To listen to the radio version, click here.
To search archives, click here.
Apples of Gold
Radio Script for July 14, 2009
“Young Men Dream of Being Stars in a Band”
Hello, I’m Doug Apple…with Apples of Gold.
Young men dream of being big stars in a band.
Well at 18 years old, this young man was already getting a lot of attention.
One night he played at a dance and everyone was having a great time.
There he was, the star of the show, a point not lost on the young ladies.
But instead of reveling in the moment, for some reason his mind wandered, even as he played.
He thought of his late father, who had died when he was about 12.
He had watched his father’s slow decay, and one night, shortly before he died, he called his son to his side.
He told him two things. First he said, “Be good to your mother.”
Well he certainly did that. After his father’s death, the young man dropped out of school to work on the farm in support of his mom and two sisters.
And to raise extra cash, he began cashing in on his musical abilities. He organized a band to play at parties and dances. And even though he was still a teenager, they often played where alcohol was served.
But he had been true to his father’s request. He had been good to his mother.
Life had been so busy that he almost forgot about the second request of his dying father. What his father had said was, “Be good to your mother, and prepare to meet your God.”
Well on this night, at this dance, even while he played, those words weighed heavily on his mind. And he heard them in the words of an old prophet, “Prepare to meet thy God.”
His hands continued to delight the crowd with the music they came for, but his mind grew more sober by the minute.
At one point the band took a break, allowing the full weight of his father’s words to settle on him.
When it came time for the band to retake the stage, he said he couldn’t do it. He could not play anymore.
The crowd began to call out for the music, so he stepped forward and spoke to the people. He told them of his father and of his dying words. He said he regretted the things he had been doing and that he would not do them anymore.
He said it might be okay if this life was all there is. But in view of the life to come, he said, he must pursue another course.
Then he asked that no one try to talk him out of it or stand in his way.
After that he started going to church, and shortly thereafter received Christ and was baptized.
As he matured in the faith, he began speaking publicly, sharing the gospel and leading others to Christ.
And once again his musical abilities began to draw a crowd. Some even called him the “singing evangelist.”
He ended up baptizing over 11,000 people.
One spring he spoke in Dallas and led over 100 people to Christ. Then he boarded a train for McKinney, just north of Dallas, for his next speaking engagement.
On the train he spoke with a Methodist minister, who asked about his success as an evangelist.
He responded by saying, “It is a grand thing to rally people to the cross of Christ.”
And those were the last words of the singing evangelist.
At that point their train car ran off the tracks and rolled down an embankment. Many were seriously injured, and one man was killed.
His final words are etched on his tombstone in Rushville, Indiana, west of Indianapolis. “It is a grand thing to rally people to the cross.”
His death, however, did not end the impact of the singing evangelist.
His name was Knowles Shaw, and he died in 1878 at the age of 43.
But his musical ability and his passion for souls still touches lives today through this one song we all know so well.
The lyrics say, “Going forth with weeping, sowing for the Master,
Though the loss sustained our spirit often grieves;
When our weeping’s over, He will bid us welcome,
We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves.”
Comments?
E-mail me: dougapple@wave94.com.
May God bless you today! With Apples of Gold…I’m Doug Apple.
You can read more about Knowles Shaw here:
http://www.cyberhymnal.org/bio/s/h/shaw_k.htm
http://www.therestorationmovement.com/shaw.htm
© 2009 The Arrow’s Tip
To subscribe to your own daily “Apples of Gold” e-mail, write dougapple@wave94.com.
If you want to be removed from this e-mail list, simply click reply and type UNSUBSCRIBE on the subject line.
If you want to catch “Apples of Gold” in its original audio format, go to www.wave94.com
To search through the large archive of past articles, go here: http://www.wave94.com/modules.php?name=Stories_Archive
If you have trouble reaching me at my main e-mail address, try this one: douglas_apple@msn.com
(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
-vi-
No comments:
Post a Comment