---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Don’t merely read verses; if that is all…"
description: "\"“Don’t merely read verses; if that is all we do, we run the risk of deceiving ourselves. Don’t just pile up biblical information in your head. Let it s..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/511/mike-ashcraft-35575_poetry_don-t-merely-read-verses-if-that-is-all_721771.jpg"
---

#  Don’t merely read verses; if that is all we do, we run the…

![“Don’t merely read verses; if that is all we do, we run the risk of deceiving ourselves. Don’t just pile up biblical information in your head. Let it soak into your heart. Let it interpret you. And then let it seep out through your actions.” quote by Mike Ashcraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/511/mike-ashcraft-35575_poetry_don-t-merely-read-verses-if-that-is-all_721771.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/511/mike-ashcraft-35575_poetry_don-t-merely-read-verses-if-that-is-all_721771.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/511/mike-ashcraft-35575_poetry_don-t-merely-read-verses-if-that-is-all_721771.jpg)

> ““Don’t merely read verses; if that is all we do, we run the risk of deceiving ourselves. Don’t just pile up biblical information in your head. Let it soak into your heart. Let it interpret you. And then let it seep out through your actions.””

[Mike Ashcraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-ashcraft/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Reading without internalizing leads to superficial knowledge; true transformation requires letting teachings shape heart and behavior.

**In simple terms:** Understanding must affect heart and actions.

Key Takeaway

Let teachings change you and your deeds.

Themes

spirituality learning action transformation

Mood

contemplative inspirational

Type

advice spiritual

When to use this quote

- personal study
- devotional groups
- leadership
- counseling

Key Concepts

inner change practice reflection

Questions to Reflect On

- How do you let ideas shape your daily life?
- What actions reflect your deepest beliefs?

A Different Perspective

Depth may be limited by intellectualism alone.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Biblical Information](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/biblical-information-5671996/) [Merely Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/merely-read-613946/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Read Verses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/read-verses-1696681/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Verses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/verses/) [Verses Run](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/verses-run-3685712/)

## Related quotes

> [“He read the verses backwards but then they were not poetry.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/he-read-the-verses-backwards-but-then-they-were-not-poetry/)

[James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/)

> [“Youth is the time to go flashing from one end of the world to the other both in mind and body; to try the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/youth-is-the-time-to-go-flashing-from-one-end-of-the-world-to-the-3/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Do we write books so that they shall merely be read? Don't we also write them for employment in the household? For one that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-c-lichtenberg/do-we-write-books-so-that-they-shall-merely-be-read-don-t-we-also/)

[Georg C. Lichtenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-c-lichtenberg/)

> [Thinking about the universe has now been handed over to specialists. The rest of us merely read about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/thinking-about-the-universe-has-now-been-handed-over-to-specialists/)

[Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/)

> [“He read the verses backwards but then they were not poetry. Then he read the flyleaf from the bottom to the top till he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/he-read-the-verses-backwards-but-then-they-were-not-poetry-then-he-2/)

[James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/)

> [“Ann: I feel like I should read verses and be comforted. But it doesn’t happen.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-howard-joslin/ann-i-feel-like-i-should-read-verses-and-be-comforted-but-it-doesn-t/)

[K. Howard Joslin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-howard-joslin/)

> [Of all human events, perhaps, the publication of a first volume of verses is the most insignificant; but though a matter of no moment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/of-all-human-events-perhaps-the-publication-of-a-first-volume-of/)

[Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/)

> [What inspired me as a child is the same thing that inspires me now: being nice. I always try to one up everybody with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joell-ortiz/what-inspired-me-as-a-child-is-the-same-thing-that-inspires-me-now/)

[Joell Ortiz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joell-ortiz/)

> [ The President \[Barack Obama\] is very focused on \[healthcare\]. He, of course, is also writing this speech at high speed. And right coming up… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-suskind/the-president-barack-obama-is-very-focused-on-healthcare-he-of-course/)

[Ron Suskind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-suskind/)

> [If you're feeling pain, express that to the Lord. If you're feeling worried, express those worries. One passage that gives me comfort is in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-lucado/if-you-re-feeling-pain-express-that-to-the-lord-if-you-re-feeling/)

[Max Lucado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-lucado/)

> [Mr Witwould: "Pray, madam, do you pin up your hair with all your letters? I find I must keep copies." Mrs Millamant: "Only with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-congreve/mr-witwould-pray-madam-do-you-pin-up-your-hair-with-all-your-letters/)

