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He Loves Me! Learning to Live in the Father's Affection
So many Christians believe God's love is when they sin, He turns away in disgust and anger. They vacillate between "He loves me" and "He loves me not" because of their behavior. That reasoning, writes Wayne Jacobsen, is as flawed as pulling petals from a daisy. Rather God's love is sturdy, enduring, and undisturbed by people's failings because God loves humankind not for what they do -- but who they are. They are God's beloved creation.
Startlingly honest and empathetically written, He Loves Me! reveals the facts of God's relentless grace. Readers will learn how to live consciously, confidently in this love all the time. Questions for personal reflection and group discussion help make these truths practical and life-changing. Insecure Christians ready for a revolutionary relationship with God will find out just how accessible that is.
Startlingly honest and empathetically written, He Loves Me! reveals the facts of God's relentless grace. Readers will learn how to live consciously, confidently in this love all the time. Questions for personal reflection and group discussion help make these truths practical and life-changing. Insecure Christians ready for a revolutionary relationship with God will find out just how accessible that is.
208 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2000
About the author
Wayne Jacobsen
30 books101 followersWayne Jacobsen was a pastor for 20 years and a Contributing Editor to Leadership Journal and has authored numerous books and articles on spiritual formation, relational community and engagement of culture. Wayne also cohosts a weekly podcast at TheGodJourney.com, out of which came his collaboration on the writing of The Shack and helped create Windblown Media, the publishing company behind the phenomenon.
As the director of Lifestream Ministries, Jacobsen travels globally teaching on themes of intimacy with God, the Love of God, and relational church life.
As President of BridgeBuilders, he is also a nationally-recognized specialist and mediator in resolving cultural and religious conflicts. Jacobsen has become known for his expertise in the pros and cons of organized religion.
As the director of Lifestream Ministries, Jacobsen travels globally teaching on themes of intimacy with God, the Love of God, and relational church life.
As President of BridgeBuilders, he is also a nationally-recognized specialist and mediator in resolving cultural and religious conflicts. Jacobsen has become known for his expertise in the pros and cons of organized religion.
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July 9, 2011
He Loves Me!: Learning to Live in the Father's Affection by Wayne Jacobsen
I’ve read many books on the love of God, but none explain it better than this book. So many books on God’s love turn the Lord into a ‘cream-puff’ god who winks at sin and skips merrily along while leaving us in our state. One popular preacher put it, “God just enjoys watching you be you.”
What if ‘you’ are not happy with who you are? What if there are destructive behaviors and damaged emotions? Is it truly love to sing Kum ba yah to someone as they slide down the road of destruction?
Perhaps the love of our heavenly Father causes him to care enough to guide us away from the things that harm us, and shows us the goodness of God’s presence in our lives to make us complete. Rather than watching me be me, maybe God’s love desires to complete me. And you.
‘He Loves Me!’ is a book that explains the love of God better than any I’ve read. It addresses the problem of guilt in our lives and shows scripturally how that God’s plan isn’t for us to grovel in failure, but to recognize the truth that it’s the love of God that leads us to repentance.
Most people approach spiritual matters as though God were an angry judge, waiting to strike us for our failures. True service is not doing things out of guilt or fear, but the overflow of the heart. The desire to serve is the natural product of a healthy relationship with God.
Every Christian should read this book. I can’t recommend it highly enough!
Eddie Snipes
Author of I Called Him Dancer
I’ve read many books on the love of God, but none explain it better than this book. So many books on God’s love turn the Lord into a ‘cream-puff’ god who winks at sin and skips merrily along while leaving us in our state. One popular preacher put it, “God just enjoys watching you be you.”
What if ‘you’ are not happy with who you are? What if there are destructive behaviors and damaged emotions? Is it truly love to sing Kum ba yah to someone as they slide down the road of destruction?
Perhaps the love of our heavenly Father causes him to care enough to guide us away from the things that harm us, and shows us the goodness of God’s presence in our lives to make us complete. Rather than watching me be me, maybe God’s love desires to complete me. And you.
‘He Loves Me!’ is a book that explains the love of God better than any I’ve read. It addresses the problem of guilt in our lives and shows scripturally how that God’s plan isn’t for us to grovel in failure, but to recognize the truth that it’s the love of God that leads us to repentance.
Most people approach spiritual matters as though God were an angry judge, waiting to strike us for our failures. True service is not doing things out of guilt or fear, but the overflow of the heart. The desire to serve is the natural product of a healthy relationship with God.
Every Christian should read this book. I can’t recommend it highly enough!
Eddie Snipes
Author of I Called Him Dancer
November 16, 2009
I was almost put off this book by the foreword. It's full of rather condescending remarks, telling me - basically - that the book will change my life. When I'm told that someone is confident about what I will say, or that peace is guaranteed to settle on my heart, I want to walk right away.
