You Are a Trajectory Changer - Apples of Gold - October 13, 2010 -vi-

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Apples of Gold
 

Radio Script for October 13, 2010

“You Are a Trajectory Changer”

 

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

You don’t have to change the world.

If you think you do, you are going to burn out into a little smoldering ash heap of guilt and failure.

I’m not telling you to give up, not at all; but there is only so much you can do.

Think about this.  Jesus Himself did not live at a breathless pace.  He never went to Rome.  He didn’t shake every hand and kiss every baby.  He even did things like go to the Pool of Bethesda, heal one man, then duck out of there because it was so crowded.

He did His part, and that was it.  He finished the works the Father had given Him to finish.

And that’s all you can do – your part – but have you ever had the feeling that your part wasn’t enough?

Well it isn’t, and that’s okay.  Just keep doing your part, let others do their part, and that’s how the work gets done.  That’s how the world is changed.

Here’s an interesting phrase:  Apollos watered.  That’s what it says in First Corinthians 3:6.  It says that Paul planted, Apollos watered, but God made it grow.

Apollos didn’t have to do it all.  In that verse he simply watered.  He added to someone else’s labor.

Listen to what Jesus said in John 4:38, “…others have labored and you have entered into their labors.”

None of us started this work.  We have simply entered into the labor of others.  And if the Lord tarries, we will eventually leave our labor behind for someone else.

The problem with just doing your part is that it’s hard to see the effect.  You do something, then step back and look and what do you see?  You went to a lot of effort and the world seems no different.

For example, have you ever organized a vacation Bible school?  It’s a ton of work, with volunteers and curriculum and crafts and snacks, and when it’s over you collapse in a heap and what do you get for it?  A list of improvements for next year.

The next day you open the newspaper and the world is the same.  You worked like a maniac and nothing changed.

Well that’s not true, so let me give you a different way to look at it.

You are a “trajectory changer.”

Have you ever fired a gun at a target?  It’s not as easy as it looks.  I mean, you aim, and it looks like you are going to hit the bulls-eye, but then you miss.  How come?

It has to do with “trajectory.”  If you move the gun ever so slightly, it changes the location of the bullet radically by the time it gets to the target.  A tiny change of trajectory at the point of origination causes a big change of trajectory at the point of destination.

Or think about the moon launch.  We have to launch the space capsule at just the right time in just the right direction at just the right speed in order to hit the moon.  A slight change of trajectory on earth can cause you to miss the moon by miles!

This is how I see my work as a Christian.  I am a trajectory changer.  When someone comes in contact with me, I hope to nudge their trajectory closer to God. 

When those kids come to your vacation Bible school, you are a trajectory changer.  You use the time you have with them to give them a serious nudge in the direction of Jesus. 

Those kids may not wake up the next day looking radically different, but that’s always hard to tell at the point of origin.  It’s only as time goes by that you notice a change in trajectory.

In Jesus’ Parable of the Sower, the Word is tossed out like seeds.  It’s hard to tell what will come of them until some time has gone by, but the sower’s job is to keep sowing.

There’s a woman in Tallahassee who is a trajectory changer and a sower of the Word.  Listen to what she does.  Have you ever eaten at a Chinese restaurant and received a little slip of paper with a “fortune” on it?  Well she puts the Word on fancy little scrolls of paper, ties them up in a bow, and they pass them out at certain restaurants. 

It’s a lot of work, and it may not seem worth it if you are looking for a radical change; but here’s the deal.  She is a trajectory changer and every time someone reads her little scrolls they are nudged just a little more in the direction of God.

Jesus told us to let our light shine before men, so let your light shine. 

He told us to do good deeds, so do good deeds.

Love your neighbor.  Speak the truth in love.  Go and make disciples.

And if you feel like it’s not enough, if you feel like you just aren’t changing the world, remember, you can only do your part.  That may not lead to a change in tomorrow’s headlines, but it will do this. 

It will change the trajectory of everyone you come in contact with.  It may seem small, but it can lead to big change over time.

So keep this in mind as you do your little part in the body of Christ.

You are a trajectory changer.


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-

Stunning Advice in Today's Newspaper - Apples of Gold - October 12, 2010 -vi-

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Apples of Gold
 

Radio Script for October 12, 2010

“Stunning Advice in Today’s Newspaper”

 

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

I’m going to have to give a little parental guidance warning on today’s Apples of Gold as I discuss an issue that is definitely not for children, even though it was printed up big and bold in today’s newspapers all over the country.

And that’s the disturbing part.  This advice could be read by millions of people who think it is good advice because it is so widespread.  There will certainly be many young people who read this advice and decide to live by it.

I’m especially disturbed on behalf of young women in this country.  I am raising three daughters, and I’m disturbed on behalf of them.  I’m disturbed on behalf of my nieces and future granddaughters.  Where is this country headed when advice like this is considered good, family-friendly, print-it-in-your-local-newspaper-for-all-to-read advice?

