Keys to a Good Reputation - Apples of Gold - August 3, 2010 -vi-

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Apples of Gold
 

Radio Script for August 3, 2010

“Keys to a Good Reputation”

 

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

Who do you know that has a good reputation?

Pick someone and think about this.  Why, in your mind, do they have a good reputation?

To me, one of the most important aspects of a good reputation is keeping your word.

Recently we moved, and several people committed to help.  They said they would be there, and they were there!  Little things like that build a reputation.

One man said he wasn’t sure if he could be there, but he would call and let me know; and he did call.

See, it’s not whether people helped or not.  It’s whether they kept their word.

On the flipside, one of the quickest ways to trash your reputation in my mind is by not keeping your word.  I’ve known guys, supposedly respectable guys, who would say they were going to do things, then not do them. 

Are you still thinking of the same person who, to you, has a good reputation?  Hopefully they are a person who keeps their word.

Another part of having a good reputation is kindness.  If you keep your word, but you are harsh or cruel or selfish – you will not have a good reputation.  The people who have a good reputation in my mind are generous people.  They give their time and their money and their talents.

Jesus taught about going the extra mile.  When you go the extra mile to help people, you build a good reputation.

Going the extra mile is a kindness, but it ties in with my next reputation building block, and that is a good work ethic.

The people I respect the most have a good work ethic.  They are willing to work and work hard.  They don’t care if the boss is looking.  They don’t care if they are getting paid.  They are just willing to dive in and work hard at whatever they decide to do.

And then comes humility.  You can have a good work ethic and a huge ego.  You can work hard and be proud and arrogant about it.  You can be giving and arrogant, honest and arrogant.  You can be wonderful in every way, but if you are arrogant about it, it knocks a chunk out of your reputation.

Here are my building blocks so far for a good reputation:
--Keep your word
--Be kind
--Work hard
--Be humble

Now here is something you might not think of, but to me, to have a good reputation you need to be good at something. 

Now listen.  Nobody is good at everything.  Michael Jordan was a mediocre baseball player. 

The point is, be good at something.  Pick something and work on it, enhance it, grow it.  Be good at it, then you’ll be an inspiration and a resource to others.

It’s hard to have a good reputation if you are good at nothing. 

It can be a skill or an attitude.  It can be a sense of humor or singing or woodwork or public speaking.  It’s different for different people, but if you want to have a good reputation, you need to be good at something.

And finally, the people that have a good reputation in my mind have this one thing in common.  They see something bigger than themselves.

For Christians this should be obvious.  We are to set our minds on things above, on the Lord and the things of the Spirit. 

And here on earth, we are thinking about the good of mankind and loving our neighbors.  We are big-picture thinkers.  We see beyond today and beyond our little lives.  The people I respect see a world much larger than their own. 

And finally, here are some other common characteristics of people who have a good reputation to me.

They control their tongue.

They control their anger.

They handle both victory and failure with dignity. 

They are consistent in both the high times and the low times.

Proverbs 22:1 says that “…a good name is more desirable than great riches…”

Ecclesiastes 7:1 says that “a good name is better than fine perfume…”

And First Timothy 3:7 says that an overseer in the church “must have a good reputation with outsiders…”

So think about the people you know who, in your mind, have a good reputation, and think about what they have in common.  And if your list is like mine, it will include these characteristics:
--They keep their word
--They are kind
--They have a good work ethic
--They are humble.
--They are good something
--And they see the world as so much bigger than themselves.


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-

A Most Stunning Lyric - Apples of Gold - July 29, 2010 -vi-

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Apples of Gold
 

Radio Script for July 29, 2010

“A Most Stunning Lyric”

 

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

This is one of the most stunning song lyrics I’ve ever heard.

Actually, I heard it several times before it really sank in, but when it did, it settled on me like lead.

I have thought of it often, and every time I just shake my head, feel grieved, and want to avoid it. 

When I thought about writing this today I thought, “I can’t.  It’s too heavy.  It’s too sad, and I have no answers.”

And it makes me feel mad and powerless at the same time – a terrible combination.  I don’t know what to do, but this one thing I can do.  I can call attention to it.

The song is by Gospel singer and American Idol finalist Mandisa, and is entitled “He is With You.”  It points out various situations in which God is with you, and then comes what I think is a most stunning lyric.

It says that God is with you when “your husband doesn’t kiss you anymore.”

That is a lyric you have to stop and think about – unless it is you.  If it’s you, then you recognize immediately the weight of it.

Now let’s go back to the beginning, to the Garden of Eden.  God created the world and everything in it, and Genesis 1:31 says, “God saw every thing that He had made, and, behold, it was very good.”

But then, by Genesis 2:18, God found something that was not good.  He said, “It is not good that the man should be alone.” 

God could have whipped up a gang of buddies for the man to hang out with.  He could have given him a bunch of kids, but what did He do?  He made one woman.  This was God’s answer for man being alone – one woman.

