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Apples of Gold
Radio Script for October 15, 2009
“There Were Impurities in the Marriage”
Hello, I’m Doug Apple…with Apples of Gold.
Here is what God would say to you today.
“Please be holy.”
First Peter 1:15 says, “…be holy in all you do…”
This week I received a depressing e-mail. There is an old friend of mine that I lost contact with many years ago. I asked someone who lives in his town, “Whatever happened to so-and-so?” She said he got married and had four kids. Then they divorced and he married another woman.
For some reason that news has been following me around like a little black cloud all week.
We were childhood friends. When you’re a kid, your whole life is before you and the future is bright. There’s a purity, an innocence, and lots of hope.
It’s kind of like that at the start of a romantic relationship. It’s exciting! There are high hopes. The sky’s the limit!
And then what happens? What happened to my friend? How can we fast forward 40 years to a broken home, a broken marriage, a broken family?
I don’t know any details, but I do know this. Impurity sneaked in. There were impurities in the marriage.
Impurities weaken.
It’s something we all learned in chemistry class. Impurities weaken crystal structures and lower their melting points.
Now don’t miss that. I know you may have slept through chemistry class, but listen. If you have a pure metal on one side, and a metal with impurities on the other side, the metal with the impurities can’t stand as much heat.
The same is true in our own lives. If we allow impurities into our lives, we melt faster. It takes less heat to break us up.
Second Corinthians 7:1 says, “…let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates…”
Do you want to be strong? Do you want a strong marriage? A strong home? A strong family? Do you just want to be a strong person? Then purify yourself from everything that contaminates. The more pure you are, the more heat you can take without melting into a pathetic puddle of ruin.
There are some things I can’t listen to because I can feel them contaminating me. There are things I can’t watch and things I can’t read. There are thoughts I can’t think.
Now I know that the American way is freedom. And I know that what I’m advocating sounds like – now here comes a dirty word, at least what some Americans consider the dirtiest word of all – censorship.
Yes, I believe in personal censorship. We censor out of our lives the things that contaminate.
When we don’t, then impurities sneak in, and we grow weak.
First Timothy 5:22 says, “Keep yourself pure.”
Well you can’t let impurities in and keep yourself pure at the same time. Yes, we live in a very impure world, but James 1:27 warns us: don’t be polluted by the world.
And remember, impurities don’t just come from “out there” somewhere. We can come up with impure thoughts all by ourselves, with no help from anyone. Back to James 1 where it says that we are dragged away by our own evil desires.
So what can we do?
James 4:8 has good advice. We should draw near to God, and He will draw near to us. Then in His presence we will clearly see our impurities and be able to purify our hearts.
How? By confessing our impurities. First John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”
And how can we keep our lives pure?
Psalm 119:9 says, “How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to Your word.” Then verse 11 says, “I have hidden Your word in my heart that I might not sin against You.”
I want to be a Psalm 24 man, “He who has clean hands and a pure heart…”
Hebrews 12:14 tells us to make every effort to be holy.
Second Peter 3:14 says we should make every effort to be spotless and blameless.
These impurities in our lives, we allow them in…to our peril. They weaken us. They lower our melting point.
So strengthen your marriage. Strengthen your home. Strengthen your family. Strengthen yourself and your walk with God. Be the strong person you are meant to be.
Do it by purifying yourself from everything that contaminates.
This is what God would say to you today.
“Please be holy.”
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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