Thankfully I didn't. Having read other books by Wayne Jacobsen, I was fairly sure I would find it interesting and possibly helpful. And, indeed, I was gripped almost from the start. He writes for people who are unsure that God really loves them. While I don't think I've ever had that doubt, I hadn't thought through all the implications. I don't believe in performance-driven religion; yet I've certainly been guilty of trying to jump through some of the hoops described in the book.
The book is written with personal anecdotes, plenty of pointers to Jesus, and a clear, friendly style. Each chapter ends with brief questions that could be used in a home group situation, or for personal pondering.
All in all, I thought this excellent. It was thought-provoking and well written; I would recommend it to anyone.
I still think the foreword is dire, though.
Thankfully I didn't. Having read other books by Wayne Jacobsen, I was fairly sure I would find it interesting and possibly helpful. And, indeed, I was gripped almost from the start. He writes for people who are unsure that God really loves them. While I don't think I've ever had that doubt, I hadn't thought through all the implications. I don't believe in performance-driven religion; yet I've certainly been guilty of trying to jump through some of the hoops described in the book.
The book is written with personal anecdotes, plenty of pointers to Jesus, and a clear, friendly style. Each chapter ends with brief questions that could be used in a home group situation, or for personal pondering.
All in all, I thought this excellent. It was thought-provoking and well written; I would recommend it to anyone.
I still think the foreword is dire, though.
May 26, 2016
This book is for those who wonder if there’s a God, for people who believe there’s a God but wonder how He feels about you, for the religious who have been working hard to stay in God’s good graces, for those who can’t imagine that God would bother caring about each individual, for those who wonder if God is waiting, lightning bolt in hand, for the next time we mess up, for those who have an empty hole inside and are aching to feel that someone loves them deeply, just as they are. This book is for you. And me. Simple but not simplistic, written in a conversational style, Jacobsen explores everything that God says about us and shows, proof by proof, that God loves us deeply, unconditionally, passionately, constantly, intimately, no strings attached, and that our lives can be changed forever when we really believe it.
January 28, 2023
I'm not sure how to review this book. I was so excited to read it, as a recent question I've been wrestling with is, "What if I believed/lived like God loved me as much as He says He does?" Books like Gentle & Lowly had started me on this journey of wrestling with understanding God's love more, and I was excited to continue the journey.
And this book helped that. It was thought-provoking, but . . . I also disagreed with some of the core theology. In my opinion, parts of it directly contradict Scripture. So read with discernment!
And this book helped that. It was thought-provoking, but . . . I also disagreed with some of the core theology. In my opinion, parts of it directly contradict Scripture. So read with discernment!
February 20, 2024
One of the few books I prioritize to read each year. Such an amazing message
August 20, 2010
This book is a hug from Heaven.
Wayne Jacobsen offers a chapter-by-chapter reiteration and reassurance of one unalterable, inarguable fact: God loves you. That glorious truth is unconditional. No need to ever again play "He loves me ... He loves me not," based on life's circumstances and situations. Leave your daisies to grow naturally in your garden. Nothing you can do will make God love you less; nothing you do will make Him love more.
He just loves you.
You have been precious to Him since before the world was created. He loved you when Adam was still a lump of clay. He longed for your reciprocating affection eons prior to his first wail as an infant in Bethlehem. You were His favored child even as He carried His own cross up that hill to Calvary.
He loves you.
Just as He did with Adam and Eve, God longs to be your Friend. Your Father. He yearns for that close, personal, intimate relationship that comes only when true, untarnished love is freely given and received between two individuals. He won't demand it. He's chosen not to force it, because let's face it--true love doesn't happen via coercion. Such unnatural affection would be a weak and unsatisfactory facsimile, not good enough for the Creator of Heaven and Earth.
In simple terms and straightforward fashion, the author paints an unforgettable portrait of a Father waiting with outstretched arms for His child...His cherished friend to accept his affection--and return it, so they two can enjoy the fullness of a loving relationship. Jacobsen builds his premise largely on that relationship: what it is, how to achieve it, what it means to each participant.
Woven through the entire book is the one golden thread of simple truth: God. Loves. You. If you ever wondered about that; if you ever needed assurance that He knows you--who you are, why you are, and that you matter to Him; if you ever just wished you could feel His arms around you, read this book.
Your hug is on the way.
Wayne Jacobsen offers a chapter-by-chapter reiteration and reassurance of one unalterable, inarguable fact: God loves you. That glorious truth is unconditional. No need to ever again play "He loves me ... He loves me not," based on life's circumstances and situations. Leave your daisies to grow naturally in your garden. Nothing you can do will make God love you less; nothing you do will make Him love more.
He just loves you.
