Happy St. Patrick's Day, friends!

If you ask people who Saint Patrick was, you're likely to hear that he was an Irishman who chased the snakes out of Ireland. But here's the real story behind Saint Patrick and how his faith did change Ireland forever.

It may surprise you to learn the real Saint Patrick wasn't actually Irish, but he came to Ireland as a teenager marauding Irish raiders when they attacked his home. They took Saint Patrick to Ireland and sold him to an Irish king who put him to work as a shepherd. He was raised in a Christian home but didn't really believe in God till he had an encounter with God in a dream. In the dream, God told Saint Patrick, "Your hungers are rewarded. Your ship is ready, you are going home." Eventually, he came to have a relationship with God and began his walk of 200 miles to the Irish coast and began to share the hope that's found in God to warrior people of Ireland. He pleaded them to lay down their swords of battle, fling away the knives of sacrifice, and cast away the chains of slavery.

Saint Patrick led a lot of people to the one true God and today we celebrate God's goodness and faithfulness. Happy St. Patrick's Day!