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)
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

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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

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.

One Heart, One Mind

One Heart, One Mind

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

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Each of us walk through difficult circumstances at times and for seasons of our lives. You may, in fact, be walking through one right now. As i write this, a member of my family is walking through a difficult and challenging time. It is an attack from the enemy. It is important to remember that God is not the author of the circumstance. He is not the author of deceit, or illness, or hardship. But He is the “Sovereign Lord, Creator of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them.” We would do well to follow the example of those we see gathered in prayer in Acts 4. They were not praying according to their will, but according to His; they were not praying for escape, but praying for His Spirit to enable them, empower them and embolden them through it.

Peter and John had just returned from their time before the high council. They had been threatened to “never again speak or teach in the Name of Jesus.” How did they and the other believers respond? By confessing the awesomeness of God in prayer. The greatest concentration of spiritual power in that day and in Jerusalem was in that prayer gathering. Perhaps it was the greatest concentration of any time or any place. There was no doubt. There was no hesitance. There was no fear. There was no question. There was no division. The Spirit of God united them and they lifted their voices TOGETHER. The people were of one heart and one mind, and God was pleased to answer their requests.

The Talents

The Talents

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Most of you are familiar with my book series, The Called. The premise of each of the books is that each person was an “ordinary” person who God used in an extraordinary way. God only works in extraordinary ways! And we are all very ordinary before Him. But by His grace, and in His sovereignty, God has chosen to work through each of us. As the apostle Paul reminds us, God has created each of us uniquely and given us different gifts. But the extraordinary work He intends to accomplish through each of us is not dependent upon which gifts or talents He has given us, it is dependent upon our faithfulness to use whatever He has given us, and our availability to be guided by His Holy Spirit.

Jesus often used parables in His teaching. Perhaps one of the best remembered of those parables is the “Parable of the Talents,” in which He teaches that very point. In the parable, the master did not apportion his talents equally to his servants. He gave more to some and less to others. But he entrusted them all. He was the determiner of what and how much would be given to each. He was a wise master. He knew their abilities. In many ways, he knew them better than they knew themselves. He knew that too much could overwhelm, and too little would undertax their ability. Thus, he entrusted each proportionate with their ability. And then he left – for a long time.

Zacchaeus – A Message of Hope

Zacchaeus – A Message of Hope

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As is my practice on occasion, the post this week is a fictional first-person account as told by Zacchaeus about the events and circumstances of his life leading up to his encounter with Jesus. Though some of the characters and details contained in the story are fictional, you will find the truth conveyed to be very REAL! 

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I did not always want to be a tax collector. I was the second son of a merchant by the name of Hiram. He fully expected both his sons would follow in his footsteps.

My mother was very ill as she carried me to term. The midwife had warned her that I might not survive childbirth. But she and I did survive my birth; however, she died soon thereafter. I was sickly as a baby and required constant attention, so my father arranged for a nurse to care for me. As I grew, I continued to be chronically ill, which caused me to be feeble and stunted my growth….

Wings Like Eagles

Wings Like Eagles

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In my quiet time this morning, i was reminded of God’s promise from Isaiah 40:31. I was reminded that as we trust in the Lord, we will find new strength. We will soar high on wings like eagles. We will run and not grow weary. We will walk and not faint.

However, it never truly struck me until this morning that the promise God gave to His people through His prophet Isaiah begins with the words – “But those.” Seeing those two words forces you to look back at what Isaiah was writing before he wrote verse 31.

Too Little Too Late

Too Little Too Late

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When you were a kid, do you remember getting caught doing something your parents or someone else in authority over you had told you not to do – or for not doing something they had told you to do? You suddenly realized there were going to be consequences. You weren’t going to be able to do something you had really been looking forward to doing – like going to a party at a friend’s house, or going to a movie with friends, or the like.

You felt really bad! But, in truth, you didn’t feel bad about what you had done; rather, you felt bad about the consequence of your disobedience. And the truth is, that didn’t just happen back when we were kids. It also has happened to us as adults. As a matter of fact, it may have just happened yesterday.

The Blessing

The Blessing

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Most every one of us has gone through a period in our life journey when we are walking through the unknown. It’s a journey through unfamiliar territory that can take on many different faces such as disease, financial hardship, the breakup of a relationship, the loss of a loved one, extended unemployment, or the like. Even when you know that God is walking with you through every step, and leading you through it, and drawing you close … it still is a journey that weighs heavily and causes you to become exceedingly weary. You may be walking through just such a journey right now. If that’s the case, my prayer is that this post will provide some respite for you.

The Israelites had been on the journey of their exodus from Egypt for approximately a year; and though they had experienced God’s provision and protection, they were weary and ready for the journey to be over….

More Than Enough

More Than Enough

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Are you currently facing a need that is insurmountable, or a challenge that is impossible? Is the situation beyond your capability or the solution beyond your reach? If so, are you trying to solve it, or overcome it, or meet it on your own? Or have you turned to the One who has promised to never leave you nor forsake you and asked Him to do what only He can?

The disciples had just returned from their mission, having been sent out two-by-two into the villages. They were excited to tell Jesus everything they had done and experienced.(1) If you have ever been a part of a short-term mission team that has been sent out to carry the Good News to another part of the nation or the world, you can probably relate somewhat to the disciples. Like them, you probably saw the transforming work of the gospel and the leadership of the Spirit….

Let Us Arise and Build

Let Us Arise and Build

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We live in a day that is sorely in need of great leaders within every corner of our world – those who do not lead for personal gain, fame or recognition, but rather, those who would lead to bring about the changes needed for the benefit of all. But sadly, instead of selflessness, we more often are led by those who are pursuing their own personal agenda. Instead of humility, we are subjected to hubris and narcissism. Instead of the courage to do what is right, we are ruled by those who would rather pursue a path that is more politically expedient.

Within our history as a nation we have benefited from the leadership of men and women of that caliber – leaders such as George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King Jr., Clara Barton and Rosa Parks to name a few. On a global level one would have to include leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, Winston Churchill, Mother Theresa and Nelson Mandela. As we look through Scripture, we see further examples of men and women that would need to be a part of that list, leaders such as Moses, Joshua, Esther and Paul. i do not intend for this to be a fully comprehensive list but rather a representative sample. And, of course, one would have to include at the very top of that list Jesus as the greatest leader of all time – the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.

But there is another individual in Scripture whose name deserves to be included in that list….

Steady Heart

Steady Heart

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The worship song, Steady Heart (lyrics at the end of this post), is a reminder to us to remain steady despite the dark skies or the wild winds that may lie before us. It’s about a steadiness that stays the course despite what we see – or don’t see – before us. It is a steadiness that can only come from, and remain anchored in, the might, sovereignty, and faithfulness of God. It’s a heart that keeps going, a love that keeps hoping, a grace that keeps forgiving, and a faith that keeps believing.

We repeatedly see God calling His people to remain steady despite, what could easily be described as, overwhelming odds….

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