Well man still doesn’t want to be alone, so he finds a woman to love and marries her.  He makes grand statements and enters a lifelong covenant of love, “‘til death do us part” – “you may kiss the bride.”

And he does.  Often.

But then, for whatever reason, the kisses stop.  A silent statement.

And that’s where we find the woman that Mandisa is singing to.  She feels lonely and rejected.  Everything else may look the same.  An outsider might see no difference.

But she does. 

Her husband doesn’t kiss her anymore.

Husband, is this your wife?  Does she feel secretly rejected because you don’t kiss her anymore? 

She may or may not ever bring it up, but what is going on in her heart?  What are you doing to her heart by not kissing her?

Proverbs 5:18 says to “rejoice in the wife of your youth.”

Malachi 2:15 has a warning for husbands.  It says “let none deal treacherously with the wife of his youth.”

Treacherous is a strong word.  Could “not kissing your wife” be considered treacherous?

Husbands, you need to think about this and pray about it.  And you need to realize that if you aren’t kissing your wife, you could indeed be dealing treacherously with her.  It could be a silent statement that she is receiving loud and clear.

That is not the way a Christian husband should be.  A man of God does not treat his wife like that.

Your wife is the most important person in your life.  The two become one, the Bible says; one flesh.  There is only one person on the planet you are “one” with and that is your wife.  You leave your father and mother and are joined together with your wife, and what God has joined together, let no man separate.

Rejoice in the wife of your youth!  Recapture those days when you kissed her and meant it.

And if your heart has grown hard, then take it to the Lord.  Ask Him to soften it up.

Ephesians 4:32 says to be tenderhearted.  So husband, be tenderhearted toward your wife.

And please, please, please don’t be the guy that Mandisa is singing about when she sings that most stunning of lyrics, “your husband doesn’t kiss you anymore.”


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-

Redeemed How I Love to Proclaim It! - Apples of Gold - July 26, 2010 -vi-

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Apples of Gold
 

Radio Script for July 26, 2010

“Redeemed How I Love to Proclaim It!”

 

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

“Redeemed, How I Love to Proclaim It!”

That’s a hymn written by Fanny Crosby over a hundred years ago.

She was blind, but very thankful to be redeemed by Jesus Christ.

We are all born in sin, slaves to sin, yet we Christians can rejoice in the fact that we are redeemed by the blood of Jesus.

We were not redeemed with “corruptible things,” according to First Peter 1, “but with the precious blood of Christ…”

Galatians 3:13 says, “Christ has redeemed us…”

Galatians 4 says God sent forth His Son to redeem us that we might receive the adoption as sons.

Titus 2 says Jesus Christ gave Himself for us “to redeem us from all wickedness…”

“Redeemed, how I love to proclaim it!” sang Fanny Crosby.  “Redeemed by the blood of the Lamb; Redeemed through His infinite mercy, His child and forever I am.”

When you redeem something, you make a transaction.  For example, if you leave something at a pawn shop, then want it back, you have to “redeem” it.  You pay a price to get it back.

That’s what God did to get us back from the bondage of sin.  He redeemed us with the blood of His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ.

We were condemned, but now we are saved, and we received His Spirit as a down payment of the glories yet to come.

Fanny Crosby was pretty excited about this presence of God in her life.  Listen to this verse:

“Redeemed, and so happy in Jesus,
No language my rapture can tell;
I know that the light of His presence
With me doth continually dwell.”

What is the “light of His presence”?  That is the abiding, internal presence of the very Spirit of the Living God!

The Bible calls God our “redeemer.”

Psalm 19:14 says, “O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer.”

Psalm 103 calls Him the One who “redeems your life from the pit.”

Can you relate to that?  Has Jesus redeemed your life from the pit?  If so, you can sing along with this stanza:

“I think of my blessed Redeemer,
I think of Him all the day long:
I sing, for I cannot be silent;
His love is the theme of my song.”

A redeemer is needed when you cannot redeem yourself.  It is out of your power.  There is nothing you can do.  You are hopeless and stuck.  You are in the bottom of a well with no ladder, no rope and no hope.

Then your redeemer comes along!  He is your savior, your rescuer.  What you could not do, he does.

That’s what Fanny was singing about “all the day long.”

To redeem is like paying a ransom.  It sets you free from the power of another.  To redeem is to atone for, to make amends, to justify.  To redeem is to recover the ownership of something.  It is to liberate or set free.  Redemption clears, it releases from debt or blame.

I’ll bet old blind Fanny Crosby thrilled at the words of Job who said, “I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end He will stand upon the earth.  And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; I myself will see Him with my own eyes…”

A wonderful hope, not just for a blind woman, but for all of us.  And that hope comes shining forth as the song comes to this bright conclusion:

“I know there’s a crown that is waiting,
In yonder bright mansion for me,
And soon, with the spirits made perfect,
At home with the Lord I shall be!

Redeemed, redeemed,
Redeemed by the blood of the lamb,
Redeemed, redeemed,
His child and forever I am.”


