs Day
3/19/25
Saint Joseph’s Day, also known as the Feast of Saint Joseph, has a long history dating back to the 10th century when it was observed as the principal feast day of Saint Joseph in Western Christianity. The feast day became an official practice of the Church in the 1500s.
The first mention of a feast day for Saint Joseph in the Western Liturgy appears on a calendar from the 9th century of the Benedictine monastery of Reichenau, which mentions March 19 as “At Bethlehem, [the commemoration] of St. Joseph, foster father of the Lord.” However, the Latin Rite calendar did not have a feast day for Saint Joseph until the 15th century.
In 1621, Pope Gregory XV made the feast on March 19 a holy day of obligation, which it continues to be in Spain and Lebanon, among certain other countries. The feast day was moved to the Wednesday in the second week after Easter by Pope Pius X in order to restore the celebration of Sundays. In 1955, Pope Pius XII introduced the feast of Saint Joseph the Worker on May 1, reflecting Saint Joseph’s status as patron of workers.
Saint Joseph’s Day is celebrated with various customs, including attending Mass or Divine Service, wearing red-colored clothing, carrying blessed fava beans, and assembling home altars dedicated to Saint Joseph. In Sicily, where Saint Joseph is regarded as their patron saint, and in many Italian-American communities, thanks are given to Saint Joseph for preventing a famine in Sicily during the Middle Ages. According to legend, the people prayed for their patron saint to bring them rain, promising to prepare a large feast if their prayers were answered. The rain did come, and the people of Sicily prepared a large banquet for their patron saint.
In New Orleans, Catholics honor Saint Joseph every March 19 with altars, food, parades, and celebration. Altars can be found all over the city, especially in churches with Italian roots.
Purpose, Living the Vision God Set You Apart For
(When It’s Time for A Fresh Start) pt.3
All Scripture taken from the New Living Translation
So here we are in part 3 of our sermon series on, “Living the vision God set you apart for.”
This series is designed to help us head into the new year with a better understanding that each of us is uniquely designed to carry out a vision…
A plan that connects us to a purpose that God specifically set us apart for…
A vision He saw us carrying long before we were born!
And so, if you’ve had one of those years where it was a tough one to get through, or maybe you see a tough year coming up…
Today, we are going to look at what it takes to reset and get ourselves in a position for a fresh start.
A common theme throughout the Scriptures… Both OT and NT…
Is that God is a God of second chances… A God of fresh starts… If there’s anything we can all learn from Him… It is how to reset/recalibrate our lives and start again…
Psalm 37:39 – The Lord rescues the godly; He is their fortress in times of trouble.
Lamentations 3:22-23 – The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is His faithfulness; His mercies begin afresh each morning.
2 Corinthians 5:17 – … Anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!
Over and over again we see that God will rescue us, protect us, start each day afresh… The old is gone a new life begins…
Over and over this happens as we live our lives for Him!
My prayer for today’s message is that we take home something to put in our spiritual toolbox for those times we feel like giving up…
This also builds from last week’s message on not allowing negative thinking to cloud our faith filled vision…
Because one of the biggest factors in not seeing success in a vision is excuses…
How many of us, myself included, do not feel qualified when sensing God laying a vision out for us to join Him in?
Listen, we’re in good company… Many of the greats in the Bible started their journey out with the excuse of not having the confidence they felt it would take to follow through with God’s vision for them.
Exodus 4:13 – But Moses again pleaded, “Lord, please! Send anyone else.”
Jeremiah 1:6 – “O Sovereign Lord,” I said, “I can’t speak for you! I’m too young!”
Judges 6:15 – “But Lord,” Gideon replied, “how can I rescue Israel? My clan is the weakest in the whole tribe of Manasseh, and I am the least in my entire family!”
