Monday, June 23, 2008

The World Changes in Big Ways As We Make Our Little Decisions - Apples of Gold - June 23, 2008 -vi-

Apples of Gold
 

Radio Script for June 23, 2008

“The World Changes in Big Ways As We Make Our Little Decisions”


Hello, I’m Doug Apple…with Apples of Gold.

When I woke up that Saturday morning, I didn’t know that by noon the course of my life would be changed.

But the world changes in big ways as we make our little decisions.

On that day I was living in a college dorm.  I walked down to the room of some friends, and we decided to go out for a late breakfast.  We picked a booth and piled in.

Meanwhile, a couple young ladies came in and someone asked them to join us.  And there she was, the girl that has now been my wife for over 20 years.

The decisions you make that lead up to meeting your spouse – those are obvious life changers.  But think about all the decisions that led up to that day.

For example, how did we both end up at the same college in the first place?  I was there primarily because my aunt worked there.  So my aunt’s decision to take the job at that college effected who I married.

I don’t know what all went into her decision, but I doubt she thought, “This is important.  It will change my nephew’s life in a big way.”

And that’s the way our decisions are.  The ripple effect just keeps going and going.  The world changes in big ways as we make our little decisions.

Recently I wrote about the twin 13-year-old boys that are living with us for the summer.  Last night we pulled out all the home videos that included them.  They said, “You’ve known us most of our lives.”

So how did they end up in our lives?  Let’s trace the ripples back to their origin.

Years ago I was praying earnestly about landing a job in Christian radio.  God finally opened the door, and my wife and I spent our honeymoon moving to a new town. 

On our first visit to the town, we drove down the street and saw a church sign.  We saw a lot of church signs, of course, but this one stood out to us, so we stopped by and met the pastor and his family.  We ended up joining the church and getting involved. 

My wife led a group for young girls, and one particular girl my wife went out of her way to reach out to.  She often drove far into the country to pick her up and bring her to church. 

Eventually this girl grew up a little and found herself the single mother of twin baby boys.  Well, my wife’s outreach never stopped, and that’s why these boys are in our house 13 years later.  And it all goes back to our decision to seek the Lord about where I should work. 

That little decision changed the world in a big way for these boys.

This is kind of a fun little exercise.  Just stop and think about the people in your life, and then try to rewind back through the decisions that brought them into your life.

See, our decisions do matter, and they have ramifications far beyond what we can even imagine.

Now I’ve seen some people take the burden off their shoulders by saying, “Well, the Lord’s in control.”

Some people think their decisions don’t matter.  They think God has scripted their life all out ahead of time.  It’s a done deal.  They don’t really have any choices because God already made them.

I don’t believe that, because the Bible is full of “if-then” statements.  If we make certain decisions, we get certain results.  Our decisions do matter.

Does that mean God just turned us loose and walked away?  No.  He is still deeply involved in our lives. 

Let me use a weak analogy.  God is like the manager of a baseball team.  The manager has a game plan.  He has goals and plays and signs and training.  He chooses the players and their positions.  He prepares them and works with them.  The manager is intimately involved with the team.

However, the players still have free will.  They can make their own decisions, but the manager still runs things.  The shortstop can drop the ball or skip practice or get fat over the winter.  That’s his choice.  But then the manager will handle him according to his overall plans for the team.

I think God works the same way.  Proverbs 19:21 says, “Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.”  See, the shortstop can make whatever plans he wants.  So let’s say he plans to get fat over the winter, and he plans to be the starting shortstop.  Yes, he can get fat.  But no, he won’t start.  The manager’s purpose prevails. 

I think our decisions work the same way.  We make important decisions, then the Lord takes it from there to carry out His purposes.

So what should we do?  We should do what it says in Proverbs 16:3, “Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.”

So let me wrap all this up.  We make decisions every day, and we don’t know the long term effects.  Yet those decisions matter, and can change the world in big ways.

Since we can’t possibly know all the ramifications, we follow Proverbs 16:3 and commit to the Lord whatever we do.  We submit to His will.  We offer up our bodies as living sacrifices.  We surrender all decisions to Him. 

Then He will lead us to make good decisions that will ripple out good things into all the world around us. 

Yes, our decisions matter, so we commit them to the Lord.  It’s important that we involve Him in all of it, because the world changes in big ways as we make our little decisions.


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
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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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