Writing Creed
By Chia Poh Fang
I’m currently reading Eat This Book by Eugene Peterson and I was greatly challenged by the author to strive for greater heights in my writing.
Below is a writing creed that I came up with. Much of the thoughts are borrowed from the book.
My writing creed:
1. Holy Scripture is the source document, the authoritative font. I believe the Bible contain living words that are intended, whether confrontationally or obliquely, to get inside us, to deal within our souls, to form a life that is congruent with the world God has created, the salvation that He has enacted, and the community He has gathered.
2. I must write in such a way as . . .
i) To provoke life changes and not just stuff some information into the cells of brains.
ii) To convince many Christians that the Bible gives a truer, more accurate account of what is going on in their seemingly unraveling world than what the media is telling them.
iii) To demonstrate how presently alive the Bible is, and how differently it is from books that can be “handled”—dissected and analyzed and then used for whatever we want them for.
iv) To showed, clearly and persuasively, that the Bible must be read receptively and leisurely instead of standoffishly and efficiently. German poet Rainer Maria Rike paints a beautiful picture when he wrote: “[A reader] does not always remain bent over his pages; he often leans back and closes his eyes over a line he has been reading again, and its meaning spreads through his blood.”
Hence, I must write in the biblical style involving readers in life-transforming responses. I must write in a revelatory and intimate manner as opposed to being informational and impersonal.
To achieve the aforementioned aim, I must become a Christian reader, reading words in order to be formed by the Word. Only then can I become a Christian writer.
[As I penned this article, I’m 50-days to finish reading through the Bible for this year! 加油！*These Chinese characters mean "you go girl!" *]
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Loading ...ODJ: there is no other
November 16, 2009
READ: Isaiah 45:14-25
God is with you, and
He is the only God. There is no other (v.14).
One afternoon, at a hospital in East Africa, I was preparing to bathe a 6-year-old cancer patient named Henry. To my astonishment, beneath the sick child’s shirt was a filthy rag tied tightly around his waist. Henry’s mother explained, “Our village healer put it there to drive away evil spirits so Henry will get well.”
Having spent several months assisting children in the pediatric cancer ward, I had become friends with many of the their parents—particularly Henry’s mother. So I asked her, “May we remove this rag and instead ask Jesus Christ to heal Henry?” “Yes,” she replied.
For the next several weeks we prayed for Henry as he underwent chemotherapy. Amazingly, subsequent tests revealed that his cancer had gone into remission. Henry’s mother and I rejoiced and acknowledged that God “is the only God. There is no other!” (Isaiah 45:14).
In the days ahead, you will face challenges that leave you wondering where to turn for answers. In those difficult times, remember that God wants to reveal Himself to you and through you.
Take comfort from the words God spoke to King Cyrus, “I, the Lord, made you, and I will not forget you” (44:21). “I will go before you . . . and level the mountains. I will smash down gates of bronze and cut through bars of iron. . . . I will give you treasures hidden in the darkness—secret riches. I will do this so you may know that I am the Lord” (45:2-3).
God equips us: “I have equipped you for battle, though you don’t even know Me, so all the world from east to west will know there is no other God” (45:5-6).
He does the work: “I am the Lord, and there is no other. I create the light and make the darkness. I send good times and bad times. I, the Lord, am the one who does these things” (vv.6-7). Amen. —Roxanne Robbins
How has God provided for you in the past? What challenges do you need to bring to Him today?
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...ODB: the problem with self-sufficiency
November 16, 2009
READ: Revelation 3:14-22
I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. —Revelation 3:15
The city of Laodicea had a water problem. One nearby town had fabulous hot springs and another had cold, clear water. Laodicea, however, was stuck with tepid, mineral-laden water that tasted like sulphur. Not hot. Not cold. Just gross.
Given those facts, the words of Jesus to the Laodicean believers in Revelation 3 must have stung. Jesus rebuked them for being “neither cold nor hot” (v.15). And when He thought of them, He felt like vomiting (v.16)—like the effect of their drinking water.
What was their problem? It was the sin of self-sufficiency. The Laodiceans had become so affluent that they had forgotten how much they needed Jesus (v.17).
When we say we have everything we need, but Jesus isn’t at the top of the list, He is deeply offended. Self-sufficiency distracts us from pursuing the things we really need that only He can give. If you’d rather have cash than character, if your credit cards are maximized and your righteousness is minimized, if you’ve become smart but aren’t wise, then you’ve been shopping in all the wrong places. Jesus offers commodities that are far better (v.18).
He’s knocking at your heart’s door (v.20). Let Him in. He will give you all you really need! — Joe Stowell
We always have enough when God is our supply.
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