There’s a story of a man who was at a funeral and the message the preacher gave moved him into action.  The pastor spoke about taking advantage of the time you have with your family members, and to reconcile relationships while we still have the opportunity to have those relationships.  So, this man, who was in his 60′s at the time, realized that God was speaking to him.

This man left the funeral and went to his ailing father, a father who was in hospice care and could not speak.  He walked into the room where his father lie in that bed, tubes attached to his face.  The son bent over the bed and began to speak with his father.  While talking to his father, the son forgave his dad of abuse and their broken relationships.  The son took his father’s hand. The son also shared his love for his dad and how he was sorry for not loving his dad more.  Finally, the son shared the love of Jesus with his father.  The son shared how he had a relationship with Jesus Christ and how this Jesus also wanted a relationship with this father.  Though the father couldn’t speak, he did hear.

The son felt relieved, felt renewed as a son and felt closer to his father than he had in decades.

A few hours later, the son’s father passed into eternity.  He was able to say the things he knew he needed to say for years, just in the nick of time. The son thanked his Heavenly Father that he had that opportunity with his earthly father while he was still alive.

James says in the fourth chapter of the book of James, in verse 14, “Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.”  Though this verse is speaking about work, the principle still holds true here.  We aren’t guaranteed tomorrow.  Yet, there are relationships in our lives that we say, “one day I’ll forgive them” or “I’m just waiting for them to apologize first.”  Relationships matter to God.  We are to show our love of God and Jesus by the way we love our brothers and sisters in Christ. Christians are called to forgive as Jesus forgave, love as Jesus loved.

Reconciliation involves forgiving the person we need to forgive, confessing the things we did wrong and loving that person again.  We don’t honor God when we don’t reconcile relationships with other Christians.

Are you waiting to reconcile with someone?  What if you wait too long and they die and you never had the chance to reconcile with them?  Let’s spare ourselves the regret, let’s be obedient to God, and go reconcile with that person today…before time runs out.  We won’t regret it.

My wife and I love to spend time together, but sometimes I get lost in Angry Birds, fantasy football or emails.  When we have time to spend together, the last thing she wants is for that time to be divided or for my heart to be somewhere else when I’m supposed to be focusing on her.  My wife loves when I spend time with her, and focus on her.  If that’s how my wife feels, then my Savior and God would want more than that, right?

When was the last time we just took some time…five, ten, or fifteen minutes…to sit and be quiet?  No noise, no music, no TV, no phone, ear buds, no ipod, ipad, iphone, ichat, and all the other gadgets that vie for our time and attention.  Let’s try it.  Just you and the creator of the universe.  All I need to do is sit and be with him, my God and say, “God, here I am.  Please help me know that you are here with me.”  Then sit and relax.

How does it feel?  What does our heart say?  Are we comfortable or uncomfortable?  What are we thinking about?  Do we feel anxious or at peace?  Have we looked at the clock?

I think in those times of solitude we are able to see what is going on in our lives and what is keeping us from truly basking in our relationship with the Lord.  When all we can think about are things, struggles, hurts, or our to do list I think it shows us where our focus is.  We should drop the burdens, the anxieties, the pain.  Our minds should go to the things that are right, noble, right, pure, and lovely (Phil. 4:8) and about how blessed we are to have all we need to live this life with God (2Peter 1:3).  Ultimately, when we sit back and rest in Him, are we thankful?  If not, as Christ-followers, we’re probably not where we need to be in our relationship with our Savior.

He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.”

~Psalm 46:10

Yeah, it’s a long one.  But, this topic has been a huge topic in my life and I know the life of many others.  Just keep reading.

Shame is a natural feeling all of us feel at some point, but some are often to afraid or skewed to share about it or realize it. It’s an extreme feeling we have when something goes wrong in our lives.  Shame is defined as “A painful feeling of humiliation or distress caused by the consciousness of wrong or foolish behavior.”  It’s a feeling of intense humiliation or distress caused by something we did.    It’s like an infection, if left untreated it grows, spreads and destroys.  Shame can be  such an ugly thing.

