Ken Winter
Advent – We Three Kings (Balthazar’s Story)

If you would prefer to listen to this post as a podcast, CLICK HERE.

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Introduction to this post:

This is the fourth of this year’s weekly Advent posts. Those of you who have followed the blog for more than a year know that it is my annual practice to post a weekly story for the season of Advent about the incarnational birth of Jesus. My hope is that the stories have become a part of your Advent tradition as you remember and celebrate the Good News of the advent of our Lord and Savior.

This year’s posts are as follows:

Week #1 - November 27th: O Come, O Come, Emmanuel (Joseph’s Story)

Week #2 - December 4th: Away in a Manger (Achim’s Story)

Week #3 – December 11th: Silent Night (Moshe’s Story)

This week - December 18th: We Three Kings (Balthazar’s Story)

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My name is Balthazar and I am a lifelong student of the science of the stars….

Advent – We Three Kings (Balthazar’s Story)
Ken Winter
Advent – Silent Night (Moshe’s Story)

If you would prefer to listen to this post as a podcast, CLICK HERE.

Introduction to this post:

This is the third of this year’s weekly Advent posts. Those of you who have followed the blog for more than a year know that it is my annual practice to post a weekly story for the season of Advent about the incarnational birth of Jesus. My hope is that the stories have become a part of your Advent tradition as you remember and celebrate the Good News of the advent of our Lord and Savior.

This year’s posts are as follows:

Week #1 - November 27th: O Come, O Come, Emmanuel (Joseph’s Story)

Week #2 - December 4th: Away in a Manger (Achim’s Story)

This week – December 11th: Silent Night (Moshe’s Story)

December 18th: We Three Kings (Balthazar’s Story)

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I am a shepherd named Moshe.

Advent – Silent Night (Moshe’s Story)
Ken Winter
Advent – Away in a Manger (Achim’s Story)

If you would prefer to listen to this post as a podcast, CLICK HERE.

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Introduction to this post:

This is the second of this year’s weekly Advent posts. Those of you who have followed the blog for more than a year know that it is my annual practice to post a weekly story for the season of Advent about the incarnational birth of Jesus. My hope is that the stories have become a part of your Advent tradition as you remember and celebrate the Good News of the advent of our Lord and Savior.

This year’s posts are as follows:

Last week - November 27th: O Come, O Come, Emmanuel (Joseph’s Story)

This week - December 4th: Away in a Manger (Achim’s Story)

December 11th: Silent Night (Moshe’s Story)

December 18th: We Three Kings (Balthazar’s Story)

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My name is Achim. My family and I live here in Bethlehem, the town of our ancestor David, the shepherd king….

Advent – Away in a Manger (Achim’s Story)
Ken Winter
Advent - O Come, O Come, Emmanuel (Joseph’s ...

If you would prefer to listen to this post as a podcast, CLICK HERE.

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A preface to this post:

Dear family, friends and faithful readers of this blog,

This week is my 321st weekly blog post—not a huge number for many, but for me it has been a sharing of my heart with you. Those of you who have followed the blog for more than a year know that it is my annual practice to post a weekly stories for the season of Advent about the incarnational birth of Jesus. My hope is that the stories have become a part of your Advent tradition as you remember and celebrate the Good News of the advent of our Lord and Savior.

This year, i am repeating four of the weekly Advent posts from 2019 for two reasons. First, i have made changes to the posts, and have a higher quality audio recording of the posts in the event you would like to listen to them on audio—feel free to click the link above to do so.

The second reason is that i will be bringing my season of posting to an end as of the end of December. As many of you know, i have been diagnosed with metastatic (stage 4) lung cancer and am now being placed on home hospice care. Thus, it has become more difficult for me to produce these post. I hope and pray you receive these as my gift and expression of love to you.

The remaining five posts are as follows:

November 27th: O Come, O Come, Emmanuel (Joseph’s Story)

December 4th: Away in a Manger (Achim’s Story)

December 11th: Silent Night (Moshe’s Story)

December 18th: We Three Kings (Balthazar’s Story)

December 25th: A Christmas Celebration (My Story)

Advent - O Come, O Come, Emmanuel (Joseph’s Story)
Ken Winter
His Dwelling Place

If you would prefer to listen to this post as a podcast, CLICK HERE.

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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

The Journey Begins

His Dwelling Place

His Dwelling Place

If you would prefer to listen to this post as a podcast, CLICK HERE.

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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.

Seen the Cloud? See the Glory!

Seen the Cloud? See the Glory!

If you would prefer to listen to this post as a podcast, CLICK HERE.

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If you are a follower of Christ—if you are one of God’s children—He promises to go before you, not just some of the time, but all the time. When we walk in His way and according to His will, He guarantees that every step we take is sure and secure—even when it doesn’t feel that way! As long as we are walking in His way to the best of our understanding, we can trust that every situation and circumstance—whether He placed it there or not—will work for our ultimate good, His purpose, and His glory.

Let’s consider an example of this truth. From the day the Israelites left Egypt, the Lord gave His people a constant reminder of His presence. He sent a pillar of cloud to guide them by day and a pillar of fire by night, so they could travel without losing sight of His leading. In Exodus we read, “The LORD did not remove the pillar of cloud or the pillar of fire from the sight of the people.” This visible reminder was with them for the entire month since their journey began.

You’re Not Alone

You’re Not Alone

If you would prefer to listen to this post as a podcast, CLICK HERE.

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Have you ever felt completely alone on this journey of life? Have you ever been overwhelmed by the challenges surrounding you? If so, there’s a lesson we can learn from the Israelites’ journey through the wilderness.

