Lord, Please Forgive Me

Hosea 13:5-6 (NIV)
“I cared for you in the wilderness, in the land of burning heat. When I fed them, they were satisfied; when they were satisfied, they became proud; then they forgot me.”

This translations of Hosea 13:5-6 summarizes so simply God’s people in the Old Testament. Unfortunately, many Christians or people who would identify themselves as Christian live this truth. It occurred to me over the course of the last couple of weeks that this is the case for the people we serve in Europe. And to be fair, it’s true of many Christians in America. 

We traveled to the UK for a conference and had the absolute worst travel experience of our life. We arrived at the airport in our city at 6 am and should have arrived in England in the early afternoon. After a very long series of unfortunate events, we arrived at our destination waiting to pass through border patrol just after midnight. As we not-so-patiently waited, I was fascinated to see families of all different backgrounds, ethnicities and religions surrounding us. This is not something we see regularly in our new country. I was equally as intrigued as I was grieved. 

I thought of Revelation 7:9,

“After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands”. 

But these people were not worshipping the Creator, their outward appearances were indicative that their faith was not in Christ. As we spent time with colleagues, listening to their stories and hearing about their work, I became convicted and had to ask the Lord for forgiveness. I have not been sensitive to the lostness here in our new country. 

In many ways, the people here look like us, have similar values that we have, and, just like us, many identify as Christian. Another colleague here in Europe uses the term “Christian Lost”. We have so enjoyed exploring our new city and country (see photos and a video of the Sea Organ in our Gallery), we have even made several friends, and have begun forming relationships with people that we can partner with! God has been so good to us! But, because the people here wear cross necklaces and uphold family values, I have lost a sense of urgency for the Gospel. These people don’t appear to be suffering in the wilderness, as described in Hosea, but satisfied and proud. 

The people in the airport were adorned in their idolatry. Whether a hairstyle, clothing, head covering, or markings on their bodies, their sin was obvious to me. Where we serve, the sin of the people isn’t always so obvious. Sin that occurs in the heart and the mind is still rebellion against God, even if the sinner looks pretty and put-together and is kind and helpful. 

As followers of Christ, our hearts must break over sin… even inconspicuous sin. It’s not just the murderers, liars, and thieves that Jesus died for. It’s the proud people like you and I, those who have forgotten what Christ has done for us. 

Dear God, thank you for loving me even when I forget you. Help me to never forget that it was my sin that put Jesus on the cross. Jesus, I love you and I want to give you my life because I’m so thankful that you redeemed me. Please help me to worship you with my life and show others your love. Amen. 

Prayer Needs for July:
9-15: Language lessons with a new tutor. Please continue to pray that we learn language quickly.
16-22: Visas. Please pray that us and our teammates would have our Visas very soon. 
23-31: Please pray for the people we minister to here. This includes several lost friends, believing friends who need encouragement, and partners that we are serving with. 
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