The One

By Pastor Vinnie MacIsaac

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Imagine a story from Luke 17, told from the perspective of Jesus himself. Step into this sacred moment with your heart and mind open, engaging your holy, sanctified imagination. Let us walk together on this dusty road and witness the power of compassion, healing, and gratitude as we see through Jesus’ own eyes.

I am on my way to Jerusalem, walking along the dusty border between Samaria and Galilee. The land here is rugged, filled with rocks and dry shrubs clinging to cracked earth under the relentless sun. Villages are scattered across this barren landscape, each one like an oasis of life in a harsh, unforgiving world. As I enter one of these villages—a small, quiet place on the edge of the wilderness—I hear voices calling out.

At first, they are low and hesitant, as if they are unsure they even have the right to ask. But then, the cries grow louder, and the desperation in them strikes me deeply. “Are you the One? Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!”

I turn toward the sound and see them—a group of ten men standing far off, beyond the village boundary. They are lepers. They stand apart, unable to come closer, bound by the weight of a disease that has stripped them of everything. The sight of them brings a deep ache to my heart. These men—these beloved souls, known to me from the beginning—have waited lifetimes to meet me here on this road. My Father and I have seen every person who would come to me, heavy-laden, burdened, and broken. They all matter to my Father. He loves each one so completely. These ten are a special joy to me today. No matter their pasts, I am here with the joy of healing every single one of them. Father, I know how you delight to see them healed; I do this for you!

Leprosy steals more than just the body. It eats away at the skin and nerves, twisting hands and feet. But it goes deeper, forcing a person to live apart, away from family, friends, and worship. With every scar, a leper loses more than health; they lose hope, connection, and life itself. Each of these men, created and loved by my Father, has been living in the shadows, isolated, watching life move on without them.

I look at them, and a surge of compassion fills me—not only for the suffering they’ve endured but for the beauty of each soul I know lies beneath the pain. I have known these men before the world was formed. I have watched over them from the beginning, waiting for this moment to meet them, to restore them fully. This is a moment my Father and I have prepared for since eternity. Father, I know you are just as excited as I am! And here they are, all ten of them, calling out to me with the last flicker of hope in their hearts, wondering if I could possibly be the One to change everything.

I take a step closer, meeting their eyes, and say, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” It’s a simple command, but they understand its meaning. Only a priest can declare them clean, allowing them to return to their homes and their lives. And though their bodies still bear the marks of disease as I speak, they believe—enough to turn and start walking, trusting that healing is already beginning.

I watch them as they walk away, these men who have been forced to the edges, taking slow, tentative steps down the road. And then, as they move, I see it. Their skin begins to change—scars melting away, sores vanishing, twisted hands straightening, strength returning to limbs. I see them pause, looking down at their hands, touching their faces in wonder. Then, in one glorious, unstoppable moment, they erupt with laughter. Real, joyful, full-bellied laughter—the kind that starts deep in the soul and rises up like a flood. I hear shouts of amazement, their voices calling to each other, words tumbling over each other in a rush of joy.

The sight fills me with a joy so fierce it’s almost overwhelming. I want to laugh with them, to leap and shout, my heart lifting with excitement as I watch my Father’s love pour out into their lives. My Father, Abba in Heaven, smiles down on this moment, His joy filling me, spilling over as I watch these souls—these children of His—discover the fullness of life once more.

As their voices ring out, I think of my Father’s unending goodness. Abba’s love knows no limits, no boundaries. His joy is in restoring, in mending broken lives, in giving life back where there was once only death. In these healings, I feel His love reaching out, not just to touch their bodies but to call their hearts into wholeness. I long for each of them to know this depth, to stay in this joy, to feel the fullness of the life my Father and I offer them.

Then, something else catches my attention. Among the ten, only one of them stops. He looks down at himself, his hands trembling, his eyes wide with wonder. And then, as if pulled by a force he can’t resist, he turns and starts running back to me. This man—a Samaritan, an outsider even among outcasts—runs, tears streaming down his face, laughter spilling from his lips, praising God with every breath.

It means even more that this man is a Samaritan. The Samaritans are a people set apart, often despised by their neighbors. Long ago, their ancestors were part of Israel, but generations of mixed marriages with foreigners and disputes over worship have left them isolated. While my people worship at the Temple in Jerusalem, the Samaritans worship on Mount Gerizim. To many in Israel, they are no longer seen as true children of Abraham, as if they have no part in the covenant promises. They are viewed as defiled, unworthy, their worship corrupt. And here is this Samaritan, this one deemed unworthy by so many, returning to give thanks, offering his whole heart to the God who has made him whole.

