What's Wrong With Preaching to the Choir? - Apples of Gold - May 4, 2010 -vi-

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Apples of Gold
 

Radio Script for May 4, 2010

“What’s Wrong With Preaching to the Choir?”

 

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

“You guys in Christian media, you’re just preaching to the choir.”

They say it like it’s some kind of sin.

“Yes, you have your little Christian subculture, your Christian music and books and seminars.  You have Christian radio and TV and websites.  The world is dying and going to hell and all you’re doing is reaching other Christians.  All you’re doing is preaching to the choir.”

Well first of all, I look at Christian radio like a modern day, open-air service.  Anyone can come by anytime and receive spiritual light.  And it’s going on 24 hours a day.

I’ve heard great testimonies of prisoners giving their lives to Christ while listening to Christian radio in jail. 

I had a blue collar guy tell me that before he committed his life to Christ he would rush out to his truck after work and listen to Christian radio – while he waited for his buddies to come out so they could go to the bar.

A mother told me about her son listening to Christian radio while he partied with friends around a camp fire. 

Tons of people outside the church have been mightily impacted by Christian radio, so I don’t buy the idea that we are only reaching Christians.

However, I’m sure our normal audience is mostly Christians, and probably the most dedicated Christians.  So, does that mean we are guilty of preaching to the choir?

Well . . . what’s wrong with preaching to the choir?

First of all, have you ever met a choir that didn’t need a little preaching?  No offense, choir members, but you know what?  We all need a little preaching, and probably a lot of preaching.

Here’s my point.  There is nothing wrong with preaching to the choir, by which I mean ministering to fellow Christians.  In fact, we are supposed to minister to each other.

First Corinthians 14:12 says, “Since you are eager to have spiritual gifts, try to excel in gifts that build up the church.”  The King James says “…seek that ye may excel to the edifying of the church.”

Not only are we to build up the church, we are to excel at it.

Listen to this phrase in verse five, “…that the church may be edified.”  That is an important goal, the “edifying,” the “building up” of the church.

Look what Paul told the church in Second Corinthians 12:19, “…we do all things, beloved, for your edification.”  Another word for edification is “strengthening.”  We are to strengthen the church, to edify it, to build it up. 

Some people have the idea that all the preachers and teachers need to get out of the church and hit the streets.  We need to stop investing in Christian media and start using those dollars to reach the lost.

Well take a close look at Ephesians chapter four.  It says that God has called some to be apostles and prophets and evangelists and pastors and teachers – and what is their job?  “To prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature…”

We are the body of Christ and verse 16 says the body “grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.”

Romans 14:19 says, “Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification.”  As Christians we are very clearly told to edify one another.  First Thessalonians 5:11 says exactly that, “edify one another.”

That’s what we are doing here at Wave 94.  That’s why I have dedicated my life to Christian radio.  We are a creating a place on the radio dial that constantly builds up Christians. 

Listen to this trifecta from First Corinthians 14:3 – strengthening, encouragement and comfort.  We play music all day that does just that, strengthens, encourages and comforts the church.

Who do I write Apples of Gold for?  Primarily the church.

Am I preaching to the choir?  I sure am.

Yes, I hear from a lot of non-Christians, from atheists, and activists and people just generally telling me to shut up.  But that is not my primary target.

My primary target is my fellow believers, my fellow disciples, followers of Christ.

In the Great Commission, Jesus said to go and make disciples – and teach them everything Jesus commanded. 

Yes, that means reaching the lost; but once someone is reached, the work has just begun.  That’s followed by a lifetime of discipleship, of encouraging and exhorting and edifying.

We are to excel in building up the body of Christ.  We are to spend a lot of time and resources to maximize each part of the body and make it as strong as possible.

The body builds itself up in love.

So if you think there’s something wrong with expending a lot of effort to minister to the church, think again.  The Bible instructs us very clearly to do just that.  We need it.  We all need it.

So with that in mind, let me say it one more time.

There is nothing wrong with preaching to the choir.


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 Rid of All Invidia - Apples of Gold - May 3, 2010 -vi-

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Apples of Gold
 

Radio Script for May 3, 2010

“Get Rid of All Invidia”

 

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

Envy rots the bones.

That’s what it says in Proverbs 14:30.

Envy is one of the so-called “seven deadly sins” and it will eat you alive from the inside out.

Envy is a little different than jealousy and covetousness.  When I think of envy, I think of two things.  You want what someone else has, and you don’t want them to have it.

If you’ve ever tasted envy, then you know it’s poisonous.  You can easily understand why First Peter 2:1 says to get rid of all envy. 

The Latin word for envy is “invidia,” which makes it sound kind of catchy.  Get rid of all invidia.

So how can you get rid of all invidia, or envy?

I read an interesting phrase in a preacher’s biography last night.  Here’s the phrase:  “possessed by the Holy Spirit.”

