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

Selfish Ambition

Judas Iscariot (A Story of Selfish Ambition)

Judas Iscariot (A Story of Selfish Ambition)

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NOTE: This week and next, as we prepare for Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday, i want us to look at the events leading up to those days through the eyes of two of Jesus’s disciples. But in so doing, i want us to see how the sin they both harbored in their hearts kept them from seeing the truth of God in those events.

Too often, the sin we harbor in our hearts keeps us from seeing God’s truth. Instead of confessing our sin, we justify it, and thus we fall headlong down the slippery slope. Let’s see if we can learn from two men who despite their personal walk with Jesus became blinded to truth. And let’s see if we can learn from them.

Though elements of the story you are about to read are fictionalized, the ultimate truth it reveals is very real!

Unholy Ambition

Unholy Ambition

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Unholy ambition is easy to spot in others. It can manifest itself in a lot of ways. The whole world is currently watching as one man’s unholy ambition has led him to direct his armed forces to invade the territory and lives of another sovereign nation. The resulting destruction is a reminder to all of us of just how evil our world can be, left to its own desires.

We continue to pray for the people and the leaders of Ukraine. We pray that the invasion would be stopped, and the selfish ambition of those who started this would be turned aside. We pray that the lives of all people on both sides of the conflict would be spared. We pray for godly wisdom to prevail and peace to return to the land.

But unholy ambition is not limited to what is currently underway in Europe. It comes in all sizes, shapes and behavior. Some may be much more subtle than what is currently playing out across the world stage, but it is selfish ambition, nonetheless….

He Didn't Set Out To Betray Jesus

He Didn't Set Out To Betray Jesus

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Don’t lose sight of the fact that Judas Iscariot didn’t set out on his journey to follow Jesus with betrayal on his mind. He followed Jesus because he truly believed that Jesus was the promised Messiah. He “believed” in Jesus. He was an “early adopter” and supporter. He wanted to get in on the “ground floor” of Jesus’s eventual rise to power. It is important to understand, at the outset, that Judas never envisioned he would betray Jesus. Rather, Judas envisioned he would be a part of His trusted circle – maybe not as close as Peter, James and John – but certainly close behind. After all, he was the keeper of the treasury for Jesus and the disciples.

Judas believed that Jesus had seen his financial skills and abilities, and would place him in an important position on His leadership team when the day arrived for His reign as King. Judas “trusted” that Jesus would enable him to be successful and achieve his personal desires of life – those of position, possessions and power. Therefore, on the short-term, he was willing to sacrifice all of those things. He was willing to wander the Judean wilderness with Jesus and the rest of the disciples. From his perspective, it was a good investment that would pay off in the end….

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