How to Have a Better Life in 2012 - Apples of Gold - December 31, 2011 -vi-

Click here to listen to the original radio version.

Apples of Gold
 

Radio Script for December 31, 2011

“How to Have a Better Life in 2012”

 

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

“I literally pictured my hand grabbing him by the throat.”

That’s what a friend told me about his recent golf outing.

They were together in a golf cart when the other guy started provoking him.    

Now you need to know that my friend has a somewhat violent past.  He’s not a killer, but he was a fighter – prone to solve problems with his fists.

And now this man was provoking him, and what popped into his head?

“I pictured myself grabbing him by the neck,” he said, “throwing him out of the golf cart and giving him the beating he was asking for.”

Now you also need to know that my friend is a born again Christian.  He has the Spirit of God inside of him, so while his flesh was picturing a pummeling, the Spirit of God was steering him towards righteousness. 

The image in his mind changed.  He stopped thinking about throwing the guy out of the golf cart, and started thinking about what would happen if he did, such as going to jail.

He decided to take the righteous path, and spared himself a load of sorrow.

That’s just one example of what I call “the blessings of the righteous.”

David wrote in Second Samuel 22, “The Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands He has recompensed me.”

If we keep our hands clean, so to speak, God blesses us. 

That sounds obvious, I know, but a man asked me just the other day, “Does God really bless people for being good?”

I said, “Of course He does.  The Bible says it over and over.”

I’ve been reading through the book of Proverbs and, as expected, I found many references to wisdom and knowledge.  But another word kept coming up, too; the word “righteous.”

Even the secular world appreciates wisdom and knowledge, but righteousness?

Here’s one example.  Proverbs 13:21 says, “...to the righteous, good shall be repaid.”

I just heard about yet another couple going through a divorce.  It’s causing great sorrow, but they didn’t build their home on God’s righteousness, and now the family is being torn apart.

Recently I received a kind of backward compliment about my family.  A woman said, “Your family is not dysfunctional.”

If my family is not dysfunctional, I think one reason is the blessing of the righteous.  We aren’t as righteous as we ought to be, but to the degree that we are, we are receiving the blessing of the righteous.

Proverbs 11:28 says, “He that trusteth in his riches shall fall; but the righteous shall flourish as a branch.”

Psalm 92:12 says, “The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree…”

Righteousness means living according to God’s rules and principles.  If we deal in truth instead of lies, for example, we are taking the righteous path, which is the blessed path.

If we deal in love instead of hate; if we deal in morality instead of immorality; if we deal in justice instead of corruption, we will be blessed.

Psalm 5:2 says, “For You, O LORD, will bless the righteous…”

I just heard about a men’s accountability group, and they really take it to the next level.  They are so serious about holding each other accountable that they even go into each others’ homes and interview their wives and children.

Why?  To find out what is really going on.  The goal is to find any cracks in the spiritual foundation so they can be fixed before they get worse.

This is voluntary, by the way, so don’t be picturing some church Gestapo.  It’s just serious Christian men who want to prevent problems and receive the blessings of the righteous.

“But Doug, no one is righteous.”

That’s right.  In God’s eyes, on our own, none of us is truly righteous.  Romans 3:10 says, “There is none righteous, no, not one...”

It is through faith in Christ that righteousness is imparted to us. 

And then what are we supposed to do?

Romans 6 tells us to make ourselves instruments of righteousness.

First John 3:7 says, “…let no one deceive you.  He who practices righteousness is righteous…”

First and Second Timothy both say to “…pursue righteousness…”

Second Timothy talks about being instructed in righteousness.

We are to practice and pursue and instruct and make ourselves instruments of righteousness.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said, “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”

So do you want a better life in 2012? 

Then pursue and practice the righteousness of God in all areas of your life, and you will receive the blessing of the righteous.


Comments?

E-mail me:  dougapple@wave94.com.

