Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 1: 7b).

Before we are through celebrating Thanksgiving we are preparing for Black Friday and couple days following, we begin the observance of the Advent season.   The Christian communities during the Advent season focus on “the reason for the season” – Jesus Christ.  Advent reminds us that God loves us, interested in our personal struggles, and keeps His promise to save us.
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I encourage you to be very prayerful and earnest as we at WHBC observe this Advent season, which begins this Sunday and goes up to the Sunday before Christmas. We will observe Advent with a wreath with 5 candles that represent 1) Hope; 2) Peace; 3) Love; 4) Joy; and 5) Jesus, which will be lit each Sunday.

We praise God for the Incarnation, which is the embodiment of God the Son in human flesh as Jesus Christ. John puts it this way: “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. Jesus took on a human body and human nature to experience humanity in all his/her lived-experience, so it became necessary for God to become man that He might be able to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself (Hebrews 9:26).  The Good News is that, Jesus came to us in human body to share the lived-experience of humanity, and to save us (Luke 17:11-13).

I charge you on one hand to acknowledge that the world is full of pain and suffering, hardships and turmoil, disappointment and regrets, and on the other hand be comforted by the fact that the Gospel is good news for everyone. The Advent message is that the mission of Jesus is Salvation – deliverance, healing of broken hearts, and supplying of needs.  The Gospels of Jesus teach that he [Jesus] is the embodiment of hope, joy, peace and love, and there is something special about hope among the people of God. Without hope we have no power to walk in love; no power to keep going on and not give up; no power to hold fast to the way of righteousness; and no power to hold ourselves to resist some brief unsatisfying pleasure.

This time of the year is hectic and busy with activities for most of us, including work, volunteer projects, church, family, and friends.  There is also the pressure to find the perfect gifts for everyone on our ever-expanding lists on a rather limited budget.  Rather than spending your time stressing about what is unavailable, unaffordable, and unappreciated, let this Advent season be for you personally a time of reflection, daily bible reading, and ceaseless praying. Let us allow our observance of the Advent season to prepare us for a joyous celebration of Christmas, the second coming of Jesus, and to remember how Jesus comes to us in our daily lives. Let us join the voices of generations of saints past and present in the refrain, O come, O come Emmanuel!
Yours in Christ,
Rev. Dr. Peter E. Grinion, Pastor

We are living in difficult and dangerous times! No one is exempt, no one gets a trouble-free ride to heaven. According to Tony Evans, “everything that happens in the world is either caused by God or allowed by God, and there is no other category.” When we are faced with problems, we have options either to retreat or face them squarely. Rather than dreading difficult situations, or putting them off, we can choose a course of action to be taken.

In the book of Esther, we see an inspiring story for people experiencing difficult and dangerous times. Mordecai reached out to his cousin, Queen Esther, the Jewish wife of the King of Persia, admonishing her to use her influence to save the Jewish population living in the empire from total destruction.
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“…After that I will go to the king, though it is against the law; and if I perish, I perish.” (Esther 4:16b)

The aforementioned text shows that Esther made the decision to risk her life for the good of her Jewish people. She knew her husband had a volatile spirit. She knew the risk involved in approaching her husband without an invitation. She specifically stated, “If I perish, I perish.” Following the Jewish tradition during difficult times, she and all her servants fasted for 3 days and 3 nights before she approached the king.

Fortunately, fasting and prayers resulted in a miraculous deliverance for the Jewish people in the kingdom. Esther persuaded the king to retract an order for the total destruction of the Jewish people throughout the empire. The massacre was plotted by the king’s chief minister, Haman, and the date decided by casting lots.

Often we focus intently on the details of our difficulties as if the difficulties themselves were the most important thing in the world. Surely, God is more concerned with how you respond to your trials than with the trials themselves. Despite the fact that we don’t have a choice about the bad things that happen to us, we can control how we respond – in faith or unbelief, in humility or arrogance, in hope or despair.

Esther’s experience teaches us that we should not wait to take a step for something until when we are guaranteed a positive outcome. Faith inspires bold action. “Keep alert, stand firm in your faith, be courageous, be strong. Let all you do be done in love” (1 Cor. 16:13). Step out in faith and do what God is calling you to do! You are not ahead of your time; You have not missed your time. You are here for such a time as this!

What’s your answer to the question, why were you born? Esther was born to save Judah from destruction. Like Esther, tests and trails will shape who you are and how you behave. Paul said, “You are His [God’s] workmanship created together in Christ Jesus unto the good works that God has before ordained that you should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10). Don’t wait for others to do for you what you can do. Get involved, and enjoy the results of sharing in your God-given purpose. What have you been delaying because of fear?

Certainly, our calling is impacted by our circumstances. Many people face the same problems and handle them differently. If after some reflections, you remembered missed opportunities to take a step for God; if you have failed a co-worker or family member and memory of that experience is troubling your mind, hindering your prayer life, or hindering true worship, take it to Jesus in prayer.

It is my prayer that you will become instruments for God for such a time as this.
 
Grace and blessings on your path,
 Rev. Dr. Peter E. Grinion, Pastor