Friday, May 28, 2010

Man's effort or God's mercy?

"It does not, therefore, depend on man's desire or effort, but on God's mercy." Romans 9:16

Romans 9 has always been a challenging chapter for me. But as I prepare for Nepal, I am struck by the parallels between the Jews Paul was writing to and the Hindus we will be ministering to.

Both of them are locked into a system of works - full of sacrifices, laws, and man's own efforts to please God. And both of them fail, because they have both missed the central thing: God's mercy & grace poured out on us through Jesus.

So this is what we have to offer our beloved Nepali friends: freedom from a life of striving to please God by our own efforts - efforts that will always fall short. Jesus is the gift we extend - God's grace & mercy being offered as a gift we could never earn.

Lord, I pray that we would keep Jesus the main focus of everything we say & do in Nepal, & that in Your love & power You would use us to set people free from lives of failed self-effort. Amen


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