March 18, 2026

One of the toughest decisions Christians make is to truly follow Jesus. Making friends with those outside the faith, especially non-believers, is still suspect in many churches. Programs like Celebrate Recovery, which offers hope for people dealing with addictions, can actually cause splits in churches. We should not have to apologize when we go to dinner with the tax collector.

The variety of personalities in the church is God’s way of providing someone every searcher can relate to. When someone comes to the church, finally surrendering, finally admitting they cannot do life on their own, they come with baggage: the negative things they have heard about churches being cliquish, hypocritical or standoffish. They’re watching and waiting for us to fulfill every rumor. And when they come in through a church program dealing with homelessness or addictions, they can be suspicious. If we get involved in those outreach endeavors, we have to be empathetic, loving and thick-skinned. Some in the church do not want to get involved. They don’t want their church involved. Many fear there could be theft, bad influence on young people or negative behaviors that put the church’s safe status at risk. Others realize outreach to the lost is the main reason we follow Jesus.

God, we come to You today, determined to do Your will. The world has lost and hurting souls, broken families and far too many people who are trapped in misery and a loss of hope. Jesus is the Hope of the World. We pray for hearts that feel other’s pain, ears that hear the cries of those addicted to drugs or alcohol, the mercy we have learned from Jesus and the kind of grace we received from You. Let us always reach out to touch others and tell them about Your love and the sacrifice Jesus made on the cross. Thank you for teaching us to love others

“If you forgive the failures of others, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.” Matthew 6:14 GW