#263 - Why You WON'T MISS IT?

Jeremiah 29:13 - Then you will seek Me, inquire for, and require Me [as a vital necessity] and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.

Mark 1:35 (ESV) - And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed. 

Proverbs 31:15 - She rises while it is yet night and gets [spiritual] food for her household... 

Have you ever thought, "I just don't want to miss it. I don't want to miss God."

I know that there have definitely been points along my life where I thought the very same thing. This morning as I was journaling and taking some time to listen to the Voice of the Holy Spirit, I felt very reassured by what I heard.

If you get this next thing down, I believe you will have won 95% of the battle!!

What is that? First things first: Daily time with the Lord. Once we have committed and have established a DISCIPLINE in devoting time EACH DAY with the Lord, I believe a large portion of any upcoming battle is won. I believe we will "WIN" the day! I believe we will "WIN" in our relationships. I believe we will "WIN" with our dreams and goals!

I attended a business class last night, and the gentleman was talking about a mentorship relationship and what it looks like, what proper communication looks like and doesn't look like. He said something to this effect, "I recently had a conversation with a guy that I am mentoring. Consistently, when we would get together, he would talk the whole time. It may be an hour long of him talking, the guy barely came up for air. He established a habit of monopolizing the conversation. I'm OK with that, but I finally told him. 'You don't need me. If all I am is just a wall for you to talk to, you don't need me.'"

A true mentoring relationship sometimes means you need to be quiet! A true mentoring relationship means that both parties talk and both parties listen.

What does your time with the Lord look like? What does your "quiet time" with Him look like? Like the protege in the above relationship, are you doing ALL THE TALKING when you spend time with the Lord? Do you pray and pray and pray, then get up to leave while the Lord is still just sitting there. He never had a chance to get a word in. He didn't have a chance to offer HIS advice, HIS answer to the situation or problem.

WHY can we be assured we will not miss it? This is what I heard this morning...

Why won't you miss it? Because of this! Because of this daily time spent with Me! When you spend daily time with Me & even open up yourself to LISTEN, I will SPEAK because you are seeking Me!! You won't miss it! Business, marriage, money, kids. You won't miss it.

So friend, I ask, are you spending time listening? Sitting in silence, pen & journal in hand, ready to hear from that still, small Voice? Ready to record His thoughts about the very situation you are seeking Him about?

I encourage you to take some time today, to get in a quiet place and in that silence ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -    LISTEN. 

Need an ANSWER?

Mark 4:20, 22 - And those sown on the good (well-adapted) soil are the ones who hear the Word and receive and accept and welcome it and bear fruit—some thirty times as much as was sown, some sixty times as much, and some [even] a hundred times as much. [Things are hidden temporarily only as a means to revelation.] For there is nothing hidden except to be revealed, nor is anything [temporarily] kept secret except in order that it may be made known.

Do you have questions? Need answers? The answer you are seeking is not hidden FROM you, it is hidden FOR YOU! The revelation that you desire for your situation is not designed to be kept hidden, it is designed for you to FIND it. God is not One to just dangle something in front of you (in this case, a question) with no means for you to find the answer to it. Answers are there, and you are MEANT to find them. Let's take a look at a few situations in the Bible.

Noah. Let's look at Noah. In Genesis 6:9, it said that Noah walked in habitual fellowship with God. God had a man that He knew would listen to His instructions, and when the time came, Noah was mandated to build a boat, a big boat. God gave him very specific instructions, a detailed plan with measurements, the type of material, everything Noah needed in order to build this boat to God's specifications. It needed to withstand the weight of ALL the animals that would be on the boat. It needed to withstand the storms and weather. Noah listened, and God answered. God gave Noah a plan.

Moses. After 40 years of personal exile due to killing a man, Moses was called back to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. Moses was called by God to go before Pharaoh to make the request, as we know, "Let My people go!" It was a request from God Himself. God wanted to Israelites to be set free from captivity. You remember, the 10 plagues... God told Moses exactly what to do in order for the Israelites to be set free. Sure, it took 10 major plagues before Pharaoh would listen, but in the end, the people were set free. Moses listened, and God answered. God gave Moses a plan.

