On a note unrelated to this blog: I don't like being asked to not talk about God. Conversations seem trickier.

Two words seem to be repeated as of late. "Pride" and "busy".

Romans 3:27, "Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. On what principle? On that of observing the law? No, but on that of faith."

There is no room for pride, because everything we have, we have through faith.

As for being busy, I can't think of any direct scripture references. I do know that a balanced life is essential. It's okay to be busy, but have enough wisdom to show restraint (Prov 23:4, in reference to being a workaholic for riches). As Cameron once advised me, "Say no".

Hearing these words repeated makes me think that God may be telling me it's something I need to be watching out for. If you know any helpful Biblical references that might help me stay on the lookout, especially with "busy", feel free to comment with them.

The gift of Wisdom, which I had unconsciously left on the shelf for quite awhile without touching it much, is back in action. This time it's got Prophecy, Discernment, and Knowledge to back it up. I couldn't hold back the urge to contact certain people. I could feel God using me in such a way that leaves me with a spiritual high (which isn't all that far from the feeling of a physical high).

Could this come into contact with the New Paradigm? Yes. Yes it could.

Sometimes, God hits you with a humbling smack in the face. Not that I've been particularly prideful. But putting aside Word Time is not an option. Neither is putting aside Quiet Time. You see, I went to a meeting for the Kenya missions trip today. Jason Holland, the trip leader, was very bluntly asking us questions to find out if we're at all prepared for Kenya. At the moment, I'm nowhere near prepared. But now I know what's up, and that I need to do more than just get by. When I go to Kenya, I wanna resemble Jesus to the point that I can share His words when there's a chance for me to do so.

One point he hit on that I was glad to hear was him talking about aligning your prayers with the Word. For instance, what if we pray for "God's will" to come about with a healing? The Bible doesn't tell us to pray for that. It tells us to use faith and believe for a healing, not to just pray for God's will over it. The more we know of the Word, the more we can pray Biblically accurate prayers, so that they'll have that power with them.

I'll be meeting with Jason during the week now, 'cause he made a joke about giving teachings on deliverance, but I very much wanna know what to do when I tell a demon to leave a person, and the demon says "no".

This is the end of an era. I'm just glad that I get to help out with the start of the New Paradigm. Pastor Nick talked about the words "Assume Nothing". What a timely word! That's kinda the theme of the early church, I think. They had no previous knowledge of what should or could restrict someone with Jesus living in them. This was the way it should be. They didn't know that certain things weren't "appropriate" for a church service. They had no assumptions about anything God could or couldn't do. They assumed that He was the almighty creator of the universe, and He was fully willing and capable of doing anything and everything that they, their church, or the people around them needed.

This has kinda been the message I've been wanting to impart to the junior highers. To assume nothing about what God can do. Never assume that a junior higher can't do things. "Things" being prophesying, performing miracles or healings, or, even bigger for junior highers, to have Wisdom in what they say.