The advice column I’m referring to is Annie’s Mailbox, which took the place of Ann Landers.  You might find it in your local newspaper next to the comics or the crossword puzzle; I mean, how all-American can you get?

In today’s column a female wrote in about her boyfriend.  She was deeply disturbed because her boyfriend of two years revealed that he had been having…now is the time to turn off the radio if you have children with you.  She was disturbed because her boyfriend was having…rape fantasies.

Now what would you tell your daughter if she told you that?  Mom, what advice would you give her – because that’s what she is looking for, some good old-fashioned motherly wisdom.

But she can’t go to her own mother or other family members, she said, because of the nature of the topic.  She would not be comfortable discussing it with them, so she reached out to Kathy Mitchell and Marcy Sugar, the ladies who write Annie’s Mailbox.

Kathy and Marcy look like they would give good motherly advice.  In their byline photos they appear to be middle-aged white women, perhaps soccer moms with great treasure troves of wisdom.

So when I read their advice, I was shocked that it was even written by women.  It sounded like advice from a guy in a trench coat outside a dirty bar.

Now I ask again, what advice would you give your daughter if she said that her boyfriend was having rape fantasies?

I know what I would say.  Get out of Dodge!  I would say, “Dump him, as fast as you can.”

An overreaction?  Well listen, what kind of a guy do you want your daughter to be with?  What if he said he had daydreams about robbing banks?  What if he fantasized about cutting throats?  What if he simply said, “You know what I think about a lot?  Not that I would ever do it or anything, but I sure think a lot about punching girls in the nose.”

Even daydreams about punching girls in the nose is worth dumping him for.  Is that too hard to see?

But rape is not even on the same planet as a punch in the nose.  It is one of the worst crimes known to man. 

And now you hear that it is a common fantasy of your daughter’s boyfriend.  What is your advice?

Well here is the advice that was given in newspapers across the nation today.  They advised her not to overreact, that it was not uncommon, and that her boyfriend doesn’t really want to hurt her.  It’s just what turns him on.

I was stunned.  I had to reread it.  I couldn’t believe that two women would take it so lightly.  But they weren’t done.  They had one more incredible suggestion.

This is going to blow your mind.  And remember, this isn’t some sleazy rag passed out in dark alleys in the inner city.  It’s not a dirty website dispensing insanity to everyone who drops by.  This is in community newspapers large and small for all to read, right there in the family fun section of the paper.

Also keep in mind that this woman was disturbed by her boyfriend’s revelation.  She was so disturbed that she looked to see if he was on the national sex offender registry.  That is how much it creeped her out.

And yet what was Kathy and Marcy’s suggestion?  Why not role play with him?  He is fantasizing about raping someone, so just go ahead and let him rape you.  I mean, if you are willing of course. 

I would say I was speechless, but obviously I’m not.  I can’t think of enough bad things to say about this advice.  I am shocked.  I am disgusted.  I am disturbed. 

What is this world coming to when professional advice columnists are suggesting that women let their boyfriends role play raping them? 

That is so far from Godly Christian morality I don’t know what to say, and yet that is the prevailing advice this very day in papers around the country. 

There is light and there is darkness.  There is wisdom and there is ignorance.  And the farther from God’s truth we get, the further into darkness and ignorance we plunge.

God have mercy on us.


Comments?

E-mail me:  dougapple@wave94.com.

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


You can read the advice column for yourself here, and feel free to leave your own comments:  http://www.creators.com/advice/annies-mailbox/no-need-to-fear-rape-fantasies.html

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

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

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

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

Make Sure You Include the Opportunity Cost - Apples of Gold - October 11, 2010 -vi-

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Apples of Gold
 

Radio Script for October 11, 2010

“Make Sure You Include the Opportunity Cost”

 

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

“Go for a walk, it’s free!”

Well, it may cost you no cash to go for a walk, but it still costs you.

And now it’s time for a little economic lesson, about a thing called “true cost.”

The true cost of something includes the cash cost, as you might expect, plus something else:  the “opportunity cost.”

When you go for a walk, the opportunity cost is what else you could have done with your time instead of walking.

You only have so much time.  It’s a scarce resource, and when you use it one way, it costs you the price of using it another way.

Here is a basic illustration of opportunity cost.  Let’s say you go to the mall with $20 burning a hole in your pocket.  You find a $20 shirt that you simply must have, but then you find a great set of DVD’s on the bargain table for just $20.  So you pick one, and it’s only going to cost you $20, right?  Wrong.  It’s going to cost you $20, plus the opportunity cost of getting the other thing. 

When you have a scarce resource, like money, it forces you to make decisions based on your values.  What is more valuable to you?  That is what you will spend your money on.

To be wise, you must keep in mind that it’s costing you more than whatever is on the price tag.  You must also include the opportunity cost.

Let’s say you decide to become an English teacher, so you add up the college expenses and declare, “It’s going to cost this much to become a teacher.” 

