Reading the Bible Academically Compared to Devotionally

[Ryan&Amber2013]

I don't know if this will help any of you, but I share this because it's been a really interesting thing in my life. I very much have a systematic mind when approaching the Bible. Often that would cause me to read the Bible in an academic way, thinking more about rationalization and categories, and doctrine, rather than Spirit-led connection to God. For a while now, everyday that I am reading the Bible, I am mainly concerned with hearing God speak to me, and I speak back to him while I am reading, by praying what I am reading. It's an amazing way to converse with God, a method that has been the best spiritual practice for me that I can't ever see myself stopping.

But in saying that, something interesting stands out. When I am hearing God speak to me, and I speak his words back to him, whether in praise, or request, or thanksgiving, I find that I am not concerned about systematic doctrine at all. I literally just pray back to him what he has said, without feeling like I need to compartmentalize different doctrines and whatnot. It's like, "God you said it, so I can say it exactly the way you said it but in the form of prayer."

It's just an interesting observation. If you're anything like me, and you let your desire for systematic doctrine get in the way of your devotional approach to the Bible, this is really helpful. I kind of find that all the minute doctrine splitting kind of fades away when I just simply pray God's word back to him.

For example, this is a place where it would get really interesting: 1 Peter 3:21 Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

So many different denominations have different understandings of what this means, but if you simply pray this to God, there is a peace in the mystery of it, where all the systematic mindset just kind of fades away, because you know you are just praying back to God what he said. So I could legit pray:

"God, I thank you so much for the baptism I have, which saves me, not as a washing to clean my body, but as my appeal to you for a good conscience, as I look to the resurrection of Jesus. You have started this good work inside of me and blessed me with many graces, and I will continue to look to you to finish it."

 

[py3ak]

It is certainly good to have Scripture enter your heart and emerge again in the form of prayer.

Some of the expressions used above, however, seem to implicitly assume a contradiction between doctrine and piety, which doesn't seem to emerge from the words of Scripture. It's clear from history that many people have experienced an opposition in this area. But it is also clear that embracing the opposition instead of pursuing integration has had unfortunate results. Where our sin-divided selves project conflict onto what God has joined together, perhaps the Scripture prayer that is most relevant is: "Unite my heart to fear thy name."

 

[eoghan.Ireland]

My doctrine and spirituality compliment each other, reading a bit of the WCF helps me pray because I don’t just assent in my mind to it but I experience it in my heart,though I am still a neophyte. Who hasn’t read the first question of the shorter catechism and been filled with joy for the Lord, knowing delighting in the Lord is for his glory, our Father glories in our delight for him.

 

[Ploutos]

I think I naturally tend to be an academic/analytical type, where it can perhaps come more naturally to study Scripture systematically with less attention given to experiential application. Now I will grant that this is not always good, because if I don't periodically self-examine myself, I can get caught up in the quest for knowledge without a corresponding increase in spiritual maturity. I can also fall into the habit of reading Scripture without taking correspondingly adequate time to respond to the Lord in prayer.

That doesn't mean, though, that a systematic/analytical approach is at odds with a more devotional, prayer-based approach. Not at all. What I find is that, regardless of how much time I spend in Scripture, there is always a need to make sure my heart is engaged and that my conduct is showing fruits of my time with the Lord. So there's reading Scripture without adequate reflection and reading Scripture with adequate reflection.

The latter is not less doctrinal or propositional than the former. What I find, actually, is that with time and with deep familiarity, that doctrinal content becomes the language of my prayers. Scripture verses that have been soaked into my head through repeated exposure become part of the fabric of my prayers and the correct way of viewing those Scripture patterns forms the basis for my approach to God. Take, for instance, Psalm 26 - which for years I found myself literally unable to use as a prayer and which for years was "the Psalm" that I could not understand. Apart from understanding it either as describing the righteousness of Christ himself or a sinner approaching God clad not in his own works but in the righteousness of Christ, the psalm doesn't make sense - at least not from a Reformed perspective. It takes a certain amount of spiritual maturity to be able to honestly read that psalm and claim the words for one's own, and frankly for years that level of maturity was well beyond me and well beyond my comprehension. I would read the psalm and I would just say to myself "I don't understand it; I can't claim those words; I'll just try again next time and see what the Lord has to say". But now I have a deeper and experiential understanding of that psalm and I can claim those words - though I still view that psalm with a weightiness that makes me aware that I am donning a Christ-robe and which compels me to take stock of my life (as Peter says in 2 Pe. 1:10) and ensure that I am not flaunting that privilege or (per Paul) continuing in sin that such grace may abound. It is Christ's righteousness that I am putting on - the most holy robe, far beyond any tailored fabric from Versace or Armani or Hugo Boss, far more beautiful than the most elaborate silkware worn by some eastern potentate. I still tremble at those words, because I know I can now claim them as mine, but not casually or flippantly or in any way that would demean such glorious majestic words.

