turtletwo

Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. (Romans 15:13)

@marvelloustime Thank you. Amen to what you said about Jesus.

@frienduff thaylorde Oh, it is! Here's the words to prove it. Oh, holy night The stars are brightly shining It is the night of the dear Savior's birth Long lay the world in sin and error pining Till he appeared and the soul felt its worth A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn Fall on your knees, oh, hear the angel voices Oh, night divine, oh, night, when Christ was born Oh, night divine, oh, night divine Led by the light of faith, serenely beaming With glowing hearts by His cradle we stand So led by light of a star, sweetly gleaming Here come the wise men from Orient land The King of Kings lay thus in lowly manger In all our trials born to be our friend Truly He taught us to love one another His law is love and His gospel is peace Chains shall He break for the slave is our brother And in His name all oppression shall cease Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we Let all within us praise His holy name Fall on your knees, oh, hear the angel voices Oh, night divine, oh, night, when Christ was born Oh, night divine, oh, night divine

From The Cradle To The Cross In awestruck reflection I thought of that day That God came to earth in a marvelous way Born of a virgin...a wonder to all choosing to sleep in a mere cattle stall The King of glory...no crown for His head But one made of thorns is what He'd wear instead! All of His splendor He counted as loss No throne to sit on...He'd hang on a cross! Up there in mockery they would suspend Him He, our great Advocate...none to defend Him! Sweet, in the manger...but scorned, on the tree Bearing chastisement for you and for me So while we praise Him on this Christmas day Remember His birth was to give us a way That we could see Heaven and new life begin His birth led to suffering for all of our sin He rose from the dead and defeated the grave He came forth victorious who came here to save The beauty of Bethlehem's bright, shining star The darkness of Calvary seen from afar The Lord's Resurrection completing His task Salvation providing to all who would ask Adored in a manger so long ago The Word became flesh...His creation to know So come let us worship the Savior above Who entered our world on a mission of love And let us tell others His gospel of grace Making Him known to the whole human race

Just my thoughts and experience- One nice thing about celebrating on the 25th is that we can witness to those who are celebrating on that same day... I've found that people are more willing to listen to me sharing the gospel then. The scriptural account is an ice breaker to lead into witnessing. Starting with Christ's miraculous virgin birth and going into His atonement. I've written Christmas poems that include the gospel. Then I've had them distributed to people in nursing homes and enclosed them in Christmas cards. The time of year is conducive to explaining things and has been effective for me. I've found that snubbing family gatherings on the basis of holiday origins is confusing to them. Isn't it better to show the love of Christ by accepting their invitation to get together? I see no danger in it. (Even as in the early church food being offered to idols could not harm the Christians who chose to go ahead and eat it.) Rather, I view these situations as an opportunity. To me, it's a matter of priority. I ask myself if I'm willing to set aside my disliking the pagan aspects of Christmas in order to help others. I don't make it my mission to condemn others, though I myself don't participate in the pagan customs. The better way to approach it is to focus on how to lead unsaved ones to Jesus. The Lord is the one who can then change them.

This is a poem I wrote which was prompted by folks squabbling about Dec 25th. Christmas- Use It for God's glory When was Jesus really born? The Bible isn't clear December 25th is celebrated every year Though pagan in its origins, don't face that day with dread But take what's been corrupted and just honor Christ instead Put His name front and center and be thankful for His birth; Through which God brought salvation when He sent His Son to earth The Word immortal took on flesh to die for you and me Was crucified to save our souls and rose in victory The gospel is the reason that we celebrate the day That Jesus in small Bethlehem was born and slept on hay The King of kings so humbly came to set us free from sin But we all know to conquer death with birth He must begin So let's commemorate our Lord despite the date men set Let's think upon His coming down and choose to not forget How He was once adored by shepherds and alike by sages It's such a wondrous story that's laid down in scriptures' pages It's not about the date. It's about the miracle. Rejoice that the immortal God is born so that mortal man may live in eternity

Merry Christmas! May you all have a blessed day as we commemorate and celebrate the awesome miraculous birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ...

Thanks. This is my prayer, too. @Debp Beautiful picture. Love it.

