IS 9:1-6
have seen a great light;
upon those who dwelt in the land of gloom
a light has shone.
You have brought them abundant joy
and great rejoicing,
as they rejoice before you as at the harvest,
as people make merry when dividing spoils.
For the yoke that burdened them,
the pole on their shoulder,
and the rod of their taskmaster
you have smashed, as on the day of Midian.
For every boot that tramped in battle,
every cloak rolled in blood,
will be burned as fuel for flames.
For a child is born to us, a son is given us;
upon his shoulder dominion rests.
They name him Wonder-Counselor, God-Hero,
Father-Forever, Prince of Peace.
His dominion is vast
and forever peaceful,
from David’s throne, and over his kingdom,
which he confirms and sustains
by judgment and justice,
both now and forever.
The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this!
GospelLK 2:1-14
In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus
that the whole world should be enrolled.
This was the first enrollment,
when Quirinius was governor of Syria.
So all went to be enrolled, each to his own town.
And Joseph too went up from Galilee from the town of Nazareth
to Judea, to the city of David that is called Bethlehem,
because he was of the house and family of David,
to be enrolled with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child.
While they were there,
the time came for her to have her child,
and she gave birth to her firstborn son.
She wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger,
because there was no room for them in the inn.
Now there were shepherds in that region living in the fields
and keeping the night watch over their flock.
The angel of the Lord appeared to them
and the glory of the Lord shone around them,
and they were struck with great fear.
The angel said to them,
“Do not be afraid;
for behold, I proclaim to you good news of great joy
that will be for all the people.
For today in the city of David
a savior has been born for you who is Christ and Lord.
And this will be a sign for you:
you will find an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes
and lying in a manger.”
And suddenly there was a multitude of the heavenly host with the angel,
praising God and saying:
“Glory to God in the highest
and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”
This is a Christmas post. Absolutely no tolerance will be given to any off topic comments. Please respect the intent and nature of this post, keeping it open for Christmas greetings and comments.
This night, O this night is when God’s peace is felt.
Merry Christmas! Peace on Earth, Good Will toward mankind.
Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!
Merry Christmas to Menagerie, Sundance & all the Teepers!
✝️
God is always with us. Merry Christmas and God bless us all.
A Blessed Christmas to you all
Merry, merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night and wishes for a wonderful next year.
May the peace of God fill the earth this day and everyday forward.
Merry Christmas!
✨ God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen ?
Merry Christmas! May you all feel the only true peace- that of resting in the knowledge Jesus came to take on sin and be the ultimate sacrifice. Hallelujah! Jesus loves YOU!
Merry Christmas to all you wonderful Treepers! May the Lord continue to shine light upon our nation toward Him & His everlasting glory.
Thank you Sundance, for another educational year, and for all the hard work you and your team have put into creating and leading this community. May God bless you, and yours!
And, may the God of Heaven and Earth bestow upon us more grace than we deserve, and more time to complete the mission and purpose He has given us, individually and as a nation.
Yes, words are not enough to say what the Refuge has meant to us all.
Merry Christmas! Christ is born! May His Love penetrate the hardest of hearts and drive evil over a cliff.
Lord, I’m nothing, but You made Yourself a tiny infant so I wouldn’t be too chicken to approach You with my weak human neediness. Give me strength, dearest Jesus. Bless Your people. Show Your power.
Awesome, Riverelf!
This life is the gift of second chances…the opportunity to pick a Side and prove our allegiance to our holy God. A life of Tests and Trials. And, Jesus willingly came down, in the form of a human, to show us there will be suffering and unfairness and evil all around us here, but He wanted to show us, by His example, that despite these Tests of our Free Will, it IS possible to be obedient to God and follow His WAY, no matter what!
Merry Christmas. May God bless you, one and all.
The thought that kept going through my head on Christmas Eve was this: Why did God become the infant incarnate Deity and Lord at Thy birth? The silent reply within was so that we would only do our best to care for and nurture Him in our lives. Indeed, that we do so in the same way that parents humble themselves in loving and caring for their children. It’s a simultaneously possible and unfathomable demand that only love can answer. In these very dark days of this glorious but threatened Republic, our duty remains to Truth and Justice and perhaps to just punishment, but, above all, to Mercy for those who truly do not know what they do. A father’s love is magnanimous and unfailingly generous to his wayyward children, but it is also swift to correct the unrepentant who know better. May God save the American Republic from its many wayward ways, in Christ’s Holy Name, and in Divine Confirmation that He is, always was, and forevermore reigns as Lord at Thy birth.
Thank you for this word. On Christmas I repent for repaying others’ fear with unrighteous anger. Forgive me Lord.
Luke 23:34
34 Jesus said,“Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”. And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.
Merry Christmas
Love, Peace & Good will to all.
No matter what happens, the forces of light win in the end.
The Lord had shown a Path onto which I placed my feet…Stumbled I more than once,
But never fallen from His Grace.
Bless you ALL…
RAISE your voices in SONG!!!!!
And I saw in the distance, a great Light, the coming of the Lord, but a greater darkness cast it’s shadow across it and came to me and I was told “There is no light, but what we make, and the darkness is the natural order of things”
I had looked East, so now I looked West and I saw a great light, and yet they came to me and cast blinders on me and told me only Darkness is real.
I had nowhere else to look, and God had abandoned me. I was blind forever, and nowhere I cast my gaze showed me any Light. And I was torn. Within a prison of blindness, and here because I allowed it.
We are in light, Keln.
We are in light.
