Make Straight the Way of the Lord - Apples of Gold - January 6, 2010 -vi-

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Apples of Gold
 

Radio Script for January 6, 2010

“Make Straight the Way of the Lord”

 

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

I worked in radio back in the days when a DJ really was a “disc jockey.”

You had two turntables, and while one record was playing you’d cue up the other.

You would take the record out of the sleeve, and it could be an album or a 45.  You’d put it on the turntable, put the needle on it close to the start of the song, then play it until the song began; not on the air but “in cue.”

Then you would turn it backwards by hand until it was one half rotation back from the start of the song.  Now the record was cued up and ready to play.

Ah, but we forgot to check one thing. 

Now this is Christian radio, and hopefully that last song was a real blessing to someone.  There they sat, listening and being blessed.  God was just all over them.  And you, the DJ, picked the perfect follow-up song, and now you are going to create the perfect segue.  You are going to take the listener from one blessing right into another.  Lives are going to be changed by this segue.

The song ends and you push the button to start the next record.  And oh my goodness, it sounds like the chipmunks!  Quick, scramble, click the speed down to 33 1/3.   EEEEEooouuuu . . . down the record slows to its rightful speed. 

Now is that listener still being blessed?  Are they still thinking about the Lord, with their mind fixed on things above? 

Nope.  They were sent crashing back to earth.  A divine moment has become an earthly moment.  They are thinking about the station and the DJ and the silly sound of the chipmunks.

That is exactly what I harped on for years.  I begged the DJs to eliminate all mistakes, and here’s why.  Mistakes take the listeners’ attention away from the message, away from the Lord and His Word.

A scripture I applied to it was John 1:23, “Make straight the way of the Lord.”

Listen to these beautiful words in Luke chapter three.  “Prepare the way of the Lord; make His paths straight.  Every valley shall be filled and every mountain and hill brought low; the crooked places shall be made straight and the rough ways smooth; and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.”

Get this picture in your mind.  Picture a king on a throne, thousands of years ago.  He wants to make an official trip, but there is no Air Force One or a limo or even a carriage.  Instead, servants are going to carry his throne between two poles. 

Now a lot of preparation must go into this trip because you can’t be dumping the king off his throne as you descend into a gorge or go up a steep hill.  So the advance team goes and fills in the valleys and cuts down the hills.  They create a smooth, straight path for the king.

That’s the idea of making straight the way of the Lord.  We eliminate the obstacles, remove the stumbling blocks, anything that might get in the way of the Lord and hinder His moving in our lives.

I think for us individually that primarily applies to sin.  If we want God to show up in all areas of our life, we need to make the path straight by repenting of our sins.  We clear out the things that might hinder the Lord’s work in our life.

But then I take it to another level, and that means clearing out the things that might hinder the Lord’s work in someone else’s life.  In other words, there are things I do and say that might get in the way.  You might call them stumbling blocks.

For example, if I claim to be a Christian, then go out and get drunk on the weekends, someone is going to conclude that Christ is not for them because, after all, I – the supposed Christian – am no different from them.  In that case I become a stumbling block. 

First John 2:10 indicates that when we love others, we make sure there is nothing in our life that makes them stumble.

And now take it to another level.  I like to apply this to ministry, just as I did to those DJs.  In ministry we need to make straight the way of the Lord.  We need to eliminate things that get in the way, that draw attention away from God.

In Christian radio I think that means eliminating mistakes.  It means eliminating unprofessionalism.  It even means eliminating technical difficulties.  All those things draw attention to themselves and remove the attention from the Lord and His Word.

I think this applies to church services and Christian publishing and websites and music.  If you are involved in ministry, stop and think about things that might get in the way.

For example, if someone goes to church and there is a lot of disorder.  Or if the sound is bad.  Or if the leaders are drawing attention to themselves by how they dress or their hairstyle.  Or even if it’s too cold or too hot. 

I know people should just come and be hungry for God, but the truth is that people are easily distracted – so let’s eliminate the distractions.  If you are in ministry, ask God to show you any potential distractions or stumbling blocks.

First Corinthians 10 says, “Do not cause anyone to stumble.”  About that very thing Paul said, “For I am not seeking my own good but the good of many, so that they may be saved.”

We want to eliminate all stumbling blocks.  We want to raise the valleys and bring down the hills.  We want to clear the path.  We don’t want anything to get in the way of the Lord and His work in people’s lives.

And we can sum it all up in this powerful statement.

Make straight the way of the Lord.


Comments?

E-mail me:  dougapple@wave94.com.

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


© 2009 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-

Everyone Who Asks Receives - Apples of Gold - January 5, 2010 -vi-

To listen to the radio version, click here.   

To search archives, click here.

Apples of Gold
 

Radio Script for January 5, 2010

“Everyone Who Asks Receives”

 

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

In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus said, “…everyone who asks receives…”

That’s in Matthew chapter seven.  In verse seven He said, “Ask and it will be given to you…”

Then to emphasize the point He declared, “If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask Him!”

It’s pretty clear.  The Lord wants us to ask Him for good gifts.  Who doesn’t want good gifts?

In Luke 11 Jesus said, “Ask and it will be given to you…for everyone who asks receives…”

Philippians 4:6 tells us to, “in everything,” present our requests to God.

So God is saying, “Go ahead, ask.”

“Well, Doug, I’ve asked God for a lot of things and it doesn’t seem to do any good.”

