Ken Winter
Advent – We Three Kings (Balthazar’s Story)

If you would prefer to listen to this post as a podcast, CLICK HERE.

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Introduction to this post:

This is the fourth of this year’s weekly Advent posts. Those of you who have followed the blog for more than a year know that it is my annual practice to post a weekly story for the season of Advent about the incarnational birth of Jesus. My hope is that the stories have become a part of your Advent tradition as you remember and celebrate the Good News of the advent of our Lord and Savior.

This year’s posts are as follows:

Week #1 - November 27th: O Come, O Come, Emmanuel (Joseph’s Story)

Week #2 - December 4th: Away in a Manger (Achim’s Story)

Week #3 – December 11th: Silent Night (Moshe’s Story)

This week - December 18th: We Three Kings (Balthazar’s Story)

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My name is Balthazar and I am a lifelong student of the science of the stars….

Advent – We Three Kings (Balthazar’s Story)
Ken Winter
Advent – Silent Night (Moshe’s Story)

If you would prefer to listen to this post as a podcast, CLICK HERE.

Introduction to this post:

This is the third of this year’s weekly Advent posts. Those of you who have followed the blog for more than a year know that it is my annual practice to post a weekly story for the season of Advent about the incarnational birth of Jesus. My hope is that the stories have become a part of your Advent tradition as you remember and celebrate the Good News of the advent of our Lord and Savior.

This year’s posts are as follows:

Week #1 - November 27th: O Come, O Come, Emmanuel (Joseph’s Story)

Week #2 - December 4th: Away in a Manger (Achim’s Story)

This week – December 11th: Silent Night (Moshe’s Story)

December 18th: We Three Kings (Balthazar’s Story)

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I am a shepherd named Moshe.

Advent – Silent Night (Moshe’s Story)
Ken Winter
Advent – Away in a Manger (Achim’s Story)

If you would prefer to listen to this post as a podcast, CLICK HERE.

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Introduction to this post:

This is the second of this year’s weekly Advent posts. Those of you who have followed the blog for more than a year know that it is my annual practice to post a weekly story for the season of Advent about the incarnational birth of Jesus. My hope is that the stories have become a part of your Advent tradition as you remember and celebrate the Good News of the advent of our Lord and Savior.

This year’s posts are as follows:

Last week - November 27th: O Come, O Come, Emmanuel (Joseph’s Story)

This week - December 4th: Away in a Manger (Achim’s Story)

December 11th: Silent Night (Moshe’s Story)

December 18th: We Three Kings (Balthazar’s Story)

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My name is Achim. My family and I live here in Bethlehem, the town of our ancestor David, the shepherd king….

Advent – Away in a Manger (Achim’s Story)
Ken Winter
Advent - O Come, O Come, Emmanuel (Joseph’s ...

If you would prefer to listen to this post as a podcast, CLICK HERE.

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A preface to this post:

Dear family, friends and faithful readers of this blog,

This week is my 321st weekly blog post—not a huge number for many, but for me it has been a sharing of my heart with you. Those of you who have followed the blog for more than a year know that it is my annual practice to post a weekly stories for the season of Advent about the incarnational birth of Jesus. My hope is that the stories have become a part of your Advent tradition as you remember and celebrate the Good News of the advent of our Lord and Savior.

This year, i am repeating four of the weekly Advent posts from 2019 for two reasons. First, i have made changes to the posts, and have a higher quality audio recording of the posts in the event you would like to listen to them on audio—feel free to click the link above to do so.

The second reason is that i will be bringing my season of posting to an end as of the end of December. As many of you know, i have been diagnosed with metastatic (stage 4) lung cancer and am now being placed on home hospice care. Thus, it has become more difficult for me to produce these post. I hope and pray you receive these as my gift and expression of love to you.

The remaining five posts are as follows:

November 27th: O Come, O Come, Emmanuel (Joseph’s Story)

December 4th: Away in a Manger (Achim’s Story)

December 11th: Silent Night (Moshe’s Story)

December 18th: We Three Kings (Balthazar’s Story)

December 25th: A Christmas Celebration (My Story)

Advent - O Come, O Come, Emmanuel (Joseph’s Story)
Ken Winter
His Dwelling Place

If you would prefer to listen to this post as a podcast, CLICK HERE.

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What does it mean to live in the shelter of the Most High and to find rest in His shadow? This is how Psalm 91 begins—a psalm many attribute to Moses. i believe that attribution is fitting. Moses is the one who carried Jehovah God’s instructions to His people for constructing the Tabernacle in the wilderness. He witnessed the fabrication of each part and completed the last of the work.

The Tabernacle was completed exactly as the Lord specified and was erected on the first anniversary of Israel’s departure from Egypt. That day, the Lord’s glorious presence descended upon it, covering and filling it with His awesome glory. His presence, previously seen in the guiding pillar of cloud, now took residence within His dwelling place among the people. From that day on, as His Spirit led, the people moved forward; when His Spirit remained in the Tabernacle, the people encamped.