The Israelites were, as you will recall, descendants of Jacob, the grandson of Abraham, whom God renamed Israel after they wrestled by the Jabbok brook. The Amalekites were the descendants of Amalek, the grandson of Esau, who was Israel’s brother and also a grandson of Abraham. It had been approximately 440 years since the families of Esau and Israel had last met.

Put to the Test

Put to the Test

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Every student knows that once you have been given instruction, you will be given an opportunity to apply that instruction or demonstrate how well you have retained it by putting it to the test. Those tests come in a variety of forms.

  • There are pop quizzes—a few short questions placed before you unexpectedly to test your grasp of an idea, principle, or fact soon after it has been presented to you.

  • There are tests—periodic exams given at the conclusion of a defined period of teaching, i.e. weekly, end-of-chapter, etc.

  • And, there are exams, including the mother of all exams—the final exam—through which you are tested on instruction you have received over an extended period, i.e. a semester or academic year.

The teachers i always appreciated the most were the ones that forewarned…

Bread That Is Sufficient

Bread That Is Sufficient

If you would prefer to listen to this post as a podcast, CLICK HERE.

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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.

What Will We Do?

What Will We Do?

If you would prefer to listen to this post as a podcast, CLICK HERE.

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Early in their journey through the wilderness, God led His people to a fertile part of the peninsula called Rephidim, which means “places of rest or refreshment.” But it turned out to be a place that didn’t quite live up to its name. They couldn’t find any water there to drink! Though they were apparently surrounded by luscious vegetation, just like they had seen in previous oases, there was no spring in Rephidim from which they could quench their thirst.

And we read, “So once more the people grumbled and complained to Moses.” As if Moses could do something about it! Had Moses parted the Red Sea? Had he turned the bitter water into sweet at Marah? Was it Moses who was providing the manna every morning – including that very morning? Are you starting to wonder why these people are not sensing a pattern here?

Sign Me Up For One of Those Staffs

Sign Me Up For One of Those Staffs

If you would prefer to listen to this post as a podcast, CLICK HERE.

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i don’t know about you, but if i’m getting ready to head out into the wilderness, i want one of those shepherd’s staffs like Moses had when he was leading the Israelites. From the very first day at the burning bush, God had demonstrated His power through that staff. He had turned it into a snake. He had turned the water of the Nile River into blood with it. God had Moses outstretch it to part the waters of the Red Sea, and He had him strike a rock with it to bring forth water. Then God used it to ensure a victory in the battle with the Amalekites. Sign me up for one of those staffs!

Wouldn’t you like to have a staff that you could use to turn the tide of every trial you encounter? Every time you encounter an obstacle, you could pull out the staff. It’s better than any laser weapon ever devised by those science fiction writers. Every obstacle and every enemy would cower at its mere presence. It’s not much to look at, but it packs a powerful punch. As a matter of fact, if you’re going to get one, why not get two and you can pack double the punch. But why stop there, order a truckload. And do you know what you’ve got when you’ve got a truckload of staffs? Yes, that’s right, you’ve got a whole lot of . . . wood!

A “Shur” Way

A “Shur” Way

If you would prefer to listen to this post as a podcast, CLICK HERE.

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My wife and i are currently reading through the Bible in a year together with a group of friends in our faith community. We started midway through September and are now in the Book of Deuteronomy. Since we have spent the last several weeks reading about and discussing the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt and their journey through the wilderness, we decided to all get together and watch the movie The Prince of Egypt.

You may recall the movie was produced by Dream Works back in the late 90’s and is an animated portrayal of the first fourteen chapters of the Book of Exodus—following the life of Moses from his birth to his God-appointed task of leading the Israelites out of Egypt. The movie concludes right after the dramatic crossing of the Israelites through the parted Red Sea, as they flee the approaching Egyptian army. Though fictional license is used in the telling of the story, the scene when the people make their journey across the dry sea bed in the path God has provided for their escape inspires thoughts of what the actual experience must have been like for them.

We Can Be Sure

We Can Be Sure

If you would prefer to listen to this post as a podcast, CLICK HERE.

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The wilderness is that place – or more accurately those places – in our lives, where we are outside of our comfort zone. The wilderness is a place that is unfamiliar and, most often, uncomfortable. It is rarely, if ever, our final destination; rather, it is that place through which we must pass in order to get to the other side.

Sometimes we venture out into the wilderness willingly, because we know that the pathway to our desired destination leads through it. It could be the circumstances surrounding a move from one place to another, or the unknowns of moving from one position to another. Though we entered into the wilderness expectantly, and more than likely excitedly, we still encounter the unexpected twists and turns of the wilderness along the way. But more often, we enter into a wilderness involuntarily – either through the onslaught of a severe health issue, the loss of someone near and dear, the unexpected loss of a job, or the like. We didn’t volunteer for this journey, and we don’t like it one bit!

He Still Wanted More

He Still Wanted More

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James, the half-brother of Jesus, wrote, “Come close to God, and God will come close to you.” He wrote that statement knowing our propensity to drift away from God, instead of drawing closer to Him. He warned us that our loyalty is divided between God and the world. i fear that all too often we desire the blessings of God in our lives over the presence of God in our lives.

Moses, on the other hand, made it very clear that he did not want to experience the blessing of God if it came without the presence of God. He had already experienced an intimacy with the Lord God Jehovah that exceeded that which most others, even to this day, have ever experienced on this side of heaven. God had called him His friend - a designation which to that point had only been shared with Abraham. Moses had found favor with God. His actions had demonstrated a heart that desired to seek and serve his Lord. He spoke to God with a confidence and a boldness that also conveyed reverence and awe.

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