Faith

What Men Have to Say About Scripture Writing

Over the years that I’ve been posting and teaching about Scripture writing, many of the same questions keep popping up. One of the most common questions is this: Do men do Scripture writing, too?

The answer is yes, they absolutely do! In fact, one of the biggest misconceptions about Scripture writing is that it’s something that only women do.

I’ve often wondered … why might people assume that Scripture writing is inherently a feminine thing to do? Especially since the scribes of centuries past were virtually all male, and it was a respected position in a temple or monastery (not to mention in the military, or in the court of a nobleman or king).

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Faith

What’s So Intimidating About the Bible?

When I was in college, I worked in a mall bookstore—to this day, one of the best jobs I’ve ever had. As the assistant manager, I’d often arrive early to get some paperwork done before other employees arrived.

If you’ve ever wondered whether bookstore or library employees can read on the job, the 1980s answer is yes, to a certain extent. I often took advantage of this perk, and when I was in the store by myself, I could gravitate toward those books that I might not want others to see me reading. Alone in the store, with 15 minutes to do with as I pleased, I often headed for the Religion and Bibles section.

I wasn’t a Christian at the time, or even especially spiritual. As a young child, I’d read a 10-volume children’s Bible that had caused me to declare Jesus as my savior, but that commitment only lasted a few years. By the time I worked in the bookstore, God was a distant memory and Jesus was far from my mind and my life … or so it seemed.

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Faith

Dear Friend, You’re Already Found

“What is it that keeps you from looking for God?”

When I heard this question in a sermon last week, I had just seen an excellent live performance of Dear Evan Hansen a mere 12 hours before. If you’re one of the many who have seen this show, you know the song that’ll be in your head for days: “You Will Be Found” (lyric video here).

The main character in this musical, Evan Hansen, is a high school student who has social anxiety and great difficulty fitting in. He feels awkward and out of place most of the time. During the course of the show, he struggles greatly with the idea of being found—not necessarily because he feels lost, but because he feels invisible. So I suppose that the theme is not just about being found, but being seen. And really, aren’t they just two sides of the same coin?

Evan has no true friends, so when he sings these lyrics, they’re especially poignant:

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Faith

Scripture Writing in Philippians—Join Me at Bible Copy Club

I’ve been invited to be a guest writer at Bible Copy Club for a four-week series on Philippians! Join me there and let’s copy out this book together.

If you’ve been thinking about trying Scripture writing (copying out the Bible by hand), or if you’re just feeling the need to do something different in your daily Bible time, I have some good news!

Beginning next week and continuing through July, I’ll be collaborating with Andy at Bible Copy Club to walk you through copying the entire book of Philippians, a few verses at a time (use this link to receive this series). We start on Monday, July 7, and by August 1, you’ll have written out the entire book. And because you’ve taken it slowly and had time to think about what you’re writing, you’ll have more of it stored away in your heart than you might have by just reading alone.

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Faith

Why and How to Begin Scripture Writing

“Be sure to spend time in the Bible every day.” Every Christian hears this often. We know that it’s important. But we also know that it’s easier in some seasons of life than in others.

Almost seven years ago, I began a new way of spending daily time in the Word: I started copying Scripture (verse by verse or book by book) by hand. Over the years, I’ve done this both instead of and in addition to a Bible reading plan. With very few exceptions, I’ve been writing out Scripture for about 2,500 consecutive days, and I can honestly say that Scripture writing has completely transformed the way I approach the Bible and how I interact with God’s Word.

And it’s not just me. I can tell by the popularity of the Scripture writing posts on my blog that many Christians—both male and female, and of all ages—are eager to try something that will refresh and reinvigorate their daily time with the Bible. And for some, Scripture writing is just the thing.

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Faith

My Scripture Writing Tools

Here’s everything I use for Scripture writing, all in one place—plus a new Scripture Writing Tracker you can download for free.

It gives me great joy that so many people have tried Scripture writing as a result of reading about it here on my blog. Whether they’ve chosen the three-year, topical approach (monthly themes and very short passages) or whether they’ve gone directly to writing out entire books of the Bible, many readers are doing this for the first time, and it’s made a difference in the quality of their time with the Word.

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Faith

In Unfriendly Territory: The Bible on Social Media

Recently I had an eye-opening experience as a result of a Facebook marketing error. I learned a few things from this glitch … about the worst parts of social media, about some people’s hatred for the Bible, and about the Christian bubble that I apparently live in, at least online.

I’ve written a couple of times about my practice of daily Scripture writing, and my first article on how to begin Scripture writing is still the most popular post on my blog. This brings me great joy, that many people have found a new way to interact with and respond to the Word of God by writing it out.

Last year, my first Scripture writing article went out on Facebook as a “sponsored post,” meaning that it was boosted to reach an entirely new audience beyond just the people who follow my page. It had such a positive outcome that I decided to boost my second post on Scripture writing, as well. I loved the idea of more people being exposed to the idea of this daily spiritual discipline that they might want to try.

And that’s when something went wrong. This time around, Meta (Facebook) seemed to have lost its ability to determine who might actually want to see Christian content in their newsfeed.

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Faith

Getting the Most Out of Scripture Writing

Six years this month. That’s how long I’ve been doing daily Scripture writing: copying out the Word of God by hand, passage by passage, book by book.

I began slowly, with just a few verses a day, following an easy, three-year plan that was organized by theme. When I finished that, I wanted more, so I started copying out entire books of the Bible—and I’m still at it. You can read how all of this developed (not only for me but for two of my friends) in Ready to Try Scripture Writing?, which is still the most-read post on this blog.

Even after six years of daily copying, one thing remains the same for me: Scripture writing has transformed my time with God’s Word more than anything else I’ve ever done.

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Faith

That Bible Verse You Don’t Like and What to Do About It

Out of the 31,102 verses in the Bible, it’s entirely possible that you don’t necessarily like every single one of them. That some of them might actually get under your skin.

There may be a particular verse that causes a reflexive bristling or even an eye-roll—if not outwardly, then in your heart. Something that annoys you or angers you. A phrase that scares you a bit, or causes you to question the goodness of God. A verse that you choose to ignore rather than confront.

What are some Bible verses that a reader, even a Christian reader, might not like? Here are some examples I came up with off the top of my head:

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