I Was a Van Halen Fan - Apples of Gold - June 4, 2008 -vi-

Apples of Gold
 

Radio Script for June 4, 2008

“I Was a Van Halen Fan”

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

Valerie Bertinelli has a new book out, which I picked up the other day at the library.

It’s called “Losing It,” and I thought it would be all about how she lost weight and developed a more healthy lifestyle.

Then I saw those magic words:  Van Halen.

When I was a teenager I loved Van Halen, which was a rock group named after two of its members, Eddie and Alex Van Halen.

Well I had forgotten that Valerie Bertinelli had married Eddie Van Halen back in 1980.  And what I thought was going to be a health book turned out to be an autobiography full of information about their life together.

I knew almost nothing about them, because when I gave my life to Christ back in 1984, I trashed all my secular music and discovered something much better to follow than pop culture.

So this book fascinated me.  It was like a study in sowing and reaping. 

Looking back over my life I see so many wonderful results from doing things God’s way, according to the Bible.  Not that I even understood it all.  Sometimes I just did it because the Bible said to.  And now, looking back, I just shake my head and say, “God, you are awesome!”  I look at my marriage and my children and family and all I can say is, God’s way works.

But let’s go back to the early 1980’s.  Eddie Van Halen was a mega rock star, best guitar player in the land.  I would have traded places with him in a heartbeat.  What a life!  Big bucks.  Crazy fans.  Sold out concerts.  Rock and roll every night and party every day.  He had it made.  Then marry a TV star and what more could you ask for?

But it just didn’t work.  He was building on sand, like Jesus talked about in the Sermon on the Mount. 

In the book, his wife talks about all the unfaithfulness in their marriage.  There was betrayal and mistrust.  Eddie drank a lot and became an alcoholic.  He had fits of rage.  She tells of one family gathering where Eddie was loaded and unruly and her dad ended up punching him in the face. 

She said he used alcohol and drugs to handle the pressures of his career.  He spent many nights in his recording studio rather than coming home to his wife.  He smoked a lot and eventually had part of his tongue cut out due to cancer.  They did interventions to try to get him into rehab, which he tried but it just didn’t take.

After 20 years together they finally separated and eventually divorced.

So I compare his life of sowing and reaping to mine.  And remember, his is the life I would have traded for so quickly back in the early 80’s.  Here is what I find.  He continuously sowed bad seed, then reaped a destructive harvest.  His life looks like a train wreck.

So does that make me better than him? 

Not at all.  I know how quickly I would have traded places with him, and I probably would have done the same thing.

What made the difference?  Was it because I chose to follow Christ back in ’84?

No, because I don’t really know why I did that.  It wasn’t like I woke up one day and decided to become a Christian.  I didn’t hit rock bottom.  I didn’t think it through at all.  I just ended up at a church altar one night, and from that point on God changed my life.

It reminds me of Colossians 1:13.  God rescued me from the dominion of darkness.

So why me and not Eddie? 

I don’t really know why, but here is a guess.  God rescued me because people were praying for me.  They prayed and they were persistent.  They just kept on praying for me.

For example, I know my parents were praying for me, probably nonstop.  I’m sure other family members were praying, too.

And I’ll bet there were people like teachers and neighbors and friends and other parents praying for me.  And they weren’t just tossing up prayers.  Many of these were Godly people, saints who knew how to get a hold of the Almighty.

Then there were prayers being prayed, not for me by name, but by category.  People praying for the students on my campus.  People praying for those who would come to the church that night.  People praying for a harvest among teenagers.  The pastor of that church.  The evangelist that night.  The members of the church.  The prayer warriors in that town.  The Christian kids on my campus.

You throw all that together and you end up with a lot of prayers that applied to me. 

Does that work?  Does it change anything?

In Luke 18 Jesus tells of a persistent widow.  The judge acted because she bugged him so much.  And Jesus said prayer is like that. 

Well the Bible doesn’t say this, but think about it.  You have a widow who keeps coming back to the judge.  What if the widow suddenly showed up with a thousand of her friends?  How much more quickly might he have acted? 

Prayer might work the same way.  The more people we can get praying about the same thing, the more effect it has on God.

Like I said, I don’t know if that’s true, but it makes sense to me. 

So I want to thank all the people who prayed for me in those days.  I don’t know where I would be without all those prayers.

And if you know someone who needs the Lord, someone who needs to be rescued from the dominion of darkness, then line up the prayer warriors!  And don’t quit.  Keep on bombarding heaven for that person. 

I think it was the prayers of God’s people that brought about the change in my life, and I think God is ready to do the same for so many others – as we are persistent in prayer.


Comments?

E-mail me:  dougapple@wave94.com.

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

© 2008 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-

Lord, Give Me an Undivided Heart - Apples of Gold - June 3, 2008 -vi-

Apples of Gold
 

Radio Script for June 3, 2008

“Lord, Give Me an Undivided Heart”

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

It’s not that hard to be good on the surface.

After you’ve been in church for a while, you know what’s expected.  It’s no big deal to keep a good Christian image if you want to.

In fact, you can be one of the better Christians – just do something sacrificial.  I’m telling you, bro, do something sacrificial and you’ve hit the mother lode of looking like a good Christian.

It works, it really does . . . on people. 

But you know what?  God doesn’t buy it.