[William Congreve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-congreve/)

> [Anyone may be an honorable man, and yet write verse badly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moliere/anyone-may-be-an-honorable-man-and-yet-write-verse-badly/)

[Moliere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moliere/)

> [Among those today who believe that modern poetry must do without rhyme or metre, there is an assumption that the alternative to free verse…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-fenton/among-those-today-who-believe-that-modern-poetry-must-do-without/)

[James Fenton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-fenton/)

> [Robin Williams was an airman, a doctor, a genie, a nanny, a president, a professor, a bangarang Peter Pan, and everything in between. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/robin-williams-was-an-airman-a-doctor-a-genie-a-nanny-a-president-a/)

[Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/)

> [Every second the Universe divides into possibilities and most of those possibilities never happen. It is not a uni-verse -- there is more than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/every-second-the-universe-divides-into-possibilities-and-most-of/)

[Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/)

## More by Mike Ashcraft

> [“Don’t forget that when we stop allowing truth in, either because it’s painful or unflattering or inconvenient, we will wind up self-deceived. Positive thinking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-ashcraft/don-t-forget-that-when-we-stop-allowing-truth-in-either-because-it-s/)

[Mike Ashcraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-ashcraft/)

> [“Are you trying to change yourself? • Are there areas of your life or character where you are resistant to God’s grace? Do you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-ashcraft/are-you-trying-to-change-yourself-are-there-areas-of-your-life-or/)

[Mike Ashcraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-ashcraft/)

> [“Hebrews 11 continues the list of people who trusted God’s promises when they could not see them. This chapter of the Bible begins by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-ashcraft/hebrews-11-continues-the-list-of-people-who-trusted-god-s-promises/)

[Mike Ashcraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-ashcraft/)

> [“Only when we begin to let what we believe affect what we do are we able to embrace the process of formation.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-ashcraft/only-when-we-begin-to-let-what-we-believe-affect-what-we-do-are-we/)

[Mike Ashcraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-ashcraft/)

> [“worry-free. We want to earn enough money that we’ll never have to worry about expenses, that we can always pay our bills and have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-ashcraft/worry-free-we-want-to-earn-enough-money-that-we-ll-never-have-to/)

[Mike Ashcraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-ashcraft/)

> [“What are some things you would like to change about yourself? What distracts you from focusing on the change or the spiritual formation you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-ashcraft/what-are-some-things-you-would-like-to-change-about-yourself-what/)

[Mike Ashcraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-ashcraft/)

> [“Sir Francis Bacon wrote, “Reading maketh a full man … writing an exact man.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-ashcraft/sir-francis-bacon-wrote-reading-maketh-a-full-man-writing-an-exact-man/)

[Mike Ashcraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-ashcraft/)

> [“What kind of person do you want to become this year? • What drives your desire to be this kind of person? • Describe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-ashcraft/what-kind-of-person-do-you-want-to-become-this-year-what-drives-your/)

[Mike Ashcraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-ashcraft/)

> [“My past mistakes no longer define me. I am UNCHAINED.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-ashcraft/my-past-mistakes-no-longer-define-me-i-am-unchained/)

[Mike Ashcraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-ashcraft/)

> [“Ever notice how it only takes the intentions of one side to create war for both sides?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-ashcraft/ever-notice-how-it-only-takes-the-intentions-of-one-side-to-create/)

[Mike Ashcraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-ashcraft/)

> [“KNUCKLEHEAD Hey, KNUCKLEHEAD. Quit worrying about tomorrow. Turn around. Look at the path you’ve taken. Look how God has taken care of you. Look…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-ashcraft/knucklehead-hey-knucklehead-quit-worrying-about-tomorrow-turn-around/)

[Mike Ashcraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-ashcraft/)

> [“Dallas Willard said, “Bible memorization is absolutely fundamental to spiritual formation. If I had to choose between all the disciplines of the spiritual life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-ashcraft/dallas-willard-said-bible-memorization-is-absolutely-fundamental-to/)

[Mike Ashcraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-ashcraft/)

[Explore all 13 Mike Ashcraft quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-ashcraft/)

## More Poetry quotes

> [I fell in love with social work, and that was my undoing as a poet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-rakosi/i-fell-in-love-with-social-work-and-that-was-my-undoing-as-a-poet/)

[Carl Rakosi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-rakosi/)

