My Heart Is On Fire by Doug Apple - a short Christian devotional to open the Scriptures and make your heart burn within you!

Read the blog here: http://dougapple.blogspot.com/ +++++++ I’m Doug Apple...and my heart is on fire. (Luke 24:32) The laundry basket crashed at my feet. I looked up the stairs and saw my mother-in-law at the top. She had literally thrown her laundry basket down the steps because it was too hard for her to carry it down. That was a clue that it was time for us to move to a house without stair...

Read the blog here: http://dougapple.blogspot.com/ +++++++ I’m Doug Apple...and my heart is on fire. (Luke 24:32) What do you do when you doubt? Did God ever do anything for you? Did He save you? Did He spare you from the net of the fowler? Did He forgive you and shine His grace upon you? Did He give you wisdom when you lacked it? Did He ever bring conviction on you that led to repentance? D...

Read the blog here: http://dougapple.blogspot.com/ +++++++ I’m Doug Apple...and my heart is on fire. (Luke 24:32) Why doesn’t God just do everything? Why does He leave anything up to human beings? I don’t know, but He does, and one great example of that is the story of Paul and Ananias. We can read the story of Paul’s conversion on the road to Damascus in Acts chapter 9, ch...

Read the blog here: http://dougapple.blogspot.com/ +++++++ I’m Doug Apple...and my heart is on fire. (Luke 24:32) To obey is better than sacrifice. What on earth does that mean? We find this phrase in First Samuel 15:22. It’s the prophet Samuel talking to King Saul, the first king of Israel. Samuel said, “Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obey...

Read the blog here: http://dougapple.blogspot.com/ +++++++ I’m Doug Apple...and my heart is on fire. (Luke 24:32) I was sitting in the garage, crying my eyes out. I wasn’t crying because I was sad. I was crying because I wanted to kill someone, but since that was not an option, all that was left was crying. I was playing an older boy in basketball, and he beat me mercilessly, and it wa...

Read the blog here: http://dougapple.blogspot.com/ +++++++ I’m Doug Apple...and my heart is on fire. (Luke 24:32) “As the deer pants for the water, so my soul longs after Thee.” That is my daily prayer, based on Psalm 42:1. I just want more of God and His wisdom and goodness and guidance in my life, don’t you? But how to get it? How to get “me” out of the way to...

Read the blog here: http://dougapple.blogspot.com/ +++++++ I’m Doug Apple...and my heart is on fire. (Luke 24:32) You can’t just sit on your rear end and do nothing. “But Doug, James 1:5 says, ‘If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.’” Yes it does. I’m a huge fan of James...

I’m Doug Apple...and my heart is on fire. (Luke 24:32) It was like a shotgun of glass in my eyes. Would it ruin my vision? It all started on a typical Wednesday when I packed our baby in the car seat and went to pick up a little old lady for church. It was a winter evening in Illinois and already dark. As I was driving down the highway, suddenly there was a blast of glass as my driver’...

I’m Doug Apple...and my heart is on fire. (Luke 24:32) “I will NOT be taken advantage of.” That’s what we say. “I will not be made to look like a fool. If someone’s going to get the short end of the stick, it’s not going to be me.” No one wants to get the short end of the stick, but in almost every human interaction you could easily say, “Wait...

I’m Doug Apple...and my heart is on fire. (Luke 24:32) Have you looked down your bathtub drain lately? It’s probably just a black hole, and as long as the water drains you don’t even think about it. But you know what? A lot of things had to be done just right for that drain to work. Think of a typical ranch house here in Florida built on a concrete slab. An architect designs the...

I’m Doug Apple...and my heart is on fire. (Luke 24:32) “And God I forgive everyone for everything, past…present…and future…” That’s my daily prayer. I pray through the Lord’s Prayer and when I come to the part about “…as we forgive those…” I stop and say, “God, right now, I forgive everyone for everything, past, present,...

I’m Doug Apple...and my heart is on fire. (Luke 24:32) “You must have a lot of faith to believe in God like you do.” Actually, I don’t think I have all that much faith. Think of it like this. Last night I was working in the yard, pulling weeds and picking up sticks. Suddenly it dawned on me that I was really thirsty. Thankfully I had prepared a nice cup of ice water before...