When God looks at me, He sees right through my image.  He even sees right through my actions.  He sees through my prayers and my many, many words.  His eyes penetrate deep into my heart. 

He sees it all.  Everything.*

And now get this.  As a true believer, I know that God’s Holy Spirit lives inside me.  I don’t know where, but somewhere in there, somewhere, is the Holy Spirit. 

There is a fount of holiness inside me, a source of holiness.  And He is here to teach me and to guide me, to counsel me and convict me.  He will lead me, if only I will follow.

So why don’t I follow, all the time?

Because I am divided.  Part of me wants to go all the way with God, and part of me seems stuck – partly stubborn, kind of willful, don’t want to be too different from everyone else, want to walk in the flesh sometimes – and why?  Partly because it’s what I’m used to.  Partly because I have a sinful nature that wants to be enticed.  Partly because we have an enemy that wants us dirty.

But I know that anything apart from God is just messed up.  His way is the true way, and every other way is . . . really, it’s just a disaster.  Not always an immediate disaster, but an eventual disaster.  Houses built on sand are an eventual disaster.

I don’t want that. 

When God’s eyes penetrate to my deepest parts, I want Him to see no shades of variation.

Imagine digging deep into the earth.  There are different layers with different colors.  Those are divisions. 

But when God sees my heart, I want no layers, no divisions.  At each stage that He digs, I want Him to find the same thing:  holiness.

That’s not an easy thing to say, because I think, “Holiness, yes, but at what price?”

Ah, but the better question is, “Unholiness at what price?”

Any area of unholiness is an area of darkness instead of light.  An area of friction instead of smooth.  An area of stumbling instead of running strong.

So I must let the Holy Spirit have His way.  I must have no divisions, no layers.  I must be one layer through and through:  holiness.

And you know what?  I can’t do it.  I don’t even want to, at least part of me doesn’t.  But I want that part banished.  That’s my sinful nature, my “old man,” and I want it starved and I want it gone. 

Instead I want what Galatians 5:16 talks about.  I want to “live by the Spirit” so that I “will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature.”

I want to walk in the Spirit and be led by the Spirit.  I want the Holy Spirit to teach me to be holy in all circumstances.  I want His holiness to well up within me and overflow through me.  I want His nature to become my nature, and my sin nature to be drowned by a flood of holiness, by those streams of living water.**

I want what it says in Ezekiel 11:19, “I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them…” 

My prayer is Psalm 86:11, “Teach me your way, O Lord, and I will walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart…”

Won’t this make us stand out? 

Oh, yes.  We will be like Philippians 2:15, …blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation in which we shine like stars in the universe.

Yes, we will stand out like beacons of light in the darkness.  This is what God wants.  And He gives us His Spirit to make it happen.  And the Holy Spirit will do His great work in our life – once we decide that we simply must have an undivided heart.


Comments?

E-mail me:  dougapple@wave94.com.

May God bless you today!  With Apples of Gold…I’m Doug Apple.
 
*  In Acts 1:24 they prayed, “Lord, You know everyone’s heart.”
                Psalm 44:21 says, “…He knows the secrets of the heart…”
                First Samuel 16:7 says, “Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

**  In John 7:38-39 Jesus said, “Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him." By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.”

© 2008 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 Do We Know If We Are Bearing Good Fruit? - Apples of Gold - June 2, 2008 -vi-

Apples of Gold
 

Radio Script for June 2, 2008

“How Do We Know If We Are Bearing Good Fruit?”

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

I want to bear good fruit.

I want to bear a lot of good fruit.

That’s one of the reasons I got into Christian radio, so I could scatter seed far and wide constantly.  Even at midnight I’m scattering seed.

I want to bear good fruit in my home.  I want to my marriage and my children to be very fruitful.  If there is a scoreboard for fruitfulness, I want to run up the score as high as I can.

But is it ever enough?  If I’m not the next Billy Graham, have I done enough?

Speaking of, let’s talk about Billy Graham.  Billy was one of the great producers in the kingdom, right?  But now he’s old, and wow, he just can’t produce like he used to. 

Is good fruit production only for the young and energetic?

What about single parents who work hard just to make ends meet and keep their kids out of trouble?  What kind of numbers can they put up on the fruitfulness scoreboard?

Do Christians with more public gifts like speaking and singing outscore those who don’t?

And how does God keep score anyway?

Have you noticed how all of this is based on performance?  I bear good fruit when I go out and produce, changing people and changing the world.  And if I’m not out there producing, well then I’m not bearing much fruit, am I?

We live in a performance culture.  The home run hitters are the producers and the bat boys aren’t.  And we Christians see ourselves the same way.  There are home run hitters bearing all kinds of good fruit, then there are the bat boys who, if they are producing any fruit at all, it’s hard to tell.

But you know what?  I don’t think that’s the way God looks at it. 

So how does God look at it?  First Samuel 16:7 says, “The Lord does not look at the things man looks at.  Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

The more I read the Bible, the more I realize the emphasis is not on what I’m doing “out there.”  The emphasis is on what’s happening in here, inside me.

“But Doug, aren’t we to be expanding the kingdom of God…out there?”

Well, where is the kingdom of God?  Jesus said in Luke 17:21, “…the kingdom of God is within you.”

