THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A CHRISTIAN AND A NON-CHRISTIAN WRITER

A young doctor once told me about attending a symposium of Christian physicians. He said they raised the question, “What is the difference between a Christian doctor and a doctor who is not a believer?” Their conclusion was simply that a Christian doctor prays for his patients.

I can think of a number of spiritual gifts and spiritual fruit that God might use through a Christian physician. And I suspect some doctors who are not necessarily committed Christians pray at least occasionally for their patients. Still, I suspect they touched the heart of the matter simply out of years of practicing medicine.

Thinking of this made me wonder about the difference between a Christian writer and one who does not believe. I do not want to minimize Christian subject matter. But I think there are differences beyond what we write about. There will be some difference between a Christian journalist and one who does not know the Lord. What about a travel writer? What about a restaurant critic? I believe two differences are foundational; whom we trust and whom we please and honor.

Two ferry boats cross a river. One runs along a cable stretched across the water. The other does not. When the river runs smoothly, the operator of the one without the cable claims his fairy moves faster. And that may be true, although I'm am not sure. But when the river is raging the one without the cable will be swept away in the flood.

A writer who knows Christ has an anchor of meaning and confidence in the sovereignty of God that a writer who does not know the Lord does not have. That is not to say that she is not bewildered by evil or unfairness. A Christian writer may write about evil or tragedy that she has no answer for. But beneath everything she has a confidence that that there is an answer and God knows the solution even when we do not. A Christian writer may suffer from writer's block. But she knows that she can pray for inspiration.

Most of you are far too young to remember the television series The Millionaire. In it Michael Anthony, played by actor Marvin Miller, was “the confidential secretary to the trillionaire John Beresford Tipton.”  Each week on the show at the philanthropist’s Direction he gave a million dollars to an unsuspecting recipient. While Michael Anthony gave wonderful things, a million dollars, a much greater fortune in 1955 than it is now, he did not work for them. He worked for the eccentric trillionaire. He obeyed his direction. The checks were drawn from the wealthy man’s bank account. And the secretary had to please  him and him alone.

A Christian writer ultimately writes to please God. God is the source of her insight. He is the one who calls her to write. I am not focusing on how a Christian ought to write. Although we seldom get all of this together, these are fundamental principles of belonging to Christ. A Christian writer seeks to speak from God and for God. She seeks to honor God rather than herself. And in this motive the truth of what she has to say is anchored.

In John 7:18 Jesus said,

“He who speaks on his own does so to gain honor for himself, but he who works for the honor of the one who sent him is a man of truth; there is nothing false about him.”

Who are you writing for?

WRITING IN THE AFTERMATH

In a time of crisis a friend put her writing note on her front door to keep people from bothering her. “Writing In Progress; Please don’t disturb.” But she admitted to my wife and I that she was not trying to write. Have you ever been too unhappy or too sick to write? I suspect all of us have. And that is a shame. We get our deepest insights in suffering and sickness. You probably remember the quote from C.S. Lewis' The Problem of Pain, “Pain is God's megaphone.”

God often speaks most clearly through pain or illness, even if it is only a sinus infection. While you are hurting, you will often be too distracted to hear Him. So it is important to pray for insight as you begin to recover. Giving thanks ought to be natural in such a time. Thankfulness is also a key to insight. And it is important to spend time thinking about it while the memory is fresh, maybe still hurting some. This is a crucial time to read books like The Problem of Pain or Philip Yancey's books, Where is God When It Hurts, Disappointment With God, or The Gift of Pain. Even a good novel may mean more to you while you are recovering.

And this is a great time to write. I often get my best insights while I am writing. And that is an important time to touch the hearts of readers whether they are hurting or not.

http://thinkinginthespirit.blogspot.com/

http://watchinginprayer.blogspot.com/

http://writingprayerfully.blogspot.com/

http://daveswatch.com/

WRITE DOWN THE REVELATION

Continue to look with me at this powerful passage from Habakkuk 2. Verse 2 reads,

“Then the LORD replied: Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a herald may run with it.”

Let's focus on two applications of this verse;

The Foundation of Writing

                    and

The Purpose of Writing

It stretches metaphor to say the foundation of our writing is from above. But I think you get the point here. When you are in fellowship with God you will see the same things you saw before, but you will see them from the rock of God's perspective. You may write about a dysfunctional home, but you will see it through the weeping eyes of God who loves them. And behind your words will be the knowledge of how it should be. You may write about a good elderly woman but you will not be blind to flaws in even the best person's character.

And notice that God tells us to write to affect the lives of people. We are to make what we write plain. You are writing for people to understand, not to impress them. I have read books that the authors admitted  were written to help them work through a trauma. But those books were only good, or readable for that matter, if truth could be applied to the reader. The purpose of our writing is to make truth known to as many people as possible.

God' truth is the foundation of our writing. And people are the target of our words.

http://thinkinginthespirit.blogspot.com/

http://watchinginprayer.blogspot.com/

http://writingprayerfully.blogspot.com/

http://daveswatch.com/

WRITING FROM THE RAMPART OF PRAYER

Many Christian writers are familiar with Habakkuk 2:1-3. God has used those words to speak to us and encourage us in our writing. In the next few weeks I would like to link those verses with writing prayerfully.

Verse 1 reads,

“I will stand at my watch

   and station myself on the ramparts;

I will look to see what he will say to me,

   and what answer I am to give to this complaint.”

