Make Your Decisions at the Altar - Apples of Gold - March 25, 2011 -vi-

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Apples of Gold
 

Radio Script for March 25, 2011

“Make Your Decisions at the Altar”

 

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

Listen to this little piece of advice and see what you think.

Here it is.  Make your decisions at the altar.

What I mean is, make your decisions while praying and submitting yourself to God.

Offer yourself up to God as a living sacrifice, as it says in Romans 12:1.

Wherever we offer ourselves up to God, that place becomes an altar.

An altar is a place of sacrifice, a sacred place where offerings are made to the Lord.

Many church buildings have a place they call the altar.  People are invited to come to the altar to pray.  Of course you can sit in your seat and pray, or out in the parking lot for that matter, but the important thing is that you seriously offer yourself up to God, and I’ve found that the altar at church is a great place for that. 

Just a few days ago I accepted the invitation myself to come to the altar and spend time drawing near to God in prayer.  I got down on my knees, bowed my head in humility, opened my hands up before God and prayed.  I surrendered myself to Him once again, offering myself as an offering.

So what does that have to do with making decisions?

Well I think we should submit our decisions to the Lord.

First Corinthians 6 says that, as Christians, we are not our own, but we were bought at a price.  Our body is now the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in us, so we are to glorify God in our body and in our spirit, because we actually belong to God.

Think of your job.  You are probably under someone’s authority.  Some decisions you can make on your own, but big decisions have to go through your manager, right?

How much more should our decisions go through God?

That’s why I’m saying this today.  Make your decisions at the altar.

Recently I talked to Dr. Charles Stanley about his new book on prayer.  One thing he recommended is having a place in your house that is set aside for prayer.  He said to make it a sanctified place, in a sense, a place that is designed especially for drawing near to God.

I remember hearing the testimony of a businessman named Kim Stone.  He said that God told him out of the blue one day to set up an altar in his home.  He thought it was odd, but he did it, and that place became a great place of communion between himself and the Lord.

Listen to this story of submission in prayer.  One man offered up prayers and supplications, with fervent cries and tears, and he was heard because of his reverent submission.

Did you hear that?  He was heard because of his reverent submission.

That story is about Jesus, found in Hebrews 5:7.

We also need to offer up prayers and supplications in reverent submission.  We need to reverently submit ourselves and our decisions to our heavenly Father.

Have you ever been unclear about your future direction?  Have you ever not known what decision to make? 

Make that decision at the altar.

I’ve heard women say things like, “I just make bad decisions about men.”  Well I submit to you, dear lady, that you should start making those decisions at the altar.

We should make personal decisions at the altar, and business decisions at the altar.  We are His and not our own.  He is the Master and we are the servants.  All decisions fall under His authority.  With that in mind, we make our decisions prayerfully, in reverent submission, at the altar.

And when we do, amazing things happen.  One thing is, we see more clearly at the altar.  The Holy Spirit teaches us things and leads us toward wisdom.  He opens our eyes and reveals potholes and pitfalls.  God knows best, and He reveals things to us at the altar.

We can see farther at the altar.  God knows what the future holds.  He knows how our decisions today will not only impact tomorrow, but generations.  At the altar He gives us glimpses of that.  At the altar we can trade short-term, small-vision decisions for long-term, big picture decisions.

Something else happens at the altar.  Decisions that are made there are infused with faith.  Too many times faith is a missing ingredient in our decisions. 

When you are in prayer, and the Holy Spirit stirs within you that sense that you just know what you are supposed to do, then a certain conviction rises up, a certain willpower.  You are more determined, more likely to overcome obstacles because you sense that God is with you, that He is both leading you and behind you as you move forward with your decision.

When it comes to making decisions, yes, get wisdom from others.  Yes, balance everything with the Bible.  Include all those other things that go into good decision making.

Then take it to the Lord in prayer.  Cry out to Him in reverent submission.

And make your decisions at the altar.


Comments?

E-mail me:  dougapple@wave94.com.

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


© 2011 The Arrow’s Tip 
 To subscribe to your own daily “Apples of Gold” e-mail, write dougapple@wave94.com.
If you want to be removed from this e-mail list, simply click reply and type UNSUBSCRIBE on the subject line.
If you want to catch “Apples of Gold” in its original audio format, go to www.wave94.com
To search through the large archive of past articles, go here:  http://www.wave94.com/modules.php?name=Stories_Archive
If you have trouble reaching me at my main e-mail address, try this one:  douglas_apple@msn.com

(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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Living the Most Excellent Way - Apples of Gold - March 23, 2011 -vi-

Click here to listen to the radio version.   

Click here to search the AOG archives.

Apples of Gold
 

Radio Script for March 23, 2011

“Living the Most Excellent Way”

 

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

Our love should be maturing.

We should see growth over time.

How we love people this year should be better than how we loved people last year.

