A fresh look at the life of our Saviour and one that brings you into an encounter with the Master himself.

WOW!!! This book hits a grand slam! Max Lucado beautifully paints words into imagery like no other author. One of my all time faves! ( )

A fresh look at the life of our Saviour and one that brings you into an encounter with the Master himself.

Pure poetry. This is how I can best summarize "God Came Near". Lucado is a master craftsman of the written word. Able to bring new insight and perspective to God's word with language that is beautiful and creative. Emotion is drawn out and deep thoughts are invoked. This is by far the best Lucado book I've read and quite possibly his signature work. If you feel God is some distant cosmic force, then please read "God Came Near" where you will see, hear, and touch God in a very personal way as if He is right before your very eyes. Some of my favorite chapters include: 6) Twenty Five Questions for Mary, 10) Women of Winter, 14) No Accident, and 21) Light of the Storage Closet. And, some of my favorite quotes include:

Christianity, in its purest form, is nothing more than seeing Jesus. Christian service, in its purest form, is nothing more than imitating him who we see. To see His majesty and to imitate him... that is the sum of Christianity.

The best way to deal with our past is to hitch up our pants, roll up our sleeves, and face it head on. No more buck-passing or scapegoating. No more glossing over or covering up. No more games. We need a confrontation with our Master.

When our sins catch up with us we can do one of two things: run or wrestle.

Jesus' death was not the result of a panicking, cosmological engineer. The cross wasn't a tragic surprise. Calvary was not a knee-jerk response to a world plummeting towards destruction. It wasn't a patch-job or a stop-gap measure. The death of the Son of God was anything but an unexpected peril.

No, it was part of a plan. It was a calculated choice. "It was the LORD's will to crush him." The cross was drawn into the original blueprint. It was written into the script. The moment the forbidden fruit touched the lips of Eve, the shadow of a cross appeared on the horizon. And between that moment and the moment the man with the mallet placed the spike against the wrist of God, a master plan was fulfilled.

To limit God's revelation to a cold list of do's and don'ts is as tragic as looking at a Colorado road map and saying that you'd seen the Rockies.

If there was hesitation on the part of his (Jesus) humanity, it was overcome by the compassion of his divinity.

His golden throne room had been abandoned in favor of a dirty sheep pen. ( )

After carting this book around for nearly five years and through three moves, I finally read it. Max Lucado always brings me to tears. A lovely book to read during Lent. (March 2009) ( )