- Well, Merry
Christmas to everyone,

and welcome to this special
edition of "The 700 Club."

Today we're going to take
you back all the way to 1914.

And the place?

Belgium.

That's when the
spirit of Christmas

overcame the bitter
conflict of World War I.

- Well, enemies became
friends for 48 hours

along a 27 mile stretch
of the Western Front.

Here's John Jessop with the
story from Flanders, Belgium.

- [Andrew] So the glory of God-

- Each year, Andrew
Hamilton lays a wreath

at the World War I monument
in his small English village,

a tribute to the
grandfather he barely knew.

What do you remember of him?

- I just remember an old
man who shouted a lot,

because he was deaf,
and he lost his hearing

really during the
First World War.

So he was really
quite frightening.

And then when I
read his diaries,

I was amazed, I suppose,

at the life that he
had been involved in.

This one is the original one

which he would've kept
in his top pocket.

- [John] As Hamilton
writes in his book,

"Meet at Dawn, Unarmed,"

his grandfather,
Captain Robert Hamilton,

kept diaries from 1913 to 1950.

Most years were fairly mundane,

with one remarkable exception.

1914.

- Wednesday, the 5th of August.

"Wire to mobilize at 5:30 AM."

- [John] Hamilton was
part of the initial wave

of British troops in
what came to be known

as the First World War.

The general
consensus at the time

was the fighting would
be over by Christmas.

(bombs booming)

Just one day earlier, German
troops had invaded Belgium,

and then England
joined the fight.

Ironically, the leaders
of the opposing sides

were first cousins.

Germany's Kaiser Wilhelm II,

and King George V of England.

Caught in the middle, the
tiny country of Belgium.

- This very provincial
rural area of Belgium

was almost at the center
of the world's attention.

I grew up listening to stories

of elderly people in my village

that had to do with the war.

- [John] German troops
cut a path of destruction

through Belgium into France.

Allied forces stopped
them outside of Paris,

pushing them back,
but only so far.

A stalemate ensued, with both
sides digging in, literally.

(guns booming)

Trench warfare on the
Western Front had begun.

- [Narrator] September the 18th.

"Several men killed and
wounded in the trenches

by shell fire.

This was without exception,

the most miserable
night ever spent.

I stood all night in
water up to my ankles

and the rain pouring down."

- This is one of the
original trenches

from more than 100 years ago,

two parallel, zigzagging lines

built by the German
and Allied forces,

stretching more than 400 miles.

In some places,
the opposing armies

were only 50 yards apart.

- Both parties have dug in,

and the coldness is coming in.

And so, all of a sudden,

the first enemy is
not your opponent

to the other side of
the no man's land,

but it's the cold.

- [John] By the end of November,

there were over 1.5
million casualties

on the Western Front.

As the stalemate continued,

it became clear the war would
not be over by Christmas.

The outside world pushed for
an official Christmas truce,

including Pope Benedict IV,

who asked "that the
guns may fall silent,

at least upon the
night the angels sang."

British General Horace
Smith-Dorrien, however,

issued a directive
forbidding fraternization,

saying it destroys the
offensive spirit in all ranks.

- [Narrator] December the 24th.

"We marched up to our
trenches a little downhearted

to spend Christmas day in them."

- [John] Artist
Bruce Barron's father

was a machine gun officer

in Captain Hamilton's Royal
Warwickshire Regiment.

He recounted his war
experiences in the book,

"Bullets & Billets."

- [Narrator] "I
remember at the time

being very down on
my luck about this,

as everything in the nature
of Christmas Day festivities

was obviously
knocked on the head."

- [John] But the
Germans didn't let war

stop their celebration.

They displayed Christmas
trees in their trenches,

and on December 23rd,
held a church service

in a bombed-out sugar refinery.

School teacher Kurt Zemmish

served in the 134th
Saxon Regiment.

Like Hamilton, he kept
a diary during the war.

- [Narrator] "We sang
the song 'This is the Day

That the Lord Has Made.'

The celebration
moved many to tears."

- I think Christmas
in those days

was much more an important
festival in the German culture

than it was in French or Belgian

or Anglo-Saxon countries.

- [Narrator] "I ordered my man

that on Christmas Eve
and on Christmas Day,

no shots were to be
fired from our side

if it could be avoided."

- [John] Then something
extraordinary happened.

- [Narrator] "No sooner had
we settled into the trenches,

we, and the Brits, tried to
draw attention to each other."

♪ Silent Night, Holy Night

- [Narrator] "The
spirit of Christmas

began to permeate us all,

and we tried to
plot ways and means

of making the next
day, Christmas,

different in some
way to others."

(soldier singing in German)

- [Narrator] "An Englishman
called over to our trenches,

'I wish you a Merry Christmas
and a Happy New Year,'

to which I replied to
him and his comrades,

'Thank you very much, I
wish the same to you.'"

