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

I’m Doug Apple...and my heart is on fire! (Luke 24:32) I asked a young man how his spiritual growth was going. He said, “I’m reading the Bible a lot, and several devotionals.” I said, “And how is that impacting you?” He said, “I’m always looking for personal applications – how I can apply what I learn.” And that, my friend, is one half of spiritual growth, what I call outwardly inward. You read the Bible, you hear a sermon, you read your daily devotion, you listen to a teacher, you talk to Christian friends and hold one another accountable. That is outwardly inward. It starts outside of you, you receive it, and you allow it inside of you to change your heart and mind. And then there is inwardly outward. What is that? That is when the Holy Spirit inside of you is teaching you and leading you, convicting you and encouraging you and cheering you on...from the inside of you. In John 7, Jesus said that the Holy Spirit would be inside of us, and would be like rivers of living water, flowing from the inside out. Hebrews 10:16 says, “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them.” This is what the Holy Spirit does. He brings us spiritual growth from the inside out. It begins inwardly and works outward. So when you are looking at your spiritual growth, look for two things. Are you reading and listening and learning from the Bible and teachers and preachers, and applying what you’ve heard? AND...is the Holy Spirit speaking inside of you, leading and guiding and teaching you, and raising up the gifts and the fruit of the Spirit inside of you? Because that is how spiritual growth takes place: outwardly inward and inwardly outward. May God bless you, today. I’m Doug Apple.

I’m Doug Apple...and my heart is on fire! (Luke 24:32) Do you have The Jesus Fire? That’s a question I’ve been asking people lately. “Do you have The Jesus Fire?” Unfortunately most people are telling me, “No,” or “I don’t know,” or “Not like I used to.” One man told me, “I guess I just don’t have the fire like you do.” I told him, “As a believer, you have the same fire as me or any other believer. It’s the same fire of the Holy Spirit inside all Christians.” The question is, are you fanning the flame? Or are you quenching the Spirit? What do I mean by The Jesus Fire? I get that from the words of John the Baptist in Matthew 3:11, where John said that Jesus would baptize us with the Holy Spirit...and fire. So I call it The Jesus Fire, and when I say, “Do you have The Jesus Fire?” I’m basically asking, “Is the Spirit of God rising up in you as a roaring fire?” If the answer is yes, then hallelujah! Thank God! If the answer is no, now what? Now you need a healthy dose of James 4:8, “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” As Jesus said in Matthew 6:6, you need to go into your room, shut your door, and pray to your Father who is in the secret place. You need to say, “Lord, I love You, and I desire to seek first Your kingdom and Your righteousness!” You need a healthy dose of Psalm 25:4, “Show my Thy ways, O Lord, teach me Thy paths.” Yes, you can be filled with the roaring Jesus Fire if you want it! It just means humbling ourselves before God, coming to Him in surrender and saying, “Not my will, but Your will be done.” So fan the flame, and let The Jesus Fire rise up in you today! God bless you, today. I’m Doug Apple.

I’m Doug Apple...and my heart is on fire! (Luke 24:32) My eyes are ever toward the Lord, to behold the beauty of the Lord. That’s my own personal mix of Psalm 25:15 and Psalm 27:4. Add to that the message of Psalm 101:3, I will set before my eyes no vile thing. What a contrast! We can ever turn our eyes toward the Lord to behold the beauty of the Lord, or we can set before our eyes vile things. And when we set before our eyes vile things, it BLINDS us to the beauty of the Lord. You say, “Man, I’m TRYING to see the beauty of the Lord, but I’m not seeing it.” Maybe it’s because you are setting before your eyes vile things, and it’s blinding you to the beauty of the Lord. You say, “What is the beauty of the Lord, anyway? It’s not like we can look into heaven and see it.” You can look into your HEART and see it...if Jesus is there. If God is in your heart, you can easily see His beauty in the work He is doing sovereignly in your life. You can see His beauty in His creation. You can see His beauty in His concepts like love and peace and joy, righteousness and justice and holiness. Imagine going to a theater and watching a vile movie. It’s vile, but it’s exciting and bold and loud. You’re on the edge of your seat, captivated. Then you walk out of the theater, and there’s a little flower springing up through the cracks of the sidewalk. It’s beautiful and amazing. Miraculous! Uncreatable by any mere mortal. But we are blinded to it by the vile, bold and brassy. We wonder where the beauty of the Lord is while we walk right over it. Make a vow today. I will set before my eyes no vile thing. Instead, my eyes are ever toward the Lord, to behold the beauty of the Lord. God bless you, today. I’m Doug Apple.

