The Gathering of the Light

On this very Christmas night

The Best Christmas Message

We are Forged in Fire - The Pain You Feel Today Will Be the Strength You Feel Tomorrow

Jessica's mom had "ugly hands". Everyone used to laugh at Jessica's mom. They used to say, "oh her hands are all scarred, they're all disgusting, they're all red, they're all patchy". And Jessica, herself, was rather scared of her mom's hands.

At times she wouldn't even want to hold her own mother's hands, and other times the boys and girls at school, they would laugh at Jessica. In fact, one day it was so bad that Jessica just spent the whole evening crying her eyes out in bed, saying, "I hate mommy! I hate mommy because she has ugly hands!"

So her father went into the room and said, "Jessica, do you know why your mom's hands look the way they do? When you were but a little baby there was a fire in our house and the staircase was on fire and you were up in the very top bedroom, but your mother was on the ground floor. So do you know what your mom did? She grabbed a blanket. She wrapped it around her waste. And then she climbed up to the top of the meta gutter pipe that led up to the bedroom."

"Every time she puts her hands on that hot gutter pipe it burns, Tsss! Tsss! Tsss!. But she got you, she saved you, and she brought you to safety in the garden. When it was all over, the firemen looked at mom's hands and saw they were a mess. You couldn't even recognize that they were hands: they were so blotchy, they were so red. That's why your mom has ugly hands."

In that moment Jessica ran out of her bed and she ran into her mother's bedroom, and she started kissing her mom's hands, and saying mom you have the most beautiful hands in the world.

God's message was the same.

The people of the world look at Jesus's pierced hands and see them as ugly, but to those who know the truth, we think they are the most beautiful hands in the world.

Those hands were pierced, they had nails driven through them for all the times that your hands have hurt people or done cruel and nasty things.

He also had his feet pierced. His feet has nails pierced through them for all the time that your feet have walked to places you know you should not be, but you stayed there, even though your conscience was telling you to get out.

And Jesus Christ, he had his brow pierced. He wore a crown of thorns for all the times your mind has thought evil things, your mind has thought rude things, shameful things.

May I add that Jesus had his heart pierced for all those sins we commit which break His heart.

—Added by Karmy

There the son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, suffered on that cross to rescue us. Because just like that little baby up in that top bedroom we will die in our sins.

Jesus paid our debt of sin, so long as you believe this, here is his promise:

Jesus said to her, 'I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this? —John 11:25-26

Everything

Alternate Version

Why Are They So Afraid of Jesus’s Name?

Because He Promises Everything, While They Promise Only Pain

Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love. —1 Corinthians 13:13

A Pattern of Love (What the Outpouring of Your Generosity Made Me Feel —TriTorch)

by Jack Smith

I didn’t question Timmy, age nine, or his seven year old brother Billy about the brown wrapping paper they passed back and forth between them as we visited each store.

Every year at Christmas time, our Service Club takes the children from poor families in our town on a personally conducted shopping tour. I was assigned Timmy and Billy, whose father was out of work. After giving them the allotted four dollars each, be began our trip. At different stores I made suggestions, but always their answer was a solemn shake of the head, no. Finally I asked, “Where would you suggest we look?”

“Could we go to a shoe store, sir?’ answered Timmy. “We’d like a pair of shoes for our Daddy so he can go to work.” In the shoe store the clerk asked what the boys wanted. Out came the brown paper. “We want a pair of work shoes to fit this foot,” they said.

Billy explained that is was a pattern of their Daddy’s foot. They had drawn it while he was asleep in a chair. The clerk held the paper against a measuring stick, then walked away. Soon he came with an open box. “Will these do?’ he asked. Timmy and Billy handled the shoes with great eagerness. “How much do they cost?” asked Billy.

Then Timmy saw the price on the box. “They’re $16.95,” he said in dismay. “We only have eight dollars.” I looked at the clerk and he cleared his throat. “That’s the regular price,” he said, “but they’re on sale for $3.98, today only.” Then with shoes happily in hand the boys bought gifts for their mother and two little sisters. Not once did they think of themselves.

The day after Christmas the boys’ father stopped me on the street. The new shoes were on his feet, gratitude was in his eyes. “I just thank Jesus for people who care,” he said.

“And I thank Jesus for your two sons,” I replied. “They taught me more about Christmas in one evening than I had learned in a lifetime.”

“But I’m So Ugly” Sure, Just Like Jessica’s Mom’s Ugly Hands…

Would Your Christmas Like a Playlist

Time to Smile: My Son Sent Me this Meticulous Home Alone Parody

Christmas Miracle

I prayed deeply this morning for my laptop to start working. Plugged it in, said another brief prayer, hit the power button, and it came to life, so I can make new articles again. It’s why you’re reading this Gathering of the Light 2.0.

Here’s the thing about computers, they have a small battery which keeps track of the date and time even when they have no power source. When mine turned on this morning, the clock was set to the date it stopped working. What this means is that it was actually broken until I prayed for it this morning. It wasn’t an issue with the power supply or a broken power button or any other non-fatal reason that would prevent it from powering on. The computer itself was broken, the clock was not keeping time. “It’s a Christmas miracle!”, exclaimed my son, and that is exactly what it is. TriTorch is back, baby!

An article about my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is the last place in the world I want to add this, and I almost didn’t, but until I get back on my feet I feel I have no choice. Once I am, you won’t see these support links again unless I absolutely cannot help it, or if they come after me again. I am eternally grateful for any help you can give. (To any that donate now or have supported before, please send me your substack screen-name):

Venmo: https://venmo.com/u/tritorch

Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/tritorch

PayPal: tritorch@cliffhanger.com

From Out Here on the Perimeter to your home, I wish everyone reading a very Merry Christmas. For you and everyone around you. You carry my best wishes with you from this minute forward. May your life overflow with joy, faith, hope, and above all, love.