If-Then Statements of the New Testament - Apples of Gold - March 17, 2010 -vi-

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Apples of Gold
 

Radio Script for March 17, 2010

“If-Then Statements of the New Testament”

 

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

I like if-then statements.

They’re so black and white, so solid.

If I take action X, I will get result Y.

So many things in this world are uncertain.  You can take action X all day long and still get result P or Q or Z.

“Doctor, if I eat right and exercise, can you guarantee I won’t get cancer?”

“No.”

Financial investing, raising children, getting married – we can try to do everything right and still end up problems.

That’s why I like if-then statements, things I can bank on.  If I take action X, I will get result Y.

So I did a study of the New Testament, looking for if-then statements.  What can I bank on?  What can I hang my hat on, my life?

Here is what I found.  Here are some clearly stated if-then statements of the New Testament.

One of the most quoted is First John 5:19.  “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

See, the “if” part is our part.  In First John 5:19, our part is to confess our sins.  We need to confess our sins, and what happens when we do?  He will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

If we take action X as found in the Word of God, then we can put our faith in the fact that result Y is going to take place.

Here is another if-then statement dealing with forgiveness.  Matthew 6:14 says, “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.”

Then verse 15 flips it the other way.  “But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”

So far we have two things to do:  confess our sins, and forgive other people their sins.

Here is another highly quoted if-then statement in the New Testament.  Romans 10:9 says, “…if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”

Our part, action X, has two elements:  confess with our mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in our heart that God raised Him from the dead.  If we take those two actions, we get result Y:  we will be saved.

Another popular if-then statement is found in James 1:5.  If we ask God for wisdom, He will give it to us.

I like verses like this!  I ask God for wisdom all the time, and I trust 100% that He will give it.

Now Jesus made some very bold if-then statements about faith.  For example, He said in Matthew 17:20, “…if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.”

In Mark 9:23 Jesus said, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.”

In Matthew 21:21 Jesus said, “Assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt…if you say to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ it will be done.”

In Luke 17:6 He said, “If you have faith as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be pulled up by the roots and be planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.”

Along these lines is John 15:7 where Jesus said, “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.”

In Matthew 18:19 He said, “Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven.”

In John 14:14 He said, “If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.”

Those are some pretty bold, blanket statements, but Jesus said them, and they show up multiple times in the Gospels.  So these are if-then statements we can bank on, and we need to pray and seek God about how to put them into practice.

Plus we find something similar in First John 5 which says, “Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.  And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.”

This is not an exhaustive list of if-then statements from the New Testament, so I encourage you to dig them out for yourself.  But I do believe that these are the ones that stand out the most.

And what do they tell us to do, what is our part? 

We are to confess our sins and forgive other people their sins.

We are to confess with our mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in our heart that God raised Him from the dead.

We are to ask God for wisdom.

We are to have faith and believe.

We are to abide in Christ and let His words abide in us.

We are to agree with others and ask God for things in Jesus’ name.

That’s our part, and when we do our part, God will do His part.

And that’s what I love about these powerful if-then statements from the New Testament!


Comments?

E-mail me:  dougapple@wave94.com.

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

And here is one more oft quoted if-then statement.  Revelation 3:20 says, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock.  If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.”

© 2010 The Arrow’s Tip 
 To subscribe to your own daily “Apples of Gold” e-mail, write dougapple@wave94.com.
If you want to be removed from this e-mail list, simply click reply and type UNSUBSCRIBE on the subject line.
If you want to catch “Apples of Gold” in its original audio format, go to www.wave94.com
To search through the large archive of past articles, go here:  http://www.wave94.com/modules.php?name=Stories_Archive
If you have trouble reaching me at my main e-mail address, try this one:  douglas_apple@msn.com

(Proverbs 25:11 – “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.”)

Why “The Arrow’s Tip”?  Each morning, after diligently seeking the Lord, I write Apples of Gold.  Then before I release it to the public I pray one final prayer, “Lord, send forth your arrows.”  I envision Apples of Gold as arrows, tips dipped in the river of the water of life that flows from the throne of God (Rev. 22:1), sailing toward the hearts and minds of men and women around the world.

Doug Apple
General Manager - Wave 94
Christian Radio for Tallahassee
PO Box 4105
Tallahassee, FL  32315
(850) 926-8000
-vi-

I Love Stories About Time Travel - Apples of Gold - March 16, 2010 -vi-

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Apples of Gold
 

Radio Script for March 16, 2010

“I Love Stories About Time Travel”

 

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

I’ve always been fascinated by stories of time travel.

No, I don’t think time travel is possible.  I think it’s absurd, but it makes great fiction.

And here’s one thing most time travel stories have in common, a sober warning about changing the past.  If you change the past in any way it may trigger a chain reaction that radically alters the future.

For example, if you go back in time and move one book in the library.  If you take one book off the shelf and leave it out on a table, it changes the world.  Someone is likely to see that book that would not have seen it otherwise.  They are influenced and their life shifts, thus shifting all the lives around them.

People end up marrying different people.  Completely different children are born.  Soon the world is a very different place, all because of one action by the time traveler.

As I said, I think time travel is absurd, but some people take it very seriously.  Here is what one person wrote about time travel and the risk of changing history.  “The dangers are so obvious,” they said, “it seems unbelievable that anybody would ever be willing to take such a risk.”

Okaaay.  Well let’s say it’s true.  If you go back in time and change one thing, you are in danger of changing the world.  Sounds ominous, doesn’t it?  Move one library book and shazam.

But what about the library today?  What if you walk in the library right now, take one book off the shelf and leave it on the table.  Are you in danger of radically changing the world?  Does the whole world shift because of your one action?

I think it does!  Everything we do shifts the world.  It may not even be noticeable, but when one person shifts, it shifts those around them, who shift those around them, and so on.

Listen.  People end up marrying different people, and completely different children are born!

When I moved my family to Tallahassee a few years ago, I knew it would shift the world.  Two of my children have married since then, and they married Tallahassee people.  And now completely different children will be born than would have been born had we stayed in Illinois.

Do you see my point?

If going back in time and changing one thing is a really big deal – then everything you do today is a really big deal!

Just because you aren’t a time traveler doesn’t mean you aren’t radically altering the future.  You are!  Everything you do matters!

Here is an illustration you will find several times in the Bible, such as in Galatians 5:9.  It says, “A little yeast works through the whole batch of dough.”

It’s also mentioned in First Corinthians 5 where we find a great illustration of this point.  In the Corinthian church there was a man living in sexual immorality.  Instead of properly dealing with his sin, apparently they were almost proud of his conquest. 

They were allowing this man to sin openly and obviously and yet remain in the church, as if what he was doing was okay. 