But that is not at all an undoctrinal view of the psalm. In fact, it's profoundly and describably exclusive of any theological system that would give our works innate meritoriousness before God. It's profoundly exclusive of any theological system that would allow for man to have genuine innate righteousness of his own to give him standing before God, and it's profoundly exclusive of any theological system that would try to read this text in a "plain sense" that is de-coupled from the rest of the testimony of Scripture about our fallen state. Indeed, the language of righteousness and cleanliness that David claims for himself in this psalm is so exalted that I think that reading it outside of a whole-Scripture context and in a more work-based system really just creates more problems rather than solving them.

Now certainly this doesn't mean that there's always a consistent match between doctrinal engagement and intuitive connection with all the parts of Scripture. Certainly there are some parts of Scripture where my understanding of the doctrinal content outstrips my ability to apply and understand it practically; and the reverse is true. Certainly at an intellectual level I understand much of the covenant theology introduced in the book of Genesis, but it's still a work in progress to grasp how it applies to my life. And particularly, given what a fool I so often am, my intellectual grasp of the propositional content of the book of Proverbs often far exceeds my actual wisdom in daily life. I can give you great talk about many verses in Proverbs and yet I am not sure my daily life often reflects that I "get" many of those verses; I think about Newton and his long walks in the years after his conversion yet before he had come to the point of being able to fully renounce his former line of work as a slave-trader. On the flip side, I think that my intuitive connection with the book of Revelation exceeds my ability to articulate it or fit it into a doctrinal system. For years now, I have felt that when I read the book I "get" the general idea. But this doesn't mean there's no doctrinal content to it - just that I have an emotional connection with the book, the type I would have with a friend with whom I've bonded while not yet knowing a great many things about this friend. With time, though, comes increasing clarity. I have an increasingly definitive sense that the idealist reading of the book is the correct one and is the basis of the understanding that I have with it, though not to the exclusion the possibility of historicist and futurist elements at play alongside a general idealistic reading. There is a deep conviction that the words of Revelation apply to me personally, every one of them, and that they apply to every other Christian, and that in reading these words I am united to the entire community of faith, that great cloud of witnesses, from one end to the other. To the extent that I can articulate and understand the propositional content of Revelation, though - it fits solidly within Reformed categories with respect to soteriology, election, and covenant. In fact, I cannot see Revelation working any other way or with any other theological system without doing great violence to the thrust of the book.

All this to say, that while there is certainly a distinction to be made between head engagement and heart engagement, and while we sinful humans are so often prone to the tendency to favor one and neglect the other, I agree with @py3ak that it would be improper to set up an opposition between the two. Praying through Scripture before its doctrinal content is fully grasped doesn't negate its doctrinal content. It just means (Revelation being the example of this for me) that God is gracious enough to allow us to make use of Scripture along the way even when our understanding is in its baby stages - and after all, is that not the foreshadowing of eternity? An everlasting stretch of time in which we fully devote ourselves to contemplate the Word of God while yet growing in our understanding of it? Even your reflection on that confounding passage of 1 Peter (which, by the way, does become slightly less mystifying when you see similar language used in 1 Peter 4 showing that 3:18 - 4:6 are really one single thought; and also parallels to language used in 2 Peter and Jude) betrays clear theological convictions about the means of our salvation as well as a significant tie-in to Philippians 1:6. So then your own prayer itself betrays the thoughts of your mind because you are understanding this verse in a very specific propositional context aligned with Reformed distinctives - as it should in order for you to have any proper basis for devotional interaction with the passage. At least from what I'm understanding, you most certainly didn't meditate on this passage by thanking God for sending his Son into the underworld one Saturday to rescue souls from limbo or to wag his tongue tauntingly at Satan and the other demons. Your devotion on this verse is full of doctrinal content!