He said we need to grow spiritually, to grow in our walk with the Lord, and that included becoming more and more possessed by the Holy Spirit.

The more we allow God’s Spirit to work inside of us, the more we yield to the Spirit’s qualities, the less envy we will experience.

Romans 8:5 says that those who live according to the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires.

Back to First Peter 2.  Verse 2 instructs us to crave pure spiritual milk.  We are to crave the basic principles of God and His word, “that we may grow,” it says.

And envy is one of those things that we should grow out of.  We should grow away from it.  We should feel the bite and sting of envy less and less often as we mature spiritually.

So how do we get rid of all invidia?  By growing spiritually.  As we draw near to God and become more and more possessed of His Spirit, we should see the invidia falling away from us.

One reason is because the more we are controlled by the Spirit of God, the more love we will have for people.  And the “love chapter,” First Corinthians 13, says that “love does not envy.”

So the more we love people, the less we will envy them.  When you love people, you don’t want good things taken away from them – but that’s what envy wants.  Envy means you want it, and you want it taken from them.

I love my oldest daughter and I’m glad she has a house.  Of course I don’t want her to lose the house, because I love her.  There is no room for envy in that situation because love drives out the envy.

And this goes back to us growing spiritually.  As we grow spiritually, as we become more and more possessed by the Holy Spirit, we will naturally start loving people more, and we will naturally start envying them less.

So how to get rid of envy?  Grow spiritually and love people.

Envy wants to pull people down, but First Corinthians 8:1 says that “love builds up.”

Now look at Romans 12:15.  It says, “Rejoice with those who rejoice.”

When you truly rejoice with people, it’s hard to be envious of them.

When you truly love people, you will rejoice with them.  When you are envious, you don’t really love them and you sure won’t feel like rejoicing with them.

So how to get rid of envy?  Rejoice with those who rejoice!  Celebrate with them.

That is a very mature thing to do, especially when they have something you want.  But it won’t be hard to do as we mature spiritually.

Growing spiritually means we have a better handle on what is truly important.  We realize that having something someone else has is not important at all, but loving them is important.

It’s about getting our priorities straight, and that will come as we grow spiritually.  Envy will be crowded out as we become more and more possessed by the Holy Spirit.

So how to do it?  Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.  Ask Him to fill you with His Spirit, and God will respond.  You will experience His love working through you.  You will grow in spiritual maturity and feel a true love for people around you.

And when they have something good, you will be free to rejoice with them!

It’s a process, yes it is, but it’s through this process that you will be able to get rid of all invidia.


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-

Lord, Lead Us Not Into the Temptation Zone - Apples of Gold - April 30, 2010 -vi-

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Apples of Gold
 

Radio Script for April 30, 2010

“Lord, Lead Us Not Into the Temptation Zone”

 

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

Let’s talk about temptation.

The Lord’s Prayer says, “Lead us not into temptation.”

Where does the Lord’s Prayer come from?

It was taught by Jesus after one of His disciples said, “Lord, teach us to pray.”

So Jesus said, in Luke 11:2, “When you pray say, ‘Our Father in heaven…’”

That’s how the Lord’s Prayer starts.  We are praying to our Father in heaven.

Then in Luke 11:4 it says, “Lead us not into temptation.”

Put them together and you get this simple prayer, “Father in heaven, lead us not into temptation.”

So, does that mean God can lead us into temptation?

Well wait a minute.  James 1:13 says that God doesn’t tempt anyone.

So if God doesn’t tempt anyone, why do we need to pray “lead us not into temptation”?

That sounds like a contradiction, doesn’t it?

Well not if you look closely.  If I had a chalkboard right now I would draw a big circle, and I would label it The Temptation Zone.

Inside that circle, the temptation zone, you will be tempted.  All temptation takes place inside that zone. 

Now listen.  God is not doing the tempting.  God does not tempt anyone.  But it doesn’t say He won’t lead anyone toward the temptation zone.

“But Doug, isn’t that the same as tempting someone?”

No, it isn’t.  There is a line there, a difference.  So when Jesus tells us to pray, “Lead us not into temptation,” that is a very real prayer.  That is a prayer we need to pray, just as He instructed. 

Matthew 4:1 says that Jesus Himself was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.  The Spirit didn’t do the tempting, but He did lead Jesus into the temptation zone.  See the difference?

Hebrews 4:15 says that Jesus was “tempted in every way, just as we are – yet was without sin.”

Hebrews 2:18 says that Jesus “suffered when He was tempted…”

So you might say that Jesus got knocked around a bit inside the temptation zone.  It says He “suffered.”

So when Jesus said to pray, “Lead us not into temptation,” it’s almost like He’s saying, “Look, you don’t want to go there.  I’ve been there, and it’s not a nice place to be, so pray to your heavenly Father, ‘Lord, please do not lead me into the temptation zone.’”

Now the temptation zone is not the same as the sin zone.  Oh, it can definitely lead to the sin zone, but you can certainly come out of the temptation zone without sliding into the sin zone.

