Keep the Coffee Brewing - Apples of Gold - February 23, 2009 -vi-

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Apples of Gold
 

Radio Script for February 23, 2009

“Keep the Coffee Brewing”

 

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

I walked into the Fresh Market for the first time last week, and I was immediately struck by how nice it smelled.  I think it was the coffee.

As I walked in, it appeared to me that they probably keep the coffee brewing all day right there near the front of the store.  It smelled wonderful, and I immediately had a positive reaction to the store.

If I go in again and I don’t get that aroma, I will be disappointed.  But you know what that means?  It means they have to keep the coffee brewing – all the time.

A pleasant aroma is a wonderful thing, but it’s hard to maintain.  You have to continually work at it or it will fade away.

In the Old Testament, the priests of Israel knew all about maintaining a pleasant aroma. 

In Exodus 30 we read about the Altar of Incense.  Verse 8 says the goal was to have incense burning “regularly before the Lord for the generations to come.”

Verse 34 gives some very special ingredients for incense, and it was to be holy to the Lord.  No one could make that same fragrance for their own personal pleasure. 

I don’t know why, exactly, but that’s the way the Lord wanted it.  I think He had this special incense that was particularly pleasing to Him, and He wanted His priests to be providing that aroma continually.

Now keep this in mind as we look at Revelation 5:8.  It’s a heavenly vision of certain beings falling down before the Lamb of God.  It says, “Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.”

In this vision there is a fragrant aroma in the presence of the Lord.  What is it? 

It’s the prayers of the saints.

That reminds me of Psalm 141:2 which says, “May my prayer be set before you like incense…”

I don’t know exactly how this works, but I imagine it like this.  When we pray, our prayers rise to the Lord as a type of incense.

Proverbs 27:9 says that incense brings joy to the heart.

It’s like the feeling I had when I walked into Fresh Market.  I instantly had a good feeling about the store, simply because it smelled so good.

But to keep it smelling good, they have to keep producing the aroma.

To keep the Old Testament altar smelling good, they had to continually burn the incense.

And to keep our own incense rising before the Lord, what do we have to do? 

We have to keep praying.

Of course the Bible says that repeatedly.

Luke 18:1 says we “should always pray and not give up.”

Romans 12:12 says we should be “faithful in prayer.”

Colossians 4:2 says we should devote ourselves to prayer.

First Thessalonians 5:17 tells us to pray continually.

And we have the example of the early church.  Acts 1:14 says, “They all joined together constantly in prayer…”  They prayed in houses and prayed at the temple.  They prayed at the river and prayed at the beach. 

Acts 2:42 says they devoted themselves to prayer.

Acts 6:4 says the early church leadership gave themselves continually to prayer.

First Thessalonians 3:10 says, “Night and day we pray most earnestly…”

Second Thessalonians 1:11 says, “…we constantly pray for you…”

In various places the Bible talks about praying in our heart, praying with our mind, and praying with our spirit.

Ephesians 6:18 says to “pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests…and always keep on praying for all the saints.”

So you get the idea.  Prayer is something we do continually, constantly and faithfully.

We are always talking to the Lord, silently or out loud, wherever we are. 

Our prayers are like incensing rising to the throne of God.

And we don’t want that aroma to fade away.  Just like the priests continually created that fragrance from the incense, we should do the same with our prayers.

So if you appreciate a fragrant aroma, become part of creating one constantly for our Father in heaven.

And we do that by being faithful to pray.


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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