Book excerpt: As a college student who has written Verses by Virtue, one of the most common questions people ask me is, “What made you write this book?” I believe the answer is also relevant to why someone else might find this book useful. I often read the Bible as a kid, so I was generally aware of what it was about, what Jesus taught and some specific verses. Then a situation would arise at school or somewhere else in which I needed a particular Bible verse at that moment. I could usually remember a few words of a verse that I had read the night before, or perhaps what that page in my Bible looked like, but I couldn’t remember the verse itself. I would then flip through my Bible for a long time trying to find that verse. I wished that I had not only that particular Bible verse that I was looking for, but also a list of other related Bible verses that dealt with that particular topic. I always wanted a book like Verses by Virtue, but I never knew that I’d be the one to write such a book. Before I wrote Verses by Virtue, I searched the Internet for a book like it, one that organizes Bible verses by their categories. I found some thick reference books that listed every Bible verse that had a particular word in it. For instance, under the word “dove,” you would find a list of all the verses that had the word “dove” in it. While I found these books helpful for in-depth Bible study, I still wanted a more practical book that organized verses more by their meaning than by a word. A year after I began college, I embarked on a journey to organize Bible verses by their meaning as a reference that I could use throughout my life. It didn’t take me long to realize that other people would find a reference of organized Bible verses as useful as I did. After years of reading the Bible, organizing verses, choosing Bible versions and compiling the results into a book, Verses by Virtue is here with 12,000 Bible verses organized into over 100 categories from 18 different English Bible translations. Verses by Virtue consists of over 100 categories that are organized alphabetically. The categories cover more than the book’s title might suggest, that is, more than just virtues. Verses by Virtue also includes categories such as Prayer, Temptation, All Things Are Possible, and other relevant areas in a Christian walk of life. The verses within a category are arranged chronologically according to the order of the books in the Bible. Throughout a category, you will find footnote indicators that reference other verses within Verses by Virtue as well as indicators that reference a verse that you can look up in your Bible. The corresponding footnotes can be found at the end of a category under the “See also” section. You will also find numerous charts that display the verses in which a short phrase or sentence can be found. These phrases are often the same or very similar across all the verses in a chart. The Table of Contents and Index also make finding verses easier and faster. As I previously mentioned, the book that I wanted as a kid was one that included relevant verses in the category that I wanted to find. The problem that I found was that most books organized verses by a word that appears in the verse rather than by its meaning. This means that you could find the verse, “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows” (1 Tim. 6:10) under the category “love,” whereas in Verses by Virtue it is found under “Greed.” While it’s difficult to see how this verse relates to love, it is quite easy to see greed in it. I have hand-selected every verse in Verses by Virtue to ensure that they are organized by their meaning in whichever category or categories to which they pertain. For instance, you will find John 14:6, Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” under “Eternal Life” and “Truth,” both of which are relevant categories to this verse. Verses by Virtue has fulfilled the initial use for which I wrote it: to find the verse I was searching for and then some more like it, though its applications span much greater than this. Use Verses by Virtue to find a Bible verse for special occasions such as birthday, Christmas and anniversary cards, weddings, graduations, family gatherings, special church events, Bible studies, prayer groups and any other occasion that would benefit from including passages from God’s Word. Use Verses by Virtue as a Bible study tool or supplement an existing program with it. Prayer groups will also be able to derive great discussions when including Verses by Virtue within the study. Use Verses by Virtue as an evangelistic tool to spread the Gospel of Christ to every person in every place. In the beginning of this Introduction, I shared with you the most commonly asked question about Verses by Virtue. Now I’d like to share with you the most common statement regarding Verses by Virtue: “I’ve been looking for a book like this my whole life!” I hear this statement all the time and I am grateful for it. Verses by Virtue is a source of inspiration at your fingertips, providing you with courage when you feel afraid, hope when you feel in doubt, and confidence that Jesus is always with you no matter who you are, where you are, or what you’re facing today.