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

The fig tree

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 Lesson of the Fig Tree

The Lesson of the Fig Tree

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It was the day after Jesus’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem. He knew that in four days He would be nailed to a cross. There was much He wanted to teach His disciples in those remaining days – and there is much He wants to teach us through them.

He and His disciples had more than likely been lodging with Lazarus, Martha and Mary in Bethany the night before. On that Monday morning they were headed to the temple in Jerusalem. En route, Jesus was hungry. Apparently, Martha hadn’t fed them breakfast that morning. Or more likely, He had forgone breakfast to spend time with the Father in prayer. He saw a fig tree beside the road and it was in “full leaf”. Both Matthew and Mark in their Gospels tell us that Jesus “went over to see if He could find any figs.”

Let’s stop and consider that for a moment.

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