Each time God follows up their lack of confidence with words of encouragement that they do indeed have what it takes…
God assures them that He will be with them in the vision He is calling them into…
And in Moses’ case he sent his brother to be with him as well
Exodus 4:14-15 – Then the Lord became angry with Moses. “All right,” He said. “What about your brother, Aaron the Levite? I know he speaks well … I will be with both of you as you speak, and I will instruct you both in what to do.”
Jeremiah 1:7-8 – The Lord replied, “Don’t say, ‘I’m too young,’ … And don’t be afraid of the people, for I will be with you and will protect you. I, the Lord, have spoken!”
Judges 6:16 – The Lord said to him, “I will be with you. And you will destroy the Midianites as if you were fighting against one man.”
Church, if God is calling you to do something… Start a ministry/life group… Volunteer at church… Step out of your comfort zone in some capacity…
And you even have confirmation from others that this is indeed something you should do… Trust, that God will be with you in this!!
We cannot allow our insecurities and lack of confidence to keep us from moving forward…
Just the opposite, it should cause us to rely on God’s power, God’s wisdom, God as our main source…
Hebrews 13:5-7 – 5 Don’t love money; be satisfied with what you have. For God has said,
“I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.”[a] 6 So we can say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper, so I will have no fear. What can mere people do to me?”[b]
7 Remember your leaders who taught you the word of God. Think of all the good that has come from their lives, and follow the example of their faith.
Be satisfied with what you have… Do not envy what others have… Learn to be content in all things…
Contentment and lack of confidence cannot live together… Contentment draws us closer to God… Contentment builds trust in God…
Confidence is a tricky one… Too much can lead to prideful behavior, while lack of can lead to a stagnant life (Doing nothing) … There needs to be a healthy balance.
For me, when I’m satisfied with all God has done for me… I have found out that the more I trust in Him, the more I know He is leading the way through any vision He asks me to carry out.
And God Himself tells us that He will never fail us… He will never abandon us… And that He is our helper in all things!
And God himself places spiritual leaders in all our lives to build our confidence and be there for us in times of need… They are to be our examples of a life led by God!
So, when we think we don’t have what it takes… We are in good company…
Pretty much everyone God calls does not feel like they have what it takes to carry out the vision He is calling them to carry out.
When God was calling the Israelites back to Him through the prophet Isaiah He said
Isaiah 41:10 – Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with My victorious right hand.
This is a constant theme throughout God’s word to His people…
For me, it is passages like this that keep me encouraged… Knowing that God is always with me…
The truth from God’s Word and a good support system (Friends/pastors/leaders/life group) is what gives me the strength to never giving up…
Proverbs 13:20 – Walk with the wise and become wise; associate with fools and get in trouble.
Galatians 6:7-10 – 7 Don’t be misled—you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant. 8 Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit. 9 So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up. 10 Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone—especially to those in the family of faith.
There are a few things at play in this passage that we can connect to fresh starts.
We will become our own worst enemy when seeking God for a fresh start while at the same time satisfying our sinful nature.
This is what divides our loyalty with God and causes us to be unstable (James 1:8).
It’s one thing to struggle with sin… Doing the things we wish we wouldn’t do… Paul dedicates an entire chapter to this in Romans chapter 7…
When we openly satisfy our sinful nature, we are harvesting spiritual decay.
But when we strive to do the things that please the Holy Spirit we are harvesting everlasting life within ourselves…
And this is what will set us up for the opportunity of a fresh start from God…
It’s the constant battle every believer fights… And we’re all on different levels and in different places with the things we fight…
But we are told to never give up… to never give up doing good… Because at just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing…
Sounds to me like we could include a fresh start with a harvest of blessing!
We’re not just talking about being a good person… This goes beyond that… This is talking about doing good to others… Serving others…
Whenever we see an opportunity to serve another person, we are to step into the role of sharing that person’s burden… Do good… Especially to those in the family of faith!
When we seek opportunities to do good… We are setting ourselves up for a harvest of blessing… A fresh start…
We also lose the desire to satisfy our sinful nature… Putting off what is causing us to sin and filling that void with Kingdom minded actions.