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-

Rejoice! - Apples of Gold - July 23, 2010 -vi-

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Apples of Gold
 

Radio Script for July 23, 2010

“Rejoice!”

 

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

I have a topic to share with you today.

I’m not going to tell you what it is, but it will be easy to figure out.

I’ve gleaned thoughts on this topic from all over the Bible, and now I’d like to share them with you; so sit back, listen and be inspired. 

Here goes…

This is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it!  (Psalm 118:24)

Let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice!  (First Chronicles 16:10, Psalm 40:16, 70:4)

Let all who put their trust in the Lord rejoice!  (Psalm 5:11)

Let the righteous be glad and rejoice in the Lord!  (Psalm 64:10, 68:3)

Rejoice in the Lord and be glad!  (Psalm 9:2)

Rejoice and sing!  (Psalm 71:23)

Rejoice in God your Maker!  (Psalm 149:2)

Rejoice in His mercy!  (Psalm 31:7)

Rejoice in His salvation!  (Psalm 9:14, 13:5)

Rejoice in Christ Jesus!  (Philippians 3:3)

Rejoice because you have trusted in His holy name!  (Psalm 33:21)

Rejoice in His name all day long!  (Psalm 89:16)

Rejoice if you love Jesus!  (John 14:28)

Rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory!  (First Peter 1:8)

Rejoice that your names are written in heaven!  (Luke 10:20)

Rejoice when you and your household all believe in God!  (Acts 16:34)

Rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have received reconciliation!  (Romans 5:11)

Rejoice in our confident hope.  (Romans 12:12)

Rejoice in the hope of the glory of God!  (Romans 5:2)

Rejoice in the truth!  (First Corinthians 13:6)

Rejoice in His word!  (Psalm 119:162)

Rejoice in following His statutes as one rejoices in great riches!  (Psalm 119:14)

Rejoice in all the good things the Lord your God has given you!  (Deuteronomy 26:11)

Rejoice in all your labor!  (Ecclesiastes 2:10, 5:19)

Rejoice when you are reviled and persecuted for Jesus’ sake.  Rejoice when they say all kinds of evil against you falsely, for great is your reward in heaven.  (Matthew 5:11-12)

Rejoice when men exclude you because of the Son of Man.  Rejoice in that day and leap for joy!  (Luke 6:22-23)

Rejoice when you participate in the sufferings of Christ.  (First Peter 4:13)

Rejoice in the midst of your sufferings, because suffering produces perseverance.  (Romans 5:3, Colossians 1:24)

Rejoice that the Lord is your strength and shield!  (Psalm 28:7)

Rejoice in His justice!  (Psalm 97:8)

Rejoice for all the glorious things the Lord has done!  (Luke 13:17)

Rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all His mighty works!  (Luke 19:37)

Rejoice when Christ is preached!  (Philippians 1:18)

Rejoice when someone repents!  (Second Corinthians 7:9)

Rejoice when a lost sheep is found!  (Matthew 18:13)

Rejoice with those who rejoice!  (Romans 12:15)

Call your friends and neighbors together and say, “Rejoice with me!”  (Luke 15:16)

Rejoice when any part of the body of Christ is honored!  (First Corinthians 12:26)

Rejoice when people live as they should!  (Colossians 2:5)

Rejoice when the righteous are in authority!  (Proverbs 29:2)

Rejoice in the counsel of a friend!  (Proverbs 27:9)

Rejoice in the wife of your youth!  (Proverbs 5:18)

Rejoice when your son is wise!  (Proverbs 23:15)

Rejoice when your children walk in wisdom and truth!  (Proverbs 23:24, Second John 1:4)

And finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord!  (Philippians 3:1)

Rejoice in the Lord greatly!  (Philippians 4:10)

Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say, rejoice!  (Philippians 4:4)

Rejoice and be glad all your days!  (Psalm 90:14)

Rejoice evermore.  (First Thessalonians 5:16)


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-

One of the Sneakiest Forms of Deceit - Apples of Gold - July 22, 2010 -vi-

Click here to listen to the radio version.   

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Apples of Gold
 

Radio Script for July 22, 2010

“One of the Sneakiest Forms of Deceit”

 

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

It was quite the adventure.

And what do young men do after an adventure?  They tell their friends.

So there we were, regaling our friends with our latest escapade, when all of a sudden my buddy took the story in a completely different direction.  “We did this and that and oh, man, you should have been there!”

Afterward I said, “That’s not what happened,” and he said, “I know, but it was a better story.”

It’s wrong to exaggerate, but at least he knew he was doing it.  Some people do it so often I don’t think they even realize it.  

You expect wild exaggerations from guys at the bar, but a lot of Christians do it, too.  Preachers can even exaggerate in the pulpit, and if you ever want to test your pastor for exaggeration, just ask him how many people were in church last week.

People exaggerate to make themselves look better or to make others look worse.  They exaggerate to sell products or get dates or avoid trouble.  “I’m rushing to be at my ailing father’s side, officer,” when your father is only ailing because the Dodgers are on a losing streak.

