This post is part of a series on what it means to live a Gospel-Governed life. Read the previous posts here and here.
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In this post, I want to talk about how to have the heart of Christ. The bible uses the words ”heart,” ”mind,” and “will” interchangeably depending on the context. Scripture clearly teaches us that the real issues of life are spiritual and are really matters of the heart, the inner man.
Because the word “heart” can be translated a number of ways, it appears roughly between 800-1000 times depending upon the translation you are reading.
What we do in word and deed is first and foremost a product of what we are on the inside. Here are four ways to have the heart of Christ:
1. Possess a new life in Christ. We must understand that when we are born again, when the Holy Spirit arouses the desperate need for a Savior within us, we then consider ourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. We then become not ashamed of the gospel which is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes. Exhaustively and holistically, we submit to his gospel in our life and let that be the governing mechanism for everything we are.
2. Pursue the mind of Christ. When writing to the Philippians, the Apostle Paul tells them that they can and should possess the mind of Christ (Php. 2:5).
3. Perpetuate the desires of Christ. All of our feelings, passions, desires and affections need to be sustained by and secured in the Savior. This must become the totality and practical functionality of our every day life.
4. Persist in surrendering to Christ. Everything we do, say or engage ourselves in must be surrendered to the will of Jesus for the fame of His name. Everything we are, everything we do, it is for Jesus, with Jesus, through Jesus and in light of Jesus. It is not partiality; it is absolute totality – the totality of our life.
Question: What are some practical ways that empower you to think like Christ?
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Богдан, замечательные посты! Последнее время у меня особенная жажда пропитаться Им, Его словом, отвергать себя, чтобы мысли, чувстава, слова отображали Его характер. Так, что твои публикации как раз вовремя!
Лариса — спасибо за одобрение и за ободрение!
I love the passion you have surrounding this topic! This is why it is so important for us to continuously preach the gospel to ourselves. It never gets old, it is always fresh! The gospel is not just something that happened to us at one time but rather it something that is happening to us all the time!
Thank you for being so transparent!
When I am filled up with His word and his promises it helps me think more like him. As soon as I start skipping days in my Bible reading or skipping prayers that I should be raising up I start to distance myself from him and that is when I begin to act like my sinful nature instead of his holy nature. The practical thing for me to do to be able to think like Christ is engulf myself in scripture, prayer, and surround myself with people who love him and want to live like him as well so we can spur each other on.
“When I am filled up with His word and his promises it helps me think more like him.”
What a solid statement — totally agree — consistency is key — and quite often the difficulty!
As someone who has so many questions about Christianity, I am turned away from some of your black/white dogmatic views. If you are trying to get through to those who are not sure and have questions this approach is intimidating. FYI
Hi, thank you for the comment — can you clarify in what way the post turns you away from searching deeper for answers to faith-related questions?