How Are You Doing in These Four Areas? - Apples of Gold - August 11, 2010 -vi-

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Apples of Gold
 

Radio Script for August 11, 2010

“How Are You Doing in These Four Areas?”

 

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

Four characteristics of a servant of the Lord.

That’s what I’m going to share with you today, taken directly from Second Timothy 2:24.

As a Christian, you are a servant of the Lord, and these character traits should be alive and obvious in your life.

Consider this a checklist or a measuring stick.  You can measure yourself against these four characteristics and see how you are doing.

Second Timothy 2:24 begins like this, “… a servant of the Lord must not quarrel…”

That means there is no bickering or disputing.  There is no “war of words.” 

The servant of the Lord is not contentious. 

Have you ever met someone who just seemed contentious?  You say something, and they always jump to the other side of the issue. 

I had a man tell me one time, “I’m just playing the devil’s advocate.”  I said, “Well, you have all the qualifications.”

Some people just like to debate and bicker.  Their day isn’t complete until they have picked a little fight with someone.

A room may be peaceful when they walk in, but when they walk out there is a good chance that the atmosphere will be buzzing with strife.

This is not a characteristic of a servant of the Lord.  The servant of the Lord “must not quarrel,” the Bible says. 

Do you find yourself in a lot of contentious situations?  Is there strife between you and a lot of people?  Maybe you think it’s them, but you need to think about this. 

Maybe it’s you.

The second characteristic of a servant of the Lord found in Second Timothy 2:24 is this.  He must be “gentle to all.”

Have you ever met someone who was gentle to all?  They are such a pleasure to be around!  I’m not talking about weakness or ignorance, I’m talking about gentleness.

To be gentle is to be Christlike.  Jesus said, “I am gentle and humble in heart.”

Second Corinthians 10:1 talks about the meekness and gentleness of Christ.

Galatians 5:23 says that a fruit of the Spirit is gentleness.  As the Holy Spirit has His way inside of us, we grow in gentleness.

Gentleness sounds like something for women maybe, or children, but Paul said in First Thessalonians 2:7 that he and the other men, when they were in Thessalonica, were as gentle as a mother with her own baby.  Repeatedly Paul said this was a prerequisite for church leadership – they must be gentle.

So…are you gentle?  Are you growing more gentle as time passes? 

Gentleness is a mark of a true servant of the Lord.

The third characteristic is the ability to teach.  Now that may not sound like a character trait.  That may sound more like a profession, for people with special training; but there it is, the Lord’s servant must be able to teach.

Actually, teaching can be quite simple.  You impart information in a way that the other person “gets” it. 

I’ve heard it said that if you know enough to know it yourself, you know enough to teach it to someone else.

This is something all Christians should be prepared to do.  If you don’t think you can teach anyone, then it’s time to step to the next level of spiritual maturity.

And the fourth characteristic of the servant of the Lord, according to Second Timothy 2:24, is patience.  The Greek dictionary I looked at said “patient of all ills and wrongs.”

So how are you doing on patience? 

Patience is a hallmark of the Christian. 

God Himself is patient, and is called the “God of patience.”

Patience is a fruit of the Spirit, and the more we allow the Spirit to work in us, the more patient we will be. 

If you think you are quite mature, but you are impatient, you are mistaken.  The thermometer of your maturity will go no higher than your level of patience.

Our Lord has great patience, the Bible says, and we are to be like Him.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful to be around people like this all the time?  Wouldn’t it make each day so nice?

Well there is little you can do about everyone else, but you can grow in maturity yourself, under the guiding hand of the Holy Spirit. 

And Second Timothy 2:24 can be a good measuring stick of how you’re doing – for the Lord’s servant must not quarrel, but be gentle to all, able to teach, and patient.


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 on Earth Are Treasures in Heaven? - Apples of Gold - August 10, 2010 -vi-

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Apples of Gold
 

Radio Script for August 10, 2010

“What on Earth Are Treasures in Heaven?”

 

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

When my children were students at a Christian school, we did a fundraiser called Pennies from Heaven.  We did it in February because, you know, Abe Lincoln is on the penny.

One key to a successful school fundraiser is to do it annually.  That gets people in the groove and they know what to expect from year to year.

So once we got it rolling, families would store up their change all year long, then bring it in for the fundraiser.

That’s a simple concept, isn’t it?  Store up your pennies at home all year, then give them to the school each February.

Now keep that in mind as we look at something Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount.  In Matthew 6 He said, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.  But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy and where thieves do not break in and steal.”