I watch him approach, and as he reaches me, he falls at my feet, overcome. His laughter mixes with gratitude, his words tumbling out in praise, his hands reaching toward me in a gesture of complete awe. I kneel beside him, my own heart so full it feels close to bursting. Here, in this man, is a gratitude that reaches beyond his healed body. He has found the heart of my Father, found the joy that comes from knowing you are known, loved, and cherished.

“Were not all ten cleansed?” I ask him softly, still catching my breath from the joy filling the air around us. “Where are the other nine?” The question is not for my sake but for his. I want him to see the beauty of his gratitude, to know that what he has received is a gift beyond anything he could touch. This Samaritan, this man of faith, has come back not only to be restored in body but to be restored in spirit.

I place a hand on his shoulder, feeling the warmth of his newly healed skin, and say with a voice filled with love, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.” His eyes meet mine, and in that moment, I know he will carry this joy, this wholeness, with him for the rest of his days. He will go back to his family, his village, his people, not only as a healed man but as one who has encountered the heart of God.

As he walks away, his face radiant with joy, I feel my Father’s peace settle within me. This is why I have come—not only to heal bodies but to restore souls, to bring people into the fullness of my Father’s love. I want this for every soul, not just relief from pain but a life transformed by Abba’s unending love.

I watch him disappear over the hill, still praising, still laughing, and I think back to that question they asked as I entered this village: Are you the One?

They all could have come back but only one did.

Yes, I am the One, the Healer, the Restorer, the Giver of Life. But today, it is this man, this Samaritan, who becomes “the one.” He is the one who returns, who truly sees the gift, who opens his heart fully to my Father. He is the one who understands that healing goes beyond the body; it fills the soul.

And now, I look at you, beloved. Yes, you reading these words. You, too, are invited into this healing, this fullness of life. You are invited to come closer, to be “the one”—the one who doesn’t just walk away with a touch, but who comes all the way into the love my Father longs to give you.

Will you be the one who returns to find more than healing, more than relief? Will you be the one who discovers the heart of God, who knows that my Father’s love goes deeper than you can imagine? He’s calling you, not only to be restored in what’s broken but to be made whole, to live in the fullness of His love.

I invite you to be like this Samaritan—to come back with a heart full of gratitude, to know and cherish the One who loves you. Let His love fill every part of you. And then, share that love. Spread the joy you have found in me, like a light that can’t be contained. My Father’s goodness is for all, and the world needs to see it through you.

Be the one who carries this good news, who lives in the freedom of my Father’s love and shares it with others. Be the one who shows the world what it means to be truly healed, whole, and beloved.

So come, be the one who goes deeper, who walks with me, who shares my Father’s heart. There is more waiting for you, more than you can imagine. Will you take that step? Will you be the one?

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Trapped in the Moment Before the Miracle

When Waiting Feels Unfair

By Pastor Vinnie MacIsaac

Click to listen to this article for your convenience.

Have you ever felt the ache of waiting—wondering why God doesn’t step in right when you need Him most? Come with me into the story in the Gospel of Luke (8:40-53), where two lives intersect in a crowd, each one desperate for a miracle. Look around. Can you sense the tension, feel the weight in the air as these two souls press into the crowd, hoping for the same thing—a touch from Jesus that will bring healing?

First, there’s Jairus—a man whose life has likely never known such desperation. He’s a respected synagogue leader, a man used to being in control, with people looking up to him. But now, none of that matters. His twelve-year-old daughter, the light of his life, is at death’s door. Every second is precious as he finally spots Jesus. Without a moment’s hesitation, Jairus pushes through the crowd, urgency overriding his dignity. He falls at Jesus’ feet, pleading for his child’s life with a voice thick with desperation.

Then, look over to the edge of the crowd, and you’ll see her—a woman who’s been suffering in silence for twelve long years, hidden from society because of her condition. That’s as long as Jairus’s daughter has been alive. For twelve years, she’s watched life pass her by, felt her health deteriorate, and endured isolation, loss, and shame. But today, she’s determined. She won’t stop until she reaches Jesus, even if it’s only to touch His garment. She’s tried everything else. If anyone understands the desperation of Jairus, it’s this woman who’s lived a life defined by waiting.

Imagine for a moment the tension that hangs between these two lives. Who should be healed first? The girl, whose life has barely begun, or the woman, who has suffered the same number of years the girl has been alive? The crowd surges around Jesus, but He’s focused on the people before Him. Jairus leads Him through the throng, urging Him to hurry, while this woman follows in silence, hoping just for a brief touch, an instant of healing.

And then, it happens. As Jairus walks beside Jesus, trying to pull Him through the crowd, he suddenly feels the frustration of delay as Jesus stops. The woman, unnoticed by most, has reached out and touched His garment. That single touch is her boldest act of faith, her deepest cry for mercy, and she can feel it—the suffering ends in an instant. Jesus has stopped, turned, and asked, “Who touched me?”