Now remember the point of today’s lesson.  What we do matters because it influences others and thus changes the world. 

Well the Corinthians were allowing this man to sin openly and unrebuked in the church, so Paul used this illustration.  First Corinthians 5 says, “Don’t you know that a little yeast works through the whole batch of dough?  Get rid of the old yeast…”

Paul wrote that it’s one thing to have immoral people all around you in the world.  You really can’t help that.  But you must be careful who you allow to be an influence in the church.  Verse 11 says “…you must not associate with anyone who calls himself a brother but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or a slanderer, a drunkard or a swindler.  With such a man do not even eat.”

And then Paul gives the conclusion of the matter in verse 13.  “Expel the wicked man from among you.”

Why?  Because a little yeast works through the whole batch of dough. 

The King James English says it more poetically, “A little leaven leavens the whole lump.”

Well you are a little bit of leaven today.  How will you influence the lump?

If a fictional time traveler can go back in time, do one thing, and radically alter the future – just think what we can do in real life today.

I’ll close with Ephesians 5:15 which says, “Be very careful…how you live…”

Why?

Because what we do matters.


Comments?

E-mail me:  dougapple@wave94.com.

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


© 2010 The Arrow’s Tip 
 To subscribe to your own daily “Apples of Gold” e-mail, write dougapple@wave94.com.
If you want to be removed from this e-mail list, simply click reply and type UNSUBSCRIBE on the subject line.
If you want to catch “Apples of Gold” in its original audio format, go to www.wave94.com
To search through the large archive of past articles, go here:  http://www.wave94.com/modules.php?name=Stories_Archive
If you have trouble reaching me at my main e-mail address, try this one:  douglas_apple@msn.com

(Proverbs 25:11 – “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.”)

Why “The Arrow’s Tip”?  Each morning, after diligently seeking the Lord, I write Apples of Gold.  Then before I release it to the public I pray one final prayer, “Lord, send forth your arrows.”  I envision Apples of Gold as arrows, tips dipped in the river of the water of life that flows from the throne of God (Rev. 22:1), sailing toward the hearts and minds of men and women around the world.

Doug Apple
General Manager - Wave 94
Christian Radio for Tallahassee
PO Box 4105
Tallahassee, FL  32315
(850) 926-8000
-vi-

Change the Course of Your Life - Apples of Gold - March 15, 2010 -vi-

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Apples of Gold
 

Radio Script for March 15, 2010

“Change the Course of Your Life”

 

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

Your tongue is a rudder.

It steers your ship, by which I mean your life.

What you say steers your life.

What direction is the ship preparing to go?  You can tell by looking at the rudder.

And by looking at your words, you can tell where your life is going.

What you say affects so many things.  It affects your attitude and your motivation.  It affects your mood, your feelings and your emotions.  It affects your faith and your hope.

How well will you get along with people today?  Just look at the rudder of your words – that is where you are headed.

James 3:4 says that our tongue is like a rudder that, even though it is small, steers the whole ship.

I know that here in America we are all about freedom of speech.  But we must keep in mind that everything we say gives a little tug on that rudder.  And when you add up the sum total of all the speech in America, that is the direction our nation is headed.

See how that works?  Get everyone talking one way, and that is the way you will go.

Now this isn’t like magic.  You can’t get everyone to sit in a circle and chant and expect something to happen.  That’s like turning the rudder on a boat that isn’t moving.

But how are you doing as a parent?  Which direction is your parenting headed?  Just look at the rudder of your words.

Which direction is your marriage headed?  Look at the rudder of your words.

Which direction is your spiritual life headed?  Or your professional life?  Check the rudder of your words.

The good news is, it can be changed.  You can change your direction by changing your words.

Now the change may not be instantly obvious, but if you keep that rudder turned in one direction long enough, the change will become apparent.

Change your life by changing your words.

I’m not saying it’s easy.  James 3:8 says “no man can tame the tongue.  It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.”  And yet the Bible tells us many times to get our words under control.

One of the most common pieces of advice about the tongue is “hold it.”  For example, James 1:19 exhorts us to be “slow to speak.”  For you quiet types, that’s no big deal.  But for you chatterboxes – and you know who you are! – you need to work on being slow to speak.

Proverbs 10:19 says that the more you say, the more likely you are to sin.

Proverbs 29:20 says, “Seest thou a man that is hasty in his words?  There is more hope of a fool than of him.”

Proverbs 17:27 says, “A man of knowledge uses words with restraint…”

Proverbs 21:23 says, “He who guards his mouth and his tongue keeps himself from calamity.”

So step one is to restrain yourself.  Just say less.  It’s easier to keep your tongue under control when you keep your mouth shut.

And here is what that does.  It buys you some time.  It gives you a chance to think of something wise to say.

Proverbs 10:11 says our mouth should be a fountain of life.

Ephesians 4:29 says we should say things that are good and helpful.

Proverbs 12:18 says our words should bring healing.

Colossians 4:6 says, “Let your speech always be with grace…”

Proverbs 16:24 says we should speak pleasant words.

Pleasant words lead to a pleasant life. 

Ephesians 5:19 sounds very pleasant.  It says, “Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs…”

The words we speak, the things we say, affect the course of our life. 

Proverbs 18:20 says, “From the fruit of his mouth a man’s stomach is filled…”

So is there something you want to change in your life today; your relationship with someone perhaps?  Or maybe your career, or your spiritual life?

To move that ship in a different direction, remember that your tongue is the rudder.

So make the effort to change what you say.

To change your words is to turn the rudder, which will change the course of your life.


Comments?

E-mail me:  dougapple@wave94.com.

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


© 2010 The Arrow’s Tip 
 To subscribe to your own daily “Apples of Gold” e-mail, write dougapple@wave94.com.
If you want to be removed from this e-mail list, simply click reply and type UNSUBSCRIBE on the subject line.
If you want to catch “Apples of Gold” in its original audio format, go to www.wave94.com
To search through the large archive of past articles, go here:  http://www.wave94.com/modules.php?name=Stories_Archive
If you have trouble reaching me at my main e-mail address, try this one:  douglas_apple@msn.com

(Proverbs 25:11 – “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.”)

Why “The Arrow’s Tip”?  Each morning, after diligently seeking the Lord, I write Apples of Gold.  Then before I release it to the public I pray one final prayer, “Lord, send forth your arrows.”  I envision Apples of Gold as arrows, tips dipped in the river of the water of life that flows from the throne of God (Rev. 22:1), sailing toward the hearts and minds of men and women around the world.

Doug Apple
General Manager - Wave 94
Christian Radio for Tallahassee
PO Box 4105
Tallahassee, FL  32315
(850) 926-8000
-vi-

Here's a Controversial Word: Morality - Apples of Gold - March 12, 2010 -vi-

Click here to listen to the radio version.   