Politicians can exaggerate to get elected or to advance their agendas.  Parents can exaggerate to keep their children in line.

Do you throw around words like “always” and “never”?  Those are favorites of the exaggerator. 

Exaggeration is a type of deception.  You might call it “stretching the truth” or “spin.”  Any time you “spin” something you are not dealing in rock solid truth.

I say “rock solid” because I see truth as bedrock.  When you want to build a bridge, you can’t just build on the riverbed because it shifts.  You have to dig down and build on bedrock.

And that’s where we need to build our lives, on the bedrock of truth.

Exaggeration is like that shifting riverbed.  It’s an unreliable foundation and we need to get past it.

Let me ask you this.  Are you a “drama queen”? 

A drama queen is really just an exaggerator, making things bigger than they are. 

If you are prone to exaggerate, let me tell you, you are a drama queen.

Here’s an interesting twist.  I’ve had people introduce me and exaggerate my accomplishments.  I just shake my head and wonder, “Why are you doing that?” 

Why are they doing it?  So I will feel flattered?  So I will like them more because they flattered me?  So they will look better by knowing this inflated version of me?

When you really dial in on exaggeration, you hear it all the time.  And you will catch yourself doing it. 

Jesus said, “Let your ‘yes’ be ‘yes’ and your ‘no,’ ‘no.’”

First Peter 2:1 tells us to rid ourselves of all deceit.

I read recently about Pat Robertson’s founding of the Christian Broadcasting Network.  When he was a young man he was urgently seeking the Lord, wanting more of God in His life. 

Have you ever been there, just chasing after God?  Have you felt the passion to have more of His Spirit, His presence in your life? 

That’s where Pat was, and he went on a three-day fast.  He set aside a long weekend to draw near to God, and here is what happened.

He said that God pressed upon on him that He is the Spirit of Truth.  Pat said, “He showed me that I was to despise all manner of lying and dishonesty.  Before I could come into His presence, I first had to have clean hands and a pure heart.  It was a magnificent revelation.  He was saying to me, ‘I hate lying.  I demand truth in your inward being.’”

Pat continued, “God had put His finger on a raw nerve.  My southern upbringing had taught me always to be gracious, even at the expense of the truth.  Later on, it grew increasingly easy to alter the truth to suit my convenience.  Now, after the three-day fast, I had become so sensitive to the truth that I couldn’t stand falsehood.  When anyone made a misstatement of fact in my presence, I felt as if a knife had been twisted in my stomach.  I believed that God had given me the key to the fullness of His power.”

So, are you hungry for more of God? 

Then you must address any deception in your life. 

We need to follow the pattern of Jesus of whom it was said “…no deceit was found in His mouth.”

And one of the sneakiest forms of deceit is this.

Exaggeration.


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-

She Fixed Her Pleading Eyes Upon the Priest - Apples of Gold - July 20, 2010 -vi-

Click here to listen to the radio version.   

Click here to search the AOG archives.

Apples of Gold
 

Radio Script for July 20, 2010

“She Fixed Her Pleading Eyes Upon the Priest”

 

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

 

“She fixed her pleading eyes upon the priest.”

That’s a line from Madame Bovary, a classic novel you might have read in school.  It’s about a wife who becomes a prolific adulteress, and was very controversial when it was published in the 1850’s.

Before she went off the deep end, Emma Bovary took her aching soul to the local priest.  He didn’t know it, but her life hung in the balance.  She was at a critical junction, and he had a great opportunity to influence her for the Lord.

As she approached the church, the priest was trying to settle rowdy boys for catechism. 

That’s when many opportunities come, by the way, when we are distracted.

Emma walked up and the priest said, “How are you?”

“Not well,” she said; “I am ill.”

“What does Monsieur Bovary think of it?” asked the priest, referring to Emma’s husband, who was a doctor.

And now listen closely to Emma’s answer.  “Ah!” she said, “it is no earthly remedy I need.”

That should have caught the priest’s attention.  She was a true spiritual seeker, but he didn’t recognize it.

And the question for us today is, would we recognize it?  Would we recognize a spiritual seeker if they were standing right in front of us?

The priest didn’t.  He was distracted by the unruly boys.

Emma began to open up her very soul to the priest. 

“I should like to know…”

“Take care, Riboudet!” cried the priest angrily.  “I’ll warm your ears, you imp!”

He turned back to Emma and asked about her husband.  “He is a doctor of the body,” laughed the priest, “and I of the soul.”

He called himself a doctor of the soul, and before him was a soul in cardiac arrest.

“Yes,” she said, fixing her pleading eyes upon the priest.  “You solace all sorrows.”

But the priest was blind to the fact that she was referring to her own sorrows. 

Repeatedly she hinted that she was struggling and wanted to talk about it, and repeatedly he missed it. 

And here is one reason he missed it.  As far as he could tell, she had no good reason to be struggling.  She was a pretty young woman whose husband was a doctor.  Could a woman like that even have any struggles?

