Jasmine in the Air - Apples of Gold - June 12, 2008 -vi-

This is one you will really want to hear.  Listen on our website:  www.wave94.com

 

Apples of Gold
 

Radio Script for June 12, 2008

“Jasmine in the Air”

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

And now…the radio drama entitled:  “Jasmine in the Air.”

(open with eerie dramatic music)

An evil wind.
He’s unaware.
He smells jasmine in the air.

A woman bathes.
He is staring,
Captured by what she’s not wearing.

He sends to find out more about her.
Uriah’s wife.  Eliam’s daughter.

“Send for her.”
The night was wild.
A price was paid.
“I am with child.”

“Joab, send Uriah home!”
“Uriah, go, don’t sleep alone!”

“I will not while the rest are fighting.”
“Fine, I’ll make her more inviting.
Have some food, now drink, drink up!”
Uriah, have another cup!
Your wife must think you’re quite a hunk,
Oh just go home.  You’re drunk!”

Uriah, honorable as he was,
Did not go play the man.
And from the king’s dishonorable mind
Sprang a more grisly plan.

“Dear Joab, here’s your man Uriah.
Less a lover and more a fighter.
Push him right up to the line
Then pull ‘em back and let him die!”

So Joab and his fighting men,
The city under siege,
They drove right up there to the wall,
Uriah in the lead.

“The city’s greatest warriors?
Put Uriah over there.”
The odds were stacked against them
And their shouting filled the air.  

The enemy was winning big.
Uriah wouldn’t run.
He was fighting for his king.
The battle must be won.

Some men were killed around him,
And he noticed something weird.
No more were sent to help them,
And he felt a stab of fear.

“Dear David,” Joab’s message said,
“The Hittite…is dead.”

Bathsheba grieved her husband’s death,
Then married with great speed.
A little boy was born to them,
But God was way not pleased.

He sent the prophet Nathan by
To tell the king a story.
It started with a couple guys
And ended kind of gory.

A rich man stole a poor man’s lamb
And cooked him up for dinner.
The king exploded at the thought.
“Condemn that wretched sinner!”

“That’s right, he must be punished.”
Nathan played his clever plan.
He pointed at the king and said,
“Thou art the man!”

King David sinned against the Lord,
God judged the whole affair.
And men should all take heed
When they smell jasmine in the air.

(fade out intro music reversed)
 
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-

A Core Belief, The Resurrection - Apples of Gold - June 11, 2008 -vi-

Apples of Gold
 

Radio Script for June 11, 2008

“A Core Belief – The Resurrection”

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

One of the core beliefs of Christianity is the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.

In First Corinthians 15 Paul wrote, “For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance:  that Christ died for our sins…that he was buried, (and) that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures…”

Now listen as Paul spells out his evidence for the resurrection.  He said that Jesus “appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve.  After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time…then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all he appeared to me…”

This is a key reason why we believe in Jesus’ resurrection – because so many people witnessed it personally.

Paul went on to say that if Christ didn’t rise from the dead, then the Gospel is useless and the apostles were liars.  And if Christ wasn’t raised, then we are still in our sins, and every Christian who has died is lost.  If Christ didn’t rise from the dead, then we are to be pitied above all men, he said.

But we believe Christ did rise from the dead, and we believe for two reasons.  First of all, like I said, we believe the testimony of the witnesses who actually saw the risen Savior.  And second, we believe because of the new birth and the living hope God has placed within us.  First Peter 1:3 says that our living hope comes “through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.”

Because Jesus is alive, we have hope for life beyond the grave, eternal life with him.

We believe that Jesus is the Son of God, and one proof of that was his resurrection.  Romans 1:4 says that Jesus was “declared with power to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead…”

While Jesus walked this earth, several times he predicted his resurrection.

Matthew 16 says that Jesus explained to his disciples that he would go to Jerusalem, be killed, and “on the third day be raised to life.”

