Scripture bath: Favorite verses
By Elizabeth Prata
I need a bath- of verses. I need to immerse myself in His holy word, for cleansing and for comfort.
There are some verses that when I read them no matter how many times I read them in my Bible reading life, they move me. Other verses, no matter how many times I read them, they strike fear into me. I don’t know why some verses over others move me, unless it’s proof that the verse is speaking to my soul in a way my mind can’t comprehend.
When I started my walk with Christ I used a NIV translation. I then went to ESV for a long time. Now for a while I’ve been using NASB. I might go to the Legacy Standard Bible and if I do, I’ll settle with that. The verses below are NASB except for one that’s noted.
Do you have some verses that do something to you? That you turn to for comfort or peace or just awe? Here are some of mine-
What a comfort it is to know Jesus is coming back!
Acts 1:11, who also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.”
This is a top favorite of mine, and I learned it in the KJV and I love this language more than any other translation, especially ‘comprehended it not’. So this one is this verse is KJV:
John 1:1-5, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.
I love the scene with Hagar in the wilderness. I’m comforted to know that no matter what, God knows where I am, He knows my troubles, and He comforts us through His Spirit:
Genesis 16:13, Then she called the name of the LORD who spoke to her, “You are a God who sees me”; for she said, “Have I even seen Him here and lived after He saw me?”
It amazes me that after thousands of years of struggle, sturm and drang, man’s heights, doings, and history … all the angel has to do is veritably snap his fingers (stick in his sickle) and it’s instantly OVER. His power and the power of God through him strikes a rightful fear in me:
Revelation 14:6, Then He who sat on the cloud swung His sickle over the earth, and the earth was reaped.
This verse is pure tragedy and is shocking in the extreme:
Matthew 7:21-22, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.‘
How fitting that the entire Bible ends with a reference to God’s grace and an Amen,
Revelation 22:21, The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen.
I make scripture pictures. I take lots of photographs and I enjoy putting verses on them and designing a scene. I chose this photo for this verse because of the waves. The verse says ‘grace upon grace’. John MacArthur explains what that means:
What do you mean grace upon grace? What does he mean? He means grace, literally grace in the place of grace – that’s the Greek. Grace in the place of grace. Grace in the place of grace. Grace just keeps replacing itself. It’s overlapping. It’s like waves. If you go down to the beach and you watch the waves, you don’t know where one end ends and one begins, they just roll on top of each other. That’s the notion expressed in the way this is framed: waves of grace rolling on us. ~Sermon, We Beheld His Glory
