The Church :)

How often do we confuse the churches we attend with what Jesus meant by the “Church”?  When Jesus referred to the church, He was simply referring to all of those who Follow Him.  He was not actually referring to the Catholic Church, or the Lutheran Church or the Baptist Church…

He simply meant all of us!  All those who believe are included in Christ’s Church. And no matter what church we attend, the Bible is the ultimate source of authority in all things.

In Revelations, there are a number of letters written to the churches.  Each letter refers to the good done by that particular “church”, and it also refers to the failures of that particular “church”.

No man-made church does everything correctly.  Each earthly church is filled with people and each person that fills that church is less than perfect. Just as the Pastors and Priests who devote their lives to serving God, are also less than perfect.  We all are! Only Jesus is perfect 🙂

And so we must be patient, forgive and love one another. And understand that we are all trying.

So if you have been hurt by a “church”, let it go or find a new church, forgive them.  Whoever hurt you was as human as you are. And remember, if you can’t see past your hurt or anger, pray, read the Bible and Follow Christ.  No hurt is worth our Salvation.  We can’t let any one, nor anything keep us from our Lord.

If you disagree with something being taught in the church you attend, forgive.  If there are many things with which you feel the Bible disagrees, perhaps you need a different church 🙂

And remember, we are there to give as well as get.  We all enjoy the time which we spend fellowshipping with our friends as we grow in our faith.  But sometimes, attending church feels less than “fun”.  In which case, we need to ask ourselves, is God providing us with an opportunity to give- perhaps we need to focus on giving smiles and hugs, giving of our time and love, giving financially.  It all matters. ?

No matter where we are, we are a part of Christ’s Church simply because we believe.  And really, isn’t that what it is all about? ?