It comes from our skewed understanding of what sin and justice is all about.  Often times, when I sin I get in this mood where I deeply regret my sin and realize that it was an offense against God, preferring something else over him.  That’s a proper view.   But then, I wallow in self pity and self condemnation thinking about how terrible what I did was and how no one would love me if they really knew what went on in my heart on a regular basis.  I think that I’ve got to feel this way because of the severity of what I did.  I feel as though that sin points at me and says, “What a hypocrite!  That is such a terrible thing you did.”  Then I feel that shame even more intensely.  I should just walk around with the scarlet letter of the sin I committed on my chest!  Lust, greed, idolatry, gossip, lying, bitterness, rage, divorce, a DUI, a felony…whatever it is should be branded to my forehead and this sin defines me.

I don’t know about anyone else, but when I feel that way I hide.  I don’t want to be known.  I don’t want anyone to know me or what I’ve done.  Partly because I don’t think anyone would love me if they knew what I did, you know, because I’m the only person who has actually sinned and done this.  But then, to help us feel this shame, Christians do such a good job at perpetuating this shame in our lives.  We stare at each other, we point at each other, we “pray” for each other (though no prayer actually takes place, it’s just a chance to gossip about what people have done and how evil they are), we berate them and treat them as though they do have a scarlet letter on their chest.  It’s quite sad actually.  Though God through Jesus forgave the worst of the worst, it’s seems to be our job in the church to make sure people don’t forget that they are defined by their sin.

Shame keeps us hidden, in bondage to that thing we are so shameful or guilty about.  It keeps us out of relationship with others and out of relationship with God.  Shame keeps us from believing what is true for Christians.  Shame is unbelief.  It keeps us from experiencing the life that God has intended us to live.  It keeps us from experiencing true relationship with others, true relationship with God and truly experiencing who we are.  For those who struggle with guilt and shame, we are but a shell of the people we want to be and who God intended us to be.  We want to be free from this feeling, but there is an internal voice that tells us that it is not OK to forget about this thing you did!  You are that sin!  I am my addiction!

OK, I’ve beat the dead horse.  Shame sucks.  So, there’s this song by Matt Redman and I cannot get enough of it.  It’s called “You Alone Can Rescue,” and it is just pure gold.  There’s a line in it about shame. It says, ”Our shame was deeper than the sea/your grace is deeper still.”  Our shame is so deep, so dark and so hidden.  BUT, and this a huge but, as a Christian, God’s grace went down into the recesses of our soul and rescued us from that feeling of shame.  That’s what has been missing in my discussion so far.  GOD’S GRACE!!!  Here’s the chorus…”You alone can rescue/you alone can save/you alone can lift us from the grave/you came down to find us/led us out of death/to you alone belongs the highest praise.”

God is the one who can rescue us from this crippling shame.  He sent His Son to die on a cross and PAY for our sin.  He saved us from the wages of sin, but also saved us so that we could live the full life He intended us to live!  So, when we place our faith and trust in His Son Jesus, who rose from the dead on the third day, ascended to Heaven and promised to return again for those who follow Him, we are forgiven of our sins…past, present and future.  The payment was paid.  It’s by GRACE we’ve been SAVED through FAITH!  (I’m pumping my fists in the air and getting chills all over my body as I write these words as I sit in this coffee shop…no doubt more conspicuously now…but who cares!  This is the greatest news ever!  Although my neighbors here are not as excited about this news.)

You see, the beautiful thing about this is that Jesus knows what we did and he loves us in spite of it.  He longs to have a relationship with me and hates to see me defeated by sin and shame.  So, when I sin I should feel conviction of sin (that feeling of wrongdoing informed by the knowledge that it is an offense to God) because it is necessary to the life of a Christian.  But, shame is not.  Though our sin has been forgiven, when we sin we effect our current fellowship with God.  So, when we sin our response must be to confess our sins and he will cleanse us of our guilt and shame (1 John 1:9).  We are then able (by faith) to believe the truths of God’s word that there’s no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1), that we are a new creation in Christ Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:17) and that we are free (Galatians 5:1, 6).  If we let our sin define us, we deny the work of God in our lives.  We are sinners saved by grace in the face of the Cross, but in the face of the resurrection we are saints.

The bridge of that song also gets me every time, “We lift up our eyes/We lift up our eyes/your the giver of life.”  He is the giver of life.  He wants us to live free, powerful and changed lives.  This only comes through God and His Son whom He sent.  We don’t need to hide.  Let’s not look at our sin and the evil that we’ve done.  Instead, let’s look at the one who alone can save us from our sin and fix our eyes on Him alone.

