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

Taking Up The Cross

Between the Already and the Not Yet

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.”

Oneness

Oneness

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Have you ever felt completely separated from God with pain, fear, and anxiety setting into your heart in a way you just couldn’t shake?

On the night before His arrest and crucifixion, Jesus knew His disciples were about to face their greatest fears, pain, and anxiety. He wanted to prepare them. While gathered in the upper room, we read the words of comfort He spoke to them, as recorded in the Gospel of John.(1)

No Detail Is Too Small

No Detail Is Too Small

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It was the fifth day of the week – Thursday – and the 14th day of Nissan on the Hebrew calendar. The Passover Festival was to begin at dusk with the Passover Seder and continue for seven days, as it still does today. In preparation for the festival, all leavening (Chametz) was to be removed from the Jewish households. Leaven symbolized corruption or sin, so for the seven days of Passover, Jews ate only unleavened bread.(1) Often, any Chametz remaining in the household the day before Passover was removed and destroyed by burning. That morning in Jerusalem the pungent odor of burning Chametz would have permeated the air in and around the city. Every household was completing its preparations.

The preparations were so important to Jesus that He sent His two most trusted disciples:(2) Peter (the one upon whom He would build His church)(3) and John (the one to whom He would entrust the care of His mother).(4) Notice that when Jesus instructed them to go and prepare the meal, they wisely asked Him for specific instructions. Both men would have known what preparations were required under the Law. Both had traveled to Jerusalem many times before for the observance of Passover. Both were leaders. It would have been very easy for them to receive instruction from Jesus to “go” and then head off to do what they believed was right. How often do we attempt to go off and do God’s work in our own way? How often do we fail to ask Him the “how” question? How often do we make our own plan and ask Jesus to bless it instead of asking Him for His plan, so we can join Him in His activity?

Who Gave Jesus the Right?

Who Gave Jesus the Right?

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It was Tuesday.(1) Jesus had made His triumphal entry into Jerusalem on Sunday and had cleared out the temple on Monday. The leading priests, teachers and elders were all still stinging from His rebukes the day before. Indignant and combative, there was no question they were out for Jesus’ blood. Up until Monday, they had been fearful of what Jesus was doing and had viewed Him as a challenger to their authority. But His actions on Monday had completely undermined their authority. By shutting down their financial enterprise, Jesus had demonstrated a flagrant disregard for their position. Their fear was now overshadowed by unadulterated hatred. They were now singularly focused on His destruction, trailing Him like bloodhounds driven by hate.

Perilous Times

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?

In the Coming Days

In the Coming Days

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It was the end of the third day of the week of Jesus’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem. Two nights hence, He would be betrayed and arrested. He had taken His disciples to the Mount of Olives that evening to spend the night. It was a place to which Jesus often retreated when He was in Jerusalem. It was a place where He could have long conversations with His Father in prayer. And it was a place that evening at which He chose to have a long conversation with four of His disciples – Peter, James, John, and Andrew.

Earlier, to the full group, Jesus had already begun to speak about the end of the age and the events which would signal His return. Having Jesus all to themselves, the four disciples drew close to Him and asked, “Tell us, when will all this happen? What sign will show us that these things are about to be fulfilled?”

The Greatest Commandment

The Greatest Commandment

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As we begin this new year, let’s be reminded of the commandment which Jesus declared to be the most important.

Some of the greatest teachings from Jesus were in response to questions that were intended to trap Him. This particular day was no exception. The Sanhedrin had already put forth the Herodians and the Sadducees, both of whom had failed miserably in trapping Jesus. So they sent out a lawyer – an expert in religious law.

Walking Through a Vineyard With Jesus

Walking Through a Vineyard With Jesus

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Jesus and His disciples were headed from the upper room to the Garden of Gethsemane. His betrayal and arrest were now only a few short hours away. More than likely, they were walking through a vineyard in the Kidron Valley. It would have been a full moon, so they would have been able to clearly see all that was around them. Never being one to waste an opportunity, Jesus used the vineyard to teach them – and us – a foundational truth.

As i write this, i am reminded of a trek that i and a few friends made through a city in China several years ago. Some of the members of our group were from the US, and some lived in that city. Our Chinese friends were giving us a guided tour of some of their favorite sites. Along the way, we stopped at an art shop that had beautiful, colorful drawings hanging on the walls. And most of the sketches included a wise saying that was also penned in Mandarin on the canvas.

The Withered Fig Tree

The Withered Fig Tree

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Two days had passed since the people had cried out, “Hosanna,” as Jesus arrived in the city. For the third day in a row, Jesus and His disciples were headed back into Jerusalem after overnighting in Bethany. On this morning, they passed a dead fig tree. And there was something unusual about the way this tree had died. The disciples noticed that the tree had withered from the roots up. It has shriveled due to a complete lack of water and nutrients. The apostle Peter spoke up to remind everyone that the Master had cursed this seemingly healthy tree only one day prior. In that one day, a tree which had been full of leaves and had given the outward appearance of health and growth was now completely withered and dead. A process that should have taken weeks, or maybe even months, had occurred overnight. Not only was it seemingly cut-off from its source of water at its roots, but also all of the moisture that had existed within the tree had evaporated.

In an earlier post entitled The Lesson of the Fig Tree, we looked at the fact that the tree which had been created to be fruitful had been found by Jesus to be fruitless. On this morning, immediately following Peter’s pronouncement, Jesus began to teach the disciples about faith. Though it may seem like it is an abrupt change of subject . . . it was not!

The Talents

The Talents

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Most of you are familiar with my book series, The Called. The premise of each of the books is that each person was an “ordinary” person who God used in an extraordinary way. God only works in extraordinary ways! And we are all very ordinary before Him. But by His grace, and in His sovereignty, God has chosen to work through each of us. As the apostle Paul reminds us, God has created each of us uniquely and given us different gifts. But the extraordinary work He intends to accomplish through each of us is not dependent upon which gifts or talents He has given us, it is dependent upon our faithfulness to use whatever He has given us, and our availability to be guided by His Holy Spirit.

Jesus often used parables in His teaching. Perhaps one of the best remembered of those parables is the “Parable of the Talents,” in which He teaches that very point. In the parable, the master did not apportion his talents equally to his servants. He gave more to some and less to others. But he entrusted them all. He was the determiner of what and how much would be given to each. He was a wise master. He knew their abilities. In many ways, he knew them better than they knew themselves. He knew that too much could overwhelm, and too little would undertax their ability. Thus, he entrusted each proportionate with their ability. And then he left – for a long time.

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