I’m Doug Apple...and my heart is on fire. (Luke 24:32) “I’ll walk you to your car. I need to ask you something.” That’s what the man said as he caught me leaving the church one day. He said, “They’ve asked me to teach a class in a few weeks, and I was wanting to get your advice.” I’ve been teaching adult Sunday school classes and Bible studies...

I’m Doug Apple...and my heart is on fire. (Luke 24:32) “She put the Bible there on my nightstand…right next to my ashtray.” Bibles and ashtrays. I knew this story was going to be good! I was talking with Mike Sharman and I asked him the simple question, “How did you come to faith in Christ?” It didn’t come until he was deep into life, married, making money...

I’m Doug Apple...and my heart is on fire. (Luke 24:32) “I don’t think God cares if I go or not.” That’s what one woman told me. She was trying to decide whether she should make a certain trip or not. I said, “Well…pray about it.” She said, “I don’t think God cares if I go or not.” I said, “It’s not that He’s going...

I’m Doug Apple...and my heart is on fire. (Luke 24:32) Your faith is not in your faith. Your faith is in God. Your faith is not in your prayers. Your faith is not in your purity. Your faith is not in your pastor. Your faith is in God, and He is trustworthy. Your beliefs and knowledge about God are probably not 100% trustworthy, but God is trustworthy. We just don’t know enough, believe...

I’m Doug Apple...and my heart is on fire. (Luke 24:32) And say to Archippus, “Take heed to the ministry which you have received in the Lord, that you may fulfill it.” That’s an encouragement…and a warning. It was for Archippus in the Bible, in Colossians 4:17, but it’s for us, too. Take heed to the ministry with you have received in the Lord, that you may fulfil...

I’m Doug Apple...and my heart is on fire. (Luke 24:32) The word “obedience” sounds harsh to some people. They think of abusive parents, or schoolteachers with paddles, or military drill instructors. We can be leery of obeying anyone because we are free Americans and we bow the knee to no one. Plus, if we put ourselves under anyone’s authority, they might take advantage of u...

I’m Doug Apple...and my heart is on fire. (Luke 24:32) Jesus said, “Love your neighbor.” But what if your neighbor is driving his car too close behind your car, like he would push you off the road if he could. Do you love him now? Jesus said, “Love your enemy.” What if your enemy isn’t someone trying to kill you. They’re just trying to pass you on the high...

I’m Doug Apple...and my heart is on fire. (Luke 24:32) “I’m tempted to…” Stop right there. If you are tempted to do something, stop. Temptation is bait on a hook. It’s a lure seeking to get you off track for a short term benefit. It’s ALWAYS a short term benefit that sacrifices long term good. The problem is…that short term benefit can seem SO GOOD....

I’m Doug Apple...and my heart is on fire. (Luke 24:32) Cindy’s fiancé died in a workplace accident. She was a dedicated Christian, but the loss was immense. Her family was worried about her and how she would cope. In her B.C. life, Before Christ, she relied on cocaine. Now that life was in the past. Or was it? One night the pain was so great, she picked up the phone and called h...

I’m Doug Apple...and my heart is on fire. (Luke 24:32) “I can’t memorize!” I hear that all the time, and I get it. Memorizing is work. But memorizing is like anything else. The more you do it, the better you get. And memorizing Scripture is different than memorizing some random school assignment you despised. Jesus said His Words are Spirit and Life. God’s Word makes...

I’m Doug Apple...and my heart is on fire. (Luke 24:32) “Don’t say holy cow.” “No, not holy mackerel, either.” “And definitely not holy cra….you know what.” “Look,” I told my grandsons, “Holy is a word. It has a meaning. A serious meaning. To say it any other way is to say it in vain, which means to water it down.” &ldquo...

I’m Doug Apple...and my heart is on fire. (Luke 24:32) “Doug, what’s on your bucket list? What do you want to do before you kick the bucket? Before you die? Before your life is over, kaput, fini, muerto?” All right, well, it’s a short list. In fact, my bucket list can be summed up in one painting by Yongsung Kim, one of my favorites. It’s a wintry scene in the c...

I’m Doug Apple...and my heart is on fire. (Luke 24:32) Three losers and one winner, and I want to be the winner! But how? In the Parable of the Sower, Jesus said four people heard the Word, but only one of them “got it.” I want to be one who gets it! He described the first three as being soil where the seed of the Word couldn’t really take root. There were different excuses...