Gosh, it’s funny how I get rocked by God when I don’t see it coming.  I guess that’s what causes me to get rocked, you know, not seeing it coming.  How it happened this time was when I read this devotional plan about being a parent that I’m reading through at the moment.  So, I’m reading this and essentially it states that the best thing we can do for our children, the best way to love them, is to get away and spend time with God.  In Christianese it’s called a “quiet time.”  I know, I know, it’s not an earth shattering concept.  It’s actually something I’ve spoken on many times before.  But, what really struck me though was the heart attitude behind it.

Jesus was a pretty amazing dude.  Anyone who can be described as, he got no sin (my words, not theirs), is probably pretty awesome.  And not just the perfection thing, but there was also the fact that he cared about people…like, genuinely loved everyone.  That’s pretty sick as well.  Then add to the mix that he had all the right answers & stumped the smartest/wisest/righteous (I use all those terms loosely) religious leaders of his day.  And on top of that He changed people’s lives…no, he didn’t just change lives…he revolutionized people’s lives.  That’s awesome.  That’s making a difference and leaving a legacy that outlives you.  That’s something I want to do with my life.  Leave a legacy. Make a difference.

Well, the reason I share about that is because of a verse (and several others that are like it).  Luke chapter 5, verses 15-16 say this, “ Yet the news about him spread all the more, so that crowds of people came to hear him and to be healed of their sicknesses. But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.”  Do you see what I’m saying?  Jesus, this dude that everyone wanted to be around, everyone wanted something from, had to get away.  He had to be with God.  He needed some God time to recharge his spiritual battery.  And this was the Son of God!  The legacy, the difference, the revolutionized lives came from the outflow of Jesus’ heart for His Father.

So, I’m sitting here thinking about loving my children in being the best father I can be and this devotion is making the statement that to truly love my kids, I’ve got to love my God.  Why?   Well, he is the very definition of love.  Love comes from him alone.  So, for me to truly have the power to love my kids I’ve got to plug into the one we get love from so that he can supply me with the proper love to love my kids with.

But then, I’m thinking about how this actually applies to every area of my life.  See, God’s not just love but he is power he’s the creator of everything.  So, he can supply me with anything I need in my life that will honor and glorify him.  Do I want to be the best pastor I can be?  Well, I’ve got to get away and spend time with my God so that he can supply me with the humility and compassion to love others as more important than myself (Phil 2:3-4). Do I want to be the best accountant I can be?  Well, I need to seek my God so that he can supply me with the passion I need to worship him by being the best steward of the gifts and talents he’s given me.  Want to be the best Baseball player?  Well, seek God first and rest in his strength to help you be the best player you can be.

You see, I’m struck by the wickedness of my heart.  Ultimately, I think, “I got this.”  I don’t need help.  When I’m tired and want nothing to do with people, I think “Get away from me!  I need some me time!”  But, as Jesus, the very Son of God showed, even when things are going good and we have crazy influence, we need God.  We need to bask in his presence.  We need God time.  My heart should scream that I need God for everything.

Have you got away recently to just spend time with God?  Well, maybe the things in your life are suffering because you are trying to do them without the power that can only come from God.  Give it a shot.  Go get some God time.  It’s humbling.

So, I’ve realized something.  I’m not that witty.  Probably not a shock to those who know me well, but I guess I thought I could be witty.  Yeah, not so much.  So, my Wappenshaw Wednesday posts, I’ll be stopping.  The Spirit within me isn’t at peace with them, I feel that they aren’t being true to my heart for those who follow me, and they aren’t a good indication of who I am.

I’m more of a stream of consciousness guy.  More of a verbal processor.  So, I’m going to stop trying to be cute.  I’m going to spend a specific amount of time each Wednesday, and for now just call it “humbled on Wednesday.”  I wish I could say that my life was defined by my humility, but that’s just not true.  But, God’s been showing me a lot lately that my life needs to be defined by humility and He’s been opening my eyes to all the things in my life that I should be completely humbled by.  So, I thought that it’d be good for me to document some of the highlights of how God’s humbling me in my life for me to look at and go back to and possibly help someone who might need to hear about the same thing that God’s showing me.

As I mentioned above, I’m not a very witty person.  I’m also not a great writer.  I’m a work in progress. I’m learning to be a better pastor, a better husband, a better father, and a more devoted Christ-follower.  So, that’s what this restart is all about.

