We Are Members of One Another - Apples of Gold - July 1, 2010 -vi-

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Apples of Gold
 

Radio Script for July 1, 2010

“We Are Members of One Another”

 

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

There is no such thing as a lone wolf Christian.

If you are a Christian, you are a part of the living and active body of Christ, also called the church.

Jesus Christ is the head, and we – the Christians, the saints – are the body.

Paul writes beautifully about us as the body of Christ in his letter to the Ephesians.

When you think about church membership, you probably think, “I am a member of First Baptist, you are a member of First Pentecostal, and Bob is a member of First Nazarene.”

But listen to these beautiful words of Paul in Ephesians 4:25.  It’s not that we are members of this church or that church, but it says, “We are members of one another.”

There is “one body,” Paul said, “and one Spirit…one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.”

God’s Spirit is coursing through us, like blood through veins – through me, through you, and through every saint of the living God.

Ephesians 5:30 says “…we are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones.”

And just like we as humans take care of our bodies – feeding, cleaning, etc. – Jesus cares for His body, the church.

Ephesians 5 says that Christ “loved the church and gave Himself for her.”  He cleanses the body and eliminates all spots and wrinkles and blemishes.  Verse 29 says He nourishes and cherishes the body.

That’s the kind of TLC we get as the body of Christ! 

So does that mean we just sit back and soak it all in, like a permanent spa day?

No.  A body is subject to the head.  A body carries out the will and the desires of the head, and Christ, our head, has some goals for His body.  They include growth, maturity and unity, and we don’t just sit back and wait for them to happen.  We get involved and do our part to make them happen.

Ephesians 4:15 has two powerful words, “grow up.”  We are to “grow up in all things into Him who is the head…Christ…”

This is not a pretty picture, but imagine a man’s head on a boy’s body.  The body needs to grow up to fit the head.  We, the body, need to grow up to fit our head, which is Christ. 

Verse 13 offers this goal, “the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.” 

Think of a little boy who has a great big daddy.  He’s little now, but we expect him to grow up and reach the measure of the stature of the fullness of his daddy.

Well that’s what’s expected of the body of Christ, that we will “fill out,” that we will grow up and mature, getting bigger and stronger.

Yes that means we as individuals will mature, and it also means that we together will mature.  We are members of one another.

Imagine a weightlifter with a huge right arm and a skinny-minny left arm.  It would just be weird, wouldn’t it?  So the whole body of Christ needs to be working and growing, not just one part here and there.

Verse 16 says “…the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies…”

Are there any lone wolf joints in your body?  They just do their own thing and are disconnected from the rest of the body?  That would be ridiculous, and it’s ridiculous in the body of Christ.

The body of Christ is “joined and knit together by what every joint supplies.” 

So what are you supplying?

That verse goes on to say “…according to the effective working by which every part does its share…”

If you are a Christian, you are a part of the body, and you need to be doing your share.  Are you?

“Well Doug, I don’t even know what my part is.”

I’m so glad you said that!

If you don’t know what to do, the Lord has chosen other parts to help you.  Ephesians 4 says, “He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God…”

It’s a beautiful thing, this body of Christ, and if you are a Christian, you are a part of it. 

There’s no such thing as a lone wolf Christian, and there aren’t separate bodies here, there and everywhere.

We are all members of one another, and the Spirit of God is coursing through us all.


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-

Desire Is a Raw Material - Apples of Gold - June 30, 2010 -vi-

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Apples of Gold
 

Radio Script for June 30, 2010

“Desire Is a Raw Material”

 

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

Desire is a raw material.

We each have this raw material inside of us, a rocky chunk of desires loaded with possibilities.

Our desires are like an engine that drives us.  When you really break it down, we tend to do what we desire to do. 

“But Doug, I desire to quit smoking.  So why don’t I?”

Because you desire something else more, and that desire drives you to smoke.

Your desire to smoke is an unrefined desire.

See, desire is a raw material, and raw materials aren’t much good when left to themselves.  They can be volatile and unpredictable.

It’s like crude oil.  Why can’t we just scoop some oil spill out of the Gulf and pour it in our car?  Because it is unrefined.  Crude oil must be refined to reach its highest use.

Or take iron ore.  Dig it out of the earth, hammer on it a while and what do you have?  But refine it and you can make some of the must useful instruments known to man.

Our desire is the same.  It’s a raw material that must be refined.

Unrefined, our desires will lead us in very crude directions, and it will be a bumpy ride. 

But some people say we must let our desires guide us.  In fact, we are in danger of severe psychological damage if we try to squelch our natural desires.

Well crude oil and iron ore are quite natural, but we don’t leave them that way.  Dirty water is natural, but we don’t leave it that way.

And we don’t leave our raw desires that way.  We need to refine them.

First Peter 1 says “…do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance.  But just as He who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do…”

We refine our desires toward holiness, toward righteousness, toward God.

Now let me give you a practical example.  It’s Friday night and you are feeling restless.  You have a desire for action.