But wait.  Don’t forget the opportunity cost.  What if you could have become a doctor?  If so, becoming an English teacher cost you the obvious expenses, plus the opportunity cost of not becoming a doctor.

Even people who aren’t with me so far will get it after this next example.  Romance.  Everyone understands opportunity cost when it comes to romance.  If you marry the first girl that comes along, you just cost yourself the chance to marry the next girl that comes along, who might be better.  Unfortunately this cripples some people to the point of never committing.  They don’t want to pay that high opportunity cost.

However!  If you wait and wait for the perfect spouse to come driving by in a souped-up red convertible, that too has an opportunity cost.  While others are marrying and starting their families, you are still marking time.

Opportunity costs are often hidden, which is why I’m bringing them up today. 

Let me tell you about my career choice.  I was working in secular radio, but drawing closer and closer to God.  At some point I came to the realization that if I really believed in God, and if I could work for Him full time in my chosen profession, how could I not do it? 

I came to a fork in the road, and here is where the opportunity cost comes in.  When you come to a fork in the road, you must consider the true cost of each choice, which includes the opportunity cost.

If I stayed in secular radio, I would likely make more money.  There is more prestige in the community, more room for growth, and on and on.

But if I stayed in secular radio, to me there was an unbearable opportunity cost that had nothing to do with money.  I would lose the opportunity to work for the Lord full time, to glorify Him with great Christian music on the radio, to bless people and share God’s truth 24 hours a day, to shine His light and bring salvation and hope and peace and wisdom to this dark old world.

To me, that had a much higher value than what secular radio had to offer, and I made my choice.  And 2011 will mark my 25^th year of working fulltime in Christian radio.

In Luke 14 Jesus talked about counting the cost of being His disciple.  He said, “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower.  Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it?”  “Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king.  Will he not first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand?” 

Now listen to Jesus’ conclusion in Luke 14:33.  “In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple.”

Wow.  That cost sounds mighty high, doesn’t it? 

But don’t forget the opportunity cost of not giving it all up for Christ.  If we don’t give it all up, we cannot be His disciple, that’s what He said. 

So what is the opportunity cost of not being His disciple? 

You may decide the price is too high to follow Jesus, but please make sure you include the opportunity cost when you do your calculations.

I can’t speak for everyone, but for me, I found the value of giving it up for Him far outweighs the value of the things I was giving up.

Now what about you?  Are you ready to give it all up for Jesus Christ?

And if it doesn’t sound like such a good deal at first, make sure you do this.

Make sure you include the opportunity cost.


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-

Confessions of a Condescending Mother - Apples of Gold - October 8, 2010 -vi-

Click here to listen to the radio version.   

Click here to search the AOG archives.

Apples of Gold
 

Radio Script for October 8, 2010

“Confessions of a Condescending Mother”

 

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

Confessions of a Condescending Mother

(begin music)

Oh, I don’t know if I should be called a “condescending” mother, it sounds so negative.

But my kids just aren’t that bright.  And they aren’t that cute.  I guess they get that from their father, because I was the Homecoming Queen and trust me, there were a lot of pretty girls that year, but you had to have looks and talent and you know what?  They didn’t.

I was hoping my little Kayla would carry on the tradition but it looks like there’s no chance of that.  I mean, her favorite color is brown.  “What are you, trying to be homely?”

Okay, yes I did say that to her.  These are my confessions after all, but my heavens, I just want my child to be attractive, don’t you? 

So I guess my queen dreams are out for Kayla, but you’d think she’d at least be smart.  If you’re not pretty, be smart, right?  So I called my friend the principal and asked for the class rankings and guess what?  She’s 103^rd.  One hundred and third!  I didn’t even know they kept track after 10. 

“Kayla, I was 2^nd in the class, and would have been first if it wasn’t for Ruby Kendrick who had nothing better to do.  A child should do better than her parents, but you’re not even in the top 100.  I’m ashamed to even call you my child right now.”

Yes, I did say that, but notice how I said “right now.”  I’m not ashamed of her all the time, and she knows that. 

“Pull your hair out of your face and stand up straight!”

Uh-mazing.  That child would push a weaker woman over the edge.

I had high hopes for Kayla, but it’s not panning out.  And now look at her.  She’s starting to look frumpy. 

“Kayla, have you weighed yourself lately?  Do I have to make another chart for you by the scales?  You know how you hated that.”

Yes, I made a weight chart for Kayla.  She weighed herself everyday before and after school.  Childhood obesity is a problem, you know.  I have a book on it.  You should see our library.  We  have over a thousand volumes.  I believe a home library is one of the most important things you can do for your child’s success.

What was I talking about?  Oh yeah, obesity.  Well that won’t be coming to our home if I have anything to say about it.  I keep track of my weight, and no daughter of mine is going to be voted the most likely to be frumpy.

“Kayla!  Go unlock the door so your brother will stop that infernal knocking.”

