Eternal warranty

Our Daily Bread
I like Lands End coats.  They are a little more expensive than I usually like to spend on a coat, but they have a great warranty.  I had some simple things go wrong with my first one.  It was a green windjammer style that had zippers break a two different times.  What did LE do?  They replaced the coat twice!  What a great warranty!

God offers us an even better warranty -- one that never expires!  We're talking never!  No matter what we go through.  No matter what happens to us.  God will always be there for us.  Even when we sin and sin and sin, God's mercy can lift us up.  I am not saying that there aren't consequences for our sins because there are always consequences.  God will reestablish relationship with us if we just ask.  Wow!

The devotional also spoke to me from Jeremiah's point of view.  I have felt exhausted the past week or so.  I feel like I have been beating my head against the wall about some things and not really understanding what.  I finally realized something very important on Sunday night (see below).  I want to assure you (and me) that God is with me.  God is uplifting me with his love and mercy.  God is more than fulfilling his warranty of love and grace.  Praise God!

Lord, thank you for your love.  Please refresh when we are down or when we are tired from praising you!

Teaching Tuesday
The lesson this week was on the Tower of Babel.  It also talked about early Biblical peoples and where they came from (which sons of Noah).  It was very interesting stuff.  Here are the most important points to me:
1. The Sumerians were a people that demonstrated the first signs of "civilization" or the organization of people into cities and governments.  This was a huge change from the nomadic life of people before that.
2. Since the nomadic lifestyle revolved around the seasons and finding food for their flocks, time was not that big a deal to them.  It wasn't until the first cities that time became something that was consciously considered and measured.
3. Cites, like the one where the Tower of Babel was built, were for security.  The Tower of Babel was for fame.
4. Man used the same language of "creation" while building the Tower that God did while creating the universe and everything in it.  Man was trying to put himself on the same level as God (again).
5. Throughout history, man has struggled with his arrogance, many times reaching for useless self-justification instead of truly seeking and worshiping God.

I learned a lot from this lesson.  The last point about self-justification hit me very hard.  I finally let God open my eyes to the fact that I also struggle with doing good things for the wrong reasons - for self-justification.  It is only human.  God calls us to be more than our sinful human selves.  We are to be like him -- or at least try our best with his help!.

**********************************
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit - Romans 15:13