God’s Vindication Assumes God’s Government

I have learned that God’s agenda for me is freedom. Legit freedom that breaks every restricting chain of control away from me. There are weapons forged against me. But, in Christ, those weapons are not effective. My defense is the vindication that Jesus provides by his presence in me and with me. Vindication is the action of clearing someone of blame or suspicion. The prophet, Isaiah wrote, “no weapon forged against you will prevail, and you will refute every tongue that accuses you. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and this is their vindication from me,” declares the Lord. (Isaiah 54:17) In Christ, I am cleared of blame and suspicion.

Jesus is present in me according to his promise to come in, stay with me and to do life with me. (Revelation 3:20) His presence with me governs me. I have been captured by the goodness of his kingship over me.
He trains me day by day to freely surrender to his ways. There are days when I cooperate well with the training and others when I tend to resist. Jesus disciplines me and calls me higher on those days. A good day is not always a fun day with Jesus. But, he reminds me endlessly that in him I am vindicated (cleared of blame and suspicion).

I am learning to trust his vindication of me more every day. He is showing me the ways I foolishly take that vindication and use it to get what I want. Freedom doesn’t work that way. The more I let him govern me from the inside-out, the more I experience his release from fears of blame and suspicion. The more I trust his vindication of me and not my own, the more courage I find to live in true freedom.

I pray the same for you in Jesus’ name.

In Christ, you are a blessing!

Don’t Lose Heart! Meditation on Matthew 10

King Jesus is revealed as the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. He sent his followers intentionally as sheep among wolves in order to display the glory of the kingdom of God on earth. Somehow, the presence of sheep who are filled with the Spirit of the Lamb of God provokes and exposes the deadly wolf-like ways in the world.

As in the days when the New Testament was written, the good news about the arrival of God’s kingdom still causes upheaval. It is good but usually not predictable or pristine. God’s presence exposes everything that is against the New Creation and anti-renewal. In the end, the wolves are seen for who they are in the presence of the Lamb of God.

As I meditate on my life of identifying as a child of God in life-union with Jesus, I need to make a confession. My experience is that the Lamb of God has to expose the ways that I am a wolf in sheep’s clothing. That is the way to enter into eternal life. There is no other way.

The beautiful, overwhelming truth is that my sins have been forgiven and I live in Christ for God’s glory. But, the place of connection is agreeing with his assessment of my ways, even when he exposes what is out of line with His heart in me.

It is a profound thing to invest our lives in God’s will on earth as it is in heaven. We do that only by God’s grace. As we live in the Spirit, the wolf-like ways in the world will come to light. We can’t allow that to discourage us. Instead, we must focus on Jesus, the Lamb of God and trust His presence more than ever. Somehow, He uses our lives in those moments as evidence of His kingdom’s life and resilience. Don’t lose heart!

(Inspired by Matthew 10)

Here’s “What’s Happening?” With Me & My Place of Ministry – Eastgate House of Prayer

I am thrilled to say that I am joining the EHOP Mission Base as a worship leader and Intercessory Missionary. This means that I will be serving on a full-time basis as we minister to the Lord in “Day and Night” worship & prayer….

It was a little less than a year ago that I laid down my responsibilities as part of the pastoral team of our local church so that I could make myself more available to help with the development of Eastgate House Of Prayer here in the Saint John region. I am very grateful for the friendship and encouragement of Kings Valley Wesleyan Church in this process. I and my family love being part of this wonderful community of Jesus followers.

God has been so faithful in leading me along in this new chapter of my journey in following Him! Leading worship at EHOP (Eastgate House of Prayer) and working with it’s Director Kirk Smith and the rest of the leadership team has been such a huge blessing to me! In the process of serving with EHOP, the Lord has opened a new door of ministry for me.

I am thrilled to say that I am joining the EHOP Mission Base as a worship leader and Intercessory Missionary. This means that I will be serving on a full-time basis as we minister to the Lord in “Day and Night” worship & prayer. Inspired by His word and His passionate heart, we will be asking Him for a great harvest of people into His kingdom, for unity in His Church and for the preparing of His Bride for Jesus’ return.

We are part of a growing number of Houses of Prayer rising up in many cities around the world. For more details on the International House of Prayer in Kansas City, visit www.ihop.org.

EHOP invites participation by any individual or church that worships Jesus according to the Scripture, regardless of denomination, for the sake of bringing unity to the Body of Christ and for revival in the Saint John region, across Canada and throughout the nations.

I am especially excited about my assignment in leading worship and mentoring other musicians and singers serving with EHOP.

In my assignment as an “Intercessory Missionary” I will be committing myself to 30-40 hours per week in helping to lead Intercessory worship meetings, training other intercessors and serving in the administrative infrastructure. I will be continuing in the development of an active and rigorous prayer life including regular times of fasting and prayer as well as ministry through my local church to the local community.

As an Intercessory Missionary with EHOP I am responsible to build a team of supporters both in prayer and raising my personal financial support. I am trusting in the Lord that He is leading many to invest in my calling to mentor intercessory musicians and worship leaders who will minister to the Lord night and day for the sake of a great move of God in our time on the earth. An avenue for providing financial support has been created in order for me to pursue this calling. I would love to make myself available on a full time basis as soon as possible. I am asking the Lord to lead individuals and local churches to invest in the kingdom of God through supporting this mission.

I am in need of monthly supporters and/or one time financial gifts in order to be free enough financially to give myself fully to this ongoing ministry to the Lord in worship, prayer and service to the harvest. An income tax receipt will be issued for all financial gifts to EHOP.

If you feel prompted to connect with me about this, please reach out to me. My contact details:

dan@wastedtreasure.com
(506) 639-8961
403 Hampton Road, Quispamsis, NB, Canada, E2E4V5
Cheques please make payable to Eastgate House of Prayer.