How Can God Work On You If You Won't Stay Put? - Apples of Gold - January 25, 2011 -vi-

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Apples of Gold
 

Radio Script for January 25, 2011

“How Can God Work On You If You Won’t Stay Put?”

 

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

Do you know what a vise is?

It has two heavy metal sides that crank together and hold things so you can work on them.

For example, I had a machine screw that was too long, so I used the vise to hold it steady while I sawed it.

The problem was, the screw kept moving.  It’s really hard to work on something if it won’t stay put.

I think the same thing happens to us sometimes.  We find ourselves in a vise, and life begins putting the saw to us.  The exact thing we do not want to do is stay put.  We will do whatever we can to get out of that vise and away from the saw.

But listen to James chapter one, verses two through four.  “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.  But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.”

The end result is being perfect and complete.  We will be better than ever when the trial is over; but we have to let it do its work, and that means staying put.

Take marriage, for example.  There have certainly been times of discomfort in our marriage, and what is the natural reaction to discomfort?  Pull away from it. 

So when our marriage grew uncomfortable, why didn’t we pull away?

It was due to our commitment.  Our vow to stay together was the vise that kept us from pulling apart, and by staying put, the trials were able to work on us and make us better.

Are you following the illustration?  The vise holds you in place so the tool can do its work.  The tool is the trial and the commitment is the vise.

If we run from trials, they cannot do their work, and we will never improve.

That’s where the vise of commitment comes in.  Your commitment holds you in place so the trials can do their work.

It works in marriage, and it works at work.  Have you ever met someone who quit their job at the first sign of discomfort?  People like that don’t grow because they won’t stay put.  They run from the trial so the trial can’t work on them.

Some people, though, are committed to their work.  That commitment becomes the vise that holds them in place when trials come along; and those are the people that grow and mature and become the best workers.

Then there is parenting.  That’s a job full of trials, but most parents are deeply committed to their children.  When trials come along, they stay put due to their commitment, and the trials make them better.  But the parents who do flee the responsibility?  Look at them.  They are about the least mature people you will ever meet because they refuse to stay put and let the trials mature them.

I see this in church congregations.  Some people hop from church to church because at every church they experience discomfort.  They flee as soon as a trial begins, and this stunts their growth.  On the other hand, some people are committed to their church, and that commitment becomes the vise that holds them steady while trials make them stronger.

We stressed commitment as we raised our children.  If they wanted to join a team, for example, we told them that once they started, they couldn’t quit.  Yes, trials might make them want to quit, but we forced them to make a commitment, and that commitment kept them in place during the trials.  And to me it’s obvious how that will build a child’s character.

This applies to all kinds of commitments.  When you commit to keep your word, or honor your parents, or be a man of integrity – every vow and every decision becomes a vise that holds you in place.  Then trials come along and, due to your commitment, you stand fast and the trial makes you stronger.

The person without commitments, however, has no vise to hold them steady.  When trials come, they pull away.  They think it’s good that they are escaping the trial, but it’s actually stunting their growth because trials bring maturity.

Isaiah 48:10 says, “See, I have refined you, though not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction.”

Zechariah 13 talks about being put into the fire and being refined and tested.

Yes, there are some situations we should flee from, such as violence, but the general rule is to hang in there when the going gets tough, because it’s that very toughness that refines us into better people.

In fact, we should count it all joy when we face various trials, according to James chapter one.

So we face them, square on, and when we feel like squirming away, we let our commitments become the vise that holds us in place, “that we may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.”


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 
 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-

You Might Be Covetous If... - Apples of Gold - January 24, 2011 -vi-

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Apples of Gold
 

Radio Script for January 24, 2011

“You Might Be Covetous If…”

 

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

Thou shalt not covet.

Everyone knows that, right?

It’s in the Ten Commandments, thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s house or his wife or his servants or his animals; and just when you think you’re safe it says, “Nor anything that is thy neighbor’s.”

And lest you relegate that to the Old Testament, Ephesians 5:3 says don’t even let covetousness be named among you.  It’s not fitting for saints.

What exactly is coveting?

Billy Graham said, “Coveting is an attitude.  When we desire something that belongs to someone else, that’s coveting.”*

When you covet something, you desire it greatly, you lust after it; and it’s sin when you covet something forbidden.

Coveting is setting your heart on something you can’t rightfully have, that belongs to someone else.

John Newton called it a “besetting sin.”

Coveting is not a passing whim.  It’s not when you drive by someone’s house and say, “I’d like to have a house like that someday.”

One of the clearest examples of covetousness in the Bible is when King Ahab wanted his neighbor’s vineyard.  It was right next to his palace, and he offered to buy it or give the man a better vineyard somewhere else.

The man’s name was Naboth and here was his response in First Kings chapter 21, “The Lord forbid that I should give the inheritance of my fathers to you!”

Did Ahab say, “Okay, never mind,” and forget about it?  Not at all!  He curled up in bed and wouldn’t even eat.  He was sick with covetousness, that’s how bad he wanted that vineyard next door.