Okay, there could be several reasons for that.

First of all, look at First John 5:14.  It says, “…if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.”

Yes, we can have what we ask for, but we should ask for things that are in line with God’s will.

Now look at First John 3:22.  It says we can “receive from Him anything we ask, because we obey His commands and do what pleases Him.”

So yes, we need to be asking God.  And we need to be obeying His commands and asking according to His will.

Now here’s an important consideration.  Why are we asking?  James 4:3 says, “When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.”

So yes, we are to be asking God for things, but check to see if you just want them for your own pleasure.  God said that is a wrong reason for asking. 

In Matthew 21:22 Jesus said, “…you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”  Oh, but that is not His entire statement.  He actually said, “If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”  The verse before that says, “…if you have faith and do not doubt…”

James 1 says, “…he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.  That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord…”

So yes, we are to ask God for things.  He wants to give us good gifts, and they are there for the asking; but when we ask and don’t receive, there are some things we need to check.

We need to check if we are asking according to His will, or are we asking simply for our own pleasure.

We need to check if we are obeying Him, if we are doing what pleases God.

And we need to check if we are asking in faith.  Do we believe and not doubt?

Now here is a faith building verse.  Ephesians 3:20 says that God is able to do “…immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine…”

So we know God is able, so why don’t we get every thing we ask for?

Look at John 15:7.  Jesus said, “…ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you.”  Oh but wait.  He said something else to start that statement.  He said, “If you remain in me and my words remain in you…”

So this thing of asking God and receiving what we’ve asked for, it’s kind of like a partnership.  It’s very much like a child asking a father for something.  The child needs to be in good standing with the father if he expects to receive from him. 

In John 15 Jesus said, “…I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit – fruit that will last.  Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name.”

Now here’s a good example in the Bible of someone asking Jesus for something and not receiving it.  In Mark 10, James and John said to Jesus, “We want you to do for us whatever we ask.  Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory.”

And I love Jesus’ answer.  He said, “You don’t know what you are asking.”

Oh, they probably had faith enough, and they were certainly true followers of Christ, but what was their motivation?

And look at Mark 10:40.  Jesus said, “…to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant.  These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared.”

So it wouldn’t have mattered how much the disciples asked, or how perfectly they behaved and believed, they were not going to get that particular request.  God had other plans.

No, we won’t get everything we ask for.  And the things we can get – they can be hindered by our lack of faith, or lack of obedience, or impure motives.

So do we stop asking?  Not at all!  We just need to fine tune our asking, to bring it in line with God’s will.

The good news is that God wants us to keep asking.  Our Father is just waiting to give good gifts to those who ask. 

And we can put our complete faith in these powerful words of Jesus:  Everyone who asks receives.


Comments?

E-mail me:  dougapple@wave94.com.

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


© 2009 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-

Thought Fasting - Apples of Gold - January 4, 2010 -vi-

To listen to the radio version, click here.   

To search archives, click here.

Apples of Gold
 

Radio Script for January 4, 2010

“Thought Fasting”

 

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

You don’t want a blood clot in your brain.

If a blood clot blocks an artery to your brain, you are going to have a stroke.

A stroke will mess with your vision and your speech and even your ability to move properly.

If a blood clot triggers a stroke, and they wheel you into the emergency room, they might give you a drug called tPA, which stands for “tissue plasminogen activator.”*  And the tPA will do an amazing thing:  dissolve the blood clot.

If left to itself, the blood clot will do more and more damage.  But the sooner you begin the tPA treatment, the less damage there will be.

Now listen to this.  I think certain thoughts that we think are like blood clots to the brain.  If left to themselves, they will do damage.  And the worst of these are sinful thoughts.

There are some thoughts that are simply wrong.  They are sinful.  They pop up in our heads and we leave them there.  We think about them.  Then we move on, but the next thing you know, we are thinking about them again.

The thing about sinful thoughts is, no one can see them.  On the outside you can look like the picture of spiritual health, but on the inside is this mental blood clot, this sinful thought. 

So no one can help you, no one can hold you accountable because they can’t see it.  But just like a physical blood clot, a mental blood clot will cause damage if you don’t take action.  It will block the life-giving flow to your mind.  It will mess with your vision and your speech and even your ability to move properly.

So how can you treat the blood clot of a sinful thought?  And I’m not talking about a sinful thought that blips into your mind and is gone just as fast.  I’m talking about sinful thoughts that reoccur.  Thoughts that we entertain, that we put up with, that we even enjoy.  You might refer to them as your “guilty pleasure.”

Well if it’s a sinful thought, it’s a destroyer.  It’s a blood clot blocking life to your brain, and it needs to be treated.  It needs to be dissolved.

Can you picture a blood clot dissolving?  Can you see it slowly losing mass, shedding its outer particles as it becomes less and less dangerous until it finally just completely dissolves?

Well it needs to be done, and the sooner the better, and the question is how?  How can we rid ourselves of a sinful thought?  How can we dissolve it?

Well here’s one treatment.  I call it a “thought fast.”  No, it doesn’t mean you stop thinking.  But it does mean you pick out that one particular sinful thought and you go on a fast from thinking it. 

Yes, I realize we should fast from all sinful thoughts forever, but that’s kind of like playing whack-a-mole.  You’ll spend all your time whacking at sinful thoughts that pop up, but won’t really gain much ground.

