Making

     To find out if you are acting like a fool, here are a few Proverbs describing a foolish person:

     “Fools are destroyed by their lack of common sense” (Proverbs 10:21 NLT).  Comment:  Common sense comes from the truths and principles in God’s Word.

     “Fools think their own way is right, but the wise listen to others” (Proverbs 12:15 NLT).  Comment:  I can relate to this Scripture in that I always thought my way was right, and didn’t listen to others.  Scripture also says:  “Plans go wrong for lack of advice; many advisers bring success” (Proverbs 15:22 NLT). 

     “The wisdom of the wise keeps life on track; the foolishness of fools lands them in the ditch” (Proverbs 14:8 MSG). Comment:  I lived in this ditch until I decided to try God, and obey Him and His Word.

     “…stupid (foolish) people are careless and act too quickly” (Proverbs 14:16 GNT).  Comment:  I often did what I wanted to do, immediately, without thinking.  This almost always produced problems and heartache in my life.   

     “It’s a mark of good character to avert quarrels, but fools love to pick fights” (Proverbs 20:3 MSG). Comment:  I couldn’t see that my choice of words produced arguments; I finally understood, changed my approach and arguments lessened, and have become almost non-existent.  

     “A man is a fool to trust himself! But those who use God’s wisdom are safe” (Proverbs 28:26 TLB).  Comment:  I trusted my own decisions, but my decisions were based on what I saw on television, my feelings, and other misguided notions, and I now know wisdom only comes from the Word of God.

     “A fool always loses his temper, but a wise man keeps quiet” (Proverbs 29:11 NLV).  Comment:  I did not yell when I lost my temper, but I would become irritated with whoever I was talking to when I didn’t get my way.  Irritation felt terrible, but I didn’t know how to get rid of it.  The Lord slowly showed me why I was feeling irritated, and how to get rid of it.  This has been incredibly freeing for me.  I love not being irritated.  Irritation can ruin a whole day, if not much longer. 

Don't Be A Fool

     After the initial excitement of my new life in Christ calmed down a little, the Holy Spirit started to show me when my words or actions were wrong, unkind, or sinful.  He also started showing me the kind of person I was:  selfish, thoughtless, insensitive, foolish, rebellious, lacking in wisdom, full of pride and boasting, stubborn, critical, judgmental, and the list goes on.  Seeing the truth about me was painful and embarrassing.  I needed a complete overhaul, because I had developed so many bad attitudes, habits, and ideas over the first thirty-one years of my life. 

     I was frequently overwhelmed by the many changes I had to make, and—on top of that—I had difficulty making changes and breaking old habits.  I am forever grateful that as I based my choices on the principles in God’s Word, particularly Proverbs initially, I experienced good results rather than the bad results I experienced from living an independent life without God. 

       I have grown and changed a lot since that heart decision, and continue to change into His likeness.  I am now consistently experiencing joy and peace for the first time in my life.  In fact, my attitudes, goals, habits, approach to problem solving, concept of this world, and overall happiness have changed so much that I can only call it a miracle.  

Psalm 34:8

     If you are acting like a fool, and are miserable due to bad choices, like I was—I implore you to try God NOW! If you aren’t miserable now, and want to skip future misery, try God NOWMOST IMPORTANTLY, if you want to spend eternity in Heaven instead of eternity in Hell, try God NOW!

     If you don’t believe there is a God, or are unsure of His existence, first establish in your mind whether or not God exists so you can decide to try God NOW.  I encourage you to thoroughly research God’s existence, and the truth of the Bible. 

     Every person is unique, with different strengths, weaknesses, problems, backgrounds, views of life, likes, dislikes, and so much more.  Because of our differences, our approach to solving life’s problems will be different.  God’s message is ALWAYS the same, but your approach to learning about God will be different.  How He deals with you will be different, too.  Therefore, I would like to give you the basic information you need to try God NOW.  Ask God to guide you, and He will.  Just say out loud, “God, help me to learn about You.”  To start your research of God’s existence and the truth of the Bible see The Essential Bible Blog website:  https://www.bibleinfo.com/en/questions/is-bible-true

On to Chapter 3