Do you have a favorite Bible verse? Are there too many good ones to choose a single verse? Are your favorites usually 1-3 verses each or do you prefer long passages? Or a mix of both? This week, we are each sharing some of our favorite verses and I am excited to see if we share any of the same ones or all choose different verses and passages.  

Before I start, I just want to let you know that the verses are in ESV unless otherwise noted. When I memorized verses as a child, they were in NKJV and I prefer that wording for those verses since that is how I am used to saying them. I also want to add that this is not an exhaustive list of favorites, that would definitely be way too long for a single blog post! 

Romans 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.  

This verse is such a great reminder that when we choose to follow Christ and live our lives for Him, we are not condemned to eternal separation from Him. It is also a great reminder that we have freedom in Christ now. We know we will still sin and mess up in this life, but we also know that we will not be condemned when we do because we have been saved through the sacrifice that Jesus made for us. 

Acts 16:30-31 (NKJV) And he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” So they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.” 

If you don’t recognize this exchange, it is from the story of Paul and Silas, who were in jail for preaching the gospel. This exchange was with the Philippian jailer who was about to kill himself after a big earthquake had flung open all of the jail cells. He assumed all of the prisoners had escaped and knew he would be killed for allowing that, but Paul and Silas assured him that everyone was still there, and thus saved his life. He and his family also came to believe in Christ after this. 

I learned these verses in 3rd or 4th grade and when I memorized them, I was very confused. I knew that each person has to believe in the Lord to be saved, but this verse made it seem (to my 8 year old brain) that only one person in the home needed to believe in order for the whole family to be saved. As I grew, I came to understand that they meant that the whole household should believe. I love how simple this exchange is. Obviously, there is more to being saved than just believing in the Lord. We also must confess our sins to Him and live our lives for Him, but this shows one of the biggest differences between our faith and other religions. Other religions include works as part of their salvation, but that was not mentioned at all here because our works do not dictate our salvation. 

Ephesians 3:20-21 Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

These were the theme verses of the university I attended, and isn’t that the whole point of life? If you have social media, I am sure that you have seen the trend going around where people post pictures and/or videos of the important people and things in their lives with a caption along the lines of “Almost forgot this was the whole point.” That’s what I have been thinking of lately with these verses. The whole point is to give God the glory in everything. He can do and actually does more than we could ask or imagine, and that is unfortunately something we can easily forget. Why do we so often forget to give Him the glory? Is it the same reasons why everyone participating in the social media trend are forgetting the “whole point”? Are we being drawn in by the distractions of the world? Let’s do better at remembering what the whole point of life is, giving all the glory to the God who does more than we could ever imagine. 

Would a post about favorite Bible verses be complete without an honorable mention of John 3:16? That is the verse that we all learned as kids, right? And it points out the simplicity of our faith like Acts 16:30-31, that anyone who believes in Him can be saved, not dependent on our works. 

What are your favorite Bible verses? I would love to know what verses stand out to you! 

Abbi