Reporting for Duty, Sir

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I’m Doug Apple...and my heart is on fire!  (Luke 24:32)

In the morning my alarm goes off.  I roll out of bed, get down on a knee, point a finger to heaven and say, “Reporting for duty, Sir.”

I want to hit the ground running for Jesus.  I want to be the guy in 2 Timothy 2:3, “...a good soldier of Jesus Christ.”

Being a soldier in a huge army simplifies some things.

A soldier doesn’t have to make up things to do each day.  He is TOLD what to do.  He has orders, and his agenda is to obey those orders.

You don’t do whatever you feel like.  You don’t do what everyone else is doing.  You don’t go with the flow or look out for number one.  You do what you are TOLD to do by your commanding officer.

So being a good soldier of Jesus Christ simplifies your schedule.

It also simplifies your education.  So many people today are trying to figure out what they want to do to and what education they need.

But a soldier submits himself to the commander, and the commander orders the training that prepares the soldier for the mission.

And being a soldier means being provided for.  A soldier doesn’t worry about his provisions.  That’s the army’s job.  Food.  Clothing.  Shelter.  Weapons.  All provided for the soldier.

Now I know that being a good soldier of Jesus Christ is not the same as being a soldier in an army.

And yet that is how I approach each day.  I say to Jesus my Commander, “Show me Thy ways, O Lord.  Teach me Thy paths.  What do You want me to do?  How do You want me to do it?  When do You want me to do it?  Lord, I want to do YOUR will every day.  I want to follow You as my Good Shepherd, as my Provider and Leader and Commander.”

So my alarm goes off.  I roll out of bed, get down on a knee, bow my head, point a finger to heaven and say, “Reporting for duty, Sir.”

God bless you, today.

I’m Doug Apple.

My Eyes Are Ever Toward the Lord

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I’m Doug Apple...and my heart is on fire!  (Luke 24:32)

My eyes are ever toward the Lord, to behold the beauty of the Lord.

That’s my own personal mix of Psalm 25:15 and Psalm 27:4.

Add to that the message of Psalm 101:3, I will set before my eyes no vile thing.

What a contrast! 

We can ever turn our eyes toward the Lord to behold the beauty of the Lord, or we can set before our eyes vile things.

And when we set before our eyes vile things, it BLINDS us to the beauty of the Lord.

You say, “Man, I’m TRYING to see the beauty of the Lord, but I’m not seeing it.”

Maybe it’s because you are setting before your eyes vile things, and it’s blinding you to the beauty of the Lord.

You say, “What is the beauty of the Lord, anyway?  It’s not like we can look into heaven and see it.”

You can look into your HEART and see it...if Jesus is there.

If God is in your heart, you can easily see His beauty in the work He is doing sovereignly in your life.

You can see His beauty in His creation.  You can see His beauty in His concepts like love and peace and joy, righteousness and justice and holiness.

Imagine going to a theater and watching a vile movie.  It’s vile, but it’s exciting and bold and loud.  You’re on the edge of your seat, captivated.

Then you walk out of the theater, and there’s a little flower springing up through the cracks of the sidewalk.  It’s beautiful and amazing.  Miraculous!  Uncreatable by any mere mortal. 

But we are blinded to it by the vile, bold and brassy.  We wonder where the beauty of the Lord is while we walk right over it.

Make a vow today.  I will set before my eyes no vile thing.

Instead, my eyes are ever toward the Lord, to behold the beauty of the Lord.

God bless you, today.

I’m Doug Apple.

What Then?

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I’m Doug Apple...and my heart is on fire!  (Luke 24:32)

Second Corinthians 2:11 says we are not unaware of the devil’s devices.

Whenever I read that I think, “Oh yes we are.”

Jesus called Satan “the father of lies,” so if you ever fell for the lies of a man, how quickly will you fall for the schemes of the master deceiver?

He’s as smooth as a snake, but here is one way to smoke him out. 

Ask the question, “What then?”

For example, you had a terrible week and you just need some relief.  Then someone invites you to a place where the alcohol is flowing.  There’s your relief!

But what then?  You get drunk and forget your problems, but what then?  Get drunk again and forget again?  But what then?

See?  Asking “what then” pokes holes in Satan’s stupid, gassy temptations.  They cannot hold up to the What Then line of questioning.

So you’re having problems in your marriage.  Meanwhile, this other person really understands  you.  They get you.  They even like you!  You’d rather go spend time with them than go home to your unhappy mate.  The game is afoot.

But what then?  So you spend time with them.  What then?  Are you going to bust up your family, break your vows, squander friendships and shipwreck your integrity?  And for what?

But when God leads you, and you follow His ways, the What Then question brings fulfilling answers!

If you are having marriage problems, maybe you get some marital counseling.  What then?  Then you learn and grow together and solve some problems.  What then?  Then you are building a home and family on deeper love and respect.  When then?  Then you grow old together, fully respected by family and friends, with a deep and lasting family legacy which can be replicated by generations to come!

So yes, the devil has his devices, but we do not need to be unaware.

And one way to unmask him is to ask this simple question.

What then?

God bless you, today.

I’m Doug Apple.