So let’s just focus on one sinful thought.  Pick out the granddaddy, the big one that just lurks back there, always there, ready to seize your attention.

And now just set a time.  Say, “I won’t think about that, not even for one second, for the month of January.” 

Again, I realize we should say, “I won’t think that sinful thought ever again,” and that is the eventual goal, but let’s go back to the original picture.  We want to dissolve the blood clot.  We want to shred it, particle by particle.

And that is what will happen as we starve it.  As we fast from a particular thought, it will dissolve.  Fast it for one day, and it will lose a few particles.  Fast it for a week and it will lose more particles.

Now here’s an example.  There was a woman who said that she thought about a particular man every single day.  He was on her mind as soon as she woke up, and he was on her mind all day.  The problem was, he was not her husband.

Now that’s a sinful thought!  It was a guilty pleasure.  She enjoyed it, but it was a destroyer.  It was a mental blood clot, blocking the flow of true life in her thinking.  But it would basically seize her.  What could she do about it?

Well here’s what she could do.  She could fast from thinking about him.  Every time that thought tried to seize her, she could just boot it from her brain, not even let it enter.

Some might say that’s impossible, but let me tell you, it’s totally possible!  You just tell yourself, “Don’t go there.”  You immediately steer your thinking elsewhere. 

And you can even plot the course of your thinking.  For example, she could plan that every time she thought of him, she could sing “I Surrender All.”  It would become a knee jerk reaction.  A thought of him would trigger I Surrender All.  You could even add a step three and a four and a five.  “My thoughts will travel down this path every time that sinful thought pops up.”

Take control of your thinking this year!  You aren’t a slave to sinful thoughts! 

God will provide a way out, and this is it.  Thought fasting – it’s a way out of destructive thinking. 

Ephesians 4 tells us to put off the old man, “…which grows corrupt…” and to be renewed in our minds.  A thought fast is a great way to put off the old man, the old corrupt way of thinking.

Get rid of it!  Dissolve that old mental blood clot.  Starve it to death!

As I close I’m thinking about a song by Ricardo Sanchez (a great New Year’s song, by the way) called “Moving Forward.”

And sometimes I’ll change the lyrics to a song to fit my situation, so I’ll change Ricardo’s lyrics to say this:

“I'm not going back, I'm moving ahead.
I’m here to declare to you, my past is over!
In You, all thoughts are made new.
I’ve surrendered my mind to Christ.
I’m moving, moving forward!”


Comments?

E-mail me:  dougapple@wave94.com.

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

(close with excerpt from Moving Forward by Ricardo Sanchez.)


*  http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Blood+Clots
http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=4751


© 2009 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-

Real Freedom in 2010 - Apples of Gold - December 28, 2009 -vi-

To listen to the radio version, click here.   

To search archives, click here.

Apples of Gold
 

Radio Script for December 28, 2009

“Real Freedom in 2010”

 

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

I was sitting in the lobby of the Tribune Tower on Michigan Avenue in Chicago.

It’s the home of the Chicago Tribune as well as WGN radio.

It’s a beautiful old neo-gothic building, and the lobby has these high walls with sayings carved in stone.

Well it caught my eye that one of the sayings was a Bible verse.

“And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”  St. John 8:32

That’s a good saying for a newspaper.  Reporters should be uncovering truth and reporting it to us.  What are government officials up to?  What about corporate giants?  What is going on behind closed doors that affects us all?  We need to know the truth.

And the truth shall make us free.

Well how does the truth make us free?

Think of it like this.  Knowing the truth is like walking through a building in broad daylight.  You can see where everything is and easily get around.  Your choices are easy and obvious.

In broad daylight, you can move about freely.

But not knowing the truth is like walking through a dark building.  You run into things, you stub your toe, you whack your knee; and your choices are not clear. 

In the darkness you cannot move about freely.

So how does the truth make us free?  It tells us how things really are so we can make decisions accordingly.

I remember as a kid when a TV show came on called “Scared Straight.”  It started with some kids who basically thought it was cool to be bad – but the road they were on was headed for prison – so they actually took the kids and introduced them to prisoners.

The prisoners then painted a terrible but truthful picture of prison life, and for most of the kids, it worked.  They were scared straight. 

What happened was, the truth set them free.  They learned how things really were, and their choices became easy and obvious.

Now back to the lobby of the Tribune Tower.  Like I said, right there on the wall it quotes John 8:32, “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”

The problem is, that is only a partial quote. 

Isn’t that interesting?  Their own quote about the truth is only a partial truth!

Here is that quote of Jesus in its entirety.  “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

Okay, so the truth will set us free.  That’s a good thing.  But how can we know the truth?  Can we trust the newspaper to tell us how things really are when they didn’t even give us the full truth on that quote?

Well Jesus told us how we can know the truth.  He said, “If you hold to my teaching…then you will know the truth…”

It’s described as a three-step process.  First you hold to Jesus’ teaching, then you will know the truth, then the truth will set you free.

So as I ask so often, what is my part in that process?

My part is to hold to Jesus’ teaching. 

I understand why the Tribune Company left that out.  It got real religious real fast.

But nonetheless, it’s true.  We have to start with Jesus’ teaching.  We believe it and put it into practice.

This is an act of faith.  We simply trust Jesus.  We take Him at His word.

That’s what I’ve tried to do with my life.  That’s what I’m trying to do, to hold to Jesus’ teaching.

And this is what I’ve found.  It sets me free! 

