The Bible is full of great wisdom, comfort, and help for living everyday life. One of the best ways to “internalize” that message is to pick some of your favorite verses and memorize them. Some of these are too long to memorize all at once, so perhaps you can pick out a key sentence for now. Try this simple method–write out several verses on 3×5 cards, and each time you flip through and read the cards, cross out one or two of the words on each card. By the time the whole verse is crossed out, you will have memorized that whole verse.
I have shared some of my favorite short scripture verses below, although it was nearly impossible to choose–there are so many great ones! Please add your own over time!
I Corinthians 13:4-8 (selections) “Love is patient and kind…Love never gives up, and its faith, hope, and patience never fail. Love is eternal.” (This is a brief selection, but the longer version of this scripture is a good one to use to examine your own life. As you read it, substitute your first name for the word “Love” in the scripture. It will quickly show you what areas you might want to work to improve until “love” is a good way to define the way you live your life.)
James 1:26-27 “Does anyone think he is religious? If he does not control his tongue, his religion is worthless and he deceives himself. What God the Father considers to be pure and genuine religion is this: to take care of orphans and widows in their suffering and to keep oneself from being corrupted by the world.”
1 John 4: 7-8 “Dear friends, let us love one another, because love comes from God. Whoever loves is a child of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love.”
I John 4:11-12 “Dear friends, if this is how God loves us, then we should love one another. No one has ever seen God, but if we love one another, God lives in union with us, and his love is made perfect in us.”
Isaiah 40:28-31 “Don’t you know? Haven’t you heard? The LORD is the everlasting God; he created all the world. He never grows tired or weary. No one understands his thoughts. He strengthens those who are weak and tired. Even those who are young grow weak; young men can fall exhausted. But those who trust in the LORD for help will find their strength renewed. They will rise on wings like eagles; they will run and not get weary; they will walk and not grow weak.”
Isaiah 9:2-7 (selections) “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. They lived in a land of shadows, but now light is shining on them. You have given them great joy, LORD, you have made them happy…A child is born to us! A son is given to us! And he will be our ruler. He will be called, ‘Wonderful Counselor,’ ‘Mighty God,’ ‘Eternal Father,’ ‘Prince of Peace.’ His royal power will continue to grow; his kingdom will always be at peace. He will rule as King David’s successor, basing his power on right and justice, from now until the end of time. The LORD Almighty is determined to do all this.”
Lamentations 3:20-24 “Yet hope returns when I remember this one thing: The LORD’s unfailing love and mercy still continue, Fresh as the morning, as sure as the sunrise. The LORD is all I have, and so in him I put my hope.”
Psalm 23 “The LORD is my shepherd: I have everything I need. He lets me rest in fields of green grass, and leads me to quiet pools of fresh water. He gives me new strength. He guides me in the right paths, as he has promised. Even if I go through the deepest darkness, I will not be afraid, LORD, for you are with me. Your shepherd’s rod and staff protect me. You prepare a banquet for me where all my enemies can see me. You welcome me as an honored guest and fill my cup to the brim. I know that your goodness and love will be with me all my life; and your house will be my home as long as I live.”
Psalm 46:1 “God is our shelter and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble.”
Psalm 51:6-7 “Sincerity and truth are what you require; fill my mind with your wisdom. Remove my sin, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.”
Psalm 51:10 “Create a pure heart in me, O God, and put a new and loyal spirit in me.”
Psalm 100 “Sing to the LORD, all the world! Worship the LORD with joy; come before him with happy songs! Acknowledge that the LORD is God. He made us, and we belong to him; we are his people, we are his flock. Enter the Temple gates with thanksgiving; go into its courts with praise. Give thanks to him and praise him. The Lord is good; his love is eternal and his faithfulness lasts forever.”
Proverbs 12:10 “A good man takes care of his animals, but wicked men are cruel to theirs.”
Proverbs 12:15-16 “Stupid people always think they are right. Wise people listen to advice. When a fool is annoyed, he quickly lets it be known. Smart people will ignore an insult.”
