Ken Winter

It was one of the bleakest eras in the history of Judah. King Manasseh had risen to the throne upon the death of his father, King Hezekiah. Unlike his father, Manasseh caused evil to reign throughout the kingdom of Judah.

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 t...

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 y...

Jesus told the disciples to have the crowd sit down – so they could all watch and see the difference a little can make in the hands of the Master! After thanking the Father for the provision, Jesus took the young boy’s lunch and transformed it into a feast for five thousand men, plus women and children – probably fifteen thousand or more people. And everyone ate until they were full! The Master’s...

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 hub...

The Israelites experienced the victory over the Canaanites at Tabor because they followed God and remained steady despite the circumstances that were surrounding them.

Deborah told Barak that God had promised to give him victory over their enemies. Barak initially responded faithfully by saying, “I will go.…” However, he fell short when he faithlessly added, “BUT ONLY if you (Deborah) go with me”. He had received a command from the Almighty God – the Lord God Jehovah. And he responded with “Yes, BUT ONLY.…” He had chosen to underestimate what God would do and as...

We live in a day of seemingly limitless choices – from the food we eat to the clothes we wear, and from the causes we rally to support to the allegiances we make. In most instances, our ability to exercise those choices is accomplished instantaneously through a few swipes of our finger on a screen. And we pride ourselves on our ability to change our choice at any given moment should we decide to d...

We read in the book of Joshua, “Not a single one of all the good promises the LORD had given to the family of Israel was left unfulfilled; everything He had spoken came true.” The psalmist David writes that every one of God’s promises is backed by all the honor of His Name. With God, it is an all or nothing deal. Either He is worthy of all honor, or He is worthy of none. Either every promise He ma...

We often make the mistake of seeing what we perceive to be “bad” timing, impenetrable barriers and overwhelming obstacles as reasonable excuses for not doing what God has told us to do. But the reality is that “bad” timing from a human perspective and impossible obstacles are exactly what God uses to magnify His power.

Seeing and hearing that the man born lame was now walking, leaping and praising God, the people in the Temple were “ absolutely astounded, ” and they “ rushed out in amazement ” to where the man was “ holding tightly ” to Peter and John. “ Peter saw his opportunity and addressed the crowd. ”(7) He wasted no time in asking the crowd two questions to get their focus on the right Person: “ what is so...

The early church looked radically different from the world around them . . . to the point others were drawn to ask, “How can this be?”  In the Book of Acts, Luke records, “ On the day of Pentecost all the believers were meeting together in one place. Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm, and it filled the house where they were sitting. Then, what look...

Do you find yourself in a situation where you are waiting on God? Has He given you a promise that hasn’t yet come to fruition and you feel like you are sitting in the waiting room? If so, there is an important lesson to remember – waiting is not inactivity! As a matter of fact, it is a lesson the early disciples modeled well.

This past Sunday, we celebrated the greatest moment in history – the day Jesus defeated sin, death and Satan by rising from the dead. The day eclipses all others. Even the advent of Jesus as the baby in the manger takes a subordinate place in history. If His resurrection had not occurred, His birth would have only been on par with that of other great men and women who have lived and died. The four...

This Sunday we will celebrate the fact that Jesus rose from the grave. Sin and death were conquered. The victory that the religious leaders and Satan thought they had achieved on Friday was overturned once and for all. Jesus revealed that He had been the One who was victorious on the cross, and the empty tomb was His proof, just as He had told His disciples. And yet, somehow, they had forgotten. S...

They knew Jesus better than most everyone else. John had been one of the first to follow Him. Peter had been the only one to walk on the water with Him. And when most everyone else had abandoned Him, Mary Magdalene stood at the foot of His cross and on the third day led several other women to anoint His broken body. Their love for Him had never been shaken … and yet, the faith of even these had wa...

disciples. Some were members of His extended family or the families of His disciples, such as Salome (the mother of James and John, and the wife of Zebedee) and Mary (the mother of James the Less, and the wife of Clopas). Some of the women had been healed by Jesus, or were those from whom He had cast out evil spirits, including Mary Magdalene and Joanna (the wife of Chuza, the household manager of...

The age in which we live often prompts us to ask the question, “What’s in it for me?” We can, at times, find ourselves preoccupied with making sure that we are receiving our just rewards for our effort. We can even do so as it relates to our relationship with God. We can become preoccupied with the benefits of our salvation and disregard why He has saved us – His mission, His purpose and His glory...

The events that unfolded that night in the upper room before Jesus’ arrest, as recorded in John’s Gospel, were not happening “to” Jesus. The plan of redemption had been set in motion by the Father before the beginning of time. Jesus had always known what was going to occur. He knew when He called Judas Iscariot to follow Him as one of His disciples, that Judas would betray Him.

God’s timing is perfect. It always has been and it always will be. He is eternal. He’s not constrained by such things as time or space. He created it all. Time is as much His creation as we are. He can turn it backward, as we see recorded in the days of the prophet Isaiah and King Hezekiah. And just as easily as He could have turned time forward, He can make it stand still, like He did on the day...

You are probably aware that something has been taking place for the past couple weeks on the Asbury University campus of 1,600 students. Some would call it a revival; others would call it an awakening. i’ll leave it to the theologians to decide what to call it. What i do know is that on February 8th young men and women began to sense the Spirit of God moving in their hearts.

By all appearances they were faithful men. They were two of Moses’ most trusted leaders. Aaron was his brother. Hur was his brother-in-law. These were the two who had lifted up Moses’ arms that day on the hill overlooking Rephidim – the day the Amalekites were defeated. These two were probably the closest of Moses’ inner circle. If anyone had seen the hand of God moving on behalf of His people thr...

A religious zealot by the name of Saul set out on a journey that day.(1) It was a journey of his own choosing. He was on a mission – his own mission. No one had told him to go. He had to solicit letters of endorsement to provide to the synagogues in Damascus so that he could obtain their cooperation. No one gave him those letters. He had to solicit them.

Just as Jesus knew everything about each of the men and women who accompanied Him – the one who would betray Him, the one who would deny Him, the one who would doubt Him – He knew there was no fruit on that fig tree that morning. He knows all things past, present and future. So, if He was hungry, why was He walking over to a fig tree that He already knew was barren? And if He was hungry, why didn’...

Have you ever noticed that God works in ways that we rarely expect? It’s His way of reminding us that His ways are not our ways … and His thoughts are not our thoughts. Are you walking through a circumstance in your life today where you are trusting God for an answer? Perhaps you are expecting Him to answer in a certain way … or perhaps you have no idea. Regardless, trust Him to answer in His perf...