Okay, yes.  I locked him out.  He’s so annoying.  I was right in the middle of a movie when he decided he wanted a snack.  I told him to make it himself but he’s so helpless.  He kept bugging me to make it for him so yes, I locked him out. 

Have you ever seen a three-year-old spread peanut butter?  Well that’s what he does, but he’s seven.  He’s so uncoordinated, which he totally gets from his father, but at least his father was big enough to be on the football team, even if he was just a lineman. 

But I don’t have any high hopes for Garrett.  He’s not that bright, he’s not that cute, and he’s not going to be very big.

Yes, I’m discouraged, but I’m not giving up.  I’m not the giving-up-type.  I’ll just keep loving them and trying to make them better.

Like yesterday – I tried to help Garrett with his kickball.  He said they were playing kickball at school, so we went out back and of course all he wanted to do was kick but I told him he had to catch first, so I kicked it to him, and guess what?  Bing!  Off his head.  Bing!  Off his knee.  Bing!  Yes, it knocked the wind out of him, and you would have thought he was dying the way he carried on.  And that was it for kickball.

So no, Garrett is not my little athlete.  Kayla is not my little beauty queen, and now I’ve got to go, I have a Bible study to get to.

It’s a group of women from church, and the topic is motherhood; and believe me, some of those women really need it. 

(end music)




© 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-

Big Me and Little You - Apples of Gold - October 7, 2010 -vi-

Click here to listen to the radio version.   

Click here to search the AOG archives.

Apples of Gold
 

Radio Script for October 7, 2010

“Big Me and Little You”

 

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

“I find myself tearing up a lot lately when I worship the Lord.”

That’s what a man said yesterday.

My immediate response was, “That’s humility.”

One of the great things about believing in God and coming to Him in worship and prayer is that you realize you aren’t “all that.”  It’s hard to stay on the throne, so to speak, when you honestly come before the One who really is on the throne.

I say “honestly” because you actually can spend time in prayer and still be nutty as a loon in your self-exaltation.  Jesus told such a story in Luke 18.

Two men went to the temple to pray, He said.  One was a Pharisee who prayed, “God, I thank you that I am not like other men,” and he went on to brag about himself to God.

The other was a tax collector who couldn’t even look up to heaven.  He actually beat his chest and said, “God, have mercy on me, a sinner.”

That’s not a true story.  It’s a parable Jesus told to make a point, and here is the point He delivered like a thunderclap in verse 14.  “For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

He said it again in Luke 14, but after telling a different parable.  He said, “When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, for a person more distinguished than you may have been invited.  If so, the host who invited both of you will come and say to you, ‘Give this man your seat.’  Then, humiliated, you will have to take the least important place.  But when you are invited, take the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he will say to you, ‘Friend, move up to a better place.’  Then you will be honored in the presence of all your fellow guests.”

Then Jesus once again delivered this powerful, sweeping statement:  “For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

The King James Version says “…for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased…”

Abased has a harsher sound to it, like you were slammed to the basement, to the concrete floor.  You were abased.

Jesus said that’s what will happen to everyone who exalts themselves.  They will be abased, brought down, humbled.

If you make yourself out to be Mr. Wonderful, you are coming down.  It’s the law of the land. 

I interviewed Shaun Alexander this week, the former NFL most valuable player and All-Pro running back with the Seattle Seahawks.  He is also an outspoken Christian and has a new book out called “The Walk.”

Shaun had a proper attitude about his glory days in football.  Even at the peak, his identity was not “I am the MVP, I am the greatest!”  Instead, he said his identity was always that of a follower of Christ.  He humbled himself in the sight of the Lord, as it says in James 4:10.

When injuries knocked him out of football, his identity was not rocked because that was not his identity to begin with.  He just went on humbling himself before God and saying, “Lord, now what?”

Romans 12:3 says, “Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.”

First Corinthians 10:12 says, “Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.”

This sounds like such a simple and common truth that it hardly needs repeating, yet people still do it.  They put themselves on a pedestal.  They are “Big Me and little you.”  When you see people like that, just watch.  They have an appointment with humility.

On the flip side is the man who humbles himself.  Whoever humbles himself will be exalted, Jesus said.  Keep your eye on that man, because he has an appointment with promotion.  He will be lifted up, and it will be okay because he is ready for it.  He doesn’t think of himself more highly than he ought.

Now back to the man who said he has been tearing up lately while worshipping the Lord.  Why did I say that was humility? 

Because I’ve been there.  When you come before the Lord honestly, to worship Him and draw near to Him, it is humbling in many ways.  It is humbling because you are acknowledging His place as Lord of your life.  It’s humbling because we are sinners, yet He accepts us by His grace.  And it is humbling to know that He is going to exalt us in some special way because we have humbled ourselves before Him. 

So we have two choices with very specific consequences.  We can exalt ourselves and be knocked down a few pegs, or we can humble ourselves and be the recipient of God’s great promise:  we will be exalted


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-

Doug, What Is Your Greatest Failure? - Apples of Gold - October 6, 2010 -vi-

Click here to listen to the radio version.   