That is a raw desire.  Unrefined it can propel you toward no good. 

On the other hand, you can take that raw desire for action and refine it.  You can channel it and put it to work within proper boundaries.

This is important because many times we don’t even examine our desires.  We just sense a raw desire, release the brake and let it careen down hill.

This causes so much pain and trouble in the world. 

For example, a young man sees an iPhone and he wants one.  That’s a raw desire.  Unrefined, his desire compels him to steal one.  Refined, he decides to work hard, earn the money, and buy one.

Unrefined, a man takes his sexual desire and meets it anywhere he can.  Refined, he fulfills that desire within the proper boundaries of marriage.

Unrefined, a wife desires intimacy that’s lacking in her marriage, and she finds it in the first welcoming arms.  Refined, she decides to work on her marriage and channel her desires within its boundaries.

I think this applies to homosexuality.  It is desire unrefined.

“Oh they can’t change their desires, Doug.”

Again, I think that desire is a raw material, including sexual desire, and it can be refined.  And there are plenty of former homosexuals who say their desires have been refined, so take it up with them.*

Unrefined, a student cheats to pass a test.

Unrefined desires lead to cutting corners and taking the low road.  Jesus called it building on sand.  But refining our desires is building on rock.

Think of Eve in the Garden.  She apparently had a raw desire to gain wisdom, and what do you know?  There’s the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.  All she had to do was take a bite and she’d have her wisdom.  Genesis 3:6 called it “…a tree to be desired to make one wise…”

She should have refined that desire, and sought her wisdom from the Lord.  So why didn’t she?

One of our major hang-ups with refining is that it takes time, and we are impatient.  But try using iron ore horseshoes, or pouring crude petroleum into your lawn mower.  The refining process is well worth the time and saves so much time and trouble later.

So take a look at your desires, those things that compel you from within, and think of them as raw material.

Desire is a raw material, and instead of leaving it that way, we need to refine it for its highest purpose, for the holy and righteous life that God has called us to live. 


Comments?

E-mail me:  dougapple@wave94.com.

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

*  Exodus International:  http://www.exodusinternational.org/
Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays and Gays:  http://pfox.org/default.html
A ministry for people “refining” their same-sex desires in Jacksonville, FL:  http://www.laughterfrompurity.com/

© 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-

So Your Son Has Been Looking at Internet Porn - Apples of Gold - June 29, 2010 -vi-

Click here to listen to the radio version.   

Click here to search the AOG archives.

Apples of Gold
 

Radio Script for June 29, 2010

“So Your Son Has Been Looking at Internet Porn”

 

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

So you think your son has been looking at pornography on the internet.

Now what?

Whatever you do, don’t bury your head in the sand and hope it goes away.  It won’t.

This is a time when parents must take action.  It’s a challenge we cannot run away from.

“But Doug, I don’t know what to do.  This caught me by surprise.”

First of all, I recommend a reasoned and loving approach.  Don’t fly in and give him a smack down while calling him the scum of the earth. 

On the other hand, don’t just say “boys will be boys” and walk away.  Yes, boys will be boys, but we want them to become men – men of God and men of integrity – and pornography is not part of that plan.

It helps to have that ultimate goal in sight so you can always be steering toward it.  The ultimate goal is that our children have their own close walk with God, that the Holy Spirit is alive and at work inside them, and that they are living by God’s standards and principles.  That means they are making wise decisions within themselves, without our intervention.

So when you talk to your son about pornography, the goal is that he will grow up and be a man who can make good decisions on his own, whether you are looking over his shoulder or not.

So if you think your son has been looking at pornography on the internet, the obvious first step is that you must talk to him.  This needs to be a private conversation with no humiliation. 

But what do you say?  Well let’s go back to the ultimate goals.  What is your ultimate goal regarding your child and sex?  I think the goal should be that they grow up and have a full life in that area – within God’s boundaries.   Sex itself is not a taboo, but a gift from God.

Your son has the raw material of curiosity and desires and hormones, and that raw material needs to be refined until it sparkles and blossoms into the final product of a deep, fulfilling marriage.

Are things starting to clear up for you?  Can you see your way through the woods, now that we know where we want to go?

So have that talk with your son, with the big picture in your mind.

But how to get from here to that big picture?

One step at a time, and the most immediate goal is to shed light on the situation, to bring it out of dark isolation and into the light.

Ephesians 5:13 says “all things that are exposed are made manifest by the light, for whatever makes manifest is light.”

You hold your son accountable.  He has done something you don’t want him to do, something you think is bad for him and will lead him down the wrong path.

So you have this conversation, which can go a lot of different directions depending on the child and the situation.  Just keep in mind the goals for his life, and the ideas of accountability and keeping light on the matter.

Now about keeping things in the light, one wise thing to do is to limit computer use to public areas of the house, and to times when others are around.  That really keeps things in the light.

