Category: 100 Most Read Bible Verses

#6 of 100

#6 of 100

 

 

 

 

 

 

Back to that website that has produced a list of the 100 MOST-READ Bible verses (i.e., read on their site). I do not question the statistics they supply. Number SIX on their list of the 100 most read is Proverbs 3.5. Verse six is needed to get the whole sentence:  Trust in the Lord with all your heart,  and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.  What a blessing is the Book of Proverbs!

In John G. Butler’s work, Analytical Bible Expositor, he breaks down the command of Proverbs 3.5-6 into a threefold charge, alliteratively each beginning with the letter D: (1) Dependence; (2) Deference; and (3) Devotion.

First, there is DEPENDENCE: Trust in the Lord with all your heart.  It is what God expects of us and, in fact, demands. So frequently, in Old Testament times, God’s people failed in this expectation! They were easily swayed away from the proper trust of God toward trusting the gods men had created for themselves. Also, they tended to trust in themselves rather than in the God Who had blessed them in so many ways in the past. It is easy today to fail in this regard by trusting science or the views of the worldly-educated rather than that which equips us for every good work (2 Tim 3.16-17), the very God-breathed word. How helpful it would be for you and me to reflect upon another great proverb: Prov 14.12 There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death. Another bit of wisdom is found at Proverbs 29.25, The fear of man brings a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord shall be safe. Jesus makes so clear the importance of trusting in God as He teaches us: “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.”

Second, there is DEFERENCE: Lean not on your own understanding. How many times have we made important life decisions having ignored this great principle? We serve, worship, and love an omniscient God. Not only so, He is a good God. He cares for His people. How foolish is it for us to think that we can come up with a better way than is presented to us in God’s Word? We have a Book to follow that will lead us from here to eternal glory. The abundant life Jesus speaks of in John 10.10 is by far the superior life to live while we walk upon this earth. Abraham certainly was wise to wait for “the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God (Heb 11.10). Guidance from the almighty is such a great blessing and leaning on His revelation as the guide for our lives will never be wrong.

Third there is DEVOTION: In all your ways acknowledge Him. Whatever we do, before we do it, we must be assured it is according to His will. It is easy to get to the point where we have little compartments for the many aspects of a modern-day lifestyle. We may set aside that certain amount of time on Sundays and Wednesdays for worship to God. The rest of the time is “for us.” That sort of reasoning is what leads to the opposite of what is suggested with this command from Proverbs 3.6. God’s instruction to us in Scripture is to be consulted in the multiple decisions of every aspect of our lives, day by day.

If it is our desire to have God direct our paths, it will be necessary to pay close heed to these three commands found in Proverbs 3.5-6. What a thrill it is to know there is a way to live which has God directing our paths! But it is a great challenge forever before us.

 

 

 

79 of 100

#79 of 100

One very large evangelical Bible Study website makes a claim as follows: “Today, _____  is the most-visited Christian website in the world with more than 140-150 million views per month.” That same site has produced a list of the 100 MOST-READ Bible verses (i.e., read on their site). I do not question the statistics they supply. I am confident it is a very popular site. It probably has grown since the posting of those numbers. I use it occasionally myself.

I am convinced that a helpful exercise is to study about these MOST READ Bible verses. If that many people are reading these 100 verses, would I not be better prepared to reach out to those people if I could demonstrate at least a hint of familiarity with and understanding of those verses? What a great conversation-starter, at least.

So then, by one count, number 79 of 100 most read Bible verses happens to be: James 1.3. The Book of James is an amazingly practical letter. The person who spends quality time with this epistle learns much about how to be a strong and faithful Christian!

The first part of the sentence of which James 1.3 is a part is the previous verse; certainly verse 4 also needs consideration since it gives the RESULT. James 1.2-4 reads: My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing (NKJV).

When James writes that we should COUNT it all joy, he uses the Greek word which Louw & Nida define as: to hold a view or have an opinion with regard to something[1]. James advises Christians to have a certain view of trials. That view is influenced especially by the knowledge of the reward that comes to the one who is not swayed away from faithfulness to the Lord by the trials one endures in life.

When we read this verse something does seem out of whack, though. HOW can I count trials as something joyful? Burton Coffman quotes from Zerr and from Russel to explain: “‘James could not have meant here that Christians are ‘to pretend that they get joy out of things which are disagreeable, for that would be an act of insincerity.’<9>  ‘The true view of temptation or trial is that it is an opportunity to gain new strength through overcoming.’<10>.”

James tells us that the testing of our faith produces patience. What is involved in this TESTING? The original word only is found here and in 1 Peter 1.7. It “was used for coins that were genuine and not debased. The aim of testing is not to destroy or afflict, but to purge and refine. It is essential to Christian maturity, for even Abraham’s faith had to be tested this way (see Gen. 22:1–8). The meaning of patience transcends the idea of bearing affliction; it includes the idea of standing fast under pressure, with a staying power that turns adversities into opportunities. James 1:3” [NKJV Study Bible].

If I count trials I may face as joy, rather than allow them to overcome me and cause me to become unfaithful, James says the cause is that PATIENCE has been produced. David Sain wrote of it: “The word, as often used and understood in our daily usage, signifies the ability to wait, to submissively wait. However, it means far more than that in this text. Here, it signifies the ability to bear, to persevere, to endure. And it is so translated in the New American Standard Version: “…knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance” (James 1:3).”[2] James is teaching us that no matter what, we can overcome trials.

[1] Johannes P. Louw and Eugene Albert Nida, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Semantic Domains (New York: United Bible Societies, 1996), 364.

[2] David Sain, The Behavior of Faith, 2011 MSOP Lectures, p. 31.

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