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Though it was not an official cease-fire, it happened.
About 100,000 British, Canadian, French and German soldiers simply stopped fighting all along the 500-mile Western Front during World War I.
It is said on December 24th, 1914, in the middle of a freezing battlefield in France, a miracle happened.
The British troops watched in amazement as candle-lit "Christmas" trees began to appear above the German trenches. The troops were so close to their enemy that Christmas Eve they could hear them talking among themselves.
Henry Williamson, a young soldier with the London Regiment wrote in his diary:
"From the German parapet, a rich baritone voice had begun to sing a song I remembered my German nurse singing to me---the grave and tender voice rose out of the frozen mist. It was all so strange---like being in another world---to which one had come through a nightmare."
Silent Night
Holy Night
All is calm
All is [quiet]
Williamson's diary entry ended noting that troops from both sides sang carols, "It was really a most extraordinary thing---two nations both singing the same carol in the middle of a war."
It is recorded that all along the 500-mile Front, enemy soldiers greeted each other in the "no-man's land" that was a killing field the day before.
It was also recorded by men at the scene that hundreds of thousands of soldiers celebrated the birth of the Prince of Peace among the bodies of the dead.
It was a miracle.
Author Stormie Omartian in her book, "The Power of Christmas Prayer," says although we normally focus on the power of Christmas for a few weeks before Christmas, then put in on the shelf for the next 12 months, there is meaning in it for every day of our lives.
"It is a message of hope," she writes, "that says God always remembers His promises and fulfills them in His perfect timing."
She reminds us that the power of the Christmas story, "tells us that God uses ordinary people who love Him to do extraordinary things."
It also reminds us that God is over all things. When men can't find peace through treaties and agreements, it is found in simple recognition and acceptance of the true message of Christmas.
It reminds us that God is faithful and keeps His promises. God kept His promise to send the Messiah and He will keep His promises to you.
Silent night, holy night
All is calm, all is bright
Round yon Virgin Mother and Child
Holy Infant so tender and mild
Sleep in heavenly peace
Sleep in heavenly peace
Silent night, holy night!
Shepherds quake at the sight
Glories stream from heaven afar
Heavenly hosts sing Alleluia!
Christ, the Saviour is born
Christ, the Saviour is born
Silent night, holy night
Son of God, love's pure light
Radiant beams from Thy holy face
With the dawn of redeeming grace
Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth
Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth "
May the peace of Christ fill your heart now and each day of your life.
______________
Gary Randall
President
Faith and Freedom
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