Accidental Christians: Just Being

Accidental Christians

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Just Being

We need to just stop and be in the moment. Our culture is so uncomfortable with silence.  Try to turn off your mind, listen to some soothing music and just sit in the presence of God.

Wait on God…in His presence….let Him wash over you.

Psalm 42

 ¹ As the deer pants for streams of water, 
   so my soul pants for you, my God. 
² My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. 
   When can I go and meet with God? 
³ My tears have been my food 
   day and night, 
while people say to me all day long, 
   “Where is your God?” 
⁴ These things I remember 
   as I pour out my soul: 
how I used to go to the house of God 
   under the protection of the Mighty One^[d] 
with shouts of joy and praise 
   among the festive throng.

 ⁵ Why, my soul, are you downcast? 
   Why so disturbed within me? 
Put your hope in God, 
   for I will yet praise him, 
   my Savior and my God.

 ⁶ My soul is downcast within me; 
   therefore I will remember you 
from the land of the Jordan, 
   the heights of Hermon—from Mount Mizar. 
⁷ Deep calls to deep 
   in the roar of your waterfalls; 
all your waves and breakers 
   have swept over me.

 ⁸ By day the LORD directs his love, 
   at night his song is with me— 
   a prayer to the God of my life.

 ⁹ I say to God my Rock, 
   “Why have you forgotten me? 
Why must I go about mourning, 
   oppressed by the enemy?” 
¹⁰ My bones suffer mortal agony 
   as my foes taunt me, 
saying to me all day long, 
   “Where is your God?”

 ¹¹ Why, my soul, are you downcast? 
   Why so disturbed within me? 
Put your hope in God, 
   for I will yet praise him, 
   my Savior and my God.

 As we sit silently, most would think, “aren’t we supposed to be doing something?” We would make the list of what needs to be done and bills that need to be paid. We need to practice quiet sitting in the silence. We are all busy, but we need to acknowledge the importance of just being rather than doing.

Insecurities, focused on us, self aware. We sometimes are so aware our us, we have a hard time listening to others and come off rude. We need to be mindfull. fully present and engaging with the people we talk to. We do not want to be stained by the world so sometimes we do not always engage. We cannot only engage in “Christian Stuff” We need to go out in the world and represent Jesus with a genuine love for others.

We need to be comfortable in our own skin. Don’t feel the pressure to not be the stereotype christian. Just be like Jesus.

Pastor gave us some background for the next point on the Samaritans. in (1 Kings 17)  Tells how the Samaritan people learned about God, but still worshipped their idols. Like trying to please two sides just to make everyone happy. This does not work. In Nehemiah he told the people that they may know God, but they are not on the same page as him. Samaritans and jews did not get a long and had a long history of that.

In John 4:4 Jesus sat alone at a Samaritan well and a asked a Samaritan woman for water, when that would be so unclean and wrong!  Jesus told her all about His living water and she spread that word. When His follows came back from town they were applauded! Jesus why are you waisting you time with this Samaritan who is not worth your time?! Jesus knew how to be a neighbor!

Who is your neighbor!?

Luke 10:25

The Parable of the Good Samaritan

 ²⁵ On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

  ²⁶ “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”

 ²⁷ He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’^[c]; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’^[d]”

   ²⁸ “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”

 ²⁹ But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

So who exactly is our neighbor?! The people who believe as we do? The people we get a long with? Or anyone in need? In Luke Jesus continued to answer who our neighbors are:

³⁰ In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. ³¹ A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. ³² So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. ³³ But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. ³⁴ He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. ³⁵ The next day he took out two denarii^[e] and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’

   ³⁶ “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”

 ³⁷ The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.” Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”

So after all this, God used a Samaritan who was supposed to be so unfit to show mercy and illustrate his Love.

What degree are we living this out?

We cannot expect the world to live up to Jesus’s standards when they don’t have the Spirit in their hear! We need to pray for them and show them mercy. BE real and genuine with them. We are meant to be set apart to soak in the presence of God, but also to then go out and show compassion while reaching out.  We do not want the world to think we are looking down at them, like they are being judged. Why would they want to know a Jesus with people like that?

Being & Doing

Press into God. Be filled so we can serve and be secure in the presence of God while we show His genuine love. Be in Him and the do like Him. The more we wait and love God the more opportunities will come to serve.