One day the Jews demanded Jesus give them a miraculous sign to prove his authority.  Here is the proof he offered them.  He said, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.”  He was talking about his body, and his resurrection.

After the transfiguration in Mark 9, Jesus told Peter, James and John, “Don’t tell anyone about this until after the Son of Man has risen from the dead.”  Then they discussed among themselves, “What does he mean, ‘risen from the dead’?”

Even on the night of his betrayal he told his disciples, “…after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee.”

Even though Jesus taught his disciples about his resurrection, they just didn’t see it coming.  In Matthew 17, after Jesus explained his death and resurrection, it says his disciples were filled with grief.  All they seemed to hear was the part about his death.

Luke 18:34 gives us a reason why the disciples didn’t pick up on the resurrection part.  It says, “Its meaning was hidden from them.”  Luke 24 says it wasn’t until after his resurrection that Jesus “opened their minds so they could understand...”

Jesus’ opponents certainly understood his prediction to rise again.  That’s why, in Matthew 27, after Jesus’ crucifixion, they went to Pilate and asked him to secure the tomb “until the third day.”  Otherwise his disciples might come and steal that deceiver’s body, and his “last deception will be worse than the first,” they said.

So Pilate gave the order, “Make the tomb as secure as you know how.” 

But it didn’t work.  Jesus did rise from the dead.

Angels announced it to the women who came to the tomb.  “Why do you look for the living among the dead?  He is not here.  He has risen!”

Luke 24:34 says, “It is true!  The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon.”

Soon the disciples became bold witnesses of the resurrection.  After Pentecost, Acts 4:33 says, “With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus…”

Acts 2:32 says, “God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of the fact.”

When Peter preached at Pentecost he said, “…wicked men put him to death by nailing him to the cross.  But God raised him from the dead…”

When a crowd gathered after a crippled beggar was healed, Peter preached, “You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead.  We are witnesses of this.”

In Acts 4, Peter preached to the Sanhedrin that God had raised Jesus from the dead.

In Acts 5 Peter preached to the high priest that “the God of our fathers raised Jesus from the dead.”

At the Gentile Cornelius’ house, Peter preached that “…God raised him from the dead on the third day and caused him to be seen…by witnesses whom God had already chosen – by us who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead.”

In Acts 13 Paul preached that “God raised him from the dead, and for many days he was seen by those who had traveled with him from Galilee to Jerusalem.  They are now his witnesses…”

In Thessalonica Paul proved from the Scriptures “that the Christ had to suffer and rise from the dead.”

In Athens, Paul stirred up the philosophers by telling them about Jesus and his resurrection.

When standing before Festus and King Agrippa, Paul told them that Jesus had risen from the dead.

The epistles are full of references to Jesus’ resurrection. 

Romans 4:25 says that Jesus “was raised to life for our justification.”

Romans 10:9 says that if we confess with our mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in our heart that God raised him from the dead, we will be saved.

First Corinthians 15:20 says that “Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.”

Second Corinthians 4:14 says, “we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us…”

And this is our living hope, that because Jesus was raised from the dead, we, too, will be raised from the dead, and will live with him eternally. 

We do have hope, and we have it because of this core truth:  the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

 
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-

Handsome, Brilliant, Who Wouldn't Want to be Like This Guy? - Apples of Gold - June 10, 2008 -vi-

Apples of Gold
 

Radio Script for June 10, 2008

“Handsome, Brilliant, Who Wouldn’t Want to be Like This Guy?”

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

I want to be a man like Daniel.

Who wouldn’t?

He was handsome, with “no physical defect” the Bible says.

He was brilliant in many subjects. 

He was just an exile from Judah, but some Babylonian big shots saw that Daniel was something special, so they enrolled him in a three year training course.  The goal?  To prepare him to serve the mighty King Nebuchadnezzar.

A smart young man like Daniel certainly appreciated this opportunity.  But something came first for Daniel, and that was God. 

