Glean the Essence of the Bible’s Appeal -- within Less than an Hour

"Glean the Essence of the Bible’s Appeal -- within Less than an Hour" 

Each Scripture passage listed below has strengthened, inspired or encouraged many people through the ages. Much of what God is about can be found within these readings. These brief offerings, one from each book of the Old Testament and the New Testament, capsulate intrinsic truths for a vital and vigorous life.

Genesis 1:1 - “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”

Exodus 3:14 - “God said to Moses, ‘I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: 'I AM has sent me to you.'"

Leviticus 11:45 - “I am the Lord who brought you up out of Egypt to be your God; therefore, be holy, because I am holy.” [“Egypt” can be seen as representing our sinful state before we hear God’s call to us to be like Him.]

Numbers 14:18 - "The Lord is slow to anger, abounding in love and forgiving sin and rebellion. Yet He does not leave the guilty unpunished; He punishes the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation."

Deuteronomy 6:5-6 - “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts.” [See Exodus 20 for the 10 commandments and Matthew 22:36-40 for "the greatest" commandment according to Jesus.]

Joshua 24:15 - “But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord."

Judges 6:14 - “The Lord turned to him and said, ‘Go in the strength you have’” Ruth 2:12 - “May the Lord repay you for what you have done. May you be richly rewarded by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge." 1 Samuel 16:7 - [God said to Samuel] “The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

Ruth 2:12 - “May the Lord repay you for what you have done. May you be richly rewarded by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge."

1 Samuel 16:7 - [God said to Samuel] “The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart."

2 Samuel 7: 22: 22 - “How great you are, O Sovereign Lord! There is no one like you, and there is no God but you, as we have heard with our own ears.”

1 Kings 2:2-3 - [David’s charge to Solomon] “I am about to go the way of all the earth. So, be strong, show yourself a man, and observe what the Lord your God requires: Walk in His ways, and keep His decrees and commands, His laws and requirements, as written in the Law of Moses wherever you go.”

2 Kings 23:3 - “The king stood by the pillar and renewed the covenant in the presence of the Lord--to follow the Lord and keep His commands, regulations and decrees with all his heart and all his soul, thus confirming the words of the covenant written in this book. Then all the people pledged themselves to the covenant.”

1 Chronicles 16:15-16 - “He remembers His covenant forever, the word He commanded, for a thousand generations, the covenant He made with Abraham, the oath He swore to Isaac.”

 2 Chronicles 7:14 - “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”- “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”- “How great you are, O Sovereign Lord! There is no one like you, and there is no God but you, as we have heard with our own ears.”

Ezra 3:11-12 - “With praise and thanksgiving they sang to the Lord: "He is good; His love to Israel endures forever." And all the people gave a great shout of praise to the Lord, because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid.”

Nehemiah 8:10 - “The joy of the Lord is your strength.” Esther 4:14 - “Who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?”

Esther 4:14 - “Who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?”

Job 13:15 - “Though He slay me, yet will I hope in Him; I will surely defend my ways to His face.”

Psalm 19:14 - “May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart  be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.”

Psalms 34:7 - "The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him, and He delivers them. Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him.”

Proverbs 19:20 - 22 - “Listen to advice and accept instruction, and in the end you will be wise. Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails . . . What a man desires is unfailing love: better to be poor than a liar.”

Ecclesiastes 12:1, 13, 14 - “Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days of trouble come and the years approach when you will say, ‘I find no pleasure in them’. Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.”

Songs of Songs 8:7- “Many waters cannot quench love; rivers cannot wash it away. If one were to give all the wealth of his house for love, it would be utterly scorned.” Isaiah 6:8 - “Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?’ And I said, ‘Here am I. Send me!’ He said, ‘Go and tell my people.’ ”

Isaiah 6:8 - “Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?’ And I said, ‘Here am I. Send me!’ He said, ‘Go and tell my people.’” Isa. 30:21 – “Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, ‘This is the way; walk in it.’”

Jeremiah 29:11-14 - “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,’ declares the Lord, ‘and will bring you back from captivity.’”

Ezekiel 18:22b- 23 - “’Because of the righteous things he has done, he will live. Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked?’ declares the Sovereign Lord. ‘Rather, am I not pleased when they turn from their ways and live?’”