And we probably do the same thing.  It’s easy to look at the good things in someone’s life and overlook the hints that they may be struggling.

“Oh Doug, it’s just a novel.  Why are you making such a big deal out of it?”

Okay, well how about this true story I heard on NPR.  A woman from Wisconsin named Ruth Camps told about a pivotal time in her life. 

She was a city girl who had moved to rural Wisconsin with her husband.  She was poor and lonely and pregnant.  Then her mother died.  In fact, there were nine family-related deaths in one year.

To deal with her suffering she decided to go to the church.  The building was locked and the priest was standing outside.

“He knew me,” she said, “but he did not unlock the church.  I don’t know why.”

It might sound like I’m picking on priests here, but I’m not.  It could be any of us.

So there’s pregnant Ruth, cracking under the weight of many burdens, going to the church for relief, and the priest won’t let her in.  Maybe he had urgent matters elsewhere, who knows?  Ruth didn’t know, but listen to her conclusion.

“It was the nail in the coffin of my traditional beliefs.”

She was struggling mightily, at a critical fork in the road, and he did not recognize it.  And for over 40 years now she has had no use for the Lord or the church or Christianity.

People face these critical junctions everyday, but do we recognize it?  Is our heart open to others?  Emma Bovary looked at the priest with “pleading eyes.”  Do we see the pleading eyes of others?

In John 4:35 Jesus said, “Lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest!”

Focus on His first six words, “Lift up your eyes and look.”  That’s what we need to do.  We need to lift up our eyes, up from our routines, up from our own needs and desires.

We need to lift up our eyes and look . . . for the fields are white for the harvest.


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-

Forgiveness Pulls the Plug - Apples of Gold - July 19, 2010 -vi-

Click here to listen to the radio version.   

Click here to search the AOG archives.

Apples of Gold
 

Radio Script for July 19, 2010

“Forgiveness Pulls the Plug”

 

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

They were cursing at each other, loudly.

My friend was stuck in the parking lot, forced to witness the scene.

He said it all started innocent enough.  A woman was simply driving through the parking lot, and a man started to pull out.

Now who knows what was going on in this man’s or this woman’s life before this moment.  Maybe they were frustrated with their kids.  Maybe they had a fight with their spouse.  Maybe they were ill.  Maybe they were just in a bad mood.

But anyway, when the man started to pull out, the woman laid on the horn. 

If you’ve ever been honked at, you know it’s a jolt.  It’s like being shoved.  It scrambles your brain for a second, then you must respond.  A honk requires a response.

So what did he do?  He started cursing at her.

Now I’m not a cursing man, but I have been honked at, and I can relate to the curser. 

Last week I was at a gas station/McDonalds on I-95.  I filled up with gas while my wife ran inside.  When I was done, I could see she was ready to come out, so I pulled up by the front door.  All of a sudden a woman honked at me.

I looked at the woman.  I looked at all the empty parking spots, but she wanted the very one I was blocking.  And no, it wasn’t handicapped. 

My first split-second thought was to jump out and give her a piece of my mind.  “How dare you honk at me.  My wife will be out in two seconds.  There are parking spots all over the place.  Use one of those and stop honking, you blankety-blank blank blank.”

But my next split-second thought was that it was no big deal, I could simply pull up a few feet and let the woman in, which I did.  She entered the restaurant as my wife walked out, and they probably shared a friendly greeting.  The incident was over, no big deal, and life went on.

Unfortunately, that’s not the way it went down in my friend’s town.  The man who was backing out and got honked at began cursing at the honker, and she began cursing back.

Uh-oh.  People cursing back and forth is never good.

Now get this.  Their cars ended up side by side.  They both had their windows down and were cursing like sailors at each other.

This is what I call escalation.  Since neither party was willing to pull the plug on the incident, it continued to escalate.

Finally the woman picked up her big drink and hurled it into the man’s face.  And what do you know, he also had a big drink, and he, too, hurled it into the face of his new enemy.

And finally, finally, someone pulled the plug on the incident and drove away, but not before both of them made screaming fools of themselves and got soaked in stickiness.

Another story.  I was in Palm Beach Gardens recently visiting relatives and went for a jog through the neighborhood.  I really enjoyed the scenery with all the palm trees and nice landscaping.  But then later I heard about a shooting right there on that sidewalk in broad daylight.

What?  In that nice little neighborhood? 

Yes, ma’am, and it happened because neither party was willing to pull the plug on the incident and walk away.

Two men were walking their dogs, and when they passed one another, the dogs got into it.

I don’t know why the men allowed it.  Maybe they both wanted their dog to win.  But anyway, one man said to the other, “Get your dog away from my dog or I’m going to shoot it.”

Well the other man didn’t pull his dog away, or at least not fast enough, so the first man pulled out a gun and shot the other man’s dog, and shot the man in the leg.

So because neither one of them pulled the plug on the incident, one ended up in the hospital and the other in jail. 

The other day someone asked me for one distinguishing mark of a Christian.  My first thought was “forgiveness.”