Solomon. Solomon was directed to build the Lord's house (1 Kings 6). From the cedar to the dimensions, from the inner sanctuary to overlaying the floors with gold; God gave Solomon very specific instructions on how to build the temple and with the exact materials. It was a specific project. Solomon listened, and God answered. God gave Solomon a plan.

Friend, YOU are no different. Remember the verse that says God is the same yesterday, today & tomorrow. You serve the SAME God that Noah, Moses & Solomon served. Although, YOU and I have something even better! As Christians, when we got saved, the Holy Spirit Himself came to live inside of us.

Are you feeling like your schedule is crazy? How can you possibly get everything done? YOUR answer is not hidden FROM you, it is hidden FOR YOU! Ask. Seek. Just like God laid out dimensions for the completion of the temple, He will lay out specifically what kind of schedule for your day. Just ask.

Is it marital? How to keep your laundry caught up? How to grow your business? How to spend more time with your family? How to increase your income. There is no problem that sustained thought (prayer) can't answer!

So today.... whatever the question or problem.... commit some time to seeking the Lord! Just like Noah, Moses & Solomon, if you listen, you may be very surprised at the depth of detail you get back! It's there for you to find, YOUR answer is not hidden FROM you, it is hidden FOR YOU!

 

#253 - Christmas Overwhelmed?

Romans 9:21 (NKJ) - Does not the potter have power over the clay, from the same lump to make one vessel for honor and another for dishonor?

John 15:1-7 - I am the True Vine, and My Father is the Vinedresser.
² Any branch in Me that does not bear fruit [that stops bearing] He cuts away (trims off, takes away); and He cleanses and repeatedly prunes every branch that continues to bear fruit, to make it bear more and richer and more excellent fruit.³ You are cleansed and pruned already, because of the word which I have given you [the teachings I have discussed with you].⁴ Dwell in Me, and I will dwell in you. [Live in Me, and I will live in you.] Just as no branch can bear fruit of itself without abiding in (being vitally united to) the vine, neither can you bear fruit unless you abide in Me.⁵ I am the Vine; you are the branches. Whoever lives in Me and I in him bears much (abundant) fruit. However, apart from Me [cut off from vital union with Me] you can do nothing.⁶ If a person does not dwell in Me, he is thrown out like a [broken-off] branch, and withers; such branches are gathered up and thrown into the fire, and they are burned.⁷ If you live in Me [abide vitally united to Me] and My words remain in you and continue to live in your hearts, ask whatever you will, and it shall be done for you.

Proverbs 31:15-16 - She rises while it is yet night and gets [spiritual] food for her household and assigns her maids their tasks.¹⁶ She considers a [new] field before she buys or accepts it [expanding prudently and not courting neglect of her present duties by assuming other duties]; with her savings [of time and strength] she plants fruitful vines in her vineyard. 

Good morning! Honestly, as I sit here sipping my 2nd cup of coffee, writing in my journal and just spilling everything in my heart and mind to the Lord, one sentence came to mind, "I'm ready for things to get back to normal." As I thought about it, that was a bit sad because it's ONLY December 6th!! The Holiday season is JUST starting. My whirlwind started at the beginning of November, North Carolina Leadership Conference, Florida Birthday with Grandparents, Georgia Thanksgiving, Kansas Business Trip, Mom's Night out Christmas Party (at my house), and blah, blah, blah... they were GREAT, but life has been anything but normal!

Do you know the feeling I'm talking about? I am not even unpacked from one event, to just dump my suitcase out and pack for another.... while the pile grows of things that need to be put away... or new suitcases come out while the others remain unpacked. 