God had given the Jews dietary laws, but now these Babylonians gave him food that broke those laws.  Daniel could have said, “Ah, just go with the flow,” but instead, look what it says in Daniel 1:8.  “Daniel resolved not to defile himself.”

Now that is a phrase we should all pound into our brains.  “I resolve not to defile myself.”

Look around.  What is it that defiles you?  Now make this your resolution, like Daniel.  “I resolve not to defile myself.”

Daniel didn’t throw a big, stinking fit about it.  He didn’t start a protest in the lunchroom.  Instead, he simply went to the proper official and, get this, asked for permission to eat something else.

What a combination!  He was resolved to do the right thing, but he humbled himself before his authority.

Daniel had a truckload of talent, and Daniel 1:17 reveals where it came from.  All that knowledge and understanding?  God gave it to him, including the ability to understand dreams and visions.

With talents like that, Daniel quickly rose up in the ranks.  The king found Daniel and his friends to be 10 times better than all the rest. 

At one point Nebuchadnezzar had a dream, and he demanded that his wise men both tell him his dream, and its interpretation – or he would kill them.  Of course they couldn’t tell him his dream, so he started rounding them up, including Daniel and his friends.

Now look what it says in Daniel 2:14.  When the commander came to arrest Daniel, it says, “Daniel spoke to him with wisdom and tact.”

Again, here is the great Daniel, handsome and wise, with the true ability to interpret dreams, yet he didn’t brag or boast.  He wasn’t full of himself.  Instead he spoke to the commander with wisdom and tact. 

Then it says they pleaded with God for mercy, and that night God revealed to Daniel both the dream and its interpretation.

Then when Daniel stood before the king, he was so humble, he took no credit for himself.  He said that no man could explain the king’s mystery, that only God could do that. 

Even so, after that the king put Daniel in a high position as one of his rulers.

Now once Daniel had this cushy government job, he could have laid low and enjoyed it.  But no, God still came first. 

In Daniel 4:27 we see Daniel speaking so boldly to the king as to say, “Renounce your sins…”  But again, he didn’t do it in arrogance.  He was humble before the king, saying, “O king, be pleased to accept my advice…”

In Daniel 5 he is offered many gifts to interpret the now famous writing on the wall.  But he told the king he could keep his gifts, then he interpreted the writing anyway, which was a message of judgment.

After that scathing report, amazingly the king elevated him to the third highest position in the land.  

Then Darius the Mede became king, and he also recognized Daniel’s leadership skills, and made him one of his three main leaders.  Daniel did his job so well that Darius planned to promote him. 

When the other leaders heard about it, they decided to cut Daniel down to size.  They checked all the angles, analyzed all of Daniel’s work, and get this, Daniel 6:4 says, “They could find no corruption in him, because he was trustworthy and neither corrupt nor negligent.”

Did you get that?  He was neither corrupt, nor negligent. 

That’s a great example of how we should do our work.  Yes, we have no corruption.  But just as important is this, that we are not negligent.  We are not slack or lazy in our work.

They finally tripped up Daniel over his commitment to prayer, and got him thrown in the lion’s den.  As he was going in, the king said, “May your God, whom you serve continually, rescue you.”

What a testimony!  Even the king saw Daniel’s spiritual integrity, that he served God, not just when it was convenient, but continually!

And God did rescue Daniel from the lions, and two reasons are mentioned in Daniel 6:  because Daniel was found innocent in God’s sight, and because Daniel trusted in God.

After that Daniel prospered, both under the rules of Darius and Cyrus.  At times he fasted and prayed and sought the Lord.  He repented of his own sins and the sins of his people.  He studied the scriptures and served the king. 

Daniel 10:12 said he set his mind to gain understanding and to humble himself before God.

In Daniel 9:23, Gabriel told Daniel that he was “highly esteemed.”

In Daniel 10:11, a man who looked a lot like Jesus in the book of Revelation, told Daniel that he was “highly esteemed.”

