I was able to marry my best friend yesterday. When God made man he knew he would need a companion and I could not have asked for a more godly woman to spend my life with…
Author: Dr. William A. Horton
I am a man seeking to imitate his creator. I have not always been a man after God's heart but God's abundant Grace is sufficient enough. God is a chain breaker ask Him to remove your chains if you don't believe me.
Holy Spirit vs. Angels
Let me start by telling you the end of the story first,
THE HOLY SPIRIT WINS EVERY TIME!
So If an angel from God himself came down and told you to do something you would probably listen right? There are plenty of places in the Bible we can find this…
The Bible gives several examples of angels coming down to earth and speaking to human being that were as average as you and I. It was not until after the angel spoke to most of them and they listen to God that they did great things, earth changing things for the glory of God. At the beginning of the Gospels there are many great example of this. Before the Messiah could come there had to be a voice, “In the wilderness prepare the way for the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.” (Isaiah 40:3). Well Zechariah was visited by an angel in his old age, “the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your petition has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will give him the name John.” (Luke 1:13). So Zacharias’ son John would be that voice. He would prepare the way as the angel told Zacharias.
Following that example in the Gospels Mary was visited by the angel Gabriel. In Luke 1:30, “The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God.” Mary had to believe what the angel was telling her, that she had favor from God and that she was going to bear The Son of God… That is a heavy pill to swallow yet after she stepped out in faith and believed that she would have the Messiah Jesus it took her to a places that she never thought possible. Even to the point that we still speak about her thousands of years later.
Then you have Joseph, Mary’s future husband, imagine that you are about to be married and your soon to be wife tells you that she is pregnant and you know that it is not yours. Not only is it not yours but she tells you that she has not slept with anyone and it was conceived by God. I can only imagine the thoughts that would be going through the head of that young man at that very moment she told him that… but later an angel came to Joseph and spoke to him, “an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.” (Matthew 1:20).
So throughout the Bible there are many times when angels come and visit average people and have them do extraordinary things… Are you next! WOULD YOU LISTEN TO AN ANGEL IF YOU WERE TOLD TO DO SOMETHING…
We would probably all say that we would listen to an angel if it came and spoke to us face to face just like those examples in the Bible… I mean how could we deny that it must be God telling us to do something.
Yet we have the Holy Spirit who is part of the trinity, who dwells inside of us. In 1 Cor. 3:16 it tells us this,
Paul asks this is a question because he wants you to think about that fact that you are the temple of God… So why is it that we all would say that if an angel came down and talked to us that we would listen yet when the Holy Spirit (who is God) tells us to do something we ignore it. or say “it couldn’t have been God telling me to do that!”
While sometimes it is hard to tell if it is God that is speaking to us through the Holy Spirit other times it is as plain as day.
So the Holy Spirit vs. Angels
The Holy Spirit is our Great Counselor who is with us everyday and angels are not…
You tell me who wins!
Star Light, Star Bright
Light unto this world
14 “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden.15 neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. (Matthew 5:14-16)
This little light of mine I’m gonna let it shine, This little light of mine I am gonna let it shine. Let it shine, let it shine, let it shiiiii-iiiiii-innnneeee…
This past week Pastor Jeff Schultz of Living Hope Worship Center preached on 1 Peter 3:8-16, he challenged us to look at what kind of light we are in response to that passage Peter wrote. In conclusion Pastor Jeff said there are many lights that we could be like for example a nightlight or a flash light… but those lights are for special occasions not for us to use all the time. He suggested that we should be like a Pilot Light. A Pilot Light by definition is a small gas burner kept continuously burning to light a larger burner when needed… And I agree we need to be continuously burning because we never know when we are going to need to be used by God for something greater than ourselves.
So this being said it really got me thinking about what kind of light that I think the Bible says we should be and what kind of light that I want to be. I like the idea of being a pilot light continuously burning…
So as I was thinking about it this week I believe (my opinion) we are called to be like a “STAR”…
I know right off the bat some will say that we are called to be humble and being a “STAR” sounds a little arrogant. When we think of stars we think of people that are all about themselves… I get that and that is not what I am talking about. I believe we are all “STARS” in God’s eyes and yes the Bible tells us to be humble… “
“Humble yourself under the mighty hand of God that He may EXALT you at do time…”
(1 Peter 5:6).
I think we can be “STARS” when God exalts us to be. It is a heart issue and we can never forget that what we have in life is because God’s grace and love.
