Steve, (in greek your name means Cross - Stavros)
This is the last evening I'm posting outside of the scripture study until the fast is over, so I promise not to bite until then.
I had a Baptist friend who I worked with a few years ago. He came down with ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease). It attacks the nerves and over the course of a year or so, it renders them useless. A person slowly looses control of his muscles, his speech, and eventually he cannot breath anymore. The only thing not effected is eyesight and the mind.
I desperatley tried to get him into the Church while he was still able. We often had long, heartfelt conversations. He came to visit our church but ultimatley would not change a thing.
I tell you this story because he would often reflect that on the side of his church their were three crosses. One the Lord's, and one of the other two belonged to the theif who simply showed faith, and entered with Christ into paradise.
By this, my friend Bob believed by faith alone he was saved and that there was no need for the Church. I know you did not mean this, but it struck a chord.
I tell you this now because this story also demonstrates why we need the Church. As I often explained to my friend Bob, the theif was indeed with Christ in paradise because as the Church teaches, Christ entered Hades for three days, and wherever Christ is, that is paradise. So perhaps the theif heard Christ preaching in Hades, which is what He did, and was saved. But perhaps not. The only thing I know is that my friend Bob was misled and was without baptism.
So Steve, don't procrastinate. Passions stick to our beings like a shell sticks to a turtles body. They compose a second nature, an evil nature. To tansform the evil nature is not a light undertaking as the ancient Greeks used to say.
Didn't one other ask a small delay of the Lord? In Matthew 8:21 the disciple said he needed to bury his dead father: "Lord, let me first go and bury my father." But the Lord said to him, 'Follow Me, and let the dead bury their own dead.' This may seem callous after all, what more noble casuse is there than to bury your own father!!! St. John Chrysostom says about this that it was by this prohibition that the Lord wanted to teach everyone vividly that "there is no thing under heaven more nessesary" than to eagerly hurry and submit ourselves to Christ and to not postpone for one instant.
And as it was with the disciples, "they immediatley left everything and followed Christ".