by Phil Sanders

Though 85 percent of Americans call themselves Christians, only 69 percent of Americans regard themselves as church members. Only 43 percent will attend church on a given Sunday. Another twenty-two percent will attend occasionally. Only 22 percent of Americans attend Bible classes on Sunday mornings. There are now 79 million “unchurched” people in America.

Many of these people are “notional” Christians. They claim to be Christians but do not practice their Christianity by church attendance. These are people who need a church home.

Why do they need a church home? For the same reasons you do. They need the spiritual help and climate going to church provides. They need to hear the Scripture preached and to remember the Lord’s death in His Supper. They need to praise the Lord in song and to pray about their needs. They need the Lord’s help and teaching from week to week.

They also need a church home, because we all need our brothers and sisters in Christ. Life has a way of handing us surprises. It means so much to have the support of loving brothers and sisters who will pray with us and for us when we need them. Solomon was right when he said that “two are better than one” (Eccl. 4:9). There is strength in numbers, and brothers and sisters assure our hearts when they walk beside us in serving the Lord. “Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another” (Prov. 27:17).
Surely you know someone who needs a church home. Won’t you help them? Bring them to the Lord.

by Mike Benson

Back in the mid 1980's, an Avianca Airlines jet crashed in the mountains of Spain. Investigators reviewing the incident made a startling discovery. Recordings from the black box revealed that several minutes prior to impact, a computer-synthesized voice from the plane's automatic warning system told the flight crew on repeated occasion to "Pull up!" The pilot, evidently thinking that the system was not functioning properly, switched the system off. Minutes later they plowed into the ground killing both passengers as well as crew.

As I think about it, that tragic story reminds me of some of the people I know. They hear the warning messages of their conscience telling them to make correction in their lives; instead they merely tune out or turn off what they hear (cf. Exodus 8:15).

Dear reader, it is possible for a person to silence his conscience to such an extent that he no longer hears or recognizes the spiritual peril he faces (cf. 1 Timothy 4:2). But because he does not hear the warning, it doesn't mean that the danger no longer exists.

Think about it.

by Mike Benson

Yesterday I stood at the bedside of a dear brother in Christ. His doctor recently diagnosed him with brain cancer and has given him only a few weeks to live.

I watched as he wept in sadness as he thought about leaving his family. I noticed streams of tears pour down his cheeks as he considered the end of his earthly existence. I listened as he asked a fellow gospel preacher if he would hold his funeral. I fought back my own tears as my preacher friend petitioned the Almighty for faith and strength on behalf of this godly brother.

Then as I left the residence, I couldn't help but wonder, "How do people face eternity without the Lord?" "How do they leave this world without the security found only in Jesus Christ" (cf. Ephesians 1:3)? Fortunately, this gentleman has been a Christian for many years, and he'll step into the next world with the calm assurance that Jesus is and has been Lord of his life.

Come to think of it, we're all terminal, aren't we (cf. Job 14:1)? The end will just come sooner for some of us than others. Dear reader, what preparations have you made for your step into eternity (cf. 2 Timothy 4:6-8; Matthew 25:46)?

Think about it.

by Phil Sanders

Helena Modjeska (1844-1909) was a popular actress with great emotional style and superb ability. She demonstrated this ability by giving a dramatic reading in Polish, her native tongue, at a dinner party. Her listeners, who didn’t understand the language, were in tears by the time she had finished. If they had known what she said, they would not have been so impressed. She had just recited the Polish alphabet.

Paul said some people are “always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth” (2 Tim. 3:7). They may know a lot about religion, they may even know a lot about Christianity, but they are never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth.
Paul said of his kinsman, the Jews, “that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. For, being ignorant of the righteousness that comes from God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness” (Rom. 10:2-3). It matters whether or not we know the things God teaches and whether we are willing to submit to it. We can never assume that because people know the truth they are willing to obey it.

The best thing we can do for others is to teach the truth, live honorable lives, love others, and be unafraid to speak out when we have opportunity. Give your friend a tract or a tape. Invite them to church. Say a good word about Jesus now and then. Never give up on them. There may be some event or some problem open their eyes to look for heavenly help, and you may be able to talk to them. Pray for God’s wisdom and God’s help.

We can live our lives in total commitment to the Lord. Paul told Timothy, “evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it” (2 Tim. 3:13-14). Though the whole world be ignorant, let us live as people who know and love God.

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