His wicked wife, Queen Jezebel, saw how bad he wanted it and said, “Get up!  Eat!  I’ll get that vineyard for you!”  She killed the neighbor, took the vineyard, and that was that.  Except that God judged them and they died.

John Newton said that covetousness is one of the easiest sins to keep around because people can’t really see that you have it.  In fact, he said, people often don’t realize themselves, or won’t admit it, that they are covetous.**

So, are you covetous?  If you aren’t sure, let me ask you some questions in the format of “you might be covetous if…”

If you want something and are thinking about sneaking around to get it, you might be covetous.

If you have to be deceitful, tell a little lie, shade the truth, quibble, you might be covetous.

Is there anything dishonorable in the process?  Are you taking the low road?  Are you being underhanded?  If you are willing to sacrifice your honor, you might be covetous.

Are you taking advantage of anyone?  Is it cheating them in any way?  If there is any element of “taking” from them for your own benefit, you might be covetous.

Does thinking about it make you nervous?  If your anxiety level goes up when you think about this desire, you might be covetous.

If you think God might be standing between you and what you want, you might be covetous.

If you can’t obtain it with a completely clear conscience, you might be covetous.

If you just know that God is not pleased with this desire, you might be covetous.

If you can feel God’s icy hand of judgment every time you think of it, you might be covetous.

If wanting this puts up a road block to loving your neighbor in any way, you might be covetous.

If you want something bad enough to steal it, I’m pretty sure you’re covetous!

If you are willing to commit any sin just to get it, you probably are covetous.

In Luke 12:15 Jesus said to take heed and beware of covetousness.

Proverbs 28:16 indicates that we should hate covetousness.

Colossians 3:5 tells us to put to death covetousness.

Jeremiah six talks about God bringing judgment on the people because, from the least of them to the greatest, they were all given to covetousness.

Ephesians 5:5 says that no covetous man has any inheritance in the kingdom of God.

And when choosing church leaders, First Timothy three says that one thing we should look for, and not find, is covetousness.

So look for it in your own life, and through the Lord, put it to death.  Get rid of it for good.

There is no place for covetousness in the life of a Christian.  It must not even be named among us.

Instead of setting our hearts on the things of this world, we must fix our hearts and minds on the things of Almighty God.


Comments?

E-mail me:  dougapple@wave94.com.

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

* Found on page 75 of the book “How to be Born Again” by Billy Graham
** You can read *”Covetousness” by John Newton here:  http://www.monergism.com/thethreshold/sdg/covet.html

© 2010 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-

Let's Talk About Your Zodiac Tattoo - Apples of Gold - January 21, 2011 -vi-

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Apples of Gold
 

Radio Script for January 21, 2011

“Let’s Talk About Your Zodiac Tattoo”

 

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

So, let’s talk about your zodiac tattoo, that thing you had permanently inked on your body.

What will you do now that astronomers are saying the signs have changed?

Apparently your zodiac sign is based on where the stars were when you were born.  All my life there has been this little calendar, and according to it, I’m a Leo.

Now astronomers are saying there has been a cosmic shift over time, and long story short, I’m something else now.

That was the big news last week, until the astrologers, with an L, said, “Wait a minute.  That’s not true.  Don’t worry.  Your sign didn’t change.  It’s not really about the literal constellation you were born under after all.”

Now some of you are thinking, “Why are you even bringing this up.  The whole astrology/horoscope thing is ignorant.” 

I bring it up because some people are very serious about it, and lots of people pay attention to it.  According to a recent Pew survey, 25% of Americans believe in it.*  They may not put their full faith in the horoscope, but they read it and consider it, and sometimes they let it guide their actions. 

The horoscope influences people, and believe it or not, in our enlightened age, it is still printed in reputable newspapers around the country, and a Google search of the word “horoscope” returns over 25 million hits, more than both Tiger Woods and Michael Jordan.

I think it’s all hogwash, of course, but what if I didn’t?  What if I followed it?  What if, for the last 40 years, I got up everyday and read my Leo horoscope?  What if certain decisions in my life were influenced by being a Leo, and now, come to find out, I’m a Cancer.

What am I going to do with this massive Leo tattoo on my back?

“Nothing,” the astrologers say, “Just leave it.  We’re not changing anything.”

But what does that do to even the flimsiest argument that the constellation you were born under has some kind of influence over your life?

Of course the real answer is that, in reality, it has nothing to do with anything.  The horoscope is a big nothing, as far as providing divine guidance for your life, yet there it is in the paper everyday.

I notice there’s not a daily Bible verse in the paper.  How about a Proverb-of-the-Day to give people guidance?  “Nope.  We can’t be promoting religion.”  “Oh, I see.”

Here’s the thing.  People are looking for guidance.  They are looking for signs, for leadership, for direction.  When people come to a fork in the road and they don’t know what to do, they will look almost anywhere for help. 