Now here is the real reason I think we are called to be “STARS”
Stars burn so bright that we can see them from over 4.3 light years away… When we look up at the Stars at night we see the twinkling lights in the deep dark night sky but if we could look closer at a Star, we would notice that it is something so much greater… it burns with a fire that exceeds 18,000 degrees Fahrenheit. Like a Star we have something so much greater to offer than what you first see… We have the Holy Spirit burning inside of us! Which burns deeper and brighter than any star in the sky!
Another thing is enough Stars brighten the darkest night, we are called to be a light in this dark world just like the stars brighten then midnight darkness.
And the MAIN reason I think we are to be a light like a STAR is because Stars also never turn off…
(like the pilot light).
We may only think of the Stars in the evening but during the days it is not as if the Star is like a light switch and shuts off and on. The Star is still shining even during the day,
THE ONLY REASON THE YOU DO NOT SEE THE STAR DURING THE DAY IS BECAUSE THE SUN (SON) IS BRIGHTER THAN THE STARS…
So we to as “STARS” are to be out shined by the SON (SUN)!
So whatever light that you want to compare yourself to make sure it burns bright and is continuous. Always being ready to glorify God!
SO,WHAT KIND OF LIGHT ARE YOU?
Hulk Smash’s, John Wycliffe Tears Down Walls! (What’s So Special About the Bible)
“Hulk Smash!” The Incredible Hulk may smash but John Wycliffe broke down the walls of the Bible for everyone to see what God really wants in our lives…
John Wycliffe was a man who believed that everyone should be able to read the Word of God. We take for granted today that we can open up a Bible or more likely a Bible App like You Version 
and read the Bible whenever we feel like it. This was not always the case however, 150 years before the reformation this man John Wycliffe believed that everyone should be able to go to God themselves without a priest. During this time period no one besides the priest had Bibles and it was also written in a language that was not common for 
people to read. Bibles were very expensive for people to buy and believe it or not they were sometimes chained to the pulpit so no one could take them. That sounds strange I know because at my church they encourage you to take a Bible if you do not own one. His power over the 14th century was that of a conscience captured by the Word of God. Unlike his peers, he denied that men must go through a priest to get to God. Before the time of Jesus we had high priests who would go before God and speak for the people to Him (God) but after Jesus came the story changes you see…
Hebrews 4:14-16 says, “14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. 16 Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”
We no longer need a high priest like the Pope because we have a Great High Priest in Jesus who gives us access to the throne room of God. It says it right there in verse 16… “Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence…”
Like I said above Wycliffe also believed that everyone should be able to read God’s Holy Word themselves. After all scripture says that…
“16All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for correcting, for correction, for training in righteousness; 17so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16, 17)
So if God’s Word is useful for teaching, correcting and training we must first be able to learn from it and not just what the priest wants to teach you. You need to know God’s Word. This however was nearly impossible when you cannot read the language the Bible is written in or could not have a Bible yourself. So Wycliffe a man of industry and academic ability, admired by friend and foe alike who also worked at Oxford and was acknowledge by them to be their leading theologian decided to translate the Bible into English. With the help of Oxford friends, Wycliffe translated the Bible, all 750,000 words, from Latin into English—an immense undertaking. His revolutionary conviction that the average Englishman should be able to read the Bible in the common language threatened the power of the English state-church. It meant that the Bible, rather than the counsel of a state-controlled priest, would mediate Christ to the believer’s conscience. Therefore, his translation threatened the glue that held medieval civilization together, the church’s power to bind men’s consciences. He was consider a heretic, but before he could be arrested, tried, and burnt at the stake, he died of a stroke while sayi
ng Mass in 1384.
So before you think to yourself oh great I am supposed to read the Bible everyday?! Remember that one man’s struggle and conviction from God made it possible for you to be able to read it.
All things are possible through God and just think you could do something greater than you could think or imagine for God’s glory all because you were able to grow closer through His living Word!
Wait for It!
“You are blessed because you believed that the Lord would do what he said.” Luke 1:45. Because you heard from God and waited for it to manifest and believed you are blessed…
The book of Daniel gives us glimpses into the future. This prophecy would take place throughout Daniels life and many things he spoke of happened hundreds of year after they were spoken by Daniel. Daniel never got to see them manifest…In the ninth chapter of Daniel says, “Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.” “Daniel 9:24. What we should know as a beginning to the correctly understanding this prophecy, that in Daniel’s view, those weeks represented years, so the 70 weeks of Daniel represent 490 years -70 times 7 years- that ended with the death of Jesus the Christ. 