 

[B.L.]

I don't know if this will help any of you, but I share this because it's been a really interesting thing in my life. I very much have a systematic mind when approaching the Bible. Often that would cause me to read the Bible in an academic way, thinking more about rationalization and categories, and doctrine, rather than Spirit-led connection to God. For a while now, everyday that I am reading the Bible, I am mainly concerned with hearing God speak to me, and I speak back to him while I am reading, by praying what I am reading. It's an amazing way to converse with God, a method that has been the best spiritual practice for me that I can't ever see myself stopping.

I can relate to what you have written here in many ways. I'm currently reading God's Battle Plan for the Mind: The Puritan Practice of Biblical Meditation ($5 on RHB right now), and it has been excellent. I highly commend it and will mail you a copy if you'd like.

 

[Ryan&Amber2013]

And to be clear, I'm not saying I or anybody else shouldn't care about theology or have an interpretation of Scripture. I think the Bible is clear for example that faith united to Jesus is the only necessary thing for someone to experience salvation.

I think I'm just saying I can pray what the Bible says without feeling odd saying it or trying to reword it. Yes there's mystery there, but when I'm praying it straight from the Bible the weight isn't on me to say it in a way that rewords it to fit my doctrine.

 

[ZackF]

Both/and

 

[jwright82]

And to be clear, I'm not saying I or anybody else shouldn't care about theology or have an interpretation of Scripture. I think the Bible is clear for example that faith united to Jesus is the only necessary thing for someone to experience salvation.

I think I'm just saying I can pray what the Bible says without feeling odd saying it or trying to reword it. Yes there's mystery there, but when I'm praying it straight from the Bible the weight isn't on me to say it in a way that rewords it to fit my doctrine.

I think what you're feeling is natural for one and I concur with the excellent responses already given. But this has been a problem, or phenomenon, in the history of the Church going all the way back to the beginning of man I would imagine.
It's like a pull in two different directions, theology and piety. It's gone by different names at different times but it's the same two competing concepts of theory and practice (philosophy has historically had this problem at times).
When I first got into studying theology that criticism was all that I heard. Now I could go on and on about that but that doesn't make the problem go away. It's still there in different ways to different people.
Suffice to say that what is going on, in my opinion, is a false "problem". That's that we invent the problem for various reasons to make ourselves feel better. Like "you waste your time on all that theology stuff but I'm just out living for Jesus".
Seminaries have solved this problem by requiring ministerial students to take academic theology courses and practical theology courses. So it doesn't appear to be a problem in their minds.
We once had a pastor at my Church who I loved listening to preach, many years ago before our current one, because of the theological depth of his sermons but I was one of the only ones. Looking back now I think we made the right choice in getting our current one, who's simpler messages always convict me or comfort me depending on what God wants for me to "get from the message". But I've learned that that is what God wants me to get at Church from the sound preaching of his Word every Sunday.
In fact after my current pastor got to know me, who's amazing BTW, he apologized to me for the lack of (his perceived) depth in his messages. I told him "not to worry about it because God always knows what I need to hear and uses his preaching to bring it to me". I need to hear the preached Word at Church among the communion of saints. I get my deep theology stuff on my own time.
Now that's from a pastor/Church perspective and not really honing in on your specific concerns. But I just wanted to illustrate the scope of this from way back in history to today, it's been the same.
Your concerns are even more specific to your personal place in life, Bible study and prayer. That's a deeply personal issue and one that I don't tread on lightly, because it's your "Bible study and prayer time" not mine or the lady sitting next to me in Church's experience.
You need to work that out for yourself. If too much theology is causing someone to unnecessarily judge and critique every "jot and tittle" of what they are reading in scripture that day, then they need to repent and pray for forgiveness and guidance from God.
But if they are just "reading and believing" then, in my experience, that's when error creeps in. The worst heresies I've heard were from people doing just that, "reading and believing" with no external controls over what they believe. If they're the first person to ever "realize" that the Bible teaches or commands this or that, then they are probably wrong. Without any external controls to guide them then they become a "one person" denomination, out to correct the rest of the Church in their "errors".
My question for you would be how is this feeling affecting your life?

 

[RamistThomist]

I'm most devotionally engaged when my mind is engaged. CS Lewis said the same thing in his preface to Athanasius's On the Incarnation.