Can you imagine Jairus in this moment? His heart must be pounding with impatience and confusion. He’s trapped in this maddening pause, watching someone else receive the miracle he so urgently needs for his daughter. This woman is healed; she’s finally freed from twelve years of pain. But Jairus is gripped by the thought, Why her and not my child? Why is God helping her first?

The woman, realizing she can’t stay hidden, comes forward. She falls at Jesus’ feet and tells Him everything. The twelve years of shame, the hopeless visits to physicians, the long nights of pain, and the isolation that almost broke her spirit. Jesus listens, and then His face softens. He calls her “Daughter,” a name that must warm her heart and bring tears to her eyes. “Your faith has healed you; go in peace.” She’s no longer “unclean,” no longer a forgotten outcast. Her faith has been honored, and she has been made whole.

But for Jairus, it’s a bitter pill to swallow. He’s waiting, caught in the agony of helplessness as he watches a stranger receive what he needs so desperately. And then the unthinkable happens. A messenger arrives, his face grim, and delivers the news Jairus dreads most: “Your daughter is dead.” Those words must pierce him like a knife. His hopes, his faith—all of it seems to collapse in an instant. He followed Jesus, he pleaded with all he had, yet it feels like the heavens have been silent, like God has chosen someone else over his own daughter. Why would God allow this? he must wonder, Isn’t my daughter’s life as important as this woman’s healing?

Before Jairus can even process the heartbreak, Jesus turns to him. He doesn’t ignore his pain or dismiss his fear. He looks right into Jairus’s eyes, His gaze filled with an understanding far beyond what anyone else could offer. “Don’t be afraid,” Jesus tells him, “just believe, and she will be healed.” These words—simple, yet profoundly challenging—call Jairus to a faith that holds on, even in the face of despair. He’s still reeling, still grieving, but he follows, trapped in the moment before the miracle.

As they reach his home, the mourners are already gathered, their wails filling the air, a heart-wrenching symphony of sorrow. Jairus’s heart must be breaking, the sound a stark reminder that he’s already too late. But Jesus sends the mourners away, allowing only Jairus, his wife, and three disciples into the room. It’s quiet now, still. And then, with a gentleness that defies the weight of the situation, Jesus takes the girl’s hand and speaks, “My child, get up.”

And there, in that moment, life returns. The girl rises, breath filling her lungs, color returning to her cheeks. Imagine Jairus’s face, the astonishment, the fierce, almost painful joy as he realizes his daughter is alive. The delay that felt so unfair, the wait that seemed endless, has led to a miracle greater than he could have dreamed.

Trapped in the Moment Before the Miracle

How many of us know this feeling—trapped in the excruciating pause, watching others receive the blessings we’re longing for, feeling like our prayers are unheard? We see others’ needs being met, and bitterness starts to rise. Jairus must have felt it—the pang of perceived unfairness as he watched the woman healed, all while he faced the news of his daughter’s death.

But here’s the truth Jesus shows us through Jairus and this woman: there is a purpose in the delay. The woman endured twelve years of waiting for her healing, and Jairus had to wait while someone else received their miracle. Both were trapped in those moments of waiting, where faith feels stretched beyond its limits. But Jesus had something greater in store for each of them. For the woman, the wait ended with immediate healing; for Jairus, the delay led to a resurrection beyond what he had asked for.

So, if you’re waiting, feeling trapped in the moment before the miracle, hold on. Jesus is near, even in the silence, even in the pause. He hasn’t forgotten you. Like Jairus and the woman, you’ll find that in His perfect time—whether the answer is immediate or after a longer journey—His presence and His power will be the answer you’ve been seeking. Hold fast, for the miracle may be closer than you think.

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PODCAST| That Guy From Galilee

[Podcast]

By Pastor Vinnie & Jonathan Martin

In this episode, we start a three-part focus on the ministry of Jesus in his home region of Galilee. We are going to be exploring the great miracles and events of Jesus on his own home turf. This amazing region boast of the great miracles and teaching of Jesus so buckle up and let’s get amazed!

Why does Galilee matter so much?

Jesus did not just come out of no place. So far we have studied the politics of this time, the issues surrounding his family and birth, and prophecies. We have discussed the rabbinical school system he grew up in, and now we will full three full episodes on the maturity of his ministry that bloomed at the height in his home region of Galilee.

Galilee is the location of the greatest miracles, the clearest teachings, and the formation and faith-building of all the disciples of Jesus all happened in Galilee. And it all starts here in this episode in the home synagogue of Jesus in Nazareth! We start this adventure in Nazareth and head forward even closer to the sea of Galilee at a fishing village called Capernaum!