Click here to search the AOG archives.

Apples of Gold
 

Radio Script for March 12, 2010

“Here’s a Controversial Word:  Morality”

 

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

Here’s a controversial word:  morality.

It’s controversial because people don’t agree on what is moral and immoral.

Some say shacking up is immoral.  Others think that’s fine, but oil drilling is immoral.

I did a search of the word “immoral” on the New York Times opinion page, and the first result said some people think catching and eating fish is immoral.

There was also a story from 2007, when the chairman of the Joint Chiefs was forced to retract his comment that homosexual conduct was immoral.  But then some say censorship is immoral.

So if you don’t think “morality” is a loaded word, just bring it up in polite conversation and watch the fur fly.  Unless you are at a PETA party, in which case flying fur is immoral.

While you’re at it, go ahead and bring up this question.  Can you legislate morality?

What exactly is morality?

I think it is simply right and wrong.  What is right is moral, what is wrong is immoral.

And here is something interesting.  For some reason it is usually important for us as humans to have the moral high ground.  Why is that?  Is it a product of evolution or Mother Nature?

Actually I think it’s from being created in the image of God.  According to the Bible, God is very interested in right and wrong.  And I think that is baked into us as creatures made in His image.

Now if you think morality is a loaded word, try this one on for size:  sin.

When we talk about morality, especially from a biblical perspective, we are bound to run into the word sin.

First John 5:17 says, “All wrongdoing is sin…”  The King James calls it “unrighteousness.”

So we have good and bad, right and wrong, righteous and unrighteous – these make up morality.

And let’s not forget the word “evil.”  Another loaded word, I know.  We hardly want to call anything evil these days.  Evil sounds like the worst of the worst, and yet the Bible makes it sound like there is good and there is evil.

I love the prayer that Solomon prayed when he first became king of Israel.  In First Kings 3:9 he prayed “…give to Your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people, that I may discern between good and evil…” 

Did you catch that?  Solomon prayed that he would be able to discern between good and evil.  And God was pleased with Solomon’s prayer.

It reminds me of Hebrews 5:14 which talks about learning to distinguish good from evil.

We can’t just take our personal opinions and declare them to be moral.  I believe there is a universal dividing line created by God.  Good is on one side and evil is on the other – and we need to learn the difference.

How can we do that when so many people disagree? 

I believe the answers are in the Bible.  I believe that through the proper study of the Word of God we can distinguish between good and evil.  And let me add that we Christians have the Holy Spirit guiding us to the truth.  The Holy Spirit will help us understand the Bible and help us discern right from wrong.

Why should we even care?  We should care because we will reap what we sow.  Hosea 8:7 uses this powerful imagery.  “They sow the wind and reap the whirlwind.”

When we plant a seed of sin, we reap a harvest of evil – pain and sorrow and death.

Romans 6:23 says “…the wages of sin is death…”

James 1:15 says that sin, when it is full grown, brings forth death.

So it’s for our own good, and the good of our family and our nation and our world that we choose good and not evil.

Over and over the Bible says things like, “Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.”

Amos 5:14 says, “Seek good, not evil, that you may live.”

First Peter 3:11 says “…turn from evil and do good…”

What we do now matters, because it affects our future.  It affects everyone’s future.

We will either sow the wind and reap the whirlwind, or we will sow what’s right and reap a harvest of righteousness.

Morality matters.  It matters a great deal, and deep down we all know it – even people who want to be immoral.  They may behave immorally, but they sure hope their neighbor is moral towards them.

Morality is a sure foundation, something we all need to build on.

We must learn to discern the difference between moral and immoral. 

Then we must turn from evil and cling to what’s good – for the sake of everyone.


Comments?

E-mail me:  dougapple@wave94.com.

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


© 2010 The Arrow’s Tip 
 To subscribe to your own daily “Apples of Gold” e-mail, write dougapple@wave94.com.
If you want to be removed from this e-mail list, simply click reply and type UNSUBSCRIBE on the subject line.
If you want to catch “Apples of Gold” in its original audio format, go to www.wave94.com
To search through the large archive of past articles, go here:  http://www.wave94.com/modules.php?name=Stories_Archive
If you have trouble reaching me at my main e-mail address, try this one:  douglas_apple@msn.com

(Proverbs 25:11 – “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.”)

Why “The Arrow’s Tip”?  Each morning, after diligently seeking the Lord, I write Apples of Gold.  Then before I release it to the public I pray one final prayer, “Lord, send forth your arrows.”  I envision Apples of Gold as arrows, tips dipped in the river of the water of life that flows from the throne of God (Rev. 22:1), sailing toward the hearts and minds of men and women around the world.

Doug Apple
General Manager - Wave 94
Christian Radio for Tallahassee
PO Box 4105
Tallahassee, FL  32315
(850) 926-8000
-vi-

James Is Dead - Apples of Gold - March 11, 2010 -vi-

Click here to listen to the radio version.   

Click here to search the AOG archives.

Apples of Gold
 

Radio Script for March 11, 2010

“James Is Dead”

 

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

James is dead.

My brother is dead and I grieve.

Unlike some brothers, James and I got along.

We were in the fishing business together with our father, Zebedee.  And we were partners with Simon Peter, who has now also been arrested by King Herod, by the way, and I’m probably next on the list.

What does old Herod Agrippa have against fishermen, anyway?  Oh, I know, it has nothing to do with fish.  It’s the “fishing for men” they have a problem with.

But that’s what Jesus said to us that day when we were in the boat.  He said, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.”

So we did.  We followed.  We left Dad and the fish and the boat and the nets, we left it all behind to follow Jesus.  James and I, we did it together.

Jesus chose 12 of us as His disciples, but He gave James and I a special nickname.  “Boanerges,” He called us, “Sons of Thunder!”

And sons of thunder we were, and I guess you could include Peter in our little group; a trio of fire that Jesus called out more than once.  Like at the transfiguration on the mountain.  Who was there?  James and me and Peter.

In the Garden of Gethsemane, who did Jesus ask to pray with Him?  James, me and Peter.  Never mind that we fell asleep.  That was bad, I know.  But we really didn’t know what was going on or I assure you, we would have been wide awake.

Yes, we should have known.  He told us ahead of time, sometimes blatantly, and sometimes it was more subtle.

Like the time – oh, I cringe just thinking about it now – but there was the time our mother went with us to Jesus and we asked – what were we thinking? – we asked if we could sit at His right and His left when He came into His kingdom. 

He got that look in His eye, that look where it’s like He’s looking into your soul, and He said, “Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?”