So... here I sat, this morning in my Quiet Time, just spilling out my brain onto paper. Telling the Lord of all the things that I need to fix about myself, feeling frustrated and a bit like I'm still in the center of a whirlwind. Remembering the weird dream I had last night, waking up in a frenzy because I had "lost my basketball shoes and was running around looking for them and I didn't want to get left." (Weird! I don't have basketball shoes and haven't played since I was in 9th grade.)  So my dream was just another reminder of one area in my life I need to improve on...... argh..... getting more organized and being on time! 

I stopped my frenzy of all the things I "NEED" to do, the areas I "NEED" to improve on, the tasks that I "NEED" to get my head together on... I stopped. Then, I proceeded to just LISTEN. 

As I listened, this was what I heard: 

Amy....it is all about staying connected to Me. Staying connected to the TRUE VINE. I will prune you & as a potter shapes, I will shape you. I will direct you in your tasks & priorities. 

Immediately the verses that came to mind were Romans 9:21 and John 15:1-7.

What happens when a branch is disconnected from a vine or tree? I had a "Mom's Night Out" Christmas Party for my mom's group on Monday night. Beforehand, I went out back and cut some branches off pine trees, got some sprigs of pine to make a centerpiece and decorate some random places. I even found a "Charlie Brown" looking pine tree and cut that down to decorate in a corner. Well... currently, my "Charlie Brown" Christmas tree in the corner of our eating area is staying artificially alive. It is in a vase with water. BUT, it will not stay alive forever. It is currently being artificially kept alive. It is disconnected from it's root system. As soon as I take it out of the water, it will begin to brown, dry up and die completely.

The reminder to me this morning.... as I've been feeling overwhelmed, a bit in a frenzy, my "To-Do" list of Christmas presents and exchanges growing, this morning as I slowed down long enough to LISTEN to the Voice of the Holy Spirit... I got a great reminder! Stay connected! Stay connected to the TRUE VINE. As I stay connected, like the potter directs the shape of the clay, the Holy Spirit will direct me. He will even direct me in keeping me productive on the tasks I NEED to be productive in. He'll direct me where to go and when to go. "No Amy, don't go there right now, they won't have what you need. Wait until Wednesday." Then, the store will receive a shipment, put items out and the item I was looking for will be newly placed on the shelf. I will not spend time in vain, or toiling because I will have taken time to listen.

It really is amazing!!! Because Jesus ascended into Heaven and left this earth, what a gift we have! But, even the disciples argued with Jesus. "NO Jesus, Don't go! Don't go!" Jesus responded, "But I am telling you the truth: it is better for you that I go away, because if I do not go, the Helper will not come to you. But if I do go away, then I will send him to you." (John 16:7 GNT) The Helper, Jesus is talking about the Holy Spirit. Isn't it awesome that WHEN we got saved the HOLY SPIRIT comes to live inside of us!! I remember growing up and as a child we would say that Jesus lived in our hearts. Well, it wasn't actually Jesus (since he was human and it would be hard to fit him in our heart), but it was the Holy Spirit. The Spirit part of the Trinity. 

Why is that such good news today? Right now? Because SINCE we have the Holy Spirit living inside us, we have COMPLETE ACCESS! All we have to do, is quiet ourselves enough to listen! John 10 talks about the shepherd and his sheep, "...sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. ⁴ And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. ⁵ Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers." 

How cool! When we accept Jesus into our life, we have the SHEPHERD leading us. BUT... we must tune our ear into HEARING and KNOWING His Voice, so that the other voices (ie: the voice of the enemy), when we hear those, we will NOT follow them but flee from them. It's a process and it begins with just choosing to quiet ourselves and listen. Shutting off the TV, the radio, our iPhone, getting away from the hustle and bustle, before our kids are awake... and with no distractions, just sitting and listening. 