- [Narrator] "After months

of vindictive
sniping and shelling,

this little episode came
as an invigorating tonic,

and a welcome relief to the
daily monotony of antagonism.

(lively music)

On Christmas morning,
I woke very early.

It was a perfect day, a
beautiful cloudless day."

- December the 25th.

"A day unique in
the world's history.

I met their officer,

and we arranged a local
armistice for 48 hours.

As far as I can gather,
this effort of ours

extended itself
throughout the whole line,

as far as we could hear."

It's Christmas time.

The soldiers under his command
have had a rotten time,

and he was deeply
Christian himself,

so it was natural to
allow it to happen.

- [Narrator] "So started
the Christmas celebration,

the celebration of love,

when enemies became
friends for a short time."

- [Narrator] "Here they were,

the actual, practical
soldiers of the German army.

There was not an atom of hate
on either side that day."

- [John] Although
fighting continued

on most of the Western Front,

the unauthorized truce extended

along virtually all the 27-mile
length of the British line.

Both signs help bury their dead.

They exchange gifts like
food, tobacco, and buttons.

And in some sectors,

they even played soccer
in no man's land.

- It makes them happy,
because they feel human again,

whereas the industrial warfare

often reduces them
to cannon fodder,

often reduces them
to killing machines.

- [Narrator] "This was all
so beautiful yet strange.

I will never forget this
Christmas celebration."

- [Narrator] "The last
I saw this little affair

was a vision of one
of my machine gunners

who was a bit of an amateur
hairdresser in civil life,

cutting the unnaturally long
hair of a docile German."

- [Narrator] "A very
Merry Christmas,

and a most extraordinary one,

but I doubled the
sentries after midnight."

- There would be three more
Christmases on the western front

before the war came to an end,

but nothing quite like this
would ever happen again.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
later described it

as one human episode
amid all the atrocities

which abstained the
memory of the war.

John Jessop, "CBN News,"
reporting in Flanders, Belgium.

- You look at the
story, you remember it,

and you wish it had
really taken hold

that the armies could have
gotten together and said,

"Why are we fighting?

This is making no sense.

We are brothers together."

That was supposed to be
the war that ends all wars.

And clearly in the the
100 years since it didn't.

But, that was the dream,

the horror of World War I
would so dismay everyone

that no one would ever
want to pick up arms

against another
country ever again.

But here we are in 2024,

celebrating Christmas again.

And let's remember the
words of the angels.

"Peace on Earth,
goodwill to all people."

May that heavenly pronouncement

become real in our lifetime.

May the Prince of
Peace come yet again.

Let's have a second advent
and join the church,

in over a thousand
years of crying out,

"Maranatha, soon
come, Lord Jesus."

- From Costa Rica,

we wish you a Merry Christmas
and a Happy New Year.

(lively music)

(bells ringing)

- This is Gordon Robertson

and my favorite
Christmas memory.

I've got a lot of
Christmas memories.

My brother and I used to go out

and chop down Christmas trees

and haul them back to the house,

because we didn't have
enough money to go out

and actually buy
one from a market.

But my favorite is
the tradition we had,

that we would have a
Christmas Eve meal,

and then afterwards
we'd all gather around.

My father would read
us the Christmas story

from the Gospel of Luke,

and then, afterwards,

we would have some time of
singing Christmas carols.

We would gather around
a nativity scene.

This was sort of a famous one,

because it had survived
a fire in a little shed

in our backyard in Portsmouth.

And it was sort of the
thing rescued from the fire,

the brand plucked from the fire.

And in our celebration,

the youngest would then put
baby Jesus in the manger,

and to that symbol that
unto us a savior was born,

and we would have the
youngest member of the family

put that baby Jesus
in the manger.

Then we would sing
"Silent Night."

And what a tremendous blessing
for the entire family,

gathering around, recognizing
that a Savior had come,

and that he was
in each one of us.

I hope that you have
Christmas traditions

and Christmas memories that
you can share generationally,

because this has become
a generational thing.

My parents are gone now,

but each one of my brothers,

my brother and my two sisters,

their families,

their children,

and Lord willing,
their grandchildren,

will celebrate the same way

that we celebrate the
reason for the season.

It's the birth of Jesus Christ.

(gentle music)

- "100% a part of the family."

That's how Tim Rupert
describes his dog, Winston.

So when Winston was
diagnosed with bone cancer,

the whole family was devastated.

They just couldn't imagine
Christmas without Winston.

And thanks to a miracle
they didn't have to.

- I love what my family gets
me for Christmas and stuff,

but that was an
incredible Christmas gift.

- [Narrator] The
best Christmas gift

Tim Rupert received in 2018
wasn't from his family,

it was from God.

- I was standing
there just going,

"I can't believe
what I'm seeing."

- My faith grew more
and more and more

that the miracle had happened.

It definitely made
Christmas so much better.

- [Narrator] It started
in June of that year.

Tim was doing some
retrieval training

with her golden
retriever Winston.