Click here to search the AOG archives.

Apples of Gold
 

Radio Script for October 6, 2010

“Doug, What Is Your Greatest Failure?”

 

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

The pastor didn’t show up.

It was Wednesday night, so the crowd was small.  Seven became 7:05 then 7:15 and still no pastor.

It was the days before cell phones, so we couldn’t just call him and say, “Where are you?” 

We were all sitting in the pews, chatting about our silly situation.  The pianist was ready to play, but our pastor was also the song leader, so now what?

We decided to have a service anyway, and I was nominated to lead.  I had never done such a thing before, so I took the path of “let’s just draw near to God and see what happens.”

We sang and prayed and asked God to lead us, to move upon us, to do something special in our special circumstance.

And He did.  The Lord moved in a mighty way that night, especially in me.  I found myself at the altar, weeping before the Almighty.

Why was I weeping?  Because the Spirit of God had stirred up a deep conviction in my heart – the conviction that I wasn’t loving people as I should, as God wanted me to.

I’ve never been the lovey-dovey type.  I’m not the cruel type, either, but I’m not the guy that goes around hugging everyone and saying how much I love them.  To me those words are a big commitment that I can only give a few people.

I think I’ve done a pretty good job of loving my wife and our children – but my grades really start to drop after that.  I say I love my other family members, but I don’t show it very well.  I’m not good at staying in contact with them. 

I maintain a minimum contact with old friends through the internet, but I wouldn’t call that loving them.  Then there are co-workers and fellow church members, people I see on a regular basis, but with whom I have little personal involvement.  And then there are the strangers, people I run into that I don’t know at all.

Yes, I am kind and cordial and professional.  I shake hands and make eye contact and smile at people.  I’ll chit-chat and treat everyone like a real human being.  I’ll be fair and generous and helpful and polite . . . but am I loving?

If you were to ask me, “Doug, what is your greatest failure?” I would have a quick and easy answer.  “Not loving people like I should.”

In Matthew 22 someone said this to Jesus, “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”  Jesus replied, “‘Love the Lord your God will all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’  This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’  All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

We like to make it even shorter by saying, “Love God, love people.”

Now if it said, “Seek God and serve people,” that I can do.  I love to serve people and help them.  If I can do you some good, that’s exactly what I want to do; but do I love you?

Ephesians 5:2 tells us to live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave Himself for us.  Loving people involves sacrifice and service, so to that degree I do love people.  I am willing to sacrifice and serve them; but am I doing it out of love?

I guess I’m expecting a loving feeling to come gushing up and spill out everywhere.  I’m looking for ecstatic love that flies out towards everyone.  “Hey you!  I love you!”

First John says a lot about love.  First John 4:7 says, “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God…”

Verse 8 says, “Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.”

Verse 11 says, “Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.”

Verse 12 says, “If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and His love is perfected in us.”

We should love one another.  We must love one another.  We are commanded to love one another.  And I believe God enables us and empowers us to love one another.  Through Him it is not only possible, it will happen. 

Here’s how I’ve seen it work in my life.  The more I draw near to God and grow in love with Him, the more He stirs up love within me for other people. 

So yes, not loving people like I should is what I believe to be my greatest failure, but with the Lord moving inside me, teaching me and discipling me, I know there is hope. 

Over time I trust that I will be able to love people just as the Lord wants me to.


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-

Does Your Child Know What One Means? - Apples of Gold - October 4, 2010 -vi-

Click here to listen to the radio version.   

Click here to search the AOG archives.

Apples of Gold
 

Radio Script for October 4, 2010

“Does Your Child Know What One Means?”

 

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

If you think the school is going to teach your child everything he needs to know, think again.

I was talking to a public school kindergarten teacher recently, and she said some of her students come in and don’t even know the concept of 1 and 2.  They know nothing about numbers.  They can’t even put up one finger to represent the number one because they don’t know that one means one.  They don’t know what it means.

She said sometimes she thinks to herself, “Where have these kids been, in a closet for five years?”

Well here’s the problem.  Many parents miss the point that it is their job to teach their children.  And you know what?  That teaching never really stops.

I walked into the bathroom at home to wash my hands and found soap globbed up on the outside of the little dispenser.  I called my children in and gave them a little lesson on how to pump soap.  “You don’t hold your hand under it and whack the top of it,” I said.  “You place your finger under the nozzle and gently pump out a little bit of soap.  A little is all you need.  Then pull your finger across so that no soap drips or is left hanging on the end of the nozzle.”

How are children supposed to know these things unless their parents teach them? 

You can’t just tell your kids to do the dishes, then complain that it wasn’t done right.  You have to teach them.

Training children encompasses everything, from pumping soap to learning numbers. 

Last week I helped my daughter create a resume, something she had never done.  Should I blame the school?  That would be silly.  I took responsibility for it.

