Depressed? Try Psalm 77

Psalm 77 offers a great solution for the Christian who may be going through hard times or depression. In it you see the Psalmist have a self-focused and depressed perspective in the first nine verses. Then you see in v.10-15 an intentional refocusing of their thoughts from their own situation to God. The Psalm continues and finishes (v.16-20) with the remembrance and praise of God's providence and blessings of the past. Is is not amazing how the altering of our perspective from self-focus to God-focus can carry us from depression into praise! Psalm 96:1-4 "Sing to the LORD a new song; sing to the LORD, all the earth. 2 Sing to the LORD, praise his name; proclaim his salvation day after day. 3 Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all peoples. 4 For great is the LORD and most worthy of praise; he is to be feared above all gods."

Wailing Wall

I always wanted to see the Wailing/Western wall when I got to Jerusalem, so when I arrived in Israel this past New Year's Eve it was our first destination! It is a small section, 200ft. wide by 100ft. tall, but you can see, even late at night, orthodox Jewish men praying on the left and the women on the right behind the covered area. Later in the trip I was able to climb in tunnels underneath the wall. The wall itself is part of a 2000+ year old support structure for the temple mount...more pictures and videos in the future! Want more info? Click here...

The Wailing Wall (along with many other spots in Israel) was also a ready reminder of the fact that the worship of our God is not constrained to "holy spots" or temples, but that as Christians our body is "a temple of the Holy Spirit." What a blessing it is to be able to have His Spirit within us!

TV -'The Tempter in the Bedroom'

Good blog today by Dr. Al Mohler on a NYT report on the health effects of TVs in bedrooms...

I especially like the quotes from Cornelius Plantiga's sermon. It makes me rethink my own TV viewing habits!