So today.... are you feeling the "Christmas Overwhelmed" feeling? My suggestion (to myself!!), STAY CONNECTED. Being connected to the TRUE VINE is crucial more than ever during times like this. I feel so much better after just having a true quiet time this morning. Stay connected. Don't allow yourself to be cut off from the vine! The life cut off from the vine is ARTIFICIAL and TEMPORARY.... it's inevitable that someone cut off from the True Vine will not last. So, this holiday season, stay connected. Allow the Holy Spirit to guide and direct you, to save you time, free your life from toil, to direct you to be at the right place at the right time. Allow the Holy Spirit to position you for Divine Favor!! :) Because as a CHILD OF THE MOST HIGH GOD, that is EXACTLY what our Father wants for HIS  children! Divine favor! 

Be blessed! :) 

The Holy Spirit CAN Help...Will You Listen?

Hello! :) I know it has been awhile since I have posted! This morning I felt led to post something and feel that it will really help some people. Hope this finds you well. Life here is good! Tyler Jr continues to be a hoot & Trinity is as beautiful as ever! She is coming up on 10 months old! It is hard to believe. Praise the Lord for blessed, great & healthy kids!

Let's get started!

Habakkuk 2:4b - ... the [uncompromisingly] righteous man shall live by his faith and in his faithfulness.

Joshua 1:8 - This Book of the Law shall not depart out of your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, that you may observe and do according to all that is written in it. For then you shall make your way prosperous, and then you shall deal wisely and have good success.

Pulling out of our subdivision do I go right or left? Which way should I go? This is just one of the simple decisions I have to make each week when Tyler Jr goes to his "MyGym" class. Should I turn right or left? I am sure you have similar decisions that you make daily. Simple decisions... but decisions that can make all the difference. Maybe not "life-changing", but in some cases, they COULD BE life changing!


The Book of the Law... The Word... The Bible. Allowing these Words to constantly be inside of us. The "Word" is also often referred to as God Himself. God is the Word and the Word is God. The Bible talks about how the Word is inerrant, God-breathed. Since the Word is God.... meditating on the "Book of the Law" shouldn't be as hard as we often make it. Earlier in my Christian walk, I would read this verse, Joshua 1:8, and think, This is impossible! I can't just sit around reading the Bible all day! I have things to do! Over the years as I have grown in my Christian walk, as I have drawn closer to the Lord, as my relationship with the Holy Spirit has continued to go deeper and deeper, this verse popped out this morning in my spirit and it made sense!


As I sat on the couch, with my cell phone on the table next to me, my never-ending conversation continued. "This is why I told you not to bring your cell phone into this time with us. It is very distracting. You keep doing things on your phone & it interrupts our time," the Holy Spirit said as He rebuked me for the simple distraction.


Meditating on the Word day & night. Since the Word is God, aside from reading our Bible, meditating on the Word can also be simply CONTINUING in an ongoing conversation with the Holy Spirit. As believers, He does reside within us. Before ascending to heaven, that is the very reason Jesus left, so that the Holy Spirit could be WITH US always! Daily! In each decision be our guide! Check out what Jesus says in John 14:14, 26: And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Comforter (Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener, and Standby), that He may remain with you forever.... But the Comforter (Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener, Standby), the Holy Spirit, Whom the Father will send in My name [in My place, to represent Me and act on My behalf], He will teach you all things. And He will cause you to recall (will remind you of, bring to your remembrance) everything I have told you.


The disciples didn't want Jesus to go. They didn't want Him to leave them. They simply did not understand the magnitude and importance of Jesus leaving. Aside from allowing Jesus to defeat death, hell & the grave, AND allowing people of all time to accept Jesus as their Savior.... by Jesus leaving allowed us to KNOW the answer to the question, "Do I turn right or left?" When we get saved, we then give the Holy Spirit a home inside of us! We become the temple of the Holy Spirit. And then, all we have to do to know the answer to questions, is simply quiet ourselves, acknowledge the Holy Spirit & ASK the question. Sure.... if it is not something you are used to, if it is not something you have done much or at all, it may take practice learning to HEAR His Voice.... but friend, I assure you, the Holy Spirit is there, like it says in John 14, to be your Counselor & Helper.