First Corinthians 10:13 offers a great picture of temptation.  It says, “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man.”  I love that illustration, that temptation seizes us.

I picture an unmarked van pulling up to the curb, and thugs in black jumping out and seizing you.  The thugs are the temptation, and the van is the sin.  They want to seize you and drag you into the van of sin.  I’ve seen people who really did have a “van of sin,” but anyway…

The temptation seizes you, and now what?  Is it inevitable that you are going to be thrown into the van of sin?  Not at all!

Back to First Corinthians 10:13.  It says, “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man.  And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear.  But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.”

So first of all, we need to pray, “Lead us not into temptation.”  In other words, “Don’t lead us into the temptation zone.  Or, “don’t lead us down a street where temptation can jump out and seize us.”

BUT, if we are seized by temptation, that is not the end of the game, not at all.  God will provide a way out!  We can throw off the thugs and walk away without ever entering the van of sin.  We can throw off temptation before it drags us into the sin zone.

Now about the temptation zone.  James 1:14 says we are tempted when we are dragged away by our own desires and enticed.  So our own sinful desires can seize us.

And we also know that the devil, or Satan, is also called “the tempter.”  He tempted Jesus and he will tempt us.  So that’s two sources of temptation, but either way, even if temptation does seize us, we know there is always a way out.  Temptation never has to lead to sin if we don’t allow it.  James 4:7 says, “Resist the devil and he will flee from you.”

So even if the thugs of temptation jump out and seize us, all we have to do is resist.  If we put up a fight, temptation will leave us, like the devil left Jesus after His temptation.

Of course it says he left “until an opportune time,” and that’s the way it is for us.  The temptation thugs will return and try to seize us again, but once again God will give us the power to resist.

So a child of God never has to give in to temptation.

And you know what?  A lot of temptations can be avoided entirely, I think, if we will take this prayer seriously that Jesus told us to pray, and it’s simply this.

Lord, lead us not into temptation.


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-

Running in the Dark - Apples of Gold - April 29, 2010 -vi-

Click here to listen to the radio version.   

Click here to search the AOG archives.

Apples of Gold
 

Radio Script for April 29, 2010

“Running in the Dark”

 

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

Ah, here’s a great story from high school.

One night I had some friends at the bowling alley and some friends at Pizza Hut.

The video game Space Invaders had just come out, and they had a table-top version at Pizza Hut, which was drawing a crowd.  But I was still a big pinball fan and rode with some guys to whip up the pinball machine that was at the bowling alley.

At some point I decided to leave the bowling alley and walk back to Pizza Hut where my car was.  It was dark and a bit chilly, so instead of walking I decided to run.

Well you know how towns can be.  There was a lot of bright lights around the bowling alley, then there was a little residential section, then more bright lights. 

The residential section was dark, but I kept running anyway.  In fact, darkness is a good reason to run a little faster, right?

So now I was barreling down sidewalk, and you know how towns can be.  All of a sudden I wasn’t on a sidewalk anymore.  I was just running on grass, which made it all the more difficult to see exactly where I was going.

But I couldn’t slow down, of course, because you sure don’t want to miss any excitement at Pizza Hut.  So I was running at top speed when all of a sudden I was literally slammed backwards to the ground.

I was stunned, to say the least, and sat there to gather my wits.  I looked around, but saw no one, and thankfully no one saw me.

I stood up, and then I caught a glimpse of my attacker.  It was a thick metal cable stretching from the top of a utility pole down to the ground. 

I dusted myself off and checked for injuries.  Unfortunately there was no blood or cool gashes, but then I noticed a big welt on my left side, at about my waist.  I traced the damage and wouldn’t you know it, there was a big red line diagonally across my chest to my right shoulder – a perfect line where the cable had lashed into me. 

Then the thought occurred to me, “What if I had been shorter?  It would have hit me right in the neck.”

A shiver ran up my spine, and I began walking carefully back to the car.

Now you might ask, as only a grownup could, “Why did you do it?”

Why did I slam my body into a metal cable?  Of course I didn’t mean to.  I was just running in the dark and…

Ah, there’s the point.  If I hadn’t been running in the dark, it wouldn’t have happened.  Nobody means to flog themselves with a metal cable, but it’s the kind of thing that happens when you go thrashing about in the dark.

In John 12:35 Jesus said, “The man who walks in the dark does not know where he is going.”

That’s not very profound, is it?  Did we really need Jesus to tell us that? 

Well listen, when Jesus speaks, it is profound.  So when Jesus says, “The man who walks in the dark doesn’t know where he’s going,” we need to look into it.

As you might guess, Jesus is talking about spiritual darkness.  A man who walks in spiritual darkness doesn’t know where he’s going.  Proverbs 4:19 says “…the way of the wicked is like deep darkness, they do not know what makes them stumble.”

