He Gets It

TITLE: He Gets It
DATE: March 16, 2019
TEXT: Matthew 15:8 - (ESV) - ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me”
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David Holston from Coeur d’Alene, Idaho is only 18-years-old, but he’s got the savvy of someone who is decades older.

Recently he was visiting his mother in Seattle. She was recovering from surgery and David wanted to provide some TLC. While he was there, he noticed the folks in Seattle seemed to be pretty upset about the weather they’ve been having.

You see, Seattle has to go back 70 years to find a snowier February than 2019. There are places where they have actually had ten-inches of snow.

Now this is the point where the Daily Devotioners in Wyoming, Colorado, Minnesota, Michigan and the Dakotas clutch their sides and roll on the floor, laughing. The weathermen in those states call 10 inches of snow, “a dusting.” Still, if you’re not prepared for snow, ten-inches can be a lot.

Looking at the snow, David got to wondering whether he might make some money bringing his plow-truck back to Seattle. David tested the waters by taking out a Craigslist ad. He received an offer from someone who was willing to pay $1,000 to be plowed out.

David got his truck. After spending some time with his mom, he went on the road plowing people out. He had jobs lined up until midnight. As he plowed, he answered his phone and added new customers for the next day.

David plowed out driveways and parking lots at rates of $500 to $750. At the end of a three day weekend he had brought in $35,000.

 $35,000 is a lot of money. I wondered just how a teen-ager would spend that kind of cash which had been dumped into his lap. The article told me.

• David said the first 20% was going to his church.
• Some would go to buy new equipment.
• The rest would be set aside for the purchase of his first home.

Impressed?

I was, too. But David wasn’t done with his witness. To the newspeople in Seattle who interviewed him, he said, ‘his theme Bible verse for the trip was Luke 12:31: "But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well."

To that he added this explanation "The Lord blessed me with the money for the sole purpose of advancing his kingdom. All of the glory goes to God!"

Now I’ve shared David’s story because he gets it. More and more in recent years I hear Christians saying, “I don’t talk about my faith…I just live in a way that will have people asking, “What I believe.” Now that sounds good… but I live in a neighborhood which has a lot of Hindus, and some of them are leading pretty good lives, too.

I think David’s got it right. He honors God with his lips… and his actions… and his heart. I pray I will do the same.

THE PRAYER: Dear Lord, let my words and actions reflect my heart which ought always be grateful for a Savior Who gave His life for my salvation. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

Today’s devotion was inspired by various articles, amongst which is the one written by Lauren Johnson for CNN on February 20, 2019 .  Those who wish may check out this link which was, at the time of writing, fully active: https://www.cnn.com/2019/02/19/us/teen-makes-35k-plowing-snow-trnd/index.html

The music which introduces and concludes our devotions was written by Guy Baumann, one of my long-ago confirmands. He is singing with three brothers. This song comes from the album: The Baumann Brothers which may be ordered here: http://thebaumannbrothers.com/index.html