The 4-year-old isn't
just a hunting dog.

- 100% part of the family, yeah.

In fact, I feel like
we live with him,

instead of him living with us.

- He is a joy to our family.

I mean, and to me,
particularly, he's my buddy.

- [Narrator] After training,

Tim noticed Winston
starting to limp

and favor his right front leg.

- It wasn't uncommon
for him to come home

with something kind of
aching, an aching pain.

At first I thought that,
yeah, he's pulled a muscle,

or maybe even strained a
ligament or something like that.

- [Narrator] When
Winston didn't improve,

Tim took him to the vet.

X-rays showed Winston
had bone cancer,

a diagnosis Tim had a
tough time believing.

- There's no possible
way he has bone cancer.

He's four years old and he's
in fantastic physical shape,

and bone cancer is for,
you know, older dogs,

and my initial reaction
was that she's wrong.

- [Narrator] The vet gave
Tim two treatment options,

amputate the leg or radiation.

Either way, Winston had
less than a year to live.

The vet left the room
so Tim could call Karen.

- We were both pretty distraught

about the situation
and the diagnosis,

and what we were
gonna do about it.

- I just cried,
just started crying,

because I thought he's only
four, and how can that be?

He's in the prime of his life.

- [Narrator] As Christians,

Tim and Karen believed
in God's power to heal.

They just weren't sure if
it applied to their pet.

So after Tim hung up,

he said a quick prayer
asking God for guidance.

- He answered it with,

"If it's important to you,
it's important to me."

- [Narrator] When
the vet returned,

Tim told her there was
a third option, prayer.

- At that point in
time, she kind of said,

"Well, if that makes
you feel better."

When I walked out
of the vet's office,

I was scared and confused,

and filled with faith,

and wondering if I was
insane, and just thinking,

"Okay, God, you're really
gonna have to show out."

- [Narrator] Throughout the
rest of summer and into fall,

the family prayed for Winston.

Friends were coming
over to pray as well,

but he wasn't getting better.

- We saw him limping around
and it broke our hearts.

I was beginning to really see
the muscles begin to deflate.

You know, I mean
he was atrophying.

- [Narrator] Around that time,

one of their friends
encouraged him

to not just ask for healing,
but to pray with authority.

- I was speaking
then to the cancer.

You don't have a
right to be here.

You have to go in
the name of Jesus,

by the same spirit that
raised Christ from the dead.

You know, you gotta go.

- [Narrator] As Thanksgiving
and Christmas approached,

the Rupert household
grew somber.

It had been over three
months since the diagnosis.

If the vet was right,
Winston's time was running out.

- I'm trying to emotionally
prepare for God to heal him,

but also prepare
that if he doesn't,

because our family is
gonna be distraught,

my kids are gonna be distraught.

It was definitely a time of
sadness and just waiting.

- It really, really broke me.

I would sit on the floor
on my hands and knees

and just cry over him,

because I thought by now
God would have done it.

- [Narrator] Then
on December 1st,

while Tim was
working in the yard,

Winston came racing around the
house, jumping like a puppy.

- I was definitely in shock,

and I was struggling
with real disbelief.

- I didn't know what to think.

I didn't know how to feel.

I was scared, but excited
all at the same time.

- He was healed, 100%,

and I think it
just settled on me,

God did what he said
he was gonna do.

- [Narrator] The Ruperts
weren't the only ones

who believed God
had done a miracle.

Veterinarian, Dr. Nancy Moore,
heard about Winston's story

and had to examine him herself.

- He had this looking
like a hole in his leg,

the litical lesions.

There's no longer
this hole in the leg

that looks like he could
pass a quarter through.

- [Narrator] In fact, she
presented her findings

to the Christian Veterinary
Missions Conference in 2023.

- And the only therapy that
Winston had was prayer.

The bone is filled in.

It is no longer painful for
this sweet, precious dog.

And we have the glory
of God to thank,

and point back to the Lord,

because no one, from a human
medical standpoint, intervened.

- [Narrator] It was
a Christmas gift

the Ruperts will never forget.

Today, Winston is
still going strong.

Tim, Karen, and Dr. Moore

believe God is in the
business of healing

for all of those we love.

- He loves these
four-legged creatures,

two-legged creatures,
waned, beaked creatures,

more than we do.

We are meant and
called in the Bible

to be good stewards of them.

And so this includes that,

being a steward
and being a voice,

and letting the power of
prayer be part of their care.

- So my faith has been increased

by praying with expectation.

I'm definitely
tracking and journaling

to see what I prayed for,

to see if God gave
it to me or not.

- We have not,
because we ask not.

Jesus meant that
when he said it.

God cares about the finest,
most insignificant details

of your life.

If it's important to you,
it's important to him,

and you should bring it
to him, because he cares.

(dog panting)

- Well, what an
incredible story.

Ashley's tearing up
here just watching it.