If we give up… If we let our insecurities rule the day… If we think the vision God is laying before us is overwhelming, or couldn’t possibly be accomplished…
We will never experience the rest that comes with the season of a fresh start…
The moment we recognize that we have entered the rest that comes with the season of a fresh start is when we look back at the experiences that have brought us this far and use those experiences as learning tools…
Nothing in the Kingdom goes to waste… The good, the bad, and even the ugly can be used to help us move forward in a vision God is calling us into…
Psalm 119:71-77 – 71 My suffering was good for me, for it taught me to pay attention to your decrees. 72 Your instructions are more valuable to me than millions in gold and silver.
Yodh
73 You made me; you created me. Now give me the sense to follow your commands.
74 May all who fear you find in me a cause for joy, for I have put my hope in your word.
75 I know, O Lord, that your regulations are fair; you disciplined me because I needed it.
76 Now let your unfailing love comfort me, just as you promised me, your servant.
77 Surround me with your tender mercies so I may live, for your instructions are my delight.
The Psalmist understood there is value that can be learned in suffering…
That when God disciplines, it is for our own good…
And when we learn from these… And when we learn from God’s instructions, the Scriptures, we become better Kingdom-minded people…
Hopefully, to the point of others finding the same cause for joy that we have found in the mercies God surrounds us with.
To continue moving forward in the Kingdom… In the vision God set us apart for…
A fresh start is a season for learning… A season for rest… Not a season to focus on what went wrong…
The most successful people failed many times before they found success.
What we think are mistakes or failures… Are learning curves… Expect them… And learn from them…
Mistakes, missteps, failures, even successes are all things we can learn from…
Because all of what we are talking about in this series begins with an act of faith.
The reason we, and so many who have gone before us, get overwhelmed, feel inadequate, not good enough, not the right person for the job… Are you sure you’re talking to me, God?
The reason for the excuses, is generally because our initial reaction is not to step out in faith…
Our initial reaction is to see the plan being carried out according to the abilities we know to be ours… We limit ourselves!
It takes eyes of faith to see in us what God sees in us!
Proverbs 16:9 – We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps.
Are the plans we are thinking about the same plans God is directing us in?
The rest we gain with a fresh start often helps us discern whether we are following our own desires, or taking the steps God is leading us in…
In Closing…
Hebrews 11:1-2 – Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see. Through their faith, the people in days of old earned a good reputation.
We have an entire book (The Bible) full of stories about people who put their faith in the fact that God was leading them to do something He was calling them into.
And we all have the same thing in common… Excuses… We often start with an excuse as to why we are not the person for the job…
But faith shows the reality of what we hope for…
In the context of this sermon series what we are hoping for is that we are clearly hearing from God and carrying out the vision He set us apart for in the way He intends for us to carry it out.
Because the reality of it all is that God is far more interested in who we become, than what we do…
Every faith filled action God calls us into shapes our character more and more into who He created us to be…
As our faith in Him grows so does the evidence of the things we cannot see.
What is the vision you are sensing God calling you into for 2025?
What are the spiritual goals you hope to accomplish in this new year?
Or maybe, it is a season of rest that is needed, and this creates the perfect scenario for a fresh start…
Whatever you’re sensing I want to encourage you to start making the plans now…
Map them out… And in doing so leave room for God’s Holy Spirit to determine your steps.
As God told the Israelites through the prophet Jeremiah…
Jeremiah 29:13 – If you look for Me wholeheartedly, you will find Me.
This same promise is for us as well!
Inspirational Stories Garden
at God’s Little Acre
Copyright (c) by Rusti since 2002
All Rights Reserved
Who Packed Your Parachute Today
Charles Plumb, a U.S. Naval Academy graduate, was a jet pilot in Vietnam. After 75 combat missions, his plane was destroyed by a surface-to-air missile. Plumb ejected and parachuted into enemy hands. He was captured and spent 6 years in a communist Vietnamese prison. He survived the ordeal and now lectures on lessons learned from that experience.