If a person is thinking about leaving their spouse and running off with their lover, and their horoscope says, “Today is the day to take action and make yourself happy,” well by golly that’s their sign!

Listen.  It may sound like harmless fun for most people, and you may find it on the comics page, but listen; anything that offers some kind of divine guidance apart from God and His word is leading you astray.  If you turn to the horoscope instead of the Word of God, you are building your life on a foundation of nothing.

Isaiah 47 brings up astrologers, “those stargazers who make predictions month by month.”  Listen to what God compares them to – a fire without heat.

So what’s a good alternative?  Jeremiah 23:29 says the word of the Lord is like fire.  While the horoscope is a flicker with no heat or power, the word of God has real substance, real heat, real power.

God’s word provides true guidance we can build our lives on.  Listen to what Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount, “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.”

If I built my life on my Leo horoscope, I would be unnerved to find that I was actually a Cancer, or that there was no precise connection to the stars at all.

But instead, I have built my life on the Lord and His word, an unchanging foundation of truth that will endure to the very end.

Jesus said it in Matthew 24:35.

“Heaven and earth will pass away, by My words will by no means pass away.”


Comments?

E-mail me:  dougapple@wave94.com.

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

*  http://www.csmonitor.com/Science/2011/0113/New-zodiac-signs-2011-Why-astrology-is-even-sillier-than-we-thought

© 2010 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-

How Can You Think Deeply With All That Noise? - Apples of Gold - January 19, 2011 -vi-

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Apples of Gold
 

Radio Script for January 19, 2011

“How Can You Think Deeply With All That Noise?”

 

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

How do you know what you think if you don’t think?

How can you think if you don’t take time to think?

How can you think anything through if you are constantly interrupted?

How can you think deeply with all that noise?

How can your thoughts be organized and thorough if the TV is on all the time?

How can you string together one thought to the next if you are pouncing on every e-mail and text message that comes in?

We need time to connect the dots.  We need a quiet place to rise above the fray and see the big picture.

What really matters?  What are the majors and the minors?  Am I doing the important or only the urgent?

These things require reflection, deeper thought; the kind of thinking that is best done in silence.

Have you ever read The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis?  There’s a story of a man in a quiet library who begins thinking deeper thoughts about his life – and his thinking turns towards God.  All of a sudden, a demon appears and spurs him to get out of there and into the noisy street.  And the man says something like, “Ah, the bus passing, the newsboy shouting, this is normal.  I don’t know what I was thinking back there in the library, but I’m glad to be back to real life.”

I think that happens all the time.  People think real life is whatever they are used to.  Their cell phone.  Their iPod.  Their daily routine.  Their TV shows.  Their favorite DVDs.  They fill their lives with noise, and leave no quiet time for deeper reflection.  The TV comes on first thing in the morning (if it wasn’t left on all night) and from that point forward their thinking is shaped by, if not dictated by, all the noise around them.

I think this keeps us from God.  I think the noise puts up a wall that keeps our minds from turning to our Creator.  We fill up on eye and ear candy and don’t have room for more substantial fare.

Christians fall into this trap, even with Christian things.  Maybe it’s frantic church activity, go-go-go.  Maybe it’s frantic learning, more Bible studies, more lessons, more sermons, Christian radio and TV and music.  Sometimes I think God is drowned out by all of our Christian noise.

Then if we aren’t doing something we can feel guilty.  When we are still, we might feel lazy.  Gotta get up and go and do and change the world.  If I don’t do it, who will?  “If it is to be it is up to me,” and off we go.

Yesterday I was talking with Amy Hayes, the daughter of Bill and Gloria Gaither.  Listen to this phrase of hers, “everlasting more.”  She said, “We don’t need to be doing everlasting more.”

Have you ever felt that way, like you were driven to be doing everlasting more, as if you must just to be a good Christian?

Even Jesus Himself was not driven to be doing everlasting more.  He said He came to finish the work that the Father gave Him to finish…and that was it. 

In John 6:15 a tremendous opportunity presented itself.  Five thousand men were ready to crown Him king!  And what did Jesus do?  He walked away.  He left.  The Bible says He “departed again to the mountain by Himself alone.”

I like how it adds a double emphasis, “by Himself…alone.”  And He stayed there the rest of the day.

What on earth was He doing up there?  What did He do all the other times He was alone?

“Well He was praying, Doug, at least sometimes, the Bible says so.”

Yes, it does, but I doubt it was the frantic prayers we offer up so often.  “Gotta hurry up and get these prayers in before my prayer time is up.”

Don Whitney talks about coming to God in a “wordy fret.”  Can you relate to that, coming to God in a “wordy fret”?

I don’t think that’s what Jesus was doing.

Whitney has written a lot about the discipline of silence before God, and he shares a story by Jonathan Edwards about his future wife Sarah.  Edwards wrote, “She loves to be alone, walking in the fields and groves, and seems to have someone invisible always conversing with her.  She hardly cares for anything, except to meditate on Him.”

