Article By Debra Johnson // EEW Magazine // Scriptures

I used to feel like the worst Christian because I couldn’t remember Scriptures to save my life. Whenever I heard my other Christian friends rattling off their favorite Bible verses, I thought, I am such a failure, and God must be really disappointed in me.

That’s not true, however. Bible memorization doesn’t impress God; it strengthens us. Once I stopped trying to perform and really began seeking Scripture for my own growth and development, committing Bible passages to memory didn’t feel quite as difficult.

Let me say, quoting a bunch of Bible verses with the corresponding chapters and verses is not a prerequisite for salvation. Furthermore, when it comes to “favorite” passages, there is no hierarchy of Scripture, and no single verse is more important than any other one. All Scripture is God-breathed and useful to equip believers to do every good work for which they were created, according to 2 Timothy 3:16-17.

With that, there are 5 scriptures I do love and believe every Christian should know by heart.

John 3:16 KJV:  “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Every Christian should know that God loved them so much that He laid down His life, and it is His will that we obtain everlasting life through Him.

Philippians 4:13 NKJV: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Believers must be aware that when we accept Christ, not only do we receive salvation, but we are empowered to do all the things that pertain to holiness and divine purpose.

Psalm 46:1 KJV: “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” As children of God, when trouble comes, we need to be fully aware that God is ever-present through whatever we face. When we run to Him in the time of trouble, He won’t let us fall. He will help us.

John 1:1 KJV: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” Christians need to know that Jesus is the Word, and He is God, and He existed before the world was framed. Later in this same chapter (v. 14), it is explained that Jesus, “the Word was made flesh, and dwelled among us.”

1 John 4:7-8 KJV: “Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.” This must-know pair of verses teach us that without love, we cannot know God, because His very essence is love. Love is not what God does; it is who He is.

Whatever translations, passages, or books of the Bible most speak to your heart, even if these aren’t among your go-to verses, the important thing is that you consume Scripture daily. It equips you to live holy.

Psalm 119:11 KJV— a bonus favorite—says, “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.” If you pray, the Holy Spirit will bring what you have read and learned back to your remembrance.