Now don’t get me wrong.  I am for an excellent education system; and I am also for excellent parenting.  We need to teach our children the basics like their colors and the alphabet, and we need to teach them values.

This weekend I said something to my son that I’m sure he knew I was going to say, because I’ve been saying it his whole life – and now he is married with a child of his own on the way.  I wasn’t even in on the conversation, I just overheard it, but I piped in my two cents’ worth.  I said, “Keep your word.  Always keep your word.”

That is a value that I’ve tried to drill into our four children, and everyone else who will listen.  If you say you are going to do something, do it.  Of course that also puts pressure on me to model it, but that’s how we pass values on to our children.  We tell them, and we set a good example.

Now let’s take it a bit deeper.  Parents are responsible for the development of their child’s thinking.  How does your child think?  What is her worldview? 

My mother did a great job teaching us how to think about needy people.  She taught us to see them as people who needed help, and to help them if we could.

Not every child is raised to think that way.  Some parents teach their kids not to help people.

Sound far fetched?  Well listen to this.

I just finished a biography of Ayn Rand.  I’ve never read any of her books, but she was a very influential writer.  Unfortunately she was an atheist, was anti-God, anti-religion, and get this – anti-altruism.  She didn’t believe in helping people!

Barbara Branden and her future husband Nathaniel were young disciples of Ayn Rand.  Listen to what she wrote about the influence on them of Rand’s novel The Fountainhead.

“Nathaniel and I were students at UCLA, he in psychology, I in philosophy.  We had both separately discovered The Fountainhead when we were fifteen years old and had devoured it nonstop in a few rapt days of emotional and intellectual absorption; it had a powerful influence on the development of our thinking.”

Did you catch that last line?  Ayn Rand’s book of fiction had a powerful influence on the development of their thinking.

Who is having a powerful influence on the development of your child’s thinking?  Is it you the parent, or is it someone like Ayn Rand who was anti-God and anti-altruism?

Someone is going to influence the development of your child’s thinking!  And by the way grandparents, someone is going to influence the development of your grandchild’s thinking.  Do you want to leave that up to some stranger?

This is why a lot of parents homeschool.  It’s why many others send their children to a Christian school.  It’s why all parents need to choose their child’s school wisely, as well as their reading material and their neighborhood and their friends.

But most important of all is the parents’ constant involvement in the training of their children in every facet of life.  Of course number one is to train them up in the Lord, involved in church and growing as a disciple of Jesus Christ.  And after that comes everything else from potty training to choosing a career.

No, our kids aren’t puppets, but they will be influenced and it’s our job to make sure they are influenced for good, to become the best Christian adult citizens they can possibly be.


Comments?

E-mail me:  dougapple@wave94.com.

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



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

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

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

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

What is Life About? - Apples of Gold - October 1, 2010 -vi-

Click here to listen to the radio version.   

Click here to search the AOG archives.

Apples of Gold
 

Radio Script for October 1, 2010

“What is Life About?”

 

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

What is life about?

Have you ever asked that question?  It goes along with other questions like, “What am I doing here?” and “Do I have a purpose?”  Is life more than eating and drinking and slogging through one day to the next?

Well let me ask you this.  Do you believe in “intelligent design”?  Do you believe that all the beauty and intricacies of the universe were created by some awesome being?

I do.  The evidence detected by my senses just screams that there is something behind it all. 

So it is very easy for me to believe that there is a creator.  In my mind, that conclusion is followed very closely by the conclusion that the creator had a reason for His creation.  He had a design and a purpose.

Since I’m a Christian, it won’t surprise you when I turn to the Bible for answers.  Now you may not be a Bible-believing Christian yourself, but just listen and see if this makes any sense.

In the book of Genesis we find the creation story.  Genesis 1:26 says, “Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, in our likeness…”

I know that the whole universe is intricate and amazing, but it doesn’t surprise me that it’s human beings who were created in the likeness of God.  People are amazing!  The things we do and think and feel, the things we create – and we aren’t done yet!  It’s easy for me to believe that the Creator unleashed a portion of Himself in human beings.

Now this may sound like a crude comparison, but to me Genesis 1:26 sounds a lot like a man and wife saying, “Let’s make a baby that looks like us.” 

You know how that makes me feel?  It makes me feel loved! 

God didn’t just throw a frog’s leg and mushrooms into a boiling cauldron to see what would come out.  He said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness…” 

We were planned!  We were designed and created in the image of God. 

Genesis 1:27 says, “So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.”

I don’t know where God got the “male and female” idea, but I like it!  There are a host of implications from those three little words “male and female.”  They are not the same, but they go together as a pair. 

Genesis 2:18 says, “The Lord God said, ‘It is not good for the man to be alone.  I will make a helper suitable for him.’”  So God created a woman, and Genesis 2:24 says, “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.”

In Matthew 19:6 Jesus said “…so they are no longer two, but one.  Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate.”

I know this sounds basic, but we are asking a basic question today.  What is life about? 