So... in the morning... on my way to MyGym... inside, in my head, in my spirit. I get to the stop sign where a decision has to be made.... I quiet myself after asking the question until I hear the answer. "Go right today. It will save you from some traffic." 


Similar conversations happen throughout the day as I acknowledge the Holy Spirit in my life. He continually answers simple questions.... and even hard questions in our ongoing, never-ending conversation. Praise the Lord that Jesus DID ascend to heaven so that EACH ONE of us can have a Counselor & Helper. Jesus was a man. He was flesh. He could only be in one place at one time. Praise the Lord that the Holy Spirit can help ALL of us, even at the same time! 


Today.... I encourage you... take the time to quiet yourself and listen to that still small Voice who is just waiting to talk to you!

Can You HEAR His Voice?

Ephesians 3:17 - May Christ through your faith [actually] dwell (settle down, abide, make His permanent home) in your hearts! May you be rooted deep in love and founded securely on love...

May Christ, through faith, dwell in your hearts. Settle down, abide, make His permanent home.  Tyler & I were talking about this this morning. It came into a perspective that I haven't thought about in a long time... and now that I'm at a different place in life, it takes a WHOLE new meaning!

Imagine this.... Tyler compared it this way. "Amy, imagine loving the Bestul Family so much that we sacrifice Tyler Junior so that we can dwell in their hearts. We sacrifice our only son because our love is so great for the Bestul's."

Imagine a love so great! Imagine a love so great that you are the reason for the great sacrifice. A love so great, that someone would be willing to sacrifice their only son. I mean, have you SEEN how cute Tyler Jr is?!?! That puts it into a huge perspective. To sacrifice MY SON because of a love so great for you!

And that is exactly what God did for us! He sacrificed His ONLY son and we now have the opportunity for Him to come DWELL in our hearts. We have the opportunity for Him to take up His PERMANENT home! To dwell: settle down, abide, make His permanent home. What a place of peace, to be abiding with Christ. To be dwelling in the same place as Christ! Right?! Imagine. Take a deep breath. Close your eyes and picture it. Sit with Jesus. In the peace, in the quiet. No toil. No stress. No chaos. No turmoil. No struggle. But......imagine, complete peace. Sitting with Jesus and you are overcome with complete peace.

That is exactly what God wants for us. He sacrificed His only son for a purpose! I can't IMAGINE loving someone so GREATLY that I sacrifice what is most important to me in my whole life, and then that person does not even receive the gift I have for them. Think about your son (or daughter). Imagine sacrificing your son, your only son that you love with ALL your heart. Imagine sacrificing him, so that you could dwell with, make a home with your in-laws, your sister, your best friend.

Christ came to earth. He came with the purpose of being victorious. He came with the purpose of saving us, the sinners. He came with the purpose of setting us free from death. But it doesn't end there. He came with the purpose of not just a "Security Plan" for us to get into heaven. He did not merely come that we may have "Fire Insurance" from hell. He came, His Father - God, allowed Him to be sacrificed that He may DWELL with us DAILY! That He may take up PERMANENT residence in our hearts, in our life! That He may direct us in daily decisions as we look to Him. That we may walk & respond in peace. That our homes would be filled with peace. That toil & chaos that the enemy tries to bring onto us would have NO place in our lives and homes. Christ came, lived, and was sacrificed, rose again, ascended to heaven so that that Holy Spirit would be left in His place to live inside of us. Jesus himself was fully man and could only be one place at a time. Because Jesus lived & died & rose again... that allowed the 3rd part of the Trinity to become a part of every believer. The Holy Spirit to live inside of each of us once we accept Christ as our Savior. (Romans 10:9-10)