Merry Christmas. God loves us all.
Good to see you WSB! Merry Christmas to you and yours!
Merry Christmas!
Oh I know that. I was paraphrasing something I had read once. About how man can trap himself in his own fears. It seems a lot of people are doing that lately. I was feeling a tad philosophical last night.
Jesus Christ is the light. Those who seek him will see the light.
Merry Christmas Keln.
Merry Christmas to you too!
Our True King.. Happy Birthday!!
As a child it always hurt my heart to think of Mary and Joseph being turned away from inns at their time of need and was also amazed at the faith and fortitude of the wise men who traveled to greet our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I have seared the stars this week I’m hopes of seeing that same star but was thwarted by cloud cover.
What a gift we have been given to be followers of Christ. I genuinely feel sorry for those who do not know the love of God and who are not saved. I fear for those who mock him and us for following him. I extend a Christmas prayer for all people and hope they are comforted in their times of need and healed when the hare sick and that they come to know the love of God each and every day.
Praise be to the Father, Son and Holy Ghost.
I, too, was disappointed in my inability to see the Bethlehem star. Then, a realization overcame me…although I could not see, the star was still shining as bright as God’s love for us all.
Merry Christmas to all. Come what may, we all are family. Hugs to all!!
Merry Christmas Treepers, Sundance and mods!!!
God is good.
May Our Good Lord continue to bless us all! Merry Christmas!
The Invitation for the Drummer Boy
We have all heard the story of the drummer boy
And how he found his way by star
Coming upon the swaddled Christ child in a manger
As did those others who had traveled from afar
I wonder what it must have been like to be there
To behold this tiny being of unparalleled glory
To have sat and looked and seen Him
Before ever having read or known of His story
It is said that the drummer boy was unhappy
That his life till then had been too sorrow filled
In his drum and animals were his sole delight
His hope in life misfortune had killed
And yet God showed him the star and led him
And took his little wounded soul and held it fast
He shared His son, a babe almost too beautiful to gaze upon
And gave that little boy a new hope that would forever last
The little boy knew well the world of mangers
He was well acquainted with cattle and modest decor
This was no world of sumptuous wealth to awe him
This abode was as familiar as dozens he’d seen before
Yet none before had rested beneath its own star
And none before had drawn so many strangers inside
And none before had overwhelmed, though humbly formed
Through offered hope and love that nothing could override
The manger was no four poster
The star was no candelabra of remarkable craft
The stall for this small family was no elegant haven
It had rough floors, lack of privacy and cold draft
But this drummer boy understood his good fortune
To have been invited to this quiet scene of joy
By amazing grace he’d come there as a guest to welcome
What he knew was much more than a baby boy
The tale has so long since been told to us
That I forget to wonder how it came to be
That God chose shepherds, three kings and a drummer boy
To be there among those few blessed to see
Dec 2001
~Usjkash2
The drummer boy was not scriptural and must surely have stood as a stand in for all of us unworthy and wounded souls who, coming upon the wonder of this gift through grace, are transfixed and transformed.
Hallelujah!
Tears are streaming as I read this post. I pray our Lord Jesus does not abandon us in our darkest hours.
Hebrews 13:5 Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”
Merry Christmas!
KEEP THE SMILE, LEAVE THE TEAR.
THINK OF JOY, FORGET THE FEAR
HOLD THE LAUGH, LEAVE THE PAIN.
LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL, ENJOY IT.
Believe in God.
Merry Christmas to All
Merry Christmas, my brothers and sisters!
Merry Christmas, Treehouse!
Merry Christmas to all. Be of good cheer!
Peace, love and fellowship to all x
Merry Christmas! May the world be blessed with the Hope of the world, the Light of the world and the Joy of the world.
Merry Christmas to Sundance, Ad Rem, Menagerie and all the others who work so hard to make the Tree House such a special place.
And Merry Christmas to all my friends who come here to share their experience, strength and hope.
Even in the darkest times, Jesus Christ is the Light of the world.
Merry Christmas To All Treepers and Celebrate this Glorious Day…
Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!
Merry Christmas!
Love, Peace and Good Health to all in our Tree ❤️
I cannot wait for Him to return as the Lion of Judah and rule.
The Angels Cried; Alan Jackson and Alison Krauss
Merry Christmas…
Joy to the World…
Merry Christmas!!!
? Merry Christmas ~ Menagerie, Admins and all Treepers! ?
God Bless each of you with His Peace and Blessings! ?
And a merry morning and light filled heart to all.
The light shines in the darkness and the darkness can never put it out.
As always, when things are darkest, God sends a great Light. Merry Christmas all!
Merry Christmas to you Menagerie as well as Ad Rem, Stella, Wee Weed, Sundance and others that work so faithfully here at the Treehouse. Also blessed greetings to the wise commenters that also help me to discern the truth. I continue to pray for those that have asked for prayers. I wish that I could give all of you a real in person hug filled with the love of Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour.
“The Lord bless you and keep you: The Lord make his face shine upon you, and be gracious to you: The Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Numbers 6:24-26
Merry Christmas! Praise God for His incredible gift!
Thank You Father for giving us Your One and Only Son as a Holy sacrifice for each and every sinner (the one group we all belong to!). This Christmas I pray that each one of us may rediscover the wonder of what You did, and still do for us. It truly is the greatest miracle of all that You love us.
Beautiful! Merry Christmas to all Treepers! Community, togetherness, connection, great music, happiness, spirits dancing. May we never forget what it feels like. Freedom. Merry Christmas, God bless America, our great President and the World.