“What cup?”  That’s what we should have said.  You shouldn’t agree to drink a cup until you know what’s in it.  But we were the Sons of Thunder, so what did we say?  Of course we can drink the cup you’re going to drink!

And then He said something I’ll never forget.  “You will indeed drink from my cup…”

We were so naïve.  But now, my Lord, we are drinking from Your cup.  James drank from Your cup.  They arrested him and took him away.  He drank from your cup.  And now that cup is at my lips.

But oh, Jesus was patient with us!  How many times He must have thought of tossing us aside for some “real” disciples!  I know He didn’t really, but you know – how many times did we try His patience?

Like that time with the Samaritans.  We sent messengers ahead of us into a Samaritan village to prepare for Jesus’ arrival.  But when they found out we were headed for Jerusalem, they were just rude.  Well James and I had had just about enough.  I mean, why were we on the receiving end of Samaritan ignorance? 

And you know what?  We had seen God do some things through us.  Being a disciple of Christ had some privileges, some power.  And we were ready to unleash some of that power on the Samaritans.  So James and I went to Jesus and said, “Lord, do You want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy them?” 

Oh, did He cut us down to size!  We went from feeling like giants to feeling like children in about two seconds. 

So how did He deal with the Samaritans?  We simply went to a different village.  What grace!  What humility!  He modeled it for us so beautifully, and we were so much like children.

We ran like little children when He was arrested.  We cried like children when He died.  We rejoiced like children when He arose, and you know what?  We had faith like children.  When He said wait, we waited until we were filled with the Holy Spirit!  And that’s when our world was really turned upside down.

And that’s when the world really took notice, and started taking names.  What was that, ten years ago?  Oh the miracles we have seen!  The lives changed, the glory of God made manifest. 

And oh, the enemies we have made.  “Why do the nations rage?” David said, “And the peoples plot in vain against the Lord and against His Anointed One.”

They plot in vain against the Lord, and the gates of hell will not prevail against the church.  But for some reason, God allows them the power to prevail against individuals; one of us here and one of us there. 

And this time it was my dear brother James.  Herod’s sword has taken his life.

Do I grieve? 

Yes I grieve, but not as other men.  He is taken from me now, but we are not separated for long.

My hope is firm in the words of our Lord Jesus who said, “I am the resurrection, and the life:  he that believeth in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live.”

(fade in The Coloring Song, beginning with the lyrics, “There is birth, there is death, there is a plan…)

Dedicated to the six World Vision workers murdered this week by Muslims in Pakistan.


© 2010 The Arrow’s Tip 
 To subscribe to your own daily “Apples of Gold” e-mail, write dougapple@wave94.com.
If you want to be removed from this e-mail list, simply click reply and type UNSUBSCRIBE on the subject line.
If you want to catch “Apples of Gold” in its original audio format, go to www.wave94.com
To search through the large archive of past articles, go here:  http://www.wave94.com/modules.php?name=Stories_Archive
If you have trouble reaching me at my main e-mail address, try this one:  douglas_apple@msn.com

(Proverbs 25:11 – “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.”)

Why “The Arrow’s Tip”?  Each morning, after diligently seeking the Lord, I write Apples of Gold.  Then before I release it to the public I pray one final prayer, “Lord, send forth your arrows.”  I envision Apples of Gold as arrows, tips dipped in the river of the water of life that flows from the throne of God (Rev. 22:1), sailing toward the hearts and minds of men and women around the world.

Doug Apple
General Manager - Wave 94
Christian Radio for Tallahassee
PO Box 4105
Tallahassee, FL  32315
(850) 926-8000
-vi-

Who Are You Trying to Please or Impress? - Apples of Gold - March 10, 2010 ***Happy 23rd birthday to my firstborn Ashlyn!*** -vi-

Click here to listen to the radio version.   

Click here to search the AOG archives.

Apples of Gold
 

Radio Script for March 10, 2010

“Who Are You Trying to Please or Impress?”

 

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

The owner of the radio station died a few weeks ago, and it really messed with my motivation.

I don’t mean it messed with my work ethic or my drive to get up and go.  I mean it messed with the “why” I do what I do each day.

I’ll get into that, but first a little clarification.  The station is actually corporately owned, so it will continue as usual.  But Mike Floyd was the CEO and the visionary.  He’s the one who hired me, and he was the man I had to please with my work. 

Now Mike was not a micromanager when it came to the radio station.  He didn’t tell me what to do everyday, or how to do it. 

So how did I know what to do?

Well over time I learned in general what he wanted, then I applied that to the specifics of everyday decision-making.

When I first started working for Mike, I found myself in the ditch a few times.  I did things he didn’t want me to do.  Not bad things, just things he wanted done differently.

As time went by, I learned how to stay out of the ditch, how to do the things Mike wanted me to do while avoiding the things he didn’t want me to do.

Over the years that hardened into a structure of thinking.  It became unconscious.  It was sort of like, in the back of my mind, I made decisions based on, “If Mike was here right now, would he be pleased with what I’m doing?”

Plus there’s always the accountability.  “If Mike asks me about this, will my answer please him?”

So that’s what I’m calling my motivation.  It’s the “why I do what I do.”  And as Mike’s employee that meant pleasing him.

And then he died.

I hadn’t really thought about this motivation factor until Mike was gone.  But then it slowly dawned on me.  “I’m doing this because that’s what Mike would want.  But now what?”

And then a kind of emptiness set in. 

The day will never come when Mike says, “Why did you do that?” or “That’s just what I wanted, good job!” or “What were you thinking?  That’s not what I wanted at all.”

So if my motivation, my decision-making was based on pleasing Mike – now what?

Like I said, it was a kind of emptiness.

And then I thought of other motivating factors in life.  For example, what if that was my dad, and what if I had lived my whole life to please him, to make him proud of me, or just to make him notice me?  Would my entire structure for decision-making be lost? 

Then I thought of a woman.  What if, subconsciously, this woman’s decision-making was based on getting the attention of men?  She dressed in such a way and behaved in such a way to attract men.  Not that she ever came right out and said it.  She may not even know it, but it’s at the foundation of her thinking.  It’s just something she’s always done.  But then she gets old.  Or she has an accident.  Or something happens that takes “attracting men” out of the equation.  Now what?

I read a story about tennis star Serena Williams.  In 2001 her boyfriend dumped her cold, and suddenly she had a new motivating factor.  She was going to show him!  She wanted to prove to him just how wonderful and awesome and incredible she was.  So her decision-making was based on that.  “Should I practice today?  Should I work harder today?  Should I be number one in the world or is number two or three good enough?”  Well number one would impress him the most, so that’s what she did.

This is a question we all need to examine.  Why do I do what I do?  Who am I trying to please or impress?

