Ken Winter
They Raised A Generation Who Did Not Know Him

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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)

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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)

An Advent Story - Gabriel

An Advent Story - Gabriel

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NOTE: As has become my annual practice, beginning today and for the next three weeks, i will be posting a total of four short stories surrounding the incarnational birth of Jesus. The stories are my Christmas gift to you. They are fictional first-person accounts of the prophecies and events surrounding the advent of Jesus. Some of the characters and details contained therein are fictional, but you will find the truth they convey to be very REAL! My prayer is that through the stories you are reminded of the Good News of Advent this Christmas season. To that end, let’s look at the account through the eyes of four different eyewitnesses:

Gabriel – the angel (This week – December 1)

Zechariah – the priest (December 8)

Elizabeth – the cousin (December 15)

Anna – the prophetess (December 22)

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I am an angel created by Almighty God to be His messenger. My name is Gabriel….

A Journey With The Magi

A Journey With The Magi

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From the days of the Garden of Eden, our God has been at work to redeem a lost world back to Himself. His plan was already in motion. The plan was to send His Son to pay our debt. The plan was to then send out the followers of His Son to every corner of the globe to be witnesses of the Good News. He set in motion a mission to make a global impact that continues to this day. In doing so, He desires to work through men and women – MAGI – wise men and women who desire to be used by Him to Make A Global Impact. If we are to be those modern-day MAGI who journey on mission with the Master, we would do well to learn from our first century forerunners….

Jesus Is Missing!

Jesus Is Missing!

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Have you ever been so caught up in what was going on in your life that you failed to keep your eyes on Jesus? And when you did come around to looking for Him it seemed like He was missing? If so, there are some lessons to be learned from Mary and Joseph.

Other than the advent of Jesus as a baby, there is only one other event pertaining to His first thirty years on this earth that is recorded in Scripture. As we look at that event, let’s be mindful that Jesus came and journeyed on this earth so that we might know how to live (His life and ministry), we might be able to live (His crucifixion), and we might be empowered to live (His resurrection). The truth of what took place on this specific journey goes a long way toward teaching us how to live in our life journey. As such, we will look at this event through the eyes of Jesus’s traveling companions….

The Son Needed A Father

The Son Needed A Father

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Are you feeling like God has called you to do something that is way outside of your comfort zone? Do you find yourself in the midst of a situation that is far beyond your capability or understanding? Do you feel like God has just thrown you into the deep end of the pool? If so, you’re in good company. We see that occurring to men and women that God used throughout the Bible. Let’s look at one of them this week.

We read in the Gospel of Matthew that “After the wise men were gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream.”(1) The English translators did Joseph an injustice when they translated that particular passage, because ALL of the wise men were not gone. The magi may have departed, but one wise man remained – and his name was Joseph. Over the course of Jesus’s earthly ministry, a number of men had the privilege of journeying with Him, but only one man had the unique privilege of journeying with Him as His earthly father….

A Journey Home

A Journey Home

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Have you ever been rejected by the very people you thought would stand by you no matter what? If so, you’re in good company!

Nazareth was Jesus’s hometown. He lived the majority of His life in that small village. Like most small towns, everyone knew everyone – and everyone most definitely knew Jesus! They had watched Him grow up. They had seen Him always treat His parents with love and respect. They had seen Him as a caring big brother to His half-brothers and half-sisters. In recent years, since the death of Joseph, they had seen Him care for His mother, as the head of His family. As a capable carpenter, He had probably performed carpentry work for many of His neighbors. He was a good son, a good brother, and a good neighbor….

Fully Devoted To Whom?

Fully Devoted To Whom?

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Imagine what that day was like. In Acts 2 we read that three thousand believed, repented and were baptized.(1) They comprised the very first church – “The First Church of Jerusalem”. And after that – the Lord added to their fellowship daily. Let’s take a few minutes and look back at that first church.

All the believers devoted themselves….(2) The word “devoted” means “given over to”, “ardently enthusiastic and loyal”, and “placing the needs of the object of your devotion over your own”. We often refer to sports fans as being devoted….

Peace Be With You

Peace Be With You

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Do you find yourself in the midst of a situation that looks bleak? Are you at a place facing the unknown where you have more questions than answers? Is your situation causing you to be anxious or fearful? If so, you have a lot in common with Jesus’s closest followers.

This was the first time that all of them, with the exception of Thomas (whose absence is a curiosity), were back together since the night of His arrest.(1) They had secretly gathered, and the door to the room was locked. It was risky for them to be together in one place. They were still fearful that they might all be arrested at any moment and punished … or worse. But they had secretly gathered because a few of their number were sharing the most extraordinary news. The room was abuzz!

Jesus Doesn’t Do Random

Jesus Doesn’t Do Random

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As the twelve disciples walked with Jesus, they followed Him from one experience to the next. Jesus taught them through each one, and His next teaching always built on the previous one. Some of those teachings occurred in the midst of some pretty harrowing experiences. For example, the disciples learned in the midst of a frightening storm that Jesus could still the winds and calm the waves simply by speaking a word. Matthew records in his Gospel that the disciples were amazed. Mark writes they were absolutely terrified. Luke, ever the one to include all the details, says they were amazed AND terrified. i think all three of them in this instance had the gift of understatement. The disciples were freaked out!

They also had already seen Jesus heal the sick on multiple occasions….

Keepers of the Light

Keepers of the Light

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My wife will tell you that when a song REALLY touches my heart, i have a tendency to play it over and over … and over again … until it is completely embedded in my soul. And i don’t tend to play it quietly! (Now you know another way you can be praying for my wife as she patiently walks through this journey of life with me!) Such is the case with the final track of Michael W. Smith’s most recent album, Worship Forever (Live). The song is entitled Sing Again. I have included the lyrics below, as well as a link, so you can read them and listen to the song. i hope you will take a few minutes to do so, if you are not familiar with it. It will speak to your soul!

During the past few weeks, we have seen a number of friends walking through the pain of battling cancer, Covid, and the like. We have seen the pain experienced by their families as they have walked right there with them. And we have seen the sorrow of some of those families as those battles have ended in the passing of a beloved husband, wife, parent or child. The song has really gotten me thinking about what it means to be a “keeper of the light” – not when everything is going great – but in the midst of sorrow and pain….

A Faith That Is Sure

A Faith That Is Sure

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Are you at a crossroad in your journey? Are you needing wisdom to know which road to take? Are you considering which of the roads in front of you is the best one for you? The probability is that all of your options look pretty good. Let’s face it – if one of your options looks like it will lead to complete disaster, you’re probably not wasting much time considering it. So your quandary is probably over which of the “good” options in front of you is the best. If that’s the case, you would do well to follow the example of a woman by the name of Rahab….

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