Well, let me put it in a way you may understand. Have you ever been to church? Well I just finished up my day attending iglesia, church in Spanish, at a very small building in the city of Palenque, Mexico. It was such a wonderful experience and it was an awesome climax to the week before. In this blog I want to tell you about what the church really is and what church is like in a small town in Mexico.
    What do you think of when you hear the word church? Chances are that you think about one or more of the following things:
        1.    A building of any size, maybe white or maybe not and maybe with a cross or maybe with a steeple.
        2.    A place where people meet on Sundays, maybe you go but then again maybe you don’t.
        3.    Somewhere that you have to show up looking your best, which probably means an outfit that’s a little to uncomfortable.
        4.    A place where once you step in the door all your arguments in the car on the way there, or all the problems and sufferings in your life seem to get hidden beneath your fake smile that says everything is alright and fine in your life.

        5.    A place you go to see your friends and gossip about your neighbors.
 

    As Ephesians 5:14 puts it, “…Awake O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” Whatever you need to do, slap yourself a few times, take a cold shower, or stick your head out the window on the highway, you need to wake up and grab hold of what church really means.
    The real church is the body of Christ. The real church is the people who believe, the people who care, and the people who strive to create heaven on earth, heal the sick and suffering, seek to save the lost, destroy the works of the devil, and pray for, encourage, and lift one another up.  The Church has nothing to do with a building. Church is none of the five things I listed above. When God sees his creation taking part in church, he sees passionate people coming together being real, honest, and broken with one another. He sees his people fired up about making a difference in this world for His glory.

    The Bible talks a lot about the real church. Christ is the head of the church; therefore, the church shall submit to Christ. The church shall pray and listen to the Lord for guidance, strength, and salvation. The very first signs of the church are revealed in Acts chapter two. It states that the believers devoted themselves to the teachings and fellowship. They devoted themselves to prayer and the breaking of bread. And they were selling their belongings and possessions while giving to those in need.  Now you can see the church unfolding.
 

    In 1st Corinthians, Paul writes to the people that when they come together, they must let all things done be for building up each other.  Lastly, the Bible paints the perfect picture in Hebrews of the true meaning of the church and body of Christ.

   
        “And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the day drawing near.”

                                                                     Hebrews 10:24-25

 
Awake O sleeper and get plugged in to a real church…ask the Lord and he will provide you with one!