Our reasoning is inseparably bound with our affections and feelings, and it is "informed by the intuitions of the heart". The heart has it's reasons of which reason knows nothing.


With all your heart is teaching on how we love God and others. The heart is in scriptures is used just under 1000 times. The heart reflects our emotions, our desires, and what we treasure. It is good to know what makes our heart tick. In the author's words Heart = Mind, what you know Desires what you love Will what you choose Sin. Your heart will choose the things of God or the things of self. It is knowing your heart. The only way you can know your heart is by knowing God. The heart can deceive because of our own sinfulness.

Jesus shows the heart intend with the Beatitudes. It is our motivation of all that we do whether good or bad, Jesus confronts our heart! The bible warns us to guard our heart. God wants us to examine our motivations and be compelled by its truth.

This study challenges the reader to think critically and to take action. It is by the word of God and the Holy spirit that our hearts can be transformed. Highly recommend.

A Special Thank you to Crossway Publishing and Netgalley for the ARC and the opportunity to post an honest review.

I very much enjoyed reading "With All Your Heart." I'm always looking for tools and ways to help deepen my faith and relationship with God and that's the main reason why I was excited to read this book. Troxel points to Scripture on nearly every page as he encourages readers to understand the role their heart plays in their life and faith and how God desires to mold us through those struggles. This will be a book I will keep in my library and turn to as I continue to learn how to turn my heart toward Jesus.

This is an excellent book on the wonder and significance of the heart, a maligned, misunderstood and greatly underestimated element of the spiritual life. Troxel tells us early on that the heart is mentioned over 1,000 times in the Bible, more than any other word used to describe the inner self. Troxel's intention is to demonstrate that the word 'heart' is the "most important word in the Bible to describe who we are." It features in the greatest commandment: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart ..." and accordingly, it makes sense for us in obeying this command that we better acquaint ourselves with our hearts. This book seeks to help us do that.

Set out in 4 sections, Troxel does an excellent job in providing a detailed practical study in both understanding one's heart but also being able to suitably manage it. The 4 sections are:

1. Knowing [Your Heart]
2. Loving [Your Heart] which can involve loving the wrong things
3. Choosing [Your Heart] how to make it number one
4. Keeping [Your Heart] to do 3 we need to set up bodyguards to help protect our hearts

Troxel uses both the Bible and many other well-informed sources to help illustrate his perspectives which adds depth and greater meaning to the book. It is a book where I've highlighted much of it and I expect to reference it in the future.

Highly recommended.

I received an early e-book edition from the publisher via NetGalley with no expectation of a positive review.

This is book’s focus is on the heart, as the title makes clear. Craig Troxel writes on the heart while providing theoretical and practical ways of guarding it. He draws from the reformed tradition to make his points on the condition of the heart and for providing advice for keeping close to Christ.

In his introduction, Troxel points how the heart is currently defined by non-Christians (other religions included); he moves on to properly define the heart and its vertical relation to God by citing the summary of the Law as defined by Jesus Christ on the Gospels. This is book is given its main reason for existence by this statement:

“The heart merits the careful study of Scripture. In fact, I hope to persuade you that the word “heart” is the most important word in the Bible to describe who you are within”.

He defines heart as: “the governing center of a person. When used simply, it reflects the unity of our inner being, and when used comprehensively, it describes the complexity of our inner being—as composed of mind (what we know), desires (what we love), and will (what we choose).”

It is a good enough definition for Troxel’s purposes, although one can say more, even in more nuanced (think Scholastic here) ways. This definition allows the book to move from using the heart as a reasoning agent to a loving one. It moves from common definitions of the sin inherent in us to how it is healed and sanctified by the Holy Spirit. Throughout, Troxel doesn’t just stay giving us theoretical definitions but provides practical ways of guarding and directing our hearts to God. Almost every page has biblical citations, which reminds you of the best of Puritan theology. This book will help Christians to grasp the important of keeping the heart and how to pursue holiness. It is as practical as Jerry Bridges books and as biblical as Thomas Watson’s.

With all your heart by Craig Troxel is an amazing and life changing read. This book has helped me to see and deeply understand what the Bible means when it uses the word Heart. This book is deeply theological but was written in a way that it is easy to grasp and understand. I have been blessed by this book and highly recommend it!

In this book, the author presents the Heart as the inner man, composed of 3 faculties that interrelate: Mind, Affections, Will. He then presents Christ in his 3 roles - Prophet, Priest, King, as the savior of each of these faculties. It is a good primer on the topic of the Heart.