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Apples of Gold
Radio Script for August 13, 2009
“This, My Friend, Is The Place That Never Was”
Hello, I’m Doug Apple…with Apples of Gold.
Have you ever read a book straight through in one day?
No, not a comic book, a real book.
I almost never do, but I did Sunday. It’s called “The Traveler’s Gift” by Andy Andrews.
At one point the traveler found himself in a monstrous warehouse. It was full of clothes and shoes and furniture. There were photographs of cars and homes and even children. There were blueprints for new inventions.
And there on a pedestal was a stack of paper. On the pages were cures for things like cancer.
As the traveler pondered all the amazing things in this warehouse, the angel Gabriel appeared.
After the initial shock wore off, the traveler turned to the archangel and said, “What is this place?”
“This, my friend, is The Place That Never Was.”
You see, the warehouse was full of things that God was ready to deliver to people, but for whatever reason, the people gave up. They quit working or praying or hoping.
“Why do we quit?” the traveler asked. “Why do I quit?”
“You quit because you lack faith,” said the angel.
Now I realize that’s just a fictional account, but I love that line, with Gabriel standing there, flexing his wings and saying, “This, my friend, is The Place That Never Was.”
It’s like a warehouse of lost opportunities and unfulfilled potential.
It’s things we could have done, if we didn’t lack faith or courage or persistence.
Before he left, Gabriel said to the traveler, “You have everything you need. You know that you are not alone. You are being guided. There will never be a reason to lose faith.”
That sounds really wonderful and mysterious, doesn’t it? An angel saying to you, “You are not alone. You are being guided.”
If only it were true, right? If only it wasn’t just some made up line in a work of fiction.
Ah, but it is true!
We aren’t alone, and we are being guided.
Don’t you remember that Jesus said He is the Good Shepherd? In John 10 he said, “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me.”
It also says, “He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice.”
Maybe a more familiar passage is the 23rd Psalm, you know, “The Lord is my Shepherd” with such great phrases as, “He leadeth me,” and “Thou art with me.”
So it’s true. We aren’t alone, and we are being guided – by the Lord, the Good Shepherd.
David also wrote in Psalm 139, “…Your hand will guide me…”
Psalm 48:14 says, “For this God is our God for ever and ever; He will be our guide even to the end.”
So it’s true, and the author summed it up so well by having Gabriel say to the traveler, “You are not alone. You are being guided. There will never be a reason to lose faith.”
Man, why would you lose faith if you knew you were being guided?
I don’t know about you, but for me those are great words of hope. I am being guided, therefore I never have a reason to lose faith.
So I keep my faith. I trust in the Good Shepherd to lead me and guide me. I move forward with courage and persistence. I will fulfill God’s call on my life.
And, in the end, I hope there is nothing with my name on it in The Place That Never Was.
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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