Some More of My Favorite Things

In my last article, I wrote that I once publicly sang the song, “Climb Ev’ry Mountain” from the great Rodgers and Hammerstein musical, The Sound of Music. Since those heady days of grade school, people have generally said that when it comes to my singing, they would prefer to hear The Sounds of Silence to The Sound of Music. Like the time I was leading campfire singing at a YMCA camp: each time I circled around the fire, a little eight-year-old girl would tug my pants cuff and whisper, “Mister!” After several times of that, I finally stopped mid-song and leaned over her to whisper, “What?” She whispered back urgently, “Mister! You’re singing off key!” That’s okay. Don’t feel bad for me. I can take it.

Of course, I mentioned The Sound of Music and the song, “My Favorite Things” to introduce some of my favorite things: that is, favorite verses from Scripture. After a full-length article that barely scratched the surface, I considered breaking my list down into about 563 different posts to cover all my favorites. But, realizing that would take the next 11 years at my current speed, I decided to trim my selections to fit into just three posts: last week’s, this post, and next week’s. I’m sure any verses I don’t get to by next week will come up where appropriate in future articles.

So, to continue, here are some more of my favorite things:

Joshua 24:15 [Joshua said] “And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”  This verse seems at first to be at odds with our understanding of God’s election; it is he who chooses us, rather than us choosing him. As Jesus told the disciples, “You did not choose me; I chose you.” (John 15:16) But this call by Joshua to the people of Israel (who had already been chosen by God to be his people) was a call to obedience and service, not just to faith. It was one thing to believe in the true God, but Joshua was challenging them to continue to worship and obey God’s commandments now that his time of faithfully leading them was drawing to an end. They knew of the gods of the Egyptians; they were now surrounded by the pagan deities of Canaan. Would they serve the true God or fall away? Joshua had shown by example that he and his family would serve the Lord; it was up to them to continue to do so. For the first Christmas Karen and I spent at St. Peter’s, I gave her a framed picture of a house with this verse on it, and it has served these many years as a reminder to us of our commitment to serve God in our new calling.

1 Kings 19:11-12 ‘Then He said, “Go out, and stand on the mountain before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earth-quake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice.’ (NKJV) When I was packing up the car on the way to college, my dad took me aside and told me to listen for God to lead me in the “still, small voice” (still my preferred wording over “gentle whisper”) rather than in the big showy events of life. For Elijah, God was not in the wind, the fire, or the earthquake, but in the quiet voice. I always appreciated his counsel, because I have heard plenty of people’s exciting testimonies that were “flashes in the pan.” Though I have experienced God’s miracles in many ways, I have found his quiet leading by his Word and his Spirit to be the most encouraging . . . and dependable.

2 King 6:16-17 ‘He said, “Do not be afraid, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”  Then Elisha prayed and said, “O Lord, please open his eyes that he may see.” So the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw, and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.’ The title for the movie, “Chariots of Fire,” came from verse 17 of this passage, and speaks to the unseen realities of the spiritual world around us, a world which impacts the physical world which we do see. Specifically, it speaks to the power of God to protect us against danger and adversity, and to defeat the most powerful human forces. In this passage, the servant of the prophet Elisha is terrified to see the approaching Syrian army, so Elisha prays for the Lord to allow the servant to see the hosts of heaven arrayed around the enemy and prepared to defeat them. This passage reminds me of God’s power and sovereignty, no matter how powerful and daunting the forces of evil may seem: a good reminder these days in a world of terror and disbelief.

Job 19:25-27 ‘For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been thus destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God, whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another.’ This is one of the first references to the bodily resurrection. Job, though beset by tragedy, pain, and loss, affirmed that one day he would see his Redeemer – who we know is Jesus Christ – standing upon the earth. Even though Job might die and suffer the destruction of his own body, Job affirmed that he would see his Savior with his own eyes, which is only possible if Job is resurrected. You can see why I love this passage and use it in many funeral services, because our hope is in the same Redeemer, whom we also will one day see with our own eyes.

Proverbs 3:5-6 ‘Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.’ Please see my January 25 blog, “A Trifecta of Trust,” for a full explanation of why these verses are so important to me. Grace, faith, and works are all proclaimed in a proper relationship.

Proverbs 9:10 ‘The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.’ This is important to me because it points to God as the focus of all wisdom (and of knowledge in parallel passages in Proverbs 1:7 and Psalm 111:10), and because it counters the prevalent attitude that fear of God is a bad thing. Fear is recognizing that he is the all-powerful, all-knowing judge of the universe who will not be mocked (Galatians 6:7), who has the power to create and destroy, to save and condemn. Recognizing that is the starting point of knowing who we are: that he is God and we are not.

Ecclesiastes 3:1 ‘For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:’ Besides providing the lyrics for the 1965 hit song by The Byrds, “Turn! Turn! Turn!” the first eight verses of this chapter present the experiences of human life in this world: birth-death, gain-loss, love-hate, gathering stones-scattering stones (especially relevant for a rock collector like me!), war-peace, etc. I have often used this passage in funeral services as a comfort to grieving families, to remind them that what has happened to their loved one is not outside common human experience, and especially that God is not defeated or taken by surprise by their loss.

Daniel 3:17-18 ‘If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.’ This is an incredible declaration of faith in God given by Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego – three young Jewish men – who stood before the Babylonian king, Nebuchadnezzar. They had refused to worship the king’s golden statue, and now faced the king’s order for them to be cast into a fiery furnace as their punishment. Their reply to the king showed their faithfulness to the true God by refusing to worship any idol; it showed their trust that God had the power to save them from certain death; and it showed their acceptance of whatever happened: even if God did not save them, they still would be faithful to him. That is a faith based on who God is, and not on what I will get out of my relationship with him. How wonderful it is that because of his grace, I will receive the greatest of benefits: eternal life!

And finally, one last Old Testament verse:

Lamentations 3:22-23 ‘The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.’ Jeremiah the prophet had witnessed the horrors of the Babylonian siege and destruction of Jerusalem. In the first 20 verses of Chapter 3 he poured out his laments at all he had seen; then, in verse 21 he proclaimed he still had hope in spite of it all – and in these two verses he explained the basis of his hope in the midst of tragedy: the steadfast love and mercy of God that are new/renewed every morning, regardless of circumstances. I am moved whenever I read this passage or when I hear the praise song, “The Steadfast Love of the Lord”; I am touched both by the faith and hope still alive in one who had every reason to despair, and by what Scripture says about God: that he is a God of endless love and mercy to us.

Next time, we’ll look at some favorite verses in the New Testament, where we find God’s love and mercy enacted through his Son, Jesus Christ.

In the meantime, I would love to hear from you: “What are your favorite Bible verses?” Let me know, and with your permission I may post a few verses with my next article!

May the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord look upon you with favor, and give you peace. Amen.

Read: Psalms 1, 8, 22, 46 and 100