Proverbs 12:17-18 “When you tell the truth, justice is done, but lies lead to injustice. Thoughtless words can wound as deeply as any sword, but wisely spoken words can heal.”
Proverbs 12:23 “Smart people keep quiet about what they know, but stupid people advertise their ignorance.”
Proverbs 14:6-8 “Conceited people can never become wise, but intelligent people learn easily. Stay away from foolish people; they have nothing to teach you. Why is a clever person wise? Because he knows what to do. Why is a stupid person foolish? Because he only thinks he knows.”
Proverbs 15:1 “A gentle answer quiets anger, but a harsh one stirs it up.”
Proverbs 15:2 “When wise people speak, they make knowledge attractive, but stupid people spout nonsense.”
Proverbs 15:4 “Kind words bring life, but cruel words crush your spirit.”
Proverbs 15:14 “Intelligent people want to learn, but stupid people are satisfied with ignorance.”
Proverbs 20:1 “Drinking too much makes you loud and foolish. It’s stupid to get drunk.”
Proverbs 20:3 “Any fool can start arguments; the honorable thing is to stay out of them.”
Proverbs 25:20 “Singing to a person who is depressed is like taking off a person’s clothes on a cold day or like rubbing salt in a wound.”
Proverbs 26:18-22 “A man who tricks someone and then claims that he was only joking is like a crazy man playing with a deadly weapon. Without wood, a fire goes out; without gossip, quarreling stops. Charcoal keeps the embers glowing, wood keeps the fire burning, and troublemakers keep arguments alive.”
Proverbs 26:23 “Gossip is so tasty! How we love to swallow it.”
Proverbs 27:19 “It is your own face that you see reflected in the water and it is your own self that you see in your heart.”
Ecclesiastes 10:1 “Dead flies can make a whole bottle of perfume stink, and a little stupidity can cancel out the greatest wisdom.
Ecclesiastes 10:2 “It is natural for a wise man to do the right thing and for a fool to do the wrong thing. His stupidity will be evident even to strangers he meets along the way; he lets everyone know that he is a fool.”
Ecclesiastes 10:8-11 “If you dig a pit, you fall in it; if you break through a wall, a snake bites you. If you work in a stone quarry, you get hurt by stones. If you split wood, you get hurt doing it. If your ax is dull and you don’t sharpen it, you have to work harder to use it. It is smarter to plan ahead. Knowing how to charm a snake is of no use if you let the snake bite first.”
Ecclesiastes:10:12-14 “What a wise man says bring him honor, but a fool is destroyed by his own words. He starts out with silly talk and ends up with pure madness. A fool talks on and on.”
Ecclesiastes 10:4 “If your ruler becomes angry with you, do not hand in your resignation; serious wrongs may be pardoned if you keep calm. “
Ecclesiastes 10:20 “Don’t criticize the king, even silently, and don’t criticize the rich, even in the privacy of your bedroom. A bird might carry the message and tell them what you said.”
Matthew 5:13-16 (Selections) “You are like salt for all mankind. But if salt loses its saltiness, there is no way to make it salty again. …You are like light for the whole world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. No one lights a lamp and puts it under a bowl; instead he puts it on the lampstand, where it gives light for everyone in the house. In the same way your light must shine before people, so that they will see the good things you do and praise your Father in heaven.”
Matthew 5:43-45 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your friends, hate your enemies.’ But now I tell you: love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may become the sons of your Father in heaven. For he makes his sun to shine on bad and good people alike, and gives rain to those who do good and to those who do evil.”
Matthew 6:19-21 “Do not store up riches for yourselves here on earth, where moths and rust destroy, and robbers break in and steal. Instead, store up riches for yourselves in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and robbers cannot break in and steal. For your heart will always be where your riches are.”
Matthew 6:24 “No one can be a slave of two masters; he will hate one and love the other; he will be loyal to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”
Matthew 6:31-34 “So do not start worrying; ‘Where will my food come from? or my drink? or my clothes? (These are the things the pagans are always concerned about.) Your Father in heaven knows that you need all these things. Instead, be concerned above everything else with the Kingdom of God and with what he requires of you, and he will provide you with all these other things. So do not worry about tomorrow; it will have enough worries of its own. There is no need to add to the troubles each day brings.”