@Worship Warriors Thanks so much for sharing this. In a way, our minds are like computers. What we program in is bound to come out. It is what some refer to as the "garbage in, garbage out" syndrome. There was a song written for a Bill Gaither children's recording but applies to any age. Below are the lyrics: CHORUS Input, output, what goes in is what comes out.. Input, output, That is what it’s all about. Input, output, Your mind is a computer whose Input, output daily you must choose. Let the Bible be your primary feed It’s got all the data you need. Talk to Jesus, all the time That’s the way that you can stay on line! If your print-out reads—to lie or cheat, There’s some data you should delete. Debug your mind of sinful bytes, Then you will operate all right! Who is in control?

@Blood Bought 1953 Sorry about that. It was for those who have trouble reading from weaker vision. Someone in the past asked me to make things pop more. Guess I overdid? lol

God chose to dwell among us for the sake of our salvation. "Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet: "BEHOLD, THE VIRGIN SHALL BE WITH CHILD AND SHALL BEAR A SON, AND THEY SHALL CALL HIS NAME IMMANUEL," which translated means, "GOD WITH US." (Matthew 1:22-23) Scripture's careful account is vital in showing that this was no ordinary baby. For it declares He was God! The divinity of Christ is brought out in the gospels. This was to lay foundation for why HIS sacrifice alone would atone for our sins. He was God wrapped in human skin, like us. Amazing! "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth." (John 1:14) The unique birth of Christ is the beginning of the gospel (good news.) "And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God." (Luke 1:35) So even though there is no specific command to celebrate Christ coming...I just can't help but do so. My heart wells up with praise and thanksgiving for this miracle of Jesus Christ leaving His glory for me, a mere sinner. He descended from His heavenly home of splendor for all of mankind. Hallelujah!

I notice there have been more anti-Christmas posts than ever this year. It saddens me that this has been causing dissension in the body of Christ. With this on my heart, I wrote the following poem this morning. To Celebrate Or Not- To those who celebrate with me I send a word of cheer Rejoicing in our Savior's birth Is something we hold dear To those who have convictions I can understand you, too For in my younger days gone by I thought a lot like you Is this a cause to argue, though? We don't see eye to eye But we who seek to give Christ laud And lift his name up high Don't want our joy diminished By beliefs you're holding to And feel as if we're being judged By posts you're sending through "To each his own" the saying goes But spoil it not for others We can agree to disagree Yet please respect your brothers I shall proceed to think about How Jesus came to earth He died and rose...but all began With His most wondrous birth The birth of Christ was such an awesome miracle! God put an lot of detail into this beautiful story. It deserves to be commemorated, imo. So I do... But to those who believe otherwise, here's a hug Adoration of the Shepherds

@Revlori I think this thread was a great idea which the Lord gave you as a way to honor Him! I just wanted to say a huge personal thanks to you. I have been blessed by the many wonderful posts in here. May the Lord richly bless you and yours at this time of celebrating Jesus Christ entering our world to atone for our sins. Merry Christmas!

