Apples of Gold
Radio Script for April 2, 2008
“Scorpion Pass”
Hello, I’m Doug Apple…with Apples of Gold.
I know where you are.
You are at Scorpion Pass.
Scorpion Pass is your last point of obedience. You know what God wants you to do next, but you are reluctant.
Listen to my theory. I think that everyone, sinner and saint alike, knows what God wants them to do next. It’s our last point of obedience, and if we don’t do it, we get stuck.
Some points of obedience are easy, and we breeze right through them. It’s the hard ones that get us.
When we know what God wants us to do next, but we are reluctant, that becomes our Scorpion Pass. It’s a dry place, and no one wants to stay there. So what do we do? Two choices.
What many people do when they come to Scorpion Pass is they take a good look at it, decide they don’t like it, and withdraw to a more comfortable place. The problem is, they never grow. They are stuck, because as soon as they want to grow in the Lord, He takes them back to Scorpion Pass. God always brings us back to our last point of obedience.
The other choice is to simply step out in faith and obey God. Just obey Him, even though it’s difficult or even painful.
“But Doug, Scorpion Pass sounds so negative and hard. I thought His yoke was easy and His burden light.”
It is. But we only carry His easy yoke when we obey Him. When we don’t obey Him, we take up the heavy yoke of sin.
So many Christians live defeated lives because they came to Scorpion Pass and said, “No, I can’t do it. God, you got this much of my life. I followed you this far, and I think that’s enough for now.”
Why do I call it Scorpion Pass? First of all, don’t you love the Old Western sound to it? The sun is hot, your mouth is dry, and the critters will kill ya.
Let me tell you about my own Scorpion Pass. As a Christian, my philosophy is that, if the boss wants me to do something, unless it’s a sin, then I should do it. It’s all part of submitting to authority, and going the extra mile.
So early in my career in Christian radio, my boss called me aside and said he wanted me to start selling ads. I had never been a salesman, and didn’t want to be a salesman. I was in Christian radio to be on the air and share Christ with thousands of listeners. Why would I want to take away from that and do sales?
I suddenly had a real dilemma. I believed that God had led me to the station, but now the boss wanted me to do something that I didn’t feel called to do.
I halfheartedly went along with his plan, but if you’ve ever been in sales, you know that halfhearted salesmen are worthless.
The boss realized I was not getting with the program. In frustration he finally told me to just forget about it – which I was glad to do.
But when it was over, I really had a sense of going backward. Yes, I was back in my comfort zone, but it wasn’t the same. My boss had wanted me to do something, and I really didn’t do it.
Now remember, I believed that God wanted me to do what my boss told me to do. So disobeying my boss became disobeying God. That is not a good place to be.
I must say, I didn’t see it all that clearly at the time. You know, it’s always easier to see things after the dust settles.
But that became my Scorpion Pass, my last point of obedience. It was like a monkey on my back. I had a sense that God was going to lead me right back around to it.
Eventually I came to the point where I said, “I have to do this. This is what I must do.” I made the decision to quit doing my radio show and go into sales like the boss wanted me to.
Now I am so thankful for that experience, and everything I learned by becoming a salesman. It really opened up my world to new horizons. And making a lot more money was nice, too.
What if I had never done it? I’m not sure, but I think God would have kept bringing me right back to that point. It’s like the Israelites not going into the Promised Land the first time around.
I tend to think our spiritual growth is such that each lesson builds on the last. Until we learn the last lesson, we don’t move on to the next one.
So what is your last point of obedience? What is it that you know God wants you to do next, but that you have been reluctant to do?
Well, now is the time to do it. Step out in faith, follow the Good Shepherd, and begin making your way through Scorpion Pass.
Comments?
E-mail me: dougapple@wave94.com.
May God bless you today! With Apples of Gold…I’m Doug Apple.
© 2008 The Arrow’s Tip
To subscribe to your own daily “Apples of Gold” e-mail, write dougapple@wave94.com.
If you want to be removed from this e-mail list, simply click reply and type UNSUBSCRIBE on the subject line.
If you want to catch “Apples of Gold” in its original audio format, go to www.wave94.com
To search through the large archive of past articles, go here: http://www.wave94.com/modules.php?name=Stories_Archive
If you have trouble reaching me at my main e-mail address, try this one: douglas_apple@msn.com
(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
-vi-
No comments:
Post a Comment