So if we want to bear fruit in the kingdom, where is that?  It’s inside of us.

So if bearing fruit is not so much about how many souls I reached, or good deeds I did, then what is it about? 

I think it’s about Galatians 5:16.  Are we living “by the Spirit”?  Are we “walking in the Spirit”?  Verse 18 talks about being “led by the Spirit.”

Now I know some of you are saying, “This is getting weird.  How am I supposed to be led by the Spirit?”

Jesus said in John 14:17 that the Holy Spirit would actually come to live inside of us.  And what is He doing in there?  He is working to produce good fruit, but He can only do that as we let Him lead us.

The opposite of this is being led by our sinful nature, which includes selfish ambition.  So what if we do good deeds out of selfish ambition?  Do our good deeds bear good fruit? 

For example, you might say, “Okay, so I witnessed to 12 people just to show off, and 3 of them got saved.  Isn’t that bearing good fruit?”

Not for you.  The only fruit you produced was pride.

Do you want to check for good fruit?  What should you look for?  The number of good deeds?

No, because our good fruit is found right here, inside of us.

How do we know if we are bearing good fruit?  We look for what Galatians 5 calls “the fruit of the Spirit.”  Here is that list of nine qualities:  love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control.

Ephesians 5 adds a couple more:  righteousness and truth.

These are inner characteristics, and they come from God’s Holy Spirit.  The more we are led by His Spirit, the more good fruit within us.

If I am a bold witness for Christ, but I’m impatient and unkind, am I really bearing good fruit?  If I give money to the poor, but I lack love, am I bearing good fruit?  If I’m in fulltime ministry, working for God all week long, but I lack joy, am I bearing good fruit?

In Acts 5, when Ananias and Sapphira gave a bunch of money to the church, it looked like they were bearing good fruit.  But because they were lying, actually their fruit was rotten. 

See, the kingdom of God is not “out there.”  And the fruit of the kingdom is not out there.  No, the fruit is in here, and we bear that fruit, not by doing good, but by walking in the Spirit and being led by the Spirit.  As we give the Lord control, then He bears the good fruit within us.

So it’s not about how many good deeds I do.  It’s not about how much Gospel seed I sow.  It’s not even about being a good spouse or a good parent.  The fruit God is looking for is the fruit of His Spirit, and He’s not looking out there.  He is looking inside me.

And if that’s the measurement, then yes, Billy Graham can still bear much fruit today, not by getting out and working like he was 40 again, but as the Spirit bears fruit within him. 

Single parents can bear much fruit, even if they don’t have a bunch of time for outside ministry.  People without the more public talents like speaking or singing can bear much fruit.

Because bearing fruit comes down to this.  It’s not about what we do “out there.”  But it’s about what we let the Spirit do “in here.”


Comments?

E-mail me:  dougapple@wave94.com.

May God bless you today!  With Apples of Gold…I’m Doug Apple.
 
Does that mean we don’t have to do good deeds or witness or give?  On the contrary, BECAUSE we are walking in the Spirit, and the Spirit is bearing good fruit within us, then good deeds just FLOW out of us!  And they are done with pure motives and joy!

© 2008 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-

My Wife is Not My Rock - Apples of Gold - May 30, 2008 -vi-

Apples of Gold
 

Radio Script for May 30, 2008

“My Wife is Not My Rock”

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

My wife is my companion, but she is not my rock.

God and God alone is my rock, my sure foundation.

Now let me tell you, that takes an incredible amount of pressure off of a marriage.

Don’t get me wrong, I love my wife, and I am a strong advocate of marriage, the two become one, ‘til death do us part, the whole kit and caboodle – especially the caboodle.

But sometimes we elevate our marriage and our spouse almost to the point of idolatry.

Recently I heard about an older woman whose husband died.  Her son said that she just never recovered.  Her grief became depression, and she could not go on without her husband.  She just gave up, and died shortly thereafter.

I understand the grief, but to me, this man was the foundation of her life – a position that only God should fill; that only God can fill.

When I die I’m sure my wife will grieve.  Or she’ll at least notice I’m gone.  But my hope and prayer is that the Lord is the rock in her life, and that no matter what storms come along, she will not be shaken.

At our wedding I had a friend sing a song that doesn’t sound very weddingish.  It’s called “I Pledge My Head to Heaven” by Keith Green.

The second verse says:
“I pledge my wife to heaven, for the Gospel,
Though our love each passing day just seems to grow.
As I told her when we wed, I’d surely rather be found dead,
Than to love her more than the One who saved my soul.”

Some wives might have taken offense at that.  They want to be first. 

But if your spouse ever comes before God, my friend, you are building on sand.

But when God comes first, you are building on rock, which means a stable marriage, a stable home and a stable family.

My wife is not under pressure to be my all-in-all.  I am not clinging to her or sucking the life out of her. 

No person can be your salvation.  They just can’t be.

That is God’s role, and His alone.

Psalm 18 is all about God as our rock.  Verse 2 says, “The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge.”

Verse 31 says, “For who is God besides the Lord?  And who is the Rock except our God?”

And verse 46 says, “The Lord lives!  Praise be to my Rock!”

Yes, we should put our spouse high on the list.  Of all the people in the world, they should be number one.  They are the only person God says we become one with.  That makes them the most important person in our lives.

