our next meeting:
SATURDAY, october 5, 10 AM - NOON
Cornerstone Christian Church, Wyckoff
In the Barn (2nd building on the right)
Members, please bring work for critique, as per the guidelines on our website.
Hope to see you Saturday,
Barbara
barbarahigbyhope.com
Barbara
barbarahigbyhope.com
September's Focus Point
Putting forth Effort
In
his second letter, the first chapter, Peter tells us that we can share Jesus’ divine
nature. This nature is a gift that increases by knowing Him. He is the Giver;
we are His cooperative followers. Peter clarifies our part: we are to make
every effort to add godly virtues to our lives. Paraphrasing verses 5-7, He
wrote
Because His divine nature is available
to you… make every effort to add to your faith goodness… knowledge… self-control… perseverance… godliness… brotherly
kindness… love.
Let’s
look at what these seven qualities mean as Christian writers and how we reflect them in our writing. Goodness and godliness are obvious—as God-followers,
we don’t glorify cruelty and evil, but promote righteousness in our writing. We commend kindness and love—we don’t write from vindictiveness or
a mean spirit. The three remaining
qualities, however, require us to “make every effort” as we include them
in our writing.
- Knowledge –
We research and read up on our topics, facts, and references. We discuss ideas and
interview others. We cannot write recklessly or off the cuff—we are called to
excellence.
- Self-control –
We each know we need discipline to actually get our ideas on paper. This is why we share
our goals and progress at our meetings. It is why we encourage each other to stay focused and
remember our purpose.
- Perseverance –
We keep on when writing is difficult, whether from complications in our personal
lives, discouragement in our writing, lack of clarity, writer’s block, rejection
letters…
Peter
assures us in verse 8 that if we possess these qualities in increasing measure,
they will keep us from being ineffective
and unproductive in our “knowledge
of our Lord Jesus Christ.” We don’t want to be ineffective or unproductive in
our faith, nor do we want to be ineffective or unproductive in our
writing.
Takeaway: God
has saved us, given us His divine nature, and gifted us to write. Let’s “make
every effort” to be effective and productive as we grow in knowledge,
self-control, and perseverance.