Daniel 10:19 says it again, that Daniel was “highly esteemed.”

Oh, there are so many reasons to look up to Daniel.  His commitment to God.  His prayer life.  His integrity.  His service to the government.  His humility.  His brilliant mind.  His stately appearance.  And what more can you ask than to be “highly esteemed” by heavenly authorities?

I look at him, and I want to be like him. 

Like I said when I started, I want to be a man like Daniel.

 
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-

Apart From You I Have No Good Thing - Apples of Gold - June 9, 2008 -vi-

Apples of Gold
 

Radio Script for June 9, 2008

“Apart From You I Have No Good Thing”

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

In Psalm 16:2, David made a powerful statement. 

He said to the Lord, “You are my Lord; apart from You I have no good thing.”

Think of the temptations we would avoid if we only took this attitude:  apart from God I have no good thing.

See, temptations hit us when we look out there and see some nice thing, and we want it.  Then we start scheming to get it.  It takes our time and our effort.  We use our brain power.  We dream about it and plan for it. 

But what if we said, “Lord, apart from You I have no good thing”?

This is a phrase that is constantly rattling around in the back of my brain.  It creates a foundation for all my wants and desires. 

I can look around and see a lot of stuff I want, and things I want to do.  But then I turn back to this foundational phrase, “Apart from You I have no good thing.”

This world has a lot of good stuff, doesn’t it?  Who doesn’t want all the new things?  I admit, I want all the latest, the cell phones and computers and cars and cameras.  Keep me on the cutting edge, baby!

But then I return to these roots, “Apart from the Lord I have no good thing.”

This keeps God first in my life.  This keeps me coming back to the Lord every day, and desiring to walk in His Spirit.  He is first, and everything else pales in comparison. 

It applies to relationships, too.  I can work on having a good family, but apart from the Lord I have no good thing. 

I can have a great job with all the benefits, but apart from the Lord I have no good thing.

Here is one way I think this applies to my life.  If I don’t have the Lord, nothing is good. 

And by “having the Lord” I mean living right, and walking with Him each day. 

Now here is something that amazes me.  Sometimes we will compromise our walk with the Lord in order to get something we think is good.  We will cut corners, or take the low road to get something.  We will push the Lord off into a corner so He doesn’t stop us from getting what we think is good.

And yet apart from Him, nothing is good.  Anything we have to compromise our standards to get is not good.  I don’t care how good it seems, apart from Him there is no good thing.

James 1:17 says that every good and perfect gift comes down from our Heavenly Father.  That means if it doesn’t come from Him, it’s not good.  Apart from Him I have no good thing.

If you have to compromise the Lord to get it, you don’t want it.  It’s not good.  It will end up like sand in your hands. 

So apart from the Lord there is no good thing, but now get this.  With the Lord we get all good things!

Psalm 34:10 says, “…those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.”

Psalm 84:11 says, “…no good thing does He withhold from those whose walk is blameless.”

Matthew 6:33 says, “…seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you…”

Psalm 37:4 says, “Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.”

Psalm 103:5 says the Lord “satisfies your desires with good things.”

Psalm 145:19 says, “He fulfills the desires of those who fear him…”

Now you might think that if you put God first, then you will get whatever you desire.

Well, yes, that is true, in a certain way.  When we put God first, then we are walking in the Spirit.  We are in tune with His Spirit every day.  Romans 8:5 says, “…those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires.”

So, yes, we will get what we desire – and those desires are in accordance with what God desires.

But now look, we still have a sinful nature, and it has its own desires.  Galatians 5:24 talks about crucifying the sinful nature and its desires. 

Ephesians 4:22 says our “old self” is being corrupted by its deceitful desires. 

So we have two kinds of desires, the desires of the sinful nature, and the desires of the Holy Spirit inside us.  When we put God first, we are in tune with the desires of the Holy Spirit. 

It is these desires that God grants us in abundance, because these are all good things!

