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We love God because He has first loved us—and the depth of our devotion to Him will always be directly related to how much we genuinely behold His heart for us. In this wonderfully inspiring new book, Daniel invites us to refresh our view of God, and in particular, our perception of how He sees us. Whether a long-time believer or brand new to the Christian faith, these life-giving pages invite us into a deeper encounter with the God who truly delights in His children.

I have known Daniel since he was a teenager. In all the intervening years the pursuit of intimacy with God has been his magnificent obsession. This wonderful book is the fruit of that pursuit. It is full of revelation and insight into the amazing love of God. Reading this will inspire, challenge, comfort, and heal you.

Daniel’s life has continually modeled a courage and obedience that is a modern picture of the biblical gospel! Sacrifice and joy flowing from a deep intimacy with Jesus. Passion fueled by deep love from and towards Jesus!

We have a great God and a great gospel. So much of the time we hide in the shadows of shame and distance. What my friend Daniel has written in this book will shatter that shame by inviting you into the exhilarating nearness of the Father who loves you in spite of your failures, just because you’re His own.

Staying connected to the love of our Father in heaven is a lifeline and anchor that determines the direction of our life decisions. Daniel’s book, Loved, is a must-read for anyone who needs to ask the question, “Does God really love me?” and get truly connected to the Father. Using his own journey, Daniel helps to uncover the questions we all have that can hinder our connection, and he simply but powerfully declares the truth that can restore us! I highly recommend this book!

Nothing is more foundational to our lives than the revelation of God as Father and His amazing love for us. Sadly, though we hear lots of people preach on this message and write on this message, very few actually live in this message. Daniel Hoogteijling is one of these few. I love Daniel because he manifests the nature of the Father and His love like few people I know. He doesn’t just write and speak on this subject, but lives it. I’ve seen it in his life, his family, his relationships and have felt the power of revelation come out of him when he speaks on it. The revelation in the book you are about to read is going to blow your mind. After this book, you will see God in a way you have never seen Him before. You will see yourself in a way you’ve never seen yourself. You will redefine success in your life as being loved by God and loving Him, and you will see holiness go from a cuss word into an expression of love. Take your time with this book, and let its truth transform you.

Daniel Hoogteijling is a gifted minister who lives out the gospel the way they did in Acts. Loved is an inspiration and challenge to live outside yourself and, as Paul said, be compelled by love. I highly recommend this book.

In Loved, Daniel has given us an eye-opening glimpse into the fascinating, out-of-this-world love that God has for each of us. I was deeply moved by his transparency about his own struggles to know and experience God as his Father. Daniel’s journey into God’s heart is truly an invitation for all of us to allow Father to embrace us even in our struggles and weakness so we can know the joy and freedom of being His sons and daughters. I highly recommend this book!

I have watched Daniel’s leadership at IHOPKC for the last 7 years. He has been one of our most exceptional leaders. Year after year, his team has displayed the highest character, the deepest humility with glad hearts to serve, and a joyous and contagious love for the gospel. This book reveals the secret behind his leadership. He has given himself to understanding the core of God’s wonderful heart. God is love! I am so thankful that Daniel has given himself to understanding God’s love and displaying it for all to know. I love this book! It should become a classic read for every believer and every church discipleship program.

Daniel Hoogteijling carries revelation of the Father’s heart as deeply as anyone I know. His commitment to prayer and intimacy with God over many years has forged in him a rich reservoir of understanding of God’s love. I’m grateful that he has taken from that reservoir and offered us fresh insights into God’s heart. I encourage you to read this book with an open heart and a prayerful mind. I know your heart will be greatly enlarged through the revelation he shares.

Daniel Hoogteijling has an amazing ability to share the truths of the gospel in a way that melts the heart. Prepare to receive the love of God in a way that makes His affections accessible, meaningful, and life changing. You’re about to see your heavenly Father in a marvelously new way.

We are fans of Daniel Hoogteijling. As a missionary, Daniel has been fearless to bring God’s love to some of the most dangerous places on earth. He is one of the truest people we know. He has great authority to write about the love of God because he lives what he writes. There is safety in being rooted and grounded in the love of God (Eph. 3:17). We are more courageous when we know that nothing, not even our deepest failures, can separate us from God’s love. This is one of the most important books you will ever read on your way to having satisfaction and success in your walk with God.

Daniel has been a friend of mine for over a decade now. He has consistently provoked me by his passion for God and the deep revelation he carries of the love of the Father. This revelation has sustained him through many trials, and I have seen him persevere in faith over and over again. When we first launched our missions training program, Daniel was on our team and was adamant that the primary revelation necessary for the sustainability of long-term ministry work is a heart that has encountered the love of God. He has not wavered from this truth, and his character, passion, intercession, ministry impact, and deep authentic love for people is the tangible fruit of the love of God at work in his life. The message of this book is powerful and necessary. Let it strike your heart.