So God created us male and female so we could pair up with a partner for life.  Now what?

Genesis 1:28 says, “God blessed them and said to them, ‘Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it.  Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.’”  Adam and Eve were in the Garden of Eden, and what were they told to do?  “Work it and take care of it.”

So at the dawn of creation, here is the way God set things up.  He created the world and men and women.  They were to pair up and be lifelong companions.  They were to make babies and raise a family.  They were to subdue the earth, rule over the animals and tend the plants.

As the population grew, a few more foundational principles came to be.  Caring for your extended family is one of them, including aging relatives.  God designed the family as a support system.  Beyond this, we are to love our neighbors and help those in need who are not family.

Also, we are to bring about justice when people harm each other rather than care for them.  We are to bring about order from chaos.  It’s all part of our initial “charter” if you will, to “subdue the earth.”

So what is life about?  Are you starting to see the answer?

It shouldn’t be hard to see.  These things are being done all over the world.  Men and women still reflect the image and likeness of God.  We still pair up for lifelong companionship, though many miss out on the lifelong part.  We are still fruitful and multiplying, raising families and caring for extended family and needy neighbors.  We are still ruling over the animals and tending the garden.  We are still working to bring about justice and order from chaos as we subdue the earth.

One major problem is that there seems to be a flaw in the design, a virus in the software.  Just when things go well, something foul happens.  Why is that?

According to the Bible, it’s due to sin.  Sin is the termite in the wood.  We live in a fallen world, so bad things happen, and often the bad things are done by people. 

Well I’m short on time, but in a nutshell, this is where the Gospel of Jesus Christ comes in.  The Son of God came to earth as a man, shed His blood and died to pay the price for our sin.  Now we can return to our Creator and be “born again.”  We become new creations in Christ, then the Holy Spirit moves in and starts running out the termites.  Then to really make a long story short, our body dies, we step into eternity with God, and He has a bunch of plans after that.

So what is life about?  We should still be carrying out God’s initial plans from the book of Genesis, then add to that the sharing of the Gospel so others can return to the Creator themselves, and experience His intimate work in their own life, both for now and for eternity.

And that’s what life is about.


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-

Jesus is the Son of God - Apples of Gold - September 29, 2010 -vi-

Click here to listen to the radio version.   

Click here to search the AOG archives.

Apples of Gold
 

Radio Script for September 29, 2010

“Jesus is the Son of God”

 

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

 

Jesus is the Son of God.

Do you believe that?  Is that your personal “confession”?

It’s an important confession, according to First John 4:15 – “Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.”

When it comes to biblical Christianity, this is not a disputed doctrine based on a few vague verses.  This is a core belief, and it’s found throughout the New Testament.

Let’s take a look at some of the verses that declare Jesus Christ as the Son of God.

Let’s start with the birth of Jesus.  It was pointed out several times that He was no ordinary baby, but that He was, indeed, the Son of God.

Galatians 4:4 says, “But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman…”

That woman was Mary.  An angel spoke to Mary in Luke chapter one and said, “You will be with child and give birth to a Son, and you are to give him the name Jesus.  He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High.”  The angel continued, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.  So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.”

Romans 8:3 says that God sent His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh.

Jesus grew to be a man, and when He was baptized a voice from heaven declared, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3:17)

When Satan tempted Jesus he tried to incite Him with this phrase, “If thou be the Son of God…” (Matthew 4:3, 6)

Mark 3:11 says that when evil spirits saw Him, they fell down before Him and cried out, “You are the Son of God.”

In Mark 5:7 a demon possessed man cried out, “What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?”

It wasn’t just demoniacs who called Him the Son of God.  John the Baptist said, “I have seen and I testify that this is the Son of God.”  (John 1:34)

Nathaniel said, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel.”  (John 1:49)

When Jesus calmed the wind, the men in the boat worshipped Him and said, “Truly you are the Son of God.” (Matthew 14:33)

Simon Peter told Jesus, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.” (Matthew 16:16)

Martha said, “I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into the world.” (John 11:27)

At the transfiguration, in Matthew 17:5 a voice came out of a bright cloud and said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.  Hear Him!”

When Jesus was on trial, this was a key question.  Matthew 26 records the high priest saying, “I charge you under oath by the living God:  Tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God.”  Jesus replied, “Yes, it is as you say.”

In John 19:7 the Jews said, “We have a law, and according to that law He must die, because He claimed to be the Son of God.”

When Jesus was on the cross, His enemies said things like, “Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God!”  (Matthew 27:40)

When He died, a Roman centurion said, “Truly this man was the Son of God.” (Mark 15:39)

Romans 5:10 says, “…we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son…”

First John 4:10 says that God loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.

First John 1:7 says that the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.

His bloodshed and death were part of the plan, but that was not the end.  Romans 1:4 says that Jesus was “declared to be the Son of God with power…by the resurrection from the dead…”

After His resurrection and ascension, the word continued to spread that He was the Son of God.  Saul had his experience on the road to Damascus, and what did he do?  Acts 9:20 says that he “at once began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God.”

