Are you living Truth?

How might a person remain "in fellowship" with the church and still shut themselves off from the truth?
This was a question from our Sunday School lesson this past week.  My answer to this questions is...
"A person can come to church every time the doors are open, but, unless they are reading the Word for themselves, applying the Word to their lives daily and developing a personal relationship with Jesus Christ,  they may be shutting themselves off from the Truth."
It is the personal encounter with Jesus Christ that causes a person to truly believe the Word.
I must admit here now that I do not seek to spend this daily time with Jesus.   Why?   I ask myself that recently and found this article by Charles Stanley.

Overcoming Self-Sufficiency 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 In many modern cultures, self-sufficiency is prized. People cheer over stories of the man who "pulled himself up by his boot straps." A lot of folks don't like to admit the need for help from other people or from the Lord, since a can-do attitude seems far more impressive. In a word, the problem is pride.
Adversity punches holes in pride. Paul reported that he had a lot of reasons to be arrogant—a good pedigree, education, religious fervor, etc. (Phil. 3:5-6). Even after his conversion, he had plenty of opportunity get a swelled head. God had specifically called him to carry the gospel to the Gentiles. But the Lord also gave him a "thorn in the flesh"—an obstacle so great that Paul required constant spiritual assistance to work through it. This was the pin that burst the apostle's pride balloon and then kept it so full of holes that it couldn't re-inflate.
God uses adversity in much the same way in our lives. We find ourselves in a situation that is beyond our capacity to handle. So we try to pull those bootstraps, but nothing happens. That is when God offers His sufficiency, His might, and His guidance. Those who submit to Him discover renewed strength, as His power dwells within them.
Self-sufficiency is no prize; it is a trap. That's why God's message is the opposite of the one that the world trumpets so loudly. Those who desire to conquer adversity must sacrifice self-reliance to depend upon Him. When we are weak, His Spirit makes us strong.

Pride?   Do I know better/more than GOD?  Why then do I so often live as though I do!  My answer is most often, laziness.  Yes, I am lazy!   It is so easy to come to church and listen to Bro. Rocky read and explain the Word to me.  Or to participate in a Bible study and let the author explain the Word to me.  Or to come to Sunday School and let the teacher explain the Word to me.  But these are all second-hand accounts of the Word.  God wants to speak DIRECTLY to me (& you)!   Some things he only wants me to hear, personal conversations are just that- PERSONAL!  
Well, God has gotten my attention.  I asked Him  now for forgiveness for being prideful and thinking that I know better than Him.   I do not!  It's times now to Stop and read the Word and then to sit still and listen to what GOD would say to me today.  Here I am LORD, ready to listen and obey.
Obey?........that's for another day!