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


© 2011 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
3225 Hartsfield Road
Tallahassee, FL  32303
(850) 926-8000
-vi-

Rearranging Deck Chairs on the Titanic - Apples of Gold - December 26, 2011 *56 singles

 

Apples of Gold
 

Radio Script for December 26, 2011

“Rearranging Deck Chairs on the Titanic”

 

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

Rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic.

Have you heard that before?

It means the Titanic is sinking.  You have better things to do than arrange the chairs.

It sounds obvious, but we do it all the time.

I don’t mean the ship is always sinking.  I mean that we focus on small things while great things are swirling around us.

For example, that time period between a couple’s engagement and wedding.  We spend a lot of time and money preparing for the wedding, while the marriage – which is the big ship in this picture – gets little or no attention.

It’s the little things versus the big things.  The wedding is a little thing.  The marriage is the big thing.

There are other ways of saying this:  “majoring in minors,” “can’t see the forest for the trees,” “seeing the big picture.”

I heard one businessman describe his life this way.  He said he spent many years climbing the ladder of success, but when he got to the top he realized the ladder was leaning against the wrong building.  He was so busy climbing that he never really asked, “What is waiting for me at the top of this ladder?”

If you get the deck chairs just the way you want them, but the boat sinks, what good is it?

If you clean your dorm room when you should be studying for finals…

If you rack up debt just to buy Christmas gifts…

If you beat up your husband for leaving the toothbrush on the counter…

There are many ways we major in minors.

When you smoke…at all!

There’s a great story in First Kings chapter 12.  King Solomon died and left his son Rehoboam with an awesome kingdom.  The kingdom was built on the backs of the people, however, and when Solomon died they wanted relief.

They pled their case to the king, and wisely he said, “Come back in three days.”

Rehoboam consulted the wise men who served his father, and they said, “If you serve these people today, and give them a good answer, they will be your servants forever.”

The wise men were looking at the big picture.  Give them something they want today, and they will serve you forever. 

But Rehoboam didn’t like that advice, and turned to his peers, who said, “Tell the people you are bigger and stronger and badder than your old man ever was!”

And they told Rehoboam to use this famous line.  “My little finger shall be thicker than my father’s waist!”

So what happened?  Rehoboam missed the big picture.  For the most part his kingdom became a Titanic.  The people rebelled, the nation split in two, and Rehoboam fled for his life.

It’s easy to see when others miss the big picture, but how are we missing the big picture?  How are we rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic?

Jesus said it this way.  “You strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!”

In Matthew 23 He said, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matter of the law:  justice and mercy and faith.  These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone.  Blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!”

Can you imagine paying tithes on your spices?  Can you imagine being given a little free packet of pepper at Wendy’s, and pinching out a tenth of it to pay tithes?  But the Pharisees did it.  They were tithing on spices – but ignoring justice and mercy and faith.

So the question is, how are we doing that?  How are we neglecting the weightier matters?  Are we tithing our spices but neglecting our neighbors?

One thing we do is focus on how we look on the outside, while rotting on the inside.

Jesus called the Pharisees whitewashed tombs:  white on the outside, but inside full of dead men’s bones.

Proverbs 11:22 says, “A beautiful woman who lacks discretion is like a gold ring in a pig’s snout.” 

She’s got it going on on the outside, but without godly character, her beauty is just a little gold ring in a pig’s snout.  And you know how Jews felt about pigs.

To look good on the outside but neglect the inside is to rearrange deck chairs on the Titanic.

Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.  (Proverbs 31:30)  Charm and beauty are little things.  Fearing the Lord is the big thing.

Have you read about “Corban” in Mark chapter seven?  People would take money meant for their parents and give it to the Lord instead.  The Pharisees loved it, but Jesus railed against it.  They were missing the big picture, which was to honor their father and mother.

In Mark 7:13 Jesus concluded, “And you do many things like that.”

So the question is, how are we doing that?  How are we straining gnats and swallowing camels? 

How do we major in minors and miss the forest for the trees?

It’s something we need to think about, and pray about. 