Sure your son wants to get online at midnight in his bedroom, to do “homework.”  Too bad.  No computer in the bedroom and no computer when everyone else is asleep.  It’s your house and you make the rules.

Now listen.  Due to technology, these rules are always changing.  Don’t think your son is on lockdown if you yank the computer cord when you go to bed, and he’s still up with his iPhone.  If your son has internet access on his phone, that is an open gateway to filth all over the world.

Open your eyes, Mom and Dad.  Even video games these days have internet access.  I heard of one mother who walked in and saw porn playing from her child’s Wii.  And according to recent statistics, the average age of a child’s first exposure to porn is now about 11 years old.

Vigilance.  That’s what this requires of parents.  We must stay on top of things, because the kids sure will. 

And listen.  You have permission to make unpopular decisions.  If your son has to cough up his cell phone to limit his access to porn, so be it.  If you have to get the internet out of your house entirely, then do it; just beware of wireless access from the neighbor’s house.

Some people think there’s nothing wrong with porn.  Well I think they’re crazy.  The internet has every imaginable abomination man can think of, and a child of any age can access it in about 2 seconds with an open internet connection.

So eliminate the open internet connection.  Use filters and passwords.  Establish rules and enforce them.  Do your homework and stay informed, or find someone who is.

And if you suspect your son – or your daughter of course, either one – has been looking at pornography on the internet, take action. 

Talk to him and tell him the ultimate goals.  Then do what it takes to help him reach those goals by loving him and teaching him, by keeping the situation in the light and holding him accountable.

And yes, by shutting down the access to pornography on the internet.


Comments?

E-mail me:  dougapple@wave94.com.

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

There are a ton of websites to help you understand computers and how to make internet usage a little safer.  Here is one of them – not a Christian site per se, but very helpful:  http://www.komando.com/tips/index.aspx?id=8954


© 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-

Scarecrow in a Melon Patch - Apples of Gold - June 25, 2010 -vi-

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Apples of Gold
 

Radio Script for June 25, 2010

“Scarecrow in a Melon Patch”

 

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

Those foolish old tribes.

They worshiped sticks and stones and contraptions made by their own hands.

They cut down the tree, whittled on it a while, then put it up on the mantel and said, “There is my god.”

Seems silly, doesn’t it?  But it wasn’t just some nutty backwoods weirdos.  Listen to what Paul wrote about some church members in First Corinthians 12:2.  “You know that when you were pagans, somehow or other you were influenced and led astray to mute idols.”

Now pick up on those last two words, “mute idols.”

That is a major weakness of idols – they don’t speak.  They are mute.

What good is a god that doesn’t speak?

Habakkuk 2:18 says that they made “idols that cannot speak.”

Psalm 135 says, “The idols of the nations are silver and gold, made by the hands of men.  They have mouths, but cannot speak…”

Jeremiah 10:5 says, “Like a scarecrow in a melon patch, their idols cannot speak…”

The Bible paints a thick black line between idols and the real God, creator of the universe.  And one major difference is that idols don’t speak, but God does.

Moses was well aware of this when God spoke to Him through the burning bush.  God spoke to various people throughout the Old Testament. 

And He spoke through people.  Acts 3:21 says that God spoke “by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.”

Second Peter 1:21 says that holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.

Acts 4:25 says that God spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of King David.

That’s God speaking, by the Holy Spirit, through the mouth of holy men of God.

In Matthew chapter 10, Jesus told His disciples that something like this would happen to them.  He said, “But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it.  At that time you will be given what to say, for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.”

Well sure enough, the disciples were arrested, and they certainly spoke.  So when they opened their mouths and words came out, was it the Spirit of God speaking through them?

Before Stephen was stoned, he delivered a powerful speech.  Acts 6:10 says his enemies were not able to stand up against his wisdom or the Spirit by whom he spoke.

In Second Corinthians 13:3, Paul made the audacious reference to Jesus Christ speaking through him.

In First Corinthians 2:13 Paul said that he and the others spoke “not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit…”

Okay, so God spoke through the Old Testament prophets, and through early Christians up to the apostle Paul.  Then it ended there, right?

Ah!  Some of you said yes, and some of you said no! 

Well we know it didn’t end with Paul based on Paul’s own teachings.

But first, let’s go back to Peter’s sermon on the Day of Pentecost.  In Acts 2:17 he said this was taking place, “In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people.  Your sons and daughters will prophesy…”

Prophesy?  What does that mean? 

It means speaking under the influence of the Holy Spirit. 

Jesus said the Holy Spirit would be speaking.  In John 16:13 He said that when the Spirit of truth comes, “He will guide you into all truth.  He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.”

Paul brings up two interesting points in First Corinthians 12.  In verse two he brings up the old criticism of “mute idols.”  Then by contrast he introduces this fascinating topic – people “…speaking by the Spirit of God…”

Then he talks about manifestations of the Spirit in the church, including prophecy as well as messages of wisdom and knowledge.

“But Doug, that all passed away.  God doesn’t speak to us anymore.”