In the same way we can watch our income grow, or our investments, or our education, we can watch our love grow for people.

How we love our spouse or our siblings, or our parents or our neighbors – we should see measurable growth over time.

How can you tell if your love is growing?  Here is one measuring stick:  patience.

First Corinthians 13:4 says love is patient.  If your love is growing for someone, you will find yourself being more patient with them, because real love is patient.

“But Doug, I do love them; but they are driving me crazy, and you want me to just sit around and be patient?”

Picture a grandfather and his little granddaughter fishing on a dock.  He is teaching her to cast, but my goodness, that hook is flying everywhere!  Does patience mean the grandfather sits there and does nothing while the little girl whips her fishing line all over creation?  No.  Patience means helping her work on it, even when it’s frustrating. 

Can you feel the love in that scene, a loving grandfather patiently teaching his granddaughter to fish?  That’s a great picture of mature love because there’s so much patience.

Now that grandfather may not have been so patient with his own daughter, but here’s the good thing.  His love has grown.

So the question is, is our love growing?  Do we love people more now than we did before?

This is a good indicator of spiritual growth.  If we are really growing as Christians, it will show up as increased love for people.

If we find that people are annoying us more, it’s likely that we are shrinking spiritually. 

Galatians 5:22 says that love is a fruit of the Holy Spirit.  It’s a byproduct.  Walk more in the Spirit and you automatically walk more in love.

We all say dumb, ignorant things from time to time, so how do we respond when people say dumb, ignorant things to us?

Our response today should not be the same as it was a year ago.  Why not?  Because our love should be growing.  Ignorant statements have less impact on us because we love people more. 

Love is the power position.  It puts you on the high ground.  It makes you bigger than the situation. 

When you love someone, and they say something ignorant to you – and I’m talking about real, Godly love here, not some Hollywood flakery – their ignorant statements don’t have the same impact because love deflects them.  Love is an outward-flowing energy that overpowers everything coming back at it. 

Jesus told us to do something that, on the surface, sounds impossible.  In Matthew 5:44 He said, “…love your enemies…”

I’m not sure we can consistently love anyone, friend or foe, in our natural selves; but it can be done as we walk more and more in the Spirit.  The more in tune we are with the Holy Spirit, the more fruit of the Spirit we will see in our lives, and the more love we will have for people.  This love will grow and mature to the point that yes, we will even be able to have a great love for our enemies.

If you want to find someone to follow as a leader, if you want someone to be your mentor, find someone who has this mature love.  Pettiness, selfishness and pride will be shrinking in them, and mature love will be taking their place.

So how can we have more and more of this powerful love? 

Love is a fruit of the Spirit, meaning we need more of the Holy Spirit, or maybe I should say we need to be more under the influence of the Holy Spirit.

One way we do that is by eliminating the things that beat back the influence of the Spirit.  First Thessalonians 5:19 says, “Do not quench the Spirit.”  Ephesians 4:30 says, “…do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God…”

We should repent of all sin and turn from it.  Then we can draw near to God and He will draw near to us.  (James 4:8)  And the Spirit will teach us to walk in holiness and righteousness so that we won’t grieve Him.

Luke 11:13 says, “…how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!”

So we can ask God for more of His Spirit, to be influenced more and more by His Spirit.  As we come under more and more of the Spirit’s influence, we will see more and more fruit of the Spirit, including God’s great love.

In John 15:13 Jesus said, “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.”

Paul said love is the most excellent way.  (First Corinthians 12:31)

Isn’t that the way we want to live our lives, in the most excellent way?

It’s the way of love, and it’s a love that should continue to grow and mature all the days of our lives.


Comments?

E-mail me:  dougapple@wave94.com.

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


© 2011 The Arrow’s Tip 
 To subscribe to your own daily “Apples of Gold” e-mail, write dougapple@wave94.com.
If you want to be removed from this e-mail list, simply click reply and type UNSUBSCRIBE on the subject line.
If you want to catch “Apples of Gold” in its original audio format, go to www.wave94.com
To search through the large archive of past articles, go here:  http://www.wave94.com/modules.php?name=Stories_Archive
If you have trouble reaching me at my main e-mail address, try this one:  douglas_apple@msn.com

(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
-vi-

Thoughts I Refuse to Entertain - Apples of Gold - March 11, 2011 -vi-

Click here to listen to the radio version.   

Click here to search the AOG archives.

Apples of Gold
 

Radio Script for March 11, 2011

“Thoughts I Refuse to Entertain”

 

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

Some thoughts I refuse to entertain.

Yes, they come knocking, but I won’t let them in.  I hear them come up on the porch, but I refuse to entertain them, or show them any kind of hospitality at all, other than a stone cold “take a hike.”