Jesus called us to “Watch and pray.” Most of us rightly think of watching so we can pray. But, have ever prayer walked? If you have not, I recommend it. A good place to start, may be your own neighborhood. Walk around your block taking a little time praying for each home, business, property or building. You will begin to see things to pray for that you had not noticed. Those of you who have done quite a bit of prayer walking know that while you are praying you see things you would never have seen if you were just looking. Praying as you write will open your eyes to perspectives you would never have considered without God’s touch.

I am suggesting something that I’ve not mentioned before. In fact, while I have done it some, I don’t do it as much as I intend. Can you pray while you are writing? Begin with it in your mind that you are telling God the story. This does not necessarily make God your target audience. You might be aiming your words at adults, 19 to 31 who live in . . .  But you have a sense that God is reading over your shoulder. And you continually invite Him to collaborate.

Copy short

http://watchinginprayer.blogspot.com/

http://thinkinginthespirit.blogspot.com/

http://daveswatch.com/

https://www.facebook.com/search/top/?q=the+published+works+of+david+b.+young&opensearch=1

THE RESTFUL DISCIPLINE OF PRAYER

In the garden before the cross Jesus asked His disciples if they could not even pray for an hour. I'm afraid He would have to ask us if we can pray for five minutes. Extended prayer is particularly difficult in our lives so filled with responsibilities, blessings, and distractions.

Praying significantly in the midst of writing is also quite difficult, and requires discipline. I maintain a series of prayer lists for people and concerns around me. And I try to pray for them in occasional breaks in my writing. This week I have been working on several chapters that I’m adding to a book I've nearly completed. Not only am I anxious to complete the book, but I've been driven by the need for these chapters. And I was consumed by what I was writing. I began one of those days with a devotional time, but I did not take a break all morning long. I suppose I wouldn't have stopped for lunch if my wife had not got my attention.  

I wanted to get going again as soon as I had gobbled down a sandwich. I had to discipline myself to pray and read my Bible a little. It was a warm afternoon for March. So I took my drink outside to spend a little time with God. I had hardly begun before I noticed something I had not realized during my meal or writing all morning. My muscles were wound up tight, and I was exhausted. I actually found my devotional time restful and was restored to begin writing again as soon as I finished.

I  began my afternoon writing with zeal. In a few minutes I was caught back up in the passion of my writing. By the time I finished I was again exhausted. I had difficulty finishing the planned prayer for the day. But I am pleased with what I wrote. And I strongly suspect that the quality of my writing was better because I not only took a physical, but a spiritual rest in the arms of God.

http://daveswatch.com

http://watchinginprayer.blogspot.com

http://thinkinginthespirit.blogspot.com

SANCTIFIED IMAGINATION

I recently heard an interview with Tim Keller in which he said something that seems to apply most to writing.

“Prayer sanctifies your imagination. It plunges it into God.”

Let me suggest a few ways prayer affects your imagination.

Few books or series stretch the reader’s imagination like C.S. Lewis’ Narnia Chronicles. Lewis said the idea for the first book came to him from a picture in his mind of a faun standing under a street lamp on a snowy evening with an umbrella in one hand, and parcels held tightly in the other. I think I can see how such beautiful books rose from such a picture. But your imagination does not have to lead to fantesy. It may not even apply to fiction. But it will help you see what your reader needs to see in order to understand what you have to say.

God is the deep source from which the fountain of your imagination overflows. God is the ultimate muse. Prayer brings you into clearer communication with Him.

Your relationship with God lays a foundation from which your imagination can rise. Imaginings need a solid rock of truth and reality to make any sense, to communicate anything to your readers.

Prayer stretches your imagination to greater and higher plains of truth and communication. In prayer God will frame the points you need to make with your imagination. He often does this without your knowing. Your readers will soar with you, and land safely at the same destination of truth.

A SABBATH FROM WRITING

Do you take a Sabbath from your writing. I recommend that you take one if you can. I say, if you can, because many of you write while maintaining a real job. And you won't write much if don't write in every free moment you can muster.

After retiring from active pastoring, I began trying to write full-time. At that point God was convicting me of not having taken days off or taking enough time for spiritual and physical renewal in my 40 plus years as a pastor. So I begin my full-time writing with a Sabbath. I don't write or work on my writing from Friday evening to Saturday evening. I have found it rewarding in a number of ways.

First, I have not had to deal with burnout. Most of the time I chafe because I feel like I have not got enough done by 6:00 when I quit on Fridays. Frankly, this keeps me motivated. The break always refreshes my passion. I am usually anxious to get started again on Saturday night. Of course, we are often doing family things on Saturday and Sunday afternoons. Those things add to my motivation rather than distracting me.

I also gain inspiration in a Sabbath. I do not necessarily recommend that you stop thinking about your writing while taking a Sabbath, whenever you try to take it. But some of my best ideas come when I am not thinking about writing at all. If I didn't discipline myself a little, I would hardly ever have a time I was not thinking about my writing.

Finally, and most closely related to Biblical observance of the Sabbath, by taking a break I acknowledge that God is the source of all writing. I show that I am trusting Him to help me think. I am asking God's help in finishing what I working on. A Sabbath declares that everything I am, and have, and do comes from God. I give it to Him much like I worship with a tithe of our income.

http://watchinginprayer.blogspot.com/  

http://thinkinginthespirit.blogspot.com/

http://daveswatch.com/