“Here is a book to be welcomed enthusiastically, to be read carefully, and to be returned to frequently.” –Sinclair B. Ferguson
In our world, we use the word heart to refer to our emotions. But the Bible uses the word heart to refer to the governing center of life. We need to grasp the true meaning of the heart in order to better understand ourselves, our sin, and our need for redemption. As we rediscover the heart as the source of all our thoughts, fears, words, and actions, we will discover principles and practices for orienting our hearts to truly love and obey God with all that we are.
224 pages
“Craig Troxel’s With All Your Heart represents the mature fruit of a gifted intellect combined with tested and tried spiritual wisdom, both of which have been well honed by decades of pastoral experience. Every reader will benefit from its comprehensively biblical foundations, its spiritual insights, and its challenging as well as mind-clarifying expositions—all packaged in a way that is eminently readable. Asking the question 'How many books have I read on the heart?' (and probably answering it with 'Very few' or 'None at all') underlines both the importance of these pages and the extent to which we may have marginalized something the Bible sees as central. Here is a book to be welcomed enthusiastically, to be read carefully, and to be returned to frequently as a significant resource for Christian thinking and living.”
Sinclair B. Ferguson, Chancellor’s Professor of Systematic Theology, Reformed Theological Seminary; Teaching Fellow, Ligonier Ministries
“Who am I? What is wrong with me? How can I overcome it? These questions all draw our attention to the heart. Craig Troxel carefully studies what God’s word teaches about the heart and discovers surprising answers that lead us to real solutions. He shows us how to become self-aware without being self-absorbed, authentic yet dependent on the Lord Jesus Christ, who reigns over our hearts.”
Joel R. Beeke, President, Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary
“So much depends on a clear, scriptural understanding of ourselves, and Troxel—a pastor and instructor of pastors—has given us just that.”
Ed Welch, Counselor and Faculty Member, Christian Counseling & Educational Foundation
“Protestant theology often falls into one of two categories—an emphasis on doctrine that tends to overlook the concomitant experience, which thereby risks being vulnerable to the oxymoronic accusation of ‘dead’ orthodoxy, or an emphasis on experience, which downplays doctrine and risks being vulnerable to the accusation of being nothing more than subjective ‘enthusiasm.’ And if many of us are honest, we struggle to know how to balance our teaching and thinking to avoid these pitfalls. That is why this book is so welcome: drawing on many years of pastoral experience and demonstrating both the passion for truth and the passion for the Christian life that has always characterized the best Christian teachers, Craig Troxel presents a delightful account of the Christian faith from the perspective of the Christian heart. This is a book that teaches both by precept and example.”
Carl R. Trueman, Professor of Biblical and Religious Studies, Grove City College
“Craig Troxel has done the church a great service by writing a detailed account of a topic that is tragically unfamiliar to most contemporary Christians: our own heart. In a time of shallow diagnosis and superficial prescriptions, this work provides a desperately needed course on the most practical Christian doctrines: the anatomy of the inner man, the nature of his disease, and the cure found only in Christ. Saturated with Scripture references and Puritan wisdom, this book will help you better understand yourself, your sin, and your Savior. It should be required reading for every pastor who wishes to be a wise physician of the human soul.”
Dale Van Dyke, Senior Pastor, Harvest Orthodox Presbyterian Church, Wyoming, Michigan
“Skillfully sewing back together the tragically separated head and heart, Craig Troxel points us toward a more fully robust biblical theology of the person. He takes us on a journey across the breadth and into the depth of the Scriptures with the intention to think, desire, and choose more faithfully, and in the process he challenges many of the modern mythologies of human identity. Troxel brings into view both the unity of the person and the complexity of the person, reflective of the God who made us and redeems us. The wisdom of many years of pastoral ministry dealing with human dysfunctions and the intrusions of God’s grace are manifest on every page of this book.”
Richard Lints, Andrew Mutch Distinguished Professor of Theology, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary
“Here is a devotional study of the heart that reflects the pulse of the whole Bible. Craig Troxel offers an anatomy of the thinking, yearning, and acting of the heart. He employs the surgical tool of Scripture to address the sins of the heart, and brings the reader to the Great Physician and Keeper of the heart. Would you like to meet a strong and sufficient Savior anew and afresh? Read With All Your Heart!”
Chad Van Dixhoorn, Professor of Church History, Westminster Theological Seminary; author, Confessing the Faith and God’s Ambassadors
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Part 1: Knowing
- The Mind of Your Heart
Knowing
- The Sins of Your Heart’s Mind
Knowing Better
- The Prophet of Your Heart’s Mind
Better Knowing
Part 2: Loving
- The Desires of Your Heart
Loving
- The Iniquities of Your Heart’s Desires
Perverted Love
- The Priest of Your Heart’s Desires
Purified Love
Part 3: Choosing
- The Will of Your Heart
Choosing
- The Transgressions of Your Heart’s Will
Rebellious Choices
- The King of Your Heart’s Will
Obedient Choices
Part 4: Keeping
- The Keeping of Your Heart
Preserve and Protect
- The Gatekeepers of Your Heart
Eyes and Ears
- The Ambassador of Your Heart
The Mouth
- The Keeper of Your Heart
Preserver and Protector
General Index
Scripture Index
With All Your Heart: Orienting Your Mind, Desires, and Will toward Christ is in the following collections: