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Apples of Gold
Radio Script for June 30, 2010
“Desire Is a Raw Material”
Hello, I’m Doug Apple…with Apples of Gold.
Desire is a raw material.
We each have this raw material inside of us, a rocky chunk of desires loaded with possibilities.
Our desires are like an engine that drives us. When you really break it down, we tend to do what we desire to do.
“But Doug, I desire to quit smoking. So why don’t I?”
Because you desire something else more, and that desire drives you to smoke.
Your desire to smoke is an unrefined desire.
See, desire is a raw material, and raw materials aren’t much good when left to themselves. They can be volatile and unpredictable.
It’s like crude oil. Why can’t we just scoop some oil spill out of the Gulf and pour it in our car? Because it is unrefined. Crude oil must be refined to reach its highest use.
Or take iron ore. Dig it out of the earth, hammer on it a while and what do you have? But refine it and you can make some of the must useful instruments known to man.
Our desire is the same. It’s a raw material that must be refined.
Unrefined, our desires will lead us in very crude directions, and it will be a bumpy ride.
But some people say we must let our desires guide us. In fact, we are in danger of severe psychological damage if we try to squelch our natural desires.
Well crude oil and iron ore are quite natural, but we don’t leave them that way. Dirty water is natural, but we don’t leave it that way.
And we don’t leave our raw desires that way. We need to refine them.
First Peter 1 says “…do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as He who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do…”
We refine our desires toward holiness, toward righteousness, toward God.
Now let me give you a practical example. It’s Friday night and you are feeling restless. You have a desire for action.
That is a raw desire. Unrefined it can propel you toward no good.
On the other hand, you can take that raw desire for action and refine it. You can channel it and put it to work within proper boundaries.
This is important because many times we don’t even examine our desires. We just sense a raw desire, release the brake and let it careen down hill.
This causes so much pain and trouble in the world.
For example, a young man sees an iPhone and he wants one. That’s a raw desire. Unrefined, his desire compels him to steal one. Refined, he decides to work hard, earn the money, and buy one.
Unrefined, a man takes his sexual desire and meets it anywhere he can. Refined, he fulfills that desire within the proper boundaries of marriage.
Unrefined, a wife desires intimacy that’s lacking in her marriage, and she finds it in the first welcoming arms. Refined, she decides to work on her marriage and channel her desires within its boundaries.
I think this applies to homosexuality. It is desire unrefined.
“Oh they can’t change their desires, Doug.”
Again, I think that desire is a raw material, including sexual desire, and it can be refined. And there are plenty of former homosexuals who say their desires have been refined, so take it up with them.*
Unrefined, a student cheats to pass a test.
Unrefined desires lead to cutting corners and taking the low road. Jesus called it building on sand. But refining our desires is building on rock.
Think of Eve in the Garden. She apparently had a raw desire to gain wisdom, and what do you know? There’s the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. All she had to do was take a bite and she’d have her wisdom. Genesis 3:6 called it “…a tree to be desired to make one wise…”
She should have refined that desire, and sought her wisdom from the Lord. So why didn’t she?
One of our major hang-ups with refining is that it takes time, and we are impatient. But try using iron ore horseshoes, or pouring crude petroleum into your lawn mower. The refining process is well worth the time and saves so much time and trouble later.
So take a look at your desires, those things that compel you from within, and think of them as raw material.
Desire is a raw material, and instead of leaving it that way, we need to refine it for its highest purpose, for the holy and righteous life that God has called us to live.
Comments?
E-mail me: dougapple@wave94.com.
May God bless you today! With Apples of Gold…I’m Doug Apple.
* Exodus International: http://www.exodusinternational.org/
Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays and Gays: http://pfox.org/default.html
A ministry for people “refining” their same-sex desires in Jacksonville, FL: http://www.laughterfrompurity.com/
© 2010 The Arrow’s Tip
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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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