This Really Is Next to Godliness - Apples of Gold - March 22, 2010 -vi-

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Apples of Gold
 

Radio Script for March 22, 2010

“This Really Is Next to Godliness”

 

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

Okay, here is a question for you.

Which student is going to do better in school, the kid with the higher IQ, or the kid with more self-control?

The answer is:  the student with more self-control.

That’s according to Angela Lee Duckworth at the University of Pennsylvania.  She experimented with 8^th graders by telling them they could have one dollar now or two dollars next week.  The students who had the self-control to wait for the two dollars turned out to be the same students who performed better academically.

That’s similar to an experiment conducted at Stanford back in the 60’s.  They offered small children a marshmallow now, or two marshmallows if they could wait while the adult stepped out for a moment.  Over the years they found that the children with more self-control ended up doing better in school and professionally. 

Last year New Yorker magazine tracked down two of those kids, a brother and a sister.  The brother who lacked self-control and gobbled down his one marshmallow ended up bouncing around doing a lot of different jobs.  The sister who was able to wait for the second marshmallow ended up getting her Ph.D. from Princeton.*

The conclusion?  Duckworth said, “Intelligence is really important, but it’s still not as important as self-control.”

“Well Doug, I would love to have more self-control, but how?”

Here is what the experimenters found with the children and the marshmallows.  The kids with more self-control did things to take their mind off the marshmallow sitting in front of them.  Some turned their back.  Some covered their eyes.  Some even crawled under the desk.

That is an excellent tip for all of us.  If you want more self-control in an area, then distract yourself, get your mind off the alternatives.

I run into this all the time when I am running.  About three times a week I go for a jog through my neighborhood.  It’s basically a figure 8, so at one point I run past the road that goes back to my house.  It’s like a tempting little shortcut.  “The pain could be over.  End it now.  Go home.  Turn right.  Turn right!”

The best thing I can do is to not think about it at all.  I try to get my mind on something else entirely, and the next thing I know, my run is over and I didn’t even think about the shortcut.

A great way to more self-control is to think about the end result you want instead of the immediate gratification.  I look into the future at two alternatives, a nice flat stomach or a big round one flopped over my belt.  That right there is enough to boost my self-control and keep me running.

So what makes the difference between those who have self-control and those who don’t?  One researcher calls it “strategic allocation of attention.”  Again, it boils down to what you allow yourself to think about.  If you focus on how good a Krispy Kreme donut will taste right before it greases its way down your gullet, then you’re probably going to end up at the Krispy Kreme counter.  But if you focus on that flat stomach, then your Krispy Kreme dreams will evaporate.

This is what researchers have discovered about self-control.  I’ve shared two observations:  one, that self-control is even more important than intelligence; and two, that self-control comes down to what you allow yourself to think about.

So why am I talking about self-control?  Because the Bible talks about self-control.

Have you ever heard the phrase “cleanliness is next to godliness”?  Well that is not in the Bible, but you could make a good case for this phrase, “self-control is next to godliness.”

In Second Peter 1:6 we find a list of attributes, and right there near godliness is self-control.

In Galatians 5, self-control is listed as a fruit of the Spirit.

The Bible says that church leaders are to be “self-controlled.”

Paul told Titus to teach the older men to be self-controlled; and the younger men.  The older women are to teach the younger women to be self-controlled.

Now listen to this.  Self-control propels you farther.  Where do you want to go?  Self-control will get you there faster. 

When I was a kid we played with Hot Wheels, which were cool little cars.  Yes, you could push them and watch them go across the floor, but they always turned this way or that, curving in who-knows-what direction.  They lacked control.

But if you put them on a long orange strip of Hot Wheels track – now they’re going somewhere!  They can go a long way with just that tiny bit of control you get from the edge on the track.

That’s the way self-control works in our life.  We can go so much farther so much faster with just a little bit of self-control.

And remember, self-control is not just a good idea.  It’s not out of some self-help book from the Oprah book club.

Self-control is in the Bible, and when you look it up, this is what you will find.

Self-control really is next to godliness.


Comments?

E-mail me:  dougapple@wave94.com.

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

*  http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/05/18/090518fa_fact_lehrer?currentPage=1

© 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 Am Remapping My Brain - Apples of Gold - March 19, 2010 -vi-

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Apples of Gold
 

Radio Script for March 19, 2010

“I Am Remapping My Brain”

 

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

Have you heard of brain remapping?