A Christian is quick to forgive. 

Jesus taught us over and over to forgive, and when Peter said, “How often…up to seven times?”  Jesus said, “Seventy times seven.”

Colossians 3:13 says, “Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another.  Forgive as the Lord forgave you.”

So when you find yourself in an “incident,” be a Christian.  Be quick to forgive.  Be the one to humble yourself, and you will quickly pull the plug on the incident before it spirals out of control.

And if that sounds too weak or humiliating for you, I guess you’ll just have to end up in the hospital, or jail, or dragging yourself home with your tail between your legs, drenched in someone else’s soda.


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 You Do X You Will Get Y - Apples of Gold - July 15, 2010 -vi-

Click here to listen to the radio version.   

Click here to search the AOG archives.

Apples of Gold
 

Radio Script for July 15, 2010

“If You Do X You Will Get Y”

 

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

I love if-then statements.

If you clean up your room, then you can go to Disney World next weekend.

If-then statements tell you what to do, and what you will get if you do it.

Most of life is not that black and white, and frankly, neither is a lot of the Bible.  But I decided to dig into the New Testament and uncover the most obvious, clearly stated if-then statements.  And this comes from the New King James Version.

I created a little formula for myself during the research.  I looked for scriptures that fit this formula, “If you do X, you get Y.”

Now I admit up front that some of these statements were made to specific people in the Bible, but I think that most Christians agree that these statements can be applied to all of us.  So here goes, what I found to be the most clearly stated if-then statements of the New Testament.

If you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.  (Matthew 6:14)

If you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.  (Matthew 6:15)

Jesus said, “If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor.”  (John 12:26)

He said “…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.”  (Matthew 17:20)

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

He 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.”  (John 15:7)

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

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

He said, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.”  (John 14:23)

Jesus said, “I am the living bread which came down from heaven.  If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever…”  (John 6:51)

He said, “I am the door.  If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved…”  (John 10:9)

He said “…if anyone keeps My word he shall never see death.”  (John 8:51)

He said if we love one another, then all will know that we are His disciples.  (John 13:35)

If you just tuned in, let me remind you, we’re going through the most obvious if-then statements of the New Testament, judging by the formula “if we do X, we get Y.”  We just finished the if-then statements of Jesus in the Gospels.  Now let’s turn to the epistles.

 “…if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.”  (Romans 8:13)

“If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him.  For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are.”  (First Corinthians 3:17)

We are His house if we “hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm to the end.”  (Hebrews 3:6)

“…We have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end…”  (Hebrews 3:14)

If we do not grow weary while doing good, and do not lose heart, in due season we shall reap.  (Galatians 6:9)

“If we endure, we shall also reign with Him.  If we deny Him, He also will deny us.”  (Second Timothy 2:12)

If we show partiality between rich and poor, we commit sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors.  (James 2:9)

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.  (First John 5:14-15)

And finally, here are a couple that most every Christian will recognize.

“…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.”  (Romans 10:9)

“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”  (First John 1:9)

And there you have it, some of the most obvious if-then statements of the New Testament; things you can bank on, according to the formula that if you do X, you will end up with Y.


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-

Drive the Dark of Doubt Away - Apples of Gold - July 13, 2010 -vi-

Click here to listen to the radio version.   

Click here to search the AOG archives.

Apples of Gold
 

Radio Script for July 13, 2010

“Drive the Dark of Doubt Away”

 

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

His girlfriend wasn’t faithful.

He had landed the prettiest fish, and with her came the agony of unfaithfulness.

He finally let her go (though she was already going) but now what? 

Now he resolved to find someone faithful.  He wanted a young woman of whom he had no doubts.  And he found one.  And they were married.  And they lived happily ever after.

“But there was that one day,” he said.

One day it suddenly occurred to him that she might have taken a “shine” to a friend of theirs.  As he pieced together the evidence in his mind, he felt the foundation washing out from beneath him. 

His strong foundation had been his unwavering belief in her faithfulness, but now there was doubt.  Scenarios played out in his head.  Was he a fool?  Were they sneaking around behind his back?

“It was the worst couple of days of my life,” he said. 

He was in anguish – until he found there was nothing to it.  She was faithful.  He had just blown things out of proportion until it drove him crazy. 

Up until that time, he had complete faith in his wife; but for a couple of days he let doubt creep in and it almost crushed him.

Doubt has a way of doing that.  Doubt is a poison that kills hope, a darkness that eclipses the sun.

Have you ever felt that doubt toward God? 

The disciples sure did.  After Jesus died they were rocked by doubt.  Even though Jesus told them He would rise from the dead, they doubted.  When witnesses said he had risen from the dead, they doubted – His own disciples!  The ones who saw all the miracles!

In Mark 16 we find the disciples hunkered down and depressed, then Jesus appeared, and the King James says He “upbraided them” for their unbelief.

For some reason I picture a Viking sitting there with long braided blonde hair, and the leader walks over and yanks his braid up.    