One day, when Plumb and his wife were sitting in a restaurant, a man at another table came up and said, “You’re Plumb! You flew jet fighters in Vietnam from the aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk. You were shot down!” “How in the world did you know that?” asked Plumb. “I packed your parachute,” the man replied. Plumb gasped in surprise and gratitude. The man pumped his hand and said, “I guess it worked!” Plumb assured him, “It sure did. If your chute hadn’t worked, I wouldn’t be here today.”
Plumb couldn’t sleep that night, thinking about that man. Plumb says, “I kept wondering what he might have looked like in a Navy uniform: a white hat, a bib in the back, and bell-bottom trousers. I wonder how many times I might have seen him and not even said ‘Good morning,’ ‘how are you?’ or anything because, you see, I was a fighter pilot and he was just a sailor.” Plumb thought of the many hours the sailor had spent on a long wooden table in the bowels of the ship, carefully weaving the shrouds and folding the silks of each chute, holding in his hands each time the fate of someone he didn’t know.
Now, Plumb asks his audience, “Who’s packing your parachute?” Everyone has someone who provides what they need to make it through the day. Plumb also points out that he needed many kinds of parachutes when his plane was shot down over enemy territory — he needed his physical parachute, his mental parachute, his emotional parachute, and his spiritual parachute. He called on all these supports before reaching safety. Sometimes in the daily challenges that life gives us, we miss what is really important. We may fail to say hello, please, or thank you, congratulate someone on something wonderful that has happened to them, give a compliment, or just do something nice for no reason. As you go through this week, this month, this year, recognize people who pack your parachute.
– Author Unknown –
The Quilt
As I faced my Maker at last judgement, I knelt before the Lord along with the other souls . Before each of us laid our lives, like the squares of a quilt. An angel sat before each of us sewing our quilt squares together into a tapestry that is our life.
But as my angel took each piece of cloth off the pile, I noticed how ragged and empty each of my squares was. They were filled with giant holes. Each square was labeled with a part of my life that had been difficult, the challenges and temptations I was faced with in everyday life. I saw hardships that I endured, which were the largest holes of all.
I glanced around me. Nobody else had such squares. Other than a tiny hole here and there, the other tapestries were filled with rich color and all the bright hues of worldly fortune. I gazed upon my own life and was disheartened. My angel was sewing the ragged pieces of cloth together, threadbare and empty like binding air.
Finally the time came when each life was to be displayed, held up to the light, the scrutiny of the truth …The others rose, each in turn, holding up their tapestries. So filled their lives had been.
My angel looked upon me, and nodded for me to rise. My gaze dropped to the ground in shame. I hadn’t had all the earthly fortunes. I had love in my life, and laughter. But there had also been trials of illness and death, and false accusations that took from me my world as I knew it.
I had to start over many times. I often struggled with the temptation to quit, only to somehow muster the strength to pick up and begin again. I had spent many lonely nights on my knees in prayer, asking for help and guidance in my life. I had often been held up to ridicule, which I endured painfully: each time offering it up to the Father in hopes that I would not melt within my skin beneath the judgemental gaze of those who unfairly judged me.
And now, I had to face the truth. My life was what it was, and I had to accept it for what it had been…I rose and slowly lifted the combined squares of my life to the light. An awe-filled gasp filled the air. I gazed around at the others who stared at me with eyes opened wide.
Then I looked upon the tapestry before me. Light flooded the many holes, creating an image, The Face of Christ. Then our Lord stood before me, with love and warmth in his eyes. He said: “Every time you gave over your life to me, it became my life, my hardships, and my struggles. Each point of light in your life is when you stepped aside and let me shine thru, until there was more of me than there was of you.”
– Author Unknown –