Listen on your favorite platforms:

About Vinnie & Jon:

Pastor Vinnie

Vinnie is a full-time Ordained Pastor at Solid Rock Church in Arlington. He is happily married to TinaLynn with an eight-year-old son, Jose. In addition to family life, pastoring, and working on a doctorate at Fuller Seminary, Vinnie shares the Gospel, and his passion to equip others with the power of Jesus in numerous interactive ways through www.SimplyVinnie.com 

Jonathan Martin: Season 2 Co-host

Jonathan graciously agreed to join Vinnie as of Season 2 of Simply Devotion. Jonathan is a full-time follower of Jesus, committed to helping people discover a deep, passionate, and spirited relationship with the Savior. He is currently a Bible teacher at a private school in the Orlando area but has also served as an ordained minister for almost a decade in local churches. Jonathan completed his undergraduate degree at Southern Adventist University and holds a Master of Divinity degree from the Seventh-Day Adventist Theological Seminary on the campus of Andrews University. He is currently completing a Doctor of Ministry degree with an emphasis in Ministry to Emerging Generations from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. Jonathan is married to the love of his life, Raisel Martin, and has two elementary-aged children, Railyn and Josiah. In his spare time, Jonathan enjoys reading, writing, painting, globetrotting, and instigating arguments on social media.
Twitter: pastor_jmartin
Tik Tok @DoctorProfessorPJ

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Broken | The Secret Of Insecurity

By Pastor Vinnie

Stain Glass From Ascension Episcopal Church

I Am Broken.

Who told you that brokenness was something you had to hide?

The greatest weakness any human being can partake in is the weakness of being fearful and ashamed of their own brokenness. The “strong man” persona is the root of all foolishness and frankly a den of inner demons.  We pretend to be strong because, like the cavemen we sometimes act like, we think our beating of the chest and phony posturing of power will scare away our adversaries and trick people into thinking we are awesome and fearful.

It is important to recognize that, when you see someone over-projecting strength, you are not seeing someone who is healthy or confident, but actually fearful and living in constant insecurity. It is a hell of its own making; a never-ending, never resting, sense of danger that the captive is unable to see or accept that they are trapped in. It breeds insecurity because anything or anyone who points out any weakness becomes the threat that could expose the real inner being. Real confidence and real security only ever comes when we have assessed our real brokenness and seek out a healer. When I know my weakness, when I accept my brokenness, when I come to terms with my demons, count them and record the inventory, only then do I understand what I am being healed from.

This is exactly why the Apostle Paul wrote, “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” (1 Corinthians 1:18)

Ouch! Right? Did you get it? The message of the Cross is foolishness to those who are perishing because they have failed to do a self-assessment and come to terms with the reality of their utter brokenness. They have taken the spiritual position of “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” to their soul! But the tragic problem is it is broken, and the Cross is the only cure!

It does not take a religious practitioner or a moralist to understand that humans are incomplete and broken creatures. It is the building block of humanist psychology, most branches of philosophy, not to mention everyday common sense. The motto “nobody is perfect” is commonplace in our vernacular for a reason; it is a universal understanding that something is broken, incomplete, and unfinished in all humanity. To be human is to be as the ancient Hebrew prophet once put it, to be not quite completed or fastened, “Woe is me! for I am undone” (Isaiah 6:5). I think “undone” is a good word in thinking about this problem. It is not that I am not gifted, or that there are not great things about me, and awesome strengths I use to compensate for being incomplete. In fact, the opposite is true almost to our own detriment. We are a little too good at compensating and hiding our weaknesses and never letting people see who we really are.

Shame is the beast the feeds our existing brokenness and makes many go from bad to absurd. Because we are broken, undone, imperfect, we seek to cover that brokenness with compensation, talent, and rigorous hard work. Why? Shame. I don’t want you to see me as I really am. People who overcompensate, seek to project stronger than they really are, and see themselves as needing to be in control; often are people suffering internally with high levels of shame. They are embarrassed about who they really are and maybe even fear that they would be unloved, or unwanted if you saw them as they really are. The tragedy here is that these people can never experience the fullness of intimacy that could aid them in healing. I can’t be truly intimate on a deep level with another person who I am fearful to show my real self as I really am. This affects every corner of our lives from love, family, friendship, and even our professional level relationships. Wisdom and hurtful experiences reinforce in us the need to use caution with whom we share our brokenness, and to what level we share it. But to never share, or worse yet never come to terms with it, traps us into low-level relationships devoid of meaning and real acceptance. In short, it leads to an unfulfilled life and the inability to build the kinds of emotional bonds that heal ourselves and others.

