Gather in Jesus' name

Not too long ago I had an older man ask me where I went to church. When I replied that I didn't go to a church building, he frowned at me and said I needed to get into church and get my life right. He then invited me to his church. 

I will admit, that it was disappointing for him to automatically assume that by me not going to a "church building" like he did, that I wasn't living my life right. He didn't know the relationship I have with God or allow me to explain what I meant before he disapproved.

When I was younger I went to a church building every Sunday and in recent years, I have visited a few church buildings. What the man didn't allow me to explain is that the modern definition of church emphasizes the organization, the building, and large group worship. The biblical definition of church is the body of Christ. Wherever two or more, gather in Jesus’ name, that is the church.

God and I have conversations all throughout the day. Most times I talk, but here lately I have been listening. I have conversations about God and His word, with friends, family and sometimes strangers. I take God's word scripture by scripture and try and figure out how to apply it to my life and put it to action. I ask God every day to show me things that I wouldn't normally see and to guide my steps.

For awhile, I worried what people thought of me because I didn't go to a church building. Then I realized that as long as God knows my heart and knows that I meet with Him every day, that is all that matters. Going to a church building is great! But what really counts is us allowing God to be in our everyday lives and us meeting with Him daily. Not us just acknowledging Him on Sunday, Wednesday or Thursday. But us allowing Him to be a part of our daily lives and allowing Him to work through us.

How other people view you isn't as important as how God views you. So many times I have seen people hide who they are and what they do from their parents, family and church family, for fear of letting them down or hurting them. But the most important thing that they forget is that God sees all and His opinion trumps all others. He knows every single breath we take. And most important of all, He knows the intentions of our heart.

"For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them." - Matthew 18:20

And well, I just like talking to everybody! :)