- I'm like having to
like fight back in tears.

Oh my gosh, that story gets me,

and I think it just gets
me 'cause I'm a dog mom.

I have, you know, Cody,
he's a mini golden doodle.

He's gonna be four.

And man, they really are
such a part of your family.

And they're just-
- I'm sorry,

Cody is not part of your family,

Cody is part of you.

- Yes, exactly.

That's what I was about to say.

They really become just,

they just capture a
piece of your heart.

Just 100%.

You know, God is the
God of all creation,

heaven and Earth.

And they talked about that.

You know, God cares
about these creatures.

They're his creatures.
- Of course, he made them.

- He made them, yes.

And then he calls and asks
us to be good stewards.

And I think it's totally
okay for you to pray

for your loved ones.

- It's amazing to me that
he made a whole species

that would be domesticated,

and become part of the family,

and be an extension.

It's always,

from some of my earliest
memories with dogs,

just how intuitive they are.

And how they're able to read me,

and understand what
I'm going through,

and then have an
appropriate reaction to me.

I've got my own
miracle story of dogs.

- Do you really?

- We had a dog,

we had a dog that,

we lived out in the woods,

and so we didn't,

you know, this was
before you neutered,

and we found out that
our dog was pregnant.

We didn't know how.

I guess we all knew how,

but we didn't know the father.

And so there was this litter
of, we called him mutts.

And there was one in particular,

we found homes for them,

but one we kept.

And my little sister
named, very creative,

named the dog Mighty Mutt.

And so that was...
- That's so cute.

- Smartest dog I've
ever been around.

Just really incredible.

And we bonded.

Anyway, one day
Mighty Mutt got sick.

And so my father said,

"Well, we're healing
people on television,

you know, "Ask
anything in my name,

I will do it.
- Yes, exactly.

- I mean, you know, why am I
limiting God just to humans?

- Amen, amen.

- And so he laid
hands on Mighty Mutt,

and prayed for Mighty Mutt,

and Mighty Mutt looked at him
like, "What just happened?"

And then got up and
started running around

and got healed.
- Oh my goodness.

- Amazing.

- Yay, God, you can
speak to any mountain.

- Amen.

- It doesn't matter
where the mountain is.

If you believe and do not doubt,

then you'll have
what you pray for.

- Amen.

And I love what Tim said too.

You know, God cares
about what we care about,

and if we care about
our loved ones,

even if our loved ones have fur,

it's okay, you
can pray for them.

- Does this mean Cody will
be with you in heaven?

- You know, that's a whole
other theological discussion,

but yes, animals
will be in heaven.

- Cody, not just any.
- And that is what...

Okay, amen, yes.

I say yes and amen to that.

Anyways, I just, I
loved this story,

and maybe some of
you watching at home

even have your furry loved
ones right beside you.

So, it's okay.

Pray for them and bless them.

I do that for Cody too.

- Greetings from CBN Cambodia.

May God bless you all.

- [Group] Merry Christmas.

We love you.

From CBN Cambodia.

(lively music)

- Hey everyone, Merry
Christmas and Happy New Year.

I just wanna share

so maybe one of my favorite
Christmas memories,

I would have to say is going
over to my parents' house,

or growing up
already being there,

and just decorating
my family tree.

That's just a tradition
that we always have.

I mean, I still will
sometimes go over there

and help my mom and dad
decorate their tree.

My mom is a
incredible decorator.

She even puts a top
hat on top of the tree,

and I'm telling you
it looks so good

with all of the ribbons.

I love going through all
of our old ornaments.

You know, some of
those ornaments

that just have
lived a long life,

and they've just
been like crafts

when I was in kindergarten.

And, you know, every
year growing up

we would actually get a
new ornament from the tree.

So just looking at all of
those ornaments over the years,

I just think it's really cool.

And now, you know,
my niece and nephews

can be a part of that
tradition as well.

So I just love that.

I love the holidays.

I love Christmas.

I love being with my family.

I love decorating,

and especially decorating
my family Christmas tree.

(lively music)

- With no money to buy
Christmas presents,

and three children with
a long list for Santa,

that's what Robert and
Christina were facing

after a costly
military transfer.

And here's how you

made this young family's
Christmas dreams come true.

- [Narrator] Robert
and Christina

enjoy spending time together
with their three kids.

They're careful not to
take that time for granted,

because Robert is an
Army staff sergeant,

and often has to leave
Christina and the boys

behind for months.

- She does a great job of
taking care of the household

and our family and stuff.

It's not as easy as it looks.

- It makes me feel
really grateful that
he sees me that way.

But he does all these
things for me and the boys,

and that we're a team.

- [Narrator] Last year,
the budget got tight

when they transferred
from California

to Camp Lejeune
in North Carolina.

They shouldered some expenses

the military didn't
cover in the move.

Then, when the weather changed,

buying winter clothes for
the kids became a priority.

