Each guide takes one subject and does three things: says something honest about how scripture actually treats it, quotes the passages in full rather than in fragments, and points you to where they sit in the text.
Nothing here is paraphrased or summarised. Where a verse is commonly misquoted or lifted out of its setting, the guide says so.
32 guides
When life is hard
Anxiety and WorryAnxiety is not a modern invention. The words the King James translators reached for — careful,…
Grief and LossGrief is the subject on which the Bible is least tidy. It does not hurry anyone through it. The…
ComfortPaul calls God the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort, then immediately gives the…
Fear and Courage“Fear not” is among the most repeated instructions in scripture, which tells you something…
LonelinessThe first thing God calls not good in the whole Bible is a person being alone. That verdict…
Strength in WeaknessPaul's answer in 2 Corinthians is the strangest verse in this collection, and the most quoted.…
Rest and WearinessThe invitation in Matthew 11 is addressed to a specific group: those who labour and are heavy…
HopeHope in the Bible is not optimism. Hebrews defines faith as the substance of things hoped for…
The people around you
LoveThe King James translators chose charity where later versions say love, and the older word…
ForgivenessForgiveness in the Gospels is uncomfortable because it is never presented as optional. Matthew…
MarriageThe marriage passage people quote at weddings — charity suffereth long, and is kind — was not…
Raising ChildrenTwo of these verses are warnings aimed at parents rather than children. Paul tells fathers not…
FriendshipProverbs is unusually clear-eyed about friendship. It says a friend loves at all times, and in…
AngerEphesians 4:26 says something most readers skip past: be ye angry, and sin not. Anger is not…
Loving Your EnemiesThis is the hardest instruction in the New Testament, and Jesus gives it without qualification:…
Humility and PridePride goeth before destruction is the half everyone quotes. The full line adds and an haughty…
Money, work and choices
Money and GreedThe most misquoted verse on this page is 1 Timothy 6:10. It does not say money is the root of…
ContentmentPaul says he learned to be content, which is worth dwelling on. He does not present it as a…
Generosity and GivingProverbs 19:17 makes a claim that would have sounded reckless: giving to the poor is lending to…
WorkWork appears in Genesis before anything goes wrong. The man is put in the garden to dress it…
Honesty and TruthJesus' instruction in Matthew 5 is about oaths, and it lands somewhere unexpected: let your…
PatienceThe King James word for patience is often longsuffering, which is more honest than the modern…
WisdomJames makes the simplest offer in scripture: if you lack wisdom, ask for it, and it will be…
Guidance and DecisionsPsalm 119 gives the image the whole site is named for: thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a…
Walking with God
Trusting GodProverbs 3:5 asks for something specific and difficult: trust with all your heart, and lean not…
PrayerJesus' clearest instruction about prayer concerns where to do it rather than how. Matthew 6…
HealingHealing in scripture is broader than medicine. The same Hebrew and Greek words cover bodies,…
Gratitude and ThankfulnessPaul's instruction in 1 Thessalonians is careful about its preposition. Give thanks in…
Temptation1 Corinthians 10:13 is the verse people reach for, and it says something more specific than it…
JoyJoy in scripture is rarely tied to circumstances, which is what separates it from happiness.…
PeaceJesus makes a distinction most readers pass over: my peace I give unto you: not as the world…
PurposeEphesians 2:10 uses a word worth pausing on: we are his workmanship. The Greek behind it gives…
Scripture: King James Version, public domain. Last updated August 15, 2026.