Ken Winter
Between the Already and the Not Yet

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As Jesus sat on the slopes of the Mount of Olives, teaching His disciples, He began this particular discourse with the admonition, “be on the alert,” and concluded with the exact same words. In reading His words in the Gospel of Matthew, we see that He directed this message to four distinct “audiences.”

First, He addressed His disciples' specific questions. Second, since Jesus’ earthly ministry focused primarily on the Jewish people, this message was also directed to them. Third, He spoke to His church—those who would follow after Him, including us today, who will be with Him in heaven before the Tribulation. (By the way, as a side note—as His people we will escape the Tribulation, but He never promised that we will escape tribulation.) Fourth, He was speaking to His followers who would come to faith in Him during the Tribulation (after the rapture, but before His second coming).

For those of us in that third group—believers following Him today—we live in a place between the “already” and the “not yet.”

Between the Already and the Not Yet
Ken Winter
Simple Stories, Profound Truths

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When Jesus spoke to the crowds, He often used simple stories (parables) to communicate profound truths about the Kingdom of God. Have you ever gotten confused over what Jesus was saying? If so, you’re in good company because even the apostles were confused—until they were filled with the Holy Spirit. The good news is, if we are followers of Jesus, we have that same Holy Spirit inside of us to reveal all truth.

Once, the disciples asked Him, “Why do You use parables when You talk to the people?” Jesus replied, “To those who listen to My teaching, more understanding will be given, and they will have an abundance of knowledge. But for those who are not listening, even what little understanding they have will be taken away from them.” He added, “I use parables because they look, but don’t really see. They hear, but don’t really listen or understand.”

Jesus was emphasizing profound truths ….

Simple Stories, Profound Truths
Ken Winter
No More Manna

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Have you recently lost a job or seen a significant income stream dry up? Are you feeling discouraged or confused about what’s happening? Are you struggling to make sense of an unexpected change in your life? There’s a lesson to be learned from the Israelites’ experience soon after they crossed into the Promised Land.

Few Israelites were old enough to remember the days before they ate manna. For them, it had become a basic staple of their diet—like fresh ground peanut butter is for me today. The generation that perished in the wilderness had been the ones grumbling, “If only the LORD had killed us back in Egypt… There we sat around pots filled with meat and ate all the bread we wanted. But now you have brought us into this wilderness to starve us all to death.”God responded to their complaints and miraculously provided them with manna.

No More Manna
Ken Winter
The Staff That Blossoms

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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 Staff That Blossoms
Ken Winter
Seen the Cloud? See the Glory!

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If you are a follower of Christ—if you are one of God’s children—He promises to go before you, not just some of the time, but all the time. When we walk in His way and according to His will, He guarantees that every step we take is sure and secure—even when it doesn’t feel that way! As long as we are walking in His way to the best of our understanding, we can trust that every situation and circumstance—whether He placed it there or not—will work for our ultimate good, His purpose, and His glory.

Let’s consider an example of this truth. From the day the Israelites left Egypt, the Lord gave His people a constant reminder of His presence. He sent a pillar of cloud to guide them by day and a pillar of fire by night, so they could travel without losing sight of His leading. In Exodus we read, “The LORD did not remove the pillar of cloud or the pillar of fire from the sight of the people.” This visible reminder was with them for the entire month since their journey began.

Seen the Cloud? See the Glory!

Apostle Paul

And the Peace of God …

And the Peace of God …

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Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

For many years, the first of these two verses has been a familiar “go-to” for me. Paul encourages us not to be weighed down by anxiety, but rather to bring everything to God in prayer, trusting that He is greater than any situation we may face. Over time, i’ve found this to be sound advice and have endeavored not to let anxiety take hold.

However, i must admit that i have often overlooked the next verse about the peace of God....

Finish Strong

Finish Strong

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In his last letter, the apostle Paul told his protégé Timothy that he had fought the good fight. He had finished the race. He had kept the faith. He had completed what God had set before him. His life is an example to us to not stop short of the goal . . . to not give up . . . but to finish strong! 

Sadly, the Israelites demonstrated to us what it looks like when we give up and don’t finish strong. The LORD had led them to conquer the individual lands that He had given them to possess. And He said, “I have given you victory over the land.” But repeatedly throughout the first chapter of Judges we read, they “failed to drive out the people living” in the land. The tribe of Judah failed to drive out the people living in the plains who had iron chariots. The tribe of Benjamin failed to drive out the Jebusites. The tribes of Manasseh, Ephraim, Zebulun, Asher, and Naphtali failed to drive out the Canaanites. The tribe of Dan failed to drive out the Amorites. Each of the tribes stopped short of the direction the LORD had given them, and the long term result was catastrophic.

Why did they stop short?

A Journey on the Damascus Road

A Journey on the Damascus Road

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A religious zealot by the name of Saul set out on a journey that day. It was a journey of his own choosing. He was on a mission – his own mission. No one had told him to go. He had to solicit letters of endorsement to provide to the synagogues in Damascus so that he could obtain their cooperation. No one gave him those letters. He had to solicit them.