So it’s really a matter of priorities.  When we put God first, then He gives us good things.  But if we ever put any thing before God, then it’s not a good thing anyway, because when you drill down to the foundation of it all, it’s like David said to the Lord in Psalm 16:2.

“Apart from You I have no good thing.”


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-

Jesus in Revelation - Apples of Gold - June 6, 2008 -vi-

Apples of Gold
 

Radio Script for June 6, 2008

“Jesus in Revelation”

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

Jesus is easy to picture as a little baby in a manger.

It’s easy to see Him teaching thousands on a hillside.

It’s not even hard to imagine Him hanging on a cross.

Rising from the dead is a bit of a stretch, but still, He didn’t look all that different, except when He showed up out of thin air in a locked room, or when He finally just lifted off the ground and disappeared in the clouds.

But there He is, dark hair, clothes made out of real cloth, leather sandals – just a regular guy.

And then He appears to John in the book of Revelation.  John didn’t say, “Wow, Jesus, is that you?  You look just like a regular guy.”  No, instead he dropped to the ground like a dead man.

Have you ever had someone sneak up behind you and blast you with a trumpet?  A trumpet can be loud and piercing, and that’s how Revelation starts.  John suddenly hears a loud voice like a trumpet behind him.

He turns around and sees what looks like a man standing among seven golden lampstands.  But this was no normal man.  His eyes were like blazing fire and his face was bright like the sun. His head and hair were as white as snow.  He wore a long robe, all the way down to His feet, with a golden sash around His chest.  And His feet were glowing like hot metal.

Jesus spoke, and His voice was not meek and mild.  It was loud and powerful, like the sound of whitewater rapids.  And to top it off, out of His mouth came a sword!  And in His right hand He was holding seven stars.

This is not Jesus meek and lowly.  Listen to some of the ways Jesus is described in the book of Revelation.

He is known as “The Amen,” “the ruler of God’s creation.”

He is the “Lion of the Tribe of Judah.”

He is the “Root and the Offspring of David.”

He is the “Bright Morning Star.”

His name is “The Word of God.”

In Revelation 19 John sees Him as the rider on a white horse, and He is called “Faithful and True.”  On His head are many crowns, and He is wearing a robe dipped in blood.  On this robe is written a name, the same name that is written on His thigh.  It says, “King of Kings and Lord of Lords.”

But the King of Kings is not the only side of Jesus we see in Revelation.  At one point John saw Him looking like a Lamb that had been killed.

Revelation 6:16 uses a strange phrase, “the wrath of the Lamb.” 

Revelation 7:17 uses another strange phrase.  It says the Lamb will be their shepherd.

So yes, Jesus is the Lamb that was slain, but He’s no dead lamb.  This Lamb is a shepherd, and this Lamb lashes out in wrath at those who make war against Him. 

And He won’t be alone.  Revelation 19 says the armies of heaven ride with Him.  They are all dressed in white and riding white horses.

Revelation also tells us about “the wedding of the Lamb” and the “wedding supper of the Lamb.”

Revelation 21 talks about “the bride, the wife of the Lamb.”  Then it describes the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.

It says the Lamb is the lamp of the city, and the throne of the Lamb is in the city. 

And Revelation 21:27 tells us who will be able to enter the city, “…only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.”

This is a very important item that belongs to the Lamb.  Revelation 20:15 says, “If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.”

That sounds dreadful, doesn’t it?

So let’s balance that with Revelation 22:17 which says, “The Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come!’”  “Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life.”

He concludes by saying, “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches.”
John calls Him, “Lord Jesus.”  Jesus Himself says, “Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.”
Revelation 22:20 says, “He who testifies to these things says, ‘Yes, I am coming soon.’”
And John responds with this simple prayer, “Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.”
So you see, Jesus is not just the baby in the manger or the teacher on the hillside.  Jesus is also the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.  He is the warrior on the white horse.  His name is the Word of God, and He wins battles with the double-edged sword from His mouth.  In His possession is the Lamb’s book of life, and from His throne flows the water of life.
And this Great One invites all to come to Him for the free gift of the water of life.  And this Great One says He is coming back, and He is coming soon!