Storing up – a simple concept, right?  I have a plastic box at home where I store up various hardware like nails and screws for simple household projects.  Whenever I do a job, I buy more than I need and store it up for the next job. 

But Jesus said to store up treasures in heaven.  He took the simple “storing up” concept and blew my mind with it.  “Storing up” I get.  But storing up treasures in heaven?

First of all, I don’t know where heaven is, so how can I go put things there?  And what exactly am I supposed to put there?  The word “treasures” is kind of vague.

Fortunately Jesus brought up “treasure in heaven” once again, while teaching His disciples in Luke chapter 12.  He said, “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom.  Sell your possessions and give to the poor.  Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys.”

It doesn’t say where heaven is, and it doesn’t define the treasure, but at least it gives a concrete, earthly action.  He told them to sell their possessions and give to the poor. 

So giving what we have to help others in need – that’s the only concrete action I see there that leads to treasure in heaven.

Jesus brought up “treasure in heaven” again, during a conversation with a rich young man in Matthew 19.  He told him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven.  Then come, follow Me.”

Once again there is this one concrete earthly action – giving what we have to help others in need.

This idea of storing up treasures comes up again in First Timothy chapter six.  It’s a message aimed at people who are well supplied with worldly goods, and here is what Paul told Timothy to tell them. 

“Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share.  In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age…”

Again we find the same idea – giving what we have to help others in need.  We are to be generous and willing to share.

Jesus told us specifically to store up treasures in heaven, but how do we do that?

We aren’t given step-by-step instructions, but here is what appears to be taking place.  When we make certain “transactions” here on earth, a transaction also takes place in heaven.

For example, when we give to someone in need here on earth, it appears to be recorded as some kind of credit in our favor in heaven.  The more we give to those in need here, the larger our credit, or our “store of treasures” becomes in heaven.

Sometimes we only see things from a worldly perspective.  “If I give this away, then I will have less.”  But the heavenly perspective is, give it away, and in return you will have treasure in heaven.

Think of Jesus’ parable in Matthew 13.  He said, “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field.  When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.”

The man gave up all he had, because something much better was waiting at the end of the transaction.

That’s what the kingdom of heaven is like, Jesus said. 

And I think that’s what storing up treasures in heaven is like.  We give up things we currently have, giving them to those in need, and on the other end of the transaction we receive treasures in heaven.

The Bible doesn’t give us great detail on the subject, but here is what I believe.  When we give to others in need, it is not a loss for our account.  It’s more like a transfer, from an unprotected worldly account, to a fully protected heavenly account, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.


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-

Life So Full That Hope Is Not Necessary - Apples of Gold - August 9, 2010 -vi-

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Apples of Gold
 

Radio Script for August 9, 2010

“Life So Full That Hope Is Not Necessary”

 

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

Boys left alone on an island.

That’s what we find in the classic novel “Lord of the Flies.”

They were stranded, far from home and family, with no real hope of being rescued, and yet they did not quickly slip into despair.

Why not?

Because they were too busy. 

The author said that life was so full that “hope was not necessary and therefore forgotten.”

They were boys, turned loose on an island!  There was much adventure and discovery.

Life was full, so hope was not necessary.

I love that observation, and I think it applies to our world today.

We can fill our lives with work and play and entertainment.  We have access to more information than ever in the history of the world.  There are more videos on Youtube than you can watch in a dozen lifetimes.  Keeping up with the news is impossible because there is new news every minute.  And thanks to Twitter, you can keep up-to-the-second with all your friends as well as your favorite celebrities. 

With our cell phones and text messages and Facebook and iPods and iPads, with cable and satellite and internet and now DVD’s coming out of soda machines, our lives are literally overflowing.

I think many Americans are like the boys on the island.  Their lives are so full that hope is not necessary and therefore forgotten.

But…I think that only lasts for a while.  At some point a nagging suspicion seeps in and says, “There’s got to be more than this.”

Well the good news is, there is more than this!

One of the hallmarks of Christianity is hope.

First, there is hope in the resurrection of the dead, as Paul taught in Acts 23:6.  In Romans 8:23 he said that our bodies would be redeemed someday.

Then there is the hope of eternal life, as it says in Titus 3:7.

First Thessalonians 4:13 says that, due to the resurrection of the dead and the hope of eternal life, we do not need to despair when a loved one dies.  It says we do not have to “grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope.”

And here is the hope, that one day all of us believers will be together forever, “and so shall we ever be with the Lord,” it says in verse 17.

When a person becomes a Christian, when Christ becomes his savior, he is born into a living hope.  First Peter one says, “In His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade – kept in heaven for you…”

So not only do we have hope for the resurrection of the dead into life eternal, but we have hope for a heavenly inheritance.