But in the end, they are just a person, another human being.  They make for a great companion, but they are not suited for being the foundation of our lives.

For that we turn to the Lord Almighty.  We are to put Him first, to love Him first, to serve Him first.  We are to seek Him first and obey Him.  We are to take up our cross and follow Him.

In a figurative sense, a husband and wife are not to look at each other.  Instead, we should both have our eyes fixed on Jesus.  Like it says in Hebrews 12:2, “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith.”

When married people fix their eyes on Jesus, they end up walking in the same direction.  They have the same priorities.  They become servants to one another, not because they need each other, not because they are codependent, but because they are servants of the Most High.

So is your marriage feeling a little shaky today?  Maybe what you need to do is not focus on your marriage.  Maybe you need to take your eyes off your marriage altogether and fix them on Jesus.  And if both of you fix your eyes on Jesus - well, you’ve got it made.

Remember, your spouse can be your companion, but only God can be your Rock.


Comments?

E-mail me:  dougapple@wave94.com.

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

© 2008 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 Major in the Majors - Apples of Gold - May 29, 2008 -vi-

Apples of Gold
 

Radio Script for May 29, 2008

“Let’s Major in the Majors”

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

I read them all.

Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

Not every word, just the red ones.

Then I tallied it up.

My goal was to find out what Jesus taught about the most.  I figured if it showed up a bunch of times, it must be more important.

This will help me get my priorities straight.  Put first things first.  Major in the majors.

It all started when I read Matthew 7:24 where Jesus said, “…everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.”  I thought, “Well, what did Jesus teach that I can actually put into practice?”

So I read through the four Gospels with sheets of paper beside me.  Every time I came across a teaching of Jesus, I wrote it down.  Then I grouped them together and added them up.

You gotta picture the scene.  All this paper with scribbled notes and hash marks.  All the decisions, “Does it go in this group or this group?”

I did all that, and guess what?  I came up with a result that is really no surprise.

Here is the thing that Jesus taught about most:  Loving and serving God.

In Mark 12 Jesus was asked, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”  Jesus said the most important commandment is, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.”

Yes, I knew that before I did my little study.  But it was kind of an eye-opener when I finished my research and found that this is what He taught about the most – loving and serving God.

He taught it from many angles.  He said things like take up your cross, and lose your life, and follow Him, and seek first His kingdom, and fear God, and store up treasures in heaven.  He said we should obey God and hold to His teachings and do what He said.

On and on Jesus went, driving home the number one point.  God comes first.  It’s all about Him and His kingdom and His word and His Son and His Spirit.

Now let’s go back to Matthew 7:24.  What did Jesus teach that I can actually put into practice?  The thing He taught about most was this:  loving and serving God.

So what did Jesus teach about the second most? 

Once again, after I did all that work, it’s really no surprise.  After Jesus said that loving God was the most important commandment, He went on to tell us the second most important commandment, “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

When I added it all up, this is what Jesus taught about the second most.  He said things like do unto others as you would have them do unto you, and be reconciled to your brother, be a servant to all, and even love your enemies.  There are a lot of ways to say it, but they all fit nicely in the category of Love Your Neighbor.

So what did Jesus teach about third most?

By my count that would be having faith and believing.  Over and over we are told to have faith, and believe in God, and believe in Jesus.  The book of John is especially full of teaching about believing.

What did Jesus teach about fourth most?  Prayer.

We are told to ask and agree and come to Him and pray in His name.  We are even told to pray for those who persecute us and mistreat us.  We are to pray and not give up.

Now let’s talk about character traits.  What character traits did Jesus teach about most?

Obviously the far and away most important character trait is love.  Christians should be known first and foremost by their love.

Next we find a character trait that Jesus taught about often:  humility.  We are to be humble, childlike, servants.  He used words like last and least and lesser.  Christians should be known by their great humility and their servant’s heart.

Here’s another thing Jesus spoke about a lot:  letting our light shine to others.  That includes making disciples, preaching the Gospel, bringing in the harvest, calling others to come to the Lord, reaching out and bringing them in.

These all seem obvious, don’t they?  Love God.  Love people.  Have faith.  Pray a lot.  Be humble.  Tell others about God.

Is there anything on the list that isn’t obvious?  Here’s one that might surprise you.  Jesus taught a lot about watching the signs of the times.  It’s the idea of being ready, being watchful and alert.  He sums it up in Luke 21:28, “When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”

And finally, here are the last few things that Jesus taught about somewhat often in the Gospels:
--Bearing good fruit and using what we’ve been given.
--Watching out for false prophets and deceivers.
--Forgiving people.
--Giving to people in need. 
--And watching what we say.

And that is my list of what Jesus taught about most that we can actually put into practice.  If we do these things, we will be majoring in the majors.  Yes, He taught about a lot of other things, but if it’s not on this list, then it doesn’t show up very often in the Gospels.

This is how we build our life on the rock.  By hearing these words of Jesus, and putting them into practice.


Comments?

E-mail me:  dougapple@wave94.com.

May God bless you today!  With Apples of Gold…I’m Doug Apple.
 
 Let me tell you, it was such a blessing to pour myself into the study of Jesus’ words!

And no wonder.  In John 6:63 Jesus said, “The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life.”

In John 8:31-32 Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."   Then in verse 36 He said, “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”

In John 15:10-11 Jesus said, “If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.”

