Being like Jesus

I was thinking for a bit tonight as the crowds massed to the house and caused quite a rucus. I started thinking back to the Gospel accounts and how they portrayed Jesus. Such love for the sinners amazes me. I think about how I was taught never to hang with the wrong crowd and how Jesus ate with the tax collectors and other hated people of His day. I am not saying do not make Christian friends, that should be a must. As far as Christian friends are concerned, it is always good to invest in wholesome friends for the wholesome influence. But we also have the people we say we were friends with and quite honestly imply that we love although we do not use the word love all the time. Of course our love for people expands beyond what we consider a healthy boundary for love and moves to a broad view of love and grace. Do not be the kind of guy who keeps expecting the Christian principals from a non-Christian, that just doesn't make sense. Instead, expect from people what they have been taught and teach them the truth when they do not know better. I say all that to say the simple words be a reflection of Jesus to someone. In matthew we are told to be perfect as the Father is perfect. This means that we are to continually strive to this end. Be someone's hope if they do not have hope.

Church Splits

If there is one thing I don't understand in the Wesleyan church is the continual wants for dividing a church. I live in NC this summer, so I definitely see how splitting churches here is not smart. If you were to ride through NC looking at Wesleyan Churches, you may be suprised that there is two or maybe even three in the same area. If you look back a little in my blog, you may see the entry Unity, Not Strife. I look at some places and see the opportunity for great ministries to see day, but our clouds block out any rays of light. We should deeply consider merging churches. Would it not be more feasible for financial and volunteering purposes. Let's consider 1 church which gets $500 and has 20 people attending. Of those people only 5 volunteer, not including the pastor. They want to start a new outreach mininstry but need at least 10 people considering their community size and $1000 dollars. A Church of the same denomination is located not far away and is recieving $700 dollars and has 30 members. They want to do something that would cost $200 and requires 10 volunteers, and they have 18 that volunteers. It only seems to make sense that we merge these two churches and fulfill the ministry that God has laid on us. Think on the book of Acts. The Church only had one Church every city that they had a Church, if they were blessed with having a church at all. With combined efforts, the Christians of the community were able to evangelize effectively.
Let's think about that some more. Combine and double your chances of starting ministry opportunities effectively. Sounds to me like we have some work to. I do understand that some churches are in the same town for viable reasons. We should be searching our hearts as to why there is a church in the same city which shares our denominational beliefs. Think twice before saying no to a proposition such as this.

The Gates of Hell and the End times

If there is one thing that has bothered me, it has been the Christians who spend amazing amounts of time on eschatology and have made a definition of their faith. To start off, we must remember that God is the object of our faith. He is the pursuit. Another thing is how many people look at the idea of bringing down the gates of Hell and still take the lives of others and turn it into a hell.
Eschatology is not a bad thing to study, as a matter of fact, it is quite interesting. However, I do not see how it is a defining factor of our faith. There are different parts of Christianity that say different things about Christianity, most of which are defendable in scriptures. The thing that cooks my goose a little too much is the parts of Christianity that will make some form of a something-millenial view and state that there wishes are the Way, the Truth, and the Life. I do not think that this is any way to think at all. Wesleyans maitain a little openness about how it all will end. What we do state in an absolute manner is that God will win and will judge the quick and the dead. This is something I truely believe in.
I also am somewhat ticked at those holy rollers who speak adamently and sometimes loudly about how they will bring down the Gates of Hell. What I do not understand is how they intend to bring down these gates without bringing down these gates in other people's lives. It seems to be a mix of a theology that believes both that we do not need to minister to those outside of the body and that we must worry about the spiritual realm and disregard the physical realm. The first idea is completely contradictory to the Great Comission found in Matthew 28. And if we are followers of Christ, it is only logical that we follow in our copying His attitude and actions. The other mindset is close to separating the spiritual from the physical. This makes absolutely now sense if we are to be judged. It would also make the Great Sacrifice pointless because the physical action could not carry over to the spiritual realm.
If the things I say are true, then we must bring down the Gates of Hell now through thought and deed. I am confident that I am right. The whole Christian mindset supports this. If not, someone try and correct me.