The Heart of Jesus: How He Really Feels about You Paperback – August 20, 2024

This is definitely my book of the year! Clear and easy to read, beautiful and comforting. Each short chapter could be a part of your daily devotions, and the book could be read again and again, as you soak/bathe in its beautiful message.Because of who we are (our natural, sinful pride) we always think of salvation and love as somehow conditioned on what we do. We want to feel loved by Jesus, and so we are always trying to be our best selves, and thinking that we are more attractive and pleasing to him at our best, and so then he'll love us more.That's so backward, and counter-grace, and in the end is not good news.The good news, and Ortlund sets it out so beautifully, is that the Savior's love doesn't change, and that he is actually drawn to love us more and to help and see us through when we stumble in sin. Every chapter will draw you into another aspect of how the Savior sees and loves each of his own, personally.And, another thing that we are prone to think is that God is waiting for us to fail so that he can prove his justice and pounce on us. We think of him as a God who has his finger on the trigger. This is not God! Yes, he's just, but Jesus is the place and the one where that justice has been meted out and satisfied. He does not want to destroy us. He's a tender Father. He is fully of mercy and is ready to cover us in love. This is another part of the beautiful message in this book. Again, his mercy does not depend on our performance.I'll finish with this quote from the book.'"Slow to anger.' He doesn't have his finger on the trigger. It takes a long time to get him angry. Unlike us, who are often emotional dams ready to break, God can put up with a lot. This is why the Old Testament speaks of God being "provoked to anger" by his people dozens of times. But not once are we told that God is "provoked to love" or "provoked to mercy.." His anger requires provocation; his mercy is pent up, ready to gush forth. We tend to think that divine anger is pent up, spring-loaded; while divine mercy is slow to build. But it's just the opposite. Divine mercy is ready to burst forth at the slightest prick."Such a worthwhile read. So life-changing. I'm going to buy a dozen and have them on hand to give to people.

This is one of the very best books I have read, of hundreds, by great Christian authors! I have given them to my children, grandchildren, friends, and community group. Somewhere over fifty I’m sure!!It is encouraging, backed up with Scripture, and helps develop an amazing view of what Jesus thinks of us and does for us! I believe children, even as young as 12, could enjoy this book and all of us could be amazed at what is in Jesus’ heart for each of us.I would suggest savoring one chapter at a time vs 2-3 together. There are 18 chapters of 4-6 pages such as “His Heart in Action”, “I Will Never Cast Out”, and “To the End”. I read one and then look up more scripture verses, journal, thank God, and just relax in His great care for us.Thank you Dane Ortlund! Well done!

Amazing book. Apart from the Bible, this is a book I recommend to everyone especially Christians/people who view God as holding a stick, waiting for us to mess up - No. God is SO good, our loving, merciful Father.

I was recommended to read Gentle & Lowly, and in my search I came across this one, which is a concise version of it. I am almost finished, and it is incredible. I am glad I started with this one, and I am excited to read Gentle & Lowly. Very clear, easy to read, and you might be able to finish it in one day. A wonderful gift for someone you love who wants to understand where true love comes from.

The title was the reason why I got myself this book please I hope he makes more books like this it’s small ! & its my favorite color too ! This book was made for me haha🩷 so far I’m in love with it! It really shows the warmth in Jesus heart for us all & really open my eye because sometimes we may feel like he doesn’t want anything to do with us when we sin make a mistake but that’s not true he wants us to still goto him don’t hid from him 🩵

This book was given to someone as a gift but they told me they enjoyed it

Overall, I did enjoy reading this book. Due to the shortened nature of it from Dane Ortlund's original book, Gentle and Lowly, there are a few areas of concern I have.The Pros:• a nice concise version of Gentle and Lowly• great to use as a daily devotional (in tandem with in context Bible reading of course!)• helpful to explain the difficult abstract concepts to younger individuals like teenagers• easy to digest rich points that are driven in scriptureMy concerns:While the concise nature doesn't seem to "water down" the points, it can leave a few points vague. This in itself does not seem to be a problem if the individual reading this book is able to discern the deeper meaning the author left out for simplicity (a reader like a a mature believer who is regularly in the Word and is using this as a lovely quick reminder devotional). However, if the person is a new believer who doesn't have a solid backing in Scripture, I think there are a few too many areas that could be left up to interpretation or taken the wrong way which ultimately would distort the Word of God. I don't think this is because Dane Ortlund meant to twist or water the content down, but that he did the best to convey his arguments in as few words as possible. I believe it best for a mature (older) believer, to go through this in a discipleship context with a newer (younger) believer to avoid any pitfalls and answer any questions that may arise!Also, I am not sure if the title and subtitle are meant to be a bit provocative (it is a bold claim to say one tiny book will teach you about the heart of Jesus and especially his feelings for us). Not a huge deal, but I feel that other, more precise, words could have been more advantageous and not unnecessarily provocative.

I love this edition of Gentle & Lowly. It was perfect for my teen and a new Christian friend. Easy to read, small enough to not be intimidating, but full of rich Gospel truth.