Well have you ever seen one of those brain diagrams that says things like, “This part of the brain controls your breathing, this part controls your coordination, and this part your personality”?

You might call that a “brain map,” but what we’ve discovered is that the brain is organic, and its “map” is not quite as rigid as you might think.

For example – stroke victims.  A stroke can damage part of your brain.  Does that mean you have completely lost the abilities that were in that part of your brain? 

Not necessarily.  Researchers discovered that a kind of morphing can take place, where another part of the brain takes over the duties of the damaged part.

Some call it brain remapping.

Our brain is an astounding gift.  According to livescience.com the human brain has “about 100 billion neurons and tens of trillions of synapses that represent millions of miles of wiring between neurons.”*

And now let me tell you what I’m doing. 

I am remapping my own brain.

At least that’s what I call it.  I’ll get into that in a minute, but right now I want to bring up something else.

I read an article this week about men hooked on porn who gave it up cold turkey.  They found that, after a few weeks, they were more social and more confident.  They could look people in the eye.  Their whole outlook on life changed as they distanced themselves from their daily intake of filth. 

To me, that’s a form of brain remapping.  The synapses that were firing for the porn were no longer firing.  Meanwhile, other synapses were coming to life, and it changed the outlook of the brain.

That may not be the same remapping the scientists are talking about, but it does occur.  You can change things in your brain, and that’s what I’m calling brain remapping.  It’s like your brain was wired for one thing, but you are rewiring it for something else.

Now back to what I said about remapping my own brain.  I think that’s what I’m doing through extensive Bible memorization.  By constantly repeating and dwelling on lengthy passages of Scripture, I think it is restructuring the landscape of my brain.

Now maybe it’s not literal.  Maybe a brain scan wouldn’t reveal it.  But if you could scan my mind it would be there.

I’ve said before that my current project is to memorize the entire book of John before I turn 50.  I’m 46 now, and I’m halfway through chapter 2.  Last year I memorized the book of Colossians, and before that Ephesians. 

So now I spend a lot of time repeating the new verses in the book of John, and every week or two I review all the verses in Ephesians and Colossians.  And I must say, I am amazed at how well I can recall all those verses, even if I go 2 or 3 weeks without thinking about them.  As long as I do a tune-up every now and then, I can keep those synapses firing.

Fifteen or 20 years ago I memorized the book of James, but I did not maintain it.  Yes, I can still remember what James says, but I certainly can’t rattle it off verse by verse.  This time I’m not going to let that happen, so I keep going over the verses so I don’t lose them.

And by doing that I’m “remapping” my brain.  I think in some way I am actually rewiring my brain.

There is a scriptural precedent for such a thing.  Romans 12:2 tells us to be transformed by the renewing of our mind. 

It says, “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world…”  I think that includes this world’s pattern of thinking.  How do we change our pattern of thinking?  One way is by changing what we spend time thinking about. 

All the time I’ve spent memorizing the Word of God has really changed the pattern of my thinking.

Ephesians 4:23 tells us to be renewed in our mind.

Philippians 3:19 says that some people’s mind is on earthly things, but Colossians 3:2 tells us to set our mind on heavenly things.

The more we dwell on earthly things, the more our mind bends in that direction.  But the more we dwell on the things of God, the more our mind bends in that direction.

So with all this Bible memorization and Bible study, I really do think it’s remapping my brain.

The result is a change in the way I see the world.  When I read something, I read it with my remapped brain.  When I come home to my family, I come home with a remapped brain – not with worldliness but with godliness.

I can literally tell the difference.  It has really changed the way I see life.

So are you in a funk?  Is your thinking in a rut?  Do you wish you could just trade your brain in for a fresher model?

Well you don’t need a new brain.  Your current edition has a million miles of wiring to work with; you just need to do a little cartography, so here is my advice.

Use the Word of God to remap your brain.


Comments?

E-mail me:  dougapple@wave94.com.

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

*  http://www.livescience.com/health/human-brain-map-challenges-100310.html



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

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

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

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

Paul's Pipelines - Apples of Gold - March 18, 2010 -vi-

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Click here to search the AOG archives.

Apples of Gold
 

Radio Script for March 18, 2010

“Paul’s Pipelines”

 

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

Paul’s letters contain things that are hard to understand.

