Pentecostals of Saraland

Deuteronomy 10:19 "You shall love the stranger, for you were once strangers in the land of Egypt"



Leviticus 19:34 "The alien who resides with you shall be to you as the citizen among you; you shall love the alien as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God"



Hebrews 13:2 "Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares"



Looks, social staus, money, etc should not matter but it is what is in ones heart and remember once moses wore the cloth of a slave he then lead his people out of bonage. Be considerate in that some people might actually be in a situation due to bad circumstances and once a person takes 5 minutes to listen to somebody they might find out that their initial thoughts were absolutely wrong and knee jerking to such thoughts is unbecoming of a "christian" and they might have offended or brought harm to an other wise decent person reaching out for help. Offering somebody something later out of guilt is an attempt imho to self redeem ones self because they were proven wrong and is not truly from the heart and that is also unbecoming of a "christian". The world is a complex place and christians need to try to deal with it and not react to a simplistic mindset. A church is supposed to be warm and welcoming like that of as a beacon and if it is not because of whatever reason which includes the afformentioned reasons or because they feel "interupted" then that church has failed to do gods work thus is not worthy imho of trusting or attending. Unfortunately too many churches repel people instead of attracting them and this plays a small part in why our society has become antichristian and many people have testified that yes, this one reason they do not attend church. Many people feel they are with god when indeed they may not be ie mathew 22:14 because a church is no more than a proverbial club and their "christian" ideals did not come from seeking the lord out on their own and through the spirit but instead a culture that was just instilled in them thus except that they might sit in a pew on sunday and quote scriptures they lack true spirituality and open eyes. With the upcoming birthday of Jesus Christ these are things that should be remembered and taken to heart. Yes people should think in realistic terms, BUT when a "stranger" shows no real sign of being a threat by presenting themselves in a friendly manner, introduces who they are, AND gives reference to a pastor who refered them then it becomes nothing more that kneejerking that come from a pre judgemental mindset and that is unbecoming of somebody who is supposed to be an ambassador of the lord. Just a little food for thought and have a blessed christmas.