Ken Winter
On To Our Paran

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After having camped at Mount Sinai for almost a year, the cloud lifted and the Israelites set out on their three-day journey to the wilderness of Paran.(1) (You may recall that the wilderness of Paran is where Hagar and Ishmael found refuge when Sarah had Abraham send them away.(2)) The wilderness of Paran was bounded to the north by southern Canaan, otherwise known as the Promised Land. They were in the fourteenth month of their exodus from Egypt and they were now closing in on the prize that was before them – the Promised Land!

On To Our Paran
Ken Winter
Bread That Is Sufficient

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The day God provided a ram to be sacrificed in the place of his son Isaac, Abraham called that place Jehovah Jireh, meaning “The Lord will provide.”(1) That day was to be a reminder to all generations that the Lord will provide. He will be faithful to provide just what is needed at the exact time it is needed. He is seldom early; but He is never late! He seldom provides in the manner we anticipate; but He always provides in a way that is sufficient. That was true for Abraham and Isaac, it was true for Moses and the Israelites, and it is true for us today.

God promised Moses and the Israelites that each morning He would provide bread that would be sufficient for every person for the day – everyone would have their fill.(2) After the people had gotten over the shock that this “white, flaky stuff” was God’s bread for them, they set about the process of gathering what was needed for their household. God’s provision, though “packaged” in a very unexpected way, came with very specific instructions.

Bread That Is Sufficient
Ken Winter
Chosen to Serve

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There is no such thing as a perfect church. That statement does not come as a shock to any of us, whether we are a part of a church … or not. However, i do believe that those of us inside the church often tend to want everyone to believe we have it all together. We have a tendency to hide the “real me” behind a mask and cover up the things, the hurts, the doubts, and the imperfections that we don’t want anyone else to see. (It’s similar to the way most of us – believers and non-believers alike – tend to portray ourselves on social media.)

i also believe that those outside the church often project that false impression – that we think we’re perfect – upon the church, and enjoy highlighting the downfall of those within the church when they fall.

No, the church isn’t perfect, but then again, it never has been! But we endeavor to worship, follow, and follow the example of the only One who is and ever was perfect.

Chosen to Serve
Ken Winter
Perilous Times

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We live in a day filled with upheaval, confusion, and uncertainty. It therefore comes as no surprise that the rates of depression, anxiety, and fearfulness about the future continue to reach new highs  among adults in the U. S. according to a Gallup poll published in May 2023.(1) But as followers of Christ, we can take heart that the perilous times in which we find ourselves are also indicative of the days to come that Jesus described two thousand years ago. We can embrace the hope we have through the promises and assurance He gave to His disciples—and through them, to us.

Jesus was sitting on the slopes of the Mount of Olives with His disciples telling them about the perilous times that would signal the end of the age and His return.(2) The disciples, in turn, asked Him three questions:

1.    When will all this happen?

2.    What sign will signal Your return?

3.    What sign will signal the end of the world?

Perilous Times
Ken Winter
His Face Was Set

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The New King James translation of Luke 9:51 says “Now it came to pass, when the time had come for Jesus to be received up, that He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem.” The timeframe of this particular journey recorded in Luke 9 was well over a year before Jesus arrived in Jerusalem on what we call Palm Sunday. He still had much yet to do, messages yet to preach, and miracles yet to perform. But in this verse, Luke is reminding us that Jesus never lost sight of why the Father had sent Him. No matter what was on His “to do list,” His face was always set, His eye was always focused, and His stride never wavered from His ultimate purpose.

Sometimes, as we remember the events of Holy Week, we can fall into a trap of thinking that Jesus’s crucifixion was the result of Judas’s betrayal, the Sanhedrin’s envy and hatred, Pilate’s spinelessness, and the soldiers’ cruelty. We can be lulled into thinking His death was involuntary. And salvation was the result of God taking something that the enemy meant for evil and using it for His glory and our good.

His Face Was Set

Book of Acts

Who Should We Obey?

Who Should We Obey?

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What do we do when those around us are telling us to do one thing, but our conscience says quite another? Or what do we do when the culture surrounding us advocates one thing, when what we know to be true is quite different?

Most of us are familiar with the Hans Christian Andersen folktale entitled The Emperor’s New Clothes (first published in April 1837). As you will recall the emperor becomes convinced that a new suit of clothing of unparalleled beauty and quality has been crafted for him to wear that can only be seen and appreciated by those who are truly wise and discerning. It is an innocent child who ultimately has the courage to say, “But he hasn’t got anything on!”

Sadly, we, too, are often told to accept truths that are not true, and believe facts that are as baseless as the emperor’s nonexistent clothing. What are we to do? Who should we obey?