If that is true, then our God is mute, like the idols.  Is that what you are saying?

But First Corinthians 14:39 says “…my brothers, be eager to prophesy…”

Romans 12:6 says some were given the gift of prophesying.

First Corinthians and Ephesians both say that God has placed prophets in the church.

What is a prophet?  Someone who speaks under the influence of the Holy Spirit.

First Corinthians 14:31 says, “For you can all prophesy in turn so that everyone may be instructed and encouraged.”

“Doug, that is ridiculous.  That is all past.  There is no prophesying today.”

Well First Thessalonians 5 says, “Do not put out the Spirit’s fire; do not treat prophecies with contempt.”

“But Doug, you are opening the door to all kinds of nonsense!”

Well First Thessalonians also says, “Test everything.  Hold on to the good.”

First Corinthians 14:29 says, “Two or three prophets should speak, and the others should weigh carefully what is said.”

So yes, we must be wise and mature.  We don’t accept every “word” as a word spoken through the Holy Spirit.  And we definitely use the written Word, the Bible, as our foundation and authority upon which any other “word” must be tested.

But God, the real living God, is not like those mute idols!  The Holy Spirit is alive within us, and He speaks.  And He speaks not only to us, but He speaks through us to others. 

I know this is a tricky area.  I know there are charlatans out there, even liars and thieves.  I know it’s easier to shy away from this than open up to it.

But this is the contrast. 

The other so-called gods are mute, mere scarecrows in a melon patch.

But our God speaks, through His Holy Spirit, as He moves upon His people.


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-

Our Own Animal Stupidity - Apples of Gold - June 22, 2010 -vi-

Click here to listen to the radio version.   

Click here to search the AOG archives.

Apples of Gold
 

Radio Script for June 22, 2010

“Our Own Animal Stupidity”

 

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

Have you read much about the Russian Revolution of 1917?

Listen to these phrases from a newspaper.

“…violence broke out…”

“Crowds hurled bottles and other objects at police…”

“…broke windows…”

“….several…fires were set…”

“…fights broke out…”

“…beaten unconscious…”

 “…police fired....rounds to disperse the crowd…”

“Hundreds of officers…on foot and on horseback moved in to clear streets...”

“…people were arrested…”

Armed officers lined up and marched down the street, wielding batons and demanding that the mob disperse.

Sounds about like those crazy old Russians, doesn’t it?

Oh wait.  That’s from the Los Angeles Times.

And it wasn’t about the Russian Revolution.  It’s what happened after the Lakers game Friday night.*

Why do people do these things?  When starving peasants riot – at least that’s understandable. 

But well-fed, victorious Laker fans?

It reminds me of a phrase used by a Russian writer during their revolution.  Listen to this, written by Maxim Gorky.  Here is the phrase.

“….unable to suppress their own animal stupidity.”

It sounds like Gorky is looking down his nose at the dullards in the street from high up in his penthouse suite.  But Gorky had come from the masses himself, and became prominent not because of wealth, but because of his writing.  So it wasn’t that he was looking down on the people in the street, but instead I think he was identifying something that is inside us all – “animal stupidity.”

Listen to Gorky’s sentence that leads up to that phrase.

He wrote, “All the dark instincts of the crowd, irritated by the disintegration of life and by the lies and filth of politics, will flare up and fume, poisoning us with anger, hate and revenge; people will kill one another, unable to suppress their own animal stupidity.”

Have you ever felt that, your own “animal stupidity”?

Maybe you don’t think you have it.  Maybe you have risen above it.

But under the right conditions, out it pops, our animal stupidity.

I’ve seen this in my own life.  Push the right buttons.  Pull the right levers.  Pour me a cocktail of injustice and malevolence and I will drink it to its dregs and set the house on fire.

On the other hand, I have yet to set the house on fire.  So what’s holding me back?

I think it’s the Spirit of God in my life.  As a Christian, the Holy Spirit has taken up residence within me, and I sense His divine restraint and wisdom pulling me from my animal stupidity.

The phrase “animal stupidity” is not found in the Bible, but I think it’s similar to what the Bible calls our “sinful nature.”

Colossians chapter two uses this phrase, “indulgence of the flesh.” 

There are two popular ways to deal with our sinful nature’s craving for indulgence.  One way is to simply indulge it. 

If you feel like celebrating your team’s victory by breaking windows, starting fires and beating people senseless, just do it. 

Most people don’t agree with going quite that far, but many think it’s okay to indulge their flesh as long as it doesn’t victimize others.

The other popular way to deal with our sin nature’s cravings is through rules.  For example, the Ten Commandments are rules.  The Pharisees had a lot of rules.  Our government has many rules that attempt to curb our sinful indulgences.  If we don’t, we risk arrest.

Rules, rules and more rules, yet what does Colossians 2:23 say?  “These things indeed have an appearance of wisdom…but are of no value against the indulgence of the flesh.”

Rules just aren’t very good at stopping us.  When our sin nature calls, we tend to answer. 

