Bible Resource: A Concordance
Tobit 12:17; Luke 24:36; John 14:27
What if you wanted to know every verse that contained the word “love” in it? There’s a book for that.
What if you wanted to know every verse that had the phrase “peace be with you” or “Holy, holy, holy”? There’s a book for that.
What if you wanted to know every verse that had to do with the topic of charity? What if we said there is a book for that?
A Concordance is an amazing tool that helps us study our bible and reference/search for verses of a particular topic or word that we are looking for. Have you ever been out to coffee with a girlfriend and she’s talking to you about the anxiety she’s been feeling lately? Her job is in a lull right now, family was just a little too crazy this past weekend, she’s been in a prayer slump lately…
And you remember you heard a verse about not having anxiety, and casting your fear on the Lord, ah, but what was it? Mark? No, maybe 1 Corinthians? Was it in the Old Testament? Gah. Oh, well.
How often do we not share God’s words for us because we don’t know the source? How often does our “not knowing it on the forefront of the mind”, keep us back, and maybe keep others back too?
What about when we’re going through something in life. We know that God’s Word brings us comfort – but where in all those hundreds of pages will we find words that can help comfort us, teach us, strengthen us, edify us? A concordance works like a dictionary – all the words, or associated phrases, are listed alphabetically. So “peace” is under P, and “peace be with you” would also be under “peace”.
When reading our Bible, things stand out to us. Let’s take that “Peace be with you” phrase. Did you know that the word “peace” is in the Bible 336 times?! Now we have 335 other verses where we can read about the peace that Our God provides us! How blessed are we to have such an amazing resource.
Catholic Bible Concordances can be purchased from any book retailer. Or if you would like an online version, click the link below:
***Be sure to use The New American Bible, Revised Edition