That meant when
Christmas rolled around

they wouldn't be able
to afford presents.

Christina started looking
for a job to help out,

but hasn't had any success.

The couple would have to rely
on Robert's single salary.

- And we thought, financially,
how are we gonna do this?

And I remember just things
got so hard emotionally.

- [Narrator] Their
church, River of Life,

heard about Helping
The Home Front,

and asked CBN to step in.

We told Pastor Chris
Phillips, "Yes."

- When my staff told me

that we were going to be
able to partner with CBN

and Helping The Home Front
in the lives of this family,

Robert and Christina,
we were very excited,

because we knew that together

we would be able to make a
life-changing difference.

- [Narrator] Just
before Christmas,

he stopped by to
tell them the news.

- CBN and Helping The Home
Front have partnered together

to send you on a shopping spree.

We want you to be
able to buy the boys

all the shoes and winter coats
and clothing that they need.

In addition, CBN and
Helping The Home Front

wants you to be
able to get the boys

the best Christmas
that they've ever had.

(Christina crying)

And we want you to be able
to get them their wishlist.

- I don't know what to say.

Just thank you.

That's all I can say.

I'm really grateful,
really grateful.

- And I'm so thankful.

More than words can say.

- [Narrator] The family
took a field trip to Sears,

and the kids picked out
clothes they needed,

winter coats and new shoes.

When Sears heard about
Helping The Home Front,

they gladly gave the
family a deep discount.

Then their church took the
couple to buy the boys presents

to open on Christmas morning.

This military family's
holiday was perfect,

because CBN Partners made
their holiday dreams come true.

- Thank you to CBN.

All that you do.

- My heart is overjoyed,

and I'm very thankful that
they would go out of their way

to help military
families like us.

- Helping The Home Front is
just one of many ministries

here at the Christian
Broadcasting Network.

I like to tell
people "The 700 Club"

is a whole lot more
than a TV show.

We want to reach out with
hands of love and compassion

to people in need.

And Helping The Home Front

is just one of the
many ministries.

What's the idea here?

Well, military families

usually have a lot more
month than they have money.

And how can we show our
appreciation for their service?

If you have a parent,

or you have a spouse who
is in active-duty military,

well, the reality is
you're serving too.

And we want to
recognize that service

to let you know that we
love you, we care for you,

we see the problems
you're going through,

and we want to step
in and help you.

If you wanna be a part of all
of this, it's real simple.

All you have to do
is join The 700 Club.

How much is that?

Well, it's just $20 a
month, 65 cents a day.

A portion of every gift

goes into the work of
Operation Blessing.

Another portion goes into
the work of CBN International

to preach the gospel
around the world.

So you join with everything
that we're doing.

If you wanna make a special
gift to Helping The Home Front

for active duty military,
that's simple too.

Just say, "I wanna help
Helping The Home Front,"

when you call,

or you can write to us,

just put Helping The Home Front
on the memo line of a check,

CBN Center, Virginia
Beach, Virginia, 23463.

You can also text
"HOMEFRONT" to 71777

and a giving page for
Helping The Home Front

will come up on your smartphone.

Either way, do it now.

1-800-700-7000.

Now, this is the
end of the year.

And if you've had
stock that's gone up,

the stock market
has been very good

to a lot of different people.

If you've had shares

that have been held
for a period of time,

you can get an
income tax deduction

for the market value
of those shares.

You avoid the capital gains tax.

And so if you want
to make a stock gift,

here's a special number for you.

1-800-333-2373.

Or you can email
plannedgiving@cbn.org.

And as a special tax strategy

for those of you
who are over 70 1/2,

if you have an IRA or a 401k,

there's a way you can
take a distribution,

you're required to make
minimum distributions,

and if you give it to charity,

you don't recognize any income,

and you get a deduction
on your other income.

So it's a wonderful thing.

So if you wanna have any
more information on that,

call this number,
1-800-333-2373.

- [Group] Merry Christmas
and a Happy New Year,

from CBN UK.

(lively music)

- When Natalie was born,
she had fluid in her lungs,

and that was just the beginning

of this newborn's
life-threatening issues.

And her mother's life
was also in danger.

(baby crying)

- Her face started turning blue

and the doctors were like,

"Oh my gosh, we
gotta do something."

- [Narrator] December 3rd, 2023,

Chris and Sofiya
Vercelli's newborn,

a girl they named Natalie,

had fluid in her lungs.

At once, she was put on
oxygen and taken to the NICU.

Sofiya was unable
to comfort her baby.

(gentle music)

- I was definitely praying,

but I was also feeling so
helpless in the situation.

I couldn't help her, you know.

That I couldn't be with him,
with Chris, and the baby.

I really wanted to
not be together.

- [Narrator] That's because
the new mother was too weak

to leave her hospital bed.

The 28-year-old had lost
copious amounts of blood

during delivery,

and her platelet count
was critically low.