You have been precious to Him since before the world was created. He loved you when Adam was still a lump of clay. He longed for your reciprocating affection eons prior to his first wail as an infant in Bethlehem. You were His favored child even as He carried His own cross up that hill to Calvary.
He loves you.
Just as He did with Adam and Eve, God longs to be your Friend. Your Father. He yearns for that close, personal, intimate relationship that comes only when true, untarnished love is freely given and received between two individuals. He won't demand it. He's chosen not to force it, because let's face it--true love doesn't happen via coercion. Such unnatural affection would be a weak and unsatisfactory facsimile, not good enough for the Creator of Heaven and Earth.
In simple terms and straightforward fashion, the author paints an unforgettable portrait of a Father waiting with outstretched arms for His child...His cherished friend to accept his affection--and return it, so they two can enjoy the fullness of a loving relationship. Jacobsen builds his premise largely on that relationship: what it is, how to achieve it, what it means to each participant.
Woven through the entire book is the one golden thread of simple truth: God. Loves. You. If you ever wondered about that; if you ever needed assurance that He knows you--who you are, why you are, and that you matter to Him; if you ever just wished you could feel His arms around you, read this book.
Your hug is on the way.
April 4, 2017
It took me several months to finish this book, not because it was hard to read or boring, but because after reading the first few chapters I realized I needed to slow down and really digest each page so that I could really 'get' the message that God was trying to share with me through Wayne.
I bought this book brand new, and it looks like it's been through several people's hands.. as worn as it is from traveling with me over the months it took to read it.
So, why is it that a book about God's love, or 'the Father's affection" is only digestible in small pieces for a girl who has grown up in church her whole life and has followed Jesus since she was a little girl?
Well, If you're are like me, then here are the reasons why it might take some time to read this book:
* you feel guilty when you don't have a daily quiet time, or prayer time
* when something good happens in your life, you think God is pleased with you and is blessing you, and when something bad is happening you think God might be angry with you
* you consciously or subconsciously are trying to earn God's affection by doing the right things. Notice I didn't say "earning Salvation" I said "earning God's affection"
* trying to understand God's wrath in relation to God's love is difficult for you
* you think that the test of how much you love God is how well you keep his commandments.
This book took these things I thought/felt and either clarified, demystified, or revolutionized them for me. It's a book I will be thinking on a long time.
I bought this book brand new, and it looks like it's been through several people's hands.. as worn as it is from traveling with me over the months it took to read it.
So, why is it that a book about God's love, or 'the Father's affection" is only digestible in small pieces for a girl who has grown up in church her whole life and has followed Jesus since she was a little girl?
Well, If you're are like me, then here are the reasons why it might take some time to read this book:
* you feel guilty when you don't have a daily quiet time, or prayer time
* when something good happens in your life, you think God is pleased with you and is blessing you, and when something bad is happening you think God might be angry with you
* you consciously or subconsciously are trying to earn God's affection by doing the right things. Notice I didn't say "earning Salvation" I said "earning God's affection"
* trying to understand God's wrath in relation to God's love is difficult for you
* you think that the test of how much you love God is how well you keep his commandments.
This book took these things I thought/felt and either clarified, demystified, or revolutionized them for me. It's a book I will be thinking on a long time.
July 9, 2012
The Holy Bible, this book and The Ragamuffin Gospel are the books that helped me veer away from my very legalistic leaning of following Jesus. I actually had to TEACH myself again that Jesus loves me!
There were many things in my life and teachings from churches that were making me believe that love from God was based on how I "behaved".
I did not believe that when I came to Christ 25 years ago... how could it be that I was leaning toward believing it now?? Because we are easily deceived. But God (the Author and Perfecter of our Faith... is NOT.)
I feel this book was put in my path by the Father (as Wayne likes to refer to Him and I am also using this endearing title lately myself).
I would recommend this book to ANY person wanting to know God better.
There were many things in my life and teachings from churches that were making me believe that love from God was based on how I "behaved".
I did not believe that when I came to Christ 25 years ago... how could it be that I was leaning toward believing it now?? Because we are easily deceived. But God (the Author and Perfecter of our Faith... is NOT.)
I feel this book was put in my path by the Father (as Wayne likes to refer to Him and I am also using this endearing title lately myself).
I would recommend this book to ANY person wanting to know God better.
December 21, 2022
This book has fundamentally helped me shift my thinking about what it means to be a Christian and to follow Christ. I wish I had understood that Christianity is a relationship with the Father 30 years ago. It would have changed everything!
For anyone who has grown up in the Bible belt or part of performance-based Christianity, this will
cause one to rethink what it means to follow Jesus. Religion vs. Jesus
Each chapter has good discussion questions at the end that are thought-provoking and also applicable to each person's life.
This is a book I will reread and pass onto others.
