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Apples of Gold
Radio Script for July 26, 2010
“Redeemed How I Love to Proclaim It!”
Hello, I’m Doug Apple…with Apples of Gold.
“Redeemed, How I Love to Proclaim It!”
That’s a hymn written by Fanny Crosby over a hundred years ago.
She was blind, but very thankful to be redeemed by Jesus Christ.
We are all born in sin, slaves to sin, yet we Christians can rejoice in the fact that we are redeemed by the blood of Jesus.
We were not redeemed with “corruptible things,” according to First Peter 1, “but with the precious blood of Christ…”
Galatians 3:13 says, “Christ has redeemed us…”
Galatians 4 says God sent forth His Son to redeem us that we might receive the adoption as sons.
Titus 2 says Jesus Christ gave Himself for us “to redeem us from all wickedness…”
“Redeemed, how I love to proclaim it!” sang Fanny Crosby. “Redeemed by the blood of the Lamb; Redeemed through His infinite mercy, His child and forever I am.”
When you redeem something, you make a transaction. For example, if you leave something at a pawn shop, then want it back, you have to “redeem” it. You pay a price to get it back.
That’s what God did to get us back from the bondage of sin. He redeemed us with the blood of His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ.
We were condemned, but now we are saved, and we received His Spirit as a down payment of the glories yet to come.
Fanny Crosby was pretty excited about this presence of God in her life. Listen to this verse:
“Redeemed, and so happy in Jesus,
No language my rapture can tell;
I know that the light of His presence
With me doth continually dwell.”
What is the “light of His presence”? That is the abiding, internal presence of the very Spirit of the Living God!
The Bible calls God our “redeemer.”
Psalm 19:14 says, “O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer.”
Psalm 103 calls Him the One who “redeems your life from the pit.”
Can you relate to that? Has Jesus redeemed your life from the pit? If so, you can sing along with this stanza:
“I think of my blessed Redeemer,
I think of Him all the day long:
I sing, for I cannot be silent;
His love is the theme of my song.”
A redeemer is needed when you cannot redeem yourself. It is out of your power. There is nothing you can do. You are hopeless and stuck. You are in the bottom of a well with no ladder, no rope and no hope.
Then your redeemer comes along! He is your savior, your rescuer. What you could not do, he does.
That’s what Fanny was singing about “all the day long.”
To redeem is like paying a ransom. It sets you free from the power of another. To redeem is to atone for, to make amends, to justify. To redeem is to recover the ownership of something. It is to liberate or set free. Redemption clears, it releases from debt or blame.
I’ll bet old blind Fanny Crosby thrilled at the words of Job who said, “I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end He will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; I myself will see Him with my own eyes…”
A wonderful hope, not just for a blind woman, but for all of us. And that hope comes shining forth as the song comes to this bright conclusion:
“I know there’s a crown that is waiting,
In yonder bright mansion for me,
And soon, with the spirits made perfect,
At home with the Lord I shall be!
Redeemed, redeemed,
Redeemed by the blood of the lamb,
Redeemed, redeemed,
His child and forever I am.”
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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