Articles with spiritual fitness

Psalm 23:4 is Bible Gateway’s Top Searched Verse for 2025

Bible Gateway, the internet’s premier Bible reading and research tool, received hundreds of billions of views last year by more than 20 million unique visitors per month in many languages around the globe.

[ Read SemperVerus articles on the topic of the BIBLE ]

The number one verse read out of those billions of views is Psalm 23:4

“Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.”

[ Read the SemperVerus article, Bible Use Is on the Rise Again in America, According to State of the Bible 2025 ]

Its article, Bible Gateway Year in Review 2025: Top 100 Verses and More. draws the following conclusions from the top 100 Bible verses read on Bible Gateway in 2025:

Always Carry. Always Alert.

Responsibly and lawfully concealed carrying a firearm all the time, every day, for enhanced protection provides the ability to effectively and instantly defend against deadly threats.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, 12 Reasons to Responsibly Carry a Defensive Gun Every Day ]

The crucial matter, whether in personal self-defense or as a volunteer on a church security team, is to be constantly training and constantly ready. Just as the Israelites were in the Bible’s Old Testament, armed and ever watchful for enemy attacks while they rebuilt Jerusalem’s city walls:

Paul Harvey: If I Were the Devil

Recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2005, Paul Harvey (1918–2009) was a famous American journalist and commentator for ABC News Radio known for his distinctive voice, conservative viewpoint, and unique daily sign-off: “Paul Harvey…[LONG PAUSE]…Good Day!”

[ Read the SemperVerus article, Paul Harvey: God Made A Farmer ]

From 1951 to 2008, his broadcasts on over 1,300 radio stations and his writings syndicated to 300 newspapers reached a massive audience, estimated at up to 24 million people per week. He passed away in 2009 at the age of 90.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, Free Online Educational Resources to Grow Your Spiritual Knowledge ]

On April 3rd, 1965, in the lead-up to Holy Week that year and in the tradition of The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis, Mr. Harvey’s broadcast commentary was titled, “If I Were the Devil.” It was a satirical rallying cry for Americans to change their moral direction and social mores. Now, decades later, it also speaks to the importance of the five principles of SemperVerus (Stay True to What Is Right) living—Prepare, Aware, Be, Know, Do—and the 17 virtues of the SemperVerus Brotherhood.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, The Reality of God is Plain Enough ]

In his remarks, he alludes to events in the Bible in such passages as Genesis 3, 2 Timothy 4:3-4, and Isaiah 5:20-21.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, Statue of Billy Graham Unveiled in Statuary Hall of US Capitol ]

Listen to the broadcast and read the script below:

Americans’ Religious Affiliations if the US Were 100 People

If the United States consisted of only 100 people, 62 of them would be people who self-identify as Christian, according to a new Pew Research Center study, based on the 2023-24 Religious Landscape Study. Another 29 people would be religiously unaffiliated (atheists, agnostics, or people who identify religiously as “nothing in particular.”) And seven would identify with non-Christian religions, including Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, Free Online Educational Resources to Grow Your Spiritual Knowledge ]

According to a study by Gallup, the percentage of Americans now identifying as Christian is similar to those of Western and Northern European countries such as the United Kingdom, Germany, Finland, and Denmark, nations with strong Protestant traditions. Yet religion continues to play a larger role in daily life for Americans than for people in those countries.