Ken Winter
They Raised A Generation Who Did Not Know Him

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

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In these days of my life i find myself reflecting on the fact that God has blessed me with a godly heritage.

The question before us is, what are we modeling for the generation that we are raising up? Is our relationship with our LORD one that we desire for our children and grandchildren to mirror? Are we passionately pursuing our LORD with all of our heart, soul, and mind, and actively walking with Him in His mission? Or are we merely going through the motions?

They Raised A Generation Who Did Not Know Him
Ken Winter
I Look To the Mountains

It has been several weeks since i posted. Many of you know that i have been walking through health challenges. By God’s grace, and in His strength, i am now able to share with you that He has carried me through these most recent developments. He has used this time to remind me just how faithful He is, and just how dependent i am upon Him.

I Look To the Mountains
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)

* * * * *

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.

* * * * *

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)

* * * * *

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)

Easter - Simon Peter's Story

Easter - Simon Peter's Story

The 4-week short-story series of “first-person accounts” for the Easter season concludes this week with Simon Peter’s story.

Please remember that this short story is a fictional first person account just like the others. It includes historical and fictional characters, as well as fictional details that have been added. i have, however, endeavored to keep the story factual as to the details conveyed through the Gospels.

My prayer is that, through the telling, we are reminded of the hope and assurance that is ours through Jesus. To that end, let’s look at this week’s account through the eyes of Simon Peter.

Lazarus's Story (March 25)

Miriam’s Story (April 1)

Simon the Cyrene’s Story (April 8)

Simon Peter’s Story (This week - April 15)

All four of these Easter stories will be included in the book The One Who Stood Before Us

Watch for its release FEBRUARY 2021

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My name is Simon … or at least it was until Jesus changed it. I grew up in Bethsaida on the north shore of the Sea of Galilee. I was a fisherman who later became a fisher of men. My father, Jonah, was teaching me how to swim and fish before I learned to walk. I once would have told you that my father taught me everything I needed to know about being a good fisherman. That is, until I met Jesus! But I’m getting ahead of myself….

Easter - Simon the Cyrene's Story

Easter - Simon the Cyrene's Story

The 4-week short-story series of “first-person accounts” for the Easter season continues this week with Simon the Cyrene’s story.

Mark records: Simon, the Cyrene came…just then (Mark 15:21). Just in God’s time. His steps had been ordered from birth, one step at a time. And he arrived at the Via Delarosa at the exact moment that the Father intended him to be there. God is ordering each of our steps with that same exactness.

Please remember that this short story is a fictional first person account just like the others. It includes historical and fictional characters, as well as fictional details that have been added. i have, however, endeavored to keep the story factual as to the details conveyed through the Gospels.

My prayer is that, through the telling, we are reminded of the hope and assurance we have in Jesus as we watch the Father’s perfect plan unfold. To that end, let’s look at this week’s account through the eyes of Simon the Cyrene.

Lazarus's Story (March 25)

Miriam’s Story (April 1)

Simon the Cyrene’s Story (This week – April 8)

Simon Peter’s Story (April 15)

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My name is Simon. My wife, our sons and I live in the small Roman province of Cyrene situated on the northern coast of Africa. Our city was first settled by the Greeks over six hundred years ago, so our people have been most heavily influenced by Grecian arts, sciences, and culture. Prior to our being conquered by Rome, the rule of the Ptolemaic Kingdom and the Seleucid Empire fostered a significant migration of Greek-speaking Jews to Cyrene. My great-grandparents were a part of that diaspora, so our family is a part of that ever-growing population of Hellenistic Jews in Cyrene….

Easter - Miriam's Story

Easter - Miriam's Story

Back in December, you may recall i posted a series of short stories for the Advent season. i am acutely aware that with so much of our attention turned toward COVID-19, it could be easy for the hope and assurance of the Easter message to get lost in the noise. So i have decided to take a different track with my weekly blog posts for the weeks surrounding Easter.

Starting last week and for the three following weeks, i am posting four short stories surrounding the ministry, crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. Though i will endeavor to keep each story factual as to the details conveyed through the Gospels – by their nature these stories will be fictional first person accounts involving both historical and fictional characters, as well as fictional details that have been incorporated into each narrative. My prayer is that, through the telling, we are reminded of the hope and assurance we have in Jesus. To that end, let’s look at the account through the eyes of these four people:

Lazarus's Story (March 25)

Miriam’s Story (This week - April 1)

Simon the Cyrene’s Story (April 8)

Simon Peter’s Story (April 15)

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My name is Miriam, but most of you know me as Mary. I am certain that you are also well acquainted with my brother Lazarus and my sister Martha. Surely you have heard the story of how Jesus of Nazareth healed my brother of his leprosy. It was a miracle of God! And our lives have not been the same since….

Easter – Lazarus’s Story

Easter – Lazarus’s Story

Back in December, you may recall i posted a series of short stories for the Advent season. i am acutely aware that with so much of our attention turned toward COVID-19, it could be easy for the hope and assurance of the Easter message to get lost in the noise. So i have decided to take a different track with my weekly blog posts for these next four weeks.

Starting today and for the three weeks that follow, i will be posting four short stories surrounding the ministry, crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. Though i will endeavor to keep each story factual as to the details conveyed through the Gospels – by their nature these stories will be fictional first person accounts involving both historical and fictional characters, as well as fictional details that have been incorporated into each narrative. My prayer is that, through the telling, we are reminded of the hope and assurance we have in Jesus. To that end, let’s look at the account through the eyes of these four people:

Lazarus’s Story (This week – March 25)

Miriam’s Story (April 1)

Simon the Cyrene’s Story (April 8)

Simon Peter’s Story (April 15)

Facing The Giants

Facing The Giants

If you ever questioned the idea that we live in a global village, i hope current events have caused you to acknowledge that reality. Today the impact of coronavirus is being felt in almost every corner of the globe. As of 3/15/20 2:20PM, 145 countries have reported cases of the disease, as per data collected by Johns Hopkins University. That’s 145 of the 189-196 countries that currently make up our world (depending upon which source you acknowledge for the total number of countries). Currently all of our many differences are being overshadowed by the presence of a common enemy.