© 2008 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-

All About Grace - Apples of Gold - May 28, 2008 -vi-

At the end there is a unique medley of Amazing Grace I cobbled together to play on the radio.  It features various artists, and I wonder how many you can name.

To listen, go to our website, www.wave94.com, look at the Apples of Gold section on the right, and click on Today’s Audio. 

I will give you a head start.  The man singing “I was blind…” is Ray Charles.

 

Apples of Gold
 

Radio Script for May 28, 2008

“All About Grace”

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

Let’s take a look at what the Bible says about grace.  This includes no commentary by me.  Just Bible.

Before the beginning of time, God’s grace was given to us in Christ Jesus.  (2 Timothy 1:9)

Though He was rich, through grace He became poor for our sakes.  (2 Corinthians 8:9)

When He came as a child, the grace of God was upon Him.  (Luke 2:40)

He was called “The One and Only, full of grace.”  (John 1:14)

The law was given through Moses, but grace came through Jesus Christ.  (John 1:17)

And now God, the God of all grace, calls us by the grace of Christ.  (1 Peter 5:10 and Galatians 1:6)

Through Him and for His name’s sake, we received grace.  (Romans 1:5)

It is by grace that we believe.  (Acts 18:27)

And we who believe receive God’s abundant provision of grace.  (Romans 5:17)

We are justified freely by His grace, having the hope of eternal life.  (Romans 3:24 and Titus 3:7)

It is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved.  (Acts 15:11)

It is by grace we are saved.  It is the gift of God.  (Ephesians 2:8)

We do not set aside the grace of God.  (Galatians 2:21)

Where sin increased, grace increased all the more.  (Romans 5:20)

Sin shall not be our master, because we are under grace.  (Romans 6:14)

His grace is sufficient.  (2 Corinthians 12:9)

His grace is a surpassing grace.  (2 Corinthians 9:14)

God shows us His kindness through the incomparable riches of His grace.  (Ephesians 2:7)

Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may find grace to help in time of need.  (Hebrews 4:16)

And God is able to make all grace abound to us, so that we have everything we need.  (2 Corinthians 9:8)

From the fullness of His grace we have all received one blessing after another.  (John 1:16)

God’s grace builds us up and gives us an inheritance.  (Acts 20:32)

He has called us to a holy life, not because of us, but because of His grace.  (2 Timothy 1:9)

So we walk in holiness, not according to worldly wisdom, but according to God’s grace.  (2 Corinthians 1:12)

We are strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.  (2 Timothy 2:1)

It is in this grace that we now stand.  (Romans 5:2)

We set our hope fully on this grace.  (1 Peter 1:13)

The promise comes by grace, and that grace, from the One man Jesus Christ, overflows to the many.  (Romans 4:16 and 5:15)

This grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men.  (Titus 2:11)

We must see to it that no one misses the grace of God.  (Hebrews 12:15)

At the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace, and this is the task the Lord Jesus has given us – to testify to the gospel of God’s grace.  (Romans 11:5 and Acts 20:24)

He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.”  Amen.  Come, Lord Jesus.  (Revelation 22:20)

The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s people.  Amen.  (Revelations 22:21)


(close with medley of various artists and various versions of “Amazing Grace.”)

To listen, go to this link:  http://www.wave94.com/audio/apples/2008/05may/28.mp3

 
© 2008 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 Do You Feel About Your Boss Today? - Apples of Gold - May 27, 2008 -vi-

Apples of Gold
 

Radio Script for May 27, 2008

“How Do You Feel About Your Boss Today?”

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

Most of us are employees. 

We work for someone who pays us.

That gives them a certain power in our lives.

When you have a job, and when you actually need that paycheck, not for “blow money,” but to pay for your basic necessities – then your employer plays a key role in your life.

So how do you feel about your boss today?  Do you really like them, or do they act like they’ve sold their soul to the devil?

And what does the Bible say?  Does the Bible offer any advice to employees?

Well, if you search most versions of the Bible, you won’t find the word “employee.”  It’s not even in the Amplified Bible.  So now what?

When I can’t find a reference to my specific situation, then I start looking for the heart of God based on similar situations.  And something similar to an employee is…a slave.

Now don’t laugh!  I’m not saying employees are slaves.  But when I read the advice for slaves in the New Testament, I think I see the heart of God for employees.

First Peter 2:18 says, “Slaves, submit yourselves to your masters…”

That means surrender to their will.  When your boss tells you to do something you don’t want to do, don’t fight.  Just surrender.  Let your will become their will.

“Okay, I’ll do it, but I’ll let everyone know I think it’s dumb.”

Back to verse 18.  It says to submit to your masters “with all respect.”  That means yes, we do what they say, but even more than that, we show them “all respect” while doing it.

“Sure, Doug, but you don’t know my boss.  He doesn’t deserve respect.”

Okay.  Back to verse 18.  It says to show respect, “not only to those who are good and considerate, but also to those who are harsh.”

“But Doug, I don’t deserve to be treated this way.”

Let’s say you don’t.  Your boss treats you harshly and you don’t deserve it.  Now what? 

First Peter 2:19 says it is commendable to put up with it.  Verse 20 says, “…if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God.”  Then it talks about how Jesus suffered when He didn’t deserve it. 