That’s what I’m humbled by today.  I was trying to be too cute with my posts, thinking “I hope people read this and think it’s great.”  But, I’m not here to be known. Ultimately I’m here to know Him and make Him known.  My blog shouldn’t be about my name, my recognition.  It should, and hopefully will be about my great God.

Confidence is defined as full trust.  Full trust.

There’s a verse that stands out to me when I read that.  It comes from the book of 1John, chapter five, verse fourteen.  It says, “And this is the confidence which we have before Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.”  Ultimately, I fully trust in God hearing my prayers if they are consistent with his will.  Sounds simple, but is it really?

We see athletes with what we call swagger, and we think about how confident they are in their abilities or their team.  Yes, the swagger is often cocky and arrogant, but we notice it and we often believe in what they are saying.  And these athletes believe in something that is finite and limited.

As Christians today, I don’t think we have a true confidence in God like these athletes have in themselves, let alone a confidence that resembles those mentioned in the Bible (Elijah, David, Jesus, Stephen, Paul, etc.).  And how much greater is our God than we are?  When we pray do we really pray bold prayers because we know God’s word and we know that those prayers would honor God?  I know I don’t all the time because I get concerned with my agenda and lose sight of God’s.  The prayers we pray aren’t about us, they are about God answering those things that are in line with His will and are going to give Him glory.

Praying is about fully trusting God.  When we come to Him and ask Him for things, knowing that they are in agreement with the Bible, then we should walk with a spiritual confidence, almost a swagger, in what we prayed.  The confidence isn’t in us…it’s in our gracious and compassionate God.  We can trust Him…fully.

I love rap music.  For many people, especially in my family & church, rap is almost viewed as a sin.  That’s crazy.  But who cares, I love it and they don’t have to.  One of my favorite things over the past few years has been the increased talent in a world that used to be considered an oxymoron.  Christian rap.  With the emergence of the 116 clique and Lecrae leading the way, I feel that Christian rap has the talent and beats that make it an awesome substitue for songs that tend to take my mind and heart off of my Lord and Savior.  C’mon, we know that many of the songs on the radio are often contrary to what we read in Scripture.

One of my favorite Christian rap songs is “Make War” by Tedashii.  I’d like to think that if I was a Christian rapper (honestly, I really would love to be a Christian rapper, and often I think I am one.  Don’t believe me?  Ask my wife, she makes fun of me all the time) I would be very similar to Tedashii.  He’s a big dude, so there’s that, but he’s also intense and he brings the heat (for a couple of you, just know that I’m working on the intensity).  But the words of “Make War” make it so convicting and inspiring to me.  Here’s the hook:

I make war! /Cause sin never sleeps
It’s got me in a trance/You can see it in my dreams
I make war!/Man i beat my flesh
To the death/Every breath /Like i beat my chest
I make war /Sun up
I make war /Sun down
I make war /Time in
I make war /Time out
I make war /Against lust
Against pride/Against me/Until i die

Fighting the flesh and the living for Christ is the point of the song.  Our sinful flesh is the thing that so easily leads us away from God and his Word and into screwing up again.  So, we need to make war with it.  We need to kill our selfish desires, our finite minds and our propensity for evil.  We need to think things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent and praiseworthy (Philippians 4:8).  We need to put on Jesus like Romans 13:14 puts so well, “Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh.”

Let’s make war.

Are we making excuses not to be ready!?

In the 2007 NFL draft there was a guy named JaMarcus Russell who was drafted number one overall.   He was a freak!!!  Six foot six, 265 pounds, 4.83 40, and an absolute cannon for an arm.  He excelled in college at LSU and everyone thought this guy was going to be ridiculous.  Now, some consider him the biggest bust in NFL history. He was underachieving, undisciplined, and unprepared.  I’ve heard several people say that JaMarcus was one of the last ones to work and one of the first to leave.  In my mind, he was relying on his natural talent and thought that would get him by.  If you look at the great QBs in the NFL at the moment, they all are known around the league as guys who get up early, study hard and plan for their games.  They are the hardest workers on their respective teams. They are prepared, not just relying on their natural talents.

