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 is trustworthy

He’s Never Gonna Let Us Down

He’s Never Gonna Let Us Down

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We live in stormy times. Our world can be a very distressing place. We can easily become overwhelmed or defeated. Our news feeds are filled with reports of the ravages of disease, the havoc of disasters, and the inhumanity and incivility of man. Within a matter of moments, our lives can be upended into a cascading turmoil by sudden loss, distressing news, or tragic circumstances.

Where are we to turn? Our God has promised to never leave us nor forsake us . . . no matter what we face. He will never abandon us. He will never fail to keep His promises. He’s never gonna let us down!

We read in the book of Joshua, “Not a single one of all the good promises the LORD had given to the family of Israel was left unfulfilled; everything He had spoken came true.”

What Is That Up Ahead?

What Is That Up Ahead?

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As we stand on the brink of a new year, it prompts the question: what lies ahead? What will 2023 bring? Just like every other year that has preceded it, it will contain its own set of “unforeseens” and “unexpecteds.” So how do we approach that which awaits us up ahead? There have always been lessons learned in the past that help guide us into the future. Perhaps a good place for us to look is the journey of the Israelites.

Confidently Abandoned

Confidently Abandoned

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“Abandoned” is one of those English words that has multiple meanings. It can mean “having been deserted or cast off,” or to be “unrestrained, or uninhibited,” or it can mean “having totally relinquished.” None of us would ever want to be accused of having abandoned another person, or abandoned an animal or thing placed in our custodial care. We would never want to abandon any responsibility with which we have been entrusted. Rather, we all want to be known for our dedication and commitment to stay the course no matter what we encounter. We will never abandon our post, or anyone in need of or entrusted into our care.

However, we are called to be abandoned to God. Oswald Chambers writes, “In our abandonment we give ourselves over to God just as He gave Himself for us.” Jesus Himself called us to lay down our lives. Paul reminds us that it is not us, but Christ who lives in us. The writer of the proverb tells us that as we abandon ourselves and our ways to Him, He will make our paths straight.

And in our abandonment, we can be confident in the One to whom we are abandoned.

The Lesson of the Quail

The Lesson of the Quail

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It’s the beginning of a new year. Just like every year that has preceded it, the year stretches out before us like a great big unblemished canvas. This time next year, we’ll all be experts about what 2022 held in store for us … but right now, we really don’t have a clue, even though we may think we do. All of us have made plans of some sort for 2022. Those plans include the moments we look forward to – an upcoming marriage, the upcoming birth of a new family member, a graduation, the start of a new job, a planned vacation, a retirement, or the like. The list goes on and on. The possibilities are endless.

We’re also very aware of the problems we carry forward with us from the prior year – issues that we are facing personally, nationally or globally. We have made our plans for 2022 with the appropriate contingencies for those known problems as best we can. We’ve made our plans. We’ve set our course. But the reality is we really don’t know what will unfold. It could be amazing! It could be exceedingly above anything we could ask or think. Or … it could be devastating….

A Faith That Is Sure

A Faith That Is Sure

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Are you at a crossroad in your journey? Are you needing wisdom to know which road to take? Are you considering which of the roads in front of you is the best one for you? The probability is that all of your options look pretty good. Let’s face it – if one of your options looks like it will lead to complete disaster, you’re probably not wasting much time considering it. So your quandary is probably over which of the “good” options in front of you is the best. If that’s the case, you would do well to follow the example of a woman by the name of Rahab….

No Turning Back

No Turning Back

Regardless of our age, many of us have found ourselves, at some point, harkening back to the “good ole days.” Those days may not even have been that long ago. Most of us find ourselves harkening back to the days before COVID.

Whatever those days are for you, you probably remember them fondly. Our memories tend to wash away most, if not all, of the challenges, complications and difficulties those days actually contained. In truth, as we look back, we recall that time as more idyllic, less complicated and more fulfilling than it really was. And – if during our stroll down memory lane – we happen to recall any of our sinful behavior during those days, we tend to gloss over the sin, and instead, long for the temporary pleasure it provided.

That impulse to harken back to yesterday is often triggered by the overwhelming challenges of our current reality….

Never Lost

Never Lost

[A personal note: i actually wrote this blog post several weeks ago – before the events of January 6th. But once those events occurred, i paused its publication because i did not want anyone to mistakenly connect what i was saying with that event. This is a post about the confidence we can have in God in every circumstance we may encounter or experience in our lives. It is not about armed rebellion. It’s about a trustworthy God!]

*****

We see a sharp contrast between two groups of people when we read the account of the Israelites marching around the walls of Jericho.(1) On one side of the wall stood the people of Israel. They were confident and assured that, though they were facing an imposing enemy, their God would grant them victory. They weren’t trusting in any person, or any group of people; nor was their confidence in their own power or ability. Their confidence was in their God!

On the other side of the wall stood the citizens of Jericho, as they cowered in fear. It wasn’t a reverent fear of God; rather, it was a paralyzing fear.(2) They knew the God of the Israelites had already given their land to His people.(3)

The posture of both of those groups of people was completely determined by their view of God. Thirty-five hundred years later in 2021, that is still the case. Our posture is also completely determined by our view of God. We face many unknowns, just like they did. The enemies we face may look different, but the God we follow is not….

God Has Never Been Unfaithful

God Has Never Been Unfaithful

Even the best of us, no matter how well-intentioned, have come up short. We have failed to follow through on a promise we made to a friend or a loved one – albeit unintentional. We have missed a deadline at work or school – due to circumstances beyond our control. Three days into a new year we have broken that new year’s resolution that we made so earnestly. Or the one that hurts the most of all – we have done something or said something – or failed to do something or say something – that brought pain to someone we hold dear. We didn’t mean to hurt them or break our promise. We didn’t mean to not deliver on our commitment. We didn’t mean to be unfaithful … but we were!

As a result, we have broken a trust. At best, we have planted a seed in the minds – and hearts – of others that we are unreliable, undependable – or worse, untrustworthy. At worst, we have shattered a relationship due to our failure or neglect. A reputation of faithfulness and trustworthiness is built over a lifetime … but it can be destroyed in a solitary moment.

The One Who Goes Before Us

The One Who Goes Before Us

Throughout our lives, we will encounter enemies that are assembling to attack us. In some instances it may be other people, but more often it will be enemies like disease, unplanned job loss, financial setback, and the like. When we come upon them, we would do well to remember that God is our “Banner” and He goes before us!

After God had led the Israelites across the Red Sea, they saw the warriors of Amalek assembling for a fight there in the valley of Rephidim.(1) The last army that had assembled against the Israelites had perished at the bottom of the sea. The Israelites had not been called upon to go into battle to defeat them. No Israelite blood had been spilled. The casualty count at that battle had been: Egyptians – ALL; Israelites – NONE. God had gone before the Israelites, making a way for their escape, and He had gone behind them, making a way for their enemy’s defeat….

But God ...

But God ...

The flood waters prevailed, but God remembered and brought him to dry land.(1)

His enemy intended it to harm him, but God intended it for good.(2)

The battle is not yours, but God’s.(3)

Your flesh may fail, but God is your strength.(4)

We were dead in sin, but God saved us.(5)

i have come to believe that those two words – “but God” – are actually a powerful promise to those of us who are His children – particularly when we are facing the impossible….

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