For example, we were talking the other day about people who hold on to petty grievances, which leads to the question, “Why don’t I hold on to petty grievances?”

I think it’s because, by holding onto Jesus’ teaching, I can see the truth and the truth sets me free.

Now I’ve certainly not arrived, but I can sure see this at work in so many areas.  As I hold to Jesus’ teaching, it brings about more and more freedom.  It’s like fresh air for the mind and heart.  It’s like walking through a house on a clear sunny day.

This is the time for New Year’s resolutions, so here is one I highly recommend.  Study the four gospels:  Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.  Dive into the teachings of Jesus, then put them into practice.

And as you move through 2010 you will find a wonderful thing happening.  You will be coming to know the truth, and the truth will be setting you free.


Comments?

E-mail me:  dougapple@wave94.com.

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



© 2009 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-

If We Don't Tell Them the True Meaning of Christmas, Who Will? - Apples of Gold - December 24, 2009 -vi-

To listen to the radio version, click here.   

To search archives, click here.

Apples of Gold
 

Radio Script for December 24, 2009

“If We Don’t Tell Them the True Meaning of Christmas, Who Will?”

 

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

Who hasn’t heard Linus deliver those powerful lines on the Charlie Brown Christmas special?

You know, Charlie Brown is thrashing about for most of the program, trying to get in the spirit of Christmas.  His sister is asking Santa to just send cash, “tens and twenties,” and Lucy wants real estate.  Charlie decides that maybe a Christmas tree will help, but we all know what a Charlie Brown Christmas tree looks like.

Well anyway, Charlie finally exclaims, “Isn’t there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about?”

And his little buddy Linus steps in and says, “Sure, Charlie Brown.  I can tell you what Christmas is all about.”

Then with a dramatic flair he says, “Lights please.”

And then he delivers, with no background music and no distractions, straight from Luke chapter two in the King James Bible, the story of the birth of Christ.

“And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.”

And then Linus concludes his soliloquy with, “That’s what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown.”

Now think about this.  There are a lot of people in America who never go to church.  There are kids who have never heard a preacher or a Sunday School teacher tell the real Christmas story.  There are crusty old parents and grandparents who wouldn’t go to church on Christmas if you offered them a bag full of lottery tickets. 

And yet every year millions of people, young and old, sit there and listen to Linus deliver the glorious good news, that unto us is born this day in the city of David . . . a Saviour! . . . who is Christ the Lord.

But you know what?  It almost didn’t happen. 

Let’s go back to 1965.  That summer Coca-Cola officials decided to sponsor a new Christmas special, and executives ended up approaching Charles Schulz, the creator of the Peanuts comic strip.  Could he come up with something for Christmas?

Of course he could, and he did, but there wasn’t much time.  They only had a few months to write a story from scratch, animate it, record the voices and music and get it on the air.

When network executives saw what they were working on, they didn’t like it.  For one thing, there was no laugh track.  You had to have a laugh track, they said, but Schulz didn’t want one. 

And instead of having adults do the kids voices, which was the usual thing, they used real kids. 

And instead of using little kid music, they hired jazz musician Vince Guaraldi to write some new music for it.

And then there was that long passage, read verbatim from the Bible.  That had to go.  This was a non-religious kids cartoon on a national television network.  Executives thought viewers would head for the hills rather than sit there through a dusty old reading of some ancient scripture.

On this point Charles Schulz took a strong stand.  He refused to budge.  That scene would stay.  Period. 

And listen to what he said.  He said, “If we don’t tell them the true meaning of Christmas, who will?”

Oh well.  It was a hastily put together, low budget production anyway.  The network’s expectations were very low.

“A Charlie Brown Christmas” was broadcast for the first time on CBS on Thursday night, December 9, 1965.

And it was a huge success.  Get this – half of the TV sets in America were tuned in.

The show went on to win Emmy and Peabody awards.

And it has aired every year since then, and has been watched by millions and millions of people.

Like I said, who hasn’t seen the Charlie Brown Christmas special?  Who isn’t familiar with all the great, original Charlie Brown music?

And best of all, who hasn’t heard Linus deliver those powerful lines from the book of Luke?

Here’s an interesting thought.  The person who has delivered the Christmas story to the most people ever in history is probably Linus.

And it all hinged on that powerful declaration by Charles Schulz.  And it’s a declaration we should apply to our own lives as we celebrate Christmas this year.

And that declaration is this.

If we don’t tell them the true meaning of Christmas, who will?


Comments?

E-mail me:  dougapple@wave94.com.

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


Story from USA Today:  http://www.usatoday.com/life/television/news/2005-12-05-charlie-brown-christmas_x.htm
Story on Wikipedia:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Charlie_Brown_Christmas#cite_note-1


© 2009 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 Look in the Eyes of My Children - Apples of Gold - December 23, 2009 -vi-

To listen to the radio version, click here.   

To search archives, click here.

Apples of Gold
 

Radio Script for December 23, 2009

“The Look in the Eyes of My Children”

 

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

Back in the days before iPods and .mp3’s and even CD players, way back a long time ago we had . . . cassettes.

So being a radio guy, I used to make a special cassette tape for Christmas each year and give it to family and friends.  It included some holiday highlights, some of the best Christian songs from that year, and my favorite part was little snippets of our kids. 

We have four children, and I would gather them around the microphone and turn them loose, singing songs, telling stories, reciting pieces from school plays, etc. 

