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This is the story of the day I died.
This is the story of the day my friend punched me in the chest. Twice.
A few years ago, after graduating from Bible college, my buddy helped me get an internship at my current church in Oceanside, where I lived in a small room in the back of the church and did the work held with the highest honor in the church, including vacuuming the floors and preparing the Sunday morning snacks (I’m not knocking it, it was possibly the most important learning experience in my life).
That Summer, the pastor had a pool party at his place for some holiday or other, which meant that all the young dudes at the church played a little game we liked to call “animal ball”.
Animal ball, is the gentlemanly sport by which one team tries to get a ball to the other end of the pool by show of force, holding the ball at the edge of the pool for five seconds and it is awesome.
There’s dunking (of heads), pushing (of bodies) and pantsing (of shorts, not generally on purpose).
I had my attention on the other end of the pool when all of a sudden I felt it.
A punch straight to the chest.
Followed by another punch to the chest.
I turn to look to see that my friend, who weighed a hundred pounds less than me, had straight up double punched me like it was a game of Street Fighter.
“Why’d you punch me?” I yelled.
“You were choking me” he yelled back.
I don’t remember that part. I believe him, now, I guess, but I don’t remember it and I wasn’t doing it on purpose.
We haven’t talked about it since, but there was this stirring text conversation that we had a few hours later.
“Hey bro, sorry I punched you.”
“No worries.”
That was it. Friendship restored.
Dudes are like that sometimes. We don’t always need eight hour long talks to get through things.
If we realize we’re stupid, we say it, make up and move on.
Why do we think that God needs some long winded manifesto for Him to forgive us?
And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen [do]. For they think that they will be heard for their many words.
Matthew 6: 7 (NKJV)
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
1st John 1: 9 (NKJV)
If there is something holding you back from a restored relationship with God, just tell Him what’s up, that you admit you are wrong, that you are repenting from it and He’ll forgive you.
It’s that easy.
Do you take too long to confess your sins so that you can move on with your relationship with God?
