What I Read Today.

Psalm 116, from "The Message", a paraphrase of scripture:

I love God because he listened to me, listened as I begged for mercy.

He listened so intently as I laid out my case before him. Death stared me in the face, hell was hard on my heels. Up against it, I didn't know which way to turn; then I called out to God for help: "Please, God!" I cried out. "Save my life!"

God is gracious—it is he who makes things right, our most compassionate God. God takes the side of the helpless; when I was at the end of my rope, he saved me.

I said to myself,

"Relax and rest. God has showered you with blessings.
Soul, you've been rescued from death;
Eye, you've been rescued from tears;
And you, Foot, were kept from stumbling."

I'm striding in the presence of God, alive in the land of the living! I stayed faithful, though bedeviled, and despite a ton of bad luck,
Despite giving up on the human race, saying, "They're all liars and cheats."

What can I give back to God for the blessings he's poured out on me?
I'll lift high the cup of salvation—a toast to God!

... Halelujah!