Unlock Yourself, Not Just the Software.
I realize this perspective might already be implied—and likely shared by many—but I felt it was worth saying explicitly, because it really shapes the entire way you approach and engage with Logos Bible Study.
Most Logos tutorials ask the question: “How can you get the most out of Logos?”—and rightly so. They focus on features, shortcuts, layouts, and tools designed to make Bible study faster, deeper, and more efficient.
But what if we turned that question around?
Instead of only asking, “How can I get the most out of Logos?”, what if you asked, “How can Logos get the most out of me?”—not as a business trying to extract value, but as a piece of software designed to draw out your deepest engagement with Scripture.
That flips the entire dynamic. Logos is no longer just a powerful software waiting to be mastered—it becomes a means through which you are shaped. It draws out your curiosity, your theological reflection, your devotional habits, your ministry insights. It becomes a mirror that reflects your habits, pushes your growth, and stretches your understanding of Scripture.
“Unlock Yourself, Not Just the Software” challenges you to stop treating Logos as a mere tool and start embracing it as a sacred workspace—an environment where the Holy Spirit not only shapes you but draws out your thoughts, stirs your heart, sharpens your mind, and deepens your walk with Christ.
Let’s Rethink the Relationship
This shift in perspective might seem subtle, but it can radically transform how we use Logos. So I’d love to hear your thoughts—
Have you ever considered that Logos might not just be a tool in your hands, but a space where God draws something deeper out of you?
Let’s talk—how has the Holy Spirit used Logos to shape you, not just your workflow?
- What’s one way you could change how you use Logos to make space for God to work in you, not just through you?
- What features in Logos have unexpectedly fostered deeper devotion rather than just productivity?
- How can we structure our study time in Logos so that it leads not just to information, but transformation?
Comments
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In my own minor way, I have always used L for Christian growth. That was the whole plan from my L3 beginning.
I believe God led me to the books I needed to read here in L. I would never have had space for them on a real bookshelf.
Good line of thought, PJ.
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Such a great perspective and set of questions. We've given your post a bump by announcing it in the community.
Sr. Community Manager at Logos.
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Not to be rude, but the original post sounds a little AI assisted to me, even if some folks think the questions are good. Until you learn the package it won't get anything out of you, imo. Ymmv and imo, of course!
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True, good point. But I'm pretty much confused with the forum guidelines. Depends.
"If myth is ideology in narrative form, then scholarship is myth with footnotes." B. Lincolm 1999.
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The questions and tone left me rather uncomfortable, which is rare for me. But I will go out on a creaky limb and speculate that what the questions might really be asking is, "How can Logos help me?"
With added curlicues. I like curlicues—if they don't glitter excessively with AI.
1. It makes search better than when all I had was Strongs concordance.
2. It adds whizz bang where I didn't have it before. I have used a little whizz bang on occasion.
3. It provides an extensive integrated digital library which I can carry when I travel. Yes!
4. It refreshes Bible study enthusiasm because it makes many resources accessible to someone who just wouldn't have gotten them otherwise.
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I was always excited to read the bible, for some crazy reason which I never understood for a very long time.
For me Logos has made it even more exciting to read and study the bible, which is why I like it so much. I would still be reading the bible without Logos, but it makes the biblical text, and useful information about it, much more accessible.
I think the main thing Logos has got out of me is a greater interest in the cultural background of the bible, as well as the form of the text and how it came about.
Sorry if I didn't answer questions but I haven't got time, I need to get back to Logos.P.S. I like the whizz bang too @GaoLu
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Yeah, Now that I relook at its content, I see what you mean. The content looks like advertising.
I will put P. J. on my mental watch list.
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There are 1,505 Delivered Sermon Documents in my Sermon Manager—each one a marker on the path I began when I committed to using Sermon Builder. I’ve walked the road of productivity, but more importantly, that journey left behind a trail of spiritual formation. Searching through these sermons feels like looking into a mirror, watching how the Holy Spirit used Logos Bible Study Software to shape my thinking and draw out deep reflections on Scripture.
This habit has refined the way I structure thoughts, strengthened my spiritual and devotional practices, and sharpened my sermon-writing skills. Most of these messages function like atomic sermon points—standalone reflections that can be easily revisited. With just a few clicks, I can open Sermon Manager and see what I’ve written on a particular pericope or passage in the past. Those insights can then be woven together into something new.