Stain Glass From Ascension Episcopal Church

It is not accidental that Moses, in telling the story of the fall in Genesis 3 shows a transactional cascade of shame, fear, and then blame, between Adam and Eve, rather than guilt and acceptance of sin.

“At that moment [of their sin] their eyes were opened, and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness. So they sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves. When the cool evening breezes were blowing, the man and his wife heard the Lord God walking about in the garden. So they hid from the Lord God among the trees. Then the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?” He replied, “I heard you walking in the garden, so I hid. I was afraid because I was naked.” “Who told you that you were naked?” the Lord God asked. “Have you eaten from the tree whose fruit I commanded you not to eat?” The man replied, “It was the woman you gave me who gave me the fruit, and I ate it.” Then the Lord God asked the woman, “What have you done?” “The serpent deceived me,” she replied. “That’s why I ate it.” (Genesis 3:7-13)

Notice, their shame led them to hide from God, then blame each other, blame creation, and ultimately blame God (who created) rather than just admit they needed to be helped to heal. Lack of trust in God is a key reason we can’t admit our brokenness. When we don’t admit our brokenness to our self, our God, and our loved ones, how then can we get their help? Rather than get help, find healing, and make progress, you end up hiding, living life in fear pretending to be strong, and eventually becoming bitter and blaming everyone else for your failures. At the end of the day rejecting your own broken state of being is really closing the door to Jesus, telling him you got it all covered with the leaves, and your will map out your own redemption because that is less painful than admitting to God and others just how unfinished you are.

The purpose of relationships is to heal. Because we are all broken and incomplete we need each other. We need insight and need to seek betterment together. This is why the Bible says, “Where no counsel is, the people fall: but in the multitude of counselors there is safety” (Proverbs 11:14). We are all broken pieces of God’s stained-glass image of humanity. We only make sense of that image when we stop focusing on the defects of one piece and pull back and look at the whole image that the creator is restoring. Jesus is healing you by putting you on a mosaic of others who are also broken but broken in a way the helps you, affirms you, and gives you a real opportunity to be a healing factor in others too.

Stain Glass From Ascension Episcopal Church

I remember I was in the second year of my Social Work program and I went to see Jane Gordon, who was not only one of my professors but had become a life mentor to me. The therapeutic bond was both warm yet professional between us. She listened quietly to me as I ranted on and on about some young adult existential drama in my life at the time. She was affirming, yet let me share openly my brokenness without judgment. When it was all over she simply said, “Vince, you’re the exactly broken kid I knew you were the day you shuffled into my class, unprepared, disorganized, fearful, full of doubt, yet still ready to change the world. The only difference is, now you know it too. And that is the greatest thing that can happen to any of us. You’re gonna be ok. You’re going to be better than ok. You’re going to do great things, and help lots of people. Just promise me this one thing. When you do, don’t go fixing every part of you that you think needs to be fixed. It is the neurosis [perceived brokenness] in you that really makes you amazing and interesting. I know you hate those things about you, but the rest of us are rather fond of your quirks. Go change the world, just don’t think you are the world that always needs to be fixed.”

Perhaps you think Dr. Gordon was just spouting off Carl Rodgers style psychobabble, but she was not. She was speaking a universal truth. Shame amplifies in us the perceived brokenness [neurosis] we all live with. Some of it needs to change, in order to help us achieve personal growth, and part of it is broken just enough to help others. What stays and what changes is up to God as He seeks to restore in you His redemptive glory. God, as the only one not broken, is the only one who can really be objective. Make no mistake the way He declares that to us is by the reflective intimacy we have in honest relationships with each other.

Stop hiding who you are. Stop hiding how you are broken. Start showing others that the road to healing, health, and redemption is through honest, powerful relationships which reflect God working in us, just as we are. Be broken but stop the shame.

That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. (2 Corinthians 12:10)

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NOT ASHAMED

By Pastor Vinnie MacIsaac

I am not ashamed of the Gospel.  But, I am sure ashamed of what some people think is the Gospel!

The Gospel is not (no ifs, ands, or buts about it):

• Your denomination

• Your good works

• Your bad works

• Your lukewarm works

• Your spiritual progress

• Your holiness

• Your political party

• Your heritage

• Your culture

• Your race

• How often you pray

• What you eat or drink

• A fine pressed suit

• A two car garage

• An excuse

• Your pet issues

• A right to hate

• Uniformity

• The privilege to put down sinners 

• The privilege to put burdens on others you know you can’t really carry yourself