Even then, she and Chris prayed,

believing in God's healing
for Sofiya and their daughter.

- Just please save
my baby, you know?

But I kept, like, when
I was like praying

and going through this,

I kept remembering those
things that he told me,

that it's gonna be a miracle,

and that his name will be
magnified through this.

He he'll be glorified
through this.

So I definitely was
remembering those things.

- [Narrator] This
wasn't the first time

the couple's faith had been
tested during this pregnancy.

While in her third trimester,

Sofiya was diagnosed
with placenta previa.

It's a condition where the
placenta blocks the birth canal,

endangering both mother and
child, and forcing a C-section.

The natural birth
they had hoped for

was out of the question.

Faith and prayer
were all they had.

- Then, I went into like kind
of a mode of desperation,

and I really didn't
know what to expect.

- [Narrator] Then, with no
explanation, it cleared,

giving Sofiya the green
light for a natural birth.

- And so she told us right away,

she said, "Yeah, it's
2.1 centimeters away.

Yeah, I'll give you the report,

you can give it to your midwife,

and if she has any
questions, she can call me."

So we left there that
night just celebrating.

I mean, it was such a victory.

- We were like praising
God for sure. (chuckles)

- [Narrator] Now they
needed another victory.

After showing signs of clearing,

again, Natalie's lung
began filling with fluid.

Her oxygen support had
to be raised to 70%.

- And so that's when the
doctor came to me and said,

"Sir, I don't think that she's
gonna recover on her own.

I think the only way that
she's gonna pull through this

is if we do something
very drastic."

- [Narrator] Which meant
putting the baby on a ventilator

in a medically-induced coma.

Something the new parents
didn't want to do.

The baby's doctor said they
needed to make a decision,

and quickly.

- She said, "I'll give you
an hour, sir, but that's all,

'cause we can't wait
any longer than that.

This situation is too
dire, it's too urgent.

We have to act fast."

But like she's saying, her
life depends on it, right?

And so that was when it
all just hit me like,

oh man, like, this is a battle.

- [Narrator] Standing
beside the incubator

that held his
daughter, Chris prayed.

- You know, I mean, here I was

faced with two
different realities.

Either, you know, my daughter
could die from no treatment,

or she could die
from the treatment.

I had to have a miracle.

You know, I had
to have a miracle.

So the hour ends, and
the doctor comes back in.

So the doctor says,

"Well, it looks like she's
doing a little better.

I'm gonna try turning
her support down

from 70% to 66%, and
we'll see what happens."

Three hours go by, and it
hits me all of a sudden

that in that entire time period,

I didn't hear her
machine beep one time.

And I look at the
oxygen support monitor,

and it says that it's at 38%.

- [Narrator] Now
breathing on her own,

Natalie was taken off oxygen,

and X-rays confirmed
her lungs had cleared.

- And I just busted
out in celebration.

- Praise God, praise God
for our precious baby.

We call her Precious Girl.

- [Narrator] They say by then

another prayer
had been answered.

Sofiya's platelet count had
returned to healthy levels

with no medical intervention.

Eight days later,
the family was home

just in time for
Natalie's first Christmas.

Today, the Vercelli family
continue that tradition,

celebrating the birth of Jesus,

their miracle baby,

and God's faithfulness to heal.

- This was like the
biggest miracle in my life.

So he's real.

That's what I can say,
and that I can trust him.

- You know, I just know that
I can always trust the Lord,

you know, no matter
what things look like.

And it definitely gave me a
different view of God's power,

and his ability and his
timing and his sovereignty.

It's like, wow, look at God.

- Look at God.

We praise God for that amazing
miracle in that family.

And something I was
just reminded of

is God is the God of all flesh.

He is the God of all creation.

And we're about to enter

into one of our favorite
times of the show

where we get to pray,

where we get to go boldly
to the Throne Room of Grace,

and believe for
your miracle today.

And we've actually got some
prayer requests sent in

on these ornaments that
we've sent our partners,

and people who are
part of the CBN family.

This is a prayer request.

This is someone asking for "my
ovarian cancer to be healed."

Someone asking for healing
over anxiety and depression,

asking for healing their
daughter with endometriosis,

and, "my failing eyesight."

So we're gonna be
praying over these today.

Gordon, what do you have?

This one, "I'm asking
healing from cancer

of the liver and the bladder."

Someone writing in,

"my colon issues to
return to normal,"

healing from a brain
tumor after surgery.

And then last one is
freedom from alcoholism.

Let's pray.

If you have needs in your life,

let's lift them to
the Lord right now.

If you don't have any
need, join with us.

Let's create a great
circle of prayer

that God answers the
prayers of his people.

He's willing to heal our pets.

He's willing to heal you.

And Jesus said, "If he
cares for the the sparrows,

well how much more
does he care for you?"

And so with that realization,
let's come to him.

Let's come boldly to
the Throne of Grace

and receive answers
to our prayers.

Lord God Almighty,
we come to you.

