Shredded

TITLE: Shredded
DATE: November 14, 2018
TEXT: Isaiah 55:7 (ESV) -7 let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.

We have a wonderful government, don’t you think? There is a department or an office for just about anything a person can think of. The story of Ben and Jackee Belnap of Holladay, Utah introduced me to one such unknown department.

Their story goes this way. Ben and Jackie love going to see the Utah Utes.  Ben’s father picked up some tickets for the couple. The bill came to $1,060. Bill and Jackee immediately got the cash, put it in a white envelope and made an appointment to visit with Dad to pay for and pick up their tickets.

Unfortunately, when the time came to make good on their debt, Ben and Jackee couldn’t find that plain, white envelope. For an entire weekend they turned their house topsy-turvy. The cash proved to be illusive until……………………..they looked into the paper shredder.

The familiar green color on little cross-cut bits of paper told them they had found their cash.

“But how did it ever get there?” That was the question.  It was a query which quickly found its answer in the person of Leo, the couple’s two-year-old son. You know, the same son who had, under a watchful parental eye, gleefully shredded all kinds of unwanted papers and junk mail.

This time, having found an envelope, Leo decided to show his parents what he could do on his own.  Well, sure enough, he showed them and his parents reacted by sitting there in silence, looking at the paper. They sat there for the longest time.

As I say we have a government which has departments to deal with just about anything.

Anything… including shredded cash. Ben found out about the department, made a phone call and the man on the other end of the line said, “Oh, we might be able to help you here.” Ben was euphoric to hear that. It was a euphoria which became a bit tarnished when the government official instructed him to: 'Bag it up in little Ziploc bags, mail it to DC, and in one to two years, you'll get your money back.'"
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It wasn’t an ideal reply, but it was better than nothing.

Daily Devotioners, has it ever occurred to you that we are all like little Leos?

It’s true. The Lord gave humanity a wonderful world and it’s perfection was shredded with the disobedience of our first parents. In every generation He gives us His laws and we disobey them. He speaks to us in His Holy Word and we often ignore Him. Our sinful natures manage to do a pretty complete shredding of God’s blessings and good intentions.

But there is good news. God can help us with that.

So we might be saved and put on a new course for eternity, the Father sent His Son to live for us; fulfill the law for us; resist temptation, die and rise for us. No matter the mess we have made, the Lord can make it right with His forgiveness…and we don’t have to wait a year or two for His fixing to take place.

THE PRAYER: Dear Lord, even the best people produced by humanity make a mess of the gifts You give. For that disobedience we sincerely repent. But our sorrow for sin is balanced by our joy and thankfulness for the forgiveness You offer to Your children of faith. In Jesus, we give thanks. Amen.

The above devotion was inspired by a number of sources, including one written by Rob Quinn for Newser on October 5, 2018. Those who wish to reference this article may do so at the following link, which was fully functional at the time this devotion was written: http://www.newser.com/story/265543/toddler-shreds-1k-in-cash.html