Max Lucado - The Glory of Christmas: Collectors Edition

A Special Gift

PRESENTED TO

________________________________

FROM

________________________________

The Glory of Christmas
2009 by Thomas Nelson , Inc.

Published in Nashville, Tennessee, by Thomas Nelson .
Thomas Nelson is a registered trademark of Thomas Nelson, Inc.

All rights reserved. No portion of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or any otherexcept for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Thomas Nelson, Inc. titles may be purchased in bulk for educational, business, fund-raising, or sales promotional use. For information, please e-mail SpecialMarkets@ThomasNelson.com.

Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are from the New King James Version 1979, 1980, 1982, 1992 Thomas Nelson, Inc.

Scripture references marked TLB are from The Living Bible 1971. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Wheaton, IL. All rights reserved.

Designed by Koechel Peterson & Associates, Inc., Mpls., MN.
Managing Editor Lisa Stilwell Cover photo Laura Merwin, BayRoadPhoto @ flickr.com
Interior photos: Jupiter Images, copyright laws apply.

ISBN-13: 978-14041-8759-7

Printed and bound in China

www.thomasnelson.com

09 10 11 12 [HH] 6 5 4 3 2 1

Contents

the gift

is not from man to God.

IT IS FROM GOD TO MAN

MAX LUCADO

Gods
Greatest
Gift

Christmas comes each year to draw people in from the cold.

Like tiny frightened sparrows, shivering in the winter cold, many live their lives on the barren branches of heartbreak, disappointment, and loneliness, lost in thoughts of shame, self-pity, guilt or failure. One blustery day follows another, and the only company they keep is with fellow-strugglers who land on the same branches, confused and unprotected.

We try so hard to attract them into the warmth. Week after week church bells ring. Choirs sing. Preachers preach. Lighted churches send out their beacon. But nothing seems to bring in those who need warmth the most.

Then, as the year draws to a close, Christmas offers its wonderful message. Emmanuel. God with us. He who resided in heaven, co-equal and co-eternal with the Father and the Spirit, willingly descended into our world. He breathed our air, felt our pain, knew our sorrows, and died for our sins. He didnt come to frighten us, but to show us the way to warmth and safety.

There is one word that describes the night he cameordinary.

The sky was ordinary. An occasional guest stirred the leaves and chilled the air. The stars were diamonds sparkling on black velvet. Fleets of clouds floated in front of the moon.

It was a beautiful nighta night worth peeking out your bedroom window to admirebut not really an unusual one. No reason to expect a surprise. Nothing to keep a person awake. An ordinary night with an ordinary sky.

The sheep were ordinary. Some fat. Some scrawny. Some with barrel bellies. Some with twig legs. Common animals. No fleece made of gold. No history makers. No blue-ribbon winners. They were simply sheeplumpy, sleeping silhouettes on a hillside.

And the shepherds. Peasants they were. Probably wearing all the clothes they owned. Smelling like sheep and looking just as woolly. They were conscientious, willing to spend the night with their flocks. But you wont find their staffs in a museum nor their writings in a library. No one asked their opinion on social justice or the application of the Torah. They were nameless and simple.

An ordinary night with ordinary sheep and ordinary shepherds. And were it not for a God who loves to hook an extra on the front of the ordinary, the night would have gone unnoticed. The sheep would have been forgotten, and the shepherds would have slept the night away.

But God dances amidst the common. And that night he did a waltz.

The black sky exploded with brightness. Trees that had been shadows jumped into clarity. Sheep that had been silent became a chorus of curiosity. One minute the shepherd was dead asleep, the next he was rubbing his eyes and staring into the face of an alien.

The night was ordinary no more.

The angel came in the night because that is when lights are best seen and that is when they are most needed. God comes into the common for the same reason.

His most powerful tools are the simplest.

MAX LUCADO
THE APPLAUSE OF HEAVEN

She was probably thirteen or fourteen The angels visit had been more than a bit of a surpriseand his announcement more than a little unbelievable No one could blame Mary for having a question or two. How could I have a child, she wonders, when I have known no man?

Her question, though, reflected her confidence that God would perform the miracle. Mary didnt ask for a sign. She was enquiring hownot ifGod was going to perform this miraculous work.

The angel explained that the Holy Spirit will come upon you (Luke 1:35) and also told Mary that her relative Elizabeth would be giving birth to a son despite her old age (v. 36). For with God nothing will be impossible, said the angel in closing.

Mary humbly replied, Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word (v. 38).

Gods purposes for us far exceed our human abilities to accomplish them. Our efforts cant succeed apart from Him, and thats exactly how God intends it to be.

When He reveals His plans, He is also promising to fulfill them. Trust Himand remember, with God, nothing is impossible!

HENRY Si RICHARD BLACKA9Y | DISCOVERING GOD'S DAILY AGENDA

FOR WITH GOD
nothing is impossible.
impossible.

LUKE 1:37

The Son is the radiance of
Gods glory and the exact
representation of his being,
sustaining all things
by his powerful word.

HEBREWS 1:3

Who Is Jesus?

What is there about Him that makes Him so compelling that

some of the greatest architectural achievements in Europe were built for worship of Him?

some of the worlds most beautiful art was created to honor Him?

some of the worlds most glorious music was written to praise Him?

Jesus claimed to be the Son of God. He claimed to be God walking the earth in a mans body. Do you believe Him?

Who do you say He is?

ANNE GRAHAM LOTZ
MY JESUS ISEVERYTHING

UNTETHERED BY TIME, [God] sees us all. From the backwoods of Virginia to the business district of London; from the Vikings to the astronauts, from the cave-dwellers to the kings, from the hut-builders to the finger-pointers to the rock-stackers, he sees us. Vagabonds and ragamuffins all, he saw us before we were born.

And he loves what he sees. Flooded by emotion. Overcome by pride, the Starmaker turns to us, one by one, and says, You are my child. I love you dearly. Im aware that someday youll turn from me and walk away. But I want you to know, Ive already provided a way back.