If we truly believe that our God will supply all of our needs, following the teaching of Jesus, we will seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all things (food clothing and shelter) will be added to us.

The problem with our society is we think that no matter what our occupation, it is more important than reqular worship and service to the Lord. If we conduct our lives in the order that God has orchestrated, then we won’t have to worry about anything. The “get all you can, while you can, so that you’ll have more than enough” mentality is the problem.

There is something to be said for seeker-sensitive messages and outreach, but not at the expense of disciple-growing throughout your church. You don’t want to be miles wide and inches deep.

I know ministers feel the same way. Some people want to be visited in their homes, some are offended if you knock on their door. Some want hell, fire, and brimstone preaching and others want a diluted feel good version. It really is difficult.

I will say that I have been hurt at least 2-3 times really bad by people in the church. The first one was a shocker and I had a very hard time getting over it. After that incident I could see why people not as strong as me would leave the church. I could have left the church being bitter and hateful. Oh, it was hard to stay. I’m not saying it wasn’t. I cried and cried. But I knew my relationship with God was more important. And although I’m not a Joyce Meyers fan, my friend let me borrow the book “Handling Your Emotions”. I think that’s what it was called. It had a chapter in there about forgiveness and how if we don’t forgive we’re in bondage. I read that chapter over and over again. It truly did help me through the difficult time. Gosh, I hope I never hurt people the way I’ve been hurt. I don’t want to be a stumbling block like that.

I think the hypocrite issue is a copout answer though. You will find hypocrites everywhere, no matter what religion or faith you find. We are all human. The only perfect person that walked this earth was Jesus. I am accountable for my life and not for other people’s lives. So, I better keep my eyes on Him and not the hypocrites around me. They are not worth compromising my relationship with Him.

I think the time issue may be one, but then again not really. It’s one thing to miss a service every now and then because of time issues and family commitments and it’s another to not go at all. In Hebrews we are told to assemble together. I know that there is a reason for that verse because when I don’t go to church I really feel like I’ve missed something. I miss being around other believers and people that are truly concerned about me. They are my true network of people that I can count on when no one else is around. As far as time goes, people seem to find time to do things they want to do. I’ve met very few people that didn’t have time to go to church. I feel like those people are few.

I think a true belief in God is the major reason. People have not been grounded in God’s word. They don’t know what they believe or why. There are some other denominations and religions out there that believe things different from what I believe. When I get in a conversation about their beliefs vs mine, they have no clue what I’m talking about. This has been a more frequent occurence with my conversations with Mormons and Catholics. I know this also goes on in Christianity. Parents just kind of hit and miss on the things to teach their kids or for some reason they think it’s the church’s job to teach their kids. The church can help in teaching your kids, but the true foundation should come from the parents. We need to decide where our priorities are. Are they in playing golf, working a lot, going out with the girls, or teaching our kids? None of the former things are bad, they just need to be prioritized.