• A reason for separation

• Islamophobia

• A flag

• A war on people who disagree with you

• Homophobia

• Xenophobia

• A reason for bad behavior in the name of truth

• A meme

• A tweet

• American exceptionalism

• Misogyny

• Nationalism

• White supremacy

• Perfectionism

• Being politically incorrect and blaming it on God

• Setting dates for the end of the world

• Socialism

• Capitalism

• Liberalism

• Conservatism

• Centrism

• All isms

• Prosperity

• Celebrity Pastors 

• Trendy services

• Boring services

• Perfect sermons

• Megachurches

• Large churches

• Medium churches

• Small churches

• Dead churches

• Organs

• Guitars

• Drums

• Hymns

• Traditional worship

• Contemporary worship

• Arrogance

• Control

• Being right

• Changing someone’s mind 

• Which translation you read

• Your social status

• Your health

• Your wealth

• Judging

• Violent

• Cruel

• Cynical 

Here is what that Gospel Is:

Romans 1:16

For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.  Romans 1:16

‘Nuff Said.

AMEN.

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Criticism: Cuts Like A Knife

By Pastor Vinnie MacIsaac[i]

This blog is dedicated to all who have been hurt by criticism and felt it’s cut yet did not understand how it could actually be a good thing. Let’s rethink criticism together.

So Forth

Yada, Yada, Yada

You have heard the expression, ”and so forth and so forth,” It is a fill-in or shorthand for something we mean to say without wanting to spell it all out. It is like the Yiddish saying, “Yada yada yada,” that Jerry Seinfeld made so in big again in the 90’s.

“I can’t wait to get to the beach and go swimming, have a picnic and so and so forth…”

Recently, someone sent an indirect message to me suggesting that if I did not do, “so forth and so forth,” I’d, in essence, be lost. The “so forth and so forth” in this case was a long list of flaws and weakness the person saw in me that they felt had to be corrected asap. The list is not really important except to say that much of what was on it was is deed real flaws I have and real areas of work that need to be overcome. I say this because often when people are critical of us the things they say about us are groundless. In this case, it was not. It was real to some degree or another.

Flakey Flaws

Criticism damages self-worth.

Do real flaws keep anyone out of heaven? Is that really the Gospel? Are people won or lost to salvation based on human performance of any kind? And if it is based on human performance then how much do we need to achieve in order to be saved? I mean, after all, nothing short of perfection will be accepted by God. After all Jesus himself, spelled it out on the Sermon on the mount, “You, therefore, must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (Matthew 5:48 ESV)

If you are a Christian, people will criticize you, they will attack you, and they will seek to persecute you, they will cling to real imperfections in you and turn your molehills in public mountains.  And if that is never happening to you then something is wrong! No one likes to be criticized, put down, or called a phony. But I am here to tell you being put down for being a work in progress is no reason to “Flake out on faith.”

Cuts Like a Knife

Bryan Adam’s hit album cover. Cuts Like A Knife.

Growing up in Canada you become a Bryan Adams fan. Along with Corey Hart, RUSH, The Guess Who, Neil Young, and The Tragically Hip, they are all part of the national soundtrack. One of Bryan Adam’s biggest hits was a song called, Cuts Like A Knife, in which Adam’s claims,”

Now it cuts like a knife

But it feels so right

Yeah, it cuts like a knife

Oh, but it feels so right”[ii]

Well, as much as I love that song as a national treasure and pop anthem, I can’t say I agree with Adam’s on this issue. Being “cut” by people you love does not feel good, it hurts.

I was not angry, but I will admit, I was very sad, and let down, and even disturbed to have had this person judge me with such harsh criticism. For this sort of criticism only proved that the brother who lodged it simply did not understand the Gospel and to me, that is heartbreaking. To me it cut like a knife to my heart, not for my sake, but because it showed my brothers disconnect from God’s character.

So let’s be clear, how is it that we are made perfect, and how is it that we get into the Kingdom? How is that that God sees me as perfect, even as perfect as he is? I think Jesus made the standard pretty clear in Matt 5:48 right? — The standard is the perfection of the Father. Anything short of that will not stand, and will not gain us entrance into the Kingdom of God. So then, how do I reach such a standard? —hmmm, let say today, I Vince MacIsaac, gave my whole life and heart more deeply to God than ever before, and let’s assume the result is that I never ever sinned again.  Would I then be as perfect as my Father in Heaven? Nope! Not even close, I have a 48-year track record of past sin, yet he has no past record of sin. How then can I a sinner get his track record? By what means? Or am I hopelessly doomed?

Look here;

For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

(2 Corinthians 5:21 ESV)

It is called the Substitutionary Atonement. Jesus took our place that we might take his. What does that mean? It means exactly what it says, he became SIN (my place) that I may become THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD (His place).

My works did not cut like a knife, they cut like nails, pounded through His flesh that I might be found Righteous by His actions.

The Good News

The Good News is found in JESUS!