Now listen to Romans 15:13.  I think this is a good description of the hope available to Christians.  It says, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

Not only do we have hope, but we can be overflowing with hope through the Holy Spirit inside of us. 

Hebrews 6:19 says, “We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.”

Colossians 1:27 offers this descriptive phrase, “Christ in you, the hope of glory.”

And get this!  It’s not because we are so good or so holy.  It’s because of the wonderful grace of God!

First Peter 1:13 instructs us to set our hope fully on the grace to be given us at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

My study bible says this about hope.  “It is the assurance of eternal life guaranteed by the present possession of the Holy Spirit.”

Yes, we live in a busy world; and busy people can live for a while without even thinking about hope. 

It’s like the boys in “Lord of the Flies.”  Life is so full that hope is not necessary.

But when there is a break in the busyness, then what? 

Then there is good news!  Through Christ we have hope:  the hope of eternal life and the hope of a heavenly inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade, through the grace of God.

And this hope overflows inside of us through the Holy Spirit, and becomes an anchor for our soul, firm and secure.


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-

It's Hard to Come in Contact and Still Be the Same - Apples of Gold - August 6, 2010 -vi-

Click here to listen to the radio version.   

Click here to search the AOG archives.

Apples of Gold
 

Radio Script for August 6, 2010

“It’s Hard to Come in Contact and Still Be the Same”

 

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

“I was playing church.”

That’s what she said, sharing her testimony with a live audience.

She was talking about a time when she was only 12 years old, in 1950 North Carolina.

Yes, you might say she was just a kid, but she already understood that there was real Christianity and “play” Christianity, and that hers was the “play” kind.

Her family went to a rambunctious church where there was jumping and shouting.  Well she would jump and shout along with them . . . during the service.  But then she would come back home and be rebellious.  She would talk back, she said.  She wouldn’t do the dishes or bring the clothes in off the line.

“I didn’t want to do anything,” she said, and finally her mom said, “I am sick of you going down to that church and playing with God.”

Now remember, this was long before video games and cell phones and iPods.  So one day while at home, with nothing better to do, they decided to go out back and just for fun, create their own little mock church service.

She and her sister made up the congregation, and their brother was the pastor.  He put on some glasses to fit the part, and they sat there on the bottom step, which was their church pew.

Well he was preachin’ away, and like the pastor of their church might do, he said, “I want you to jump up and shout Jesus three times!”

This doesn’t sound like a good story, does it?  Kids mocking their pastor and fellow church members.

And to top it off, throwing the name Jesus around loosely. 

Acts 15:26 says that men have “risked their lives” for the name of Jesus Christ, and these kids were tossing it around in vain.

Acts 19:17 says that the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified and held in high honor.

Come on, Christian, can you feel the Spirit stirring within you as you hear about the Lord Jesus?

First John 3:23 commands us to believe in the name of God’s Son, Jesus Christ.

John 20:31 says that by believing we have life through His name.

First Corinthians 6:11 says we are “justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.”

Acts 2:38 says to repent and be baptized “in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins…”

Second Thessalonians 1:12 indicates that the name of our Lord Jesus should be glorified in us.

In Acts 3:6 Peter said, “In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.”

That name of Jesus is a dangerous name.  The early church was commanded and ordered not to speak at all in that name.

But what did they do?  They couldn’t keep it to themselves!  Instead of being quiet, they spoke and preached boldly in the name of Jesus.

Colossians 3:17 says to “do all in the name of the Lord Jesus…”

This is not a name you toy with.  This is a name that is different than any other name.

Philippians 2 says, “Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

That is the truth and the power and the glory of the name of Jesus!

And yet there were those kids, toying around with it, treating it like a game, shouting it out like “touchdown” or “bingo.”

Her brother said, “Jump up and shout Jesus three times!”  So she jumped up and shouted it out to the best of her acting ability, one time, then two times.

While sharing her testimony she paused for a moment and said, “Let me tell you something.  It’s hard to come in contact with Jesus and still be the same.”

“I don’t care who you are,” she said.  “You can be the chiefest of sinners, but you will never be the same.”

Then she went back to her story, “When I jumped up the third time, something got a hold of me, and I couldn’t sit back down.”

Her sister thought she had taken the mocking to a new level, so she ran inside and said, “Mama, Shirley Ann is out there playing with the Lord.”

So her mother went to the door and looked outside, and Shirley said, “She saw me shouting and dancing all over the back yard, tears just running down my face, and she said, ‘She ain’t playing this time.”