This archive is more than just a collection; it’s a history of my journey with the logos of God—a journey filled with insight and growth. And perhaps the most remarkable part? I can preach without relying on notes. Daily immersion in the Word with Logos has transformed my mind. For me, the greatest tool has been the simplest one: Sermon Builder. Its clean, distraction-free environment lets me pour out my deepest reflections with clarity and focus.
The exact same thing is starting to happen with my notes. I’ve never considered myself good at taking notes—and honestly, I’m still not sure I ever will be. But suddenly, everything is beginning to make sense. I used to approach Logos notes with a consumer mindset, always thinking about what the tool could give me. But then it hit me: it’s not about what Logos can provide—it’s about what it can draw out of me.
I’ve started to see Logos not just as a place to collect information, but as a tool to extract insight from within myself. It’s helping me discover who I really am, deep inside. Almost like a mental graph is forming—a visual trace of my spiritual growth, habits, and thought patterns. Just wanted to share a bit more insight into what I’ve been writing and how this process is unfolding.
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I am concerned at the unsubstantiated charges of AI in the original post. To me it is much like charging one with plagarism, an attack on the good names of the original poster. I know it is a new area that lacks social conventions as of now, but I will bring this to the attention of @Jason Stone (Logos) so that he can at least start thinking about what is appropriate in the forums.
I have had great fun with Ai detectors … it is very easy to get them to identity one's writing as AI when absolutely none of it came from AI. With all the style/grammar/composition helps pushing a particular style of writing it is getting easier and easier to have personal writing taken for AI. Plagarism detectors on the other hand are reasonably reliable.
Orthodox Bishop Alfeyev: "To be a theologian means to have experience of a personal encounter with God through prayer and worship."; Orthodox proverb: "We know where the Church is, we do not know where it is not."
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I'd really appreciate it if this thread could follow the direction of the paradigm shift I was trying to express straight from the heart. Could someone please share the results of a plagiarism detector here? It would lift my soul to see if it directs back to this post?
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But what is the source of the plagiarism? Is it my post or some other thinker out in the universe? … Retorical Question, because I know the answer. It’s a false positive isn’t it?
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Looks guys - I was trying to defend @ds. P.J. Kotze against the charge that his post was AI written rather than written by himself. I likened the charge of written by AI to the charge of plagarism because "everyone knows" plagarism is wrong while AI is new enough that there is no "everyone knows" rule on its use. Because your post has been on the web long enough to be catalogued, the plagiarize tools show that you plagiarized yourself.
Orthodox Bishop Alfeyev: "To be a theologian means to have experience of a personal encounter with God through prayer and worship."; Orthodox proverb: "We know where the Church is, we do not know where it is not."
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There has to be a talent in writing like an AI bot.
"If myth is ideology in narrative form, then scholarship is myth with footnotes." B. Lincolm 1999.
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I think this thread needs to be closed @Jason Stone (Logos) - this is going off the rails quickly.
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@Jason Stone (Logos) seemed to think it was a fair enough initial post from his response to it. I can't see anything wrong with it either. I am interested in hearing about what people think about those things. I hope more people "go out on a creaky limb" with @GaoLu and say something.
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I appreciated @ds. P.J. Kotze post as it implies the focus I believe scripture study should have. But I make a distinction that seems uncommon in the forums - the difference between studying the text of the Bible the way any ancient text could be studied and studying the Bible as only scripture can be studied. I think of Logos/Verbum as facilitating the first more easily than the second. It takes strong intentionality to remain focused on the Scripture rather than the text aspects. So:
What’s one way you could change how you use Logos to make space for God to work in you, not just through you?
I would make more use of juxtaposing scripture and church fathers as is done in the Office of Readings - finding or creating similar resources. Seeing how God has worked in others is often good at encouraging me to allow similar work in me.
What features in Logos have unexpectedly fostered deeper devotion rather than just productivity?
Parallels between scripture and paraBiblical materials or secular materials which encourages the attitude of seeing God everywhere in the world around me.
How can we structure our study time in Logos so that it leads not just to information, but transformation?
I'm still struggling with this. I have trouble viewing Logos/Verbum as a passive instrument of listening.
Orthodox Bishop Alfeyev: "To be a theologian means to have experience of a personal encounter with God through prayer and worship."; Orthodox proverb: "We know where the Church is, we do not know where it is not."
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It takes strong intentionality to remain focused on the Scripture rather than the text aspects
This is so true
Seeing how God has worked in others is often good at encouraging me to allow similar work in me.
