More people are searching for a Scripture writing plan than ever before. It feels like a movement that is gaining strength, and without any central organization. One by one, people have just been discovering the benefits of copying out Bible verses by hand.
If you’ve been looking for a Scripture writing plan, you’ll find a number online. We’ve prepared the “30 Day Handwrite the Bible Challenge” as the perfect way to get started, or get going again, with this powerful practice. Copying one Bible chapter each day for a month begins to instill a habit.
In this post, I want to introduce the Challenge and give you several reasons why this is a worthwhile investment of your time.
If you’re ready to get started, the workbook is FREE and you can download it right now. Click here to begin your amazing 30-day journey.
Or keep reading …
* Credit: main post photo by Debby Hudson on Unsplash
Table of Contents
1. The Perfect Scripture Writing Plan for Beginners
If you’re just getting interested in the idea of copying out Scripture, and how it can help you really deepen your understanding and retention, you might not know where to start. Here are some reasons why you should take the 30-day challenge as your first Scripture writing plan.
A) You’ll begin to establish a daily habit
This is why these “challenges” have become so hugely popular in a whole range of areas: fitness, weight loss, journaling, reading, budgeting, walking, drinking water, etc. Because they turn an aspiration into a concrete commitment. They give you a clear goal, and the repetition starts to ingrain the behavior so that you’re building a habit.
There’s been a lot of research done on how habits are formed. It used to be popular to say that it takes 21 days to form a habit. More recently, the research is showing that it’s not such an exact thing; it can take anywhere from 18 days to 254 days. But 30 days is still an excellent timeframe to begin installing that desired behavior.
When you finish the challenge you’ll have a sense of accomplishment, but hopefully also the motivation to keep going.
B) It gives you a sampling of Scripture copying projects
The 30 Bible chapters I’ve selected are not random, but they lead from one to another through the arc of the Bible’s narrative. And because they are taken from all over, they expose you to writing out passages from a number of different genres found in God’s Word: history, poetry, wisdom literature, prophecy, narrative, epistles, and apocalyptic literature.
So, once you’ve completed the challenge you’ll have a good idea of the kinds of things you like to copy and you can choose your next Scripture writing plan or project.
C) It’s substantially more than just “verse-a-day”
There’s absolutely nothing wrong with copying out a single verse from the Bible. Some people like to do this very artistically with calligraphy and drawing. You could surely derive benefit from that — especially if its a verse that you’ve been meditating on.
However, it’s a bit like the old “promise boxes” that were popular at one time. A person would go to the box in the morning and randomly pick out a small scroll of paper with tweezers. The paper contained a “promise for the day” from the Bible. Well, that’s better than nothing, but it falls very far short from the systematic Bible reading that every Christian needs to grow spiritually.
Likewise, when you copy longer passages from the Bible, you begin to see verses in their context and notice patterns and flow. This is when the practice really starts to pay dividends.
I settled on a chapter per day as my own daily habit, and found that it works so well that I decided on that length for the 30-day challenge also. It’s easily manageable (about 30-45 minutes per day depending on your writing speed), but also substantive enough for context, and for you to really sink your teeth into God’s Word.
D) It’s just the right length of commitment for a first Scripture writing plan
One month is long enough to start instilling the habit, but not so long that it feels “never-ending”.
Think about it. When you’ve completed the first 3 days, you’re already 10% done! The finish line will always be in sight to motivate you. If it was a year-long challenge, or even 6 months, I’m not sure how many people would actually complete it.
Later on, when you’re really in the rhythm of daily copying, you may decide on a much longer project. Your Scripture writing plan might be to complete the whole Bible over several years. But that would be an ambitious place to start. Most people who end up attempting that begin with a much more modest goal and build up to it.
2. A Great Plan to Get You Going AGAIN
Maybe you used to write out Scripture regularly, but life got in the way and you stopped. You already know the benefits and would love to pick it up again, but you need some encouragement. Sometimes all it takes is a bit of direction and structure, and the “30 Day Handwrite the Bible Challenge” can give you that, along with a clear goal.
You won’t need to think about what to copy next, you just open your workbook each day and your assignment is there waiting for you.
3. A Scripture Writing Plan You Can Do Alone or With a Group
The challenge works equally well for individuals or for groups. Maybe some friends from your church would dive in with you and you can all hold each other accountable. What about kicking it off with a special “Copy a Chapter Party”; have your writing session together over coffee and dessert, and then talk about the passage you’ve written out.
There are lots of great benefits to doing this with a friend or in a group, and when you download the workbook it comes with full permission to make as many copies as you need.
Ready to dive in?
The “30 Day Handwrite the Bible Challenge” is 100% FREE to download, use, and share. It’s designed as a printable workbook you can keep it beside you throughout the month.
>>> CLICK HERE TO GET YOURS NOW
Still have questions? Leave a comment below and I’ll answer it as quickly as I can.
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