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Apples of Gold
Radio Script for March 2, 2009
“Who Am I?”
Hello, I’m Doug Apple…with Apples of Gold.
Ted Williams was a baseball star for the Boston Red Sox.
He was also edgy. For example, for all those years since he was a rookie, he never tipped his cap to the crowd. You know, when a ballplayer does something great and the crowd goes crazy, it’s nice to recognize the crowd by tipping your cap to them.
So it came down to Ted Williams’ last at bat. He was retiring. His illustrious career was over. It was his last at bat ever, and guess what? He hit a home run.
Well the crowd went crazy, and Williams, even in this sentimental moment, just walked into the dugout – without tipping his cap.
Bob Costas asked him about it years later. Williams said that, as he ran the bases for that final home run, he actually thought about tipping his cap. But then he thought, “No, that just isn’t who I am.”
Isn’t that interesting? He was running the bases, and it ran through his head to tip his cap, but he decided not to based on his self talk which said, “That just isn’t who I am.”
Have you ever heard the phrase, “Self talk”?
It’s basically your internal communication, and when we talk about “self talk” we are usually talking about that little voice inside you that tells you who you are.
Many motivational speakers try to get you to control your self talk by telling yourself things like “I am a winner,” and “I am successful.”
It’s interesting how this self talk extends into so many areas of our life.
The other day I was killing time at Kohl’s while waiting for my daughter’s practice to end. I stumbled across some amazing clearance prices on some nice shoes, so I started sending out picture messages on my cell phone to people who might need some new shoes. I said, “I’ll buy these for you, if you will wear them.”
I sent a picture of a pair of, I don’t know, I call them “skater shoes,” to a friend of my son. His response? Well, a few years ago he might have worn them, but not now. Why not? “Because that’s not really me.”
I wonder how many of our clothing choices are made based upon that little voice in our head that says, “That’s not who I am.”
On the highway yesterday I passed a biker. He had just a certain Harley with just a certain helmet. He had leather boots and chaps and a black biker jacket. He really had a look – a look that most people would not have. They would tell themselves, “That’s not me,” while this guy told himself, “That is exactly me.”
I remember watching “The Fonz” on TV when I was a kid. He could never say he was wrong. He could only say, “I was wr…wr…wrrr…”
There was just a little voice in his head that said, “That’s not who I am. I’m not the kind of person who says they are wrong.”
I think it’s important for us to recognize that we do have that little voice inside, constantly telling us who we are.
Michael Jordan’s voice said, “I’m the one who makes the winning basket.” Others say, “I crack under pressure. I always crack under pressure.”
So what does your voice say? What kind of self talk is going on in your head?
I remember when I took a discipleship class years ago. We memorized Second Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!”
Memorizing that verse helped change my self talk. Who am I? I am a “new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!”
See, as Christians, our self talk needs to come from God and His Word.
Here are some things, straight out of the Bible, that the little voice in our head needs to be telling us.
I am loved by God. (First John 3:1)
I am chosen. (First Peter 2:10)
I am a child of God (through faith in Christ Jesus). (Galatians 3:26)
I am a new creation (the old has gone, the new has come.) (Second Corinthians 5:17)
I am an heir of God and co-heir with Christ. (Romans 8:17)
I am a part of the body of Christ. (First Corinthians 12:27)
I am a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in me. (First Corinthians 6:19)
I am a disciple of Jesus. (John 13:35)
I am a branch. He is the vine. (John 15:5)
I am God’s property. (First Peter 2:9)
I am a servant of the Lord Jesus. (Colossians 3:24)
I am a friend of Jesus (as I do what He commands). (John 15:14)
I am the aroma of Christ. (Second Corinthians 8:37)
I am God’s workmanship. (Ephesians 2:10)
I am created in Christ Jesus to do good works. (Ephesians 2:10)
I am the salt of the earth. (Matthew 5:13)
I am the light of the world. (Matthew 5:14)
I am more than a conqueror through Him who loved me. (Romans 8:37)
Yes, we all have self talk going on in our head.
It’s time we take control of it.
And what should it say?
It should tell us everyday that we are exactly who God says we are.
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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