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

God's Plan

Why Were We Chosen?

Why Were We Chosen?

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We live in a culture that believes life centers around us. It is about “my” dreams, “my” ambitions, and “my” goals. Our fulfillment most often comes from our needs being met, our dreams being achieved, and our achievements being recognized. We’re striving for the “trophy,” even though it has taken on different forms and shapes as we’ve gotten older. It’s the lie that our culture feeds – that “it’s all about me.”

In the Book of Exodus, we read that Aaron and his two eldest sons, Nadab and Abihu, together with seventy of the elders of Israel, climbed partway up Mount Sinai with Moses.(1) There they saw the God of Israel and shared a meal together in His presence under His feet. By the way – if you can imagine being a part of that group – it was pretty heady stuff. Imagine being invited to sit at God’s table! Then, having seen God, Aaron and his sons were given an opportunity to serve Him as doorkeepers in His House.

The Day The Sun Stood Still

The Day The Sun Stood Still

“Let the sun stand still over Gibeon….”

Though Joshua is the one who voiced that prayer, it did not begin in his heart. It was birthed in the heart of God! The sun standing still was not a part of a battle strategy that Joshua and the other leaders had devised. Even though it was highly effective that day, they never included that particular strategy in any of their future battle plans. They never again used that prayer in some type of last-ditch effort when the tide of battle was not going in their direction – kind of like a “Hail, Mary” pass in the final seconds of a football game.

That prayer was divinely inspired for that specific moment in time by God.

Trustworthy

Trustworthy

From the very beginning, God has chosen to work through ordinary men and women to accomplish His work. There is a quality that is glaringly consistent among all of them. It’s not that they were the smartest, or the strongest, or the richest, or even the bravest. They weren’t all the best educated, or the best looking, or the best positioned, or even the best equipped. They weren’t the most well-spoken, the most experienced, the most creative, or even the most athletic. It wasn’t their talent that set them apart. It wasn’t their achievements or their pedigree. Each of them may have had one or two of these traits, but there is only one characteristic that was true for each and every one. God looked on their hearts and saw that they were trustworthy.

They were by no means perfect. As a matter of fact, every one of them was flawed. Noah was known to drink too much. Abraham was known to lie whenever he thought it was to his advantage. Jacob was a deceiver. Moses had a bad temper. David committed adultery and even murder. Solomon was blinded by pride. Isaiah had a foul mouth. Peter denied his Lord. And Paul refused to extend grace when he should have….

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