But thank God as Christians we have the Holy Spirit inside us!  When that sin nature calls, the Spirit answers the phone!

And if we are sensitive to the Spirit, He will lead us away from our animal stupidity.  Galatians 5:16 says “…live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature.”

It goes on to talk about a wrestling match between the Spirit and our sinful nature.  “They are in conflict with each other,” it says, “so that you do not do what you want.  But if you are led by the Spirit…”

And that’s the key – being led by the Spirit, being sensitive to the Spirit, tuning in to the voice of the Holy Spirit inside of us.

He will help us say no to our sinful nature. 

He will help us deny the cravings of our flesh.

He will help us rise above our own animal stupidity.


Comments?

E-mail me:  dougapple@wave94.com.

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

*  http://articles.latimes.com/2010/jun/18/local/la-me-0618-lakers-20100618

This is why I believe the gospel of salvation through Christ, and the resulting indwelling of the Holy Spirit, is the key to civil peace.  It’s hard to restrain people from the outside, but God can do His wonders from the inside, restraining us and bringing peace to society. 

But there is still a teamwork between us and God.  He doesn’t move in and take over.  We still have our freedom.  We can blow past the restraining wind of the Spirit.  But the good news is that the Spirit is there, always working with us to bring us into line with God’s ideals, and the more we listen and heed, the better off we are personally, and the better off everyone is around us.

© 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-

Sexual Immorality Among You - Apples of Gold - June 21, 2010 -vi-

Click here to listen to the radio version.   

Click here to search the AOG archives.

Apples of Gold
 

Radio Script for June 21, 2010

“Sexual Immorality Among You”

 

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

“It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you…”

That’s what Paul wrote to the church in Corinth, as you can read for yourself in First Corinthians chapter five.

Sexual immorality is always scandalous, even in the world.  You don’t expect worldly magazines to uphold Christian values, but when there is sexual immorality, they are on it.  Just watch the next time some cheating celebrity gets caught.  It will make the front page of those magazines.

The church in Corinth had their own scandal, and Paul confronted it in First Corinthians five.

First of all, it was not your run-of-the-mill immorality.  Paul said it was a kind not even found among the pagans, and here is how he worded it.

“A man has his father’s wife.”

Due to the way it’s worded, it was probably a stepmother, and she was probably not part of the church, though he was.

So there’s a church member gallivanting about with his dad’s wife; and how did the other church members react?

According to verse two, they were proud!  It doesn’t say why they were proud, but perhaps they thought it showed how gracious and loving they were.  “See?  We accept everyone!”

That’s nice, isn’t it?  We accept everyone. 

But Paul sure had a problem with it.  Instead of pride, Paul said they should have been filled with grief.  And instead of letting him to stay, Paul said he should be expelled from the fellowship.

That’s harsh.  Kick him out for one little mistake?

Again, we are short on details, but it doesn’t appear to be one little mistake.  It’s more like a lifestyle; and he’s not repenting.  He is indulging his sinful nature with wanton disregard for righteousness.

So what should you do with someone like this in your church?  Let’s say you are a church leader and you discover that one of your church members is living in sexual immorality.  What do you do?

Jesus gave us a little outline to follow in Matthew 18.  First of all, you go to that person, one-on-one, and “tell him his fault.” 

Hopefully he will be mature enough to accept the rebuke, repent and turn from his sin.

But if not, Jesus said to grab another person or two and go back.  The extra witnesses turn up the spotlight and can reveal the true nature of the situation.  Now if he repents, good.  You have reclaimed him from sin.

But if not, Jesus gave a third round of action.  Bring the situation before the whole church.  Let everyone know what is going on.  Then maybe the man will understand the seriousness of what he is doing.

But if he doesn’t, even after all that, then it’s time to part ways.  He cannot continue to fellowship in your church if he wants to live in blatant sin.

Kicking someone out of church sounds rash, but you have two goals.

First of all, you are trying to turn that man from sin, for his own good.  You ratchet up the consequences so he will turn around. 

Second, you are trying to keep his attitude from spreading.  Paul said in verse six, “Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump?”  Leaven is yeast that works through the whole batch of dough. 

If you allow blatant sin to continue in the church, it can spread.  Moral standards can fall.  People will think it’s not important and will be less concerned about living by God’s righteous principles.

In verse nine Paul warns them again about not associating with sexually immoral people.  Don’t even eat with them, he said – not talking about the world in general, but about people in the church.

Then he widened the net.  It’s not just the sexually immoral to watch out for, but also people who are greedy, people who are drunkards, people who are swindlers, and people who are slanderers.

Does that mean we check people at the entrance and keep them out of our meetings? 

No.  Everyone is invited.  Come and receive from the Lord.

But when you become part of a local church fellowship or congregation, you have a certain standard to live up to, and you are accountable to the others.  They have the right to confront you about sin, and if you choose to continue in that sin, then they have the right and the responsibility to remove you as a member of that fellowship. 

