THE CHURCH
I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. Matthew 16:18

People who don't understand what the church really is, can take it or leave it. They treat it like it is some kind of social club. WRONG!

The church has been designated by the Lord as the Body of Christ. The church is not a building, it is a group of believers who are united to worship God, to study and grow in grace, and to carry out Christ's commands to share His message of redemption to any and all who will hear it. Romans 12:4-5 defines the church as follows: For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office: So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.'

Where the Gospel is believed and preached, there is the church. It is a body of believers who will be imperfect until the day it is raptured, ever to be with the Lord. CAUTION!!! Critics don't seem to realize it, when they criticise the church, they are criticising the Lord. They join in concert with satan, who always is an accuser of the brethren. And Rev. 12:10 tells us what happens to this attacker of the church, For the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before God day and night.'

O beloved, if we could see how Christ loves the church, and nurtures the church, and uses the church for His glory, we would cringe to hear anybody criticise it. And yet, the church becomes an object of scorn to critics who see fractured human beings in their roles, trying to serve Jesus Christ through His own body.--wade burton 4/6/08

Satan does a good job of blinding outsiders as to what goes on inside the church of Jesus Christ. And in the end, it's not the (number of) years of your life that counts, it's the life in your years... Abraham Lincoln

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