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)

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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.

* * * * *

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)

Hallelujah Rising

Hallelujah Rising

Hallelujah! God be praised! As you read those words, what do they evoke within you? Yes, they are words of praise and worship spoken – or shouted – most often in gratitude to an Almighty God for what He has just done. And whatever it was, it more than likely bordered on the miraculous! What experience … or memory … or story immediately comes to your mind as you repeat those words? Was it the report that your test results came back and the tumor is gone? Or there’s no sign of cancer? Or the surgery was successful? Perhaps, it was that you had just been accepted into the school or program you applied for. Or you got the job … you so earnestly wanted … or so desperately needed. Hallelujah! God be praised!

Tied for number one on my list would have to be ….

Come As You Are

Come As You Are

There was a man who had two sons. The younger son came to his father and demanded, “Father, give me the share of your property that belongs to me.” So the father divided his property between his two sons. Not long after, the younger son went away and squandered everything he possessed on reckless living. By the time he was done, he had nothing left. His possessions were exhausted. His friends had abandoned him. Even his self-respect was gone.

To make matters worse, a severe famine fell across the land. The son had nowhere to turn – or so he thought. The only work he could find was doing the most abased thing he could imagine – slopping the pigs.As he labored in the sty, he convinced himself he was of less value than even those pigs. At least they had someone to care for them. He was not even worthy of the pods he was feeding them. He had nothing with which to commend himself to anyone. He was a broken man….

Still i will trust You

Still i will trust You

Following Jesus doesn’t mean we won’t go through storms – just ask the disciples! They learned that storms are a part of the journey. But they eventually learned they could still trust Him – even in the midst of storms. It was true for them, and it’s true for us.

The majority of the disciples had grown up as fishermen and had sailed on the Sea of Galilee for most of their lives. They had often sailed to the other side. More than likely, they had even experienced their share of storms while they were on the sea. So when Jesus told them to get into the boat and cross to the other side that night, it was probably “business as usual” for this sea-worthy group.(1)

But the storm that night was apparently beyond anything they had ever experienced. They thought they were going to die! But instead, Jesus used the storm to teach them four truths that night – truths they could hold onto in the midst of any storm. And they are truths we can hold onto – in the midst of COVID-19 – or any other storm we encounter….

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….”

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