Doesn’t that sound serene?  I picture Jesus doing the same, walking slowly and silently, spending time with the Father.

When we are quiet before the Lord, I think He starts to put things into perspective.  He starts weaving things together and making sense of things.

In the silence, God speaks; our minds and souls can go deeper.  We can start to wrap our head around things because we can think more clearly.

Ecclesiastes 3:7 says there is a time to be silent.

Psalm 4 talks about meditating in our heart and being still.

Habakkuk 2:20 says, “The Lord is in His holy temple; let all the earth be silent before Him.”

Zephaniah 1:7 says, “Be silent before the Sovereign Lord…”

Zechariah 2:13 says, “Be silent, all flesh, before the Lord…”

So think about this today.  Think about turning everything off or getting away from all the noise.  Then in the quiet, draw near to God and think deeply about the important things of life and eternity.


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 
 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-

Beware What You Pour Into the Family River - Apples of Gold - January 18, 2011 -vi-

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Apples of Gold
 

Radio Script for January 18, 2011

“Beware What You Pour Into the Family River”

 

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

He just “wanted” her.

He had his reasons.

No, she wasn’t his wife.  She wasn’t anyone’s wife.  She was his father’s “concubine,” if you want to use a biblical term, which is okay, since this is a biblical story.

The father was Jacob.  His concubine was Bilhah, and the young man who wanted her was Jacob’s first born son, Reuben.

Being a first born son was a big deal in those days.  You got the blessing.  You got the inheritance.  You even got the concubines.

But Reuben couldn’t wait.  He wanted the concubine now, so he had her.

That’s just a blip on the radar of history, just one little deed, one little decision.

I doubt he prayed about it, or sought wise counsel.  He didn’t exercise patience, and he didn’t look at the big picture.  He just saw what he wanted, and he went for it. 

And today, Reuben is a warning for all of us, to stop and think before we do something stupid.  Our seemingly small actions send ripples into the future that affect our children and their children and on down the line. 

I don’t know if Reuben tried to keep his dalliance a secret, but Genesis 35:22 says that Reuben “lay with Bilhah,” and his father heard about it.

The Bible doesn’t mention any immediate consequences, so maybe Reuben thought he got away with it.

But the boomerang finally circled back on the day old Jacob spoke his final authoritative words to his sons.

Genesis 49 starts well enough, with Jacob saying, “Reuben, you are my firstborn, my might and the beginning of my strength, the excellency of dignity and the excellency of power.”

But then comes verse four.  “Unstable as water, you shall not excel, because you went up to your father’s bed; then you defiled it…”

Ouch.

Rueben was the firstborn, but he lost the rights of the firstborn.

Now look at Genesis 42.  It says that Reuben had two sons.

Oh wait.  In Genesis 46 it’s up to four sons.

Reuben lost his father’s blessing, and it affected him and his four sons.

Now look at the census in Numbers chapter one.  They counted only the men 20 years old and up, and how many were on Reuben’s family tree? 

Over 46,000. 

Reuben’s legacy, and his lack of that firstborn blessing, went from himself to his four sons, then on to 46,000 direct descendants, and probably over 100,000 if you count everyone.

So did any famous people show up in the line of Reuben?  Oh yeah. 

In Numbers 26, when talking about the family of Rueben, two names are highlighted:  Dathan and Abiram.  Unfortunately it’s a horror story about those two rebelling against Moses and the Lord.  In the end God opened the ground and swallowed them up along with their families.

Another famous name in the line of Reuben is Shammua.  He helped spy out the Promised Land, and came back voting against the Lord’s will to take it.  That disobedience caused the Israelites to wander in the wilderness for 40 years.

When the 40 years was up, Joshua was ready to lead them across the Jordan River into the Promised Land, and who wanted to stay behind?  The tribe of Reuben, among others.  There was God’s Promised Land, the very place God Himself led them to, but what did Reuben want?  To stay on the east side of the Jordan because they said it was good for livestock.  (Numbers 32)

So the tribe of Reuben planted itself on the east side of the Jordan, and when the Assyrians finally invaded and carried people into captivity, who went first?  Reuben and the others who refused to move into the actual Promised Land.

Now obviously lots of people made lots of decisions over hundreds of years for the tribe of Reuben, and they are all responsible for their own actions.

But I can’t help but wonder if things would have turned out differently if Reuben had not slept with that concubine.  What if he would have kept his father’s blessing and maintained his rights as the firstborn?  What if he would have been the man of God he should have been?  What if his family legacy was one of wisdom and godliness?  Would that have changed things for his family decade after decade, century after century?

I think so, because all you have to do is look around and see how things get passed from parents to children to grandchildren.  Of course it doesn’t have to be that way.  You can break the cycle anytime, but that’s the way it tends to work.

I see the life of Reuben as a warning.  Our family is like a river, and if we pollute the river today, it can affect our family on down the river for generations.