The church is the body of Christ, and if one part of the body is hurting itself or the others, we must take action.

We must work hard to turn them from their sin, but if they simply will not turn, then the hard thing must be done, and they must be removed from the fellowship.


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 Stitch to Strengthen the Family Fabric - Apples of Gold - June 18, 2010 -vi-

Click here to listen to the radio version.   

Click here to search the AOG archives.

Apples of Gold
 

Radio Script for June 18, 2010

“A Stitch to Strengthen the Family Fabric”

 

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

“You’ll never catch me on Facebook.”

That’s something I hear from older people a lot.

I hear things like, “I hate this text messaging, and what is all this ‘twitter’ nonsense?”

As I explained to one older gentleman this week, here is what it’s all about.

It’s about loving people.

Loving people is our high calling as Christians, and these technologies make it easier to love on people, to connect with them, to be involved in their lives.

Yes, they each have their annoying side, but it’s like anything else.  You take advantage of the strengths and minimize the weaknesses.

In Sunday school, our teacher made an off-hand comment like, “What would we do without our cell phones?”  Many in the class groaned with relief.  They would gladly live without their cell phones.

But for me, living without cell phones would do away with many special moments, such as when my daughter went away to college in northern Illinois and would call me at the most random times, if for no other reason than to just tell me she was walking to class and it was snowing.

Little contacts like that keep people connected.  We are supposed to love each other, but it’s hard to say you’re loving people if you aren’t connecting with them.  Have you ever had someone tell you they love you…but they never contact you?  Ever? 

When I was a kid, my dad’s parents lived in California.  It was a big deal when they called, and they had to keep it short due to the high cost of long-distance.

Now we have free minutes all weekend!  You can talk until your phone dies!

This week some of my family members have been e-mailing each other, where one person replies to everyone else.  The e-mail gets longer and longer as each person adds stories to the stack.

In the old days that wasn’t possible, but now it’s the easiest thing in the world.

On Facebook, my dad can write a status in the morning, my sisters can comment during the day, and I can chime in at night, everyone posting at their own leisure.

Father’s Day is Sunday, so let me honor my dad by saying how awesome he is at using technology to connect the family.

And it’s kind of funny, because I never thought of my dad as Mr. Technology.  I never asked him why, but in recent years he’s bought a computer, a digital camera and various accessories.  He signed up for e-mail and learned how to use the internet.  And when Facebook came along, he hopped on for the ride. 

Now I’m laughing because he told me the other day that he turns off his cell phone in the evening.  Who does that?  But if you want to text him during the day, great!

But my point is, Dad has become very adept at using technology to keep the family connected.  For example, he found a website for family things, filled out the information, and now we get a weekly Apple family update listing all the upcoming birthdays and anniversaries.  No more excuses for missing special days, thanks to Dad.

He uses the internet to research our family genealogy – and shares with us his discoveries.

He takes a ton of pictures (after all, digital pictures are “free”) and he creates photo slide shows with music and creative captions, then e-mails them to us or posts them on Facebook.

Now he is rooting through old family albums, scanning pictures (yes, he also has a scanner), and sharing those great memories that were formerly buried out of sight.  Now we all can see them – and another stitch is sewn to strengthen the family fabric.

And that’s the picture I want to leave with you today.  A family is like a piece of fabric.  Over time it wears thin and eventually falls apart, unless diligent efforts are made to keep stitching it together.

That is what my dad does.  He uses technology to add stitches that hold the family fabric together.

So Dad, with Father’s Day coming up, I want to thank you and honor you for doing this.

And the rest of you, if you tend to have a negative view of technology, maybe it’s time to stop and think about it from a different perspective.

We are called to love people, and that means connecting with people.  Today’s technology makes it easy, so why not take advantage of it?

So think about this today. 

In what ways can technology strengthen the fabric of your family?


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-

Trust in the Lord and Lock Your Doors - Apples of Gold - June 16, 2010 -vi-

Click here to listen to the radio version.   

Click here to search the AOG archives.

Apples of Gold
 

Radio Script for June 16, 2010

“Trust in the Lord and Lock Your Doors”

 

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

People I know were robbed yesterday.

Their house was broken into and valuables were stolen.

Thankfully no one was hurt, and hopefully justice will be swift.

But being robbed really messes with your head.  You feel violated and vulnerable.  You kick yourself for things you might have done differently, and you feel like kicking the life out of the jerk who did it.

And as a Christian there is always the question, “Where on earth was God?”  You might think, “Come on, I’m faithful, I’m good and kind, I pray, I’m a better Christian than most people on the planet, and what good did it do me?  I still got robbed.”

Well I know this won’t be comforting, but people get robbed every day.  We just don’t think much about it until it happens to us.  So if we want to get indignant about robbery, we need to be indignant everyday on behalf of all victims.

“But Doug, I was trusting God to protect me and look what happened.”

I understand what you are saying, so here is a lesson I learned early in my Christian life. 

