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Apples of Gold
Radio Script for December 15, 2010
“We Thrive or We Wither”
Hello, I’m Doug Apple…with Apples of Gold.
This summer I cut down a very leafy bush in my back yard.
I tossed it by the back fence and left it.
Later I went back to it and the leaves were all brown. I shook it and leaves just flew, making a big pile on the ground.
The branches were skeletal. It was ugly and useless for anything except a good fire.
Meanwhile, I left a stub of the bush by the house, and guess what? It was alive! Before the summer was over it had new branches growing three or four feet long.
Of course the difference was obvious. The first branches had been cut away from their root system, so they withered; but the second branches, though tiny to start with, were thriving and beautiful because they were still connected to the roots.
Jesus said that’s the way it is with us. When we stay connected to Him, we thrive; but when we pull away from Him, we wither.
I can almost feel this inside me. When I spend good time with God, when I tune in to His presence consistently throughout the day, I feel that spiritual thriving. But when I get caught up in things and I don’t turn toward Him for a while, I start to feel thirsty. It feels like a spiritual withering.
In John 15:5 Jesus said, “I am the vine, you are the branches.”
The vine is the lifeline to the branches. You can give the branches all the sun and water you want. You can prune them and treat them like a prize-winning daylily, but if they aren’t connected to the vine they are going to wither.
The same is true for us. We can read all the self-help books and do all the right things. We can manage our money and give to the poor, work out and stay fit, eat all natural and floss everyday, but if we aren’t connected to the vine we are going to wither.
Jesus said, “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit…”
When we stay connected to God, we bear much fruit, and I imagine that includes the fruit of the Spirit. We will produce truly good things as the life of the vine flows through us.
John 15:8 uses this phrase, “that you bear much fruit.” That’s exactly what I want! I want to bear much fruit, and to do that I need a wide open connection to the vine.
Everyone can do good deeds. Satanists can send money to Haiti, so is there a difference?
Jesus said, “Without Me you can do nothing,” but wait a minute. Aren’t people doing good deeds apart from Christ all the time?
I think the difference is found in John 15:16. Jesus talked about bearing fruit that will last. The fruit we bear through Him is enduring fruit.
This is a constant prayer in my life, that I will bear good fruit, fruit that will last.
So how do I abide in the vine? Here is one key. Jesus said in John 15:7, “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you…”
I take that seriously, so I try to make sure that His words are abiding in me. That means knowing His words and doing them.
As you may know, I firmly believe in Bible memorization. A while back I began my own project of memorizing the book of John before I turn 50. That’s in 2013, so I’m not exactly in a rush, but hey, the book of John has some really long chapters!
I’m taking it slow so that I’m not just memorizing, but marinating. I let the words saturate me as I learn them and repeat them. I go over them consistently, partly so that I don’t lose what I memorized, and mostly as a way to let His words abide in me so that I can bear good fruit.
And the ultimate goal is found in John 15:8 where Jesus said, “By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit…”
I want God to be glorified in my life, and that occurs when I bear much fruit; and I bear fruit automatically as I abide in the vine, and as Jesus’ words abide in me. So I memorize the Bible with the end goal of God being glorified.
Abiding in the vine also includes things like walking in the Spirit, praying, loving the Lord and loving people.
There’s a lot involved, but it’s not that hard because God actually does it through us.
So keep this in mind today.
We thrive or we wither, and the difference is our connection to the Vine.
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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