Apples of Gold
Radio Script for April 25, 2008
“An Encouraging Thought: There Is a Plot Against Me”
Hello, I’m Doug Apple…with Apples of Gold.
Here is an encouraging thought.
There is a plot against me.
Now why on earth is that encouraging?
Because when things don’t go perfectly, I am neither surprised nor disappointed. I don’t let it rock my boat because, after all, there is a plot against me.
Our life on earth is like a garden. You can plan the nicest garden in the world, but just watch. There will be many “enemies” pop up to ruin it, from weeds to bugs to small mammals.
Jesus said this world has “weeds.” In Matthew 13:38 He said, “The weeds are the sons of the evil one…” In John 8:44 Jesus indicated that, for some people, their father is the devil, and their desire is to carry out their father’s plans.
Yes, the devil has plans, and they flow from his core nature, which Jesus said is to deceive and destroy. And the devil uses people, his “children,” to do it.
The devil sows his bad seed to try to ruin things for God’s good seed. And what is God’s good seed? Back to Matthew 13:38. Jesus said the good seed represents the “sons of the kingdom.”
I am one of the sons of the kingdom, and that’s how I conclude that there is a plot against me.
So does Satan really have a “plot”?
Both Ephesians 6:11 and Second Corinthians 2:11 talk about the devil’s “schemes.”
First Timothy 3:7 mentions “the devil’s trap.”
The devil even had the nerve to try to tempt Jesus.
In the Old Testament, First Chronicles 21:1 says that “Satan rose up against Israel…”
We know a lot of the details about Satan’s plot against Job.
In Luke 22:31 Jesus talked about Satan’s plot against Peter, to sift him as wheat.
In Second Corinthians 12:7 Paul said that “a messenger of Satan” was sent to torment him.
First Peter 5:8 says our enemy, the devil, “prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”
Sounds like a plot to me.
“But Doug, what about James 4:7 – ‘Resist the devil and he will flee…’?”
Yes, we like to hear about the devil fleeing, but the pesky word in that verse is the word “resist.”
Ask a retailer about “resisting” shoplifters. Yes, you can resist them and they will flee. But the job of resisting is never really done. A shop owner must constantly resist shoplifters. A gardener must constantly resist weeds. And we must constantly resist our enemy the devil, because he has a plot against us.
Paul told the people in First Thessalonians 2 that he wanted to go visit them, but that Satan stopped him. He didn’t do what he wanted because Satan had a plot against him.
Keep in mind that the devil uses people to carry out his plot.
Second Timothy 2:26 says that the devil has taken some people captive to do his will.
Acts 10:38 says many people were “under the power of the devil.”
First John 3:10 describes some people as “children of the devil.”
In Luke 13:16, Jesus said that a certain woman had been kept bound by Satan for 18 years.
In Acts 5:3, Ananias is described has having a heart full of Satan.
John 13:2 says the devil prompted Judas Iscariot to betray Jesus. Verse 27 goes on to say that Satan even “entered into” Judas.
The devil not only uses people to carry out his will, he also has his own angels. You can read about them in Matthew 25 and Revelation 12.
And remember what Jesus constantly ran up against in town after town? People possessed by demons.
First Timothy 4:1 indicates that demons actually teach people certain things. It also talks about “deceiving spirits.”
So there is the devil and demons, the devil’s angels and the devil’s people. Their plot is to deceive and destroy.
First Corinthians 7:5 says that Satan will try to tempt us.
Second Corinthians 2:11 says Satan will try to outwit us.
Second Corinthians 11:14 says one of Satan’s special tricks is to make himself look like an angel of light.
In Luke 8:12, Jesus talked about the devil coming and actually plucking the word right out of people’s hearts to keep them from believing and being saved.
So we have enemies, and there is a plot against us. Knowing this, we shouldn’t be surprised when life isn’t just happy-go-lucky all the live-long day.
But remember. Just as there is a plot against us, there is a plan for us. For the devil’s every maneuver, the Lord has a counter-maneuver. After all, we are the Sons of the Kingdom!
I know it sounds odd, but to me, it’s encouraging to know that when things don’t go so well, it’s not because God has vacated or that life is just bleak. It’s because, yes, there is a plot against me.
Comments?
E-mail me: dougapple@wave94.com.
May God bless you today! With Apples of Gold…I’m Doug Apple.
Some “Bible-believing” Christians say there is no actual “Satan.” It’s more like a metaphor for evil, that is, our sin nature.
For them I have one question. Who tempted Jesus?
© 2008 The Arrow’s Tip
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(Proverbs 25:11 – “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.”)
Why “The Arrow’s Tip”? Each morning, after diligently seeking the Lord, I write Apples of Gold. Then before I release it to the public I pray one final prayer, “Lord, send forth your arrows.” I envision Apples of Gold as arrows, tips dipped in the river of the water of life that flows from the throne of God (Rev. 22:1), sailing toward the hearts and minds of men and women around the world.
Doug Apple
General Manager - Wave 94
Christian Radio for Tallahassee
PO Box 4105
Tallahassee, FL 32315
(850) 926-8000
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