Daniel 9:18-19 - “Give ear, O God, and hear; open your eyes and see the desolation of the city that bears your Name. We do not make requests of you because we are righteous, but because of your great mercy. O Lord, listen! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, hear and act!”

Hosea 2:23 - “I will show my love to the one I called ‘Not my loved one.’ I will say to those called ‘Not my people,’ ‘You are my people;’ and they will say, ‘You are my God.’”

Joel 2:13 - “Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God, for He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and relents from sending calamity.”

Amos 5:14 - “Seek good, not evil, that you may live. Then the Lord God Almighty will be with you, just as you say He is.”

Obadiah 17 - “But on Mount Zion will be deliverance; it will be holy, and the house of Jacob will possess its inheritance.”

 Jonah 2:6-7 - “But you brought my life up from the pit, O Lord my God. When my life was ebbing away, I remembered you, Lord, and my prayer rose to you, to your holy temple.”

Micah 6:8 - “He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God." Nahum 1:7-8 - “The Lord is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares f

Nahum 1:7-8 - “The Lord is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in Him, but with an overwhelming flood He will make an end of [Nineveh]; He will pursue His foes into darkness.”

Habakkuk 3:19 - “The Sovereign Lord is my strength; He makes my feet like the feet of a deer, He enables me to go on the heights.”

Zephaniah 2-3 - “The Lord your God is with you, He is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.”

Haggai 1:6- You have sown much, and bring in little; you eat, but do not have enough;
you drink, but you are not filled with drink; you clothe yourselves, but no one is warm;
and he who earns wages, earns wages to put into a bag with holes.”

Zechariah 1:3 - Therefore say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, “Return to Me,” declares the Lord of hosts, “that I may return to you,” says the Lord of hosts.

Malachi 3:16 - “But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings. And you will go out and leap like calves released from the stall.”

Now for one passage from every book in the New Testament

Matthew 1:24-27 - “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26 But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”

Mark 1:14-15 – “After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. 15 ‘The time has come,’ he said. ‘The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!’”

Luke 9:20 – “’But what about you?’ he asked. ‘Who do you say I am?’ Peter answered, ‘God’s Messiah.’”

John 3:16-17 –“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”

Acts 4:31-33 - “After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.32 All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. 33 With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all.”

Romans 3:23-24 – “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.”

1 Corinthians 13:3 – “And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”

2 Corinthians 4:16-17 – “Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 17 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”

Galatians 5:22-25 – “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.

Ephesians 1:5-8 – “In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace 8 that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding.”

Philippians 1:9-11- “And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, 10 so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, 11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.”

Colossians 2:13 – “When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins”

1 Thessalonians 4:11-12 – “Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life: You should mind your own business and work with your hands, just as we told you, 12 so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.”

2 Thessalonians 3:11-13 – “We hear that some among you are idle and disruptive. They are not busy; they are busybodies. 12 Such people we command and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and earn the food they eat. 13 And as for you, brothers and sisters, never tire of doing what is good.”

I Timothy 4:12 – “Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity.”

2 Timothy 1:8-9 – “So do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord or of me his prisoner. Rather, join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God. 9 He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time”

Titus 3:3-5 – “At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. 4 But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously.”

Philemon 1:4-7 – “In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy 5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, 6 being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. 7 It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart and, whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God’s grace with me.”

Hebrews 4:14-16 – “Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. 16 Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”

 James 1:22-25 – “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. 23 Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror 24 and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. 25 But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.”

1 Peter 1:3-4 – “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade--kept in heaven for you, who by faith are shielded by God’s power until of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.” 

2 Peter 1:3-4 – “His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 4 Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.” 

1 John 3:16-18 – “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. 17 If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? 18 Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.”

2 John:5-6 – “And now, dear lady, I am not writing you a new command but one we have had from the beginning. I ask that we love one another. 6 And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love.”

3 John 11- “Dear friend, do not imitate what is evil but what is good. Anyone who does what is good is from God. Anyone who does what is evil has not seen God.”

Jude 20-22 – “But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, 21 keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life. 22 Be merciful to those who doubt  . . .”

Revelations 3:20 – “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.”

All Scripture quotations, in this publication are from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION ® NIV ® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.®. All rights reserved worldwide.