Yesterday I read a story from World War II, about a bunch of people who hid from the Nazis in a cave, and when the Nazis were retreating near the end of the war, they bombed the cave opening and trapped the people inside. 

Eventually they were rescued, and when they came out the author said their skin was black from dirt and feces.  Well how on earth did that happen?  How did they end up covered in dirt and feces? 

Well they didn’t know.  It was pitch black inside the cave.  They couldn’t see a thing, day after day.  They didn’t know what was getting on them, and they had no means of washing it off anyway.  What a wretched way to live, right?

But that’s what’s happening to tons of people spiritually.  They are living in spiritual darkness.  They don’t know where they are going.  They stumble, but they don’t know what’s tripping them up.  They are spiritually covered with dirt and feces, which they can’t even see, and they have no means of washing off.

But I like what it says in Matthew 4:16, “…the people living in darkness have seen a great light…”

John 3:19 says, “…light has come into the world…”

John 1:5 says, “The light shines in the darkness…”

Jesus said in John 12:46, “I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.”

In John 8:12 Jesus said, “I am the light of the world.  He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”

And First Peter 2:9 says that God has called us out of darkness and into His marvelous light!

As Christians, First Thessalonians 5:5 says we are all “sons of the light and sons of the day.”

Colossians 1:13 says that God has “delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love…”

Ephesians 5:8 says, “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord.  Live as children of light…”

First John 1:7 indicates that we are to walk in the light as He is in the light.

So are you stumbling today, and don’t know why?  Are you falling?  Are you feeling dirty?  Have you lost your way?

Then come into the light – and Jesus is that light!  He will cleanse you and make you new.  He will be your light and bring light to your life.

You can see where you are going and stumble no more!  You can run at a full clip without worrying that a cable is going to smash you to the ground!

You can live an abundant life, that’s why Jesus came! 

And it starts with leaving behind our deeds of darkness, and coming into the light – the marvelous life-giving light of Jesus Christ.


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-

Daniel: A Man of Prayer AND a Man of Learning - Apples of Gold - April 27, 2010 -vi-

Click here to listen to the radio version.   

Click here to search the AOG archives.

Apples of Gold
 

Radio Script for April 27, 2010

“Daniel:  A Man of Prayer and a Man of Learning”

 

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

“I want to be like Daniel.”

“Oh, good.”

“Yeah, all he ever did was pray.”

“Wait a second.  All you think Daniel ever did was pray?”

“Yeah, like five times a day.”

“Well it was more like three times a day, but anyway, if that’s all you think Daniel did, you need take a good long look at the book of Daniel.”

Let’s start by looking at Daniel’s first big break.  Like many of the young Jewish men of his time, Daniel was hauled into exile by the king of Babylon. 

Then the king sent for the cream of the crop.  He was looking for young men who “possessed knowledge” and were “well informed.”

The king of Babylon was not looking for slackers.  He wanted young men who were already putting their brain to work.

Daniel was one of them.  Yes, he was a man of prayer, but he was also a man of learning.

Daniel 1:17 says God gave Daniel “knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom.”

Does that mean Daniel didn’t have to do anything but pray?  Not at all.  Just because God gives you the skill to learn doesn’t mean you automatically know everything. 

Daniel had the ability, but he still had to do the work.  He had to read and study and listen to teachers.  It says Daniel was taught the language and the literature of Babylon.

As you probably know, God also gave Daniel the ability to interpret dreams, which really opened doors for him in the kingdom.  Daniel 2 says the king placed Daniel in a high position and made him ruler over the entire province of Babylon

So in this lofty position of authority, what did Daniel do?  Did he just pray all day?  Can you really rule a province through nothing but prayer?

Later Belshazzar became king, and once again Daniel was given authority.

Then Darius the Mede took over the kingdom.

And who became one of Darius’ top officials?  Daniel! 

Now listen.  You know what happened to a lot of people when a kingdom changed hands?  Some lost their jobs, and some lost their heads! 

But not Daniel.  Daniel 5:12 says that Daniel was found to have “a keen mind and knowledge and understanding.”

And he continued to distinguish himself under King Darius, so much so that Darius decided to put Daniel in charge of the whole kingdom.

Yes, prayer helped make Daniel the great man that he was, but that was only part of it.  I think a huge part of it was Daniel’s mental diligence.  I think he continued to study and learn and grow in wisdom and knowledge. 

He probably knew economics and psychology.  He probably studied defense and military strategies, and agriculture and food production.  He probably oversaw scientific research and education.  I’m just guessing here, but when you are in charge of a kingdom, those are the things you must be in charge of.

Daniel was a well informed young man, and I think he stayed well informed throughout his life.  If God gave him a 5 brain, Daniel turned it into a 25.

One thing about Daniel, when you are that successful it makes other people jealous, and that’s how Daniel ended up in the lion’s den. 

But how did they actually get him into the lion’s den?  Well first of all they tried to find flaws in his leadership, and guess what?  There weren’t any.