His Dwelling Place

Abiding in the Vine

The Staff That Blossoms

The Staff That Blossoms

If you would prefer to listen to this post as a podcast, CLICK HERE.

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There is a powerful example in the Book of Numbers that illustrates how we should live as followers of Christ. Ironically, this example arose from a dispute among God's chosen people. They were arguing over who should hold the highest position. In some ways, this mirrors the debate among Jesus’ disciples about who would be the greatest in the kingdom. In both cases, selfish ambition reared its head, just as it often does in our own lives.

God decided to put an end to the controversy about who should serve as a priest on behalf of the people. Despite the judgments of death God had already rendered earlier in the passage, He now used a life-giving sign to settle the issue once and for all.

The Withered Fig Tree

The Withered Fig Tree

If you would prefer to listen to this post as a podcast, CLICK HERE.

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Two days had passed since the people had cried out, “Hosanna,” as Jesus arrived in the city. For the third day in a row, Jesus and His disciples were headed back into Jerusalem after overnighting in Bethany. On this morning, they passed a dead fig tree. And there was something unusual about the way this tree had died. The disciples noticed that the tree had withered from the roots up. It has shriveled due to a complete lack of water and nutrients. The apostle Peter spoke up to remind everyone that the Master had cursed this seemingly healthy tree only one day prior. In that one day, a tree which had been full of leaves and had given the outward appearance of health and growth was now completely withered and dead. A process that should have taken weeks, or maybe even months, had occurred overnight. Not only was it seemingly cut-off from its source of water at its roots, but also all of the moisture that had existed within the tree had evaporated.

In an earlier post entitled The Lesson of the Fig Tree, we looked at the fact that the tree which had been created to be fruitful had been found by Jesus to be fruitless. On this morning, immediately following Peter’s pronouncement, Jesus began to teach the disciples about faith. Though it may seem like it is an abrupt change of subject . . . it was not!

The Lesson of the Fig Tree

The Lesson of the Fig Tree

If you would prefer to listen to this post as a podcast, CLICK HERE.

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It was the day after Jesus’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem. He knew that in four days He would be nailed to a cross. There was much He wanted to teach His disciples in those remaining days – and there is much He wants to teach us through them.

He and His disciples had more than likely been lodging with Lazarus, Martha and Mary in Bethany the night before. On that Monday morning they were headed to the temple in Jerusalem. En route, Jesus was hungry. Apparently, Martha hadn’t fed them breakfast that morning. Or more likely, He had forgone breakfast to spend time with the Father in prayer. He saw a fig tree beside the road and it was in “full leaf”. Both Matthew and Mark in their Gospels tell us that Jesus “went over to see if He could find any figs.”

Let’s stop and consider that for a moment.

Like a Tree Planted by Streams of Water

Like a Tree Planted by Streams of Water

If you would prefer to listen to this post as a podcast, CLICK HERE.

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A few days ago, a friend reminded me of the first promise given to each one of us as recorded in the first Psalm:

Blessed is the man {or woman} who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners,nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his {or her} delight is in the Law of the Lord, and on His Law he {or she} meditates day and night. He {or she} is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he {or she} does, he {or she} prospers.(1)

Having grown up in South Florida, a picture of the majestic royal palms towering over me with their fronds waving in the breezes immediately comes to my mind. The word picture given by the psalmist can feel very serene. It’s a picture of strength and peace rooted in the assurance of God’s Law and His Word.

Standing In His Love

Standing In His Love

Over the past year we have all experienced the rise in the emotional temperature of our nation and our world. The Gallup organization reports that sadness, anger, fear and stress have soared to record levels around the globe. Unquestionably, the COVID-19 crisis has been a great contributor to the rising tide of those emotions, but it has not stood alone in that distinction. In our nation, political and social upheavals have added to the mix in unprecedented ways, and the economic disruption that has resulted from all of the above has added significant fuel to the fire. If we were to lay a snapshot of January 2021 and January 2020 side-by-side there would be no mistaking the enormous changes we have all experienced in these last twelve months.

Today in the U.S. we inaugurated a new president and vice president. The atmosphere surrounding those events looked very different from anything we have ever before seen. Our “peaceful” transition of leadership, though characterized by a message of unity, was scarred by razor-wire and an unprecedented security force of police officers and soldiers. Regardless of our political persuasion, we pray for our new leaders as they step into their respective roles in these unparalleled days. We pray that the days ahead will be characterized by peace, sound wisdom and an earnest effort to do what is best for our nation. We pray that all of us – people and leaders alike – will truly endeavor to move forward guided by truth, genuine compassion, and regard for one another. We pray that the year 2021 would not be characterized by sadness, anger, fear and stress, like its predecessor, but rather joy, charity, forbearance and respect.

But here’s the thing – only light can defeat darkness, only truth can defeat lies, and only true love never fails….

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