Now what if your boss is so bad that they are breaking the law?  Do you let them get away with it? 

No.  In that case the law is the higher authority.  You need to take steps to hold them accountable.

But usually tough bosses aren’t breaking the law.  They’re just tough.  Maybe unpleasant.  You might think of them as “slave drivers.”

Or maybe you think they just don’t know what they are doing.  Yet they are your boss, telling you what to do. 

Ephesians 6:5 says, “Slaves, obey your earthly masters…just as you would obey Christ.” 

Now listen to this.  I think when your boss tells you to do something, unless it is a sin, then that becomes the will of God in your life. 

Look at Ephesians 6:6.  “Obey them…like slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart.”

This is how we should think as employees.  When our boss says it, it is like God saying it.  When we do what our boss says, it is like doing what God says.  It is doing the will of God.

Ephesians 6:7 says, “Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men…”

See, when our boss tells us to do something, we don’t think of it as doing something for them.  We think of it as doing something for God. 

“God, if this is what You want me to do, I will do it.  I will do it respectfully, and sincerely, and I will do it with all my heart – for You.”

Now let’s look at a big temptation for employees.  It’s tempting to work hard when the boss is watching, but then to slack off when he isn’t.  We work harder at jobs we will be accountable for, but if we think no one really cares, we get lazy.

That won’t happen when we do every job as if we are serving the Lord.  Colossians 3:22 says, “Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you…”

Sometimes we slack off when we don’t see a pay off.  But with the Lord, there is always a payoff.  Colossians 3:24 says the Lord will reward us.  When we work, we are working for Him.

Titus 2:9 indicates that we should not talk back to our employer.

Verse 10 says we should not steal from them.

We should work in such a way that our boss knows they can fully trust us, whether they are around or not.  We won’t disrespect them behind their back, and we won’t slack off when they’re not looking.

Titus 2:10 puts the icing on the cake.  As Christian employees, when we behave like this on the job, it makes the Gospel more attractive to our employers.

As Christians, we should stand out in the workplace.  And it will happen as we realize it’s not about serving men, but in our job, everyday, we are actually the servants of God.


Comments?

E-mail me:  dougapple@wave94.com.

May God bless you today!  With Apples of Gold…I’m Doug Apple.
 
You might say, “But my boss doesn’t want me to advance.  If I do what he says, I will be stuck below him forever.”  Well here is a verse for you.  Proverbs 22:29 says,  “Do you see a man skilled in his work?  He will serve before kings; he will not serve before obscure men.”  So do your best work possible, and you are bound to advance.

Also, the Bible doesn’t say that slaves had to be slaves forever.  First Corinthians 7:21 says, “…if you can gain your freedom, do so.”  If your boss is like a harsh slave master, you are not bound to stay there.  Yes, do your best while you are there.  But “if you can gain your freedom, do so.”

© 2008 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-

The Big Six - Apples of Gold - May 23, 2008 -vi-

Apples of Gold
 

Radio Script for May 23, 2008

“The Big Six”

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

“What does God want me to do?”

Have you ever considered “The Big Six?”

“The Big Six?  What’s the Big Six?”

Jesus gave us The Big Six in Matthew chapter 25.

These are six things God is checking on.  In student lingo, yes, these six are going to be on the final exam.

God is watching to see how we treat people who are in need, and Jesus broke these needs down into six categories.

The first need He mentioned is hunger.  Are we providing food for people who are hungry? 

I think one reason that America has been so blessed is because we are great at this.  We have welfare programs for our citizens, and we send food to the needy abroad. 

The second need He mentioned is thirst.  Are we meeting the needs of the thirsty?

Most of us can’t relate to this because in America, even if food might take a little effort, you can get a free drink just about anywhere.  Just go to the nearest water fountain. 

But that is not the case in other parts of the world.  I read an article in the Washington Post that said about one billion people lack safe water.  It said that we use more clean water in one flush of the toilet than most Africans have to perform an entire day’s washing, cleaning, cooking and drinking.*

Some of the world’s conflicts are over water.  For example, the tragedy in Darfur was driven in part by tensions over water.  Between the warfare and the drought, clean water is an incredible need in Darfur, and many relief agencies are trying to help.

Number three in the Big Six is the need for shelter.  Are we helping people find shelter?

This is a problem in America because adequate shelter is costly.  Most of us have shelter, so the next question is, what are we doing to help those who don’t?

These first three needs are critical in times of natural disaster.  For example, one report I heard said that the earthquake in China left 5 million people homeless.  That’s about like the entire state of Alabama losing their homes.

In Myanmar, after the cyclone, I don’t know how many hundreds of thousands of people are in need of food, water and shelter.  I do know that a $100 gift to World Vision provides one family with a survival kit that includes emergency food with a cooking set, clean water, and temporary shelter.**

No, your neighbors may not be lacking food, water and shelter.  But you don’t have to look far to find millions of people who are. 

Number four of Jesus’ Big Six is clothing.  As far as I can tell, we seem to be doing a great job of clothing the needy.  Clothing is one of those things that you can use yourself, and then share with someone else, and the same item of clothing can end up clothing several people in its lifetime. 

In America we have a great pipeline for used clothing, primarily through thrift stores.  And a good percentage of people drop off their clothing there instead of just throwing it away.