One Heart, One Mind

One Heart, One Mind

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Each of us walk through difficult circumstances at times and for seasons of our lives. You may, in fact, be walking through one right now. As i write this, a member of my family is walking through a difficult and challenging time. It is an attack from the enemy. It is important to remember that God is not the author of the circumstance. He is not the author of deceit, or illness, or hardship. But He is the “Sovereign Lord, Creator of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them.” We would do well to follow the example of those we see gathered in prayer in Acts 4. They were not praying according to their will, but according to His; they were not praying for escape, but praying for His Spirit to enable them, empower them and embolden them through it.

Peter and John had just returned from their time before the high council. They had been threatened to “never again speak or teach in the Name of Jesus.” How did they and the other believers respond? By confessing the awesomeness of God in prayer. The greatest concentration of spiritual power in that day and in Jerusalem was in that prayer gathering. Perhaps it was the greatest concentration of any time or any place. There was no doubt. There was no hesitance. There was no fear. There was no question. There was no division. The Spirit of God united them and they lifted their voices TOGETHER. The people were of one heart and one mind, and God was pleased to answer their requests.

In Whose Name Have You Done This?

In Whose Name Have You Done This?

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It started with the testimony of a lame man who was faithful to give praise to God for what He had done. Often that’s how God begins a work of salvation. Just like it happened through the woman at the well in Sychar. It also happened through the faithfulness of the young boy who gave his sack lunch to Jesus. And it happened through Lazarus when he walked out of that tomb.

Seeing and hearing that the man born lame was now walking, leaping and praising God, the people in the Temple were “absolutely astounded,” and they “rushed out in amazement” to where the man was “holding tightly” to Peter and John. “Peter saw his opportunity and addressed the crowd.”(7) He wasted no time in asking the crowd two questions to get their focus on the right Person: “what is so surprising about this?” and “why stare at us as though we made this man walk by our own power or godliness?”

It would have been easy for the group to get carried away by the sight of the miracle and totally miss the Miracle Worker.

Is the Door Open or Closed?

Is the Door Open or Closed?

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At critical junctures along the pathway of our lives, we encounter doors that are either open or closed. We tend to perceive the open doors as an invitation or acknowledgement to proceed, and we often walk through them with excitement and expectation. However, we tend to look at closed doors quite differently. Those closed doors often represent to us something we really wanted to do or experience, and we respond to the closed door with disappointment – i.e. a missed job or life opportunity, a missed promotion, a missed adventure, etc. In those instances, we can sometimes mistakenly view God as a cosmic killjoy.

At those moments, we would do well to remember that He is God … and we aren’t. He can see what’s behind the closed door … and we can’t. He can see what’s on the road ahead … and we are blind to it. He knows what will ultimately be for our good and His glory … and we don’t. He sees the whole plan!

But before we become too hard on ourselves for our lack of faith, it’s worthy to note that we are in good company. Even the apostle Paul suffered from the disappointment of closed doors….

Is He Worthy?

Is He Worthy?

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This past Sunday as our faith community sang the confessional worship song “Is He Worthy?” (lyrics below), i found myself pondering, “Do i really believe what i am singing? Is God truly worthy of all blessing, honor, and glory? And if He is, am i really living out my life as if He is?”

Those questions caused me to think about the early believers we read about in the Book of Acts.(1) Because they truly believed God is worthy, there was a conspicuous transformation that occurred in their lives. It changed the way they thought about everything – themselves, their priorities, their relationships, their time, and their possessions. They immediately recognized something that appears to be more difficult for us today.

He Will Return

He Will Return

The sixth and final book of my series Lessons Learned In The Wilderness releases this week. It is an important mile marker for me in my spiritual journey. This week marks the 16th anniversary of the day the Lord confirmed His direction to me to begin writing the first book in the series. 

At the time, we had just begun a journey of faith into the unknown. As i reflect over the sixteen years since this journey began – and the 366 chapters that comprise the complete series (6 books, 61 chapters each) – i am again reminded of the faithfulness of our God. Each one of these chapters is one of the many lessons He taught us along the way. They are lessons about His goodness, His grace, His mercy, His steadfastness, His love, His provision, and so much more.

This book – Until He Returns – looks at the journey of those first century followers of Jesus as seen through the Book of Acts. i am mindful that Acts begins with a group of one hundred twenty men and women gathered around Jesus to say farewell as He ascends into heaven. They were embarking on their own journey into the unknown. They knew what it meant to walk with Jesus – but now they were supposed to continue on – even though He would no longer be there with them physically.

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