Friday, September 12, 2008

Stop the Stampede to the Feed Trough - Apples of Gold - September 12, 2008 -vi-

Apples of Gold
 

Radio Script for September 12, 2008

“Stop the Stampede to the Feed Trough”


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

We had a little lesson at dinner this week.

See, we always pray before we eat, but sometimes it’s a hasty prayer.  Sometimes I don’t even think the person praying is paying attention.

So before we prayed I decided to slow everyone down, to stop the stampede to the feed trough.

I pointed out the importance of being thankful, that not everyone had such a delicious meal, and that we should never take it for granted.

I asked everyone to truly think about God when we prayed, and to be thankful to Him.

Then I asked one of the boys living with us, 13-year-old Devion, to say the prayer. 

I expected an impatient, jittery prayer with a quick amen.  But what we got was a patient, thoughtful, beautiful prayer of true thanksgiving from the heart. 

True thanksgiving is hard to come by these days, and I think it’s because we are spoiled. 

Now you’d think that the more we have, the more thankful we would be.  But it doesn’t work that way. 

Have you ever had a car that wouldn’t start?  An unfaithful car is enough to drive you batty.  But then when you get a good car, you are more thankful.  I’ve been there and let me tell you, most everyday when I turn that key I think, “Thank you Lord for a car that works.”

On the other hand I knew a young man whose parents bought him a new car as soon as he turned 16.  He wrecked it and they bought him another new car.  I would have loved to have had a new car at 16, but you know what?  He took it for granted.  He wasn’t thankful for it.  In fact, he was kind of arrogant about it, like it was the least they could do for him.

Now let’s look at Hosea 13:6.  Here the Lord says, “When I fed them, they were satisfied; when they were satisfied, they became proud; then they forgot Me.”

Did you follow that progression? 

It started with their need for food, and God says He fed them.  He kept them fed, and they were satisfied.  So far so good, right?

But then it says, “…when they were satisfied, they became proud…”

Why is that?  I think it’s because they came to expect it.  They took it for granted.  They thought they deserved that and more.  They made themselves the center of the universe.  That’s what pride is, making yourself the center of the universe.

And if you are at the center, if you are on the throne, guess who isn’t? 

Back to Hosea 13:6, God says, “…when they were satisfied, they became proud; then they forgot Me.”

This is easy to do if you are a middle to upper class Christian.  When you have good cash flow, when you’re able to go buy things, when many problems are solved by writing a check, it’s easy to become satisfied…and proud.  It’s tempting to think that you are just a little above the common rabble. 

And it all goes back to the fact that things are going pretty well for you. 

So this is the true test.  How do we react when things are going pretty well for us? 

Now here is the main point.  God said, “…then they forgot Me.” 

That is what we do not want to do.  We don’t want to forget God.

So let’s look at that progression again.  We are well fed, then we are satisfied, then we become proud, then we forget God – the very one who fed us to begin with.

And that is the key, that we do not forget that it is God Himself who provides for us.

This would be a good message for Thanksgiving Day, wouldn’t it?

But of course, as a Christian, everyday should be Thanksgiving Day.

So take a look at your life.  Would you consider yourself “well fed?” 

Then don’t take it for granted.  Don’t have the attitude that you earned it, or that you deserve it.

Instead be humble before the Lord.  Acknowledge the fact that if He doesn’t make a way, there is now way.  We have no reason for pride.

So we humble ourselves.  We bow our heads before Him, and say, “Thank You.”


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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