I ask you today.... Are you saved? Do you know Jesus? For many of you, the answer is yes! You are! But don't let it stop there!! Don't live life with just a "Fire Insurance" plan! Allow the FULL BENEFIT of the Sacrifice to LIVE! Allow the Holy Spirit to direct your life. Lead your life. Take time to develop your relationship with your Father! Take time to get to know Who He is. This starts with time in His Word. This starts with planting the Word in your heart. It starts with consistency. Take time to listen. It says in John 10 verse 27, the sheep know My Voice and the voice of a stranger they will not follow. I ask you.... if you do not recognize the Voice of the Holy Spirit, GET TO KNOW HIM! You can only learn someone's voice clearly by KNOWING THEM! Get to know your Father! Spend time with Him so that during the day you CAN recognize the Voice of the Holy Spirit in your life! Like how I can recognize Tyler's voice on the phone. I recognize his voice easily because I have spent a lot of time with him. I KNOW my husbands voice! The same is true with the Holy Spirit. The more time we spend in the Word, studying WHO He is, time in prayer, time practicing the art of LISTENING to Him... the more we do those things the easier John 10:27 is a reality in our lives.

The sheep know my Voice and the voice of a stranger they will not follow. 

I ask you today, can you hear the Voice of the Holy Spirit in your life? If yes, great! Continue in that relationship. If no, the answer is easy. It takes TIME, time spent with Him to get to know His Voice. Commit today to spending time, daily time getting to know Him. 

#40 - Who do you Follow?

Buenos dias! How is everyone's morning so far? Things here in Columbia are quite swell. Had a good time getting some instructions for my week from the Holy Spirit.  Praise the Lord that we can rely on Him versus rely on our own understanding, or our own direction. His way is so much better, less things done in vain when we listen to the direction of the Holy Spirit! Listening. Listening is a very valuable attribute to acquire. Learning how to LISTEN to the voice of the Holy Spirit is something that is available to everyone who is saved. When we accept Christ into our life as our Saviour we are filled with the Holy Spirit. Our "spirit" is "re-born". That is why they call it being "born again." Our spiritual compass has been reset to things of God. We have the "still small voice"... aka: the Holy Spirit, living inside of us wanting to direct us & guide us. At first... it may take awhile for you to really feel like you are "hearing" correctly. I remember developing that ability to listen. I remember working on it, working on listening. Let me tell you how it happened for me....


I was a Spanish & Bible teacher at a private Christian School. During my prep period in the morning, I would go to the library and spend time in the Word and journal. As I began to try to listen, I remember I would often get so distracted by ANY noise I heard. I would feel like it totally threw me off track. I had to try so hard to listen. I remember sometimes I would even close my eyes & plug my ears just so all I could hear was the "emptiness" inside my brain. I wanted SOOO bad to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit. I wanted so bad to experience the relationship & direction of Him. One of my struggles when I tried to listen was thoughts like this: "Oooh. I need to call Tyler to see if he got our conference tickets." - "I need to swing by and pick up some chicken so I can make chicken casserole tonight for dinner." - "Oh yah, I need to remember to return the ski pants to Robin." Literally, I felt like my time of listening was the time every reminder would pop into my head! It was very distracting & honestly kind of annoying. Eventually, I remember going through this practice each day to try to empty my mind of thoughts, and it actually worked! I would close my eyes, picture a truck... it was a truck that had a cement wall on the front of it (lol! for real!). I would picture this truck with it's cement-wall front driving very slowly and pushing all the thoughts out of my brain so my brain was empty. After all the thoughts fell off the side... cliff... whatever... my brain was a clean, empty slate ready to listen. I would say, "Good morning Holy Spirit." And I would hear back, "Good morning Amy." And there is where it began. I wrote down everything that I felt like the Holy Spirit was saying to me, instructions, things to do, stories to remember, verses to look up. Sometimes I felt like I didn't know if "I" was actually hearing Him, or if it was just me. Well... one morning, the Holy Spirit was heavily talking about a particular subject... I was writing it all down... he just kept on this subject. Then when I opened my Bible, I felt led to turn to this certain chapter, and there it was! ALL the scripture backing up everything I had just finished journaling. All the instructions, right there. Just to confirm to me that I was hearing correctly, the Holy Spirit directed me to "confirmation" in His Word. How exciting. Today... I don't have to close my eyes, squint really tight and plug my ears to hear. But, we all have to start somewhere. And, that is where I started. 