 

[Ryan&Amber2013]

I think what you're feeling is natural for one and I concur with the excellent responses already given. But this has been a problem, or phenomenon, in the history of the Church going all the way back to the beginning of man I would imagine.
It's like a pull in two different directions, theology and piety. It's gone by different names at different times but it's the same two competing concepts of theory and practice (philosophy has historically had this problem at times).
When I first got into studying theology that criticism was all that I heard. Now I could go on and on about that but that doesn't make the problem go away. It's still there in different ways to different people.
Suffice to say that what is going on, in my opinion, is a false "problem". That's that we invent the problem for various reasons to make ourselves feel better. Like "you waste your time on all that theology stuff but I'm just out living for Jesus".
Seminaries have solved this problem by requiring ministerial students to take academic theology courses and practical theology courses. So it doesn't appear to be a problem in their minds.
We once had a pastor at my Church who I loved listening to preach, many years ago before our current one, because of the theological depth of his sermons but I was one of the only ones. Looking back now I think we made the right choice in getting our current one, who's simpler messages always convict me or comfort me depending on what God wants for me to "get from the message". But I've learned that that is what God wants me to get at Church from the sound preaching of his Word every Sunday.
In fact after my current pastor got to know me, who's amazing BTW, he apologized to me for the lack of (his perceived) depth in his messages. I told him "not to worry about it because God always knows what I need to hear and uses his preaching to bring it to me". I need to hear the preached Word at Church among the communion of saints. I get my deep theology stuff on my own time.
Now that's from a pastor/Church perspective and not really honing in on your specific concerns. But I just wanted to illustrate the scope of this from way back in history to today, it's been the same.
Your concerns are even more specific to your personal place in life, Bible study and prayer. That's a deeply personal issue and one that I don't tread on lightly, because it's your "Bible study and prayer time" not mine or the lady sitting next to me in Church's experience.
You need to work that out for yourself. If too much theology is causing someone to unnecessarily judge and critique every "jot and tittle" of what they are reading in scripture that day, then they need to repent and pray for forgiveness and guidance from God.
But if they are just "reading and believing" then, in my experience, that's when error creeps in. The worst heresies I've heard were from people doing just that, "reading and believing" with no external controls over what they believe. If they're the first person to ever "realize" that the Bible teaches or commands this or that, then they are probably wrong. Without any external controls to guide them then they become a "one person" denomination, out to correct the rest of the Church in their "errors".
My question for you would be how is this feeling affecting your life?

Awesome thoughts! For me it has led to more of a relationship and experience of God. So somebody can know about God, but not necessarily know God in a personal, relational way. From my experience, when I interact with God more on a personal level, there is much more peace, comfort, and assurance as I go about life. There's kind of a sense of being home because I am safe with God.

It might be too early to tell, but the other day I seemed to have had a prayer answered instantly as well. There was a situation happening, and I opened up the Psalms, and started reading and praying them from my heart, and that situation that was bothering me instantly stopped. In my times of approaching God more academically I don't really recall that happening much.

Overall, for me anyway, there's just more fulfillment and satisfaction in walking with God in more of a relational way. Academics are necessary, but when I focus too much on that, God starts to feel more like a subject rather than a person, and for me, certain doubts can creep in when I become too focused on doctrine.

But I think overall, all people are made to live in connection and fellowship with God. That is the goal for every Christian. Now how they arrive at that and what gets them there, that's where it starts to become more personal.

 

[jwright82]

Awesome thoughts! For me it has led to more of a relationship and experience of God. So somebody can know about God, but not necessarily know God in a personal, relational way. From my experience, when I interact with God more on a personal level, there is much more peace, comfort, and assurance as I go about life. There's kind of a sense of being home because I am safe with God.

It might be too early to tell, but the other day I seemed to have had a prayer answered instantly as well. There was a situation happening, and I opened up the Psalms, and started reading and praying them from my heart, and that situation that was bothering me instantly stopped. In my times of approaching God more academically I don't really recall that happening much.

Overall, for me anyway, there's just more fulfillment and satisfaction in walking with God in more of a relational way. Academics are necessary, but when I focus too much on that, God starts to feel more like a subject rather than a person, and for me, certain doubts can creep in when I become too focused on doctrine.