But there are ways you can help someone with their clothing.  For example, someone may have clothes, but maybe they could use some new clothes to help them get a job.  Or you might buy a needy child some new clothes so they won’t be embarrassed wearing their same old, ill-fitting clothes to school. 

Number five on the list is looking after sick people.  We do a pretty good job of that in America, but there is a never ending stream of sick people pouring through our hospitals and doctors offices.  I commend all of those doctors and nurses who have dedicated their lives to caring for the sick.  And I commend our welfare programs that pay for healthcare for the needy. 

But there is something more that sick people need besides medicine.  Sick people need friends.  They need a support group, people who will be there to see them through.  We aren’t all physicians, but we can all do something to look after the sick.

And number six on the list is looking after prisoners.  This seems like it doesn’t belong because, after all, don’t prisoners deserve to be isolated?  They’re criminals! 

Yes, and they are in prison.  They have been humbled and degraded.  They know that they have been placed at the bottom of society.  And now what?  Should we leave them to rot? 

That is not God’s plan.  God’s plan is for us to reach out to prisoners and care for them.  It’s so important that He included it in The Big Six.  And I commend so many great prison ministries, including Chuck Colson’s “Prison Fellowship.”***

So are you asking yourself what God wants you to do with your life?  Well you can’t go wrong when you help people who are:
--hungry
--thirsty
--sick
--in prison
and those who need
--clothing, and
--shelter.

Those priorities come from Jesus Himself, and that’s what I’m calling “The Big Six.”


Comments?

E-mail me:  dougapple@wave94.com.

May God bless you today!  With Apples of Gold…I’m Doug Apple.
 
*  http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/19/AR2005091901295.html

**  http://www.worldvision.org/Worldvision/eappeal.nsf/egift-disaster-response-southern-asia-cyclone-relief?OpenForm&campaign=11365555&cmp=KNC-11365555

***  http://www.prisonfellowship.org/site_hmpg.asp

 
© 2008 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-

When Life Delivers the Unexpected - Apples of Gold - May 22, 2008 -vi-

Apples of Gold
 

Radio Script for May 22, 2008

“When Life Delivers the Unexpected”

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

What do you do when life delivers the unexpected?

That’s exactly what happened to one married couple, Priscilla and her husband Aquila.

They were Jews living in Rome.  Caligula, the Roman emperor, was assassinated on January 24^th in the year 41.  Immediately the Praetorian Guard declared that Caligula’s uncle, Claudius, would take his place.

Before the decade was up, Claudius decided to banish all the Jews from Rome.  That meant Priscilla and Aquila had to pack up and move.  It wasn’t fair.  It wasn’t right.  But you know what?  Sometimes life delivers the unexpected.

Where should they go?  Well they ended up across the sea from Italy, over in a town named Corinth in Southern Greece.  I wish I knew how they made that decision.  I don’t know, but I can speculate that, as God-fearing people, they prayed and asked the Lord to lead them.  And something happened that pointed their way to Corinth.

So there they were, far away from home, and they set up shop as tentmakers in the bustling port city of Corinth. 

Meanwhile, the Apostle Paul was also in Greece, over in Athens.  After preaching there, he decided his next stop would be…Corinth.

So Paul was in Corinth, and somehow he met Aquila, and they had something in common.  They were both tentmakers.  Something must have clicked, because Aquila introduced Paul to his wife Priscilla, and they invited Paul to join them in business, and to live with them.

I imagine Paul was an amazing houseguest.  I am sure he regaled them with incredible stories:  his conversion on the road to Damascus, the riot in Thessalonica, his miraculous escape from the Philippian jail, and on and on.

Every Sabbath Paul went to the synagogue and spoke about Jesus as the Messiah, and I’m sure he spent plenty of time teaching Priscilla and Aquila back at home.  Imagine having such daily access to this great man of God!

Then Silas and Timothy showed up in Corinth.  Paul spent more time preaching and teaching, and many Corinthians believed in the Lord, including Crispus, the synagogue ruler, and his entire household.

For a year and a half great things happened in Corinth.  Imagine all of this activity swirling around Paul!  And Priscilla and Aquila were right there in the middle of it.

Eventually Paul decided it was time to pack up and move on from Corinth.  And who went with him?  Priscilla and Aquila!

They ended up all the way over in Ephesus.  Paul did some preaching there, but before long he was off to his next destination.  Meanwhile, Priscilla and Aquila stayed in Ephesus.

While there, they encountered a powerful speaker, a Jew named Apollos.  He was a native of Alexandria, but was teaching in the synagogue in Ephesus.  He taught about Jesus, but was lacking a few details.  Enter Priscilla and Aquila, who were loaded with details having spent all that time with Paul.  They invited Apollos to their home and taught him more thoroughly about Christ.

When Apollos left, he went on to become a powerful and persuasive preacher of the Gospel.

Priscilla and Aquila must have had the gift of hospitality.  When their names show up in the Bible, so does their home.  It seems like they were always inviting people over.  In both Romans and First Corinthians, Paul mentions the “church that meets at their house.”  Imagine having people in your home like Paul and Silas and Timothy and Apollos.

Isn’t it interesting what happened to them after life delivered the unexpected?