If all Daniel did was pray all day, that would have been enough.  They could have charged him with slacking on his duties, but he wasn’t.  It sounds like he had every gear working smoothly.  The only thing they could trap him on was praying, so that’s what they did.

Now you could say this.  Maybe Daniel got all his great knowledge straight from God during his prayer times. 

God could certainly do that, but it’s not the usual way. 

Daniel did hear from God many times, but look at Daniel 9:2.  It points out that he studied the Scriptures.  For example, it says he learned things by reading Jeremiah.

If there was anybody who didn’t need to study the Bible it was the great prophet Daniel, and yet there he was, studying the Scriptures just like we all need to do.

So anyway, don’t get the idea that all Daniel did was pray all day.  His prayer times were important, but he also spent much of his days just like you and I – taking care of business.

Yes, Daniel was a great man of prayer.

And he was also a great man of learning.


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-

Doing Good Works...At Work - Apples of Gold - April 26, 2010 -vi-

Click here to listen to the radio version.   

Click here to search the AOG archives.

Apples of Gold
 

Radio Script for April 26, 2010

“Doing Good Works . . . At Work”

 

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

The Bible talks a lot about doing “good works.”

For example, in the Sermon on the Mount Jesus said, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”

Now what do you think of when you think of “good works”?

Maybe you picture someone ladling up soup in a food line.

Maybe you see money going to the poor, or yard work being done for the elderly.

Yes, those are all good works, but now I want to open your eyes to something else.

Doing good works . . . at work.

Sometimes we think that work is just the place we go to get paid.  We go to work because we have to, but we sure aren’t going to do any more than we have to, and as soon as we clock out, all they’re going to see is a cloud of dust as we peel out of the parking lot.

But as Christians we are called to live a life of good works, and that includes doing good works at work.

You know what makes me sick?  It’s when I hear a Christian say, “I’m only going to do what they pay me to do.”

There’s this idea that the boss isn’t a person, or that the managers and leaders aren’t real people.  Now those homeless people – yes, they deserve good works.  But the boss?  Forget about it.

Now what kind of Christian attitude is that?

So here’s what I want you to think about today – doing good works at work.

Now back to what Jesus said.  He said, “…that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.”

Are your co-workers seeing your good deeds at work?  Are your bosses?  Because if they are, it gives them the opportunity to praise our Father in heaven.

A good deed can mean going the extra mile for the boss.  I once had a boss that asked me to walk his dog at home while his wife was out of town.

I wasn’t on the clock.  I didn’t get a special bonus, and some people thought I was crazy.  “I would never walk my boss’s dog,” they would say, as if the boss is not a person, not a human being that deserved kindness.

Look.  When a good deed presents itself, and you can easily do it – do it.

“But Doug, I don’t want my boss to take advantage of me.”

I know what you are saying, and the fact that you are saying it means you probably aren’t in danger of it. 

And remember, we don’t just do good deeds for people who deserve them.  In Matthew 5:44 Jesus told us to love our enemies and do good to those who hate us.

A Christian is to do good works, and that includes doing good works at work.

Jesus said if someone wants you to go one mile, then go two miles.

I’m talking about having a good Christian attitude at work.

Sometimes we Christians have a Christian attitude elsewhere, but then we put on our “work face.”  Well we also need to be a good Christian at work.  Our light needs to shine at work through our good deeds.

That includes doing your job to the best of your ability, and then increasing your ability so you can do more. 

That means helping others do their job sometimes.  It means pitching in when the team needs help, whether it’s your job or not.

It’s really about loving the people you work with, whether or not they are lovable.

Ephesians 6 says, “Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men, because you know that the Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does, whether he is slave or free.”

So don’t say, “Why would I do that?  I’m not getting paid for it,” because according to Ephesians 6 you will be paid for it.  You will be paid for whatever good you do, by the Lord.

So do good to your bosses.  Do good to your coworkers.  And if you are the boss, then do good to everyone you manage. 

Remember, good deeds are not just what happen in the food line at the homeless shelter. 

So as we start a new week, here is one way you can truly make a difference in your world – by doing good works . . . at work.


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-

How Can I Keep That From Happening to Me? - Apples of Gold - April 23, 2010 -vi-

Click here to listen to the radio version.   

Click here to search the AOG archives.

Apples of Gold
 

Radio Script for April 23, 2010

“How Can I Keep That From Happening to Me?”

 

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

This one question has deeply impacted my life.

It’s just a simple question, and I didn’t start asking it on purpose.  No one told me to ask it.  And I wasn’t really asking it out loud or even consciously.

But it’s a question that has been running through my mind for years, and it has had a great influence on my behavior.

I don’t remember when I began asking it, but it was probably before I even started school.  It may have happened the first time I saw another kid get spanked, or when I saw someone get hurt on TV.  I don’t know when it started, but I know it never stopped.  I am still asking this question today, going on 50 years old.

And what is this life-altering question?  It is simply this.

