Customer Reviews

He Loves Me! Learning to Live in the Father's Affection

5 star:		(89)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Excellent insight. A logical, biblical foundation for a new framework for understanding God's intended relationship with His children. Love, rather than fear. Even if you don't consider your relationship with God to be based on fear or "appeasement" (I didn't either), this book will challenge you to reassess many of the traditions and approaches that dominate many in the Evangelical Christian Church. However, the book is not written from a critical point of view. A freeing book. Approach with an open mind. This book is having a strong, positive impact on my life. I have recommended it highly to several friends.

I've enjoyed a meaningful relationship with God for 37 years, and have read extensively on the topic of God's love for individual people. This is definitely the best, most specific, and down-to-earth book I've read on this topic. It has impacted my life and how I view God. It's very freeing indeed.

This is the BEST explanation of the Father's love I have ever read! So much becomes clear as you discover page after page of insights into the eternal. Everyone should read this! Whether you are reacting to the offer of relationship with the Father through rebellion or religion - you need to come home. This book will point the way home.
I have just ordered two more copies - one to replace the one I am leaving behind in Morocco for my daughter and her co-workers and another for my future son-in-law. I expect I will be buying many more and rereading it myself.

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

I have always known that God loved me and it was so very clear when I first came to believe, but after over 20 years of being involved in church and other ministry, I gave up. This book came into my hands and has brought healing and restoration into my life. What I have always known to be true about God is now expressed in simple, easy language that can be understood by anyone. I thank God for Wayne and the struggles he went through that led him to the place that he could write about the Father's great love. I will never again be content with anything apart from the love of God. He Loves Me! Learning to Live In the Father's Affection

This book comes highly recommended as a follow up book to The Shack, by Wm P. Young. You will never regret spending the money. Another book to accompany these two is: "So you don't Want to go to Church any More" by Jake Colson. These books speak of where the church as the Body of Christ is stagnanting today and is inspired writing for what it speems to be tan answer.

Have you ever fallen into a performance trap? Felt like God only loved you if you were performing to His standards? Doubted His love for you during hard times? Wayne Jacobsen has penned He Loves Me! to offer warm, personal encouragement for Christians who feel removed from the love of their Father.

Jacobsen writes strongly, sharing his conviction and personal experience of God's unfailing love. Revisiting familiar parables and scenes from throughout the New Testament as well as the Old Testament, Jacobsen builds a case for God's ongoing desire to enter into relationships with each and every one of us.

He Loves Me! keeps a tight focus on God's love. Jacobsen repeatedly turns the readers eye away from themselves and places their sights upon the Heavenly Father. Rather than exploring the message of salvation, Jacobsen's work is written for those who have already entered into relationship with God through Jesus Christ, but who may not feel confident in His love.

While an excellent resource for new Christians who seek to understand the basis of their new position in Christ, He Loves Me! also offers a healing balm for those wounded by works-based religious belief systems. A theme that occurs repeatedly throughout Jacobsen's works is that Christianity is not a religion, a set of rules that Christians must follow in order to please God. Rather, it is God's invitation to enter into a relationship with Him each day through the death of His son on the cross. It is refreshing to read a work from a man who is so clearly grounded in this truth and who proclaims it loudly.

Jacobsen reassures us that we will never be good enough for God, we will never be able to please Him with our own efforts at righteousness. Our status with Him is dependent entirely upon Jesus' work on the cross. Our position in Christ rests not upon our striving to fulfill the laws' commands, but rather the holiness that knowing Jesus will produce in our lives as we let His love fill us full to overflowing. I went into Jacobsen's body of work with a degree of skepticism, being unfamiliar with his teachings. I wondered if I'd encounter claims of universal salvation, the dismissal of sin or a philosophy of `easy-believism'. Thankfully none of these were present, only a rallying cry to return to the foundations of faith - knowing Jesus and following Him.

However, there are some weak points present in Jacobsen's work. Few scriptures are provided to back up his points, and single verses at times serve as the foundation for suppositions that are widely divergent from those held by the majority of the body of Christ. For instance, he posits that believers no longer need to fear God, but a brief survey of the word `fear' as used throughout the New Testament would display that the matter of fearing God is not as one-sided as presented here. Scripture speaks to the fear of God in a believer's life, as well as fear not being present in perfect love. All instances of the term `fear' need to be taken into account to form a balanced view of God's thoughts on the matter. Jacobsen's beliefs regarding sin should also be closely compared with scripture; it seems that they may ultimately lead to the doctrine of complete sanctification within this life when followed to their logical conclusion. Readers will need to proceed with discernment, eating the meat and spitting out the bones.

If you've been entrenched in a struggle to trust in Christ's work on the cross on your behalf, these teachings regarding God's love may take some time to sink in. Jacobsen acknowledges that tuning in to God's love and experiencing Him daily takes time, patience, and trust. With each chapter Jacobsen provides points for personal application, as well as questions that can be explored in a group discussion setting. Seeking God in prayer that focuses upon the suggestions offered, and discussing these teachings with others will serve to deepen understanding and belief.

For myself, I'm inspired to read through the New Testament once again, seeking to understand the love of God through His word as I seek to draw near to Him. I am confident that He Loves Me! will reach many believers who are seeking to regain an authentic, personal walk with Christ as they emerge from works based expectations.

I think this author has been living in my head! He has opened Bible story after Bible story to show me a loving God in a new light. I sense that this amazing relationship is what I have been longing for and looking for in all the wrong places. The problem has not been my church, or a particular style of worship. It has not been my own failures, even though they are many. The problem has been my focus on my persistent personal efforts to earn God's favor, and my lack of understanding that He has loved me all along. May God give me the courage to embrace His acceptance and freedom.

This book is a terrific read, as a standalone, or as a commentary for The Shack. It would make a perfect small group study guide.

This is the perfect book to read after "The Shack". Although I strongly believed everything this book has to say, it was a really good way to reinforce my beliefs.

A must read for Believers.

This book has made a huge difference in my life, and as a result I have not only purchased it for another person, but recommended it to several other people.