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Apples of Gold
Radio Script for April 9, 2009
“Three Gun X Shallow Cross”
Hello, I’m Doug Apple…with Apples of Gold.
“Three Gun X Shallow Cross. On first sound. Ready. Break!”
Third and six. Under a minute to go. Not in field goal range. Clock running.
My job – a check release. I check the right side linebacker, then release into my pattern.
Check the linebacker? More like deck the linebacker. That’s what I wanted to do.
He was dirty. My arm was still bleeding where he tried to take a chunk out of it. Idiot.
If I get the ball I will look for him just to run him over.
At first sound I run and he picks me up. He’s fast.
I want to take him down right now, but I have the advantage. He turned the wrong way to pick me up. He started to cover me deep, but I stayed shallow and cut left.
The other backs are deep and I’m open.
The quarterback sees, and lets it fly.
The plan is simple. I will catch the ball and get out of bounds. The clock will stop and we’ll have a first down.
Dang, the ball is behind me. I have to slow down and turn to catch it.
I haul it in and look for the first down marker.
And there he is.
And all I want to do is hit him.
Rage pumped through my veins.
I tucked the ball into my left arm, and prepared my right arm for battle.
I veered upfield, right toward him.
We hit, and I had the advantage.
And I don’t know how it happened, but my right hand just landed perfectly on his right forearm.
So I grabbed it. And all the rage flowed out of my hand and into his forearm.
You … will … bleed.
As I held onto his arm, our legs tangled up somehow and down we went.
And I held on all the way down, digging my fingers into his flesh.
That’s right. I bleed. You bleed.
But, one problem. I did not get out of bounds. The clock did not stop. And we lost.
*****
Okay, I made up that little football story to illustrate a point.
When I got that ball, I had an open field to my goal, which was out of bounds just beyond the first down marker.
But instead of running toward the goal, I veered off toward the linebacker I had a grudge against. And then I held onto him.
Now get that point. I ran toward him, and I held onto him. And I did not reach my goal.
And that is what so many of us do in our life.
Someone does us dirty, and we hold a grudge against them. It’s stuck in our mind.
Then somewhere along the line we face a choice. What we should do is forget about that grudge and run freely towards our goal. But instead we veer towards the grudge. And we hang onto it. We think we are punishing the grudge-person, but it’s us who are no longer running freely. We hold onto them, and it only serves to keep us from our goal.
So here is what we must do. We must forgive.
Forgiving someone means letting go of them, as in letting go of the grudge.
Letting go allows us to run free.
In Matthew 6, Jesus said we must forgive people when they sin against us.
In Matthew 18 He said we must forgive them from our heart.
Ephesians 4 says we must forgive each other just as God forgave us.
Colossians 3 says we must forgive “whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.”
And Jesus said in Mark 11:25, “…if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him…”
Don’t get bogged down with grievances and grudges. Let go of it all and run free!
For this is God’s will for your life.
That you forgive others, just as God forgave you.
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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