Living in the Middle East as missionaries to the Muslim world, we are eternally grateful for our beloved friend, Daniel’s, message on the love of God. It is one thing to theologically understand that God loves us. However, having confidence in God’s unwavering love for us, even in our weakest moments, has been life changing. The truths laid before you in this book are for people in all stages in their walk with Christ. We have made them our bedrock, and they have given us boldness in our assignment among the unreached. One of the many things we love about Daniel is that he truly embodies this message, and thus God has anointed him to share it. As you read this book, we believe you will encounter the love of God in a new way and be delivered from shame which hinders your walk with Him; and in return, you will be equipped to wholeheartedly love God and others in a new way.

This book or any parts of this book may not be reproduced in any form, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwise—without prior written permission of the publisher, except as provided by United States of America copyright law.

Forerunner Publishing is the book-publishing division of the International House of Prayer of Kansas City, an evangelical missions organization that exists to partner in the Great Commission by advancing 24/7 prayer and proclaiming the beauty of Jesus and His glorious return.

Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™

What is the Spirit saying to the Church today? I believe that the thing the Holy Spirit is emphasizing the most is that He is establishing the first commandment in first place in His Church worldwide. Yes, Jesus is returning for a prepared Bride (Rev. 19:7).

The God who has everything is yet searching for something that He still wants first and most from His people. What does God search for? What does He want most and first? It is love that He is after. He is after our heart.

There is no agenda more central to the Father’s heart than releasing grace to the human heart to glorify Jesus, by empowering His people to love His Son passionately and wholeheartedly (Jn. 17:26). Therefore, there is a corresponding need for every single one of us to receive grace from the Father for confidence in love that enables us to draw near to Him—empowering Christians to run to God rather than from God when they stumble.

Christianity is an ongoing encounter of love with a Person. Possessing fierce dedication and making radical choices for righteousness will not keep us steady unless we encounter the love the Holy Spirit pours into our heart (Rom. 5:5). It is not enough to be a part of a mission or have vision to change a city or nation. The labor of the vision will make us emotionally weary without the small but consistent stirring of love in our emotions by the Spirit. Stirred emotions in love are the most powerful force in the universe!

There are questions that arise from these ideas that become some of the most critical issues of our life and destiny. Who are we to God? How does He feel about us, even in our weakness and brokenness? Do we have a great and glorious future with Him and in Him, even after we stumble?

The title of Daniel Hoogteijling’s new book, Loved: When the One Who Knows You the Best Loves You the Most, encapsulates one of the most powerful truths of the gospel and the greatness of God. The full and free acceptance, mercy, and incomparable loving-kindness we receive from Jesus at the new birth are among the most glorious things that have ever happened to any of us. Many Christians have difficulty believing that what we have received from God is real and true and personal. But when revelation of His acceptance produces security in our hearts, we will allow God to come as close as He wants. And that is closer than we think.

Daniel and his wife, Marlies, have boldly proclaimed this message for many years among our young people at the International House of Prayer of Kansas City. Under their excellent leadership, many young lives were transformed. I am so thankful for the fruit of their ministry and how they carry the heart of the Father. Daniel has been a trustworthy guide for many into these critical truths. I trust that, as you read, he can serve the same role in your life. May your heart connect to God in a transforming way; may He root and ground you in His unfathomable love—there is no greater reward for the man or woman who loves Jesus.

If you were at the right place at the right time, you could have heard Jesus praying on the evening of His arrest. Before His Father, He poured out His heart, saying, “‘Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am’” (Jn. 17:24). This is the heart’s cry of a passionate God who longs for the nearness of His children.

After Adam and Eve had sinned, as they were hiding in shame, God asked the first question recorded in Scripture, “‘Where are you?’” (Gen. 3:9). That same question echoes down through the ages because God wants us near, not in hiding.

Many believers, however, don’t live in nearness to God. Instead, they live with hearts distanced by fear and shame. They may remember the initial revelation of God’s love when they got saved. Their hearts were set free, and they felt so alive and loved! But those days might be long gone.

So often, we show up in church, but we’re not really there. We try to be good because we know we should be. We keep ourselves busy but feel as if we are constantly falling short. Yet, deep down there is a desperation for real friendship with God. That desperation doesn’t go away. We have tasted something, and we know we’ll never be satisfied without it. We were made for the adventure of living in intimate fellowship with God, for a heart alive and free in the confidence of His pleasure over us. He made us to know and experience His emotions, to feel that He still likes us.

So easily our vision of God gets blurred by wrong beliefs about Him. Our life experiences want to tell us God can’t be trusted. Nearness to God, then, seems elusive, the call to holiness an impossible demand and constant source of condemnation. We live more aware of our history of failure and current weakness than in awe of God’s goodness and love. And it wears us out!