But I think overall, all people are made to live in connection and fellowship with God. That is the goal for every Christian. Now how they arrive at that and what gets them there, that's where it starts to become more personal.

Yeah, I agree. I've had both happen to me in my life. I've been studying theology since I was 17 and I almost always feel closer to God when I'm learning about His magnificent but incomprehensible nature and way's. Also the lengths He's gone to, to save little old me and His entire people.
I'm also struck by how problems that we find so serious and worth debating over (and we should debate over the truth, don't get me wrong) are nothing to Him and in no way do they get in the way of Him accomplishing His goals.
Not to side rail anything but in studying the Septuagint I've learned that in the first century they had multiple translations just like we do today. And it didn't seem to bother Jesus or the Apostles one bit, they used the translation that best fit their purpose in building the Kingdom.
It wasn't until after that that the best translation became a problem for the Church, as it should be. It's the Church father's who debated these questions and then Jerome in wanting to improve the Septuagint translated it, I believe in an attempt to be "closer to the Hebrew", into Latin.
So you see God used a petty (from heaven's perspective) squabble amongst His people (that's a debate over a massively important issue for His Church) to get His Word translated into the new common language to reach even more people.
So the issue of which translation is the most accurate is a fundamental problem for the Church to be concerned about but God used that debate to reach all the little working guys and girls just going about their little lives unintentionally building the Kingdom by loving and caring for one another.
It blows my mind thinking about that. Even today the Gideon Bible company is the one "business" that doesn't mind people "stealing their product", they'll replace it for free. On their website they have stories of people (this is probably why hotels love them) who went to hotel rooms to end their lives and they picked up the Gideon Bible and read it and they didn't go through with it.
Those Bible's are used by God to save souls and prevent lives from being tragically shortened. Also the poor cleaning ladies don't have to go into a room to work and find a disturbing scene that probably scar's them for life.
Plus the marriages that have been saved because of them. They also have stories about people renting a hotel room to commit adultery and while the cheating spouse is waiting they pick it up to read it, get convicted and go home to confess to their spouse and sometimes reconciliation happens.
Now I don't know the "theology" of the Gideon Bible people but I bet it's not Reformed and even God uses them to build His Kingdom by saving lives and broken marriages all to His glory.
But what about those of us that are already His people? Well we're not left out by any means. Like you said about the answer to prayer that you received by reading the Psalms, that's God using His Word to comfort and remind His people that He has not abandoned them. I can remember many times of going through some horrendous problem in life and being comforted by the Psalms.
But it's more comforting to know how the true Biblical theology of the Reformed tradition is all about how much He's done for us. Sure we "work out our salvation with fear and trembling but He's always at work within us".
Imagine people who have a theology that's more works righteousness based. If bad things happen to them then they pull a Job's friend's scenario and immediately start dissecting their lives for that one "sin" bringing this calamity upon themselves only to become overly legalistic and still have unsolved problems.
Wouldn't a more Biblical and Reformed theology help them to realize that it's out of their control and that God has never left His people? Also to look at how much God prepared in advance (into eternity past by His decrees) and executed in actual history to save them and secure their eternal place in His Kingdom.
So that they can now go out and minister in their own ways at a local Church, a communion of saints, for His glory. It's that "old timey" Reformed "religion" that got preached to them that awakened their own sense of sinful worthlessness before His judgment Seat but the grace He's poured out on them in spite of their sin.
It's those theologically trained Minister's that learned about all that "academic stuff" that He used to free them from that legalistic trap to go out and do their God given task of building the Kingdom out of "gratitude" (as our Dutch Reformed brothers and sisters confess in the Heidelberg Catechism).
So you see where you seem like your creating, and correct me if I'm wrong here, a division between the academic and practical sides of our faith and weighing out which ones more important I see a beautiful overlap and mutual building of the two.
I don't see a division today or historically at all. We are required to seek, preach, teach, and confess the truth so that we can live out that truth for His glory.

 

[jwright82]

Awesome thoughts! For me it has led to more of a relationship and experience of God. So somebody can know about God, but not necessarily know God in a personal, relational way. From my experience, when I interact with God more on a personal level, there is much more peace, comfort, and assurance as I go about life. There's kind of a sense of being home because I am safe with God.