There are two possible reasons for his actions. One possibility is that he had become so caught up in the rhetoric of the religious leaders that he truly had developed a deep-seated hatred for these followers of Jesus. He had guarded the cloaks while the others had stoned Stephen. Since that day he had begun to make a name for himself as a persecutor of Christ followers there in Jerusalem. He had become a part of the threat that prompted the believers to scatter. As he saw it, the believers were a threat to the very fiber of the established religious community, and he saw this as a holy war to eliminate their influence. As such, he was willing to go fight battles that even the religious leaders themselves had no interest in fighting. They were content to be rid of the many believers who had fled from Jerusalem; Saul, however, was not.

There is No Such Thing as a Small Act of Obedience

There is No Such Thing as a Small Act of Obedience

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When was the last time you felt God prompting you to step out of your comfort zone? It may have been a prompting to perform a small act of service for someone you didn’t know … or someone you knew … but didn’t like. It may have been a prompting to do something that you’ve never done before … and you were afraid you would fail … and embarrass yourself … or fall flat on your face. Or, it may have been a prompting to speak to someone who intimidates you … and the prospect was frightening to you.

And you may have been tempted to ignore the prompting by convincing yourself that your obedience didn’t really matter. Someone else could do it; someone else who was far more capable … or far more confident … or far more qualified.

A Divine Delay

A Divine Delay

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Most of us, if not all of us, have experienced a delay in a journey. Most certainly, we have all experienced a simple travel delay caused by circumstances outside of our control. But the type of delay i’m referring to is related to our life journey. We set out on a path that we believed God had set our feet upon only to encounter an unexpected delay that either went on – or is still going on – for what seems like an eternity. If you find yourself being delayed even now, i encourage you to take a reminder from this delay in the apostle Paul’s life journey.

A Hidden Journey

A Hidden Journey

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Jesus will often take us on a wilderness journey with Him in order to prepare us and equip us for the task that He is placing before us. There are things that He can only teach us when we are one-on-One with Him in the deserts, or the floods, or the difficulties of a wilderness journey. He alone determines how long the journey will last and where it will lead. Though He is using the time in the wilderness to prepare us for what He has in store after the wilderness, He also has work for us right there in the midst of the wilderness! And through the preparation and the work, He is teaching us truths we can only learn directly from Him.

Sometimes those wilderness journeys are a very private and personal affair. It’s us and the Lord – and very few others, if any, know about it. It’s a “hidden” journey – and i personally believe that it is in that type of journey that God does His deepest work in our lives. It is an intimate journey that God uses to remove the dross from our lives and refine us to be vessels that are prepared and useful to Him….

An Opening In The Wall

An Opening In The Wall

When Saul returned to Damascus after a three-year journey in the Arabian wilderness, the Jews plotted together to kill him. The “hunter”, Saul, had now become the hunted. Having been an ardent persecutor of Christians, he was fully aware of all of the means that were at the disposal of his “hunters”. He may have actually trained some of those Jews in the best way to capture the Christians. He could anticipate the details of the next steps in the playbook of the plot against him. He had written the playbook!

He had two good reasons to be self-confident. First, Saul was a brilliant man. He probably had “plays” in his playbook that these men had never thought of. It would have been very easy for him to be overconfident in his own knowledge and his own ability to thwart the plans of those who were plotting against him. He easily could have determined to rely on his own ability to overcome the problem himself….

Do Everything In Love

Do Everything In Love

The apostle Paul closed his letter to the believers in Corinth with those simple words almost two thousand years ago – do everything in love!(1) And those words couldn’t possibly be more relevant to us today. The strength of the message not only lies in its simplicity; it lies in its completeness.

DO – It’s not a passive word; it commands action. It means we don’t just sit and watch; we get up and act. It’s not a reactive word; it’s a proactive word. We need to initiate. It’s not enough to simply agree. Now is the time to act.

EVERYTHING – It doesn’t leave anything out. It includes our words – those that we speak, those that we post, those that we tweet and those that we think….

Are We Turning The World Upside Down?

Are We Turning The World Upside Down?

One day the apostle Paul and his traveling companions arrived in the city of Thessalonica. (You can read about it in the 17th chapter of Acts.) The city was named in honor of the step-sister of Alexander the Great, and was a prominent city of its day. Three rivers flowed from the city into the Aegean Sea which made it a major seaport for trade and transportation. It was declared to be a “free city” by the Roman government – which meant that it had an elected assembly that governed local matters and it had no occupying military force stationed within its walls.  

There was a synagogue in the city. Paul labored at his tentmaking trade through the week, and on three successive Sabbaths, he went to the synagogue. Every day he used the Scriptures (the Old Testament) to share the gospel message of Christ’s death, burial and resurrection.

After three weeks of ministry, Paul saw a large number of people believe….

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