Connecting With Jesus

Our devotional message for today was prepared by Admin ND Willie.Let’s read and contemplate..

“Missing Sheep”

What should our response be toward those who leave the church?

“You shall be called the Repairer of the Breach” (Isaiah 58:12).

Imagine everyone knows at least one person who was once walking with Jesus and was enthusiastic about being a Christian, but then he or she stopped attending church.

There are many reasons people stop going. About 2.7 million former church members reported they dited from church activity due to their lives being too busy, while others said they no longer believed in some of the teachings of the church. But, surprisingly, the vast majority indicated that they simply didn’t like the pastor or had a conflict with another member. It happens all too often. Look at these sad statistics:

Each year 3,500 churches in America close their doors permanently. 150,000 people leave churches for good every week.

+32 percent of people surveyed after leaving church reported that no one from their congregations ever contacted them.

It’s unfortunate that anyone has felt ignored, rejected, ostracized, or injured by another church member or group of members. The church should be a loving and safe place, a sanctuary where sinners come to find hope, healing and spiritual nurturing. But it doesn’t always work out that way. People don’t always
follow the Lord’s command to love one another, and often the result is that someone leaves the church. When Jesus said, “But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Matthew 10:6), He was speaking of these missing members who have drifted away from the church. He was letting us know that we should be especially involved in searching for them. Rather than turning our eyes away from the problem, we should “bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2).

We should search for these people with enthusiasm, like the woman searching for her lost coin luke 15:8). Searching is the first step in bringing them home. Tomorrow we’ll look at some specific things we can do to help someone in that situation.

Father, I am dismayed by the number of people leaving the church. Forgive me for anything I might have done to cause their decision. Help me to be more loving and willing to reach out to those who have strayed away,

Our Savior repaired the breach between us and Heavenly Father. He, through His great atoning sacrifice, opens the way for us to partake of God’s loving power, and then we are enabled to repair the “waste places” in our personal lives. Healing emotional distance between each other will require our acceptance of God’s love, coupled with a sacrifice of our natural selfish and fearful tendencies.

Micah 6:8
He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.

Have a great morning everyone ❤❤🙏🙏🙏