You can even affect the course of that river, so be wise.  Be careful.  Be patient.  Do the right thing.  Obey the Lord.  Avoid sin.

It may not seem like a big deal now, but look what happened to Reuben.

So don’t just live for today.  Think about the big picture.

And beware what you pour into the family river.


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 
 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-

What is an Evangelist? - Apples of Gold - January 14, 2011 -vi-

Click here to listen to the radio version.   

Click here to search the AOG archives.

Apples of Gold
 

Radio Script for January 14, 2011

“What is an Evangelist?”

 

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

Here’s a big Christian word for you:  evangelist.

How many times do you think that word shows up in the Bible?

Three times.

The word “evangelist” has shown up more in the New York Times already this year than it does the entire Bible.

The word shows up 12,000,000 times in Google, and 3 times in the Bible.

Now here’s something interesting.  Of those 12 million hits on the internet, almost one million of them refer to Billy Graham.  A quarter million refer to Pat Robertson. 

But for some reason, when I type the word “evangelist” into Google, and Google completes the phrase for me, it doesn’t give me Billy or Pat.  For some reason it lists four evangelists I’ve never heard of, and who don’t have many hits on the internet.  I don’t know what Google is basing it on, but anyway, when I type “evangelist,” it completes the phrase with four names, Nathan Morris, Tom Hayes, Sandra Riley and Amy Holmes.

My guess is that when people search for Billy or Pat, they don’t tack on the title “evangelist,” but they do when searching for those four people.

The first time the word evangelist shows up in the Bible is in Acts 21:8.  It says, “…the next day we that were of Paul’s company departed, and came unto Caesarea: and we entered in to the house of Philip the evangelist…”

That is the only time in the Bible that someone is tagged with the title “evangelist.” 

By the way, Philip the evangelist is not the same as Philip the apostle, who was one of Jesus’ 12 disciples.  This second Philip, the evangelist, doesn’t show up in the Bible until the book of Acts.  At that time seven Spirit-filled men were chosen for a certain task, including Stephen who was later stoned to death, and Philip.  That’s why, in Acts 21:8, it says, “…Philip the evangelist…one of the seven…” 

Now what does this word “evangelist” mean, anyway?  Actually, it’s quite simple.  The dictionary defines it as “a bringer of good news.”  So anyone who brings good news is technically an evangelist, but in Christianity we think of it as people who bring the good news of salvation through Jesus Christ.

That’s certainly what Philip the evangelist did.  Acts chapter eight is all about him.  Verse one says that “a great persecution broke out against the church at Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered…”

Verse four says, “Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went.”  So basically they were all evangelists, but the focus of the chapter is on Philip.  He preached and performed miracles in a city in Samaria, and Simon the Sorcerer was saved. 

Then an angel of the Lord told him to go down the road to Gaza where he met an Ethiopian official and led Him to Christ.  Finally, Acts chapter eight ends by saying that Philip “traveled about, preaching the gospel in all the towns until he reached Caesarea.”

Twenty years later he was still in Caesarea when Paul showed up, which is interesting since Paul was part of the stoning of Stephen, someone Philip was close to. 

So anyway, that’s Philip, the only man in the Bible with the actual title of evangelist.

The second of three times the word evangelist shows up in the Bible is Ephesians 4:11 where it says that God gave “some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers…”

This indicates that God calls some people to the specific position of evangelist.  Now when we think of this position, we probably think of guys who go around holding evangelistic meetings, sharing the gospel with lost people – the unsaved, non-Christians – and calling them to Christ.  Billy Graham comes to mind.    

But look at the context of that verse.  It names those five positions, then says that God calls people to those positions…why?  “For the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, until we all come to the unity of the faith…”

In that context, the evangelist isn’t bringing good news to the lost.  He’s bringing good news to the saved!  Those five positions are to be equipping the saints for ministry and edifying the body of Christ. 

I’m not diminishing the importance of sharing the gospel with the lost.  I’m just noting the context of that verse where God’s specific calling is for evangelists to minister to people already in the church.  Just something to think about.

And the third and final time the word evangelist appears in Scripture is Second Timothy 4:5 where Paul told Timothy to “…do the work of an evangelist…” 

I don’t know precisely what that meant to Timothy, if it meant organizing evangelistic crusades, or witnessing in his neighborhood, or if it meant sharing good news with the body of Christ; perhaps all of the above.

Now there are variations of the root Greek word for evangelist in the Bible which cover phrases like “preach the Gospel,” so we have certainly not plumbed the depths of the subject; but as for the word evangelist, that’s it – three times.

But I love the meaning, and I want to be that kind of person, don’t you?

I want to be an evangelist…“a bringer of good news.”


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 
 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-

Who Is Your Favorite Theologian? - Apples of Gold - January 12, 2011 -vi-

Click here to listen to the radio version.   

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Apples of Gold
 

Radio Script for January 12, 2011

“Who Is Your Favorite Theologian?”

 

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

Who is your favorite theologian?