When we rang in the new year less than ninety days ago, none of us (other than perhaps a handful of medical researchers) had ever heard of the disease. None of us expected that this would be a giant we would all be facing within the first few months of the year. And most of us, until the last week or so, had never heard the terms, let alone been taught that “social distancing” and “flattening the curve” were a good thing as a part of a strategy to fight a giant.

But here’s the thing. The giant will pass….

I Will Sing Because I Trust You

I Will Sing Because I Trust You

Increasingly each day, our attention is being seized by the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19) around the globe. It is impacting how we travel, how we shop, how we meet, and even how we worship. Travelers are being detained and sequestered. Travel that had not yet begun is being cancelled. Cities are deploying the National Guard to establish containment areas. Financial markets are experiencing some of the most turbulent swings in history. Toilet paper has seemingly become a precious commodity. Large meetings are being cancelled. And churches are adjusting how they observe the Lord’s Supper. As few as sixty days ago, no one could have anticipated all of this. Yet it is impacting almost every facet of our lives – and there is currently no end in sight.

i can’t help but draw a parallel to the people of Israel as they camped on the shore of the Red Sea. They had just learned that the Egyptian army was rapidly approaching to capture and destroy them from one side and the sea was blocking their escape on the other. Panic and fear had set in. There seemed to be nowhere to turn.

Right then Moses announced to them, “Don't be afraid. Just stand where you are and watch the LORD rescue you”….

In Christ Alone

In Christ Alone

Since last week’s post looked at the “Amazing Grace” that our Lord extends to us, i thought it would only be right this week to look at the “amazing cost” of that amazing grace.

Some of us are in the midst of the season of Lent. These days leading up to Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday are a time of prayer and fasting set aside to remember and reflect on the great price our Savior paid for our sin — and that our salvation came at great cost to Him.

If we approach Good Friday thinking that Jesus was a victim of the religious leaders, or the Roman rulers, or the crowd, or even Judas Iscariot, we will have missed the fundamental truth. Jesus was never a victim! Jesus was always the Victor! The cross was never an infliction upon the Son, it was an instrument of the Father. Jesus was not crucified because of the religious leaders’ treachery, the Roman rulers’ impotence, the crowd’s endorsement or Judas Iscariot’s betrayal, though all of them are accountable before God for their treacherous actions. If those individuals had the ability or the power over God to do anything contrary to His divine purpose, then He wouldn’t be very divine! If the Sovereign, Almighty God can be defeated or manipulated by any of His creation then He is neither sovereign nor almighty. As a matter of fact, He would no longer be God if His creation had power over its Creator. As Peter said, “God knew what would happen, and His prearranged plan was carried out….”

Amazing Grace

Amazing Grace

If you were to ask me my favorite hymn, i would tell you without any hesitation that it is Amazing Grace – but more specifically the more modern version released by Chris Tomlin in 2006 (lyrics below). i would also tell you that i am a fan of the movie of the same name (also released in 2006) which tells the compelling stories of William Wilberforce and John Newton. Both men were driven to action by the amazing grace that they came to realize had been extended to them by God. Both men were compelled by the reality that grace is not to be kept; it is to be passed on.

As i felt impressed to write this post, i looked up the word “amazing”. Forgive my redundancy – but i was “amazed” by the list of synonyms: astonishing, astounding, surprising, stunning, staggering, shocking, startling, stupefying, breathtaking, perplexing, awe-inspiring, phenomenal, unbelievable – and more.

We all know that grace cannot be earned. If it could be earned by our efforts, our works, our wealth or our abilities, it wouldn’t be grace….

King of My Heart

King of My Heart

We live in stormy times. The world in which we live can be a very distressing place. The nightly news is filled with reports of the ravages of disease, the havoc of disasters, and the inhumanity and incivility of man. Within a matter of moments, our lives can be upended into a cascading turmoil by sudden loss, distressing news or tragic circumstances. Where are we to turn?

This past Sunday in worship, as we sang the contemporary psalm entitled King of My Heart (lyrics below), it was a fresh reminder that our Almighty God is the only One to whom we can turn when everything around us is spinning out of control. That simple song makes eight powerful statements about our Almighty God:

He is the mountain… where i run

He is the fountain… from which i drink

He is the shadow… where i hide

He is the ransom… for my life

He is the wind… inside my sails

He is the anchor… in the waves

He is the fire… in my veins

He is the echo… of my days

The Majority Report

The Majority Report

My second novel entitled Through the Eyes of a Spy is scheduled to release next month. The book follows the journey of the Israelites from their enslavement in Egypt through their inhabitation of the Promised Land. The story is told through the eyes of Caleb – one of only two adult men who were eyewitnesses to the events of the entire span of time. It is a story of faithfulness – first and foremost, the faithfulness of God, but also the faithfulness of one of His servants.

Caleb was one of the twelve spies sent into the Promised Land by Moses while the rest of the people waited in the wilderness. The spies were given the assignment to explore the land that God had already given the Israelites and bring back a report. The twelve men were a veritable who’s who of Israelite society. These were leaders not only of their respective tribes, but of their entire nation. When these men spoke, the people would stop to listen.

Moses had told them what they were to explore….

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