Just Continue That Thought...

A thought by Max Lucado from his book, When God Whispers Your Name (p. 23). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) Have you ever thought about that?   Jesus as a kid, as a teenager and even as an adult could have been one big show off.   I not sure but if we had his power we might have shown off just a little.   Maybe. Max says, “He went to great pains to be as human as the guy down the street. He didn’t need to study, but he still went to the synagogue. He had no need for income, but he still worked in the workshop. He had known the fellowship of angels and heard the harps of heaven, yet he still went to parties thrown by tax collectors. And upon his shoulders rested the challenge of redeeming creation, but he still took time to walk ninety miles from Jericho to Cana to go to a wedding.” Max goes on, “As a result, people liked him. Oh, there were those who chaffed at his claims. They called him a blasphemer, but th

A thought by Max Lucado from his book, Because of Bethlehem  (with Bonus Content): Love Is Born, Hope Is Here (p. 132). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) We, parents and grandparents, make such big deals of birthdays, don’t we?   But what about God the Father? Max says, “God made so little of his Son’s coming. He didn’t even circle the date on the calendar. Ancient Christmases bounced from date to date before landing on December 25. Some early leaders favored dates in March. For centuries, the Eastern Orthodox church celebrated Christmas on January 6, and some still do. Only in the fourth century did the church choose December 25 as the date to celebrate Jesus’ coming. We’ve made bigger deals out of lesser comings. How could this be? No exact date of birth. No hoopla at his birth. Is this a mistake?   Or is this the message? “Maybe your life resembles a Bethlehem stable. Crude in some spots, smelly in others.

A thought by Max Lucado from his book, Because of Bethlehem (with Bonus Content): Love Is Born, Hope Is Here (p. 108). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) Have you ever given a significant gift that you wrapped in an ordinary box so they wouldn’t guess what it was?   It was an incredible gift that you gave them to show them you loved them.   And they were really surprised.  It's a fact,  “ a remarkable gift can arrive in an unremarkable package. ” Max says, “One did in Bethlehem.  No one expected God to come the way he did.” Max later says, “He entered the world not to demand our allegiance but to display his affection.”   He continues, “Jesus descended the ladder of incarnation one rung at a time. In nature, God. He did not grasp equality with God. He made himself nothing. He took on the form of a servant. He submitted himself to death. Even death on a cross. Down, down, down, down. From heaven’s crown