For anyone who has grown up in the Bible belt or part of performance-based Christianity, this will
cause one to rethink what it means to follow Jesus. Religion vs. Jesus
Each chapter has good discussion questions at the end that are thought-provoking and also applicable to each person's life.
This is a book I will reread and pass onto others.
January 21, 2018
This book has had a profound influence on my thinking about the love of God. For anyone (like me) that has been told all their life that 'God loves you' and that 'God is love', it may seem extraordinary to think that now, in mid-life, I am just beginning to get a handle on what that means. It is what I thought it means, but so much more. Wayne Jacobsen's book has been instrumental in helping me realise this.
And it is not a book of theology or theory - it is practical in its impact, hence the subtitle, 'Learning to live in the Father's affection'. That is why I have been taking my time over this book for the last six months or so - not just reading the book through from cover to cover, but reading, reflecting and re-reading. It's got to the point where I feel it is a little odd to put it away on a shelf ... it may have to stay in the bedside cabinet for ready reference.
It really got a hold of me from the chapter called - 'The Tyranny of the Favour Line' - which I could so readily identify with. The author identifies the favour line as 'the invisible line that tells us whether or not we've met enough of someone's expectations to merit approval' (p.45). That is the basis on which I have so often relied to work out whether or not God was happy with me: 'The tyranny of the favour line is unrelenting, never allowing us to be certain of how God feels about us.' (p.47). So many of us still live with some kind of belief that we need to (or even can) earn God's approval and love. The bad news is - we can't. The good news is - he loves us already.
If this sounds interesting to you, perhaps you should read the book for yourself, but I'll leave you with one more quote as encouragement concerning the love of God: 'He loves you completely and will love you every day of your life on this planet and into the age to come.' (p.131)
And it is not a book of theology or theory - it is practical in its impact, hence the subtitle, 'Learning to live in the Father's affection'. That is why I have been taking my time over this book for the last six months or so - not just reading the book through from cover to cover, but reading, reflecting and re-reading. It's got to the point where I feel it is a little odd to put it away on a shelf ... it may have to stay in the bedside cabinet for ready reference.
It really got a hold of me from the chapter called - 'The Tyranny of the Favour Line' - which I could so readily identify with. The author identifies the favour line as 'the invisible line that tells us whether or not we've met enough of someone's expectations to merit approval' (p.45). That is the basis on which I have so often relied to work out whether or not God was happy with me: 'The tyranny of the favour line is unrelenting, never allowing us to be certain of how God feels about us.' (p.47). So many of us still live with some kind of belief that we need to (or even can) earn God's approval and love. The bad news is - we can't. The good news is - he loves us already.
If this sounds interesting to you, perhaps you should read the book for yourself, but I'll leave you with one more quote as encouragement concerning the love of God: 'He loves you completely and will love you every day of your life on this planet and into the age to come.' (p.131)
May 23, 2012
Excellent in Every Way
Wayne Jacobsen came to my attention through his relationship with William P. Young, the author of "The Shack." Wayne has been writing for some time and has had impact in different circles through different ministry roles and previously through an editorial relationship with Leadership magazine.
I'm sorry it has taken this long for him to come to my attention. Through the influence of "The Shack" and another book that Wayne co-wrote, "So You Don't Want to Go to Church Anymore?", Wayne has had a profound influence in my thinking and views toward God and the Church. More importantly, in this book, Wayne does an excellent job of demonstrating the roots of those previous works in Scripture and practical theology in terms of the person of God and how He wants to relate to us.
Christianity is rife with lip service as to the importance of Grace in underlying the foundation of a personal walk with God. In practice however, many Churches and Christians of all ilks and persuasions quickly move past that lip service into forms of legalism and phariseeism that make it clear that if Grace is the foundation of the beginning of a walk with Christ, it certainly has little to do with what comes after. Guilt, shame, manipulation and coercion quickly raise their heads and become the motivator for far too many of us.
William Young, the author of "The Shack" recommends this book on the back cover as the best book he can suggest for those who have read "The Shack" to help everything begin to make sense. I can recommend no better than that myself.
This is a deeply freeing book to read, to grasp but more importantly to begin to live the concepts present.
I highly recommend it and will return to it myself many times.
5 stars.
Bart Breen
Wayne Jacobsen came to my attention through his relationship with William P. Young, the author of "The Shack." Wayne has been writing for some time and has had impact in different circles through different ministry roles and previously through an editorial relationship with Leadership magazine.
I'm sorry it has taken this long for him to come to my attention. Through the influence of "The Shack" and another book that Wayne co-wrote, "So You Don't Want to Go to Church Anymore?", Wayne has had a profound influence in my thinking and views toward God and the Church. More importantly, in this book, Wayne does an excellent job of demonstrating the roots of those previous works in Scripture and practical theology in terms of the person of God and how He wants to relate to us.
