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.
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.

Alleluia alleluia.
Praise God from whom all blessings flow, and most especially the blessing of Jesus, whose sacrifice frees us from sin, oppression, and fear.
May He continue to free all captives throughout the world, and especially so in the year ahead.
Merry Christmas to all.
Retired Magistrate here: I didn’t accept JESUS CHRIST as my Personal Savior until I was 57 years old; it was November, 2004. That Christmas took on a whole new meaning for me as has every Christmas since that time. JESUS is the most wonderful present I have ever received or ever will.
Merry Christmas!
If you don’t mind me asking, why did it take so long? I only ask because as a person sitting in judgement of others as a duty, I find it interesting you weren’t accepting of Christ until so late in the grand scheme.
You don’t have to share any event, but an overarching generalized response would be appreciated if possible. If not, no big deal. Just curious due to your position in the past.
Retired Magistrate here: Two things: my experience being in a home for unwed mothers where everyone told me that I was going to hell because I was an unwed mother. The home was run by the Quakers. No one ever told me JESUS loved me and died for my sin.
The other issue was pride. Once I decided to attempt to make a better life for myself, and succeeded somewhat, I thought I could get into heaven by my good deeds. In my early 40’s my health deteriorated quickly. I would just sit and cry and felt that GOD must hate me. It was my wonderful husband who told me that GOD loved me. It was a long, eventful road, but JESUS finally got my attention; I wasn’t chasing HIM, HE was chasing me. I thank GOD every day that HE did not give up on me.
Thank you for sharing. I’m sorry you had to go through all of that, but very happy you found your way. Jesus loves unconditionally. I don’t, but he does!!
And MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!
Marcia you are Blessed. Merry Christmas!!
Marcia, what God did for you was just right, exactly what you needed; His mercies have been personalized for you, timed exactly so that all you had to do was believe and and keep on believing, steeped in His perfect love and miraculously transformed by His power.
Of course you have no need to apologize for the timing, the manner, etc. … your testimony is awesome and powerful, and just right for bringing praise and honor to the Name above all Names!
Have a fantastic day and an even better New Year in our soon-coming King your honor! 🤠
Marcia,
👉Blessings 🙌 dear sister in Christ Jesus and indeed, “the Hound of Heaven” chased all of us until we were face to face with that eternal decision as was the jailer in the Book 📖 of Acts was invited by the declaration of the Apostle Paul to,
“…believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved…”👈👍👌.
What a wonderful reply! God bless you, Marcia! You brought tears to my eyes.
It’s human to question God’s timing. But it’s not we who find Him, it’s He who finds us. 57 years without knowing Gods love pales in comparison to an eternity with His love. Though I was blessed by parents who taught me about Jesus from birth, I never tire of rejoicing with those whom God calls, at every age. Merry Christmas to you!
Marcia – I have to admit, you made me cry reading this line ” I wasn’t chasing HIM, HE was chasing me. I thank GOD every day that HE did not give up on me” It’s the most beautiful statement I’ve read in a very long time and I was deeply overwhelmed by it’s Truth.
Thank you for sharing because this will be the gift I remember most this year.
Thank you Sundance and Menagerie and all CTH Administrators for creating and maintaining this incredible forum for us all to share.
God bless and Merry Christmas to everyone!
“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:13
May the blessings of Christmas be yours
Let us celebrate Christmas everyday in our hearts and minds as the perfect present, given to us by The Most Gracious God. The present is given to each and everyday to accept and proclaim our Saviour, as our Lord Jesus Christ. “Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is the present.” Accept the Present (Jesus Christ) today! Tomorrow may never come. COME QUICKLY LORD JESUS!!! EVEN TODAY. What a present that would be!!!
Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas Treepers! May God bless each of you and your loved ones in 2024! Thank you Sundance, Ad Rem, Wee Weed, Menagerie and all Treepers in the wonderful comments throughout the year. I have been truly blessed.
Amen to that! I have been blessed by all the wonderful comments on here.
I am BLESSED every day, but have mostly BLESSED on the day JESUS WAS BORN!
Welcome Baby Jesus.
He is my Messiah.
Greatest man in history,
Had no servant, yet they called him Master.
Had no degree, yet they called him Teacher.
Had no medicine, yet they called him Healer.
He had no army, yet kings feared Him.
He won no military battles, yet He conquered the world.
He committed no crime, yet they crucified Him.
He was buried in a tomb, yet He lives!
His name is Jesus Christ
Merry Christmas!
GOD rest ye merry gentleman let nothing you dismay ! GOD is always in control. Let us pray for our nation, our families and even our enemies that they will see the light. Being wooed to Jesus through the power of the HOLY SPIRIT to praise the FATHER GOD. May the treepers be blessed and bold this year.