Matthew 7:7 “Ask, and you will receive; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks will receive, and anyone who seeks will find, and the door will be opened to him who knocks.”
Matthew 7:12 “Do for others what you want them to do for you; this is the meaning of the Law of Moses and of the teachings of the prophets.”
Matthew 11:28-30 “Come to me, all of you who are tired from carrying heavy loads, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke and put it on you, and learn from me, because I am gentle and humble in spirit; and you will find rest. For the yoke I will give you is easy, and the load I will put on you is light.”
Luke 18:27 “Jesus answered, “What is impossible for man is possible for God.”
John 1:1-14 (selections) “Before the world was created, the Word already existed; he was with God, and he was the same as God. From the very beginning the Word with with God. … The word was the source of life, and this life brought light to mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has never put it out. … The Word became a human being and, full of grace and truth, lived among us. We saw his glory, the glory which he received as the Father’s only Son.”
John 3:16-17 “For God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not die but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to be its judge, but to be its savior.”
John 11:25 “Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.'”
Romans 3:23-24 “Everyone has sinned and is far away from God’s saving presence. But by the free gift of God’s grace all are put right with him through Christ Jesus, who sets them free.”
Romans 5:6-10 “For when we were still helpless, Christ died for the wicked at the time that God chose. It is a difficult thing for someone to die for a righteous person. It may even be that someone might dare to die for a good person. But God has shown us how much he loves us–it was while we were still sinners that Christ died for us! By his sacrificial death we are now put right with God; how much more, then, will we be saved by him from God’s anger! We were God’s enemies, but he made us his friends through the death of his Son.”
Romans 8:28 “We know that in all things God works for good with those who love him, those whom he has called according to his purpose.”
Romans 8:37-39 “No, in all these things we have complete victory through him who loved us! For I am certain that nothing can separate us from his love; neither death nor life, neither angels nor other heavenly rulers or powers, neither the present nor the future, neither the world above nor the world below–there is nothing in all creation that will ever be able to separate us from the love of God which is ours through Christ Jesus our Lord.”
I Corinthians 12:1-27 (selections) “Christ is like a single body, which has many parts; it is still one body, even though it is made up of different parts. In the same way, all of us, whether Jews or Gentiles, whether slaves or free, have been baptized into the one body by the same Spirit, and we have all been given the one Spirit to drink…All of you are Christ’s body, and each one is a part of it.”
Ephesians 3:17-19 “I pray that you may have your roots and foundation in love, so that you, together with all God’s people, may have the power to understand how broad and long, how high and deep, is Christ’s love. Yes, may you come to know his love–although it can never be fully known–and so be completely filled with the very nature of God.”
Ephesians 4:1-6 “I urge you, then–I who am a prisoner because I serve the Lord: live a life that measures up to the standard God set when he called you. Be always humble, gentle, and patient. Show your love by being tolerant with one another. Do your best to preserve the unity which the Spirit gives by means of the peace that binds you together. There is one body and one Spirit, just as there is one hope to which God has called you. There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism; there is one God and Father of all mankind, who is Lord of all, works through all, and is in all.”
Philippians 3:12-14 “I do not claim that I have already succeeded or have already become perfect. I keep striving to win the prize for which Christ Jesus has already won me to himself. Of course, my brothers, I really do not think that I have already won it; the one thing I do, however, is to forget what is behind me and do my best to reach what is ahead. So I run straight toward the goal in order to win the prize, which is God’s call through Christ Jesus to the life above.”
Hebrews: 11:1 “To have faith is to be sure of the things we hope for, to be certain of the things we cannot see.”
Revelation 21:4-6 (selections) “‘He will wipe away all tears from their eyes. There will be no more death, no more grief or crying or pain. The old things have disappeared.’ Then the one who sits on the throne said, ‘And now I make all things new!…It is done! I am the first and the last, the beginning and the end.'”
Jeffrey Rasche 