Speaking of Jesus, the Apostle Peter told a group of religious leaders, "There is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved" - Acts 4:12 (New Living Translation).

When my wife, Darla, and I were attending Bible College we used to drive 200 miles round trip from Grayson, Kentucky to a little town in Ohio to preach and serve in a little Church there. The trip took 2 hours one way, since there were no major highways that went there. We drove through all kinds of weather in our little car that barely kept us warm in the winter and had no air conditioning in the summer. We even went when it was snowing or icy despite the fact that we had to drive over a mountain range to get there.

It never occurred to us not to go. Every week, we got up about 5 a.m. and left at 6 a.m. to go. We reasoned that Jesus died for us and it was the least we could do for him. After all, he told us to deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow him or we couldn't be his disciples.

So, as I say, it never once occurred to us not to go - or to skip church, or make excuses about why we couldn't make it. Rain or shine, we went. In blistering heat or icy cold, we went. We never, ever missed church. It just didn't happen - unless we were deathly ill and about to die.

Everything in our life took second place to church. We never scheduled a party during church time, or stayed home from church because we had company over, or slept in on Sunday morning because we were tired. And Sunday was our only day off from classes or the jobs or homework we had. But we still went - no matter what.

We couldn't imagine it any other way. Christ came first - always. Worshipping God came first - always. There wasn't a choice to make in our minds, nor was it even a consideration to NOT go. We went, period. In fact, as I said, it never OCCURRED to us not to go. Such a thought never entered our minds. Church had priority, period. Everything and everyone else took a back seat. If we had errands to run, we ran them before or after church. If we had company, we brought them to church. If they didn't want to go, we left them sitting at our house or wherever and went to church. Everyone in our life knew that was our priority and we never considered doing it any other way. After all, Jesus died for us and it was the least we could do. And besides this, God commanded us not to forsake assembling with other believers (Hebrews 10:25).

So, as I look at many "Christians" today, I am frustrated, angered and bewildered at their attitude about church. They come and go and hit and miss. They come once a month or every other month or whenever they feel like it. Everything and everyone has priority over church. If they have a party, they skip church. If they are tired, they sleep in and skip church (they'd never sleep in and skip WORK, but they will skip church). If they have company over, they skip church. If someone asks them to babysit their kids on Sunday, they skip church. If they have somewhere else they'd rather be, like some community event or get-together with friends, they skip church. They go to the beach or camp every weekend during the summer and skip church.

I stand amazed. I don't understand it. I've never seen such apathy toward Christ and disrespect for his house and disdain for his people as I see in American "Christians" today. Worshipping Jesus and serving in a ministry and being fed the Word of God and giving tithes are the lowest things on their priority list. All they want to do is seek pleasure and indulge themselves in whatever they feel like. And all the while telling themselves that they love God and are Christians.

I'm sorry, may I please stop a moment to wretch and vomit. I can hardly stomach such lukewarmness anymore. It is nauseating and sickening. There are many "Christians" that are going to get the shock of their lives on Judgment Day when Jesus says to them, "Depart from me, I never knew you."

Are you one of these?