What is your favorite piece of scripture and why?
Here’s mine.
John 14:6
“Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
Here’s why.
When I first became a Christian I had a conversation with my sister-in-law Ellen. I was new to the whole scene and was seriously lacking in my knowledge of the Bible and what it had to say. This verse hit home to me. It was so simple, so easy to understand, and Ellen said it so matter-of-factly that it hit me like an “Of course! How could I not see something so obvious?” kinda moment. It made perfect sense. It still does. It’s not a difficult verse to understand, it’s a straight forward and honest statement of truth. It is the only way.
What’s yours?
Wandering Views 
Ist Samuel 3. On the one hand, I love God audibly calling out to the young Samuel. However, the message about Eli’s sons is very sobering.
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Eccl 7:10. Taught me the importance of moving on when I was a teenager. Ecclesiastes is easily my favorite book in the Bible.
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I was going to pick just one or two verses from the chapter, but I can’t choose from the many, because it’s really the whole thing—so, yep, I posted it all. :–)
I love it because it is my song of redemption.
Psalm 103
1-Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, [bless] his holy name.
2-Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:
3-Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases;
4-Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with
lovingkindness and tender mercies;
5-Who satisfieth thy mouth with good [things; so that] thy youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
6-The LORD executeth righteousness and judgment for all that are oppressed.
7-He made known his ways unto Moses, his acts unto the children of Israel.
8-The LORD [is] merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy.
9-He will not always chide: neither will he keep [his anger] for ever.
10-He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities
11-For as the heaven is high above the earth, [so] great is his mercy toward them that fear him.
12-As far as the east is from the west, [so] far hath he removed our transgressions from us.
13-Like as a father pitieth [his] children, [so] the LORD pitieth them that fear him.
14-For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we [are] dust.
15-[As for] man, his days [are] as grass: as a flower of the field, so he flourisheth.
16-For the wind passeth over it, and it is gone; and the place thereof shall know it no more.
17-But the mercy of the LORD [is] from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children’s children;
18- To such as keep his covenant, and to those that remember his commandments to do them.
19- The LORD hath prepared his throne in the heavens; and his kingdom ruleth over all.
20- Bless the LORD, ye his angels, that excel in strength, that do his commandments, hearkening unto the voice of his word.
21- Bless ye the LORD, all [ye] his hosts; [ye] ministers of his, that do his pleasure.
22- Bless the LORD, all his works in all places of his dominion: bless the LORD, O my soul.
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I thought I had discussed this on the WM Blog. But apparently not.
My favorite scripture verse is III John 3
“I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.”
I wouldn’t have said this 30 years ago because I was encumbered with many things, making my way in the world. Son still in college, new granddaughter, issues of work and church work, many other things to bring worry and joy.
A few years ago, my oldest granddaughter’s husband was being ordained as a deacon at Friendly Avenue BC in Greensboro, NC. Afterwords, I was chatting with the pastor and he said that I must be proud of Bryan. I said, “I have no greater joy than to know that my children walk in the truth”. It was just part of the conversation and wasn’t until I was cogitating on this later that I realized how true it was.
No lottery winnings.
No career advancement,
No great recognition,
No discoveries
Can match the joy I have from knowing that my family is walking in the truth.
I understand that some here know what I mean and have problems concerning that. I pray for those I know about. The Judge answers the prayers of the widow who wouldn’t relent until she got justice.
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The one that has been with me and gives me comfort is Song of Solomon 8:6. Love is strong as death. I know I take it out of context, but as a child knowing I was losing someone I loved it gave me comfort to know I would see him again. As an adult losing my father, it gave me comfort that I would see him again.
Beyond that I was in Kindergarten when I learned John 3:16–For god so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have eternal life.
I sometimes have a hard time accepting gifts but I am learning.
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oops I do know that it is God
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Proverbs 3:5-6…
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding;
In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He shall direct your paths.”
This is oft-quoted, & may seem almost like a cliche to some, but it is a great command & a comfort. God has used this verse time & again in my life to take me from being a worrier who had to figure everything out to being one who trusts in Him in all situations.
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Here’s one of them. Genesis 15 (here from the NKJV) is other-worldly: sober yet joyful and ripe with all the (now) fulfilled promises of God.
God’s Covenant with Abram
15 After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.”
2 But Abram said, “Lord God, what will You give me, seeing I go childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” 3 Then Abram said, “Look, You have given me no offspring; indeed one born in my house is my heir!”
4 And behold, the word of the Lord came to him, saying, “This one shall not be your heir, but one who will come from your own body shall be your heir.” 5 Then He brought him outside and said, “Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them.” And He said to him, “So shall your descendants be.”
6 And he believed in the Lord, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.
7 Then He said to him, “I am the Lord, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to inherit it.”
8 And he said, “Lord God, how shall I know that I will inherit it?”
9 So He said to him, “Bring Me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.” 10 Then he brought all these to Him and cut them in two, down the middle, and placed each piece opposite the other; but he did not cut the birds in two. 11 And when the vultures came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away.