We come to you believing in
the greatness of your power.

We have faith in you.

Lord, we look to you,
not to our symptoms,

not to our problem,

not to anything on this Earth.

We look to you in heaven,

and we ask that your will
would be done in our bodies,

in our lives as it is in heaven.

So in heaven,
there's nobody sick.

Your will is clear,

your will is always
being done there.

There's no pain,

there's no suffering,

there's no tears.

We ask now that your will
would be done in our bodies,

on Earth as it is in heaven.

We rebuke cancer.

We rebuke alcoholism,

we rebuke any disease,

anything that's involved
in digestive systems,

any infirmity, any disease,

you are not in accordance
with God's will.

You must leave these bodies now.

I declare that the
Kingdom of Heaven

has drawn near to everyone
listening right now.

Will of God be done
in their lives.

For we ask it in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Ashley.

- Yeah, I've never
done this before,

but I just believe
God is healing wombs,

people who have been struggling
with infertility for years.

This is your word.

I believe this time next year
you will either be pregnant

or have your first child.

The Lord is healing
wombs, opening up wombs.

Just receive this miracle
for you and your loved one.

In Jesus' mighty name.

Thank you Lord.

- Hallelujah.

God's given you the
power to give life.

And so He doesn't want
that to be unfruitful.

He wants that power
to be exercised.

That there would be
great joy in your home,

great joy in believing.

There's someone else,

you've had a fracture
of the spine,

and you're in not
just a neck brace,

but it's like a brace

that goes down your entirety
of your spine, down your back.

God is healing that
spine right now.

In the name of Jesus, do
what you couldn't do before.

Receive it, act on it.

Faith is an action.

Whatever it is.

If you couldn't lift that arm,

if you couldn't lift that leg,

whatever the issue is,

do it now and receive
healing into your body.

- Somebody else watching,

you've got cancer on the
inside of your right cheek

in your mouth.

I believe God is healing

that cancerous spot
for you right now,

in the name of Jesus.

Just receive it right now.

Thank you Lord.

- Lord, finally, we lift up
anyone who's alone on Christmas,

and we ask that you would be
the God of all comfort to them.

Your Word says that you
will set us into families.

And so we ask for those
who are estranged,

we ask for reconciliation.

For those who who
don't know anyone,

and in, say, a new
city or a new area,

Lord, set them into
family, into community.

Enable them, Lord
God, be with them.

For we ask it in Jesus' name.

Amen.

If you've been healed,

if you've been
touched, let us know.

All you have to do is call us,

1-800-700-7000.

And if we didn't read
one of your requests,

if we didn't pray
specifically for you,

we have people
standing by right now,

24 hours a day, seven days
a week, even on Christmas.

And if you need prayer,
we're here for you.

All you have to do is call us.

1-800-700-7000.

- Merry Christmas.

In Vietnamese we say.

(Group speaking
foreign language)

- From CBN Vietnam,

we send our heartfelt
Christmas greetings

to our brothers and sisters
of CBNs around the world.

My God's love, peace, and
hope overflow in your hearts.

- [Group] Merry Christmas
and a blessed New Year.

- Well, have you ever wondered

why the angels appeared to
shepherds in their fields

2,000 years ago?

Well, CBNs Chris Mitchell
asked a pastor from Bethlehem

that very question, and he
received an awesome answer.

(gentle music)

- Hello, this is Chris Mitchell

and I'm standing in one of
the fields near Bethlehem,

known as the Shepherd's Field.

The reason for that is that
the Gospel of Luke tells us

2,000 years ago, the
angel of the Lord

appeared before the shepherds

and told them about the
birth of a newborn king

in the city of David.

I talked about that with
Pastor Steven Khoury,

who was raised in Bethlehem.

And we met in one of the caves

that might have been
used by those shepherds

2,000 years ago.

(gentle music)

Pastor Steven Khoury,
great to be with you here.

This is an amazing place.

Tell us where we are right now.

- I wanna start by
saying Merry Christmas.

We're in the Shepherd's Fields,

where many in the
middle of the fields,

of what we call the Boaz Fields,

where Ruth would've come.

- So multiple things
happened here,

not just what happened on
Christmas Day or Christmas Eve.

- Three things come to mind
when I think of this area.

First thing is
obviously Ruth and Boaz.

Another story is King David.

This is the area he would've
been come as a young child.

This is the area,

the region of Bethlehem
and Shepherd's Fields,

where he would've
been born at as well.

Of course the third
thing comes to mind,

is the birth of our King Yeshua.

We're in the middle of
the Shepherd's area,

where we know that
the general area

is where the angels
appeared at shepherds

and gave them the
good news of Luke 2.

(gentle music)

- That good news that
Pastor Khoury talked about

is found in Luke chapter 2.

Here's what Luke wrote.

"Now there were in
the same country

shepherds living
out in the fields,

keeping watch over
their flock by night.