Maybe you are trying to be a success because your mother said you would never amount to anything.  But what happens when she dies?

If our motivation is to impress or please any human, we must realize that the day will come when they will pass on, and then what? 

Then there will be an emptiness.  You might even feel like your life has been lived for nothing.  I mean, what do you do when the person you were trying to prove yourself to is no more?

The good news is, there is a much better, much longer-lasting motivation than trying to please or impress people. 

Second Corinthians 5:15 says we should live for the Lord.

Colossians 1:10 says we should live a life worthy of the Lord, and seek to please Him in every way.

Second Timothy 2:4 words it this way.  We want to please our commanding officer.

This is a motivation that is worthwhile, and it will last the rest of your life. 

So take a good hard look.  Why do you do what you do?  What is your motivation?  Who are you trying to please or impress?

What happens when they are gone?

Well you can avoid that emptiness by building your life and your motivations on something eternal.

Instead of living to please and impress people, we make our decisions based on pleasing the Lord


Comments?

E-mail me:  dougapple@wave94.com.

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

That doesn’t mean we never try to please people.  Romans 15:2 says, “Each of us should please his neighbor for his good, to build him up.”  And Paul said in First Corinthians 10:33 that he tried to please “everybody in every way.  For I am not seeking my own good but the good of many, so that they may be saved.”  But the ultimate motivating factor for pleasing people is actually to please the Lord Himself.


© 2010 The Arrow’s Tip 
 To subscribe to your own daily “Apples of Gold” e-mail, write dougapple@wave94.com.
If you want to be removed from this e-mail list, simply click reply and type UNSUBSCRIBE on the subject line.
If you want to catch “Apples of Gold” in its original audio format, go to www.wave94.com
To search through the large archive of past articles, go here:  http://www.wave94.com/modules.php?name=Stories_Archive
If you have trouble reaching me at my main e-mail address, try this one:  douglas_apple@msn.com

(Proverbs 25:11 – “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.”)

Why “The Arrow’s Tip”?  Each morning, after diligently seeking the Lord, I write Apples of Gold.  Then before I release it to the public I pray one final prayer, “Lord, send forth your arrows.”  I envision Apples of Gold as arrows, tips dipped in the river of the water of life that flows from the throne of God (Rev. 22:1), sailing toward the hearts and minds of men and women around the world.

Doug Apple
General Manager - Wave 94
Christian Radio for Tallahassee
PO Box 4105
Tallahassee, FL  32315
(850) 926-8000
-vi-

A Message From Beyond the Grave - Apples of Gold - March 9, 2010 -vi-

Click here to listen to the radio version.   

Click here to search the AOG archives.

Apples of Gold
 

Radio Script for March 9, 2010

“A Message From Beyond the Grave”

 

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

How would you like to receive a message from beyond the grave?

My grandma died a few years ago.  My cousin was a real sinner at the time, and that night he walked out of a bar and guess who was standing by his pickup. 

Grandma.

She had returned from the dead with a message for him.  Get right with God.

Yes, this story is pure malarkey, but stay with me.

You’d think that would turn my cousin’s life around.  You’d think Grandma appearing from the dead would have done the trick, but it didn’t.  Oh, it shook him up alright, but you know what?  He ended up right back on the same path. 

Now that whole thing about Grandma is pure fiction, but it’s similar to a story in the Bible.

In Luke 16 Jesus shared the story of the rich man and Lazarus.  He said the rich man died and went to hell, where he was in torment.  The rich man said he was in agony in the flames.  He was being tormented in the fires of hell. 

He was a rich man on earth, living a life of luxury; but in hell he was reduced to a beggar – begging for just a simple drop of water to be placed on his tongue.  Even a drop of water would have provided relief – that’s how bad his situation was in hell.

Other interesting points about his situation - he was not destroyed, but continued to suffer in the flames.  He understood his situation, but apparently couldn’t do anything about it.  He was trapped, a captive in hell.

Then he looked up and, far away he saw Father Abraham and Lazarus. 

The rich man was familiar with Lazarus because Lazarus had been a beggar who was laid at the rich man’s gate.  When Lazarus died, Jesus said he was carried away by angels. 

So anyway, the rich man looks up from his place of torment in hell.  He sees Lazarus and Abraham, far away, and he begs Abraham to send Lazarus with even a drop of water for his tongue.

Abraham said there was a great chasm between them, and no one could cross over.

Now listen to what the rich man said to Abraham, “Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my father’s house, for I have five brothers.  Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.”

That sounds like a beautiful request, doesn’t it?  The rich man, burning in hell, thinking of his brothers who are still alive.  He wanted Lazarus to go warn them.

Can you imagine what that would have looked like?  Maybe he would have appeared to each of the five, one by one, in their bedrooms, or as they walked home from a night of carousing.  Lazarus would have arrived and said, “Recognize me?  I am Lazarus.  I was the beggar you saw at your brother’s gate.”

He probably would have had to convince them that he was indeed the beggar, back from the dead.

And then he delivers the message from their brother.  “This is your warning.  There is life after death.  Your brother is being tormented right now in the fires of hell, and you are bound for hell yourself.  This is your warning.  I have returned from the afterlife to warn you at your brother’s request, so consider yourself warned.”

And then he leaves.  He rejoins Abraham in the afterlife.

So what happens to the brothers?  Do they repent?  Do they get right with God and turn from their wicked ways?

Abraham didn’t think so.  Listen to what he said.  “If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.”

So even though the rich man begged Abraham to send Lazarus to his brothers, Abraham refused.

So was Abraham denying all hope for the rich man’s brothers?

No.  The brothers still had great hope, if they chose to pay attention to it.

And what was that great hope? 

The Scriptures.

Abraham said, “They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.” 

He basically said that if they won’t listen to the Scriptures, then a dead man coming back to life won’t convince them anyway.

So what about you?  Wouldn’t you love to have a sign from God?  Wouldn’t you love to receive a supernatural message, to receive a messenger from beyond?

Yes, it could happen, but Father Abraham made a strong point in this story, and it boils down to this.

You don’t need a message from beyond the grave.  You don’t need your dead grandmother to show up and tell you what’s on the other side.

You have the Scriptures.

And that is enough.


Comments?

E-mail me:  dougapple@wave94.com.

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

 
© 2010 The Arrow’s Tip 
 To subscribe to your own daily “Apples of Gold” e-mail, write dougapple@wave94.com.
If you want to be removed from this e-mail list, simply click reply and type UNSUBSCRIBE on the subject line.
If you want to catch “Apples of Gold” in its original audio format, go to www.wave94.com
To search through the large archive of past articles, go here:  http://www.wave94.com/modules.php?name=Stories_Archive
If you have trouble reaching me at my main e-mail address, try this one:  douglas_apple@msn.com

(Proverbs 25:11 – “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.”)