How can I keep that from happening to me?

That’s it, just a simple question, yet a real life-changer.

What a great question for a small child to ask.  When you see another kid get in trouble, just ask yourself, “How can I keep that from happening to me?”

This question has been a huge motivating factor in my life.  As I look back over the years I realize that much of what I do is because of this question.

I remember when a kid on the playground leaped out of the swing and crashed to the asphalt, breaking both of his arms.  I pondered those two broken arms and thought, “How can I keep that from happening to me?”  And you know what?  I still jumped out of the swing plenty of times, but I never came close to breaking my arms, all because of that question.

I remember kids talking back to the teacher, getting marched down to the principal’s office and getting spanked.  They came back to class with tears in their eyes looking quite humble, and I said to myself, “How can I keep that from happening to me?”

As a teenager I heard about guys asking girls out, only to be turned down.  And worse yet, have you heard about guys being turned down when they proposed marriage?  That’s crazy!  So I thought, “How can I keep that from happening to me?”  And I made sure it didn’t. 

A lot of people told me, “You better watch out, because after you get married you are going to get fat.”  So I thought, “Really?  Well how can I keep that from happening to me?”

And I heard the same thing about having kids and about turning 30 and about turning 40 – all milestones that for some reason lead to putting on weight.  So I’m sure you know by now what was running through my head.  How can I keep that from happening to me?

I know a lot of middle-aged men with back problems.  Many are already popping pills for this or that or the other. 

And over the years I have observed a lot of cruddy marriages.  I see former young lovers practically living separate lives.  I’ve seen marriages splinter and families break apart.  I’ve seen men do terrible damage to their wives and children, which leaves me asking that very sobering question, “How can I keep that from happening to me?”

I’ve seen men lose their jobs, their families, their integrity and their reputations.  I’ve seen men lose their faith, and men lose their money.  And every time that question hums through the back of my mind, like a low level buzz, “How can I keep that from happening to me?”

Here is what it says in Proverbs 24:32.  Then I beheld and considered it well.  I applied my heart to what I observed.  I saw, I looked upon it, and received instruction.  I learned a lesson from what I saw.

That is what I want to do.  I want to learn my lessons from what I observe.  When I see someone break their arms, literally or figuratively, I want to learn a lesson from that.  If I see someone drive off a cliff, I want to steer the other way.

It’s foolish to do what others have done if it caused them grief and sorrow. 

Why can’t we learn the lessons of others?  Why must we learn them for ourselves?

And even worse is when we do the same dumb things that we’ve already done! 

Psalm 119:59 says, “I have thought on my ways…”

Nehemiah 5:7 uses this phrase, “I pondered them in my mind…”

Don’t let things just happen to you.  Don’t go bounding down the same road that has caused injury to others.

Ponder things in your mind.  Observe life around you and consider it well.  Look, and receive instruction.

So when you see other people go crashing to the asphalt, here’s a little question that simply must be asked.

How can I keep that from happening to me?


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-

Things That Will Help You Get Up and Get Out - Apples of Gold - April 22, 2010 -vi-

Click here to listen to the radio version.   

Click here to search the AOG archives.

Apples of Gold
 

Radio Script for April 22, 2010

“Things That Will Help You Get Up and Get Out”

 

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

“To find what will help you get up and get out,
Write down all the things you are zealous about.”

Okay, so here are some things I am zealous about.

I am zealous about the fact that Jesus Christ is the light that came into the world; and He will bring light into every life that turns to Him.

I am zealous about God’s eternal truth which we discover both through the study of the Scriptures and through the Holy Spirit who dwells within believers.

I am zealous about eternal life – that life goes on long after we die, and that our short life here is just the beginning.

I am zealous about the forgiveness of sins – which is available through Jesus Christ.  This forgiveness is the ultimate life changer which makes us right before God and clears the way for His Spirit to dwell within us.

I am zealous about the leading of the Lord and the wisdom He gives.  In a world where people constantly stumble and fall and make wrecks of their lives, God’s wisdom puts us on a straight, uncluttered path where we can walk upright and secure.

I am zealous about morality and honesty and integrity – hallmarks of the straight and narrow road that leads to life.  These qualities build a strong foundation for any society.

I am zealous about marriage, when the two become one flesh – one man and one woman together forever, ‘til death do they part.  This is the cornerstone of the family, which is the cornerstone of society.  Get the family right and all the rest will fall into place.

I am zealous for the church, the body of Christ, the family of God.  Your blood family may be broken, but God has lovingly provided you with something better – His own “body” which builds itself up in love, where everyone has a part and each part has a share in both the benefits and responsibilities.

I am zealous for education, the constant learning and training and growing of the mind and skills.  God gave us the raw materials and we are now responsible for turning them into something useful.  We take 1’s and make them 2’s.  We take 2’s and make them 4’s.  Everyone is born knowing nothing, and every speck of wisdom and knowledge we will take to our grave – if we don’t pass it on to the millions of children born every year.