I’m Doug Apple...and my heart is on fire! (Luke 24:32) Wisdom preserves you. If you want to save yourself, if you want to preserve yourself, get some wisdom! Proverbs 4 says, “Get wisdom...she will preserve you.” (NKJV) One great example is your teeth. What are three obvious things that wisdom says will preserve your teeth? Well, it’s wise to brush your teeth. It’s wise to floss your teeth. And it’s wise to go to the dentist for regular cleanings and checkups. Follow this wisdom and your teeth will be preserved. And yet I know so many people who chuck this wisdom out the window. And what is going to happen? Their teeth are not going to be preserved. Think of tobacco products. Wisdom says, “Don’t use tobacco products and you will be preserved.” Now I’m thinking of the woman my age who has been smoking, I guess, since high school, and when I saw her Facebook picture I was aghast! She almost looked old enough to be my mother, because all that smoking was sucking the life out of her. Wisdom, though, would have preserved her. My dad had a bad motorcycle accident when I was in high school. His wisdom in wearing a helmet preserved his life. But his wisdom in not riding motorcycles since then preserved him from all such accidents. Wisdom in wearing a helmet will obviously preserve you if you have an accident, and wisdom in choosing a car over a motorcycle means you will never, ever be harmed on your motorcycle. Wisdom preserves you, so get wisdom! You ate that questionable food and ended up writhing in the bathroom. Wisdom preserves you! In your health. In your marriage. In your family. In your career. In your business. In your church. In all things, keep working to grow in wisdom, because one thing is clear. Wisdom preserves you. God bless you, today. I’m Doug Apple.

I’m Doug Apple...and my heart is on fire! (Luke 24:32) He covers Himself with light, as with a garment. He’s wearing a robe of...not white...but LIGHT. A robe of light. Psalm 104 says it, and let that sink in for a minute. The Lord our God wraps Himself in light. I don’t know if you’ve ever studied the properties of light, but they are amazing. And if you think God created light when He created the sun, moon and stars, think again. In Genesis 1:3, on Day One, God said, “Let there be light.” Then He didn’t create the traditional sources of light until DAY FOUR. It’s impossible to imagine this, because when it comes to light, all we know is light that comes from a light source. But when God wraps Himself with light as with a garment, it’s not because a spotlight is on Him. It’s not because He is wearing a garment full of light bulbs like some crazy Vegas show. He is wrapped in pure, total, original light. The kind of light that came before the sun, moon and stars! And it’s like nothing we’ve ever seen, or even can see! First Timothy 6:16 says that God dwells in unapproachable light. And remember that light includes gamma rays and X-rays and radio waves and microwaves. It’s shooting out photons of energy, and no wonder “no man can approach!” So when Psalm 104:1 says God is clothed in majesty, don’t think of purple robes and shiny baubles, but think of this. God robes Himself in light. God bless you, today. I’m Doug Apple.

I’m Doug Apple...and my heart is on fire! (Luke 24:32) How to Read Medieval Art. That’s the name of the new book I picked up at the library. How to Read Medieval Art. So you mean there are hidden messages and clues in the art, like a mystery? I’m in! Give me that book. Then I read something very interesting in the foreword, which was written by Thomas P. Campbell, the director of The Metropolitan Museum of Art. It’s also known as The Met in New York City, it’s the largest art museum in the United States, and it’s among the most visited art museums in the world. In the foreword he points out that much of medieval art is based on biblical themes. Now listen to this. He wrote, “To modern readers and museum visitors, the narratives of the Judeo-Christian tradition may be as unfamiliar as those of Egyptian gods.” Wow. So here we are, with more Christian publishing, more Bibles, more books, more media, more websites, more preaching, and probably more churches and evangelism than ever. And yet medieval art with biblical themes requires special explanation, similar to what we need to understand long-defunct, ancient Egyptian gods. Can that be true? It may be – partly because a chunk of the people hanging around at The Met are probably not prone to be in church this Sunday. But even among church-going Christians, studies show a plunge in biblical literacy, especially among younger people. Well, we can’t change the world, but we can make sure that in our homes and families, and in our churches, we are providing the education and teaching and biblical training that’s needed. If we don’t, the truths of God are going to seem as mysterious to coming generations as some ancient Egyptian god. God bless you, today. I’m Doug Apple.

