A Heart for Christ Alone
Having a heart for Christ alone is our lifelong quest and daily effort to sustain what we have gained of it. And most certainly it is where we all want to be. It is a life abiding in Christ. To have a heart for Christ alone is to live a life of obedience with hearts, minds and words full of grace, having a humble, servant’s heart, and being wholly given over for the welfare of others and the glory of God in His Kingdom. To do this a person must strip himself of all this world’s loves and concerns. It is a life set apart to the will of the Master. As Paul wrote to Timothy, he said, “No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier.” (2 Tim 2:4) Loving with a whole heart is all about bringing pleasure to the one you love. A heart for Christ alone:
Desires Him Alone as Lord:
1 Pet 3:15 – but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts,
Lives for Him Alone:
Phil 1:18-21 – What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed; and in this I rejoice. Yes, and I will rejoice, (19) for I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayers and the provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, (20) according to my earnest expectation and hope, that I will not be put to shame in anything, but that with all boldness, Christ will even now, as always, be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. (21) For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.
Pleases Him Alone:
2 Cor 5:9 – “Therefore we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him.”
Imitates Him Alone:
1 Cor 11:1 Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ.
Is With Him:
John 15:4 – “Abide in Me,”
Is Devoted To Him Alone:
2 Cor 11:2-3 – “For I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy; for I betrothed you to one husband, so that to Christ I might present you as a pure virgin. (3) But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ.”
There are many things you can do turn your heart to Him and Him alone:
Read Great Classical Christian Literature:
Read the classic devotional literature by the greatest saints throughout the ages. Some of them are:
Richard Foster, John Piper, John Owen, Augustine, Jonathan Edwards, Andrew Murray, Fenelon, Madame Guyon, William Law, Brother Lawrence, Thomas a Kempis, and many more. Read a few pages each day and bask in the wisdom of faithful lives of others from the past who had a heart for Christ alone.
Books:
Every person should regularly be hearing from those whom the Lord uses to teach and to lead us to Jesus. Here is a short list of books (At least three years worth) that will help you fall deeper in love and be more amazed with our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.
One Holy Passion, RC Sproul
Gleanings In the Godhead, A.W. Pink
The Suffering Christ, F.W. Krumacher
The Christ of the Gospels, J.W. Shepard
Spiritual Disciplines:
While all spiritual disciplines will serve you well to grow in your love for Christ alone, there are some that have proven to be more help than others
1. Cultivate a consistent and increasing devotional life with Christ. You don’t have to start with a two-hour devotional time 7 days a week. Start somewhere even if it is five minutes a day three days a week. Here are some ideas for a devotional time.
-Set a specific time, place, frequency and length of time. There can be lots of variety if you wish and at the same time there can be a regimen. Most people can relax more with the Lord if they have an established regimen.
-Read a set amount of Scripture each day. Read for transformation, not just knowledge or information. Make room for the Spirit to barge in on you and tell you to stay for a while on a passage or a verse.
-Read good devotional books that will help cultivate a love for Jesus.
-Journal. There is almost nothing better than this to realize how much the Lord has forgiven and the immensity of His grace toward you.
-Worship in prayer and song, especially through the Psalms. Speak each line of the Psalms directly from your heart to God’s.
-Learn to meditate on the Word, and ultimately on Jesus Himself. We do this all the time when there is someone we love. Learn to think long and hard on Jesus.
-Write out love prayers to Jesus.
-Learn to speak the Scriptures directly to God. Make every word personal.
-You might think of a devotional in terms of time. Read the Bible for 10 minutes and then for 5 minutes, pray about what you read. Pray another 5 minutes for others, the church, neighbors, yourself, ministries, missionaries, church leaders, friends, your small group, holiness, repentance, there are endless options. Perhaps you could pray for two areas each day, every other week, or something that works for you. On Tuesday and Thursdays read from a good book for 10-15 minutes. Take one devotional time each week to simply be silent before the Lord. Just wait. There are lots of ways to order your devotions, but in any case, most people enjoy this time more with the Lord when, although flexible when He desires you to take a different path, have a plan for what you want to do each day.
-Get up. Anyone worth loving is worth getting up for.
2. Learn silence and solitude with Jesus. We are in a culture where if we are with Jesus we must be busy. We do not know much about “being still and knowing He is God.” Spend time just waiting on Him with any distractions.
3. Develop a habit of evaluating your actions by your love for Jesus. Ask yourself routinely throughout the day, “Is this decision, or purchase or response and reaction, or use of time bathed in my love for Christ alone?”
4. Practice secret service
5. Worship
6. Cultivate humility. If we will ever have a heart for Christ alone we must cultivate a true Biblical humility. The life of our greatest detriment to growth, “self”, must be put to death. There are numerous Scriptures on this and you should look them up and meditate on them and the process of mortification. Read and study John Owen’s book, “Sin and Temptation.”
7. Consistent Bible studies about drawing your heart to Jesus.