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The Bible Gateway website lists the most searched for verses from the Bible. Our favorite verses are, in order (with the first few words of the verse):
John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave…”
Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know well the plans I have…”
Romans 8:28 “We know that all things work for good…”
Philippians 4:13 “I have the strength for everything…”
Psalm 46:1 “God is our refuge and our strength…”
Joshua 1:9 “I command you: be strong and steadfast!…”
Psalm 23 “The LORD is my shepherd;…”
I Cor 13:4-8 “Love is patient, love is kind;…”
Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the LORD with all your…”
Genesis 1:1 “In the beginning, when God created…”
Romans 12:1-2 “I urge you therefore, brothers,…”
Philippians 4:6-7 “Have no anxiety at all,…”
Hebrews 12:2 “while keeping your eyes fixed on Jesus…”
Matthew 28:19-20 “Go, therefore,…”
Ephesians 2:8-9 “For by grace you have been saved…”
Galatians 5:22-23 “In contrast, the fruit of the Spirit…”
Galatians 2:20 “yet I live, no longer I, but Christ…”
John 10:10 “…I came so that they might have life…”
II Timothy 1:7 “For God did not give us…”
Proverbs 22:6 “Train the young in the way…”
James 5:16 “Therefore, confess your sins…”
Deuteronomy 31:6 “Be strong and steadfast;…”
I John 1:9 “If we acknowledge our sins,…”
Romans 3:23 “all have sinned and are…”
John 14:6 “Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way…'”
Romans 5:8 “But God proves his love for us…”
Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death,…”
Isaiah 40:31 “They that hope in the LORD will renew…”
I Peter 3:15 “but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts…”
II Timothy 3:16 “All scripture is inspired by God…”
Matthew 6:33 “But seek first the kingdom of God…”
I Peter 5:7 “Cast all your worries upon him because…”
Romans 10:9-10 “for, if you confess with your mouth…”
John 16:33 “…but take courage, I have conquered…”
Isaiah 41:10 “Do not fear: I am with you;…”
Hebrews 11:1 “Faith is the realization of…”
I Corinthians 10:13 “No trial has come to you but…”
II Corinthians 5:17 “So whoever is in Christ is a new…”
Matthew 11:28-29 “Come to me, all you who labor…”
Acts 1:8 “But you will receive power…”
II Corinthians 5:21 “…he made him who knew no sin…”
Romans 15:13 “May the God of hope fill you…”
John 11:25 “…I am the resurrection and the life…”
Hebrews 11:6 “But without faith it is impossible…”
John 5:24 “…has eternal life and will not come to…”
I would be surprised if your favorites are not included in this list. Most of mine are. And, these verses, all of them, may be very familiar to you. But it may shock you to know that our seventy favorite verses are only 0.2% (two-tenths of one percent) of the full Bible’s 31,102 verses.
Notice that the favorite verses are not taken equally from all Bible books. More than half of them come just from Isaiah, Romans, Psalms, and John’s Gospel.
This modern emphasis on individual verses has focused our attention on only a tiny portion of the sixty-six books of the Bible. Worse, did you notice how many of the verses listed above center on “me” and are words of personal comfort? Not to us, but to me individually? And worse yet, the other verses deal almost exclusively with the most basic truths of salvation, the milk of the Word, so to speak. But we need stronger food. So, the chapter and verse numbering has, in and of itself, brought some harm to our Bible reading. Combine that with modern Western self-centeredness, and you have a Bible that is largely unread.
What to do? Drop the chapter and verse numbers.
Read on to discover how to read the Bible for what it is, a Book of individual books each with its own story that deserves uninterrupted reading from start to finish.