Ruth,<br><br>I agree with you Ruth how sad it is to see how the world misses the true meaning of Christmas and uses it for its pursuit of pleasure. Each year it seems to be hidden more and more under the marketing schemes of the spiritually blind society we live in. Those who don't know Christ can't possibly understand how important that first Christmas was. <br><br>As we reflect on the coming of our Savior this season we have so much to rejoice in. I treasurer the music of George Frederick Handel who gave us the beautiful musical composition "Messiah." It just wouldn't be Christmas without hearing and singing this glorious music and reflecting on the meaning of His coming. This musical composition helps us to express our eternal joy in Him. Even if the world fails to see the importance of the virgin birth of a baby born in a manger many years ago we who by God's grace have the eyes to see behold our Deliverer!<br><br>Ravi Zacharias radio program called "A Slice of Infinity" today had this wonderful message...<br><br>[color:blue]Handel's Messiah, Our Deliverer <br>Ravi Zacharias <br><br>One of the greatest masterpieces of musical composition, if not the<br>greatest, is the work of George Frederic Handel simply called Messiah.<br>Prior to its composition Handel had not been successful as a musician and<br>had retired from much professional activity by the age of fifty-six. Then,<br>in a remarkable series of events, a friend presented him with a libretto<br>based upon the life of Christ, the entire script of which was Scripture. <br><br>Handel shut himself in his room on Brook Street in London. In twenty-four<br>days, breathtakingly absorbed in his composition and hardly eating or<br>drinking, Handel completed the work all the way to its orchestration. He<br>was a man in the grip of profound inspiration. Later, as he groped for<br>words to describe what he had experienced, he quoted Saint Paul, saying,<br>"Whether I was in the body or out of my body when I wrote it I know not."<br>Handel's servant testified that on one occasion when he walked into the<br>room to plead with him to eat, he saw Handel with tears streaming down his<br>face saying, "I did think I did see all Heaven before me, and the great<br>God Himself."<br><br>When Messiah was staged in London, as the notes of the Hallelujah Chorus<br>rang out - "King of Kings and Lord of Lords...And He shall reign forever<br>and ever" - the king of England, drawn irresistibly, stood to his feet,<br>and the audience followed as one. <br><br>Listen to how one writer sums up the impact of Messiah:<br><br>Handel personally conducted more than thirty performances of Messiah; many<br>of these concerts were for the benefit of the hurting and the needy.<br>"Messiah has fed the hungry, clothed the naked, fostered the orphan...."<br>Another wrote, "Perhaps the works of no other composer have so largely<br>contributed to the relief of human suffering." (Footnote 1: Patrick<br>Kavanaugh, The Spiritual Lives of Great Composers (Nashville: Sparrow<br>Press, 1992), 6.)<br><br>Even if overstated, the point is well taken. The work was based entirely<br>on Scripture. The focus was on the person of Christ. The spirit of a man<br>was enraptured by the holiness of God. A king rose spontaneously to his<br>feet. The people followed his example. The first performance was a<br>charitable benefit to raise money to free 142 people from prison who could<br>not pay their debts. In the prison of suffering and evil within which the<br>whole world now lives, the same Messiah offers us deliverance. Come to<br>this Messiah today, dear friend, and you will know the joy of rescue from<br>sin and newfound freedom to live a triumphant life for God. That will be<br>truly inspiring. <br><br>Copyright (p)(c) 2001 Ravi Zacharias International Ministries (RZIM)</font color=blue><br><br>The world exploits holidays for their own pleasure but we Christians should embrace Christmas for what it truely is. The coming of our Savior! God became flesh and dwelt among us and offered up His body for the forgiveness of our sins. Hallelujah, AMEN!<br><br><br>Wes<br>

When I survey the wondrous cross on which the Prince of Glory died, my richest gain I count but loss and pour contempt on all my pride. - Isaac Watts