Your favorite theologians would be the people you listen to most on the subject of God and His relationship to the world.

For many people, their favorite theologian is Oprah Winfrey. 

“Now wait a minute, Doug.  Oprah’s no theologian.”

Maybe not in the traditional sense, but Oprah shares her theories about God to millions of people.  In that sense, she is a teacher of theology, and many people believe her.

Talking about Oprah makes me think of a couple other guys, Deepak Chopra and Eckhart Tolle.  If you compare their theology to the Bible, they are whacked, but tons of people listen to them, including celebrities.

Everyone has a theology, and they probably got it from their favorite theologians.  So the question is, who is your favorite theologian?

Many young people don’t bother with the likes of Chopra and Tolle.  It’s too complex, or weird, or boring.  They don’t bother with church either, though, so where do they get their theology?  How do they know what to believe about God?

Many of them believe whatever they pick up in pop culture.  If Lady Gaga says something spiritual, “Well hey, that sounds good.  I’ll make that my theology.” 

“Oh Doug, Lady Gaga’s not a theologian, and no one thinks of her that way.  She’s just a singer.”

Well she’s much more than just a singer.  She’s a powerful cultural influence, and she is a theologian.  When she talks about God, millions of people listen.

According to what I found online, Lady Gaga has a new project coming out called “Born This Way,” and listen to these words, which apparently are the chorus to the title song, which hasn’t been released yet.  It says:

“I’m beautiful in my way,
Cause God makes no mistakes,
I’m on the right track,
Baby, I was born this way.”

You may not think of Lady Gaga as a theologian, but that will probably be a more influential theological statement this year than anything said by a traditional theologian.

People get their theology from all kinds of people.  Some get it from George Lucas while watching Star Wars; or from Steven Spielberg.

Some pick up theology from political leaders like Ronald Reagan or Thomas Jefferson.  Or maybe it’s Rush Limbaugh.

Some build their theology on Christian song lyrics.  That means their favorite theologians might be Christian song writers.

“I don’t go for any of that lightweight stuff,” you say.  “My favorite theologians are real theologians.”

Okay, so who’s your favorite?  John Calvin or John Wesley?  Martin Luther or Martin Luther King, Jr.?  Charles Stanley?  Charles Capps?  Charles Spurgeon?  Maybe it’s Kenneth Copeland or Kenneth Hagan; or how about Benny Hinn, or Billy Graham?

Or maybe you don’t put much stock in those modern guys.  Maybe your favorite theologians go way back, men whose sayings have stood the test of time.  Maybe you trust in Socrates or Plato or Confucius.  Or maybe you keep it biblical, with Abraham and Moses and David and Solomon.

Those are all very influential people, but let me tell you about my favorite theologian.

When it comes to theology, the study of God and His relationship to the world, this man stands far above the rest. 

John 6:46 says that no one has seen the Father except He who is from God, only He has seen the Father.

John 3:13 says that no one has ascended to heaven except the One who came down from heaven.

John 5:20 says, “For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself does…”

Those verses are about the ultimate theologian, the Son of God, God incarnate.

I’m talking about Jesus Christ.

Before we learn the words of others we should learn the words of Jesus.

Before we study the sayings of others we should study the sayings of Jesus.

The foundation of everything we believe about God should be the very words of Jesus.

Bible publishers make it easy by printing His words in red.

So where do you get your ideas about God?

Who do you listen to most on the subject of God and His relationship to the world?

Take a close look at the theologians who are speaking into your life. 

Maybe it’s time to shift your attention to the ultimate theologian.

Jesus Christ.


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 
 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-

Purity: Don't Wait Until You Notice - Apples of Gold - January 11, 2011 -vi-

Click here to listen to the radio version.   

Click here to search the AOG archives.

Apples of Gold
 

Radio Script for January 11, 2011

“Purity:  Don’t Wait Until You Notice”

 

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

My friend called his college roommate a “neatnik.”

You know, like a beatnik, but with the word neat.

His roommate liked to keep everything neat and clean, apparently to the point of annoyance.

Now I am not a neatnik, but I do have my limits.  There is a line, and when it’s crossed I have to take action. 

For example, the toothbrush holder.  My wife and I keep our toothbrushes in a cool little stand shaped like a palm tree. 

So how often should one clean the toothbrush holder?  A neatnik might clean it daily.  Others might clean it whenever they clean the bathroom.

But this little palm tree is full of hard-to-clean ridges, so what do I do?  I wait until I notice.  Life goes on, and all of a sudden I look down one day and say, “Wow, that thing needs to be cleaned.”

How often do you clean your computer keyboard?  You probably use it every day and don’t pay much attention.  Then one day it dawns on you, “Oh my goodness, that thing looks like it was pulled out of a grain bin.”

Now you might be thinking, “I wouldn’t be caught dead with a dirty keyboard.”  Okay, then let me ask you this.  How clean is the fan inside your computer?  A dirty keyboard may look bad, but a dirty fan can lead to computer failure.