Daniel spoke these things around 457 B.C. If we extract this number to 490 (490-457=33) so, here we see that the 70 weeks of Daniel were completed with the death by crucifixion of Jesus around the year 33 A.D. Continuing on in that chapter, “Yet shall he confirm the covenant with many for one week.” Daniel 9.27. Did Jesus confirm His covenant of love and mercy with Daniel’s people for 7 years? There was a 7 year period between the death of Christ and the time the Gospel was sent out to the Gentiles at the calling of Cornelius. This is the fulfillment of Daniel’s prophecy.
Later in DANIEL 11:3 it says, “Then a mighty king shall arise, who shall rule with great dominion, and do according to his will.” After the military defeat of Xerxes by the Greeks, a number of additional Persian kings ruled the empire. But Xerxes had set the stage for a strong Greek ruler to arise. This ruler was the Macedonian Alexander the Great, who defeated Persian King Darius III Codomannus in 333 BCE at the battle of Issus (located on the Mediterranean coast in what is now southeast Turkey). This defeat signaled the beginning of the end of the Persian Empire.
At the height of his power, Alexander conquered and ruled an empire that stretched from southern Europe to North Africa to central Asia.
But the Greek empire of Alexander was not destined to endure. He fell ill and died on June 10, 323 BCE in the palace of Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon.
So throughout the life of Daniel there are some compelling things that God spoke to Daniel that Daniel himself did not even have a chance to see fulfilled… The question that pops into my head then is what is God telling you that you think is never going to be fulfilled? Do you think that it is impossible for it to happen? Well when God speaks something into your life sometimes you have to give it time to manifest into reality and not give up so easily because you do not see anything happening right now!
After all when you plant a seed you do not see it pop out of the ground the moment you cover it with dirt, it takes time for the seed to sprout and mature then it bears fruit!
Inside The Warehouse
God is Greater Than All My Unanswered Questions
I don’t have all the ANSWERS! And I don’t CARE!
“You are worthy, O Lord our God,
To receive glory and honor and power.
For you created all things, and they exist because you created what you please.” (Revelation 4:11).
I never really thought or saw this before but, it is important to realize that from the beginning of the Bible (Genesis) to the end of the Bible (Revelations) God is telling us that He created the world. It is also worthy of pointing out that this is one of the hardest topics to witness and prove to people. With the world today teaching our kids evolution and everything else besides intelligent design it is harder and harder to get people to believe in a God they cannot see. Not only that it is hard for them to get them to believe that God spoke something into nothing and from nothing came everything that we currently see. The facts are that while we may not know what to say when someone asks us about these tough questions, the truth is always the same. God did indeed create something from nothing and we are not God’s sales person who needs to convince people of the facts we know are true. God is His own salesman and we are just called to do what we can to be His hands and feet. A hammer does not look at a house and say, “Look at what I just built!” The hammer without the Carpenter is nothing… We are the hammer and as
Genesis 1:1, 2 says, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep waters. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters. 
God created it whether we believe it or not that does not change the fact that He is who He is… God is not made smaller by our small view of Him. He is the God who created something out of nothing and gave us the honor to be made in His image. I am challenged every day to see the world God created and see Him in all of it and so should you…
God is bigger than our explanations of Him and I find it refreshing when people do not act like they have all the answers, because we don’t… If I had all the answers to the questions of God then the God you and I serve would not be a Big enough God to serve. I am glad I don’t have all the answers because in that He keeps me coming back to know Him better.
From the beginning to the end of the Bible it tells us the same story God is the creature that’s the “start and finish of it”
The WAREHOUSE is now open!
Don’t Be a LUNK!
Take the bull by the horns
“Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”-Matthew 26:39
In the Orient young bulls are tested for the fight arena in a certain manner . Each is brought to the ring and allowed to attack a picador who pricks them with a lance. The bravery of each bull is then rated with care according to the number of times he demonstrates his willingness to charge in spite of the sting of the blade. Henceforth recognize that each day you are tested by life in like manner. If you persist, if you continue to charge forward, you will succeed.
Sometimes you have to feel the sting of the blade to get to the ultimate goal…
Think about Jesus in the garden right before He was betrayed by one of His very own followers. Jesus knew the sting that was about to come even to the point that He asked His Father to take that cup from His hands. Jesus knew that to suffer ment He would succeed in His mission to save you and me. Yet in spite of the sting of the nails He preceded to charge forward…
The prizes of life are at the end of each journey, not near the beginning; and it is not given to us to know how many steps are necessary in order to reach our goal. Failure you may still encounter at the thousandth step, yet success hides behind the next bend in the road. Never will you know how close it lies unless I turn the corner.
Sometimes you have to suffer a little to succeed… pain brings on change! Take the bull by the horns and
BRING ON THE PAIN OF CHANGE!
William A Horton
Dr. William A. Horton 