It looks like Priscilla and Aquila eventually returned to Corinth.  In the year 54, the emperor Claudius died, and Jews were allowed back into Rome – and some think Priscilla and Aquila returned to Italy.

Turning to church tradition, Priscilla and Aquila are said to have journeyed to Asia where they spread the Gospel with great zeal.  They discipled new believers, started churches, and destroyed idols. 

In the end it is said that they were martyred as the pagans had finally had enough of this evangelistic couple.  Tradition says they were killed together.

What a life!  So much joy and excitement.  So much action.  So many lives influenced and changed.  So many saved.

And look when it all started.  It all started when they got that terrible news that they were being kicked out of their home.

Sometimes life delivers the unexpected.  Sometimes things look bleak.  Bad things happen, not what we planned at all. 

But the great news is, God is always up to something.  We often don’t see it, but He is pulling things together.  And the end result can be a life far better than anything we would have planned on our own.

So has your life taken a sudden turn?  Remember Romans 8:28, “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”

It may be hard to see, but you can put your faith in the fact that, when life delivers the unexpected, God is right there, somehow and some way, working all things together for good!


Comments?

E-mail me:  dougapple@wave94.com.

May God bless you today!  With Apples of Gold…I’m Doug Apple.
 
 
© 2008 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-

God Has the Power! - Apples of Gold - May 21, 2008 -vi-

Apples of Gold
 

Radio Script for May 21, 2008

“God Has the Power!”

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

Men my age do stupid things.

You think you can do what you did 20 years ago, but baby, it’s just not there.

Like last year when I went to the park with some teenagers.  They all climbed up this huge tree, starting with a branch that was low enough to reach, but too big to grab with your hands.  You had to wrap your arms and legs around it, then twist yourself to the top of the branch. 

They all had a great time while my wife and I watched.  But then they challenged me.  “I bet you can’t get up here!”

“If you can, I can!”

“Prove it!”

“I will!”

And I did.  But somewhere in that motion to wrench myself to the top of the branch, I twisted my knee.

And you old timers know how it goes.  The problem didn’t really show up until the next day.  My knee felt like it was going to fall apart.  With each step I thought, “This thing is gonna buckle right out from under me.”

Your brain dredges up words like “arthroscopic” and “degenerative” and “knee replacement.”

And that’s no good, because they all involve doctors and I’m kind of anti-doctor.  I don’t even take pills if I can help it.

So I decided to fix the knee myself, with my own little homemade rehab.  It involved prayer and exercise.

Now listen, I am not saying this is good medicine.  I’m just telling you what I did.  I figured if it didn’t work I could always go to the doctor later.

I took it easy at first, and it didn’t seem to help.  It was all I could do to walk without a limp.  I became very aware of everyone in public who was limping.  I felt for them, and I prayed for myself, “God, please, I don’t want to walk with a limp.”

It’s kind of humbling, and humility is a good thing.  It takes you down a peg or two. 

But anyway, I worked my legs more and more.  And slowly it got better.  And now, several months later, I hardly notice it.  I go running three times a week with no problems.  Thank you Lord!

I thought of all this when I read Hebrews 12:12 which says, “…strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees.” 

I can relate to that, because I know about strengthening weak knees.

But the Bible isn’t talking about physical knees.  I assume it’s talking about strengthening ourselves spiritually.

So what can we do to strengthen ourselves spiritually?  To find out, I searched the Bible for the word “strengthen.”

I came across this great passage about Abraham in Romans chapter four.  Verse 20 says he was “strengthened in his faith.”

Well I want stronger faith.  So how did Abraham do it?

I think the answer is in the next verse.  It says Abraham was “fully persuaded that God had power to do what He had promised.”

Let me tell you, that is good news for me, because I can do that.  I can believe completely that God has the power to do what He has promised.  I totally know that God has the power.

What I lack is specific faith.  Some people would say that I should have been fully persuaded that God would miraculously heal my knee.  I wasn’t.  Call it a lack of faith, but I was not fully persuaded that God would heal my knee. 

Why not?  I don’t know.  For one thing, I could easily see some benefits from having that limp.  The humility alone is worth a lot.  So who am I to say that God didn’t want to use that limp to make me a better person?  I’m not saying He did.  I’m just telling you where my faith was.

So I admit, I did not have full and specific faith that God would heal my knee.  However, I am fully persuaded that God has the power!  Of course God has the power. 

So the focus was not on my knee, but on God’s power.  My focus was not on my faith, but on God’s power.  My focus was not on my interpretation of certain Scriptures about healing, but my focus was on God’s power.  That is something I totally believe in.

I think Abraham was the same way.  His focus couldn’t be on his circumstances, because it was impossible for people their age to have children.  His focus wasn’t on God’s promise, because in Genesis 17 we read that Abraham doubted the promise.  So how did Abraham strengthen his faith in spite of his circumstances and his doubts?

By focusing on the power of God.  He was fully persuaded that God had the power to do it.

Today, maybe your circumstances look impossible.  And when you read God’s word, maybe you find it hard to believe.  If so, then take your eyes off of all of that, and set your focus on this one thing.  Strengthen your faith like Abraham – by being fully persuaded that God has the power!


Comments?

E-mail me:  dougapple@wave94.com.

May God bless you today!  With Apples of Gold…I’m Doug Apple.
 
 
© 2008 The Arrow’s Tip
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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
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