I’m Doug Apple...and my heart is on fire! (Luke 24:32) Are you drinking the Kool-Aid or the living water? I mean, where are you getting your values? On what foundation are you building your life? Are you plugged into TV all day? Is your favorite news channel like an IV pumping Kool-Aid into your veins? Is it soap operas? And you know that show you’re binging on is basically a soap opera, right? That’s why you can’t stop watching. But all these things impart values and morals. Our books. Our novels. The people filling our news feeds. The click bait. We keep going back to the same sources and drinking the artificial...but colorful!...Kool-Aid. Meanwhile, we have an amazing source of living water – the Holy Spirit of God who lives inside every Christian believer. (John 7:38-39) Living water – it’s a spiritual spring, teeming with life! It’s the Spirit of God inside of us, flowing within us...but we have to tap into it. We seek God in prayer and praise and Bible study, and we tap into His living water. We draw near to Him, and He draws near to us. (James 4:8) Then He shows us things, ways to live, attitudes to adopt; and when we do, He establishes our lives on a firm foundation. In the Sermon on the Mount, in Matthew chapter 7, Jesus said that when we hear His teachings and do them, we are building our lives on a solid foundation. Sometimes people accuse fired up Christians of drinking the Kool-Aid. On the contrary. The world is sucking down the Kool-Aid like a maniacal third grader. And even Christians can fall for the cartoonish colors, shovels of sugar and short-lived satisfaction. So stop with the Kool-Aid. Instead, let us run to the living water, clean and refreshing and satisfying! God bless you, today. I’m Doug Apple.

I’m Doug Apple...and my heart is on fire! (Luke 24:32) What might you have been excellent at if you had powered through? Let me say it again. What might you have been excellent at – if you had powered through? See, we’re all made in the image of God. He created us, and He packed us with individual gifts and talents. But it’s raw material. It’s like the planet. God created it, and He packed it full of astounding raw materials. And I think we have only just begun to discover all the amazing things He put here. The same is true with us. Every one of us. He packed us full of raw materials, but they are hidden. They are under the surface. It’s not obvious. We have to dig, excavate, plow, work it. I hate to see young people squandering so much time. I hate to see anyone wasting time, but especially young people, who are still so much like an undiscovered land. What might they be able to do if they just worked at it? That’s the problem with raw materials. They require a lot of work. Phil Collins became known as one of the best drummers in the world. But as a child it was just bare, raw materials. He liked to hit things in a rhythm. But he worked it, hard. In his new autobiography he writes, “I must have put in my 10,000 hours before I’m even a teenager...when I’m home, I drum, to the exclusion of pretty much all else.” You are a wonderland of raw materials, just waiting for you to discover! What are you good at? What can you be great at? Whatever it is, greatness never comes easy. You start with the raw materials, and then you work. You work, man! You work now, so you don’t end up older with someone like me saying, “Just think - what might you have been excellent at if you had just powered through? God bless you, today. I’m Doug Apple.

I’m Doug Apple...and my heart is on fire! (Luke 24:32) I want to be a just man, like Noah. Genesis says Noah was a just man, and he walked with God. I want to be a just man, like John the Baptist. Mark 6:20 says that Herod feared John, knowing that he was a just man...and holy. I want to be a just man, like Joseph of Arimethea. Luke says, “Now behold, there was a man named Joseph, a council member, a good and just man.” I want to be like that: a good and just man. I want to be a just man like Cornelius. Acts 10:22 says Cornelius the centurion was a just man, one who feared God and had a good reputation. Hardly anyone in the Bible is called “just,” but I want to be like them, a just man. Proverbs 9:9 says, “Teach a just man, and he will increase in learning.” “Lord, I want that. I don’t want to be a fool who can’t learn his lessons. Lord, I want to be a just man who increases in learning.” Proverbs 20:7 says the just man walks in his integrity. His children are blessed. “Lord, I want to be that man, the just man, with integrity, whose children are blessed!” Proverbs 24:16 says a just man falls seven times...and rises up again! “Thank You, Lord, that even if I stumble I will rise up again! By Your Spirit I will keep the faith. I will run the race. I will live for You and love You with all my heart, soul, mind and strength.” “Lord Jesus, I am clay on the wheel. Mold me into the man You want me to be.” A good man. A holy man. A just man. God bless you, today. I’m Doug Apple.

