God Came Near: Experiencing the Life-Changing Power of Jesus' Incarnation - Softcover

Lucado, Max

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0849944546 ISBN 13: 9780849944543

Publisher: Thomas Nelson, 2004

Synopsis

Join bestselling author and pastor Max Lucado as he brings to life the most important event in history: when God Came Near.

It all happened in a moment--a most remarkable moment: God came near. He came not as a flash of light or as an unapproachable conqueror, but as One whose first cries were heard by a peasant girl and a sleepy carpenter. The hands that held him were not manicured, but callused and dirty. No silk. No ivory. No hype. No party. No hoopla. God came near, just for you.

In God Came Near, Max reminds us that just because we want a calm life doesn't mean we'll have one. The minute you sink down in the easy chair of life, heaven pushes the remote and changes the channel:

• The financial aid office says "no."
• A doctor says "pregnant."
• The boss says "transfer."
• The test grade reads "F."
• The auto mechanic says "totaled."

Despite the challenges we face on earth, the Bible gives us a chance to be eyewitnesses of Jesus' majesty. We can take on our problems, we can have a fresh start tomorrow, and we can rest assured in the safety of God's embrace. Christ entered our world, and, as a result, we can enter his.

God Came Near invites you to travel back in time and celebrate Christ the Son of God as he became man. When you catch a vision of this incredible moment, let it mark the beginning of a new perspective, a new life, and a new appreciation for Jesus. Because when you see the truth of his life, it will change yours forever.

About this title

About the Author

Since entering the ministry in 1978, Max Lucado has served churches in Miami, Florida; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; and San Antonio, Texas. He currently serves as the teaching minister of Oak Hills Church in San Antonio. He is the recipient of the 2021 ECPA Pinnacle Award for his outstanding contribution to the publishing industry and society at large. He is America's bestselling inspirational author with more than 150 million products in print.

Visit his website at MaxLucado.com

Facebook.com/MaxLucado

Instagram.com/MaxLucado

 X.com/MaxLucado

Youtube.com/MaxLucadoOfficial

The Max Lucado Encouraging Word Podcast

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

GOD CAME NEAR

By Max Lucado

W Publishing Group

Copyright © 2007 Max Lucado
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-0-8499-4454-3

Contents

Acknowledgments...........................................................................................ixIntroduction to the New Edition...........................................................................xiEyewitnesses of His Majesty...............................................................................xvPart I His Incarnation "And the Word became flesh ..."1. The Arrival............................................................................................32. "Just a Moment ..."....................................................................................73. Absurdity in the Flesh.................................................................................114. Mary's Prayer..........................................................................................185. Limb-Climber or Branch-Sitter..........................................................................216. Twenty-Five Questions for Mary.........................................................................267. Christmas Night........................................................................................28"and dwelt among us ..."8. Out of the Carpentry Shop..............................................................................329. "Just Call Me Jesus"...................................................................................3710. Women of Winter.......................................................................................4211. When God Sighed.......................................................................................4312. The Question for the Canyon's Edge....................................................................48"and we beheld His glory, ..."13. A Tale of Two Trees...................................................................................6014. No Accident...........................................................................................6415. Rediscovering Amazement...............................................................................70"full of grace and truth."16. Hope..................................................................................................7417. Eternal Instants......................................................................................7818. What Do You See?......................................................................................81Part II Our Imitation "A student ... who is fully trained will be like his teacher."19. He Forgot.............................................................................................8520. Facing the Facts......................................................................................9021. Light of the ... Storage Closet?......................................................................9622. Blind Ambition........................................................................................10223. Warnings..............................................................................................10624. Father's Day: A Tribute...............................................................................11225. Family Sedans of the Faith............................................................................11526. Insensitive Slurs.....................................................................................12027. A Song in the Dark....................................................................................12428. In the Mud of Jabbok..................................................................................13029. A Little Bit of Hangin'...............................................................................13530. Carmelita.............................................................................................13931. Seeing the Summit.....................................................................................142Reader's Guide............................................................................................147Notes.....................................................................................................214

Chapter One

The Arrival

The noise and the bustle began earlier than usual in the village. As night gave way to dawn, people were already on the streets. Vendors were positioning themselves on the corners of the most heavily traveled avenues. Store owners were unlocking the doors to their shops. Children were awakened by the excited barking of the street dogs and the complaints of donkeys pulling carts.