The Word Gospel in Greek simply means “Good News.” The good news of criticisms is it comes to us and reminds us we are not perfect. When it cuts like a knife to our hearts it reminds us our sin cut like nails through his flesh.

The truth about criticism is this, and criticism about you that actually sticks and hurts has a little bit of truth in it. The good news is that when criticism cuts you, he drives you back to Jesus to be healed and in that process, He has the chance to heal you from more than the cut. He gets to heal you of the pinch of truth that caused the infection in the first place.

Don’t resist attacks. Take them. Take them to Jesus. Those who attack you will be baffled as to why you don’t respond from the flesh. The reason is simple your imperfections are healed by the holes in His hands.

Related Articles

The LIE Christians Tell About The Gospel

The Reserve Of Courage

The Joy Of Despair

Footnotes.

[i] This blog first appeared as a guest entry titled “The Gospel of Criticism” on https://heinspiredme.com  This version of the article is slightly different and longer than the version that first appeared at https://heinspiredme.com/guest-post-the-gospel-of-criticism/ on November 28, 2018.

[ii] Songwriters: Bryan Adams / James Douglas Vallance. Cuts Like a Knife lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group

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The LIE Christians Tell

About The Gospel 

By Pastor Vinnie MacIsaac

Taxes, who likes them? Nobody.

The only thing worse than taxes is the “Tax Man.” The Feds. The IRS. Am I right?

Well, it was even worse in Jesus’ day. It is not hyperbole to say that in that day tax collectors were treasonous traitors who were a simple stone’s throw away from terrorists. They were despicable. Israel was under the political dictatorship of a foreign, heathen, superpower called Rome. Rome dominated God’s people; politically oppressing them by the force of Rome’s mighty military power.

Tax Collectors were Jews, who worked for Rome, betraying their own nation, people, and God, to extract cruelly oppressive tax rates that went directly into the Roman coffers to keep the cycle of oppression going. So why did these Jews do it? The fact was, the Romans did not even pay them! They were simply permitted to extract whatever unfair rate they wanted for themselves on top of the official tax rate. If their fellow Jews would not pay up, the Tax Collector sent in the Roman Centurion to take it. So show up on Tax Day at the tax booth with the exhortation money in hand … or else.

Recently, I was doing a group Bible study on the second chapter of Mark. It includes, among other things, the story of Jesus calling Matthew Levi[1] to follow Him and be His Disciple. It was shocking to me, that in my group study with about 10 other people, they were just not able to handle the fact that Jesus calls Matthew while Matthew is actively engaged in open sin against his nation, people, and God as an extortionist. It is not that Matthew was once a Tax Collector; he is actively tax collecting. In the story, Jesus walks up to him and basically says, “Hey, you, Tax Collector, come follow me, join my team, and be my disciple.”[2]

My group offered all kinds of weird excuses that are not, at all, hinted at in the text.

“Well, Jesus knew his heart.” Offered one lady. To which I countered, “Yeah, Jesus did, Jesus knew that in the heart of Matthew was only extortion.”

“Pastor how can you say that,” said another, “he is one of the Twelve!”

Another added, “I am sure Jesus looked deep into his soul and saw the kind of man Matthew really wanted to be,” offered another person in our group. To which I counter with the question, “To be rich?”

And another continued, “There had to be something we don’t know. Jesus couldn’t have a sinner on his team. People who follow Jesus have to be worthy of that call. We all know this, so it has to be true.”

The text of Mark, chapter two is clear, at the point when Jesus calls Matthew to follow Him, Mathew was an active Tax Collector, which is to say, he was a treasonous sinner of the worst kind, engaging in the ungodly oppression of his own people. But what is even worse, Jesus and the other disciples leave with Matthew and go have a dinner party with Matthew and “many” other tax collectors. So I asked my group why is Jesus going to have a party with such sinners? Certainly, he could not have read all their hearts and seen “deep down inside they all felt bad about their lives”. I pointed out Jesus was having a dinner party with the worst sinners of all!

The group was awkwardly quiet. They did not know what to say. But soon the same old justifications came flooding back. “Jesus, knows things we don’t,” and “There had been some level of repentance in Mathew” and “Jesus couldn’t help that the other tax collectors came.” And lastly, the crux of what I call the “lie,” someone said, “Pastor, Jesus would never let someone follow Him unless they were truly repentant.”

I wanted to shout, “Lie!” But I did not have to. A quiet, yet well -studied lady finally spoke up, dispelling the lie with the truth.

“Wow, I get it! I get it! No one can repent before they meet Jesus. If we expect people to be penitent, to have cleaned themselves up, to become worthy, without having spent time with Jesus, we expect the impossible and put impossible conditions upon receiving the power of the Gospel into their lives! The Truth is, Jesus, invites you to the party, not because you’re worthy of his time, or to be his disciple because no one is. He invites you to the party because the party is the only way the unworthy is changed! We are offered the opportunity to be changed by being invited to the table with Jesus.”