But then they started growing up and somewhere in the 90’s I quit making cassettes for Christmas.

Well the other day I came across some of those old tapes and decided to give them a listen.  And there were the kids, as goofy as ever.  And then it hit me.  Why not make another recording?

So last night we got them all together again, and I loved it because the room was full of joy and laughter, just like when they were little.

And now listen to this.  I am so thankful to God that there was no elephant in the room.

What do I mean by that?

Well, to be blunt, I’m glad my wife and I are still together.  I’m glad there was no divorce or separation or even a big fight. 

Let me spell it out even more.  I’m glad we somehow had sense enough to keep our marriage strong, which provided an incredible foundation for our children.  That way, when we got together last night, there was no elephant in the room.  The kids could share the same joy and silliness that they had years ago without any little edge like, “Gee, it’s too bad Mom isn’t here,” or “This would have been so much better, Dad, if you hadn’t wrecked the family.”

I know that sounds bad, but my goodness, I have seen it happen to so many other families, and it just seems to take the twinkle out of the kids’ eyes.  When parents do dumb things, it sucks some of the joy out of the children.

So why didn’t we do that?  Am I saying we are somehow better or smarter?

Not at all, but I do have a reason, and it really ties into Christmas.

John 1:9 gives us a look at Christmas from a different angle.  It says, “The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world.”

Jesus is the true light, and Christmas is the time we remember the true light coming into the world.

And He came to give light to every man.  And His light is a life-giving light, like the sun.  His light not only brings light, but life. 

So when my wife and I became Christians, when we bowed to the lordship of Christ, His light came into our lives.  His light brought life into our lives. 

By their own selfish desires, so many parents have plagued their families.  How did we avoid that plague?  Well here’s what I think.

I think it’s the light of Jesus Christ.  And I think His light helps us see the longer run, the bigger picture.  His light literally helps us see beyond the desires of the flesh.  It helps us see beyond instant gratification.

And now we are enjoying the fruits of it.  Just seeing our children in that recording session last night brought me such a deep joy.  And it’s a joy that is not like some momentary happiness, it’s a deep satisfaction.

It’s the difference between giving in to the flesh to make myself happy, versus following the Lord and receiving something almost incomprehensible from Him.

I say incomprehensible because I don’t understand it.  It kind of sneaks up on you.  You deny yourself certain options, certain choices that other people are making.  You do it, kind of out of blind faith, just because God said to.  And then it dawns on you, “Wow, there are great rewards for doing things God’s way.”

And to me, it all comes back to that true light coming into the world.  Jesus gave me light enough to see beyond my own selfish desires and my own flesh.  His light revealed how things could be, how things should be, and that’s the path I took.

And I received a reward for it last night.  It wasn’t in cash.  It wasn’t in fame or recognition. 

It was simply the look in the eyes of my children, the look that comes when there is no elephant in the room.

So this Christmas I am thanking God for what took place in a manger in Bethlehem, because it was not just the birth of a baby.   

It was the true light, that gives light to every man, coming into the world. 

And it was that light that let me see beyond my own flesh to what was best for my family – thank you, Lord!


Comments?

E-mail me:  dougapple@wave94.com.

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

(close with little clip of kids from Christmas cassette 1995)


After reading you may ask, “But what about me, Doug?  I’ve already been that plague you described.  I’ve made some serious mistakes, and I see the effect on my children.  Now what?”  Well you can’t change the past, but you can still surrender it all to Jesus.  You can still do things God’s way from here on out.  Repent of any unrepented sins and turn it all over to God.  Then walk in His light, that same true light I was talking about.  His light will help you see beyond any plague, beyond any depression or wallowing in guilt or self pity.  His light will brighten things up!  And as your life brightens, you, in turn, will be able to brighten the lives of all around you, including your own children.  God is in the restoring business, and He is well able to make up for any mistakes we made in the past.  It all comes down to this – Jesus and His true light coming into our lives.

© 2009 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 Said Subdue the Earth - Apples of Gold - December 22, 2009 -vi-

To listen to the radio version, click here.   

To search archives, click here.

Apples of Gold
 

Radio Script for December 22, 2009

“God Said Subdue the Earth”

 

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

He was talking about the 1930’s.

We were driving along in his old pickup truck on a cold winter’s day.

We topped a hill and the view was fantastic.  Everything was covered with snow, the sun was brilliant, and you could see for miles.

Down in the valley was a small city.  He said, “It didn’t look like this when I was growing up.”

“What’s different?” I said.

“Well in the winter the sky would be black from all the coal burning.  That’s how people kept warm, by burning coal.”

It was hard to imagine on such a clear, beautiful day.  And if the sky was black from coal burning, just think of the soot and ash that would be all over everything.  And everybody.

I was so glad that we had found better ways to stay warm.

I say “we,” but I had nothing to do with it.  Someone found better ways, and I guess people will continue to find better ways.

And you know what?  I think we are called by God to do so.

Think of Florida a hundred years ago.  It wasn’t such a popular place to live because it was so hot.  But after World War II, as air conditioning became more ubiquitous, the population grew from about 20^th in the nation to fourth.

I’m glad we found a good way to stay cool.

Lately I’ve heard about several babies who were born with health issues, but the doctors were able to do surgery and fix whatever was wrong.

You know, back in the day those kids would have just died.  The infant mortality rate was much higher.  And the mortality rate of mothers giving birth was higher.  How many times, as I read about history, have I read about someone’s wife dying in childbirth?  Now, in all my life, I have not personally known any woman who died from giving birth.

