What is a 'vessel of mercy'?

It is the expression in Romans 9:23 for the people whom God prepares beforehand for glory and fills with His mercy, in order to make known in them the riches of His glory. That mercy does not consist in receiving good things, but in receiving God Himself: 'Christ in you, the hope of glory' (Colossians 1:27). And a vessel of mercy does not keep it to itself, but, as it is filled, shows it and gives it to others.

Why did Ruth choose the God of Israel?

Because God worked in her heart. Through Naomi, Ruth came to know the God of Israel as wise, sovereign, just and holy, very different from the idols of Moab, and God gave her a new heart. Orpah went through the same losses and heard the same things, but returned to her gods. Ruth believed, repented of her past life and confessed it with her mouth: 'Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God' (Ruth 1:16).

How do we evangelise when no one seems interested?

Without letting ourselves be conditioned by what people say or feel about the Gospel. We are the people God has acquired to proclaim His praises (1 Peter 2:9), whether in a time of harvest or of drought. The fuel is what God has done with us: conversion, His comfort in trials, what we learn from His Word. And we do not know who the vessels of mercy are that God has prepared, as He told Paul: 'I have many people in this city'.

Is evangelism only a duty?

It is a commandment, but the biblical examples do not present it as a burden imposed from outside. The apostles did not say 'we must speak', but 'we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard' (Acts 4:20). It is something that springs from within, the fruit of the liberty with which Christ has made us free (Galatians 5:1). As John says, 'His commandments are not burdensome' (1 John 5:3): they are what the renewed heart desires.

What does David ask for in Psalm 51:10-12?

He asks for three things that sustain the soul. First, a clean heart (v. 10), because, horrified at what had come out of his own, he no longer trusted it. Second, not to be cast away from God's presence or lose His Holy Spirit (v. 11), because he had fallen when he was far from Him. Third, the joy of salvation (v. 12), not the joy of favourable circumstances. From this comes the desire to teach transgressors God's way (v. 13).

When Grace Overflows: Our Mission in Times of Drought

Introduction

Vessels of mercy: the example of Ruth

We cannot but speak

How to keep the flame alive

In a Spain indifferent to the Gospel, how do we keep our course? Ruth, the demoniac of Gadara and David: mercy received that overflows to others.