It might be too early to tell, but the other day I seemed to have had a prayer answered instantly as well. There was a situation happening, and I opened up the Psalms, and started reading and praying them from my heart, and that situation that was bothering me instantly stopped. In my times of approaching God more academically I don't really recall that happening much.

Overall, for me anyway, there's just more fulfillment and satisfaction in walking with God in more of a relational way. Academics are necessary, but when I focus too much on that, God starts to feel more like a subject rather than a person, and for me, certain doubts can creep in when I become too focused on doctrine.

But I think overall, all people are made to live in connection and fellowship with God. That is the goal for every Christian. Now how they arrive at that and what gets them there, that's where it starts to become more personal.

I realized that I didn't really answer your particular point and question, my apologies. You say that you are "more fulfilled and satisfied in walking with God in more of a relational way". That's fantastic but who is it that you're "walking with"? Tell me what you know about this person, what are they like? What have they done for you and what do you do in response?
I see that your picture (the name of that thing escapes me now, I'll ask one of the teenagers I work with tonight what it is) is of your beautiful family. I bet you can tell me all sorts of information about them. Like the ups and downs of your relationship with your wife and children.
That's what theology is, knowledge about God. Also your answers about your family would be "familyology", knowledge about them. So even if you're preferring a more "relational" experience with your Lord and Savior you still have to know about him to have a proper relationship.
I'll take a shot in the dark (about something that's none of my business so sorry for that) that your wife wouldn't be happy if you forgot certain pieces of knowledge about y'all's relationship (her birthday, y'all's anniversary, kids names and ages, etc).
So the success or failure of your relationship to her is dependent upon knowledge about it. It's no different with God, that's theology. Now the level of depth you feel called to engage in that knowledge is a personal matter. I don't recommend that each and every Christian go out there and become smart enough to write a systematic theology but they should be studying as much as they can handle to learn more about their Savior and what He's done for them so that they can go out and respond in gratitude to Him.
Didn't Paul describe the relationship of the Church to it's Lord as like a marriage? Didn't God accuse the Israelite's of adultery when they sought after other god's?
I hope this helps you out in this situation.

 

[Stephen L Smith]

I can relate to what you have written here in many ways. I'm currently reading God's Battle Plan for the Mind: The Puritan Practice of Biblical Meditation ($5 on RHB right now), and it has been excellent. I highly commend it and will mail you a copy if you'd like.

I second this recommendation. The Puritans saw Biblical meditation as the key tool to engage the head and heart. They also believed that Biblical meditation helps the Christians prayer life.

Saxton's aptly named book God’s Battle Plan for the Mind is not only a great guide to Biblical meditation, it also quotes the leading Puritans. This means you can go direct to the relevant Puritan books on meditation and find a spiritual feast for your soul.

One of the largest Puritan works on meditation is Solitude Improved by Divine Meditation by Nathanael Ranew. As the title suggests Ranew argues that when we are enjoying Solitude, use that time wisely and meditate on the scriptures.

 

[DanSSwing]

I recently read John Owen's The Causes, Ways and Means of Understanding the Mind of God. He points out that, in order to understand the Scriptures, the Holy Spirit’s illumination must be the starting point because Scripture is not a mere academic, neutral text. God Himself enables us to know and understand His will through the Scriptures. Even if we are seeking academic knowledge, this is best obtained as a by-product of our devotional experience rather than as an end in itself.

 

[83r17h]

Academics are necessary, but when I focus too much on that, God starts to feel more like a subject rather than a person, and for me, certain doubts can creep in when I become too focused on doctrine.

I thought that John Webster's The Culture of Theology helped me in this a few years back. I had become fed up with the academia-theology that I was reading. He helped change my perspective to treat theology as a Christian activity instead of an academic one.

Ironically, the introduction by the editor (not by Webster himself) is one of the worst 'academia' type essays that I've ever read.

 

[Ryan&Amber2013]

I recently read John Owen's The Causes, Ways and Means of Understanding the Mind of God. He points out that, in order to understand the Scriptures, the Holy Spirit’s illumination must be the starting point because Scripture is not a mere academic, neutral text. God Himself enables us to know and understand His will through the Scriptures. Even if we are seeking academic knowledge, this is best obtained as a by-product of our devotional experience rather than as an end in itself.

Wow. That's really well said.

 

[Ryan&Amber2013]

I really like all your thoughts on this. Thank you all!