Encouragements and the Reformation...

Hi to everyone who takes the time to read through my blog and also apologies for not being so diligent at posting articles.

Life gets too busy at times and certain areas seem to take a back seat.

I want to thank those of you who read the posts I have made in the past and pass comment on them. This is such an encouragement to my soul. Please keep them coming.

On October 30th we hold Reformation Night in our church to celebrate and remember those who took a stand for God at a time when things were very dark. Some paying the ultimate price with their lives. Over the next few weeks I am going to post some articles that pay tribute to the Ladies of that Reformation.

Each of the ladies that I will mention were born into the 'old faith' (Roman Catholicism) and each was brought out of it. It was not loyalty to a few new ideas that sustained them but the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ whom they loved and who made each a useful instrument for his work.

I trust you will enjoy these as much as I have.

John Harper - Titanic Hero and Man of God

I found this article when I was looking for a picture of John Harper.

(click each page to read the article)

When my husband, Robert was born his parents attended Harper Memorial Baptist Church, Glasgow, his father was a deacon there.

John Harper was the first Pastor of that church. He eventually left to take up a charge in London but after he died the church decided to remember this man of God.

Such was the affection and esteem in which he was held by the church members, that, when the present stone building was opened in 1922, the church was named

“Harper Memorial Baptist Church”.

I was going to write some excerpts from a book by Moody Adams called 'The Titanic's Last Hero' before I found this article. It is an account of John Harper's life from comments of acquaintances and converts that his brother, Pastor George Harper requested be written. I would recommend the book as it covers more of his life than the last few tragic hours. I will finish with a quote from it.

"When the flames of other ambitions flickered and died,

John Harper's burned even brighter

as he sank to a watery grave.

When death forced others to face

the folly of their life's pursuits,

John Harper's goal of winning men to

Jesus Christ became more vital as he

breathed his final breaths"

Titanic Heroes

Good Morning everyone,

Here is a story that was reported on the BBC news today. There were many heroes that fateful night, tomorrow I will put up a post about John Harper who was a Pastor from Scotland and also a passenger on the Titanic.

Have a good Wednesday.

Titanic City - Belfast

I couldn't let the month about Ireland go by without mentioning its most famous creation...or is it 'infamous'? We are approaching the 100th anniversary of the beginning of its construction.

The Titanic.

No other ship in the history of ocean travel has demanded as much interest as the Titanic. Volumes of books and reels of film have been produced regarding the most infamous ship in history.

The idea of the luxury liner was first conceived of in 1907, but the Titanic construction did not actually begin until March 31, 1909 in Belfast (Ireland). The construction of the Titanic was handled by Harland and Wolff, who are still there today.

It took 3 years for building of the Titanic to be completed and in the end it cost $7.5 million dollars for the ship to be finished. More than 3000 men were employed in building the Titanic during that time span. In the months, and even years, leading up to the maiden voyage of the Titanic; the White Star Line published numerous marketing materials claiming that the ship was 'designed to be unsinkable'.

Sadly, this seemed to be shaking a fist in the face of God, with claims that even He could not sink it!

On the night of 14 April 1912, during her maiden voyage, Titanic hit an iceberg and sank two hours and forty minutes later, early on 15 April 1912. The sinking resulted in the deaths of 1,517 people, making it one of the most deadly peacetime maritime disasters in history. The high casualty rate was due in part to the fact that, although complying with the regulations of the time, the ship did not carry enough lifeboats for everyone aboard. The ship had a total lifeboat capacity of 1,178 persons even though her maximum capacity was 3,547 people. A disproportionate number of men died also, due to the women-and-children-first protocol that was followed.

Belfast is proud of the work her men did in building this great ship. Sadly, however, those in charge were only thinking of their own selfish ambition and had no thought for God or the souls of the passengers they carried to their death.

Never think your sin doesn't have consequences....

Irish Dance

Ireland has a strong dance tradition dating as far back as the 15th Century. It, together with native music was the focal point of community gatherings down through the ages. The most popular of the Irish dances are the Jig and the Reel with many involving both solo and group dancing.

From 1829 the 'Dance Master' came into existence. He was a wondering dancing teacher, who travelled from village to village teaching dances to children. These Dance Masters existed in rural Ireland right up to the early 20th Century, but gradually were replaced by the dance schools that we have today.



Soft shoes were worn for jigs and reels and then hard tap shoes were used for Set Dances and 'heavy jigs' etc.

The costumes worn by the dancers are as important as the dance itself. Each Irish Dance school has its own distinct costume and most of the dresses are adorned by embroidery designs inspired by the Book of Kells

One of my earliest childhood memories was going to dancing lessons. I was part of Mrs Tennants Dance Class in Ballymoney. We wore blue dresses for team dancing and I had a white one for solos.