> [The name Phenomenal Woman was inspired by Maya Angelo, who wrote 'Phenomenal Woman', a favorite poem of mine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meena-harris/the-name-phenomenal-woman-was-inspired-by-maya-angelo-who-wrote/)

[Meena Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meena-harris/)

> [A poet is wounded into speech, and he examines these wounds, meticulously, to discover how to heal them. The bad poet harangues at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-r-delany/a-poet-is-wounded-into-speech-and-he-examines-these-wounds/)

[Samuel R. Delany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-r-delany/)

> [“Time gives poetry to a battlefield...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/time-gives-poetry-to-a-battlefield/)

[Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/)

> [The poetry from the eighteenth century was prose; the prose from the seventeenth century was poetry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hare/the-poetry-from-the-eighteenth-century-was-prose-the-prose-from-the/)

[David Hare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hare/)

> [“It took me years to learn to sit at my desk for more than two minutes at a time, to put up with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/it-took-me-years-to-learn-to-sit-at-my-desk-for-more-than-two-minutes/)

[Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/)

> [The word 'mundane' has come to mean 'boring' and 'dull', and it really shouldn't - it should mean the opposite. Because it comes from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/the-word-mundane-has-come-to-mean-boring-and-dull-and-it-really/)

[Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/)

> [“In the streets, the children scream, the lovers cried, and the poets dreamed,” he crooned, putting down the metal grill tongs to take my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandria-clarke/in-the-streets-the-children-scream-the-lovers-cried-and-the-poets/)

[Alexandria Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandria-clarke/)

> [Some minds corrode and grow inactive under the loss of personal liberty; others grow morbid and irritable; but it is the nature of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/some-minds-corrode-and-grow-inactive-under-the-loss-of-personal/)

[Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/)

> [You don’t read or overhear the voice in the poem, you are the voice in the poem.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-vendler/you-don-t-read-or-overhear-the-voice-in-the-poem-you-are-the-voice-in/)

[Helen Vendler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-vendler/)

> [All lyrical work must, as a whole, be perfectly intelligible, but in some particulars a little unintelligible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/all-lyrical-work-must-as-a-whole-be-perfectly-intelligible-but-in/)

[Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/)

> [The world's history is a divine poem, of which the history of every nation is a canto, and every man a word. Its strains…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-garfield/the-world-s-history-is-a-divine-poem-of-which-the-history-of-every/)

[James A. Garfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-garfield/)

> [I was interested in all kinds of things, whether it be Avatar, Mad Men, Troy, 300, Battlestar Gallactica, or the poems of Horace and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-mendelsohn/i-was-interested-in-all-kinds-of-things-whether-it-be-avatar-mad-men/)

[Daniel Mendelsohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-mendelsohn/)

> [“I promise to respect and protect your aloneness, knowing that everything created must have its period of darkness: child and bulb, poem and personality.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-morrow-lindbergh/i-promise-to-respect-and-protect-your-aloneness-knowing-that/)

[anne morrow lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-morrow-lindbergh/)

> [“Things are more like they are now...than they have EVER been before!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/uncle-arnie-mamath/things-are-more-like-they-are-now-than-they-have-ever-been-before/)

[Uncle Arnie Mamath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/uncle-arnie-mamath/)

[Browse all 21,625 Poetry quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“Don’t merely read verses; if that is all we do, we run the risk of deceiving ourselves. Don’t just pile up biblical information in your head. Let it soak into your heart. Let it interpret you. And then let it seep out through your actions.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Mike Ashcraft"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-ashcraft/don-t-merely-read-verses-if-that-is-all-we-do-we-run-the-risk-of/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Poetry"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-ashcraft/don-t-merely-read-verses-if-that-is-all-we-do-we-run-the-risk-of/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/511/mike-ashcraft-35575_poetry_don-t-merely-read-verses-if-that-is-all_721771.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/511/mike-ashcraft-35575_poetry_don-t-merely-read-verses-if-that-is-all_721771.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/511/mike-ashcraft-35575_poetry_don-t-merely-read-verses-if-that-is-all_721771.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Don’t merely read verses; if that is all we do, we run the risk of deceiving ourselves. Don’t just pile up…” — Mike Ashcraft",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Mike Ashcraft",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-ashcraft/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“Don’t merely read verses; if that...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-ashcraft/don-t-merely-read-verses-if-that-is-all-we-do-we-run-the-risk-of/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-ashcraft/don-t-merely-read-verses-if-that-is-all-we-do-we-run-the-risk-of/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