Christianity is rife with lip service as to the importance of Grace in underlying the foundation of a personal walk with God. In practice however, many Churches and Christians of all ilks and persuasions quickly move past that lip service into forms of legalism and phariseeism that make it clear that if Grace is the foundation of the beginning of a walk with Christ, it certainly has little to do with what comes after. Guilt, shame, manipulation and coercion quickly raise their heads and become the motivator for far too many of us.
William Young, the author of "The Shack" recommends this book on the back cover as the best book he can suggest for those who have read "The Shack" to help everything begin to make sense. I can recommend no better than that myself.
This is a deeply freeing book to read, to grasp but more importantly to begin to live the concepts present.
I highly recommend it and will return to it myself many times.
5 stars.
Bart Breen
November 2, 2009
At the time I read this book, I didn't have much hope in a personal god. It gave that hope to me at the time. It's been a couple of years since I read it. Sometime soon I want to take another look at in light of what I've learned since.
(Amended comment 11/09)... Looking back now I see that this book gave me something flat and hard to stand on when I needed it. At least my perception was that it was flat and hard. It could be considered a "grace" book in Christianity today. So many Christians are looking for a gentler, kinder God. Being unhappy with the judgmental, condemning God makes room for something new. This gentler, kinder god will work for awhile. But the questions keep coming and even this type god doesn't answer them.
(Amended comment 11/09)... Looking back now I see that this book gave me something flat and hard to stand on when I needed it. At least my perception was that it was flat and hard. It could be considered a "grace" book in Christianity today. So many Christians are looking for a gentler, kinder God. Being unhappy with the judgmental, condemning God makes room for something new. This gentler, kinder god will work for awhile. But the questions keep coming and even this type god doesn't answer them.
July 17, 2017
This is just an excellent book. Jacobsen outlines how the Lord loves each of us and His desire is for us to enjoy an intimate, hand-in-hand, walk together. What is especially good about this book is that Jacobsen doesn't give you 'pat' answers or preach some 'recipe theology' but points the reader to God.
"Simply ask Him to show you the depth of His love for you and a revelation of what the Cross of Jesus accomplished."
And this:
"The quest here is not to get God to act toward you, but for you to begin to recognise how He already is."
Broken down into 4 sections all containing approximately 6 shortish chapters, Jacobsen encourages us to recognise that we are God's beloved and once we come to truly believe this in both our heart and mind, His love can and will transform us to lead the lives He created us to live and that bring Him glory.
This is the relationship I want and the life I want to live.
Written in a very conversational style with plenty of good explorations of Bible passages, this is an enjoyable and inspiring book to read that will help you to better understand the depth of God's love for you and increase your thirst for more of Him.
"Simply ask Him to show you the depth of His love for you and a revelation of what the Cross of Jesus accomplished."
And this:
"The quest here is not to get God to act toward you, but for you to begin to recognise how He already is."
Broken down into 4 sections all containing approximately 6 shortish chapters, Jacobsen encourages us to recognise that we are God's beloved and once we come to truly believe this in both our heart and mind, His love can and will transform us to lead the lives He created us to live and that bring Him glory.
This is the relationship I want and the life I want to live.
Written in a very conversational style with plenty of good explorations of Bible passages, this is an enjoyable and inspiring book to read that will help you to better understand the depth of God's love for you and increase your thirst for more of Him.
October 24, 2018
Lots of good thoughts in this book to help one understand God's love and how he is not out to 'get' us. Not sure I quite agreed with everything in the book, but that's normal and I was able to enjoy and glean many inspirations.
April 24, 2020
First, I took away a valuable lesson even without having finished the book. I was overcome with the concept of love put forth by the book and I gravely realised that: (1) my actions have reflected that I was living less-loved, (2) I have been trying to toe the favor line, (3) I misinterpreted the parable of the businessman and the beggar.
However, my gripe here is that the book seems to imply that God's love and God's commandments are at opposite ends of the spectrum. As if we cannot have one without the other! I argue that there is a time and place for everything. The idea that God loves us no matter what we do is not new, but one that I forget from time to time. In fact, as a newborn Christian once, it was as clear to me as the stars on a cloudless night (try to disregard light pollution here).
Rather than love being the end, I prefer to think of it as an anchor that is constant, unwavering, and lasts throughout. Our actions do not affect his love for us. But there is a plan clearly laid out in the Bible - to pray without ceasing, to love people, to seek his kingdom and righteousness, to be matured "to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes."
As much as babies and children need love, so do they need discipline to grow.
However, my gripe here is that the book seems to imply that God's love and God's commandments are at opposite ends of the spectrum. As if we cannot have one without the other! I argue that there is a time and place for everything. The idea that God loves us no matter what we do is not new, but one that I forget from time to time. In fact, as a newborn Christian once, it was as clear to me as the stars on a cloudless night (try to disregard light pollution here).