Anyways... quite a long intro to today's verses... let's get into the Word. 

Proverbs 31:30 - ....but a woman who reverently and worshipfully fears the Lord, she shall be praised!

Proverbs 26:9 - Like a thorn that goes [without being felt] into the hand of a drunken man, so is a proverb in the mouth of a [self-confident] fool.

Proverbs 26 is loaded with a lot of good stuff.... but, as I tried to get past some of the obvious things that jumped out at me... I started to realize how much Proverbs 26 talked about the "fool". In verses 1-12, it talks about the "fool" 11 times! 11 verses talked about a fool. As I re-read the verses several times, I wanted to find out what made someone a fool. That led me to search it out a little. 


As I searched, I found what I would consider the ULTIMATE foundation of what makes someone a fool. Psalm 14:1, 53:1 both read this:  The fool says in his heart, "There is no God." They are corrupt, and their ways are vile; there is no one who does good.


Proverbs 1:7 - The reverent and worshipful fear of the Lord is the beginning and the principal and choice part of knowledge [its starting point and its essence]; but fools despise skillful and godly Wisdom, instruction, and discipline.


Our Proverbs 31 friend, we know is not a fool, she reverently & worshipfully fears the Lord. So, big check beside her name! She is on board with being wise. Now let me say this, there is hope for the fool. That's called the GREAT COMMISSION (Matthew 28:19-20). As Christians, that is part of our calling to reach out to these "fools" who say "There is no God." It is part of every Christians assignment to help fulfill the Great Commission, to GO and make disciples of all the nations. Some Christians are called to be missionaries to another country to help the Great Commission be fulfilled, others are called to be a missionary right where they are, in their jobs, schools, homes, churches, malls, grocery stores, right in the town where they live, to be a beacon of light to others, to share the love of Jesus with those who do not know Him. 


As a Christian, I believe one of our greatest responsibilities is to KNOW who to take advice from. Proverb in the Hebrew is defined as sentences of ethical wisdom. And we know by reading our Proverbs for today, that a "proverb" in the mouth of a non-believer is just foolish words. Who are you taking advice from?!? Whoa! A pretty big pivotal point of importance. Who are you following. We know if they are one who says, "There is no God", then we would be a fool to follow them. We would be a fool to take their advise. We would be a fool. Look to who you follow now in business, in politics, in books you read, in music. Are they people who say, "There is no God." And as Christians, we know just believing in God is not enough, even the demons do that and tremble, but we need to believe in the one and only way to be saved is confessing with our mouth that JESUS is Lord and believing in our hearts that God raised him from the dead. It is then when we have CONFESSED and BELIEVED that we are saved. Who are you following? Have they done this. Have YOU done this? If you haven't, you can do it now very simply by praying a simple prayer, out-loud, something like this: "Father, I come to you right now and want to ask forgiveness of my sins. I confess my sins to you. I also want to openly say out loud that I DO believe that Jesus died on a cross for me. That I would be saved. I confess with my mouth that Jesus is Lord. I believe in my heart that you raised Him from the dead and that now He sits at your right hand. Thank you Father for saving me. I am now BORN AGAIN! I am now SAVED!" - It's that simple! Now begins the fun of re-newing your mind to things of God. Getting in the Word, studying the life of Jesus (the book of John is a good place to start). 


Sometimes, we may not have complete control over who we follow. Whether it is the president of the company we work for, a senator, governor, President of the United States. We may have some voice, by voting, but if we are following non-believers (aka: FOOL according to Ps. 14:1, 53:1) in any area of our life, it is our responsibility to help CHANGE it! To PRAY PRAY PRAY! For us to say that we followed not in vain, but we prayed. Pray for salvation. 


If you can change who you follow, do it. Don't take advice from fools. 
If you can't change who you follow, change it by PRAYING.