“Lord, am I rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic?”


Comments?

E-mail me:  dougapple@wave94.com.

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


© 2011 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
3225 Hartsfield Road
Tallahassee, FL  32303
(850) 926-8000

Slave of Sin - Apples of Gold - July 6, 2011 -vi-

Click here to listen to the radio version.   

Click here to search the AOG archives.

Apples of Gold
 

Radio Script for July 6, 2011

“Slave of Sin”

 

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

Whoever commits sin is a slave of sin.

“But I’m an American.  I am free.  I’ve never been a slave to anyone.”

Funny.  That’s how the Pharisees responded the first time Jesus uttered those words.

“Whoever commits sin is a slave of sin.”

Each sin has its own ball and chain, its own handcuffs.  When we sin we lift up our hands and say, “Cuff me.”

Don’t think you are in control.  A slave is not in control of his own destiny. 

Whatever your sin of choice is, that sin is controlling your destiny.

Look at these politicians who fall from great heights.  They chose to commit sin but thought it was under control.  They had a misguided sense of their own power.

When you sin, you surrender your power.  You surrender your future and you become a slave of sin.

If you tell lies, don’t think you are in control and can stop anytime.  You become a slave to lies and the sin of lying now controls your destiny.

Have you ever looked at someone famous who is caught in a lie and think, “Why did they lie about something so stupid when they could be so easily caught?”  It’s because they were a slave to lies.

If you look at porn, don’t think you are in control and can stop any time.  You became a slave to lust and the sin of lust now controls your destiny, not you.

Have you ever looked at someone who is caught with some illegal pornography and think, “What?  It was on their computer at home and their computer at work and even on their work cell phone.  How could they be so dumb?”

It’s not really because they are dumb.  It’s because they are a slave and they did what their master told them to.

Why do people put themselves and their bodies into so many horrible and humiliating situations?  It’s because they are slaves of sin.

If you don’t stop thinking about your neighbor’s husband, if you don’t stop “neighing” after your neighbor’s wife like some kind of animal, you will become a slave of sin and like the old song says, “Sin will take you farther than you want to go, keep you longer than you want to stay, and cost you more than you want to pay.”

The good news is that the Son can set you free!

And when the Son sets you free, you shall be free indeed!

That’s what Jesus said in John chapter eight.  It started when He said, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed.  And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”

His Jewish audience took exception to that and said, “We are Abraham’s descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone.  How can You say, ‘You will be made free’?”

Now that’s a funny statement because the Jews had been in bondage, many times, and at that very moment they were under the Romans; but Jesus didn’t get into that because He was looking at something quite different.

Listen to what He said in John 8:34-36.  “Jesus answered them, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever.  Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.’”

We do not have to be a slave of sin!  Through faith in Jesus Christ we can be set free from the bondage of all sin. 

Here’s how it works.  We repent of our sin and trust in Jesus for forgiveness.  Our sin debt is wiped out and we are made right with God.  He sends His Holy Spirit to dwell within us, and the Spirit begins to set us free.  We grow in the Lord.  We abide in His Word.  We follow Him, and we listen to that still small voice of His Spirit.  As we walk in the Spirit, God gives us light.  He illuminates the path and unveils the truth about sin.  We see sin as the slave master it really is and we become repulsed by it. 

We prefer the freedom for which God created us, and we work to avoid sin, knowing that whoever commits sin is a slave of sin.

Jesus said, “…abide in Me, and My words abide in you…” (John 15:7)

He said, “The words that I speak to you are Spirit, and they are life.” (John 6:63)

Ephesians 3:16 says we can be “…strengthened with might through His spirit in the inner man…”

So don’t think you can dabble in sin and keep a lid on it.  There’s no such thing. 

Whoever commits sin is a slave of sin.

The good news is that we can be made free and “free indeed” through Jesus Christ our Lord!


Comments?

E-mail me:  dougapple@wave94.com.

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


© 2011 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-