Paul the apostle prayed fervently for the Ephesians—a church community he loved dearly—that they would know the incredible scope of God’s love and that they would be rooted and grounded in it (see Eph. 3:17–18). If we are not rooted and grounded in God’s love, we reduce Christianity to a religious system in which there is no personal relationship, and we are left with some sort of sin management program.

However, God is deeply emotional and has powerful feelings toward His people. When the Holy Spirit connects our hearts to the pleasure in God’s heart toward us, it changes everything. The fire of God’s love revives our human hearts.

In 1871, just after the great Chicago fire had burned down one-third of his hometown of Chicago, the American evangelist D. L. Moody went to New York to raise funds for rebuilding the churches. Moody had been gripped for months with a hunger for more of God, and had been “‘crying all the time that God would fill me with His Spirit.’”¹ Finally, while walking in New York, he had “‘such an experience of His love that I had to ask Him to stay His hand.’”²

As Winkie Pratney relates, “After this baptism in the Holy Spirit, [Moody] began powerful evangelistic meetings with Ira D. Sankey, whom he had met the year before.”³ Moody himself said, “The sermons were not different; I did not present any new truths; and yet hundreds were converted. I would not now be placed back where I was before that blessed experience if you should give me all the world.”⁴

To begin, let’s rediscover the love of God—to know what His love for you looks like. When you truly start believing that the One who knows you the best loves you the most (and likes you, too!), you will be amazed at how enjoyable it becomes to relate to Him. When this love becomes real and personal, it changes everything. The greatest result of an increased revelation of God’s emotions toward you is that your heart will grow in love for God.

In part 2, I want to compare your experience with God’s love with the experiences of two individuals in the Bible. How God truly sees you in your weakest and messiest moments may be very different than what you have thought.

Lastly, in part 3, you will find that love is the way of wholehearted devotion. And so you will end your journey in this book learning how to love God and others well—all because of your confidence in God’s love for you.

In the second chapter of the book of Revelation, we find a message from Jesus for the Christians living in a place called Ephesus. This was a real, historical church in what is now modern-day Turkey. In the first seven verses, we find a personalized message from God to them. It is quite interesting. God tells them, “I know your works. I know all about you,” and He then compliments them for the good they’ve done (see Rev. 2:2).

Apparently, the Ephesians were a hardworking bunch of people. They had labored for the Lord’s sake. They had persevered through difficult circumstances, stuck together, and kept going (v. 3). They were committed to sound doctrine. They discerned when some false apostles came by, who were teaching weird stuff, and resisted their false teaching. God loved it and honored them for it. But then He said there was one thing He had against them (v. 4).

One of the first times I studied this passage, I remember thinking, If God had only one thing He was upset with me about, that would be pretty good! The problem with the church at Ephesus, though, was that the one thing they weren’t doing was the most important thing—and that, of course, made all the difference!

These guys had lost their first love. They didn’t love God the way they had at the beginning. The passion, the spiritual excitement in their hearts over the person of Jesus Christ had been slowly but surely fading. God got pretty intense with them real fast because this was not a side issue with Him. In fact, He told them to look at the height from which they had fallen (v. 5). And when He then told them to repent, He meant business. After all, loving Him was the main point, right? It was Commandment Number One.

In Matthew 22:37–38, Jesus said: “‘“You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.” This is the first and great commandment.’” The highest priority, the most important thing, according to Jesus, is that we love God with all we are and all we have.

Apparently, love for God can grow or fade as we learned from the situation with the church of Ephesus. You can cultivate it or move away from it, away from loving God the way you did when you first fell in love with Him. But this doesn’t happen overnight. You gradually move away from your first love through the lifestyle you choose to develop. Slowly, your heart may grow cold while you maintain the outward appearance of being a wholehearted Christian. You may still go through the motions, but the desires of your heart have shifted. But you won’t be happy settling for a mere outward appearance of being a Christian.

I really love God’s message to the believers at Ephesus, but at the same time, it scares me, because it teaches me that it’s possible for a church to be committed to sound doctrine, to be evangelistically active, to be involved with many good activities, programs, and preaching—all the while deficient in spiritual passion, in fiery love for God. If it’s possible for a church, then it’s possible for a single individual like you or me to memorize a bunch of Bible verses, go on mission trips, help out with kids’ church, share our faith with others, come to all the meetings, be there for years and years, maybe even have a reputation as someone who is faithful and perseverant, yet lack that spiritual passion, that excitement about the Lord Jesus inside the heart.

That, my friend, is a problem, because then we are missing the main point of life—to love God. R. A. Torrey, speaking of the command to love God with all our heart and soul and might, said, “the violation of the first and greatest of the commandments must be the greatest sin.”¹