Favorite Bible verses

Merry Christmas Everybody!

bafkreidv6vfpzpdjs3vfwuavil46p3xiv3h77uu4f5tjbdsvl6wzluz7t4jpeg.png

Philippians 4:8
8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report, if there be any virtue and if there be any praise, think on these things.

1 Peter 2:17
17 Honour all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honour the king.

Psalm 23
King James Version
23 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.

3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.

6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.
 
John 3:19 And this is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. 20For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light lest his deeds be exposed. 21But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been done by God.
 
Gazza said:
That’s some advice that’s worth it’s weight in gold right there.
Click to expand...
I always take verses from the earlier parts of Ecclesiastes with a grain of salt. The writer is an older man having a middle aged crisis, and a lot of what he writes is him working through his bitterness and disappointment. Some of his initial conclusions are later replaced by better ones.

At first he says things like "It is better to die than to be born", or "there is nothing good for a man under the sun except to eat and to drink and to be merry". These are not proper Biblical perspectives that we should take to heart. These are his initial wrongheaded thoughts.

Later he has come around to an improved perspective and says "Enjoy life with your wife, whom you love, all the days of this meaningless life that God has given you under the sun—all your meaningless days. For this is your lot in life and in your toilsome labor under the sun". However, he's still hung up on all the meaningless days, and putting your focus on your wife can be very disappointing. This is better than eat drink and be merry, but he hasn't got to the root of things yet.

Then later after he has worked through all the ins and outs of life, he finally says "The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil." Now he has things in the right perspective, but it took him a lot of thought to get to this conclusion.

So, when he says not to be excessively righteous, I think this is when he is still rationalizing things, and hasn't gotten things sorted out yet.
 
Thomas More said:
I always take verses from the earlier parts of Ecclesiastes with a grain of salt. The writer is an older man having a middle aged crisis, and a lot of what he writes is him working through his bitterness and disappointment. Some of his initial conclusions are later replaced by better ones.
Click to expand...
Okay, I feel really embarrassed that I didn't know King Solomon was the author of Ecclesiastes, but it makes sense considering he is the one we call "half heart", for he gave half his heart to God.

For someone God gave such wisdom, yet still made such mistakes, because merely knowing the right answer is useless, man can only save himself by reaching for God.
 
Thomas More said:
So, when he says not to be excessively righteous, I think this is when he is still rationalizing things, and hasn't gotten things sorted out yet.
Click to expand...
I think everything he says in Ecclesiastes is true, but when applied in it's proper sense.

To say not be excessively righteous is striking, but that's why I love it. Uber pietistic and self-righteous people become exactly as he warns about: desolate. We must be honest with ourselves that we are sinners who make mistakes and wrong decisions. On the flip side, we must not be excessively wicked either.
 
Thomas More said:
I always take verses from the earlier parts of Ecclesiastes with a grain of salt. The writer is an older man having a middle aged crisis, and a lot of what he writes is him working through his bitterness and disappointment. Some of his initial conclusions are later replaced by better ones.

At first he says things like "It is better to die than to be born", or "there is nothing good for a man under the sun except to eat and to drink and to be merry". These are not proper Biblical perspectives that we should take to heart. These are his initial wrongheaded thoughts.

Later he has come around to an improved perspective and says "Enjoy life with your wife, whom you love, all the days of this meaningless life that God has given you under the sun—all your meaningless days. For this is your lot in life and in your toilsome labor under the sun". However, he's still hung up on all the meaningless days, and putting your focus on your wife can be very disappointing. This is better than eat drink and be merry, but he hasn't got to the root of things yet.

Then later after he has worked through all the ins and outs of life, he finally says "The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil." Now he has things in the right perspective, but it took him a lot of thought to get to this conclusion.

So, when he says not to be excessively righteous, I think this is when he is still rationalizing things, and hasn't gotten things sorted out yet.
Click to expand...
I guess the reason I really enjoyed those verses is that I can relate to them personally. Now that I’m getting on in years, I can reflect and look back at the times in my life where I went way too far at both ends of the scale in verses 16 and 17.
 
Gazza said:
I guess the reason I really enjoyed those verses is that I can relate to them personally. Now that I’m getting on in years, I can reflect and look back at the times in my life where I went way too far at both ends of the scale in verses 16 and 17.
Click to expand...
I agree. I read Ecclesiastes when I was younger, and obviously found at lot there for me, but I reread it when I was in my 50s and had been through a bit of a mid-life crisis myself, and this time I could just see my own attitudes reflected in the writing. It was like I was reading it for the first time.
 
Last edited:
Sirach 2
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Duties toward God
2 My child, when you come to serve the Lord,
prepare yourself for testing.[a]
2 Set your heart right and be steadfast,
and do not be impetuous in time of calamity.
3 Cling to him and do not depart,
so that your last days may be prosperous.
4 Accept whatever befalls you,
and in times of humiliation be patient.
5 For gold is tested in the fire,
and those found acceptable, in the furnace of humiliation.
6 Trust in him, and he will help you;
make your ways straight and hope in him.
 
GodfatherPartTwo said:
I think everything he says in Ecclesiastes is true, but when applied in it's proper sense.

To say not be excessively righteous is striking, but that's why I love it. Uber pietistic and self-righteous people become exactly as he warns about: desolate. We must be honest with ourselves that we are sinners who make mistakes and wrong decisions. On the flip side, we must not be excessively wicked either.
Click to expand...

It's a great verse because it really makes you stop and think, and it's great Biblical application: know yourself, don't make demands on yourself that you know you can't keep, stay humble and be real.
 
Giordano Bruno said:
Okay, I feel really embarrassed that I didn't know King Solomon was the author of Ecclesiastes, but it makes sense considering he is the one we call "half heart", for he gave half his heart to God.

For someone God gave such wisdom, yet still made such mistakes, because merely knowing the right answer is useless, man can only save himself by reaching for God.
Click to expand...

I'd like to think Solomon wrote Ecclesiastes in a state of repentance after God promised to tear the kingdom in two because of his idolatry.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top