That statement doesn’t sound like that big of a deal, until I tell you who said it. 

It was the Apostle Peter, as he wrote in Second Peter 3:16.

Well Paul’s letters do contain things that are hard to understand, and one reason is that he uses run-on sentences.  That’s what my English teacher would have called them.  Paul wrote in complex sentences that are sometimes hard to unravel.

Add to that the fact that he is writing about spiritual matters that are hard to grasp anyway and it’s enough to make you want to close your Bible and go get all your spiritual nourishment from Veggie Tales.

Well hang in there!  I’m about to give you a little tip that has helped me plow through Paul’s epistles. 

One linking word that Paul uses a lot is the word “through.”  Just when you thought you knew what he was talking about he throws in the word through and compounds the sentence. 

So here is what I do.  When I see the word “through” I just picture a little pipeline.  Whatever Paul is talking about, it is coming through that pipeline. 

Sometimes I actually draw it out on paper.  I draw the little pipeline, then I label it.  Something is coming to me, and it is coming through that pipeline.  If I know the pipeline, I can place myself at the end of it and receive whatever is coming through it.

Are you with me so far?  Can you picture a little pipe, and yourself standing at the end of it to receive?

For example, look at Romans 3:22.  It says, “This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe…”

So we have this righteousness from God, and it’s coming to us who believe, but it’s coming through something.  That is the pipeline that we have to stand at the end of.

This righteousness from God is coming through the pipeline labeled “faith in Jesus Christ.”  If I want that righteousness from God, I have to receive it through the pipeline of faith in Christ.  When I put my faith in Christ, I put myself at the end of the pipe through which I receive that righteousness from God.

Do you get it?  Can you picture it in your mind?

Now let’s look at another pipeline, and this one is labeled “the Law,” as in the Old Testament Law.  This is going to help us understand Galatians 2:21 which says, “…for if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died in vain.”

So the pipeline is labeled “the Law” and again, what we want to receive is righteousness from God.  So if we stand at the end of “the Law” pipeline, will righteousness come out? 

According to Galatians 2:21, it will not.  Righteousness does not come through that pipe.  So you could stand at the end of that pipeline all day long – in other words, you could keep the Old Testament Law all day long – and you would still not receive this righteousness from God.

But thank God we learned from Romans 3:22 to go to another pipe, the one labeled “faith in Christ.”

So when you see the word “through” in Paul’s letters, just picture a little pipeline with something coming through it.

Now let’s use our new pipeline tool to unravel Philippians 4:13.  It says, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”  Have you ever tried to picture what that looks like?  What does it mean to do something “through” Christ?

Well break it down.  “I can do all things” means “I have the ability to do all things;” and this ability is coming through a pipeline.  And you guessed it, the pipeline is Christ.  So if I want the ability to do all things, I need to position myself at the end of the pipeline labeled “Christ.”  Through Christ I can receive the ability to do all things.

Of course Paul wasn’t the only New Testament writer that used the word “through.”  Peter himself used it in Second Peter 1:3.  It says that God’s divine power “has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness through the knowledge of Him…”

So how do we access “all things that pertain to life and godliness”?  They are coming through a pipeline that is labeled “the knowledge of Him.”  So we need to get to the end of that pipeline, for “through the knowledge of Him” is where we will receive “all things that pertain to life and godliness.”

A pipeline is also a limiting factor.  You may have a water pipe running through your yard, but the water is not going everywhere; it is limited to the confines of the pipe.

So when you read the word “through” in the Bible, consider the limitations. 

For example, Romans 3:24 says we are “justified freely by His grace,” but it doesn’t stop there.  It adds a limiting pipeline.  It says, “…through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.”

See, we are not justified freely by His grace…period.  God’s justifying grace comes through a pipeline, and that is “the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.”

Get it?  Yes, we are justified freely by God’s grace, but it’s not just running everywhere.  It is limited to the confines of this pipeline – the redemptive work of Christ.  If you remove the redemptive work of Christ, you don’t get the free justification of God’s grace.

Well I hope this little tool helps you as much as it helps me.  Just think about it the next time you read a complicated sentence in the Bible.

When you come across the word “through,” just picture it coming it through a little pipeline.


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-

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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Click here to search the AOG archives.

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-

Click here to listen to the radio version.   

Click here to search the AOG archives.

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 
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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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