Many others preached Jesus as the Son of God, including Silas and Timothy.  (Second Corinthians 1:19)

Philip preached to the Ethiopian eunuch who then declared, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.” (Acts 8:37)

John 5:23 says that all men should honor the Son, just as they honor the Father who sent Him.

John also wrote, “And this is His command: to believe in the name of His Son, Jesus Christ…”  And he said that by believing that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, we may have life through His name. (First John 3:23, John 20:31)

God has called us into fellowship with His Son, His only begotten Son that He sent into the world.  (First Corinthians 1:9, John 4:9)

“Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life…” (John 3:36)

“If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.”  (John 8:36)

Hebrews 1 says that God made the universe through His Son, and appointed His Son heir of all things.  The Son is the radiance of God’s glory, it says, and the exact representation of His being.  Verse 3 says, “After He had provided purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.”

And First Thessalonians 1:10 says, “…to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead – Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath.”

This is a core belief.  This is a foundational truth and our common confession.

That Jesus Christ is the Son of God.

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-

Get the Beam Out of Your Eye - Apples of Gold - September 28, 2010 -vi-

Click here to listen to the radio version.   

Click here to search the AOG archives.

Apples of Gold
 

Radio Script for September 28, 2010

“Get the Beam Out of Your Eye”

 

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

Do I need to ask for God’s help to keep me from watching dirty movies on HBO?

No.

Why not?

Because I don’t have HBO.

That’s a simple concept, isn’t it? 

So what am I going to say to the man who comes to me and says, “I need you to pray for me.  I need God to help me stop watching dirty movies on HBO.”

Yes, I’ll probably pray for the man, but first I’m going to bluntly say, “Get rid of HBO.”

Sometimes people hyper-spiritualize things and turn them into something far more complicated than they really are.

Jesus said to get the beam out of your eye.  Just get it out.

He said it in the context of picking out the small sins of others while having big sins of your own.  It’s like pointing out a splinter in their eye while having a beam in your own eye.  How can you help them with a splinter while you have your own beam?  First of all, get the beam out of your eye, Jesus said, then you can help with their splinter.

Let’s look at this from a couple of different angles.

First of all, the main action point is to get the beam out of your own eye.  What does that mean?

Get rid of the big whopping sins!  That’s what I think it means.

Stop killing.  Stop stealing.  Stop fornicating or committing adultery.  Stop being violent.  Stop being perverted. 

Isn’t that a simple concept?  Get the beam out of your eye, Jesus said.

Did He tell us how?

Look at the very next passage in Matthew chapter seven.  He said, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.”

So do you want to get the beam out of your eye?  Do you want to put a stop to your big whopping sins?  Then ask, seek and knock.  Make your requests known to the Lord.  Seek Him and find the answers to your problems.

Jesus hammered home His point by saying, “Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone?  Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake?  If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!”

So ask the Lord to deliver you from those sins.

And there’s more.  At the end of chapter seven Jesus said “…everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.”

So that’s another thing to do to remove the beam from your eye; listen to Jesus’ words and put them into practice.

This is a powerful one-two punch for getting the beam out – take it to the Lord in prayer, then hear His words and put them into practice. 

So I think that’s the main action point of Jesus’ teaching in those verses.  Get the beam out of your eye.

Maybe you thought the main action point was to keep your mouth shut about your brothers’ sins, but that’s not it.  It’s not that you let your brother keep on sinning.  It’s that you work on your own sins, then help him work on his.

Years ago, the head of our local Teen Challenge had a drug problem.  With God’s power he got that beam out of his eye, praise the Lord!  And now he spends his time helping other men with their drug problems.

See how that works?  “Then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye,” Jesus said in Matthew 7:5.

Hurry up and get the beam out of your eye so you can help your brother with whatever is in his eye.

Now let me touch on one more angle of this teaching.  What if someone with a beam in their own eye approached me about something in my eye?  My knee-jerk response could be to say, “What?  Why would I listen to you?  You have a beam in your eye!”

That’s like saying I would ignore someone who was covered with spiders who said, “Dude, there’s a spider on your sleeve.”

Would I ignore him because he had a much bigger spider problem than mine?  Not at all! 

Now he may not be a good person to help me with my spider problem, but I am still going to look at my sleeve for a spider.  And if I find one, I’m going to do something about it – and it doesn’t matter where the news came from.

Does that make sense?  If someone points out a speck in your eye, the fact that they have a beam in their eye shouldn’t stop you from checking to see if it’s true.

So check your eyes.  Start by looking for beams, those big whopping sins that are obvious – and get them out.

Get the beam out of your own eye, Jesus said.  Then you will be able to do the important work of helping your brother with whatever is in his eye. 


Comments?

E-mail me:  dougapple@wave94.com.

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



© 2010 The Arrow’s Tip 
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(Proverbs 25:11 – “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.”)

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

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