Lost & Found

Usually, I try to write to make other people think, or to lift up others in some way, shape or form. Well, this one has lifted me up just by writing it, so praise God for that! I wanted to write a little bit about life verses. What is a life verse? Here is what I recommend you look for when trying to determine a life verse: 1) Your verse should be a verse from the Bible that has meaning to you – maybe it has inspired you in the past, and the like; and 2) You should try to fit yourself to be what your life verse says, not try to fit your verse into your life.

My life verse is Romans 12:2 – actually I have expanded it to include the verse before it. I am going to use the Holman Christian Standard Version, though I am not set on just one version of the Bible, as I believe many (not all) can offer something in the way that God speaks.

My verses are Romans 12:1-2 (HCSV):

“Therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.”

I discovered that these verses should be what I pattern my life after when I realized that I really do seem to not fit in much to the pattern of the world. The world says “drink,” yet I do not drink; the world says go to parties and have a good time, yet I don’t do the party scene; The world says if it feels good do it, yet I am saving myself for marriage; of course that is not an exhaustive list, but it covers the main contention points I think between God and the world. So I make it my aim to present my body as a living sacrifice to the Most High God as my spiritual worship. I am not conformed to the pattern of the world, and I work to daily transform my mind so that I can tell what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.

Is it possible to change your life verse over time? Yes! I think as a follower of God grows that new inspirations from the Word of God will be discovered. A previous life verse of mine was Joshua 1:9. I still love that verse and what God is trying to show me through it, but it is not my primary life verse – at least at the moment.

I urge you, if you don’t have a life verse (or verses, as you may have more than one), to really dig in to the most awesome word of God, and see where the Spirit leads.

I was going to write out some verses below to give you suggestions of other life verses, and maybe you could find one you wanted to dig deeper on, however I am just going to write where the verse can be found, and you will have to look it up yourself – who knows, maybe you’ll find a different one along the way!

Matthew 6:33

Ephesians 2:8-9

John 8:12

Joshua 1:9

Psalm 27:1

John 15:5

Psalm 46:1

Hebrews 13:5

Isaiah 40:31

John 14:6

Mark 8:34

Proverbs 3:5

Philippians 1:20

Psalm 17:5

Romans 7:24-25

2 Corinthians 5:9

Psalm 19:14

Galatians 2:20

Philippians 3:14

Philippians 4:8

Philippians 3:7-11

Hebrews 10:23

These are just some examples of some other people’s life verses. I didn’t even know some of them; I could really feel God’s presence as I looked up these verses, so I really hope you all are inspired by what God is trying to tell you through this.

Let me know of your life verse, I would love to hear it!

- Adam Smith