A Short Introduction

When I became a Christian, someone handed me lists of verses from the King James Bible organized by various topics. Combined with my own Bible reading, the lists helped me keep key doctrines straight in my mind.

Twenty years later I went through a stressful time in my life that resulted in anxiety and depression. At that time I discovered something called “cognitive therapy”—an approach that guides you toward challenging unhealthy thought habits. It was a great help—a step in the right direction—but I ultimately realized that the Word of God provides the very best spiritual cognitive therapy. And that was the beginning of this verse collection project.

For me, it is a handy tool when I want to refer to what the Bible has to say about a subject in general. For example, I have often gone to the section on “Anger” in order to review appropriate responses to frustrating situations. I have gone to other sections in times of trial or whenever I found myself needing an attitude adjustment. I consider it to be a way of restarting my mental computer, especially when I have frozen up.

You will notice that some of the verses have notes following. These are my personal comments based on meditation and further word studies. They are all printed in red to differentiate from the Word of God. The verses in this collection are mostly from the English Standard Version; however, I have kept a selection of verses from the King James Version (indicated by KJV ).

John