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Apples of Gold
Radio Script for May 13, 2010
“The Midweek Ride of Paul Lanier”
Hello, I’m Doug Apple…with Apples of Gold.
Paul was a power lifter.
He was also a doctor, a hunter and a licensed pilot – a “real man.”
He married his high school sweetheart, and they had three teenage daughters.
And what was Paul Lanier doing in his early 40’s?
He was battling ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.
That killer disease can take most men down in just three or four years, but Paul the power lifter was in such peak condition that he survived for nine years after his initial diagnosis.
“Why would you want to survive?” you might ask. “Why put up with all the suffering just to survive another day?”
Well Paul Lanier knew that everyday he was alive was another day he could make a difference.
How did he make a difference? Well listen to this remarkable story told by Steve Farrar in his book “Battle Ready.”
Now remember, Lou Gehrig’s disease affects the muscles. It quickly put Paul in a wheelchair, and eventually even took his speech. .
What would you do in that humbling situation? It would be easy to just wallow in self-pity and give up.
But amazingly, Paul was willing to ask for help. One man he reached out to was a neighbor and a fellow doctor. They called him King, and he came over a few times and helped Paul with some household chores.
Then one day Paul dropped this little bomb. “King, I’ve got a favor to ask.”
“Sure, Paul, anything I can do I’m happy to do.”
“I need you to help take me to my Bible study.”
King shared this story at Paul’s funeral, and here was his reaction to the request. “I absolutely froze,” he said. “I wasn’t a Christian, wasn’t a churchgoer, and I certainly didn’t spend my time going to Bible studies. And Paul knew that. But he also knew that I desperately needed the Lord.”
When Paul told King that it would last about an hour, King said, “What should I do while you are in the study?”
“You should just come in with me,” Paul said. “Then if I need to leave for some reason you can just wheel me out.”
Before the midweek meeting rolled around King thought, “If I’m going to a Bible study, I guess I’d better get a Bible.” He went to Barnes and Noble and was shocked to find such a variety of Bibles. He said, “I was completely lost, so I finally grabbed the New American Standard Version because I figured, ‘I’m an American.’ That’s how clueless I was.”
King had never been to a Bible study in his life. He pictured a few guys sitting around a table. But at Farrar’s church outside Dallas there were actually hundreds of guys who attended the men’s Bible study.
King said, “I was shocked. I was blown away that so many guys would show up on a Wednesday to study the Bible. I wasn’t even sure that I believed in the Bible. But before long the Holy Spirit began to work in my heart, and I began to see that I was a sinner and that my only hope was to believe the gospel of Christ. And within the year, my life was completely changed by the Lord.”
In conclusion, King said, “Even in his increasing weakness, Paul was looking for ways to be used by God. And I am the product of his unwillingness to just stay home and be defeated by self-pity.”
And listen to this. King wasn’t the only man Paul did this to. He asked other men to take him to his Bible study, including a devout atheist who said, “The next thing I knew, I was taking Paul to the Bible study and within a year I came to know the Lord. I went from unbelief to belief so fast I couldn’t believe it. And Paul was the human instrument that God used to bring me to salvation.”
That’s what Paul Lanier did, while suffering and eventually succumbing to Lou Gehrig’s disease. In spite of his weakness, he impacted the lives of those around him.
And with the example of Paul Lanier fresh in our mind, we really need to stop and ask ourselves this question.
What can I do to impact the people around me for Christ?
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 Paul’s story here: http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/religion/stories/DN-rellanier_14met.ART.South.Edition1.43b0681.html
© 2010 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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