Psalms 34:1-3 I will bless the LORD at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul will make its boast in the LORD; The humble will hear it and rejoice. O magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt His name together.
Playing Favorites: Is There a Passage You Love Most?
A hero of mine, Bob Franco, once asked me to tell him my favorite Scripture. I'd pondered the "life-verse" idea before, but this was a different question: Which passage do you love most?
It was a simple question, but it put me in a tailspin. How can you play favorites with God's Word?
Philippians 1:6 and Jeremiah 29:11 both began to rise confidently to the top, but then I realized my everlasting love for Jeremiah 31:3. Of course, I had to make a home for Isaiah 66:1. Suddenly, being separated from Romans 8:35 sounded like torture. While I was thinking about that, Philippians 2:6-10 set aside its quiet role and stood up like royalty. About that time, two life-long friends, John 3:16 and Romans 8:28, came to me with a loving nudge. And without 1st Corinthians 15, I was (of all men) most to be pitied. Soon, John 1:7 and Psalm 36:9 were shining overhead like twin aircraft landing lights.
What if I could never again sink my roots into Ephesians 3:14-21? 
Overwhelmed, I began copying these favorite verses into one document, a process that took 40 pages and a couple of years! Have you ever tried this? I recommend it. It's a great way to ponder the passages that have most deeply touched your life. If you do it, I'd enjoy seeing what you came up with.
Here's an extra-credit assignment: sift through all your favorite Scriptures and look for recurring themes. As I did this with my favorites, a wonderful realization emerged: All those passages repeated the same two truths in different ways:
The primary truth is this: The Lord is absolutely and completely beautiful, powerful, wise and mind-boggling. The only sane response for any created being is to erupt into that blend of fear, love and bewildered joy we call worship. We'll probably never fully understand all HE'S ABOUT, but in His Light, what WE'RE ABOUT becomes pretty obvious. Our place is to glorify, worship, admire and enjoy Him forever.
The other truth is nearly inseparable from the first: This awesome, beautiful God doesn't just love us, He's in love with us. (Why? You'll have to ask Him when you see Him!) Such love drove Him to do something astonishing: He emptied Himself of His glory, and humbled Himself to the point of death on the cross that we might become His own prized possessions. Remarkably, this returns us again to the first truth.
It seems to me that the Gospel is like Great Hands slipping into the Great Gloves of these two truths.
Those truths drive me to be a worshiper, and a worship leader. Maybe when the dust of life has finally cleared, I'll see that Psalm 34:1-3 was my favorite Scripture. With all my heart, I want to "bless the Lord at all times," so that "His praise shall continually be in my mouth." I'm not there yet; this 24 / 7 kind of praise always seems just out of reach. But like David, I recognize that such a lifestyle isn't meant to be a solo sport, but a team project; I gladly add, "O, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together!"
It's terrific to magnify His name together with you, Saints! He's worthy, worthy, worthy, and I'll bet your favorite verses say it over and over.
Blessings, Phil
(Ph. 1:6)