Why “The Arrow’s Tip”?  Each morning, after diligently seeking the Lord, I write Apples of Gold.  Then before I release it to the public I pray one final prayer, “Lord, send forth your arrows.”  I envision Apples of Gold as arrows, tips dipped in the river of the water of life that flows from the throne of God (Rev. 22:1), sailing toward the hearts and minds of men and women around the world.

Doug Apple
General Manager - Wave 94
Christian Radio for Tallahassee
PO Box 4105
Tallahassee, FL  32315
(850) 926-8000
-vi-

Johnny's Mother Loved Soap Operas - Apples of Gold - March 5, 2010 -vi-

Click here to listen to the radio version.   

Click here to search the AOG archives.

Apples of Gold
 

Radio Script for March 5, 2010

“Johnny’s Mother Loved Soap Operas”

 

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

(begin background music to fit each scene)

Nobody ever talked to Johnny about the things he saw on television.

His mom watched soap operas, so he did, too.

What an exciting life they led, those soap opera characters.  What drama!

Those people became like family to Johnny.  He knew all about them and discussed them with his mother.  They talked about them like they were real.

But his mother never pointed out the pitfalls, she never discussed the lifestyles of the soap opera characters, or what those lives would look like in real life.  She was just getting entertainment, but Johnny was getting an education.

For Christmas one year Johnny’s parents got him his own television, so now he could watch whatever he wanted in the privacy of his own bedroom.  Well, not whatever he wanted.  His parents did block the worst channels.

He liked sitcoms, where life was a laugh a minute.  That’s the life Johnny wanted, just hanging out with friends and having fun.  Nobody pointed out to him that it was just a show.

He watched a lot of sports, and that means he watched a lot of beer commercials.  Now that’s the life, the life of those people in beer commercials.  It’s always fun, a party every night, dancing and music with all the beautiful people.  No one told him the dark side – of getting drunk, of car accidents and a thousand other stupid things drunk people do.  No one told him the ravages of alcoholism.   All he saw was good times.

And he saw a lot of “hooking up” on TV, a lot of “friends with benefits.”  He saw them counting up the number of “partners.”  Well that sounded good to him.  In fact, it was like a goal.  Could he live up to, or even surpass, the conquests of the people on TV?  No one shed any light on what happens to real people who sleep around, the diseases they give to one another, the emotional fallout, and on and on – all stories Johnny never heard, because no one thought to tell him.

Yes, there were serious shows on TV, and documentaries, and the worst night for Johnny was when the president came on and messed up all the channels. 

Johnny loved music videos.  He wished he could live in a music video where the party never ends and all the babes are hot. 

Finally, it was time for Johnny to get out on his own, and he decided to move to New York City, away from that dead cow town his parents raised him in, where there was never anything to do. 

He got a job at a club and poured himself into the party lifestyle.  He finally got to do the things he’d been watching on TV all his life.  Every night he had great expectations.  Tonight would be the night – the perfect party, wild thrills and non-stop laughter. 

Sometimes it was thrilling, but the thrill quickly passed, leaving him hungry for the next thrill.  The weekends rolled by.  Some were fun and some were just boring.  In fact, he started to be bored with the whole scene.  It wasn’t measuring up to the expectations.  There was the idea that it was going to be great.  There was the anticipation – always the anticipation – but then it just didn’t pan out. 

Eventually Johnny became disillusioned with the whole lifestyle, but not before he had some serious consequences – consequences that his favorite TV characters never seemed to have. 

How did it happen?  How did he end up here?

He thought long and hard about his life, and he even ended up moving back home to the cow town, to try to sort things out.

It wasn’t very exciting, but it was good to be home. 

And his mother was so glad he was back.  She fixed his favorite meal, they sat down in the living room, and throughout the afternoon she caught Johnny up on all their favorite soap operas.


Comments?

E-mail me:  dougapple@wave94.com.

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

Deuteronomy 6:6-7, “These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts.  Impress them on your children.  Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you life down and when you get up.”

© 2010 The Arrow’s Tip 
 To subscribe to your own daily “Apples of Gold” e-mail, write dougapple@wave94.com.
If you want to be removed from this e-mail list, simply click reply and type UNSUBSCRIBE on the subject line.
If you want to catch “Apples of Gold” in its original audio format, go to www.wave94.com
To search through the large archive of past articles, go here:  http://www.wave94.com/modules.php?name=Stories_Archive
If you have trouble reaching me at my main e-mail address, try this one:  douglas_apple@msn.com

(Proverbs 25:11 – “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.”)

Why “The Arrow’s Tip”?  Each morning, after diligently seeking the Lord, I write Apples of Gold.  Then before I release it to the public I pray one final prayer, “Lord, send forth your arrows.”  I envision Apples of Gold as arrows, tips dipped in the river of the water of life that flows from the throne of God (Rev. 22:1), sailing toward the hearts and minds of men and women around the world.

Doug Apple
General Manager - Wave 94
Christian Radio for Tallahassee
PO Box 4105
Tallahassee, FL  32315
(850) 926-8000
-vi-

The First Thing You Hear in the Morning - Apples of Gold - March 4, 2010 -vi-

Click here to listen to the radio version.   

Click here to search the AOG archives.

Apples of Gold
 

Radio Script for March 4, 2010

“The First Thing You Hear in the Morning”

 

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

What is the first thing you hear when you wake up in the morning?

For a lot of us, it’s the alarm clock.

If you’re like me, your alarm clock is actually your cell phone, and let me tell you what I do.  I make sure that the first thing I hear in the morning is something that is sure to get my day started right.

Now back when I was in college I just wanted an alarm clock that was sure to get me up.  Did you ever have one of those wind-up alarm clocks with the two bells on top?  That’s what I had.  It was lime green, and boy was it ever loud.  It was like a jackhammer to the spine, jolting you from the dead each day.  It had no snooze, but it didn’t matter.  After an alarm like that, you weren’t going back to sleep anyway.

Then I got married, and the lime green alarm clock didn’t make the cut.

But anyway, I’m glad that now I can choose exactly what I hear first thing in the morning.  And you can too, if your cell phone let’s you choose which audio file to use as a ringer.

And let me ask, have you ever seen an actual alarm clock that would let you import your own audio files?  I looked, but didn’t find any.

But my cell phone lets me do that, so I always have something that gets my day started right. 

For example, right now it’s a song by Ricardo Sanchez called “Moving Forward.”  So here are the lyrics I hear each day, first thing in the morning.

“I’m not going back.  I’m moving ahead.  I’m here to declare to you my past is over.  In You, all things are made new.  I surrender my life to Christ.  I’m moving, moving forward!”