And that’s the way we are with ourselves.  We tend to clean up the things on the outside that everyone can see, but ignore the things on the inside which are critical to the operation.

I could ask you how often you clean inside your computer, but let me ask you this.  How often do you clean inside yourself, spiritually speaking?  When was your last real internal cleansing before God?

I suspect that it’s like me and the toothbrush holder.  You wait until you notice.  We don’t really think about coming clean with God until we feel guilty or ashamed, or cross a big moral line. 

Then we notice.  Then we come running to the Lord for a cleansing. 

But that is not the best way.

When I was in college, at every church service we had a time of repentance, a time to come clean before God.  Many churches don’t do that, but maybe this one figured, “Hey, these college kids, they probably have a lot to repent for.”

I liked it because it was a good reminder to come clean with God, even if I didn’t feel particularly guilty about anything.  Then I would go about my business until the next service; but here’s the thing.  God doesn’t have a threshold like we do.  We can let sin build up until we finally hit a threshold and say, “Wow, I need to get clean.”

God’s desire is purity.  We are to be pure, holy, righteous.

And how much impurity does it take to be impure?  One little speck.  If something has any impurities at all, it is not pure.

Ivory Soap used to advertise that it was “99 and 44/100ths percent pure.”  The thing is, it wasn’t pure because the only purity is 100%.

So if we let our impurities pile up, we can’t possibly have a close walk with God.

Purity:  we can’t wait until we notice.

We need to be proactive about keeping clean before the Lord.

James 4:8 says, “…purify your hearts…”

First Timothy 5:22 says, “…keep yourself pure.”

How can we do that?  With the powerful cleansing agent described in First John 1:9 – “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

This should be a regular habit.  We consistently come clean with God, confess our sins, repent, and receive His forgiveness.

How often do you clean the inside of your windshield?  It’s dangerous to wait until you notice.

And when it comes to purity, we shouldn’t wait until we notice. 

Instead we need to come clean with God regularly, purifying ourselves through Jesus Christ, so that we can walk with Him as close as we possibly can.


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 
 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-

Hard Pressed On Every Side - Apples of Gold - January 10, 2011 -vi-

Click here to listen to the radio version.   

Click here to search the AOG archives.

Apples of Gold
 

Radio Script for January 10, 2011

“Hard Pressed On Every Side”

 

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

“We are hard pressed on every side…”

Can you relate to that today?

That’s what the Apostle Paul wrote in Second Corinthians 4:8.

It says, “We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed…”

That verse is found in a popular worship song by Darrell Evans entitled “Trading My Sorrows.”  It says, “I’m pressed but not crushed, persecuted but not abandoned; struck down but not destroyed.  I’m blessed beyond the curse for His promise will endure; and His joy’s going to be my strength.”

So do you feel hard pressed on every side today?

If so, this is a good test of your “compressive strength.”

We talk about the compressive strength of concrete.  What you do is take a sample piece of the concrete and put it in between two “rams.”  Then you slowly increase the pressure on the concrete until it breaks.  When you know how much pressure was being applied at the “yield point,” you can figure out the “compressive strength” of the concrete.

So what is the compressive strength of a child of God?  How much pressure can we endure before we are crushed?

Paul wrote in Second Corinthians 4:8 that they were pressed but not crushed.

Maybe they just weren’t pressed enough.  Maybe they weren’t pressed to the “yield point.”

Paul wrote an interesting thing in Romans 5:3, and here’s what it sounds like to me.  It sounds like the more pressure that is applied to the Christian, the more strength we are given to endure it!  It’s as if the very presence of the pressure gives more strength to the Christian.

Romans 5:3 says, “…we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience…”

Listen to the last part from the Amplified Bible:  “…knowing that pressure and affliction and hardship produce patient and unswerving endurance.”

Concrete has a finite strength, and pressure reveals that strength.  But for the child of God, our strength is not finite.  Pressure does not reveal the limits of our strength.  It actually produces strength.

Not that the strength is ours.  By ourselves we are weak earthen vessels.  That’s the phrase Paul used in Second Corinthians 4:7, “earthen vessels.”  He said, “…we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.”

Alone, we crack under pressure.  But we are not alone!  We have the power of God working in us! 

That’s the phrase Paul used in Ephesians 3:20.  It says, “Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us…”

God’s power is working inside of us, and He increases our compressive strength to the point of not being crushed when the pressure is applied.  Instead, the pressure actually produces more strength.

Paul describes a time in his life when the pressure was so great that he thought he would surely be crushed.  In Second Corinthians 8 he wrote, “For we do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, of our trouble which came to us in Asia: that we were burdened beyond measure, above strength, so that we despaired even of life.”

Have you ever felt that much pressure?  Have you ever felt “burdened beyond measure, above strength” – so pressured that you felt like you were going to die?

That’s where Paul was in Asia.  “We despaired even of life,” he said.