I was fresh out of college, living in an apartment complex; and I had great faith that life was wonderful with God on my side.  I didn’t worry about things like locking my car or my apartment.  I had a bicycle as well, and no need to lock it up.  God’ll protect it.  Like the song says, I had “angels watching over me!”

Then I came home one day and my bike was gone.

I was stunned.  What’s up with this?  How could this happen?

I knew a few of the kids around the complex so I started asking questions, and sure enough, they pointed out a boy who had taken my bike for a joy ride and left it in a drainage ditch.  I gave him a quick lecture and made him go get it, which he gladly and nervously did.

And then it seemed as if the Lord was speaking to me, teaching me a little lesson that went something like this.  “Yes, trust in Me, and yes, lock your doors.”

It reminds me of Nehemiah 2:20, when Nehemiah was preparing to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.  Listen to what he said.  “The God of heaven Himself will prosper us; therefore we His servants will arise and build…”

See the two elements at work?  Nehemiah had faith that God would take care of them, and because of that faith, they got to work and did their part.

In Psalm 4:8 David wrote, “I will both lie down in peace, and sleep; for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety.”

Yes, David trusted in the Lord to keep him safe; and he kept his sword sharp and his mighty men battle ready.

In Philippians 4:19 Paul said “…my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”  And in Acts 20:33 Paul said “…these hands of mine have supplied my own needs…”

Well which is it? 

It’s both! 

And it’s both when it comes to protection from things like robbery.  Trust in the Lord and lock your doors.

“But God is supposed to protect me!”

Yeah, and that’s what the devil told Jesus in Matthew chapter four, throw Yourself down and the angels will protect You.  And what did Jesus say?  “Do not put the Lord your God to the test.”

So take precautions.  Lock your doors.  Don’t leave valuables out in plain sight.  Don’t leave your iPod on the dash of your car, for goodness sake.  Don’t leave your purse in the shopping cart while you run to the next aisle.  Don’t post on Facebook that you are going to be out of the country for six weeks. 

Make yourself a difficult target for thieves:  a barking dog, a home security system, motion lights.  Don’t run around by yourself.  Get to know your neighbors.  Join the neighborhood watch program, or start one.

And think of the really big picture.  Tomorrow’s thieves are just children today.  Get involved and make a difference in the lives of some at-risk kids.  Become a Big Brother or Big Sister.  Join a mentoring program.  Volunteer at Sunday school. 

Let me be blunt.  Helping a kid today may keep him from robbing you tomorrow.

And if you have been robbed, don’t let that rob you of your faith.  Keep seeking God and find out what you can gain from the experience, dreadful though it may be.  Let it open your eyes to what is going on in the world, and open your ears to what you may be called to do about it. 

And forgive the criminal.  Press charges, yes.  Hold them accountable, yes.  Do what it takes to shut down their crime and spare their next victim, but don’t forget to forgive.

Robbery is a mess, and unfortunately people do it every day, even to people of faith.

Don’t let that diminish your faith, but keep in mind that it’s a combination of faith and action, a combination I boil down to this little phrase.

Trust in the Lord and lock your doors.


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-

Navigating the Negev - Apples of Gold - June 14, 2010 -vi-

Click here to listen to the radio version.   

Click here to search the AOG archives.

Apples of Gold
 

Radio Script for June 14, 2010

“Navigating the Negev”

 

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

“I’d like to share an uplifting moment in my life…”

That’s what the e-mail said, and the writer added this in parentheses:  (there have been so few of them lately.)

Is that how you feel today, like the uplifting moments in your life are few and far between?

Maybe you feel like you are wandering aimlessly in the desert, lost in a wilderness.

Well right now let’s put a picture to that feeling.  It’s a place in southern Israel called the Negev.

Have you ever heard the phrase, “a dry and weary land”?  That would be the Negev.

Have you ever heard of Bedouins?  Bedouins live in the Negev.

Abraham and his family spent time in the Negev, but it’s not exactly a place of prosperity.

Why not? 

Well have you heard of the Sahara Desert?  That’s pretty much most of northern Africa, and the Negev is just east of the Sahara.

You want to know the average rainfall from June through October in the Negev?

Zero.

In Hebrew, the root word for Negev simply means “dry.”

Isaiah 30:6 calls the Negev “a land of hardship and distress, of lions and … snakes…”

Maybe that sounds like your life today, a land of hardship and distress.  Your life is the Negev.

If so, then listen to this prayer in Psalm 126.  Verse four says, “Restore our fortunes, O LORD, like streams in the Negev.”

Maybe you have heard that before, but now that you know about the Negev, that verse can really come to life.  It’s a real reversal of fortunes to come across a stream in the Negev!

Maybe that’s what you need today.  If your life is dry and weary like the Negev, you need some refreshing water.

In John chapter four Jesus brought up an interesting concept.  He called it “living water.”

He was sitting by a well, talking to a woman who had come to draw water, and this is what He said.  “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst.  But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.”