Now that is a great way to start your day!

And I love the declaration, “I surrender my life to Christ.”  That is something I do each day. 

Before I was married I would literally roll off my bed each morning, right onto my knees.  I would take time immediately to submit myself to God, to surrender to His will.

I also love the line, “my past is over.”  Lamentations 3 says the Lord’s mercy and compassion are “new every morning.”  Whatever dust gathered on me yesterday, whatever decay, whatever garbage, whatever ignorance – it’s gone.  My past is over.  I resurrender my life to Christ today, and I’m moving forward!

The song says, “In You, all things are made new.”  So when I start each new day, I’m starting fresh.  In the Lord, every day really is a new day.

Psalm 30 verse 5 says “…joy comes in the morning.”

“But Doug, I’m just not a morning person.”

Maybe not, but it may have something to do with the way you choose to start each day.  David wrote is Psalm 59, “But I…”

See, it didn’t matter what else was going on, it didn’t matter what everyone else was doing, it didn’t even matter what David was doing before.  This phrase signals the turning point, the hinge on the door, the complete change in direction.  “But I,” he said.  Everyone else, do what you want, but I…

“I will sing of Your strength, in the morning I will sing of Your love; for You are my fortress, my refuge in times of trouble.  O my strength, I sing praise to You; You, O God, are my fortress, my loving God.”

Now that is a great way to start your day!  David didn’t have a cell phone, so he did the singing himself.  “In the morning I will sing of Your love,” he said.

So everyday I get to hear that fantastic message as my alarm.  Then I get up and turn it off and I immediately begin praying, “Lord, I surrender myself to You today.  I submit myself to You.  Your will be done, not mine.”

Isaiah 26:9 says “…I will seek Thee early…”

In the Old Testament, the priests burned incense every morning and made offerings to the Lord.  And they added firewood to the fire, every morning.

First Chronicles 23 says the duty of the Levites, among other things, was to “stand every morning to thank and praise the Lord.”

When God sent manna, when did He send it?  He could have sent it any time of day, but He sent it in the morning.

In Psalm 5 David said “…in the morning will I direct my prayer unto Thee, and will look up.”

And you know what?  It doesn’t take much time.  I do all that within the first couple of minutes, but it sure gets my day started off right.

I have heard so many times, “Why are you so happy in the morning?”  Well I think part of it is based on those first couple of minutes.  Instead of hitting snooze five times, then dragging myself out of bed like a wheezing animal, I jump out of bed to that incredible song, with those lyrics that really motivate me.

So think about it.  It’s important how you start your day.  And if you can, play something powerful as your morning alarm. 

No, you can’t control everything that happens each day, but you can control this – the first thing you hear each morning.


Comments?

E-mail me:  dougapple@wave94.com.

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

(close with chorus of Moving Ahead)


© 2010 The Arrow’s Tip 
 To subscribe to your own daily “Apples of Gold” e-mail, write dougapple@wave94.com.
If you want to be removed from this e-mail list, simply click reply and type UNSUBSCRIBE on the subject line.
If you want to catch “Apples of Gold” in its original audio format, go to www.wave94.com
To search through the large archive of past articles, go here:  http://www.wave94.com/modules.php?name=Stories_Archive
If you have trouble reaching me at my main e-mail address, try this one:  douglas_apple@msn.com

(Proverbs 25:11 – “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.”)

Why “The Arrow’s Tip”?  Each morning, after diligently seeking the Lord, I write Apples of Gold.  Then before I release it to the public I pray one final prayer, “Lord, send forth your arrows.”  I envision Apples of Gold as arrows, tips dipped in the river of the water of life that flows from the throne of God (Rev. 22:1), sailing toward the hearts and minds of men and women around the world.

Doug Apple
General Manager - Wave 94
Christian Radio for Tallahassee
PO Box 4105
Tallahassee, FL  32315
(850) 926-8000
-vi-

Let the Seller Beware - Apples of Gold - March 2, 2010 -vi-

Click here to listen to the radio version.   

Click here to search the AOG archives.

Apples of Gold
 

Radio Script for March 2, 2010

“Let the Seller Beware”

 

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

Caveat emptor.

It’s the Latin phrase for “let the buyer beware.”

In other words, when you buy something, it’s up to you to find out what you’re getting into.  You can’t assume that the seller is being honest and forthright. 

But today I want to talk about the mirror image of caveat emptor, and it’s found in another Latin phrase, “caveat venditor,” let the seller beware.

Do you sell things?  Are you in any kind of business that sells products or services?  Then you need to hear this message:  caveat venditor, let the seller beware.

And in this case, I’m not talking about legal parameters.  I’m talking about something much bigger.  I’m talking about God Almighty and the fact that He is watching your transactions.

Now I realize that many will think this is some kind of voodoo, some kind of fear tactic to scare people into being honest.  Well that’s okay; you can take it however you want.  I’m going to point out what the Bible says and you can take it or leave it – to your own peril.

We all know that we are not to bear false witness.  Even the 10 commandments tell us that.  It applies to all of life, and that includes business.

But God has a special disgust for business people who cheat their customers.  Look at Proverbs 11:1.  “Dishonest scales are an abomination to the Lord…”

That is a message specifically for business people. 

What is a “dishonest scale”?  Have you ever gone to a deli and ordered five pounds of roast beef?  Well what if it was only four-and-a-half pounds?  What if Mr. Deli rigged his scale to cheat his customers?  They probably wouldn’t notice, and Mr. Deli would increase his profit; a great way to improve your bottom line, right?

Well that’s what a lot of people have done, even back in the Bible days.  They cheated people by using inaccurate scales.  And they got away with it, scott free.

Well, no they didn’t.  I don’t care if they were never caught or punished, they still didn’t get away with it, and here’s why.  Dishonest scales are an abomination to the Lord.

The law to the Israelites goes into more depth, in Deuteronomy 25.  “Do not have two differing weights in your bag—one heavy, one light.  Do not have two differing measures in your house—one large, one small.  You must have accurate and honest weights and measures, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.  For the Lord your God detests anyone who does these things, anyone who deals dishonestly.”

Let the seller beware.  The Lord detests anyone who deals dishonestly.  That is not a place you want to be.  Yes, you might be able to drive up the bottom line that way, but the Lord has a way of making the soul of your enterprise rot right before your eyes.

Proverbs 20:23 says, “The Lord detests differing weights, and dishonest scales do not please Him.”

“Well, Doug, it just says He doesn’t like it.  It doesn’t say He’s going to punish it.”