Why did God allow them to go through so much?  Look at verse nine.  He said it happened so “that we should not trust in ourselves but in God…”

In verse ten Paul came to this conclusion:  God delivered us then, He delivers us now, and we trust that He will deliver us in the future.

Now here is another powerful, encouraging passage of scripture, written by Paul in Second Corinthians four.  “Therefore we do not lose heart,” he said.  “For our light affliction, which is bur for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen.  For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.”

Second Timothy 2:3 says, “…endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.”

Ephesians 6:14 says, “Stand therefore…”

As a Christian, you have the strength to do it because you have the Spirit of God inside you and He is giving you the strength.  The more pressure you feel, the more God’s strength will rise up inside you.

The Bible talks about things like being filled with all the fullness of God, and He is able to make you stand, and strengthened with all might according to His glorious power that works in us.

Hebrews 12:1 says, “…let us run with endurance the race that is set before us…”

Second Timothy 4:5 says, “…endure hardship…”

There is no yield point for a Christian walking in the Spirit.  Our compressive strength is infinite, because it’s God’s strength working and growing inside of us.

So if you feel like Paul did, like you are “hard pressed on every side,” then remember that Paul was pressed, but not crushed.

And as a born again child of God, you, too, have the strength of Almighty God working inside you. 

He has delivered you in the past. 

He is delivering you now. 

And He will deliver you in the days to come.


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 
 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-

With the Measure You Use It Will Be Measured to You - Apples of Gold - January 7, 2011 -vi-

Click here to listen to the radio version.   

Click here to search the AOG archives.

Apples of Gold
 

Radio Script for January 7, 2011

“With the Measure You Use It Will Be Measured to You”

 

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

So you have one candy bar and two kids.

You want to have some fun?

Here’s what you do.  Tell them you are going to let one child break the candy bar in half, then the other child will get to choose which half he wants.

Scientists at the Fermi Lab could not create a more even split than that child will, knowing that if he makes one piece big, he’s going to be stuck with the little one.

That’s a great way to split anything between children.  Let one break and the other choose. 

Otherwise, if you try to split it, one of them will howl that they were cheated.  Plus it opens the door for the chooser to show some kindness, to actually take the smaller piece and leave the bigger.

That usually won’t happen, though, because usually kids are selfish, especially with their siblings.  Rare is the child who puts his sibling’s needs above his own.

The problem is, we often carry that selfishness into adulthood.  We tend to look out for number one.  I’ll get mine.  Good luck getting yours.

Here’s a story about a man in the 1960’s.  He was in his 40’s when all the hippies and bikers came on the scene, and he didn’t like them.

One day there was a knock on his door and it was a Harley rider.  He was out of gas and was asking for help.  There were a couple other bikers on their motorcycles sitting out on the street.

Now I agree, you need to be careful in a situation like that.  You need to be on your guard when random strangers show up at your door.  But when someone is asking for help, you need to try to help them in some wise way.

Well this guy was not about to help what he saw as some lazy, shiftless, rebellious pot-smoking, motorcycle-riding hippies.  So what did he do?  He was rude.  He said something like, “No, I’m not going to help you.  Get off my property you no good blankety-blank-blank-blank.”

So the Harley riders moved on and got gas elsewhere.  And then they came back.  That’s right, they weren’t too lazy and shiftless to come repay the rudeness.  What they did was ride their motorcycles onto the man’s precious manicured lawn.  They spun out donut after donut, destroying his yard before riding off into the sunset.

What they did was criminal, of course, and was a gross overpayment for the man’s rudeness, but it’s a great example of a teaching of Jesus.

In Luke 6:38 Jesus said, “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”

That man was rude to someone in need.  That was the measure he used, and it was measured back to him “a good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over.”

When I was a boy, a song came out that was a wonderful illustration of the measure you use being measured back to you.

In 1974 a song by Harry Chapin hit the top of the Billboard Hot 100.  It was called “Cat’s in the Cradle” and it was a story song, with a father singing about his son.

The son keeps asking to spend time with his dad, but his dad is too busy and keeps putting him off.  The son says things like, “That’s okay, Dad.  I’m going be just like you someday.”

As the song progresses, you can see the transition.  By the end, the dad is retired and trying to spend time with his son, and what does his son say?  “Not now, Dad, I’m too busy.”

With the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

That father used a very small measure when it came to time with his son, and that’s the same measure his son used later in life.

Galatians 6:7 says, “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.”

The seeds you plant are the seeds that will grow and multiply.  Eventually they become the fruit you will eat.  If you plant good seeds, you will enjoy good fruit. 

So the point?  Don’t be stingy.  Give!  Give time to your son.  Give gas to a stranger.  Even give the bigger half of a candy bar.

Give, and it will be given unto you, pressed down, shaken together, and running over. 

For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.


Comments?

E-mail me:  dougapple@wave94.com.

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

 

(close with a clip from “Cat’s in the Cradle” by Harry Chapin)


© 2010 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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