It is really useful to be reminded of this
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I've started a response, then deleted it a few times, now. I don't know whether this will be of interest to anyone, and I helplessly tend toward tedious length. So if you tend toward TL;DR, skip this one. :)
Regarding, "… a piece of software designed to draw out your deepest engagement with Scripture… Logos is … a means through which you are shaped. … start embracing it as a sacred workspace…"
With sincere respect for the good intentions of the OP, and for their offering of a point of view that they cherish and hope will be of value to others, I try to be very clear in my own spiritual life between (a) things that I believe I have good reason to trust come from God (e.g., Scripture) and (b) things that may be valuable and useful, and perhaps even inspired by God, but which I do not have so strong a reason to trust necessarily come from God (e.g., commentaries, monographs, etc.).
I love Logos, and give thanks to God for it, but I am also wary of Logos in some ways! First, Logos is wonderfully designed for rational, intellectual research, analysis, study, all of which is good! But I believe that we come to know God, and we approach God more and more closely, BOTH by verbal, rational means, AND by nonverbal, arational means (e.g. prayer, contemplation, self-denial, loving action, etc.), and for me, anyway, I sometimes perceive my own tendency to dive into rational analysis as almost a "Martha-like" distraction AWAY from the "one thing needful," which was Martha's sister Mary simply sitting at Jesus' feet and listening to Him. Sure, I need to use the intellect that God gave me, but you may know the old saying of Abraham Maslow's, "to one who has a hammer, everything looks like a nail." The rational intellect is a wonderfully useful tool, like a bright, shiny hammer, but it is not the only tool God has given us. He has also given us the ability to listen to His Word directly, and to listen to the "still small voice" that sometimes is drowned out by the "noise" of the verbal intellect. So Logos has a part in my sacred work, but sitting with my hard-copy "reader's" Bible in my hands (with no footnotes, not even chapter or verse numbers to distract me, much less commentaries or learned monographs), and prayerfully reading and "meditating" on it in the ways Scripture speaks of, and sometimes the additional steps of Lectio Divina is at least as important to me, as is prayer, which to me is foundational to the Christian life.
But second, let me offer the existence of the rather different Logos and Verbum as a cautionary illustration about being "shaped by" either of them. I suspect that many users of Logos would not be eager to be "shaped by" Verbum because of its pervasively Catholic worldview, and I suspect that many users of Verbum would not be eager to be "shaped by" Logos because of its pervasively Evangelical worldview. I have read and learned much from books by Catholic authors and from books by Evangelical authors, and I am NOT at all trying to foment an "us" verses "them" denominational dispute! But as one who is neither Catholic nor Evangelical (I'm Eastern Orthodox) I sometimes feel like a stranger in a strange land when encountering the "world" that is quietly assumed and implicitly conveyed by either Logos or Verbum, both of which are deeply steeped in and formed by quite different types of specifically Western Christianity.
I find Logos a really, really helpful tool, and I'm grateful for it! I have learned so very much over the many years since I started using it, but no, I don't really want Logos to shape me! I think the Bible is the holy Word of God, but writings outside of Scripture, whether by Orthodox, Catholic, Evangelical, Anglican, SDA, Messianic, or other authors, are potentially useful, but also potentially mistaken or misleading. I try to be very watchful, even wary, in discerning what is “wheat” and what is “tares” when I’m reading and studying.
My 2 cents', probably worth less. :)
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@ds. P.J. Kotze I take it you are also from South Africa. I would love if we can somehow exchange numbers.
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Absolutely.
"If myth is ideology in narrative form, then scholarship is myth with footnotes." B. Lincolm 1999.
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@Lukas epos was geldig vir 1 epos, sal dan vanaf my persoonlike epos antwoord.
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PJ: This is the English forum. Please write in English so I can understand the flow of the convo.
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South Africa seems interesting, the language a quick way to indicate a shared comfort level, no?
"If myth is ideology in narrative form, then scholarship is myth with footnotes." B. Lincolm 1999.
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You are obscure to me, here, DMB. Care to elaborate, so what U mean is beyond debate?
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Derailment up ahead …
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…if the English sign's not read
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I think PJ said it better than me. Never was a debater. My Dad was.
"If myth is ideology in narrative form, then scholarship is myth with footnotes." B. Lincolm 1999.
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Gotcha. Thanks for the explanation.
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