Check out what God told the Israelites in Micah 6.  He is calling them on the carpet for their wickedness, and listen to what enraged Him.  God said, “Am I still to forget, O wicked house, your ill-gotten treasures and the short ephah, which is accursed?  Shall I acquit a man with dishonest scales, with a bag of false weights?”

God is hammering them for cheating their customers.  He said their “people are liars and their tongues speak deceitfully.”

God always has a huge problem with deceit, especially in business.  And here’s what He told the Israelites through the prophet Micah, and listen closely to the nature of the punishment, because it’s not fire and brimstone raining down from heaven.  It’s much more subtle than that.  Here it is.

“You will eat but not be satisfied…you will store up but save nothing…you will press olives but not use the oil on yourselves…”

See how subtle that is?  You will eat but not be satisfied. 

When we deal dishonestly in business, I believe God has a system in place that brings about a rotting.  It may be subtle.  It may be hard to connect cause and effect, but I believe there is an opposite to blessing that rots a deceptive business.

When something is an abomination to the Lord, when it is something He despises, that is something you don’t want to do.  You don’t even want to be near it.

Galatians 6:7 says God is not mocked.  A man reaps what he sows.

Here is how we should behave in business.  Philippians 2:4 says, “Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.”

So there you go, if you are in the business of selling any product or service, this message is for you.  Make sure you are using honest scales with all of your customers.

But if you still think it’s okay to deal dishonestly, well then here is a Latin phrase just for you.

Caveat venditor.

Let the seller beware.


Comments?

E-mail me:  dougapple@wave94.com.

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


© 2010 The Arrow’s Tip 
 To subscribe to your own daily “Apples of Gold” e-mail, write dougapple@wave94.com.
If you want to be removed from this e-mail list, simply click reply and type UNSUBSCRIBE on the subject line.
If you want to catch “Apples of Gold” in its original audio format, go to www.wave94.com
To search through the large archive of past articles, go here:  http://www.wave94.com/modules.php?name=Stories_Archive
If you have trouble reaching me at my main e-mail address, try this one:  douglas_apple@msn.com

(Proverbs 25:11 – “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.”)

Why “The Arrow’s Tip”?  Each morning, after diligently seeking the Lord, I write Apples of Gold.  Then before I release it to the public I pray one final prayer, “Lord, send forth your arrows.”  I envision Apples of Gold as arrows, tips dipped in the river of the water of life that flows from the throne of God (Rev. 22:1), sailing toward the hearts and minds of men and women around the world.

Doug Apple
General Manager - Wave 94
Christian Radio for Tallahassee
PO Box 4105
Tallahassee, FL  32315
(850) 926-8000
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Take My Life, a Living Sacrifice - Apples of Gold - March 1, 2010 -vi-

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Apples of Gold
 

Radio Script for March 1, 2010

“Take My Life, a Living Sacrifice”

 

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

(Open with actual line from the song…)

“Take my life, a living sacrifice.”

That’s a song from the 80’s by Chris Christian.

It’s taken from a Bible verse I memorized during a discipleship class, Romans 12:1, which tells us to offer our bodies as living sacrifices to God.

That verse has motivated many people to give it all up for God, to sacrifice their own desires, plans and pleasures.  It has spurred many people into full-time ministry, to become pastors and missionaries. 

A verse like that is a game-changer.  It leads you to no longer live for yourself, but to live for the Lord.

Jesus said in Matthew 16:24, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.”  That is a great picture of a living sacrifice. 

What have you done to deny yourself, take up your cross and follow Jesus?  What have you done to offer your body to God as a living sacrifice?

Many people have become martyrs in Jesus’ name because of that verse.  People have sacrificed lucrative incomes in order to fully follow Jesus. 

Paul said, “I die daily.”  He didn’t really die, of course, but he put himself in harm’s way for the sake of the Lord and His people.  He sacrificed himself daily for the Lord.

What are you doing to answer the call to be a living sacrifice?

You can start by singing along with Chris Christian, “Take my life, a living sacrifice.”

(play actual line from the song)

The problem with a living sacrifice is that it keeps crawling off the altar!

That’s one reason I like that song.  It’s a way of continuously putting yourself back on the altar as a living sacrifice.

I heard some people talking the other day about moving to the country and getting out of the city.  They discussed all their preferences, their likes and dislikes – and then came my wild-eyed opinion.

And this is what I say about all of life’s big decisions, such as where you live.  You need to find out where God wants you to go.

Now I realize that God gives us free will.  And I realize He isn’t exactly dropping sticky notes with our next address.  Nevertheless, we should sacrifice that decision to Him.

It’s a total surrender.  It’s saying, “Lord, not my will but Your will be done.”  It’s saying, “Take my life, a living sacrifice.”

That’s a prayer you can pray everyday.  “Lord, here I am, a living sacrifice for You.  I want to go where You want me to go, do what You want me to do, and say what You want me to say.”

We should offer our profession up as a living sacrifice.  First Corinthians 10:31 says “…whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.”  Colossians 3:17 says whatever you do, in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus.

Doing everything in Jesus’ name and for the glory of God – that is being a living sacrifice.

First Peter 2:5 talks about offering spiritual sacrifices that are acceptable to God.

Of course, the Old Testament is full of sacrifices – real animal sacrifices – but those have been done away with.  There is no longer a need for such sacrifices because as it says in Hebrews 9, Jesus was the final sacrifice for sin.

And now, as God’s people, we are called to offer our bodies as living sacrifices. 

What does that look like?

Hebrews 13:16 tells us to do good and to share with others, “for with such sacrifices God is pleased.”

Verse 15 says, “…let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise – the fruit of lips that confess His name.”

First Peter 2:11 tells us to “abstain from sinful desires” which war against our soul.

When we offer ourselves as living sacrifices, we steer our bodies away from sinful desires and toward doing good and praising God.

And if we do sin, David describes our sacrifice in Psalm 51.  He said, “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.”

So maybe you have stumbled, maybe you have fallen.  Maybe you have taken control of your life, living for yourself and your own desires.

Well today is a good day to re-offer yourself to God.  This is a good time to put your body back up on that altar.

And you can do that while saying along with Chris Christian, “Take my life, a living sacrifice.”

(close with actual line from the song)




© 2010 The Arrow’s Tip 
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(Proverbs 25:11 – “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.”)

Why “The Arrow’s Tip”?  Each morning, after diligently seeking the Lord, I write Apples of Gold.  Then before I release it to the public I pray one final prayer, “Lord, send forth your arrows.”  I envision Apples of Gold as arrows, tips dipped in the river of the water of life that flows from the throne of God (Rev. 22:1), sailing toward the hearts and minds of men and women around the world.

Doug Apple
General Manager - Wave 94
Christian Radio for Tallahassee
PO Box 4105
Tallahassee, FL  32315
(850) 926-8000
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