He “upbraided” them.  It means He rebuked them.  There were sitting there, wallowing in their doubt and unbelief, and Jesus upbraided them for it.

Luke 24 records Jesus asking them this:  “…why do doubts rise in your minds?”

Can you answer that question for yourself?  Why do doubts rise in your mind?

“Because I expected something and it didn’t happen.  Because God didn’t come through.  Because God allowed something He never should have allowed.”

Those are all good reasons to doubt, I suppose, but actually, Jesus makes it sound like there is no good reason to doubt God.

In fact, listen to this little twist.  In Mark 6, Jesus encountered some people, and it says “He marveled because of their unbelief.”

We marvel at people with no doubts, but Jesus marveled at people who had doubts.

Remember when Peter walked on the water, but then started sinking?  Jesus reached out and caught him, then said, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?”

Of course he doubted, because it’s impossible to walk on water!  Yet while he had faith, he could do it.

See how that works?  Our doubt influences the outcome.  Peter couldn’t say, “See, I knew it was impossible.” 

Here’s how it works sometimes.  It’s not that our doubt confirms the circumstances.  It’s that our doubt affects the circumstances.

For example, Matthew 13:58 says that, in one place, Jesus did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief.

In Matthew 17 Jesus blamed some of the disciples’ lack of power on their unbelief.  Then He said “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.”

That’s a grand statement, but I believe it.  It’s the power of faith when it is unclouded by doubt.

You may call your doubt a “healthy skepticism” or “just being realistic,” but remember, doubt can affect the outcome.  Many things are not a foregone conclusion, but actually hinge on our faith or our doubt.

James 1:6 says “when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.”

In Matthew 21 Jesus said “…have faith and do not doubt…”

Abraham set the bar for us.  Romans 4:20 says, “He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith…”

If your faith feels weak today, then pray like the man in Mark 9:24 who said, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!”

Doubt is a poison, it’s a darkness that eclipses the light of God in your life.

So pray for more faith.  Pray for God to remove your doubt.

Pray this favorite line of mine from the hymn “Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee” that goes like this.

“Drive the dark of doubt away.”


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-

The Kingdom of God is a Matter of These - Apples of Gold - July 12, 2010 -vi-

Click here to listen to the radio version.   

Click here to search the AOG archives.

Apples of Gold
 

Radio Script for July 12, 2010

“The Kingdom of God is a Matter of These”

 

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

The kingdom of God is a matter of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

That’s what it says in Romans 14:17.

So let’s look at those three, starting with righteousness.

Some people’s eyes are glazing over already, just thinking about a five dollar word like righteousness, so just look at the first five letters:  right.

We’ve been told to do the right thing, to say the right thing, to think the right thing.  If everything about us is right in God’s eyes, from our actions to our attitudes, then we have righteousness.

The problem is, we all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.  There is none righteous, no not one, the Bible says.

That’s why the world can be such a wretched place, because it is full of unrighteous people.  If everyone lived according to God’s righteousness, the world would be a wonderful place! 

But there is good news.  God will give us His righteousness.  Romans 3:22 says, “This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.”

The kingdom of God is a matter of righteousness, and here is where that righteousness comes into our lives – through faith in Jesus Christ.  It’s called being “born again.”  I was lost in sin, but Jesus saved me and gave me His righteousness. 

And then I lived happily ever after, right?  I wish, but that’s not the way it works.  Christians still have the choice to sin.  We come to forks in the road and we make choices.  Romans 6:13 says, “Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God…offer the parts of your body to Him as instruments of righteousness.”

The good news is that we are empowered by the Holy Spirit inside of us to choose righteousness.  Ephesians 5:9 says that a fruit of the Spirit is righteousness.

I remember as a young man kind of wanting to do what was right, but feeling powerless to do so, not even really wanting it that badly.

Now, as a believer with the Spirit of God inside me, I have a deep passion to do what is right, and I feel the Spirit stirring within me to empower me to do what is right.  I still have the choice to sin, but I am not a slave to sin. 

Paul said in both First and Second Timothy to flee evil desires and to pursue righteousness.  And he said that all Scripture is useful for instruction in righteousness.

So by faith we receive righteousness from God because we are powerless to be righteous on our own.  Then we are empowered by the Spirit to learn and to pursue righteousness.

This all sounds very spiritual, and it is!  If you haven’t experienced it yourself, it may all sound like nonsense.  But everyone who has truly put their faith in Jesus Christ as the savior from their sins will know what I’m talking about.  God makes you right with Him, and gives you the desire to live right for Him.  You have a new sense of right and wrong, and a new ability to choose what is right.  Yes, it’s an ability that must be trained and sharpened, but this is a cornerstone in the kingdom of God:  righteousness.

Second, the kingdom of God is a matter of peace.

First of all, as Christians we have peace with God.  Romans 5:1 says, “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

This is something you hear from new believers all the time.  They feel a peace inside that they’ve never felt before. 