I’m Doug Apple...and my heart is on fire! (Luke 24:32) Think of the crown of thorns, brother. When you think you’re going to sin a little, and it’s okay, because Jesus forgave you, or will forgive you, or whatever….think of the crown of thorns, brother. Of all the things He suffered, man, He suffered for our SINS. Those sins that separated us from God, He suffered for those. He suffered so we could be forgiven and made right with God. And then we’ll so easily return to the hog slop...after a meal with the King has been prepared? “But I’m saved, Doug, I’m free! I have the righteousness of Christ so I’m free from the bondage of the law. I live under grace, so I can pretty much do whatever I want.” I’m saying take a good, hard look, under the bright light. Then answer the question, “Is it sin?” If it is, drop it. Drop it immediately and walk away. And if you need a little motivation, remember that our forgiveness came at a price, and a transaction was made, and if you are a saved, born again Christian, you are not your own. You belong to God and you were bought at a price, therefore glorify God in your body and your spirit, which belong to God. (First Corinthians 6) We. Belong. To God. He saved us so we could be with Him, be close to Him, be His. We are His. We are to be like Him. And He is holy. And our sin, even as His children, will block up the works, quench and grieve His Spirit, and make us stink. So the next time you are willing to throw caution to the wind and step your big boot right into that steamy, stenchy cow pie of sin...think of the crown of thorns, brother. Think of the crown of thorns. God bless you, today. I’m Doug Apple.

I’m Doug Apple...and my heart is on fire! (Luke 24:32) When I was helping little leaguers stop dropping the ball, I would tell them, “Squeeze it into the glove!” I know it seems obvious, but really, they didn’t all know to do that, to just squeeze the glove and hold it once they had the ball. Now if you’re laughing at the poor kid who didn’t know about squeezing the ball into the glove, let me ask you...have you ever dropped your phone? Is your phone screen cracked right now, even as we speak? You gotta squeeze it into the glove! I mean, there you are, your phone is in your hand...and then you drop it. It just falls out of the glove, so to speak. You gotta take more care. You gotta get a handle on it, get a firm grip on it. Otherwise it’s going to slip and you’re going to drop it. And the same is true with God’s Word. And it’s far more important than catching a baseball and more valuable than your phone. You gotta squeeze it into the glove! So the preacher preaches a great word, and there was especially that one point that really hit home, really hit you where you live. Write it down, man! Meditate on it. Let it sink in, sink deep, take root. Learn it. Live it. Love it. Share it. Shine it! You read the Bible, and something hits you solid. It makes your heart burn within you. Now what? Underline it, man! Highlight it! Put it on a post it note. Memorize it. Let that thing set your heart on fire! I should be able to ask you right now, “What Bible verse really has you lit up these days?” Jesus said, “The sower went out to his seed.” The seed is the Word, and it’s hitting soil...and you and I are the soil. Here comes the seed of the Word! It’s coming at you. What do you do? Does it bounce off? Or maybe you catch it, for like a minute, and then you inexplicably let it fall to the ground. Come on, man! You gotta squeeze it into the glove. Squeeze it into the glove, man. Squeeze it into the glove. God bless you, today. I’m Doug Apple.

I’m Doug Apple...and my heart is on fire! (Luke 24:32) Lately I’ve been all cranked up about the old hymn “Great Is Thy Faithfulness.” What powerful, encouraging words! I decided to learn and memorize all the lyrics, I mean, how many songs do you know ALL the words to, right? And sometimes the words aren’t worth memorizing, like those hymns where sing “verse 1 and 3, and definitely not 4, but maybe 5.” Well “Great Is Thy Faithfulness” is worth singing and memorizing all the way through. Just listen. Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father, There is no shadow of turning with Thee, Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not, As Thou hast been, Thou forever wilt be. Summer and winter and springtime and harvest, Sun, moon and stars in their courses above Join with all nature in manifold witness To Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love. Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide, Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow, Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside! Great is Thy faithfulness! Great is Thy faithfulness! Morning by morning new mercies I see. All I have needed Thy hand hath provided, Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me! I hope this causes your heart to burn within you today like it has mine. The powerful and encouraging hymn, “Great Is Thy Faithfulness.” God bless you, today. I’m Doug Apple.