Ken Winter
His Dwelling Place

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What does it mean to live in the shelter of the Most High and to find rest in His shadow? This is how Psalm 91 begins—a psalm many attribute to Moses. i believe that attribution is fitting. Moses is the one who carried Jehovah God’s instructions to His people for constructing the Tabernacle in the wilderness. He witnessed the fabrication of each part and completed the last of the work.

The Tabernacle was completed exactly as the Lord specified and was erected on the first anniversary of Israel’s departure from Egypt. That day, the Lord’s glorious presence descended upon it, covering and filling it with His awesome glory. His presence, previously seen in the guiding pillar of cloud, now took residence within His dwelling place among the people. From that day on, as His Spirit led, the people moved forward; when His Spirit remained in the Tabernacle, the people encamped.

His Dwelling Place
Ken Winter
An Unknown God

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In many ways, our world today mirrors the one in which the apostle Paul set out to share the Good News of Jesus. We have become so post-Christian that society now resembles a pre-Christian culture, where there is little knowledge or memory of Jesus. In this sense, we are not unlike the city of Athens, where Paul once preached.

After leaving Thessalonica, Paul brought the gospel to Berea. When the Jews in Thessalonica heard that the message had reached Berea, they traveled there to disrupt his work. Despite the opposition, many in Berea believed in Jesus. Sensing the danger Paul was in, the new believers encouraged him to leave the city. Some of them accompanied him as he departed for Athens, while Silas and Timothy remained to disciple the new believers.

While waiting for Silas and Timothy in Athens, Paul went to the synagogue on the Sabbath and spent the other days in the public square….

An Unknown God
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

Spirit-filled

No Matter Where We Are

No Matter Where We Are

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Two Israelite men, Eldad and Medad, were part of a group of seventy elders that God had directed Moses to assemble.(1) We don’t know from which tribe these men originated. There is no further information about them other than this one reference in Scripture. For some unknown reason these two men, who were probably brothers, had not gone to the Tabernacle with the rest of the elders; they were still in the camp. However, when the Holy Spirit came upon the elders, He came upon all of the elders, including these two who weren’t in the tabernacle. Oh, and isn’t it interesting that theirs are the only names we know out of that group of seventy? Perhaps the Lord has a lesson for us to learn from these two men.

How Can This Be?

How Can This Be?

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The early church looked radically different from the world around them . . . to the point others were drawn to ask, “How can this be?”  In the Book of Acts, Luke records, “On the day of Pentecost all the believers were meeting together in one place. Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm, and it filled the house where they were sitting. Then, what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them. And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages,  as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability. At that time there were devout Jews from every nation living in Jerusalem. When they heard the loud noise, everyone came running, and they were bewildered to hear their own languages being spoken by the believers. They were completely amazed. “How can this be?” they exclaimed. “These people are all from Galilee, and yet we hear them speaking in our own native languages!”

Grace-full

Grace-full

Grace. Undeserved favor. Unmerited blessing. Grace extended to us by God. Grace extended by us toward one another. How often do we treat grace as if it is a right we deserve, but at the same time a possession that we choose to grudgingly grant – or not grant – to others? Our social media feeds bear witness to the fact that most frequently we are much quicker to receive grace than we are to extend it.

At the same time, we often confuse grace with license. We act as if we think we deserve grace; therefore, we can do or act in any way we desire, and still expect to receive it.

Whatever

Whatever

In the late 20th century, the one-word retort – “whatever” – arrived on the scene. It was either used to affirm a previous statement along the lines of “whatever you say”, or to express indifferent acceptance of a particular circumstance in the spirit of “Que Sera Sera”, or as a passive-aggressive counter intended to block further conversation on a subject. In some circles, the retort is still used today. It has been so overused that some would consider it to be one of the most annoying words used in conversation. And i would agree!

We live in a day of ever declining courtesy, civility and collegiality within society – and even more disturbingly, within the body of Christ. We would be wrong to lay the blame on the ubiquitous influence of social media as being the root cause. i am a firm believer that “whatever comes up in the bucket was already down in the well.” Social media may be the most-used hoist to bring the bucket to the surface at an appalling rate, but the issue remains with what is “down in the well”. This issue becomes even more disconcerting as we witness the cacophony of uncivil – and more importantly, ungodly – expressions from men and women who hold positions of leadership within the bride of Christ, whether it be the local church, or any of its parachurch institutions or entities. The fact of the matter is that we, as followers of Jesus, are called to be His light in a dark world. Jesus said, “Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 5:16 ESV). The purpose is not that our works are seen, but rather that the Father is glorified. There is no glory ascribed to the Father through the mud-slinging we are witnessing on social media. We must again learn how to converse – and even debate – without being unholy and profane – as brothers and sisters in Christ….

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