What is Hanukkah? The holiday of Chanukkah celebrates the events which took place over 2,300 years ago in the land of Judea, which is now Israel. It begins in the reign of Alexander the Great, who conquered Syria, Egypt, and Israel, but allowed the lands under his control to continue observing their own religions and retain a certain degree of autonomy. Under this relatively benevolent rule, many Jews assimilated much of Hellenistic culture, adopting the language, the customs, and the dress of the Greeks, in much the same way that Jews in America today blend into the secular American society. More than 100 years after Alexander, Antiochus IV rose to power in the region. He began to oppress the Jews severely, placing a Hellenistic priest in the Temple, massacring Jews, prohibiting the practice of the Jewish religion, and desecrating the Temple by requiring the sacrifice of pigs (a non-kosher animal) on the altar. One of the groups which opposed Antiochus was led by Mattathias (Matitiyahu) the Hasmonean and his son Judah Maccabee (“The Hammer”). This small band of pious Jews led guerrilla warfare against the Syrian army. Antiochus sent thousands of well-armed troops to crush the rebellion, but the Maccabees succeeded in driving the foreigners from their land. According to historical accounts, Jewish fighters entered Jerusalem in December 164 BC. The Holy Temple, the Jewish religious center, was in shambles, defiled and desecrated by foreign soldiers. The Maccabees cleansed the Temple and re-dedicated it on the 25th day of the Jewish month of Kislev. When it came time to re-light the Menorah (the multi-branched lampstand), they searched the entire Temple, but only one small jar of oil bearing the pure seal of the High Priest could be found. Miraculously, the small jar of oil burned for eight days, until a new supply of oil could be brought. From then on, Jews everywhere have observed a holiday for eight days in honor of this historic victory and the miracle of the oil. The observance of Chanukkah features the lighting of a special Chanukkah menorah with eight branches (plus a helper candle), adding one new candle each night. In the Brit Chadasha (The New Covenant), in the Gospel of John, we learn that Jesus the Jewish Messiah was at the Holy Temple during the “feast of dedication” or Chanukkah: “At that time the Feast of the Dedication took place at Jerusalem; it was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple in the portico of Solomon” (John 10:22-23). During this great season of remembering miracles, Jesus pointed out to His listeners that the miracles He had done authenticated His claim that He was, indeed, the long-awaited Jewish Messiah (see John 10:37-38). His works and His true character clearly demonstrated who He was. Jesus said, “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life” (John 8:12). The Lord Jesus gives all of us, Jew and Gentile, the “light of life.” And He commanded us to “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 5:16). Should Christians celebrate Chanukkah today? First, be mindful of the fact that we are under no obligation or “law” to celebrate any of the Jewish festivals given to Israel in the Torah (Law of Moses). But to all true Believers in Jesus Christ, especially those who have a profound appreciation for the Hebraic roots of our Christian faith, celebrating the “true light” of this world only seeks to glorify our wonderful Lord and Savior. As Christians, we can celebrate the “Festival of Lights” as we rededicate our lives to Christ and acknowledge Him as the perfect and true light of this world. As believers, when we celebrate Chanukkah it reminds us of God's wonderful miracles on our behalf. It reminds us of God's protection throughout our lives. It reminds us to remain true to God even when the world around us tries to force us into assimilation. Jesus told us that whoever follows Him will not have darkness, but the Light of Life. What a wonderful time of the year to remember and commemorate the great miracle that God has done for us, by giving us new light and new life.

To those who are Jewish or have relatives/friends who are... May this be a time of honoring in remembrance our faithful Lord who saved the nation of Israel from being destroyed. May you and yours be blessed in your celebration- P.S. I'm posting a beautiful prayer song over in the video forum from a Jewish man, Marty Goetz who now believes in Yeshua.

I came across a comment that says it well- Of course I'm sad that the Temple was defiled . But I'm glad that this song was written , reminding us to rededicate our bodies , our temple of the Holy Spirit . Its a beautiful idea and a lovely song by Marty . Surprising that no one thought of it before . (by Katherine Davis)

Today is Hanukkah. I am posting a unique prayer song that speaks of how this feast of dedication can be seen from a different perspective... Written by Marty Goetz, who is a Messianic Jew and honors Yeshua in this song.

@BeauJangles Thanks so much for sharing your personal story and for posting this anointed version of the hymn. There is a touching history behind how it came to be written. Please link over to my thread and read it, brother. I invite everyone else to do the same. God bless you.

Winter Song lyrics Album: Home Arist: Fernando Ortega Thrushes stir in the trees and hide from the moonlight High on the stony ridge all is still The whole world is waiting, silent as the icy stars A holy winter to cheer our darkened hearts Jesus, our Lord and King, born in a stable Wrapped in rags, asleep on a bed of straw Though He is from heaven, still it is enough for Him He who made the mountains and will come again to reign (chorus) Oh blessed night! Bright angels are singing For Heaven's Light is lying in a manger bed Sweet Mary, she kisses His head and sings a lullaby O boundless mercy of God, beautiful mystery! The braying donkeys sheep and birds of the air And shepherds and sages all have come this night To welcome Him, redeemer of the world (chorus) Oh blessed night! Bright angels are singing For Heaven's Light is lying in a manger bed Sweet Mary, she kisses His head and sings a lullaby

@Neighbor Praise the Lord!! What a wonderful song! I absolutely love these lyrics. As someone who has been writing poems from an early age, I sure appreciate such beauty of expression. The soothing singing of Fernando is always a blessing, too. I'm happy you posted it.

How many out there like Handel's Messiah? I like how the lyrics to these songs are straight out of scripture. Here is one based on the prophecy about the coming of Jesus Christ from Isaiah 9:6. "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace." incourage.meIsai9 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsmighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.