Good morning and Happy St Patrick’s Day! Before I start today’s message, I thought I’d share something I found on Facebook by a friend who shared a prayer of St Patrick.

How can I relate that to today’s message except to say, once you accept the Lord as your one and only savior, this is how you will begin to see yourself as completely loved by Him.

Wrapping up the final verses of Zephaniah is our happy ending! The good news is that you can now have hope in the promise of a new world, a perfect world, and that you are no longer repugnant to the eyes of God because you have been saved!

He will love you unconditionally, which is not to say you now have a license to sin, but that God loves us despite our misgivings.

For that reason and because of His promise that now that we are lovable to Him, we are to rejoice!

Phillipians 4:4 says, “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again; Rejoice!

He says it twice to drive home the point that no matter how “ready” we feel we are, or any other excuse, rejoice now! There’s no need to wait!

It’s so overwhelming for me to wrap my head around that I’m having a hard time putting into words what all this means for me. I sin. My husband is not exactly ‘with me’ as I transition to the Bible Church, which makes it hard for me to share the happiness and hopefulness I feel, but I’m also struggling with feelings of feeling like a hypocrite because I’m not perfect.

I’m thinking of becoming a member of this church but if I do, I’ll have to attend a newcomers class. It would be helpful because I still have so many questions! How can I spread the good news without feeling like a hypocrite due to the fact THAT IM STILL ME! I mean, I share the Sunday message with you because I have been saved and I do feel hopeful, no-more like confident- that God will someday save the world and we will live in the new kingdom. But then I turn around and party with my friends. I imbibe in my vices.

Yet the message I heard was that there is still hope for me. That a transition in my actions will happen, but it may take some time. Even our pastor said he is a ‘work in progress’. He said that we should feel calmed and have less anxiety because we no longer need to worry. God has already sent Jesus to die for our sins and save us from damnation. If we truly believe, I think we will all be transformed, slowly but surely.

Reread the prayer above. Let it sink in. Relate what you just read to this from Zephaniah 3:18-20…

II. Believers should have hope based upon God’s promises.

I know I need to pray more. I need to read the Bible more. But I still feel awkward talking about Jesus with ordinary people who may or may not be believers. I still feel like I’ll be seen as a fake, or a “Bible thumper” or a pariah or whatever else, and these are feelings I struggle to overcome.

So maybe I need to end with this. I’m not a preacher. I’m trying to be a messenger. I’m trying to share what I’m learning and discovering, although I’ve been a saved Christian for decades. I hope and pray you will stick with me as I transition into a better Christian.

This rambling message closes out the Book of Zephaniah and next Sunday we start a new chapter.

Have a blessed Sunday and a Happy Saint Patrick’s Day!