The difference is that we know more.  We have discovered better ways, and I think that’s what God has called us to do.

I’m getting that from Genesis 1:28.  God made Adam and Eve, blessed them, then said this to them.  “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it…”

Subdue the earth.  That’s what God wants us to do. 

I look at it like this.  God created this planet full of ingredients; full of plants and animals and land and water.  But it’s wild.  It’s unruly, and that’s where we come in.  We are to subdue the earth, to get it under control, to manage it.

I feel so blessed to live in a land that enjoys years of subduing.  I’m sitting in a structure made of modern building materials, well insulated from all kinds of weather.  I got here on nice roads with beautiful landscaping inside the incredible invention of the automobile. 

Clothing is plentiful and colorful and cheap.  Food is abundant. 

And all this comes back to subduing the earth.  Instead of letting it remain in its wild, unruly state, we are to subdue it.

Now subdue doesn’t mean destroy or pollute.  It means get it under control, take the disorderly and make it orderly.

Take water, for example.  In Tallahassee we have clean water for hundreds of thousands of people.  That sure didn’t happen by all of us gathering around a creek and scooping out water.  It happened by us taking the wild, natural water supplies and subduing them, getting them under control.

That may not sound like a Godly thing, but I think it is.  It goes back to that original mandate from God to subdue the earth.

I recently read about new breakthroughs in battery technology.  They are coming up with ways to make batteries more powerful and last a lot longer.  And get this.  They’re making them out of paper.  A special paper, of course, lined with carbon nanotubes, whatever those are.  But just think of the possibilities if you can make a battery the size and thickness of a postage stamp. 

And there are millions of new things to be thought of, a million new ways to subdue the earth.

For some reason, subduing the earth sounds bad, like plundering the earth or treating it like a slave to be beaten and left for dead.

That’s not it at all.  God has called us to subdue the earth, which means to manage it and get it under control – for the good of everyone.  And for the glory of God.

So yes, we are called to subdue the earth, and we will do that, more and more.

So now the question is this.  What role will you play in following God’s mandate to subdue the earth?


Comments?

E-mail me:  dougapple@wave94.com.

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



© 2009 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 to Get More People Working at Church - Apples of Gold - December 21, 2009 -vi-

To listen to the radio version, click here.   

To search archives, click here.

Apples of Gold
 

Radio Script for December 21, 2009

“How to Get More People Working at Church”

 

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

As a media guy, I’ve met a lot of technical people over the years, and it’s always interesting to hear about their jobs.

For example, one guy sets up those cameras that dangle over the field at football games.  Did you know that they hang from super long cables that string all the way up to the four corners of the stadium?  And they have to put them up and take them down for each game.

Another guy told me about his job, which was simply to keep track of the cable for a TV cameraman who roamed the sideline.  When you see sideline shots, you probably don’t even think about the cameraman, let alone his cable guy.  And yet that’s his one job.  Get out there and keep that cable straight.

But somebody has to do it.  I’ve been a roving cameraman, and if you have to keep your own cable straight you won’t be nearly as affective.  You get fewer shots because you have to spend part of your time messing with the cable.

Getting a football game on TV is a massive undertaking.  It’s a wonder it happens at all, but here’s the key – each task must be assigned to someone.

And that means someone has to do the assigning.  Someone has to know all the jobs that need to be done, and then assign them to someone.

So in your church, who is this person? 

This is a hugely important question, and here’s why.  I think that most churches are full of two things:  people with untapped abilities, and jobs that aren’t being done.

When I think about the pews that we fill up across America, I think of millions of people loaded with skill and ability.  Meanwhile, the church is not nearly as effective as it could be because we aren’t putting these people to work.

Oh I know it’s not easy.  You stand up in front of the church, announce that a certain job needs to be done, nobody responds, and you move on.  After all, you can’t twist arms.

Well no, you can’t twist arms, but you can be more effective.  You can get a lot more people doing things in the church.

Here’s a simple, biblical example in the Old Testament book of Nehemiah.  Nehemiah needed to get more work out of the priests and Levites, so what did he do?  Here’s what it says.  He “…assigned them duties, each to his own task.”

Now I realize our churches are volunteer organizations, and people don’t take kindly to being bossed around.  But here is my experience.  If we ask people to do a well-defined job that fits within their interests and abilities, and it isn’t too demanding, they will often agree to do it.

For example, I remember when our church started a new men’s ministry.  If you want to join, give them a call.

I didn’t call.  It was too vague and I wasn’t looking for something new to do.

So they formed the ministry, and announced they were going to be doing some workdays.  If you want to do some workdays, give them a call.  Oh, and some golf outings.

Well, I wasn’t interested in golf or in generic workdays, so I didn’t call.

But then they announced that coming up Saturday at 9 a.m. we’re going to clean up a certain yard.  If you have a weed eater or a rake, can you come out and help?

Now that I could do.  The job and the time were clearly defined.  It had a beginning and an end, so I went.

And then they did a great thing.  They took down our phone numbers.  And from then on, when they had a specific job to do, they could make personal contact.

That’s just one example of someone going from pew sitter to worker.

I’ve organized many fundraisers over the years, and people usually don’t respond when you say, “Hey, anyone out there want to help with a fundraiser?”  They won’t respond to church bulletins or newsletters and maybe not even e-mail. 

