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Apples of Gold
Radio Script for February 11, 2009
“The Days Are Evil”
Hello, I’m Doug Apple…with Apples of Gold.
Okay, this is weird.
Today’s Apples of Gold is entitled “The Days Are Evil.”
At the exact same time I was writing this about evil, someone smashed out a window in my wife’s van and stole her purse.
The old family van was in broad daylight in the parking lot. Most of the van windows are so dark you can’t even see inside. Yet someone was bold enough to shatter the window, grab the purse and a witness got a good look at him as he drove off like mad.
It’s a crime. It cost us and I’m not happy about it. But I must say it’s a perfect illustration of my point, which is “the days are evil.”
That’s what it says in Ephesians 5:16, “…the days are evil.”
Can a day actually be evil, even the very day you are a crime victim?
Not really. What that verse means is that evil is being done these days.
People are doing evil all over the world. That includes heinous crimes and petty thievery.
James 1:21 uses this phrase: “…the evil that is so prevalent…”
Have you ever seen a map of troop movements in World War II? As the Germans and Japanese invaded other countries, the black places on the map grew, like ink spilled on a desktop. Then as the Allies fought back, the black ink receded.
That’s the way I see evil in the world. It ebbs and flows each day as people do more or less evil.
And now the black ink has spread into a little Tallahassee parking lot.
And it spread in a thousand other places, too.
Yes, the days are evil. But there’s nothing new about that, is there?
Now back to Ephesians 5:16. The whole verse says, “…making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.”
Now don’t miss this. Because the days are evil, we must make the most of every opportunity.
See, we have a limited number of opportunities. Our time is limited. We only have so many shots at making a difference. Are we making the most of them?
Because here’s the thing. Evil will. Evil wants to advance. It recruits and plunders and gains ground. If we don’t fight it, that blank ink will spread and will eventually engulf the world.
We, as Christians, need to make the most of every opportunity in these evil days. So what should we do?
First of all, focus on the fact that it’s people doing the evil. So if we could just get them to stop. Easier said than done, right?
Second, realize that this evil comes from within, from their sin nature, from their heart. Jesus said in Matthew 15:19 that evil thoughts come out of the heart. So if we want to stop people from doing evil, we have to deal with their heart.
In this war on evil, I see three main fronts.
The first front is where people are deciding to do evil or not. We need to make the most of every opportunity to encourage people to avoid evil and do right.
This means teaching people right from wrong. It means moral instruction and character training. For people to do right, they need to know what right is.
And they also need leaders and role models. We can’t just babble on about it. We must live it. We must deny our own evil desires, avoid sin, and live holy for the Lord.
You know that black ink of evil on the map? It would recede quite a bit if we could just get the Christians to stop doing evil. We need to help each other and hold each other accountable.
And by evil I don’t just mean capital crimes. I mean anything that is a sin in God’s eyes.
The second front in the war on evil is where people are already doing evil.
How can we stop them? As Christians, we go right to their heart. We share the Gospel and call for repentance. We pray for them and trust the Holy Spirit to work on them. We shine our light, and we show them love.
Only the Lord can change a heart – and He will! And as people come to Him, that black ink will recede.
And the third front in the war on evil is where the victims are.
Evil always leaves behind victims, and this is where the body of Christ shines. We reach out as the hands and feet of Jesus, just like the Good Samaritan, loving and nurturing those who have been robbed and beaten by evil.
And this is a crucial front in the war because so many victims of evil turn right around and become the purveyors of evil. We can help break that cycle.
Can you see it? Can you see that evil like black ink, spreading across the map of the world?
We can turn the tide. We can make that blank ink recede, but it means getting involved.
And we only have so much time. Yes, we must make the most of every single opportunity, because like the Bible says, the days are evil.
Comments?
E-mail me: dougapple@wave94.com.
May God bless you today! With Apples of Gold…I’m Doug Apple.
© 2009 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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