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Apples of Gold
Radio Script for April 10, 2009
“Extra Layers of Flesh”
Hello, I’m Doug Apple…with Apples of Gold.
Do you have extra layers of flesh on your body?
This is usually caused by eating more than you need.
Underneath those extra layers is the real, lean you. There is a healthier version of yourself, but it’s buried under the extra layers of flesh.
Get rid of the layers, and you will be able to do more. You will have more energy, more power. You will get around better. You’ll be more agile.
And it really comes down to those extra bites.
And you know what? It takes a lot of extra bites every day just to maintain those extra layers of flesh.
But as soon as you stop maintaining those layers, as soon as you stop feeding them, they will start to go away – and that healthier version of yourself will emerge.
I mean, it’s there right now. It’s just stifled under those extra layers of flesh.
And now listen to this. The same is true in our spiritual life.
As Christians, at the core we are lean and healthy. God did that when we became new creations in Christ and He gave us His Holy Spirit.
But on top of that we have layers of worldliness.
And now get this. We have to constantly maintain those layers of worldliness, or they will shrink.
Just like we need extra bites of food every day to keep on the extra flesh, we need lots of the world everyday to keep on the layers of worldliness.
When we stop feeding on worldliness, those layers shrink, and the true, healthy Christian starts to emerge.
Well what exactly is “worldliness”?
I think it’s anything that runs contrary to God and His Word.
Worldliness is anything that comes from the sinful desires of man.
First Peter 2:11 says that sinful desires war against our soul, so we must abstain from them.
But this world is full of people who do not abstain from sinful desires. Many of them promote sinful desires; or at least give them quiet approval.
It’s all around us, and we feed on it. And as we feed on it, the layers of worldliness build up, stifling the healthy Christian underneath.
But if we would just stop feeding on it! If we would stop the daily intake of worldliness, those layers would begin to shrink. The voice of the Holy Spirit would be able to break through, and the healthy Christian underneath would emerge.
Each day we set the table for ourselves. What will we ingest, the things of God or the things of the world?
This includes our conversations. It’s our media intake: our reading, our viewing, our listening. It’s what we study, and what we meditate on.
James 1:27 says to “…keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”
So let me ask you. What do you ingest that is worldly pollution?
And how often do you ingest it?
2 Peter 1:4 tells us to “escape the corruption in the world.”
This world has its ways, but we are not supposed to follow them. Romans 12:2 tells us to not conform to the pattern of this world.
But we will conform if we continually ingest worldliness.
Peter urged us to live as “aliens and strangers in the world.”
First Corinthians 7:31 indicates that we should not be engrossed in the things of this world.
Elsewhere the Bible speaks against living by the standards of this world or following the ways of this world.
First John 4:5 says that some people speak from the viewpoint of the world. Yes, the world listens to them, but we should not.
But unfortunately, we do. We ingest this worldly viewpoint constantly, and we end up with layers upon layers of worldliness, which smother the healthy Christian underneath.
So do you want to be more spiritually healthy? Do you want more spiritual energy, more power, more agility?
Then stop with all the extra bites of worldliness. As we head into the Easter weekend, think about the worldliness you ingest on a regular basis, and stop ingesting it.
When we stop maintaining those layers of worldliness, they will shrink, and the real, healthy Christian underneath will emerge.
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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