"I am not saying in this that the fear of God is wrong, only that it is incomplete. It is the first rung on the ladder to knowing God in his fullness. He said himself it was the beginning of wisdom, but it is only the beginning. Love is the end of it."
Rather than love being the end, I prefer to think of it as an anchor that is constant, unwavering, and lasts throughout. Our actions do not affect his love for us. But there is a plan clearly laid out in the Bible - to pray without ceasing, to love people, to seek his kingdom and righteousness, to be matured "to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes."
As much as babies and children need love, so do they need discipline to grow.
January 18, 2010
If you’ve read William P. Young’s best seller, THE SHACK, and wondered how
to apply the principles of God’s boundless love to your own life, then you need to make your next book, Wayne Jacobsen’s HE LOVES ME! LEARNING TO LIVE IN THE FATHER'S AFFECTION. Both scholarly and practical with everyday illustrations and stories, I’ve personally used it in my daily devotional times to pray through.
Each chapter ends with application points and thought-provoking questions for either personal growth and/or group discussion. Like veggies, it’s good for you.
to apply the principles of God’s boundless love to your own life, then you need to make your next book, Wayne Jacobsen’s HE LOVES ME! LEARNING TO LIVE IN THE FATHER'S AFFECTION. Both scholarly and practical with everyday illustrations and stories, I’ve personally used it in my daily devotional times to pray through.
Each chapter ends with application points and thought-provoking questions for either personal growth and/or group discussion. Like veggies, it’s good for you.
August 22, 2012
I love this book. Having been a Christian for over 40 years this book is the most refreshing book on what our God is really about. It isn't about performing religious duties forever and a day to somehow gain acceptance and favor with our Creator, but a living relationship that He wants with each of us. Jacobsen comes from his own frustrated background of religious duties and expectations to finally understanding this beautiful truth. It is not a how to book, but a book on understanding what our God is truly like and what he really desires for each of us.
September 15, 2007
This is an amazing book about how God really loves us. This book strips away so many notions of religion and reveals a Father who is very different from the one we often picture in our lives. Life changing.
April 3, 2010
I was concerned that this book would contain theological errors, since this man wrote a recommendation for (and I think the foreword to) The Shack. But though I read it cautiously, like a good Berean, I found no theological errors. It is an encouraging book.
October 6, 2015
This is a very good book. It can answer all your important questions, including that questions you didn't asked yet.
September 17, 2024
Absolutely loved this book!
June 20, 2019
My first reaction to this book was to throw the full printed book (which I had downloaded from Jacobsen's site, where he offers it for free) into our woodburner and watch it burn. I had read more than half of it, I was beginning to let it sink in, and then something happened that sent me straight back to the land of doubt. I decided, as one of the characters in the book, that it was safer to believe I should work hard to obey God and forget about all this loving Him stuff. That wouldn't get me to heaven. Or would it?
Years later, I listened to the audio book and found that it was written for me. I needed to get down to business with God and accept His love for me, His gift of a relationship with Him, and stop trying to figure out just how much I was going to have to do to keep Him from casting me into hell, forever.
Wayne Jacobsen does an excellent job explaining, with the help of Scripture, how God loves us and has always wanted a relationship with us. While many of us have been told that God can't have sin in his presence because of His holiness, in the Bible it's always God who initiates relationships with sinners. Yes, he destroys sinners too, and Jacobsen does an excellent job explaining that too, with a lot of Scripture.
This book has helped me get back into reading the Bible, trusting that God really does love me and focusing on cultivating a relationship with God, my maker, who knew me before he established the earth, who loves me as I am but loves me too much to let me live a life of sin and destruction away from Him. He's always there, as the Father in the Prodigal Son story, waiting for us to come back to our senses and realize that we need Him.
He Loves Me! is easy to read and understand but it's a book that you might want to listen to or read more than once.
Years later, I listened to the audio book and found that it was written for me. I needed to get down to business with God and accept His love for me, His gift of a relationship with Him, and stop trying to figure out just how much I was going to have to do to keep Him from casting me into hell, forever.
Wayne Jacobsen does an excellent job explaining, with the help of Scripture, how God loves us and has always wanted a relationship with us. While many of us have been told that God can't have sin in his presence because of His holiness, in the Bible it's always God who initiates relationships with sinners. Yes, he destroys sinners too, and Jacobsen does an excellent job explaining that too, with a lot of Scripture.
This book has helped me get back into reading the Bible, trusting that God really does love me and focusing on cultivating a relationship with God, my maker, who knew me before he established the earth, who loves me as I am but loves me too much to let me live a life of sin and destruction away from Him. He's always there, as the Father in the Prodigal Son story, waiting for us to come back to our senses and realize that we need Him.
He Loves Me! is easy to read and understand but it's a book that you might want to listen to or read more than once.