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-

You Can't Carry the Burden - Apples of Gold - June 5, 2008 -vi-

Apples of Gold
 

Radio Script for June 5, 2008

“You Can’t Carry the Burden”

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

We can’t carry the burdens of this life.

We just can’t.  We weren’t designed to.

So many people become alcoholics because they can’t carry the burdens.

So many people turn to antidepressants, or illegal drugs.

And I’m not just talking about people at the bottom of society.  These are people from all walks of life, many of them very smart, even brilliant. 

“Well maybe they’re just weak; they just can’t handle the pressure.”

No, this applies to everyone.  None of us can carry the burdens of life.

Have you ever lost a loved one?  It’s unbearable.  Yes, life goes on, and time dulls the pain, but really, death is a burden we just can’t bear.

Have you ever had a broken heart?  It rends you to the core.  You can’t even breathe.  A broken heart is a burden we just can’t bear.

Have you ever hurt someone?  You can’t take it back.  It’s done, and you hate it.  It’s guilt and remorse.  It’s a burden we just can’t bear.

Have you considered your own mortality?  You look in the mirror and see the age.  You look ahead and, man, don’t even go there.  Mortifying thoughts of our own aging and death – it’s a burden we just can’t bear.

Some people cope by not thinking about it.  That’ll get you through the day, but it’s living like a scared rabbit. 

Are you trying to do everything right – your marriage, your job, your children, your money?  You just want to get it right, all of it.  The home.  The career.  The retirement.  Even your life as a Christian.  Then what happens when things fall short?  Maybe your child becomes a prodigal.  Maybe your investments crash.  Maybe you lose your job.  How do you cope?  When you really look at it, getting it all right is a burden we just can’t bear.

So what do we do, give up?  Just stop thinking and working?

If you do that you are just adding to the world’s problems.  No, we need more thinking and working, not less.

So how can we do that when life’s burdens are just too heavy?

Well let’s look at what Jesus said in Matthew 11.  “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Jesus offers a tremendous solution.  He’s not telling us to think less or work less.  It doesn’t involve drugs or alcohol.  So what does it involve? 

“Rest for your souls.”

See, this is where we carry the burdens of life.  We think about them, but they’re not really in our mind.  We work on them, but they’re not really on our back.  No, the burdens of this life are carried in our soul.  It’s a burden you feel gnawing at your gut.  Call it worry or anxiety or stress. 

Life gets messed up, and it eats away at you.  But Jesus offers us rest for our souls. 

First John 3:19 talks about our hearts being at rest in God’s presence.

Psalm 68:19 says, “Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens.”

It’s a burden swap.  He bears these burdens that we just can’t carry.  Then we take on His burden, which He said is light.  “My yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Well, what is His burden?  Here’s what He said in that same passage.  He said, “Come to me…”  and He said, “…learn from me…”  That sounds simple enough, doesn’t it? 

We put our faith in Him.  We trust Him.  We submit to Him.  We let Him lead us and teach us.  We surrender the reins of our life to Him. 

And He takes our burdens, and gives us rest for our souls.

When we lose a loved one, we can hand Him the burden, take His hand and let Him lead us through.

When our heart is broken, we can hand it to Him and trust Him to mend it, better than before.

When we’ve hurt someone else, we trust Him to forgive us and make us clean.

When we consider our own mortality, we can relax, trusting that the Good Shepherd will carry us through, wherever the valley leads.

And you know what?  This sets us free to think more and work more.  See, it’s not that we stop thinking or working.  We can now think and work more externally, because we have been set free from the debilitating burden internally.

We are free!

He gives us rest for our souls!

This is God’s plan for us, because He knows that no matter how strong we are, none of us can carry the burdens of this life.


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-

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-