I am zealous for discovery and invention.  God gave us a planet full of raw materials.  When Adam walked in the garden, the earth had everything we needed for cars and space ships and flat screen TVs.  And there are a million more new discoveries and inventions just waiting for us, if we will put our minds and hearts and souls to the task.

I am zealous against waste.  I don’t believe in wasting minds or food or money or time or talents.  There are too many needs, too much to be done, too much to be gained if we will just be mindful of not wasting things. 

I am zealous for good parenting.  The world is so thoroughly shaped by parents, what they did and didn’t do, how wise or unwise they were.  We must constantly be training and helping and encouraging parents to be the best they can be, because the future of the world is being shaped by parents right now.

I am zealous for creativity.  God is a creator, and we are made in His image, and I believe we are all called to create.  Instead of blowing time we should be setting our minds to creativity.  We need entrepreneurs to create new businesses.  We need writers to create influential plays and songs and novels and text books.  We need creative speakers and painters and even creative problem solvers in politics and social service.  Put your mind to the task – think – and create.

I am zealous for exerting your influence on society.  All it takes for evil to prevail is for good men to do nothing; so the good men and women need to get off the couch and exert their influence, shine their light and make an impact.  If you think you have to be a great leader to do this, you are wrong.  Just be yourself and get to work.  Don’t think someone else is going to do it.  Don’t wait, because it may never happen.  It’s time to step out and make your mark on the world.

These are just a few things I am zealous about.  They may not be the same things you are zealous about, but you need to be zealous about something.  You need to be fired up about a few good godly things.

Romans 12:11 says, “Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.”

Yes, things happen in life, like a fire hose pounding your zeal.

So I want to encourage you today, stir it up!  Ask God to stir it up for you!  Like the old hymn writer said, “My zeal inspire!”

And if you need your zeal to be inspired today, lend an ear to this little rhyme.

“To find what will help you get up and get out,
Write down all the things you are zealous 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-

You Never Know What Your Kids Are Dealing With - Apples of Gold - April 21, 2010 -vi-

Click here to listen to the radio version.   

Click here to search the AOG archives.

Apples of Gold
 

Radio Script for April 21, 2010

“You Never Know What Your Kids Are Dealing With”

 

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

I kept my P.E. clothes in a gym bag with the school logo on it.

Why didn’t I just throw them in my locker?

Because I was afraid to go to my locker.

Why was I afraid to go to my locker?

Because I was a skinny freshman in a P.E. class with grown men. 

Now I should have been okay, because my last name begins with an A.  My P.E. locker should have been right there in the front row, out in the open.

But it wasn’t.  For some reason my assigned locker was back in the dark, damp corner, right between two monsters.

Well it didn’t take long to figure out it was going to be a long year. 

No, I didn’t get stabbed or shot.  It was just a daily dose of cruelty, sometimes for laughs and sometimes just to inflict pain. 

So what could I do?  Tell the teacher?

Hardly.  I don’t know about your P.E. teachers, by mine had little sympathy.  I’d seen others report trouble only to be mocked, by the teacher. 

And we all know that squealing just makes you a bigger target.

I could fight back, but they were bigger and meaner and I really didn’t see any way to do it and win.

I could run home and tell my parents, but can you imagine that scene?  “Doug, your mommy and daddy are here.”

And that’s my point today.  I did not tell my parents.  There were probably a hundred things just like that that my parents would have been very interested to know, but I didn’t tell them.

So parents, what are your kids not telling you?  What are they dealing with that you don’t know about?

Well for whatever reason I decided that I was completely on my own.  No one was going to handle my P.E. problem but me.

So what did I do?

One of my friends had a locker out in the main room, so I asked him if I could keep my P.E. bag in his locker.  He agreed and the problem was solved.  I never went back to my locker in the corner again.

Until the teacher came along one day and caught me putting my stuff in my friend’s locker.  I have no idea why, but he suddenly made a big deal out of it.  “You are not allowed to put your stuff in someone else’s locker.” 

Now what?  Should I tell him about the monsters?  Yeah, right. 

Should I go back to the locker in the corner?  Not on your life.

So what did I do?

I just kept doing what I was doing, but tried to keep it under the teacher’s radar.  All I wanted to do was dress for P.E. without a bunch of grief, either from the dudes at my real locker, or from the teacher at my friend’s locker.  I just did what I thought I had to do to, and I told no one except my sympathetic fellow freshman.

And you know what?  I could tell you story after story about things like this that I dealt with as a boy.  Now I know we think of freshmen in high school as young men, but my goodness, they are barely teenagers. 

And something else.  What I went through was mild.  I have heard so many horror stories of things kids have gone through in those critical junior high and early high school years.  But do you think they ran home and told their parents?  Probably not.

And that’s my point today.  Parents, your children are probably dealing with a lot of things they aren’t telling you about.

So what can you do?