July 15, 2019
My first reaction to this book was to throw the full printed book (which I had downloaded from Jacobsen's site, where he offers it for free) into our woodburner and watch it burn. I had read more than half of it, I was beginning to let it sink in, and then something happened that sent me straight back to the land of doubt. I decided, as one of the characters in the book, that it was safer to believe I should work hard to obey God and forget about all this loving Him stuff. That wouldn't get me to heaven. Or would it?
Years later, I listened to the audio book and found that it was written for me. I needed to get down to business with God and accept His love for me, His gift of a relationship with Him, and stop trying to figure out just how much I was going to have to do to keep Him from casting me into hell, forever.
Wayne Jacobsen does an excellent job explaining, with the help of Scripture, how God loves us and has always wanted a relationship with us. While many of us have been told that God can't have sin in his presence because of His holiness, in the Bible it's always God who initiates relationships with sinners. Yes, he destroys sinners too, and Jacobsen does an excellent job explaining that too, with a lot of Scripture.
This book has helped me get back into reading the Bible, trusting that God really does love me and focusing on cultivating a relationship with God, my maker, who knew me before he established the earth, who loves me as I am but loves me too much to let me live a life of sin and destruction away from Him. He's always there, as the Father in the Prodigal Son story, waiting for us to come back to our senses and realize that we need Him.
He Loves Me! is easy to read and understand but it's a book that you might want to listen to or read more than once.
Years later, I listened to the audio book and found that it was written for me. I needed to get down to business with God and accept His love for me, His gift of a relationship with Him, and stop trying to figure out just how much I was going to have to do to keep Him from casting me into hell, forever.
Wayne Jacobsen does an excellent job explaining, with the help of Scripture, how God loves us and has always wanted a relationship with us. While many of us have been told that God can't have sin in his presence because of His holiness, in the Bible it's always God who initiates relationships with sinners. Yes, he destroys sinners too, and Jacobsen does an excellent job explaining that too, with a lot of Scripture.
This book has helped me get back into reading the Bible, trusting that God really does love me and focusing on cultivating a relationship with God, my maker, who knew me before he established the earth, who loves me as I am but loves me too much to let me live a life of sin and destruction away from Him. He's always there, as the Father in the Prodigal Son story, waiting for us to come back to our senses and realize that we need Him.
He Loves Me! is easy to read and understand but it's a book that you might want to listen to or read more than once.
February 19, 2021
I'd just finished reading "The Shack," a fictional book in which Wayne had a lot to do with. I found that out after an internet trawl at the time.
The title itself if left at just 'He Loved Me!' might if been missed if not for the blurb that I now know is really the backbone of this book. 'Learning to Live in Father's Affections.' I use that word backbone similar to our backbones in the human body whilst I liken Father's Affections as the Backbone of our Christian Journey. Without it we'd be paralysed and no good to ourselves or others.
Yes we all know Father loves us because the Bible tells us so and that is very very true. I too thought I knew this but once I'd read this book I came to see a very different reality. This book helped to open up that reality using words that brought things to life, thoughts to life in all whilst giving me a more simple way to look at things without the feelings of guilt that came from trying to win that Affection.
How very different it is to understand and learn to walk with Father the God of all creation as your best friend and one that loves you so very very deeply and begin the journey He has always desired with each and every one of His children.
Following "The Shack," I remember feeling sad that it would be great to have the kind of close quarters relationship Mack had come to enjoy.
'A gentle voice seemed to say, "what if it really is possible?"
12 years later I can say. It really is and "He Loves Me" book by Wayne Jacobson is a great place to get started and a great book to pick up time and time again so you can ground yourself and encourage yourself in this most amazing adventure.
Do I recommend this book.. I think I do.
Yes, I think most definitely.. 😃👍🏻🤓
The title itself if left at just 'He Loved Me!' might if been missed if not for the blurb that I now know is really the backbone of this book. 'Learning to Live in Father's Affections.' I use that word backbone similar to our backbones in the human body whilst I liken Father's Affections as the Backbone of our Christian Journey. Without it we'd be paralysed and no good to ourselves or others.
Yes we all know Father loves us because the Bible tells us so and that is very very true. I too thought I knew this but once I'd read this book I came to see a very different reality. This book helped to open up that reality using words that brought things to life, thoughts to life in all whilst giving me a more simple way to look at things without the feelings of guilt that came from trying to win that Affection.
How very different it is to understand and learn to walk with Father the God of all creation as your best friend and one that loves you so very very deeply and begin the journey He has always desired with each and every one of His children.
Following "The Shack," I remember feeling sad that it would be great to have the kind of close quarters relationship Mack had come to enjoy.
'A gentle voice seemed to say, "what if it really is possible?"