The owner of the inn had awakened earlier than most in the town. After all, the inn was full, all the beds taken. Every available mat or blanket had been put to use. Soon all the customers would be stirring and there would be a lot of work to do.

One's imagination is kindled thinking about the conversation of the innkeeper and his family at the breakfast table. Did anyone mention the arrival of the young couple the night before? Did anyone ask about their welfare? Did anyone comment on the pregnancy of the girl on the donkey? Perhaps. Perhaps someone raised the subject. But, at best, it was raised, not discussed. There was nothing that novel about them. They were, possibly, one of several families turned away that night.

Besides, who had time to talk about them when there was so much excitement in the air? Augustus did the economy of Bethlehem a favor when he decreed that a census should be taken. Who could remember when such commerce had hit the village?

No, it is doubtful that anyone mentioned the couple's arrival or wondered about the condition of the girl. They were too busy. The day was upon them. The day's bread had to be made. The morning's chores had to be done. There was too much to do to imagine that the impossible had occurred.

God had entered the world as a baby.

Yet, were someone to chance upon the sheep stable on the outskirts of Bethlehem that morning, what a peculiar scene they would behold.

The stable stinks like all stables do. The stench of urine, dung, and sheep reeks pungently in the air. The ground is hard, the hay scarce. Cobwebs cling to the ceiling and a mouse scurries across the dirt floor.

A more lowly place of birth could not exist.

Off to one side sit a group of shepherds. They sit silently on the floor; perhaps perplexed, perhaps in awe, no doubt in amazement. Their night watch had been interrupted by an explosion of light from heaven and a symphony of angels. God goes to those who have time to hear him-so on this cloudless night he went to simple shepherds.

Near the young mother sits the weary father. If anyone is dozing, he is. He can't remember the last time he sat down. And now that the excitement has subsided a bit, now that Mary and the baby are comfortable, he leans against the wall of the stable and feels his eyes grow heavy. He still hasn't figured it all out. The mystery of the event puzzles him. But he hasn't the energy to wrestle with the questions. What's important is that the baby is fine and that Mary is safe. As sleep comes, he remembers the name the angel told him to use ... Jesus. "We will call him Jesus."

Wide awake is Mary. My, how young she looks! Her head rests on the soft leather of Joseph's saddle. The pain has been eclipsed by wonder. She looks into the face of the baby. Her son. Her Lord. His Majesty. At this point in history, the human being who best understands who God is and what he is doing is a teenage girl in a smelly stable. She can't take her eyes off him. Somehow Mary knows she is holding God. So this is he. She remembers the words of the angel. "His kingdom will never end."

He looks like anything but a king. His face is prunish and red. His cry, though strong and healthy, is still the helpless and piercing cry of a baby. And he is absolutely dependent upon Mary for his well-being.

Majesty in the midst of the mundane. Holiness in the filth of sheep manure and sweat. Divinity entering the world on the floor of a stable, through the womb of a teenager and in the presence of a carpenter.

She touches the face of the infant-God. How long was your journey!

This baby had overlooked the universe. These rags keeping him warm were the robes of eternity. His golden throne room had been abandoned in favor of a dirty sheep pen. And worshiping angels had been replaced with kind but bewildered shepherds.

Meanwhile, the city hums. The merchants are unaware that God has visited their planet. The innkeeper would never believe that he had just sent God into the cold. And the people would scoff at anyone who told them the Messiah lay in the arms of a teenager on the outskirts of their village. They were all too busy to consider the possibility.

Those who missed His Majesty's arrival that night missed it not because of evil acts or malice; no, they missed it because they simply weren't looking.

Little has changed in the last two thousand years, has it?

(Continues...)

Excerpted from GOD CAME NEARby Max Lucado Copyright © 2007 by Max Lucado. Excerpted by permission.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

Edition details

• Publisher: Thomas Nelson
• Publication date: 2004
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0849944546
• ISBN 13: 9780849944543
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 208