Finding Jesus in the Bible…So We Can Follow Him in Life
Bible Reading Plans
- Plan One: New Testament Only
- Plan Two: New Testament + Psalms
- Plan Three: New Testament + History
- Plan Four: The Entire Bible – Year 1 of 3, Year 2 of 3, Year 3 of 3
Don’t know which plan? Go to A Christ-Centered Bible Reading Plan: Quick Start.
Extras
Verse of the Day, Audio Capsule, and Video Minute
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Grading My Writing
Yesterday’s post was about improving the titles of the books I am currently writing. I feel pretty good about my progress in that regard. Today’s is about improving the writing in the books themselves. I don’t feel nearly so good about my progress in that area. I set a goal for my writing that I don’t think I am reaching.
You may recall I wrote three daily posts back in June, all of which at least touched on how I had become disappointed with my current writing style.
- Checkpoint (June 19th)
- Transition (June 20th)
- Adolescents (June 21st)
You don’t need to reread these posts, but I did. I’m using them to grade myself on how well I’ve done since the promises I made at that time. Before I give myself the grade, let me remind you of some of the things I said at that time.
I said that I not only needed to make make my books shorter, I also needed to make my chapters, paragraphs, sentences, and words shorter, too.
I realized I was writing too academically. Instead of writing for seminary professors, I needed to be writing for regular folks: adults and adolescents. That meant I needed to be writing more plainly. Since June, I have attempted to do that.
My attempts for the last couple of months have fallen well short of my goal. As a result, the grade I have to give myself so far is a D.
It’s not for lack of trying – it’s that it’s very hard to do. After all, the Bible is an ancient book…written in languages other than English. It contains concepts that are not always easy to explain. That’s not an excuse. It’s just a reason that I need to try harder.
Moreover, there’s a limit to how much words and concepts like “predestination” can be simplified. If the mysteries of God challenged minds like Paul’s and Peter’s, they’re certainly going to challenge ours.
I say all this because I don’t want you to give up on my promises to simplify my writing. It’s just going to take me more time…but I’m not going to give up. If I can improve sufficiently, and if I have sufficient time, I’d even like to take a shot at rewriting the book I just finished to see if I could shorten it.
In any case, I’ll see you here tomorrow for the first installment of The One True Church – my follow-up to The One True God, and the second book in the trilogy of “The Implications of the Second Coming as Accomplished Fact.”
The goal of all these books is to convey the Bible’s view of “the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ.”
2 Corinthians 11:2 For I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy; for I betrothed you to one husband, so that to Christ I might present you as a pure virgin.
2 Corinthians But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ.
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