12 years later I can say. It really is and "He Loves Me" book by Wayne Jacobson is a great place to get started and a great book to pick up time and time again so you can ground yourself and encourage yourself in this most amazing adventure.
Do I recommend this book.. I think I do.
Yes, I think most definitely.. 😃👍🏻🤓
November 13, 2023
I really loved this book and I'd like to read through it again maybe once a year or every other year to remind myself how to not just believe that God loves me, but to live in that love, too.
A neat thing about the book is that it has both "Personal Journey" questions as well as "Group Discussion" questions. I read it on my own and journaled answers to the "Personal Journey" questions as I finished each chapter. It was really helpful to be able to reflect on what I had just read, and also to be able to look back and see what was on my mind throughout the readings. I think it would be neat to compare my thoughts the next time I read it with the first time I read it :)
(It's not that long of a read, either - I took months to get through it, but that's a me problem, haha. Procrastinator extraordinaire! XD It was always like a breath of fresh air when I did get myself to sit down and read.)
A neat thing about the book is that it has both "Personal Journey" questions as well as "Group Discussion" questions. I read it on my own and journaled answers to the "Personal Journey" questions as I finished each chapter. It was really helpful to be able to reflect on what I had just read, and also to be able to look back and see what was on my mind throughout the readings. I think it would be neat to compare my thoughts the next time I read it with the first time I read it :)
(It's not that long of a read, either - I took months to get through it, but that's a me problem, haha. Procrastinator extraordinaire! XD It was always like a breath of fresh air when I did get myself to sit down and read.)
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April 26, 2021Mindful of Jesus
I have rarely found a book so rich and clear on God's love as He Love Me by Wayne Jacobson. What a joy to see treasures unfold of the reality that Christ is all and the very starting point of experiencing God's love. This book is thought provoking. It personally confirmed the life my Lord has been leading me for the past seven years as God's child. Prior to that I was living a performance based Christianity. Sure I trusted in Christ for my salvation but for years failed to comprehend the victory I have in Christ in my daily practical life. This book is an eye opener if you are still struggle and it is a confirmation to those who know and abide in His love. 😊 To GOD be ALL the GLORY
I have rarely found a book so rich and clear on God's love as He Love Me by Wayne Jacobson. What a joy to see treasures unfold of the reality that Christ is all and the very starting point of experiencing God's love. This book is thought provoking. It personally confirmed the life my Lord has been leading me for the past seven years as God's child. Prior to that I was living a performance based Christianity. Sure I trusted in Christ for my salvation but for years failed to comprehend the victory I have in Christ in my daily practical life. This book is an eye opener if you are still struggle and it is a confirmation to those who know and abide in His love. 😊 To GOD be ALL the GLORY
July 17, 2023
If there would be one book I would recommend for any Christian who is struggling with understanding God’s love, this would be the book I would recommend. In this book, the author breaks down the story of the fall at the garden of Eden and of Jesus’ crucifixion. He describes the Father’s everlasting love that has no beginning and has no end. We don’t earn God’s love. He gives it to us for free. I didn’t even realize how confused I was about God’s love until I read this book. This book clarified all the questions I had. It’s so easy to be lost in a labyrinth of good deeds thinking that the good deeds will make God love us more. But He already loves us for who we are. I loved this book! Thank you, Wayne for writing such a delightful book that is much needed in this day and age.
October 5, 2023
I read Jerry Bridges, Transforming Grace earlier this summer. This book is similar but attacks the same heart issues as Transforming Grace does but from the perspective of God's love for us vs God's grace given to us. Very similar in theme but it wasn't as good either. Not a bad book but if I had to pick between the two I would say read the first. I enjoyed reading this book but it was similar material to what I had read earlier this month. The part I did find most interesting is when talking about God's perceived wrath towards us vs God's real wrath towards the sin in our lives. I'll let you read and discover that bit for yourself though. 3 stars.
March 31, 2020
A friend recommended this book to me in a season of life that involved a lot of life transitions. I had been a follower of Christ for a few years at that point, but reading Mr. Jacobsen again helped solidify my identity during that rough life period. Wayne Jacobsen really has a gift for taking principles and ideas you thought you knew, and breaking them down in ways that reveal deeper meanings. I would recommend his books to anyone.
May 11, 2021
Refreshing Read
It was a refreshing and liberating read, to know Father’s love all over again. It forces me to rethink and unlearn a lot of wrong understanding of Father’s love for us and the church. Recommended if you are starting to wonder if my experience of the faith is really what Jesus has promised “and you will have life”. The life comes from understanding of God’s love for us.
It was a refreshing and liberating read, to know Father’s love all over again. It forces me to rethink and unlearn a lot of wrong understanding of Father’s love for us and the church. Recommended if you are starting to wonder if my experience of the faith is really what Jesus has promised “and you will have life”. The life comes from understanding of God’s love for us.
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