Here is a great sample of solo, group, light and heavy jigs, reels and the very modern.

Chapter 7 - Patrick's Faith

May I take this opportunity to wish you all a Happy St Patrick's Day.

I think it is fitting that we are looking at the foundation of the Patrick's life and why he was committed to preaching the good news of the gospel to the Irish people.May I also challenge you not to dwell too much on green popcorn, parades, music and superstition but rather on the real Patrick. Think about what he really stands for and on, the Word of God, and ask yourselves 'Is this what I am building my life on or am I building it on the imagination and superstitions of men?

Be like the wise man and Patrick, who built his house on the rock so that when the storms of life crash around you, you have a solid foundation of Christ and His word to stand on...

Patrick was a man of one book. The foundation of his faith was the Bible. His writings are full of scripture quotations and are his sole authority and inspiration for his life.

He does quote from one other source apart from the scriptures near the beginning of his 'Confession'. He sets out a simple scriptural statement of belief, from a creed probably adopted by the British church and thus is of considerable historical interest. Here is part of it...

"....every tongue should confess...that Jesus Christ is Lord and God;and we believe in Him and await his coming which will happen soon, as judge of the living and the dead...the Holy Spirit....makes those who believe and obey to be the sons of God and co-heirs with Christ and we confess and adore Him, one God in the Trinity of sacred name."


He taught the resurrection of the body and emphasized the return of Christ. He also had deep conviction regarding a coming day of Judgement from which said he, "...no one will be able to escape or hide."

Patrick never separated his doctrine from his lifestlye and mission. He believed that Christians were a 'letter of Christ' and he said, in effect, I cannot keep silent, I want to tell the world about His goodness and grace.

Chapter 6 - His Writings

As mentioned in an earlier post, there are two writings that we have of Patrick. One, a 'Letter' and the other his 'Confession'. The 'Letter' is by far the shorter of the two. It was written to a tyrant king and his soldiers condemning attacks on recently baptized believers and calling for others who had been taken captive to be released.

The other work, his 'Confession' was so named by himself in the very last line - "this is my confession before I die".It was not in any way a confession of sin but rather a record of God's dealings with him and a statement of his faith.

Patrick could have added a great deal more to our knowledge of pre-christian Ireland than he did,but that was not the reason why he wrote. He wrote to glorify God. He wrote about spritual matters. they were composed, as he says himself, in the knowledge that one day he would stand in judgement for any false or idle words that he might use.

Tomorrow - Patrick's Faith

Chapter 5 - Ireland Again

The Ireland Patrick came back to was inhabited

by barbaric Celtic tribes.

There were no proper roads, no towns,

and no structured form of central government.

The population would have been less than half a million.

The roof of his meeting house was the sky.

He came with his Latin bible(or part of it), some form of financial support, and the backing of a few Christians. He determined he would never leave again. It became his adopted country and for some 30 years he spread the gospel far and wide, believing he was fulfilling the 'Great Comission'. Bear in mind the great continent of America had not yet been discovered and so when he looked across the waters of the Atlantic he believed he was in those uttermost parts of the earth!!

Patrick marvelled at the fact he had returned to bring the gospel to those who had dealt so treacherously with him and his family...."Who compelled me?" he asked and then gave credit to the Spirit of God. "...it was not my doing, this holy compassion that I have towards that nation which once took me captive and dealt havoc among the men and women servants of my father's house."

Chapter 4-Back in Britain

During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia...

begging him, "come over to Macedonia and help us"

...we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia

concluding that God had called us

to preach the gospel to them.' - Acts 16:9,10

Shortly after his conversion he deserted his master, travelled 200

miles across country and found a ship about to sail.A slave on the run would have been exposed to considerable dangers and hardship but Patrick gives us few details except to say that he journeyed without fear and that the Lord guided him. After a 3 day sea crossing and a series of fascinating adventures he eventualy made it back to his parents' residence in Britain.

For 6 years he was denied all those things which we would regard as vital to any real quality of life, but speaking of that period he would later testify that the Lord "guarded me and comforted me as a father would his son." His association with Ireland , however, had not ended - it was only the beginning.

One night he says he had a vision in which he saw a man called Victoricus coming to him with a great number of letters. He read the title of one which said " THE CRY OF THE IRISH" and at that moment he seemed to hear the voice of the people who lived by the *Wood of Voclut*.Unitedly they said "Holy youth come and walk among us." Patrick was so moved that he could read no more. *See below



A return to Ireland was hardly in his plans but this changed everything. It would seem that from that moment there was born in his heart a burden to bring the gospel to that nation from which he says. pointedly, "I was only just able to escape."

Some years of preparation now followed. He became a 'deacon' in the local church and then was appointed an 'overseer'- typically he remarks "...I was not worthy." Some friends tried to persuade him to call off his mission to Ireland but he refused to be moved. Again typically, he says "...no thanks to me, it was God who prevailed in me."

