Ken Winter

Two Israelite men, Eldad and Medad, were part of a group of seventy elders that God had directed Moses to assemble.(1) We don’t know from which tribe these men originated. There is no further information about them other than this one reference in Scripture. For some unknown reason these two men, who were probably brothers, had not gone to the Tabernacle with the rest of the elders; they were stil...

The Israelites found themselves in the Sin Desert between Elim behind and Mount Sinai ahead. God was teaching His children who He was. He was teaching them His character. He was giving them truth to live by; truth on which they could stand firm.

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, strength and mind. And love your neighbor as yourself.” Matthew and Mark both write that this was Jesus’s response when the expert in religious law asked Him which was the most important commandment in the law of Moses. Luke writes that the expert in religious law told Jesus that they were the most important commandments in response to Jesus’s que...

When Simon witnessed the miracles performed by Philip, he did not demonstrate faith in the Word of God; rather, he placed his faith in the miracles themselves. His belief was like that of many people who witnessed the miracles of Jesus but refused to acknowledge His Word. Simon’s “belief and baptism” were not the result of true repentance; they were part of his attempt to manipulate and deceive in...

It was Tuesday. Jesus had made His triumphal entry into Jerusalem on Sunday and had cleared out the temple on Monday. The leading priests, teachers and elders were all still stinging from His rebukes the day before. So, it’s no wonder their first question—or should i say their first accusation—was a challenge to His authority.

Our actions are often an accurate reflection of our thoughts about Jesus and the nature of our relationship with Him. But an even more telling indicator is our inaction or our failure to act. Such was the case one night in the home of Simon the Pharisee, who had invited Jesus to dine with him.

The hour had come. It was very late. Jesus had led the disciples to a garden called Gethsemane on the Mount of Olives so He could pray … and they could pray with Him. Well, He had led almost all His disciples. Earlier that night, Judas had abruptly gone out from the upper room while Jesus was still speaking … apparently sent on an errand by the Master. There had been no sign of him since then. The...

Has that still, small voice (the Holy Spirit within you) directed you to do something now that is contrary to what your conventional wisdom is telling you to do?

The people that left Sinai were much different from those who had arrived a year earlier. They arrived as a ragtag multitude bound together by the promises of God; they left as an ordered people, united in the presence of God.

The day God provided a ram to be sacrificed in the place of his son Isaac, Abraham called that place Jehovah Jireh, meaning “The Lord will provide.”(1) That day was to be a reminder to all generations that the Lord will provide. He will be faithful to provide just what is needed at the exact time it is needed. He is seldom early; but He is never late! He seldom provides in the manner we anticipate...

The early church chose the following to serve: Stephen (a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit), Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas of Antioch (an earlier convert to the Jewish faith).

We live in a day filled with upheaval, confusion, and uncertainty. It therefore comes as no surprise that the rates of depression, anxiety, and fearfulness about the future continue to reach new highs  among adults in the U. S. according to a Gallup poll published in May 2023. But as followers of Christ, we can take heart that the perilous times in which we find ourselves are also indicative...

The timeframe of this particular journey recorded in Luke 9 was well over a year before Jesus arrived in Jerusalem on what we call Palm Sunday. He still had much yet to do, messages yet to preach, and miracles yet to perform. But in this verse, Luke is reminding us that Jesus never lost sight of why the Father had sent Him.

As we prepare for Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday, i want us to look at the events leading up to those days through the eyes of the second of two of Jesus’s disciples. But in so doing, i want us to see how the sin they both harbored in their hearts kept them from seeing the truth of God in those events. Too often, the sin we harbor in our hearts keeps us from seeing God’s truth. Instead of con...

This week and next, as we prepare for Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday, i want us to look at the events leading up to those days through the eyes of two of Jesus’s disciples. But in so doing, i want us to see how the sin they both harbored in their hearts kept them from seeing the truth of God in those events. Too often, the sin we harbor in our hearts keeps us from seeing God’s truth. Instead...

i have acted in that same manner. i’ve encountered Jericho-sized situations where i knew if God “didn’t come through” i was sunk. i’ve turned to Him and seen Him work the miraculous. Then on the heels of that great victory, i encountered something so seemingly minor – so seemingly insignificant – i didn’t think there was even any need to pray about it. Then – SMACK! There was that unexpected defea...

We live in a culture that believes life centers around us. It is about “my” dreams, “my” ambitions, and “my” goals. Our fulfillment most often comes from our needs being met, our dreams being achieved, and our achievements being recognized. We’re striving for the “trophy,” even though it has taken on different forms and shapes as we’ve gotten older. It’s the lie that our culture feeds – that “it’s...

What about us? Do we thirst for the water that will temporarily satisfy our immediate need or do we thirst for a deep drink of Living Water that will always satisfy and can only come through an intimate relationship with our Living Lord? The choice that day at Rephidim was much like the choice on the day many years later, when the Samaritan woman encountered Jesus at the well. She chose Living Wat...

God was at work in a new way! Many of those who were alive during those days had been born during the latter part of the four hundred years of silence between the last prophet of the Old Testament – Malachi – and the arrival of John the Baptist. During those years the people had not heard a fresh word from God. Then God Himself showed up on the scene in the form of Jesus and the religious leaders...

It was the end of the third day of the week of Jesus’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem. Two nights hence, He would be betrayed and arrested. He had taken His disciples to the Mount of Olives that evening to spend the night. It was a place to which Jesus often retreated when He was in Jerusalem. It was a place where He could have long conversations with His Father in prayer. And it was a place that...

Another important distinction we must understand before we look at the events that unfolded in the wilderness is that Jesus was not tempted as the Son of God; He did not use His divine power to overcome the temptation. If He had, there would be nothing for us to learn. Remember, He came to teach us how to live, to enable us to live, and to empower us to live. You and I will never have divine power...

The Israelites had planted crops and were augmenting their meals of manna with fresh produce from the land. They had begun to put down modest roots. As a matter of fact, the tribes of Reuben, Gad and Manasseh had petitioned Moses to make their permanent dwelling place on this side of the Jordan, and God had permitted them to do so. So, when Joshua sent out word that they were leaving in three days...

God called the Levites to be in charge of the Tabernacle, and all of its furnishings and equipment. He called them to stand guard and protect it. When the Israelites were camped in the wilderness, God’s Spirit dwelt in the Tabernacle in their midst, but the area immediately surrounding His dwelling place was the home of the Levites. Whenever the pillar of cloud moved from the Tabernacle to lead th...

i don’t know about you, but if i’m getting ready to head out into the wilderness, i want one of those shepherd’s staffs like Moses had when he was leading the Israelites. From the very first day at the burning bush, God had demonstrated His power through that staff. He had turned it into a snake. He had turned the water of the Nile River into blood with it. God had Moses outstretch it to part the...

This week, we’re looking at some of the early days of the church. The idea of a being a “body” of believers was brand new. No one had done it before, and everyone was following the Spirit of God as closely as they could.