And that is the testimony of the great Gospel singer Shirley Caesar, who has now been a servant of the Lord Jesus Christ for 60 years.

Yes, it’s hard to come in contact with Jesus and still be the same.


Comments?

E-mail me:  dougapple@wave94.com.

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

(close with audio of Shirley Caesar testifying during the song “I Remember Mama.”)


© 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 Oil Spill - Apples of Gold - August 4, 2010 -vi-

Click here to listen to the radio version.   

Click here to search the AOG archives.

Apples of Gold
 

Radio Script for August 4, 2010

“The Oil Spill”

 

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

Any run-of-the-mill, self-respecting bacteria love to eat oil.

That’s what Dr. Christopher Reddy said on National Public Radio.*

He was talking about the oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, and guess what?  He said that a lot of that oil is going to be literally eaten by bacteria, by tiny little microorganisms. 

He said, “It’s equivalent to butter with its high caloric content.”  They love it!

One announcer said that some people are going to the Gulf and asking, “Where are those millions of gallons of oil?”

Well it’s like asking where all the hot dogs are after free wiener day at Doak Campbell.  They were devoured by hungry organisms.

Today’s Wall Street Journal describes how “dispersants” are being sprayed on the oil to break it down, making it easier for the microbes to eat it up.**

No, this isn’t the total solution to the oil spill, but what a picture!  At first maybe you imagined the oil being there forever, ruining everything, like permanent wet paint in your house.  But then comes the bacteria, literally eating the oil right out of the water.

Now listen to this.  It seems to me like that is how the Holy Spirit deals with sin in my life.

As a young Christian, believe it or not, all the sin was not instantly taken away from me.  Life was much better, but sin was still in there somewhere, trying to mess things up.

To me, sin is like the oil spill.  It’s black and messy and chokes out life.  It’s hard to contain.  You put a cap on it, but it spews up somewhere else.

So as Christians, what can be done about the oil spill of sin inside of us?

That’s where the Holy Spirit comes in!  Second Corinthians 1:22 says that God has put His Spirit in our hearts. 

Ephesians 3:16 talks about His Spirit making us stronger in our “inner man.”

Ephesians 3:20 talks about God’s power “that is at work within us.”

God is working inside us to make us better! 

Philippians 1:6 says “…He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion…”

Notice that the work was not completed immediately, but will be carried on to completion, “until the day of Christ Jesus.”

Philippians 2:13 says, “…it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.”

This is what I have witnessed in my own life.  All sin was not instantly removed from me, but here is what it’s like.  It’s like the Holy Spirit is slowly devouring the sin inside me.

Just like the bacteria eats the oil, the Holy Spirit seems to be eating the sin.

No, the Bible doesn’t exactly say that, but it does say that God’s Spirit lives inside me and is working to make me better!

And that means getting rid of the sin.

Romans 8:13 talks about putting to death the misdeeds of the body “by the Spirit.”  It talks about being led by the Spirit instead of living according to the sinful nature.

I don’t want to be led by the sinful nature, but I can tell it’s there.  It wants to suck me into the oily darkness, but as I grow in the Lord, I see that oil dispersing.  Things that used to try to get their hooks into me aren’t even there anymore. 

It happened over time, as I continue to seek the Lord and His will in my life, as I pray and fast and draw near to God and try to obey and repent when I don’t and ask to be filled with more of His Spirit.

Maybe I don’t word it right, but I just want more of God in my life; more God and less sin.

I don’t know the exact dynamics, or the “cause and effect,” but this is what I have experienced.  Over time, the oil disaster of sin in my soul is being devoured.  It’s going away, and I see it being eaten up by the Holy Spirit.

And now listen to this.  I think of the Word of God, the Bible, as a “dispersant.” 

First Thessalonians 2:13 contains this phrase, “…the word of God, which is at work in you who believe.”

The Word has a way of breaking down and dispersing sin.  It takes that big oily mass and breaks it apart for the Holy Spirit to move in and devour.

No, this isn’t hard core theology!  It’s just what I’ve observed over the last quarter century of my walk with the Lord.

The black oily sin wasn’t instantly removed, but it has been consistently broken down and taken away over the years, and places where the blackness was obvious, now it’s not even there.

And I’m looking forward to many more years as God, who began His good work in me, will be faithful to complete it until the great and glorious day of the Lord Jesus Christ.


Comments?

E-mail me:  dougapple@wave94.com.

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

*  http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=128876055
**  http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704499604575407530141312808.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

© 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-

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

Click here to listen to the radio version.   

Click here to search the AOG archives.

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 
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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
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