[continued from previous message]   
      
   14 O Lord, why do You cast away my soul?   
   Why do You hide Your face from me?   
   15 I am afflicted and close to death since my youth;   
   while I suffer Your terrors I am helpless.   
   16 Your fierce wrath sweeps over me;   
   Your terrors destroy me.   
   17 They come around me daily like a flood;   
   they encircle me together.   
   18 You have caused to be far from me my lovers and friends,   
   and my companion is darkness.   
      
   Psalm 88   
   [1] O LORD God of my salvation, I have cried day and night before thee:   
   [6] Thou hast laid me in the lowest pit, in darkness, in the deeps.   
   [7] Thy wrath lieth hard upon me, and thou hast afflicted me with all thy   
   waves. Selah.   
   [8] Thou hast put away mine acquaintance far from me; thou hast made me an   
   abomination unto them: I am shut up, and I cannot come forth.   
   [9] Mine eye mourneth by reason of affliction: LORD, I have called daily   
   upon thee, I have stretched out my hands unto thee.   
   [10] Wilt thou shew wonders to the dead? shall the dead arise and praise   
   thee? Selah.   
   [11] Shall thy lovingkindness be declared in the grave? or thy faithfulness   
   in destruction?   
   [12] Shall thy wonders be known in the dark? and thy righteousness in the   
   land of forgetfulness?   
   [13] But unto thee have I cried, O LORD; and in the morning shall my prayer   
   prevent thee.   
   [14] LORD, why castest thou off my soul? why hidest thou thy face from me?   
   [15] I am afflicted and ready to die from my youth up: while I suffer thy   
   terrors I am distracted.   
   [16] Thy fierce wrath goeth over me; thy terrors have cut me off.   
   [17] They came round about me daily like water; they compassed me about   
   together.   
   [18] Lover and friend hast thou put far from me, and mine acquaintance into   
   darkness.   
      
   Charles had sunk into depression. Despite having a loving family, he felt all   
   alone. "The overwhelming pressure of supporting them was continuing to build,"   
   he said, "and I felt like taking my own life." Surprisingly - or   
   perhaps not - Charles Morris also led a Christian ministry.   
      
   A wise friend told him that when faced with depression, "We should soak in   
   the Psalms." Charles got through his deep despondency by reading relatable   
   Bible passages, accepting prudent medical care,   
   and pouring his heart out to God.   
      
   The Psalms are often brutally honest. Heman the Ezrahite wrote one of the   
   most bitter. Hope is found only in the opening lines: "Lord, you are the   
   God who saves me" (88:1). Heman seems to accuse God: "You have put me in   
   the lowest pit" (v. 6). "You have overwhelmed me" (v. 7). And he had   
   questions: "Why, Lord, do you reject me and hide your face   
   from me?" (v. 14). Most psalms end with a message of hope. Not this one.   
   Heman concludes, "Darkness is my closest friend" (v. 18). This is the prayer   
   of a truly desperate man. Yet Heman directed all his pain to God.   
      
   When we read psalms such as this one, we realize we're not alone.   
   Others have experienced desperate feelings and have dared to put   
   voice to them. God could take such honesty from Heman. He can take   
   it from you too. He's there, and He’s listening.   
      
   Reflect & Pray   
      
   What part of Psalm 88 do you most relate to? What will you ask God today?   
      
   Heavenly Father, sometimes I hurt too   
   much even to pray. Thank You that You're   
   big enough to take all my pain and honesty.   
      
      
   Learn how to take wisdom from the book of Psalms.   
      
   3) Daily verses taken from Billy Graham Evangelical Organisation   
      
   Words in Season Scripture Memory Tools   
      
   Week 4 -The Blessings of Grace Day 6 - A Reasonable Alternative   
      
   Isaiah 1:18   
      
   18 (Ps 51:7; Rev 7:14) "Come now, and let us reason together, "   
   says the Lord. Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow;   
   though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.   
      
   18 Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD:   
   though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow;   
   though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.   
      
   "Is Christianity Reasonable?" Linda Wanted to Know. "I've heard all my life   
   that faith is a crutch, an invention of weak minds to assure them   
   of some order in the world."   
   Linda was not alone in her objection; thinking people for generations   
   have been asking themselves the same question.   
   God is not intimidated by our questions; in fact, he confronts the issue   
   head-on in the Scriptures. "Let us reason together," the Lord invites.   
   Even according to the most basic of human reasoning,   
   faith is a reasonable alternative , a rational choice for a thinking person.   
   God indicates in his Word that confession and forgiveness are "reasonable".   
   "Think!" God says. "You sin, and you know it. You are not even able to be   
   true to your own principles. You cannot deal with your sin by will power   
   or effort. But I can deal with it! I can forgive it - and I will"   
   We cannot come to faith in God through Christ by intellect alone, of course.   
   Our spirits much reach out in faith, beyond what we can see. But intellect   
   supports faith; trusting in Christ is an eminently rational decision.   
   In Deut 30:1-20 , God set before the people a choice: Life or Death, blessing   
   or cursing. "Choose Life!" he tells them. We have the same choice.   
   The ultimate decision is thus simplified, the 'rational' alternative becomes   
   clear. We can choose death, by attempting to control our own destinies ,   
   or life, by giving ourselves fully into the hand of the Master.   
      
   Application   
      
   a) Why is the choice to acknowledge my sin and receive forgiveness a   
   'Rational choice'?   
      
   b) What are the alternatives to such a decision?   
      
   c) What other aspects of God's word   
   and work in my life seem 'reasonable' to me?   
      
   4) From Prosperity Promises - Kenneth Copeland   
      
   Matthew 6:19-21   
      
   Treasures in Heaven   
      
   Lk 12:33-34   
      
   19 (Heb 13:5; Lk 12:21) "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth   
   where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal.   
   20 (Lk 12:33; Mt 19:21) But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven,   
   where neither moth nor rust destroy   
   and where thieves do not break in nor steal,   
   21 (Lk 12:34) for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."   
      
   19 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth   
   corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:   
   20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust   
   doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:   
   21 for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.   
      
   5) From a Book called God's Promises for you:   
      
   God's Eternal Faithfulness   
      
   2 Tim 2:8-13   
      
   8 (Mt 1:1; Ro 2:16) Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead,   
   descended from David, according to my gospel,   
   9 (Php 1:7; 2Ti 1:8) in which I suffer trouble like a criminal,   
   even with chains. But the word of God is not bound.   
   10 (Col 1:24; 2Co 1:6; 4:17) Therefore I endure all things   
   for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain   
   the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.   
   11 (Ro 6:8; 1Th 5:10) This is a faithful saying:   
   If we die with Him,   
   we shall also live with Him.   
   12 (Mt 10:33; Ro 8:17 ) If we endure,   
   we shall also reign with Him.   
   If we deny Him,   
   He also will deny us.   
   13 (Nu 23:19; Ro 3:3 )If we are faithless,   
   He remains faithful;   
   He cannot deny Himself.   
      
   8 Remember that Jesus Christ of the seed of David was raised from the dead   
   according to my gospel:   
   9 wherein I suffer trouble, as an evil doer, even unto bonds; but the word of   
   God is not bound.   
   10 Therefore I endure all things for the elect's sakes, that they may also   
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)