The line I always use is, “You have to hit the phones.”  You have to call people personally, make a personal appeal and get that personal commitment.

You have to make your list of tasks, and then find a worker for each task.

I used to work with a Christian concert promoter who was hyper-organized.  He had a list a mile long of every single job, then made sure someone was assigned to each task.  I ended up with a few jobs I wasn’t prone to do simply because he asked me and I knew it needed to be done.

Doing the Lord’s work is a massive undertaking.  There are so many things that need to be done, but I believe there are plenty of people to do them – we just have to organize them. 

Ephesians 4 says the church will grow as every part does its share of the work.  That’s the way the body of Christ is designed to work.

And one part of the body is the organizers, the people who know all the jobs that need to be done and then find people to do them.

So I’ll ask again.  In your church, who is this? 

Someone needs to be the Nehemiah, to see what needs to be done, and organize the people to do it.

There is so much talent out there in the pews.  And I think they are willing to do their part to help the church grow, but it takes a Nehemiah, someone who can “assign them duties, each to his own task.”


Comments?

E-mail me:  dougapple@wave94.com.

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



© 2009 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 If Someone Has No Interest In Jesus? - Apples of Gold - December 18, 2009 -vi-

To listen to the radio version, click here.  (At the end you will hear an excerpt of Annie’s testimony.)

 

To search archives, click here.

Apples of Gold
 

Radio Script for December 18, 2009

“What If Someone Has No Interest In Jesus?”

 

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

It was back in the days of Flower Power and “peace, man” and VW vans.

And as a singer, Annie was right in the thick of it. 

She lived in Hollywood and was part of a group that was on the verge of hitting it big.

She was dating a guy named Buck, and guess what? 

Buck got saved.  He came to Christ and tried to share the good news with Annie.

But she didn’t want to have anything to do with it.  She was raised Catholic, had tried Jesus and decided there was nothing to it.  So she told Buck, “See ya later babe.”

“I didn’t want to have anything to do with Christianity whatsoever,” she said.

“And then I saw him two weeks later.  He came and knocked on my door, and his countenance was absolutely different, and I bolted back.  I said, ‘What has happened to you? Whatever has happened to you, that’s what I’m looking for.’”

And Buck told her that it was the Holy Spirit, that he had received the Holy Spirit.

“It changed him,” Annie said, “and what it did for me was, I saw it.  And the thing inside of me that was longing for the truth – there it was, on his face.”

She ended up at a meeting and they tried to lead her to Christ.  “Do you believe in Jesus?  Do you believe He died for your sins and rose again?”  “Yes,” Annie quickly replied to all their questions.  “Let’s get on with the program.  I want this Holy Spirit thing.”

Now some of you might be thinking, “Wait a minute.  That’s too much emphasis on the Holy Spirit.  We need to emphasize Jesus and His redemptive work.  She should be focused on receiving Christ. 

Well if you want to downplay receiving the Holy Spirit, then you need dig into the Word.  Get out your concordance and look up the word “receive.”  What you will find is that, of all the things we can receive, the thing you will find most in the New Testament is receiving the Holy Spirit.  Yes, it talks about receiving the Gospel and forgiveness.  It talks about receiving Jesus and mercy, and many other things.  But the thing it talks about more than all of them is receiving the Holy Spirit.

Galatians 3:14 points out that God redeemed us so that we could receive the Holy Spirit.

As Peter preached in Acts 2:38 he said, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.” 

And was that the end result?  No.  Here was the end result.  “And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”

Over and over and over again we read about receiving the Holy Spirit and the work the Spirit does in our lives.

Well Annie saw what the Spirit had done in her old boyfriend’s life, and she wanted it.  Now don’t distort what I’m about to say, but she was ready to skip over all the Jesus stuff to get to the Holy Spirit.  She was hungry for the Spirit of God.

So they gathered around her and started praying for her, and what happened?  Did God wait until she got her theology all straight, until she gave Jesus a little more respect?

Well listen to what happened as they prayed.

“I was ushered into the heavenlies,” she said.  “I didn’t know anything of the Word yet, but I saw this throne, and there were these elders.  And incense, I could smell the incense.  And there were millions of people, and it was wonderful.  And then I saw Jesus, and I wanted to express my love for Him, so I reached out to Him.  And I felt every sin I’d ever committed in my whole life fall upon me.  And I thought to myself, ‘There is no way that Jesus could possibly love me.  It’s impossible.  How could this spotless, most beautiful thing in the world possibly love me?’  And so I just got up out of that chair, ran out of that room and said, ‘Forget it.  It’s impossible.’”

“And I went out into the night,” Annie said, “out into the field and cried and cried because I knew I was lost and I knew I had no hope.  But somehow or other, by the time morning came, my thought was, ‘How could He love me so much, that He would take on all of those sins?  And then I knew the Redeemer, and the power of the blood, because I had given my life to Jesus and He absolutely took every sin and changed me.”

And that’s Annie’s testimony, and now for three decades she has been singing for the Lord.  And by the way, she went on to marry that ex-boyfriend, Buck Herring.

But the thing I like about her story is how it seems kind of backwards.  Because of her background, she was not interested in Jesus.  But then she saw the literal changes in Buck’s life, which he attributed to the Holy Spirit – and that caught her interest.  “I want the Holy Spirit,” she said.

So she prayed to receive the Holy Spirit, and what happened?  She had an encounter with Jesus!  And He dealt with her sins and she received forgiveness and salvation. 