Galatians 5:22 says that one fruit of the Spirit is peace.  The Holy Spirit inside of us is producing peace, among other things.

Now once again, we have a choice.  We come to forks in the road, and we can choose peace or not.  Colossians 3:15 says to “let the peace of God rule in your hearts…”  It’s a choice, but clearly the best choice.

Just as Paul told Timothy to pursue righteousness, he also told him to pursue peace.

First Peter 3:11 says to “seek peace and pursue it.”

The good news is that the Holy Spirit will empower us to pursue peace, and to live in peace with God, with others, and with ourselves.

Third, the kingdom of God is a matter joy.

Once again, this is something new Christians often experience, a joy like they have never known, a joy that bubbles up within, almost tangible. 

And again, this is a fruit of the Holy Spirit inside of us.  First Thessalonians 1:6 calls it “the joy given by the Holy Spirit.”

Galatians 5:22 says that joy is a fruit of the Spirit.  The Holy Spirit inside of us is producing joy, among other things.

First Peter 1:8 talks about “joy unspeakable and full of glory.”  It says “…you believe in Him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy.”

Righteousness, peace and joy – these are cornerstones of the kingdom, experienced widely by new believers, but often buried by the struggles of day-to-day living.

So maybe it’s time to renew these in your life.  It’s time to pursue them and make them a priority.  It’s time to step back and the let the fruit of the Spirit come alive!

For according to Romans 14:17, the kingdom of God is a matter of these:  righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.


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-

What Is Your Big Dream? - Apples of Gold - July 6, 2010 -vi-

Click here to listen to the radio version.   

Click here to search the AOG archives.

Apples of Gold
 

Radio Script for July 6, 2010

“What Is Your Big Dream?”

 

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

I picked up a new book at the library the other day.

It’s called “Put Your Dream to the Test” by John Maxwell.

It’s designed for people who have a dream for their life but need help getting it off the ground.

So do you have a big dream for your life?

I was confronted with this question a few years ago by another book, “The Dream Giver” by Bruce Wilkinson; and I remember at that time thinking, “No, I don’t have a big dream.”

It made me feel kind of inadequate, like “What kind of loser am I, that I don’t have a big dream?”

But then I realized that I have had a lot of dreams in my life that have already come to pass. 

For example, I dreamed of having a wife and children, and being a successful family man.  I dreamed of working in Christian radio, and now I’ve done that for about a quarter century.  I feel gifted and called to teach based on the Bible and I’ve done that in several formats over the years, including this format, Apples of Gold.  I’ve dreamed of keeping myself healthy and in shape, and I’ve done that. 

I could go on and on, but none of this did me any good while reading Maxwell’s book.  It’s not about dreams that have already been fulfilled.  What he wants to know is, what is my dream right now, my dream for the future?

Well I don’t have a big dream.  I don’t dream of being president or governor.  I don’t dream of being world famous or getting my face on TV or billboards or magazine covers.  I don’t dream of “hitting the big time.”  I don’t know why.  Those things just don’t excite me.

So I’ve been reading this book, and thinking about it, and praying about it, and I keep asking myself, “What is my big dream?”

Well the good thing is, the book has some guiding questions.  On page 21 it says, “To better understand yourself, answer the following:

What would I do if I had no limitations?

What would I do if I had only five years to live?

What would I do if I had unlimited resources?

What would I do if I knew I couldn’t fail?”

Does anything come to your mind when you hear these questions?  Maxwell says that your God-given dream might be found in your answers.

So I pondered these questions, and here is what I came up with.

It’s based on First Thessalonians chapter one.  Paul writes “…our gospel came to you not simply with words, but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction.”

It’s also based on First Corinthians 4:20 which says, “For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power.”

Do you see a trend here?

I am a teacher and a communicator.  I can blab on and on and on if I have to.  I emceed a holiday event over the weekend and basically talked for three hours.  I did a radiothon one time where I was on the air for 12 hours.  It can be done.

But that is not what I want.  I don’t want to hear myself talk.  I don’t want to add my hot air to all the other hot air being bellowed about. 

Here is the way I see it.  Most words are thin and shallow.  They are cheap and hollow.  Oh, they can be loud and blustery, but listen – do they have power?  And by that I mean the power of God.

In First Corinthians one, Paul said that Christ sent him to preach the gospel “not with words of human wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.”

He went on to say that the message of the cross “is the power of God.”

So a message, the right message, God’s message has power.  We can communicate with human wisdom, or we can communicate with the power of God.

That is my big dream!

I don’t know how to bring it to pass, but Jesus talked about being “endued with power from on high.”

I feel gifted and called to teach and to communicate, but it must bear good fruit in the kingdom of God.  I want to plant godly seeds that go deep into people and bear good, eternal fruit that replenishes itself long after I’m gone.

That’s what I would do if I had no limitations.

That’s what I would do if I had only five years to live.

That’s what I would do if I had unlimited resources.

That’s what I would do if I knew I couldn’t fail.

I would communicate “not simply with words, but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction.”

That is my big dream


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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