Apples of Gold
Radio Script for December 18, 2008
“Tracy Fell For Steve”
Hello, I’m Doug Apple…with Apples of Gold.
Tracy fell for Steve.
And Steve liked Tracy.
It was all very romantic.
Then throw in a little adventure. There was a dragon on the loose.
And if that wasn’t enough, add to it the fact that people were coming down with some kind of disease, and the main symptom was a black oozy spot right in the middle of their chest.
But back to the romance. Tracy was a police officer and Steve was in town as an investigator. They began working together, and you know how it is. They were just drawn to each other.
Let the fun begin.
Oh, but there was one little problem. Tracy was married. To someone else. But they were separated, so, whatever.
Meanwhile the dragon was killing people, and it seemed to be the people with the black oozy spot on their chest, right over their heart.
Many people in town had the black spot. It caused them pain, but they were able to hide it.
But what happened was the spot grew bigger. The blackness would ooze and it smelled, like a dead animal.
Then an odd thing happened. Once it got big enough, the person didn’t care. It stopped hurting, and they quit hiding it. Blackness would ooze down their chest. It would get on their face and they just didn’t care. They almost flaunted it.
Once they got to that point everyone knew what came next. The dragon got them.
Yes, there were some creepy things going on in that little town.
But not for Steve and Tracy. They were on a romantic high. The electricity was flowing and everyday was a great day just being together.
Then Steve noticed a tender spot, right in the middle of his chest.
Tracy got one, too. And it hurt.
What was it the old man had said when he poked Steve in the chest?
“Be glad it still hurts,” he had said. “When you get close to the end, you don’t feel a thing.”
Yeah, that was the day he warned Steve about “shacking up” with a married woman.
But he didn’t heed the warning. How could he? Tracy was hot. They had a great thing going, why not enjoy it?
And the tender spot over his heart grew dark.
And the dragon drew near.
Steve and Tracy decided to get away from the creepy little town. They snuck out on horseback through the woods. They had to be quiet, though, if they wanted to avoid the dragon.
But Tracy was not being quiet. In fact, she was being kind of loud.
And then she started confessing. “Did I ever tell you about Andy Schuller and me?”
It was happening.
“And then there was Jimmy . . .”
Steve looked at Tracy, and in the moonlight he could see a glistening streak of black crawling down her shirt. And the stench was unmistakable.
“Tracy, are you in pain?”
“Pain? Why should I be?”
“Don’t you see what’s happening, Tracy? You’re talking crazy.”
“Just crazy for you.”
“No! The old man said when you get this mark you get used to it and you don’t care anymore.”
She wasn’t listening.
“Nothing’s going to happen to me, sweetheart. I’ve got you now. I win!”
Then she gave a drunken laugh as a new burst of black crawled down her chest like tar.
And the dragon moved in for the kill.
***
That’s just a tiny bit of the story found in Frank Peretti’s book “The Oath.”
I really like the visual he provides when he describes sin and its effect on our heart. It starts as just a tender spot that hurts. If we continue to sin, the spot grows and starts to stink. It hurts and we try to hide it – as long as we care.
But if we let it continue, we will get to a place where it stinks to high heaven and we are covered with its blackness. However, we won’t feel the pain and guilt any longer, and we won’t try to hide it. We will get to the point of actually flaunting our sin. At that point we are ready to be devoured by the dragon.
Ephesians 4:19 describes this as “losing all sensitivity.” The King James Version says “…being past feeling…”
You just don’t care anymore. You sin, but you are past feeling. It doesn’t register. Even when everyone else smells it, when they see the blackness oozing from your heart, you don’t feel a thing.
This is why we can’t toy with sin. It’s not a game, it’s a deadly disease. The dragon is not a pet. It is a destroyer.
So if you are playing with sin, stop. You may be hiding it, but it will grow. And if you stop caring – when you are “past feeling” – you’ll know you are being devoured.
The antidote? Get right with God. Repent of sin. Turn to Him and be forgiven through Jesus Christ.
And though your heart is black with sin, it shall be as white as snow. Though your sins are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.
Praise the Lord.
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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