I think Ephesians 5 has some good advice for parents.  It says, “See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.”

If there is any job that takes a lot of wisdom, it’s parenting.  It’s easy to be a foolish parent and hard to be a wise parent. 

But notice that phrase “redeeming the time.”  I think that is a parenting key.

It’s important to be there for your children, to spend time with them, because you know what?  They aren’t always ready to talk, especially when they are about 13 to 17 years old.  For whatever reason they start to clam up.

However, there are rare moments when they are suddenly willing to open up and share with you.  The trick is to actually be there when the mood strikes, to be wise enough to recognize it, and to be willing to stop and be a good listener.

So parents, it’s time to wise up and walk circumspectly.  We must redeem the time because the days are evil.

And you can start be realizing this important fact.  You never really know all the things your kids are dealing with.


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 Curious Cure - Apples of Gold - April 20, 2010 -vi-

Click here to listen to the radio version.   

Click here to search the AOG archives.

Apples of Gold
 

Radio Script for April 20, 2010

“A Most Curious Cure”

 

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

Yes, God could have just healed them all.

He could have just waved His mighty hand and all would be well.

But He didn’t.

Instead, He gave them one simple thing to do, one little hoop to jump through.

You can read about it Numbers chapter 21.  Moses was leading the Israelites through the wilderness, and suddenly the camp was infested with poisonous snakes.

Now the people had been whining to high heaven right before that, and they quickly connected their snotty behavior with the attack of the snakes.  So they went to Moses and said, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord and against you; pray to the Lord that He take away the serpents.”  And Moses did.

And that’s when God prescribed a most curious cure.  He told Moses, “Make a fiery serpent and put it up on a pole.  And it shall come to pass that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, shall live.”

It doesn’t say God drove away the snakes.  It doesn’t say God kept them from biting.  It doesn’t say God neutralized their poison.  And it doesn’t say God healed everyone.

He simply told Moses to make a bronze serpent and put it up on a pole.  Then anyone chomped by a real snake could live – as long as he looked up at the bronze snake.

That’s the end of the story, which leaves a lot of questions.  Did everyone look, or did some refuse to look, and die?  Did some wait to see how bad it would get, or did everyone immediately rush to look at the bronze serpent? 

Well anyway, chalk it up as just another odd story from days of yore.

And we could do that – if Jesus hadn’t brought it up during his little conversation with Nicodemus. 

As a Jewish teacher, Nicodemus would have been very familiar with this old story, so Jesus used it to shed light on a new story, one that hadn’t even taken place yet.

In John 3 Jesus said, “Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.”

It’s easy to see the comparison.  Moses put the bronze snake on a pole and lifted it up for all to see, and everyone who looked at it was saved from the poison and lived.

Well Jesus was nailed to a cross and lifted up, and whoever looks at Him, which is to say believes in Him, will be saved from the poison of sin and will live eternally.

Look to Jesus, and live!

Have you ever heard the testimony of Charles Spurgeon?  He lived in England in the 1800’s and became one of the most famous preachers in the world.  But as a young man he was lost in sin; so how did he come to Christ?

Well here’s the story, according to Spurgeon.org.*  In January 1850 a snowstorm interrupted his journey and he ducked into a Primitive Methodist chapel.  The regular minister didn’t make it in, so apparently one of the parishioners got up to deliver a message. 

The text was “Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth.”  Well the thin man spoke for about ten minutes and ran out of things to say.  Then he noticed Spurgeon, a stranger in the sparse crowd. 

He fixed his eyes on Spurgeon and said, “Young man, you look very miserable.”

Spurgeon said it was a “good blow” and struck him right at home. 

The speaker continued, “And you always will be miserable – miserable in life, and miserable in death – if you don’t obey my text; but if you obey now, this moment, you will be saved.”

Then the man lifted up his hands and shouted, Spurgeon said, “as only a Primitive Methodist could do.”  He said, “Young man, look to Jesus Christ.  Look!  Look!  Look!  You have nothing to do but to look and live.”

And Spurgeon said, “I saw at once the way of salvation.  I had been waiting to do fifty things, but when I heard that word, ‘Look!’  What a charming word it seemed to me!  Oh!  I looked until I could almost have looked my eyes away.  There and then the cloud was gone, the darkness had rolled away, and that moment I saw the sun; and I could have risen that instant, and sung with the most enthusiastic of them, of the precious blood of Christ, and the simple faith which looks alone to Him!.”

Yes, the story of Moses and the serpent seems quaint and ancient.

But then Jesus made it as current as today’s newspaper when He compared it to Himself. 

The Son of Man was lifted up for your sins and mine.  We can be spared from sin’s poison and live eternally!

And what does it take?

“Look!” said the Primitive Methodist preacher, “Look!”

You have nothing to do but to look to Jesus and live.


Comments?

E-mail me:  dougapple@wave94.com.

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

*  http://www.spurgeon.org/heathbio.htm

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

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

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

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