Apples of Gold
Radio Script for September 9, 2008
“Is My Home a Deserving Home?”
Hello, I’m Doug Apple…with Apples of Gold.
Let’s say your pastor gets up and announces, “We need to build a home for unwed mothers.”
Everybody claps, right? It’s a great idea.
And then we wait for the pastor to do it. Hopefully he will round up the money and organize a committee and oversee some leaders and it will all fall into place. Go pastor!
But what happens in the meantime? Until they have an official home of their own, where is the ministry to unwed mothers?
Now listen to this. Maybe the home for unwed mothers…is your home.
I’m just thinking here. Think about all the homes in every church. Think about all those empty bedrooms. They’re air conditioned all summer and heated all winter, yet they are rarely used. Wouldn’t that be a great place to care for and nurture an unwed mother in need?
So why don’t we do it? I think it’s because somewhere along the line we decided that “this is my home. It’s my sanctuary. I can’t have strange people coming in here.”
Now let me share with you a strange Bible story. In Matthew 10, Jesus called his 12 disciples together, then sent them out to various towns. He told them not to pack anything, no money, no clothes, nothing. They were to simply walk into town and stay at someone’s house.
Then in verse 13 Jesus used this ominous phrase, “If the home is deserving…”
Now I’m thinking about my home. If Jesus’ disciples came to my home, would it be “deserving?”
What did He mean by deserving? I’m not sure, but verse 14 separates homes into two groups – those who welcomed the disciples and those who didn’t.
So I think a deserving home is a welcoming home.
And if a home was not a welcoming home, Jesus told them to shake the dust off their feet as they left.
Again, that is ominous. I know, it sounds sort of petty, but Jesus said nothing petty. If Jesus told the disciples to shake the dust off their feet as they left your home, that is not a good thing.
In Matthew 25 Jesus described a great judgment day. And one of the things He will be judging is whether or not we invited people in.
Romans 12:13 says, “Practice hospitality.”
First Peter 4:9 says, “Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling.”
You’ve heard of the “Proverbs 31 Woman.” Verse 20 says, “She opens her arms to the poor and extends her hands to the needy.”
What if I asked you, “What have you spent the most money on?” what would you say? For most people, it’s their home. This is our biggest investment.
And our homes are very personal. We decorate them and organize them just the way we want. It’s for us, for our pleasure and comfort. That’s one reason we hold them so tightly as our own.
In Mark 10 Jesus talks about some people who actually left their home for His sake. They gave up their home altogether.
But I’m not talking about that today. Instead, I’m talking about keeping your home, and offering it up for His service.
Do you have some extra space? How might it be used to serve God and bless people?
Now I’m thinking of Jesus hanging on the cross. Standing there in front of him were his disciple John and his mother Mary. Jesus basically told John to treat Mary as if she was his own mother. And John 19:27 says, “From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.”
I don’t know how big John’s house was, but I know that it was a “deserving” home, a welcoming home. He had no problem with Mary moving in.
When I was growing up, my parents made sure our home was very welcoming. Over the years they invited several people to move in with us, both young and old, just because they needed it.
Now what about us? Would we have a problem with someone moving in, even for a short time? Or is our home just that, our home?
“But Doug, I don’t have that gift of hospitality.”
Look, it doesn’t mean you have to serve crumpets and tea on a silver platter. It just means that you love them, see their need, and want to help.
Now not every home is right for every need. I wouldn’t send an unwed mother to live with a single man. I wouldn’t send a paroled embezzler to live with the rich old widow. So work through your church. Talk to your pastor. They know about all kinds of needs, and they will know who will be a good fit for your home.
So I hope this causes you to look at your home a little differently today. Look at it like a tool God has given you to use for His sake.
Make it so that if Jesus and His disciples were to walk by your house today, they would point to it and say, “Now there is a deserving home.”
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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