17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.2 The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 18 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. 20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
Merry Christmas to all patriotic Treepers ad to you Sundance and CTH worker bees.
Mass this morning was full, lots of families with young children-hope for our nation and world. Eve if those at work here i creepy minnesota refuse to respond to my wishing them Merry Christmas, I continue to wish it and pray for their conversion.
While the darkness tries to envelop us all, we must live in the Light.
WE must have no anxiety or fear, He has overcome the world!
I like it very much. Written well and I can imagine it as it was. If Islam was from Abraham, So I try to figure out where he fits in with David. I know they justify their Evil from what happened many years later with the birth of Christianity and the wars fought over Israel. More specifically the Holiest Land to all the Abrahamic tribes. Not so much the time difference between those Profits.
If some are stuck in the Middle Ages it is by choice,as they say Ignorance is bliss. I know it was approximately 800 years after the birth of Christianity when Mohamed decided he was a profit. I am not being disrespectful to him at all. what I do know about him and the holy book it does not sound like there were anything resembling a loving God involved. Even tho” the first bibles (1st. testament) had some things that were equally unloving . It seemed mostly for the purposes retribution or whatever Justice translated to. They at least updated it at some point with the new testament and the King James versions. I kind of get the feeling that they are aware of this too, and the real beef is more down the avenue of money.
I also believe anyone who holds that much hate manifest Evil. The world should be united to rid the world of that type of Hate. I really don’t understand why not. But again the subject of money comes up. and the old fable “he who has the Gold ,Makes the rules.
Merry Christmas everyone!
My heart is overflowing with thanksgiving to God, for He has truly blessed me.
May Jesus our Lord fill you with the great hope and joy that comes from knowing you are never alone.
All of you here are very special to me. Thank you for your fellowship and wisdom. I learn so much being here, and I am so happy to be part of a very special group of people.
Merry Christmas!
MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL MY FELLOW TREEPERS. AS I SIT HERE STARING AT THE FORMER CAPITAL OF THE FREE WORLD, THE NATIONAL MONUMNENT AND ALL THE OTHER GOVT BUILDINGS THAT REPRESENT ALL THAT IS EVIL.
I AM SAYING A PRAYER UPON THEM ALL TO REMOVE THE EVIL THAT HAS INFILTRATED EACH AND EVERY INCH OF THESE BUILDINGS. THEY NOW REPRESENT THE HEART OF DARKNESS.
MERRY CHRISTMAS AND GOD BLESS US EVERYONE!!!
Merry Christmas to all!!!!
One of my favorite sayings in this season is, “Wise Men still Seek Him”. Because there are so many wise ladies here I call instead for:
”Tonight We Ride” with the Star of Bethlehem on the horizon.
Merry Christmas to the Tree House and all the Magi!
https://whatsoproudlywehail.org/the-gift-of-the-magi
And the government is upon HIS shoulders…and forevermore it will be so!
Mele Kalikimaka (Merry Christmas) to every Treeper! You all keep me where I need to be.
✝️🔯🕎☦️I 🎎🎊🎁🛍️🎄
Blessings of faith and good tidings to all. Jesus Christ is born.
https://dailycaller.com/2023/12/25/incredible-biblical-discover-2023
FTA “Merry Christmas, dear reader! As part of your celebrations today, we thought we’d share some of the most incredible Biblical discoveries of 2023.”
Every archaeological discovery to date supports the Bible!!!
Peace be with you.
We Have been given a Wonderful Marvelous Gift !! We must never take it for granted, we must Cherish and Praise him in every opportunity we get, I LOVE THE LORD GOD and Dear Lord thank you THANK YOU FOR YOUR GIFT OF JESUS!!! PRAISE HIM !! PRAISE HIM!!
Merry Christmas everyone! God bless you all!
Hello and merry Christmas
I’m not sure which translation you used to post Isaiah 9:1-6 but here it is in the New King James Version
Isa 9:1 Nevertheless the gloom will not be upon her who is distressed, As when at first He lightly esteemed The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, And afterward more heavily oppressed her, By the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, In Galilee of the Gentiles.
Isa 9:2 The people who walked in darkness Have seen a great light; Those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, Upon them a light has shined.
Isa 9:3 You have multiplied the nation And increased its joy; They rejoice before You According to the joy of harvest, As men rejoice when they divide the spoil.
Isa 9:4 For You have broken the yoke of his burden And the staff of his shoulder, The rod of his oppressor, As in the day of Midian.
Isa 9:5 For every warrior’s sandal from the noisy battle, And garments rolled in blood, Will be used for burning and fuel of fire.
Isa 9:6 For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.