12 Now when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, horror and great darkness fell upon him. 13 Then He said to Abram: “Know certainly that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, and will serve them, and they will afflict them four hundred years. 14 And also the nation whom they serve I will judge; afterward they shall come out with great possessions. 15 Now as for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried at a good old age. 16 But in the fourth generation they shall return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.”
17 And it came to pass, when the sun went down and it was dark, that behold, there appeared a smoking oven and a burning torch that passed between those pieces. 18 On the same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying:
“To your descendants I have given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the River Euphrates— 19 the Kenites, the Kenezzites, the Kadmonites, 20 the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, 21 the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.”
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Good stuff folks.
Debra and all,
As far as length, post as much or as little as you like. As far as I’m concerned, there is no such thing as too much where this topic is concerned.
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It is so hard to limit myself to one, but I love the short stories of faithful people in the books of Joshua and Judges. I was just reading about Othniel, Ehud and Deborah, and it struck me how unique and intriguing each of these judges were. Othniel conquered a city for love; Ehud was left-handed and his assassination through trickery was a bit sinister too; Deborah was a woman and a wife, but was also a prophet, a judge and a poet. Caleb’s statement to Joshua in Joshua 14:6-15. reads like the words of a saga, as the hero looks back on all his exploits and goes carefree and confident to meet his fated adventure:
‘Then the children of Judah came unto Joshua in Gilgal: and Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenezite said unto him, “Thou knowest the thing that the Lord said unto Moses the man of God concerning me and thee in Kadeshbarnea. Forty years old was I when Moses the servant of the Lord sent me from Kadeshbarnea to espy out the land; and I brought him word again as it was in mine heart. Nevertheless my brethren that went up with me made the heart of the people melt: but I wholly followed the Lord my God. And Moses sware on that day, saying, Surely the land whereon thy feet have trodden shall be thine inheritance, and thy children’s for ever, because thou hast wholly followed the Lord my God.
And now, behold, the Lord hath kept me alive, as he said, these forty and five years, even since the Lord spake this word unto Moses, while the children of Israel wandered in the wilderness: and now, lo, I am this day fourscore and five years old. As yet I am as strong this day as I was in the day that Moses sent me: as my strength was then, even so is my strength now, for war, both to go out, and to come in. Now therefore give me this mountain, whereof the Lord spake in that day; for thou heardest in that day how the Anakims were there, and that the cities were great and fenced: if so be the Lord will be with me, then I shall be able to drive them out, as the Lord said.” ‘
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John 11:25-26
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?”
This was one of the first Scriptures I memorized, and I learned it from a song that my sister’s boyfriend in college taught us. (He had been instrumental in her coming to faith in Christ, and me through her.) I remember walking to school, singing it to myself. (There were no other kids who lived nearby; I pretty much had the street to myself.) It carries a message of hope, and nothing is bad enough to cancel it out, even death itself.
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There are so many areas of scripture I could name among my favorites, but if I had to narrow it down to one area, I would have to say Romans chapter 8, a most vibrant chapter showing the power of Christ, a real comfort to weak me. I especially love the following verses from that chapter:
1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.
28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
36 As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.
37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.
38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
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Several of you have quoted some of my favorite verses. One I like that was not yet quoted is from James 1:17: “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.” (NKJV)
This always makes me think of the perfect gift of Jesus and God’s perfect plan for Him to take away the sin of the world. It also reminds me of all the good God put into His creation, the beauty found in nature, even His thoughtfulness in making people in His image so we always have the higher standard to live up to. And this verse helps me to be mindful of telling God thanks for all He does for me and all the people on earth. Also, as a side note, my son’s first name is James (not saying he is perfect since none of us are at this time, but when he was born he seemed to be a perfect gift from God).
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My favorite passage in the Bible is: Hebrews 4:12
For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
This passage I heard quoted from a Radio Pastor when I was a boy growing up in Abilene Texas. I came to love hearing it quoted early in the morning when I would listen to the “Lest we forget Program” from Dr. Joe Temple. At the time, I was not a believer and did not understand a whole lot of the expository teaching on the radio, but I loved hearing that passage.
Oddly enough it was the 1st passage that I memorized after I was called to saving faith.
Today I often cherish passages from the Bible that are from the Bible like PS 119 and memorize them.
When I prepare the devotional for the blog, I will call to mind PS 119:18. Open thou my eyes that I may behold wondrous thing in thy word. I could go on and on, but suffice it to say far and above Hebrews 4:12 will always be my favorite verse in the Bible, because the word of God changes the hearts of men. Mine included.
Love you guys. Take care and God Bless.
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Not necessarily my “favorite” above and beyond all else, but I always get chills reading Jesus’ response to his disciples when they passed on John the Baptist’s question from jail (“Are you the one who is to come or shall we look for another?”)
“Go and tell John what you hear and see; the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, leapers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them. And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.”
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