*This area has been fairly positively identified as being in the north of Co.Mayo near the present day town of Killala in the west.This would strongly suggest that it was here and not Slemish in Co.Antrim that Patrick spent his years of captivity and would also explain why he had to travel 200 miles to get passage to Britain. Slemish is only approx 30-50 miles from the north and east coast.

Chapter 3-His Conversion

Slemish Mountain, Co. Antrim where St Patrick was said to look after his sheep. However,it is more likely to be Co.Mayo in the west of Ireland where Patrick was taken as a slave.

Chapter 3

"The experience of those captured for the slave market would be anything but humane:Patrick recalls that he experienced "hunger", "nakedness", and "being near the point of collapse."He was sold and eventually found himself working for a sheep farmer where conditions, initially at least, may not have been much better.Whatever religion he had was of the nominal sort, but now his hopeless and desparate plight moved him to earnestly seek God. Alone in Ireland, with no help but the Holy Spirit and his memory of the gospel, he was wonderfully converted.


Up to that time he confessed "...I did not know the true God...," but "...lay in death and unbelief,"and "...took no thought for my salvation..." Then he said "The Lord opened the understanding of my unbelieving heart that I might recall my sins and turn with all my heart to the Lord my God."

After his "faith began to grow" one immediate result for this new born believer was an urge to pray. He records that he lifted his heart to God while at his work "out in woods" or "on the mountainside" as many as "one hundred times a day." He would rise before dawn for prayer "...in snow and frost and rain, and felt no ill effect." Looking back, he attributes his health and energy at the time to "...the Spirit glowing in him."

The reality of that experience was woven into the remainder of his life. Near the end of his career, casting an eye back, he could say that from that time on "...the love of God and the fear of Him have grown in me and up to this day by the favour of God I have kept the faith." He never lost a sense of thankfulness to the Lord for what he often referred to as the "gift of God."

The Real St. Patrick-(cont'd)

Chapter 2

"Patrick was a Briton. In fact, he is the only ancient Briton of the Roman occupation that we really know anything about. To give a date for his birth is impossible but it was probably near the end of the fourth century - 390AD has been suggested.

He was of an aristocratic, well-to-do, religious family.His father Calpurnius, in addition to being a 'deacon' in the church held an official position associated with the Roman administration and owned a villa and estate near to the village called Bannavem Taberniae (there is some doubt about the exact name).Thought to lie somewhere near the west coast of Britain. Patrick's native tongue was an old Celtic language of which the present Welsh is a modified form, he was also familiar with Latin.

One fateful day a party of fierce Irish raiders descended on the estate; some of the servants were murdered and sixteen year old Patrick, along with many others, was overpowered, dragged to the boats and shipped across the sea to a life of slavery in Ireland. It was a frightening , traumatic experience, the memory of which remained with him the rest of his life.

As they headed home the pagan raiders could not have had the faintest notion that their brutal activities tht day would change the history of their island nor that, sixteen centuries later, the name of one of the captives huddled in the bottom of the vessel would be a household word, better known than that of St. Augustine or even Constantine the Great."

Tomorrow - His Conversion

Will the real St Patrick please stand up?...

I own a little book called 'The Real St. Patrick' by John Holmes of Northern Ireland. I have decided that as we draw nearer to celebrating the holiday set aside to the life of this man, I will write some excerpts from it to give you some myths, legends and throw in some truth also, about this character.

He says...

" It has been said that Patrick received much of his education and his religious training on the continent, (Europe) was sent to Ireland by the Bishop of Rome, landed initially at Wicklow, built his first Church near Saul, established his headquarters at Armagh, illustrated the doctrine of the Trinity by using a shamrock, was enormously successful, confounded his enemies through miraculous powers, overcame the opposition of the High King at Tara, climbed to the top of Croagh Patrick to commune with God, died on the 17th march and was buried at Downpatrick in Co.Down, N.I.

The truth is that not a single word of these 'facts' has any historical credibility at all.

...during those dark years after his decease, in the providence of God, somehow, somewhere in Ireland, two works of Patrick himself were reverently preserved and copied. These two writings, a 'letter' to the soldiers of a ruler called Coroticus and the 'Confession' (or testimony) are judged to be absolutely authentic-they are historical documents of incredible value. Scholars almost weep that Patrick has not told us more about his work and of the life and times in which he lived.

These two works are Ireland's oldest literature and are about the only known Latin writings of that age to have come out of a country of the Barbarians, that is outside of the Roman Empire.

We cannot emphasis too strongly that any real assessment of Patrick's character and work must depend only on his own words.
So who was St Patrick?....."

In chapter 2 tomorrow I will focus on his 'Early Days'....

PS. Happy Birthday to my Beloved....