One of those thoughts is, “I don’t feel like getting up today.”  I never entertain that thought.  If it bothers to pay me a visit, I kick it out immediately.  When my alarm goes off, I get up.  I want to get up.  “This is the day the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it.”  In fact, my alarm is a praise song that immediately starts my day on the right foot.

Another thought I refuse to entertain is, “I don’t feel like exercising.”  As you might imagine, my job in radio is not exactly physical.  You don’t get much of a workout turning a microphone off and on, so I exercise.  I love the results.  I love the health and the feeling of wellbeing that it brings, so I do it.  Sure, the thought pops up sometimes, “You don’t feel like doing this today.”  Or sometimes, when I’m out jogging, the thought occurs to me, “Wow, this is hard, I should just turn around and go home.”

But those are thoughts I refuse to entertain.  They pop up, but I immediately shoot them down.  I refuse to think about them at all.  I have decided to exercise and it’s not up for debate.

I have also decided to memorize the book of John.  It’s a big job, and once in a while the thought pops up, “You need a break,” or “You’re getting burned out.”  That is a thought I refuse to entertain.  I immediately stamp it out, because I am committed to this.  I will not let some random, loopy thought drag down my attitude.  It’s a wonderful job, a rewarding job, a job I love to do that will bear some of the best long-term fruit of my life, and I refuse to think for one second about quitting or even delaying it.

Now listen to this.  I refuse to entertain any critical thoughts about my wife.  Let that sink in for a minute.  I refuse to entertain any critical thoughts about my wife.  I am committed to her forever, until death do us part.  No, we certainly aren’t perfect people, but I refuse to let my mind marinate in critical thoughts.  Where’s the value in that?

Many spouses end up in a downward spiral of critical thinking.  They get stuck on something and can’t get it out of their head.  Maybe it’s several somethings, and they sink their teeth into them like a bulldog.  They are critical, negative thoughts about their spouse, and they will not let them go.

What’s the point?  Does that help you reach the goals in your marriage?  Do you even have goals in your marriage?

Some of the goals for my marriage are found in Ephesians chapter 4.  Paul wrote, “I…beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”

Man, that is an awesome scripture for marriage!  We are to walk worthy of the calling of God.  We are to walk in gentleness and humility and patience.  We are to bear with one another in love.  We endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

How can I do all that while entertaining critical thoughts about my wife?  I can’t, so I don’t.  I refuse to entertain critical thoughts about my wife.  If they pop up, I kick them out, and I cannot begin to tell you how wonderful the results are! 

Ephesians 4:7 goes on to say, “To each one of us grace was given…”  She was given grace.  I was given grace.  We both have been given grace, and God’s grace is sufficient for our marriage; so for me to think critical thoughts of the recipient of God’s grace…that would be counterproductive and I won’t do it.

These thoughts stand in the way between me and things that are important.  That’s why I refuse to entertain them.

Listen to me.  You do not have to think about every thought that comes along.  Some of them must be booted out immediately!

People who have affairs – they started with thoughts that should have been booted out.

People who commit crimes – all crimes begin with thoughts that should have been booted out.

Fear – some people live their lives in fear instead of faith, and those fearful thoughts need to be booted out and replaced with faith in the Almighty.

I refuse to think anything negative about my job.  Some people turn thoughts about their job into a thorn in their side.  They dwell on the negative and live in the critical.  They whine about going to work and everything about work.  Why do that?  Do not dwell on anything negative or critical about your job.  That’s just thought poison.  Work as unto the Lord, the Bible says.  (Colossians 3:23)  If our work is unto the Lord, then we have no business dwelling on critical thoughts about the Lord’s work.

Some people dwell on negative things from the past.  Talk about a worthless waste of good brain power!  Forgive, forget and move on.

Some people dwell on doubts about God.  Yes I see where they are coming from, but God saved me.  He changed my life.  I see His good fruit in my life, so even though I don’t understand it all, the debate about God is over.  It’s a non-issue, so I refuse to entertain any doubtful thoughts about God.

What does the Bible say about controlling our thoughts?

Colossians 3:2 tells us to set our minds on things above, not on earthly things.

Philippians 4:8 says, “Whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy – meditate on these things.”

That is what we are to focus our brain power on, thinking on things that are good, and things that are of God.

And with that in mind, there are some thoughts I simply refuse to entertain.


Comments?

E-mail me:  dougapple@wave94.com.

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


© 2011 The Arrow’s Tip 
 To subscribe to your own daily “Apples of Gold” e-mail, write dougapple@wave94.com.
If you want to be removed from this e-mail list, simply click reply and type UNSUBSCRIBE on the subject line.
If you want to catch “Apples of Gold” in its original audio format, go to www.wave94.com
To search through the large archive of past articles, go here:  http://www.wave94.com/modules.php?name=Stories_Archive
If you have trouble reaching me at my main e-mail address, try this one:  douglas_apple@msn.com

(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
-vi-