Wednesday, June 02, 2010

Have Faith in God - Apples of Gold - June 2, 2010 -vi-

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Apples of Gold
 

Radio Script for June 2, 2010

“Have Faith in God”

 

Hello, I’m Doug Apple…with Apples of Gold.

You may be discouraged today.

You may feel like life has just turned sour.

Yes, you are a Christian, but you are disillusioned.  Things should go better than this for a Christian.  Shouldn’t there be a little reward, a little more smooth sailing?

But now you just feel beat up, like the air is just harder to breathe.

Well I have a message for you today, and here it is.

Have faith in God.

Let your eyes turn back toward heaven.  Fix your eyes on things above, on the Lord and the eternal things that really matter.

When Abraham was 75 years old, and still called Abram, God said to him, “Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you.”

Well that was probably way outside Abraham’s comfort zone, and who likes to do anything uncomfortable?  But what did Abraham do?

He had faith in God.

Now listen to what Jesus said in Mark 11:22.  He said this. 

“Have faith in God.”

When you are discouraged, have faith in God.

When life gets you down, have faith in God.

Sometimes we talk about having specific faith, such as faith for salvation.  But what I’m talking about today is a general faith.  It’s a foundational faith.

It’s a faith that says, “I believe in God and I believe He is involved.  He is up to something and I’m going to trust Him.”

This general faith can give you a sense of well-being, even when life is crumbling around you.

In Second Corinthians chapter 4, Paul talked about the many trials he faced.  He used words like persecuted and perplexed and even struck down.

Do you feel struck down today?  Why would God allow such a thing?  How can we trust a God that would allow us to be struck down?

But look what Paul said in verse 16:  “…we do not lose heart.” 

He said, “Though outwardly we are wasting away…”

Do you feel like you are wasting away today?

Paul said, “Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.”

And verse 18 says, “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen.”

That is faith, my friend, faith in God.

It’s faith when we take our eyes off of what we can see and fix them on what we cannot see.

Abraham looked at God, but couldn’t see Him.  Oh, he saw the world around him all right.  He saw the troubles and the challenges, but he couldn’t see God.

But what did he do?  He put his faith in God.

On the other end of the spectrum we see the disciples in those early days.  Even though they witnessed Jesus’ miracles, He still described them as, “O ye of little faith.”

In Mark
4:40 Jesus said, “Why are ye so fearful?  How is it that ye have no faith?”

Now let that soak in.  Does that apply to you today?

Here it is again, and see if this is for you.  Jesus said, “Why are ye so fearful?  How is it that ye have no faith?”

Are you fearful today?  It’s easy to be fearful when life crashes down and the future looks unstable.

But here’s your message.

Have faith in God.

In Matthew 8 we read about a centurion who came to Jesus.  Jesus commended the man for his great faith, and what was his faith in? 

His faith was in the Lord’s authority.  As a military man, the centurion understood authority, and he simply put his faith in the Lord’s authority.

So do that today.  Don’t worry about believing for something specific right now.  Just have general faith.  Put your faith in the Lord’s authority.  You may not know what He’s up to, but it’s okay. 

So if you are disillusioned and drained and even defeated today, here is a simple and profound message just for you.

Have faith in God.

 
Comments?

E-mail me:  dougapple@wave94.com.

May God bless you today!  With Apples of Gold…I’m Doug Apple.


© 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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