I’ve done similar things, spiritually speaking, as JaMarcus.  As a Christian, I tend to rely on my talents thinking about how gifted I may be.  We are all gifted, but often we skate by on natural talents and don’t prepare for the spiritual battle that we are in.  We do enough to get by, but we don’t have the heart that if we don’t prepare we will fail (John 15:5).  The preparation I’m speaking of is our time with God, specifically prayer and knowing God’s Word.  Jesus was notorious for spending time with God in prayer and we know he knew the Word of God, and it was something He committed to (Matthew 26:36; Mark 1:35; Luke 5:16).  So what’s our excuse for not “preparing” for this spiritual battle?

We’ve had a lot going on in our lives lately and I’ve been making every excuse not to get up and spend time with the Lord (I know it’s cliche, but I’m talking about reading my Bible, prayer and journaling).  Because I was so tired I told myself that I needed to get some more sleep rather than wake up and get my day started with my God. Sleep was more important than meeting over a cup of coffee with my Lord and Savior.  Z’s were more powerful than the power that comes from being on my knees.  I didn’t realize what I was really doing, and what I was truly saying about what I believed about God.  Geez.  I got problems.

As a result of this spiritual epiphany, I made a commitment to get up everyday at 6 am (the house is quiet, the coffee tastes better and it’s the beginning of the day).  I’ve gotta say that it’s been hard to get up every day especially since I’m used to going to bed between Midnight-1.  And since I’m not in college any more running on 5 hours of sleep has been difficult.  I’m not complaining about my sleep, I’m actually excited because I’ve always said that I need need ___ amount of sleep to really function (usually 7-8).  Maybe that is true for others, but for me the real functioning power comes from the power God supplies to me through His Spirit.  When I receive His power through my time with Him, I feel prepared for the day, for ministry, for the battles that may come that day.

I also realized that I really missed my time with my Lord.  That time in the morning, with my eyes half open and my mind telling me to go back to bed has been so rich.  Before this particular spiritual epiphany I did just enough in my alone time with God to say that I did it, to check it off of the list, to go through the motions.  Now, after being broken because of my heart attitude toward time with Him, my time with God is precious, sustaining and deeply rich.

If we want to be prepared for this spiritual battle we are in with an enemy who wants us dead, then there are a few things that we must do on our end.  If we want to know what to pray, we’ve got to know what His Word says.  If we want to know what His Word says we’ve got to pray for Him to illuminate our minds and hearts to receive it.  This is necessary for our spiritual growth.  We’ve got to be prepared.  I want to be used in ministry, for the rest of my life, and I don’t want to be a spiritual JaMarcus Russell, already out of the game.

Our pastor, Mike Lee, referenced this poem in his message a couple weeks ago.  I thought I would post it since it’s so good.  Enjoy.

A Tandem Ride With God

I used to think of God as my observer, my judge, keeping track of the things I did wrong, so as to know whether I merited heaven or hell when I die. He was out there, sort of like a president. I recognized His picture when I saw it, but I didn’t really know Him.

But later on, when I met Jesus, it seemed as though life was rather like a bike, but it was a tandem bike, and I noticed that Jesus was in the back helping me pedal. I didn’t know just when it was He suggested we change, but life has not been the same since I took the back-seat to Jesus, my Lord. He makes life exciting. When I had control, I thought I knew the way. It was rather boring, but predictable. It was the shortest distance between two points.

But when He took the lead, He knew delightful long cuts, up mountains, and through rocky places and at break-through speeds; it was all I could do to hang on! Even though it often looked like madness, He said, “Pedal!” I was worried and anxious and asked, “Where are you taking me?” He laughed and didn’t answer and I started to learn to trust. I forgot my boring life and entered into adventure. And when I’d say, “I’m scared”, He’d lean back and touch my hand.

He took me to people with gifts that I needed, gifts of healing, acceptance and joy. They gave me their gifts to take on my journey, our journey, my Lord’s and mine. And we were off again. He said, “Give the gifts away; they’re extra baggage, too much weight.” So I did, to the people we met, and I found in giving I received, and still our burden was light.

I did not trust Him, at first, in control of my life. I thought He’d wreck it, but He knows bike secrets, knows how to make it bend to take sharp corners, jump to clear high rocks, fly to shorten scary passages. And I am learning to shut up and pedal in the strangest places, and I’m beginning to enjoy the view and the cool breeze on my face with my delightful constant companion, Jesus.

