JEREMIAH 29:11–13 – For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.

THEME OF THE DAY. THE WHOLEHEARTED CHRISTIAN. I did an interesting word search in Psalm 119. Actually it was a two word search; the words “whole heart”. I chose Psalm 119 because its main theme is the Word of God. This psalm is the greatest exposition in the Word of God about the Word of God. We see love for the Word, commitment to the Word, a treasuring of the Word and a lot more wonderful proclamations on the preciousness of the Word of God. I also chose this Psalm because so goes our love and commitment to the Word, so goes our love and commitment to Jesus Christ. Love for the Written Word is love for the Living Word. And the warning I received in considering this truth was . . . I cannot validate my love for Jesus Christ based on my separation from the world, faithful attendance to the Lord’s Day, active service in my church, sacrificial acts of love to people, use of my gifts and talents, giving of my money, or any other thing I do. Please don’t misunderstand. All the things I mentioned will flow from my love for Jesus and many other things, but they are not the starting point to measure my love for Jesus. Neither is my profession of loving Jesus evidence of my loving Jesus. The first and foremost qualifier of being a lover of Jesus is commitment to His Word in reading it, studying it, and obeying it. One of the early church fathers, Jerome, said, “Neglect of the scriptures is neglect of Christ.” He was right. But there is something more we must consider about Christ and His Word. And this drives us back to the word search I did. We can read the Bible, pray, serve, attend, and do all the Christian things Christians do but fall short of loving God and live pleasing to Him. The criteria to live a God-honoring life in obedience to His Word is found in the word search . . . “whole heart.” God wants our heart. All of it. No divided loyalties. No shared affections. No one or nothing occupying the thrones in our hearts but Him. Wholehearted Christianity is Biblical Christianity. And in Psalm 119 the words “whole heart” appear five times. Let’s list three of them and make the application to help us see and be a “wholehearted Christian.”

First, the wholehearted Christian seeks God with the whole heart – “With my whole heart I seek you; let me not wander from your commandments” (Psalm 119:10). Busyness, hurriedness, and worldliness will not rule the heart in the wholehearted Christian. Their love for the Living Word will be seen in their commitment to seek Him through the written Word.

Next, the wholehearted Christian obeys God with the whole heart – “Give me understanding, that I may keep your law and observe it with my whole heart” (Psalm 119:34). The wholehearted Christian is not selective in obedience. A good application would be that we are Christians twenty-four seven. What we are before people in public and in our churches is what we are at home before our families. Obedience is comprehensive in the wholehearted Christian.

Finally, the wholehearted Christian fellowships with God through prayer with the whole heart – “With my whole heart I cry; answer me, O LORD! I will keep your statutes” (Psalm 119:145). For the wholehearted Christian, prayer is a discipline of delight. He or she longs for prayer; schedules prayer; will not sacrifice prayer, and does so not to get God to do something, but to draw near Him in loving communion. And it is a prayer life that is disciplined and grows to be a natural and instrumental part of their walk with the Lord.

The wholehearted Christian. It really is the only kind. May God help us to be such by seeking Him with our whole heart, obeying Him from a whole heart, and praying with sincerity from a whole heart of loving devotion to Him.

PRAYER: “Father, may my heart be single in its devotion to You, never seeking to have divided loyalties.”

QUOTE: “The Christian life is a wholehearted life allowing no one to replace Christ as the chief affection in our hearts.”