Have you ever seen a real spring of water?  I’ve seen several, and right now I’m thinking of Current River in Missouri.  At its head it just gushes fresh water, seemingly right out of the rock.  It’s cold and clear and never stops. 

That’s what I think about when I think of living water springing up inside me. 

In John chapter seven Jesus brings it up again.  In verse 38 He said, “Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.”

The next verse explains it a little.  “By this He meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were later to receive.  Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.”

There is no life without water.  If you’re traveling the Negev, and you don’t find a source of water, eventually you are going to die.

Something similar is going on inside of us, in our soul perhaps.  Without Christ we are living in a spiritual Negev.  It’s dry and weary and burdensome.

I read a blurb last week about one of the young female pop superstars.  It said she was battling depression.  Well that’s about the standard for life in the spiritual Negev.  This young woman seems to have it all, fame and fortune and talent to burn.  And yet she feels sad and broken and depressed. 

Physically we must have water, and spiritually we need living water, which is the Holy Spirit. 

Without the living water, it doesn’t matter how good things are in this old world, life still feels shallow and void. 

But with the living water, we can constantly be refreshed, even when our circumstances aren’t so great.

Jesus told the woman at the well that if she would have simply asked Him, He would have given her living water.

And in John seven He said that whoever believes in Him would have streams of living water flowing from within.

So is your life dry and weary?  Are you navigating the Negev with no end in sight?

Then turn to Jesus.  Draw near to Him and receive from Him. 

Be filled with the Holy Spirit, and find that source for constant refreshment.

Ask of Him, and He will fill you with unending streams of living water, bubbling up into everlasting 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-

The Masquerade - Apples of Gold - June 10, 2010 -vi-

Click here to listen to the radio version.   

Click here to search the AOG archives.

Apples of Gold
 

Radio Script for June 10, 2010

“The Masquerade”

 

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

Masquerade is a fun word.

It’s like a combination of mask and parade. 

A masquerade is like a fun party where everyone dresses up and wears masks.  It makes mingling more interesting because you don’t know who you are talking to.

Most people don’t like that, however, so there are few masquerades.  We prefer to know exactly who we are talking to.

The word masquerade shows up in the Bible, in Second Corinthians 11.  It talks about people who “masquerade as servants of righteousness.”

This is someone who wears the mask of a servant of God.  They appear to be a real Christian – but it’s just a masquerade.  They aren’t the real thing.

How can you tell the difference?

Here is one thing to look for.  Are they pursuing personal righteousness?

If someone claims to be a Christian but tells crude jokes, it might be a masquerade.

If someone claims to be a Christian but makes racist comments, it might be a masquerade.

This week in Tallahassee a man of God was waiting for an elevator.  Then he saw a woman he found quite attractive.  She got in the elevator ahead of him, and he realized that if he got in, they would be in there alone.

No big deal, right?

Well it was for this man.  He said he stepped back and let her go alone. 

Why?

Because, as a married man, he didn’t want to be alone in that little box with a woman he found attractive. 

You might think that’s a little over the top, but I think that’s a man who is pursuing personal righteousness.

These are things people do when they are pursuing personal righteousness.  That helps you know their Christianity is not a masquerade.

Here’s another thing to look for.  Follow the money. 

Paul warned Timothy about people who think that godliness is a means to financial gain.  Some people will masquerade as a servant of righteousness for the money. 

If they are selfish and pour out the money on themselves, it might be a masquerade.

Another thing to look for is pride versus humility.  A real servant of righteousness will be humble.  The Bible warns against thinking of ourselves more highly than we ought.  Jesus said to take the last seat at the banquet. 

If someone seems full of themselves, their Christianity might be a masquerade.

I say might be a masquerade because we have to leave room for immaturity. 

I saw someone stumbling and staggering down the street yesterday.

“Oh, they were drunk,” you might say.

But I neglected to tell you they were only two years old.

So it’s possible that someone is a real Christian but missing the mark due to immaturity, not due to their faith being a masquerade.

But here’s the thing.  If they are immature like that, they should not be in Christian leadership.

That’s what this issue is really about.  Christian leaders who are masquerading as servants of righteousness.

A Christian leader should display more godliness than worldliness.  What is their passion?  What comes out of their mouth all the time? 

A Christian leader will display more self-sacrifice than self-service.  He will have a servant’s heart.  He will be quick to serve you, and reluctant to being served.

The Bible warns us to be on the lookout for leaders like this, but we also need to take a close look at our own life.  I must ask, “What kind of Christian am I?” 

I need to look at myself.  Do I keep my language clean?  Am I generous?  Am I humble?  Am I pursuing personal righteousness?

We need to ask these questions of our leaders, and we need to ask them of ourselves, because we don’t want to be found guilty of what Paul wrote about in Second Corinthians 11.

We don’t want to be one of those people who “masquerade as servants of righteousness.”


Comments?

E-mail me:  dougapple@wave94.com.

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


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

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

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

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