God loves us so much, and I’m always amazed by the different ways He reaches out to people right where they are.

So if you know someone who has some negative preconceived notions of Jesus or Christianity, then maybe you can encourage them to receive the Holy Spirit. 

That may not fit your idea of evangelism, but let me leave you with this teaching from Jesus in Luke 11.  “Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead?  Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion?  If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!”


Comments?

E-mail me:  dougapple@wave94.com.

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

I think this is a great example of drawing near to God, and He will draw near to us.  We don’t necessarily have to have all of our theological ducks in a row.  If he seriously draw near to Him, if we seriously seek Him, we will find Him.

Annie Herring’s interview was aired on Wave 94 on Jerry Bryant’s program Full Circle.

***You can listen to Annie in her own voice describe her conversion at the end of today’s audio version by clicking the link at the top.  It’s an excerpt from the interview as aired on Full Circle with Jerry Bryant.

© 2009 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 Can't Let Sin Slide - Apples of Gold - December 16, 2009 -vi-

To listen to the radio version, click here.

 

To search archives, click here.

Apples of Gold
 

Radio Script for December 16, 2009

“You Can’t Let Sin Slide”

 

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

You can’t let sin slide.

There are different ways of dealing with it, but you cannot let it slide.

This is a message for people in a position of spiritual leadership.

I was talking to an older gentleman about a church he attended for many years.  He regaled me with tales of powerful sermons and a booming congregation. 

“He was the best preacher in the area,” he said, “maybe even in the whole state.  And he lived it.”

Well the church wasn’t booming now, so what happened?

“Oh, he preached hard against sin, but when things came up in the congregation, he didn’t deal with them.  There was even some blatant sin among leadership, but he just didn’t deal with it.  He didn’t want to confront anyone.  He let it slide and it festered.  It undermined the ministry, and the church lost its power.”

Let that be a lesson to anyone in spiritual leadership.  You can’t let sin slide.

Yesterday one of my coworkers was talking about an old relative of his who got saved from a rough background and became a preacher.  And here’s what kind of man he was.  If he saw one of his people smoking, he would walk right up and yank the cigarette out of their mouth.  He would say, “What are you doing?  Don’t you know your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost?”

That’s one way to do it.  Often the best way to deal with sin is to take quick and decisive action.

I know a man who hired a new employee.  Then he found out that the new employee was showing dirty pictures around the office, which was followed by a quick and decisive firing.

I remember walking into church one time and some teenagers were goofing around, and they were blasting some bad secular music from their boom box right there in church.  I told them to turn it off, and no one made a move.  So I went over and yanked the plug from the wall.  “Not in church,” I said.

A great biblical example of dealing decisively with sin is when Jesus drove the money changers from the temple.  In John 2 it says Jesus went to the temple courts in Jerusalem and “found men selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money.  So He made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple area, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables.  To those who sold doves He said, ‘Get these out of here!  How dare you turn my Father’s house into a market?’”

And I like the conclusion of that episode in John 2:17.  It says, “His disciples remembered that it is written:  ‘Zeal for your house will consume me.’”

A great Old Testament example is found in Nehemiah 13.  The law said that no Ammonite could be admitted into the assembly of God, but Eliashib the priest actually provided a room in there for the Ammonite Tobiah.  It was the chamber where they stored the tithes and offerings, and the temple articles, and they moved it all out just for Tobiah.

Well Nehemiah was gone when this happened, but then he came back and found out about it, and what did he do?  In verse 8 Nehemiah said, “I was greatly displeased and threw all Tobiah’s household goods out of the room.”

That is quick and decisive action.  See you can’t let sin slide.  You have to deal with it.

But not every situation calls for sudden and explosive action.  Ezra shows us another way of dealing with “sin in the camp.”

In Ezra chapter nine, it was reported to Ezra that many leaders in Israel, including priests and Levites, were intermarrying with various local tribes who participated in evil, which was expressly forbidden. 

What did Ezra do?  Listen to what he said.  “When I heard this, I tore my tunic and cloak, pulled hair from my head and beard and sat down appalled…and I sat there appalled until the evening sacrifice.”

At the sacrifice he cried out to God.  And others joined him, and they wept bitterly over the sin of the people.

So did they leap into action?  Not really, but they did put a plan into motion.  It took some time, but they dealt with the problem.  They didn’t let it slide at all, they just handled it in a more methodical manner.

In First Corinthians 5 we have an example of a church that didn’t deal with sin in their midst, and Paul rebuked them for it.  He said, “Don’t you know that a little yeast works through the whole batch of dough?”

He told them not to associate with someone who called themselves a brother in Christ, but who was “sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or a slanderer, a drunkard or a swindler.  With such a man do not even eat.”  And in verse 13 he concluded, “Expel the wicked man from among you.”

That sounds harsh, but we’re talking about an unrepentant man that calls himself a Christian and wants to be part of your church but also wants to continue to blatantly live in sin.

So do you let it slide?  No, you deal with it, head on.  You confront it.  You can be quick and decisive or circumspect and methodical, depending on the situation, but whatever you do, deal with it.

If you don’t, it won’t go away.  It will spread.  Like Paul said, it’s like yeast that works through the whole batch of dough.

So if you are in a position of spiritual leadership today, here is something you must remember.

You can’t let sin slide.


Comments?

E-mail me:  dougapple@wave94.com.

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


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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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