And behold, an angel of
the Lord stood before them,

and the glory of the
Lord shone around them,

and they were greatly afraid.

Then the angel said to them,

'Do not be afraid, for behold,

I bring you good
tidings of great joy,

which will be to all people.

For there is born
to you this day

in the city of David a Savior,
who is Christ the Lord.

And this will be
the sign to you:

you will find a Babe
wrapped in swaddling cloths,

lying in a manger.'"

- I call this area, Brother
Chris, I call it Genesis.

The genesis of our story

starts right here in
the Shepherd's Fields

where the angels
decided to appear

and to declare the Good News
of the Coming Born King.

- Why were the angels
appear to the shepherds?

Why were they so
important to the story?

- One thing that comes to
my heart and comes to mind

is the very strong possibility

that this is the region,
this is the area,

this is the Shepherd's Fields,

the grottos we're
standing in the middle of,

this could have been,
very strongly, the area

where they would've prepared
the sheep for the slaughter,

for the sacrifice for the
First Temple, Solomon's Temple,

and King Herod's Temple,
the Second Temple.

So if this is the place
that would've been prepared,

this is a place that would've
been raised the sheep

in a kosher way,
in a kosher manner.

This is the area

that they would prepare the
sheep for the sacrifice,

then it would make sense

for the angels to
appear to the shepherds

and to tell them the Good
News which we see in Luke 2.

(gentle music)

- Luke tells us more about
this amazing appearance.

"And suddenly there
was with the angel

a multitude of the heavenly
host praising God and saying:

'Glory to God in the highest,

and on Earth peace,
goodwill toward men.'

So it was, when the angels
had gone away from them

into heaven, that the
shepherds said to one another,

'Let us now go to Bethlehem

and see this thing
that has come to pass,

which the Lord has
made known to us.'"

(gentle music)

- And what is the
significance of that?

The significance of that is
that you've been preparing

to prepare sheep
for the sacrifice.

And now coming to you
is a is a Born King.

This Born King will
be the last sacrifice

for the salvation and the
redemption of mankind.

If that's the case, then
that puts a significant mark

right here where we're standing,

the conclusion is salvation
of mankind is sealed

through the blood of
King Yeshua, The Lamb.

(gentle music)

- And Luke tells us the rest
of the story of the shepherds.

"And they came with haste
and found Mary and Joseph,

and the Babe lying in a manger.

And when they had seen Him,

they made widely
known the saying

which was told them
concerning this Child.

And all those who heard it
marveled at those things

which were told him
by the shepherds.

But Mary kept all these things

and pondered them in her heart.

Then the shepherds returned,

glorifying and praising God

for all the things that
they had heard and seen

as it was told them."

- We need to glorify
God everywhere we go,

for his salvation, his
redemption, and his grace

in this Christmas
festive season.

So Merry Christmas,
God bless you,

from the Shepherd's Field,

a place with a genesis
where our faith began.

(dramatic music)

- One of my great
Christmas memories

is being on a pilgrimage to
the Holy Land for Christmas.

And on Christmas Eve, we all
gathered together in a field

overlooking a little town
called Bethlehem in Israel.

It was in the 1970s,

and there was a
whole group of us,

and we brought candles
and we lit the candles

and then started singing
Christmas carols.

"Oh, Little Town of Bethlehem."

So here we are in candlelight

in a field
overlooking Bethlehem.

To our amazement, some
shepherds came by,

they were watching over
their flocks at night.

So it's like the
biblical story unveiling.

And they wanted to see what
are these crazy Americans doing

with these candles
out in our field?

And they wanted to find
out what we were doing.

And so we got the translator
and did a translation

and told them the
Christmas Story.

And told them about an
angel appearing to shepherds

and declaring, "Glory
to God in the highest,

and on Earth peace,
goodwill to all people."

Now, one of the signs

that the angels told the
shepherds to look for,

"You will find a Babe
wrapped in swaddling cloth,

lying in a manger."

What's the significance of that?

Well, the shepherds
would've known,

'cause they were there
producing the very sheep

for the sacrifice for Passover,

and they would've known
exactly what that meant.

In order for that
lamb to be perfect,

they would wrap
that lamb in cloth

to keep that lamb
from being injured.

So here's Jesus

being wrapped in that
same cloth, in a manger,

being preserved and
being known as The Lamb

who takes away the
sin of the world.

This Christmas, let's remember,

"Glory to God in the highest,

and on Earth peace,
goodwill to all people."

Let's tell that message
again and again and again.

Until every tribe, nation,
and tongue understands it,

whether it's on a hillside
in Bethlehem today,

or in some remote
part of the Silk Road,

the remote areas,
the remote tribes.

Let's keep repeating
that wonderful message

until all can hear
and understand.

Well, here's a word
from the Gospel of John.

"Behold! The Lamb of God

who takes away the
sin of the world!"

Merry Christmas to you.

We'll see you again tomorrow.