And when I’m sure I just can’t do any more, He just smiles and says… “Pedal.”

(Author unknown)

It’s Wednesday, and it’s that time to check the troops for the battle we are in.  It’s time for the Wappenshaw!

So, I woke up this morning feeling like I’ve been spiritually woodsheded (throwing that out there for you Byron).  But seriously, I was feeling a bit defeated and emotionally drained. For a few moments there I wanted to veg out and not be a dad, not be a husband, not be a pastor and not be a Christ-follower.  I thought about what this world has to offer me, all of the enticing things out there.  Those people look like they are having so much fun!  Sometimes life is hard, and maybe it would be easier without the responsibilities, difficulties, and struggles.  Then I thought about my past, how I lived for those things and I realized…I wanted to kill myself at times when I was living for those things.  I hated myself, I thought I had no value unless I had funny, crazy stories to tell or unless people thought I was awesome, funny, and hot (Though I will say that I’ve heard that overweight, bearded guys are the new hot…just ask my wife).

Then I came to my senses and went to the thing that brings me so much joy every time I go to it, even though I make thousands of excuses to keep it in my bag or on my desk.  I picked up the Scriptures (though it was on my iPad…it is still the Bible), and I opened up the YouVersion App, and opened up the Book of Common Prayer plan I’m in the midst of.  One of the passages was 2Peter 1:1-11.  Then, it was time for God to rock my face off and restore my spirit.  The passage is great, but one paragraph hit me particularly hard.

2Peter 1:5-9…

⁵ “For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; ⁶ and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; ⁷ and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love.⁸ For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁹ But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins.”

Dude.  DUDE.  Dude.  Wow!  Did you catch those last two verses?  If we have those things Peter mentions present in our lives, not perfectly present, but present and growing, then we won’t be “ineffective and unproductive” in what we know about Jesus.  If those things are there, and we’re growing in those things then we’ll actually live out what we know about Jesus.  Isn’t this the thing that drives so many people crazy about Christians?  We know (and Talk) a lot about Jesus, but then we are far from imitating him.  We know what Jesus called us to (love God, love others, make disciples, know the Bible, etc.) but it is so difficult to actually live those things out.

Lately I’ve been praying to be more disciplined in my walk with Christ, in my faith, in prayer, reading the Bible, in spending quality time with my wife, daughters, friends, and students.  I’ve not found it to be an easy process.  Here I’m told to add to my faith first this ethic of goodness.  What this is saying in the Greek is that it is a quality where someone lives kind and compassionately above and beyond how they are required or expected to live.  I’m supposed to go above and beyond what is expected of me in my faith, in caring for others and God.  Then, I grow in knowledge, which means that I soak up the Word of God.  I take it in like digesting a great steak.  The more I soak up from God’s Word, the more I’ll see I need to to good.  Then there is that discipline that I’ve been praying for.

At this point I’m confronted with the thought that have I been striving to grow as much as I need to in the previous two things?  Nope.  Maybe that is why the self-control/discipline piece has been more difficult that I’ve thought.  Then the next one hits me hard…perseverance.  Perseverance is the concept of long-suffering, mainly regarding personally relationships with others, but also dealing with the difficult times that come from those relationships.  That’s what I was struggling with so much this morning that caused me to doubt.

I stopped, put down the Bible and sat there spiritually rocked.  I thought, I just got a Jesus chewing (you ever been chewed out by a coach?  You know when he tells you what you did wrong, but also says, “c’mon, I know you’re better than that.  Let’s do it again.”  That’s being Jesus Chewed or getting a Jesus chewing.  Well, at least that’s what my warped mind calls it).  Then I look at the rest of the list and I want those things too, godliness, mutual affection, and love.  I realize that I was doing life relying on my strength and wisdom, more than His.  Time to repent, to give that way up and pursue His way.  That’s a great feeling.  And though I’m rocked by the Jesus chewing and being humbled, I’m totally refreshed by His Spirit.

Well, I guess this was me stepping out of me, then looking at myself and saying “are YOU ready for battle dummy!?”  Yup, that’s today’s Wappenshaw.  Again, sorry for those of you who just got a glimpse of the spiritual train wreck that is Brett Durham.  Again, as many times before, I’m at a place this morning where I’m saying, “I’m weak Lord.  Be strong in me today.”  But, it’s a great place.