The idea that we must do something to be worthy of the attention of Jesus is a powerful lie many Christians peddle, without having thought it out! It is the old, slippery Satanic slope of needing to have cleaned yourself up before you can come to Jesus, the church, or faith. If we could have cleaned ourselves up, then why would we have needed Jesus, anyway? The Gospel is not that Jesus called Matthew because he was worthy. How is that even good news? That is, at best, reasonable news. The Gospel is that Jesus called Matthew because Matthew was not worthy, and would never be worthy without Jesus coming to him. We can’t even repent, without Jesus, through the Holy Spirit, and the witness of his followers bringing the party of Good News to us. Therein lies the real problem: Church members, too often, want sinners to clean themselves up, in order to be worthy of the church’s attention, love, or help. The reason, really, is that church members don’t want to know or spend time with, much less have a party with prostitutes, drug dealers, thugs, and “undesirables.” But if we can put the conditions of having already been changed to our responsibility to love, care for, or try to redeem them; if we can make “repentance” a condition of our attention, time, and face to face interaction, then preaching the gospel not only just got easier, it got a whole lot more palatable, tolerable, and comfy.

The Pharisees say, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?”[3] But we do the same, when we see an elder, deacon, pastor, or member, routinely interacting with “suspect characters” we begin to whisper among the elite holy, “Why do they go to that place with sinners? What is their real association? What are they constantly doing over there with those people, they are up to something.”

And understand, the reason we throw such lies and accusations around, most often, has nothing at all to do with any real suspicion. That is it not what it is about. The reason Pharisees make such accusations, is so they can be excused from going and loving sinners, like those they accuse, and still appear Holy.

If Matthew was righteous when Jesus found him, then there would have been no reason to say, “Come follow Me”, for Matthew would not have been collecting taxes at his tax booth, he would have already been following behind Jesus. The assumption that in order to follow Jesus, in order to start attending a church, in order to be loved by the community of God, you have to have cleaned yourself up is a hellish lie that traps people in despair, disadvantage, and destruction. The Gospel is, you are not too far gone, too debased, too deformed, to be loved by God, redeemed by God, and called by God. No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them, . . . John 6:44 (Emphasis mine)

For those “righteous” who refuse to accept there is nothing they have, or can do, or can prove, that can earn them the merit of the attention of Jesus — Jesus can’t help them. They have all the “righteousness” they will ever get because they refuse the Doctor’s orders.

On hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”[4]

Footnotes:

[1] Matthew is also known as Levi, in the same way, Peter is often known as Simon.

[2] I am paraphrasing for emphasis.

[3] Mark 2:16

[4] Mark2:17

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Unkept Promises

By Vinnie MacIsaac

We all make promises but do we keep them?

Have you ever watched the movie “Stand By Me”? It is my favorite movie of all time¹ and it is basically a feel-good movie about growing up with your best friends. The irony is it is based on a short story by Stephen King, of all people, who is not really known for his charming heartwarming novellas about growing up with your pals and the eventual and hurtful loss of your old school age chums that you just grow up from, move away from, or lose touch with over the years. Still, this movie remains my favorite for a reason.   When I was 14 years old and my family was breaking up, it was hard for me to face the reality that I was going to lose my best friends, forever. I had known them all my life.  I am not great at making friends, and I already had way too much loss in my life. I needed to feel some control, some ability to forge my own reality. So, on our last fishing outing together, I promised my friends I’d be back after lunch. But I knew I was moving away, literally, that day. I knew I would go home, get in a truck, and drive away forever. And I did just exactly that.  I never went back. They waited for me,  for who knows how long, but I never showed up.

Have you ever made a promise you have not kept?   We all have, it’s human nature. God’s people are no different.  Israel made a promise.  It was a  promise there was no way they could keep!  It was a promise made at the base of Mount Sinai

It is found in Exodus 24:7 “All that the Lord as spoken we will do and be obedient.”

The problem is, they promised the impossible. Does God really expect us to keep a promise we had no business making to him in the first place? Our forefathers promised a 100% obedience to the law of Sinai but they promised something that was beyond their ability; they promised something that would only lead to full fledge legalism, and ergo they would miss the whole point of the Law.

The whole story of the Old Testament is a testament to the fact that man cannot keep the commandments of God in man’s own might. Yes, God wants the law to be kept, it is after all His express will for the whole universe, yet God unlike us humans is not deluded about the abilities of fallen human nature. God knows that if this job is going to be finished, it is going to be with an ability that surpasses humanity.

But I want you to understand this, the first covenant with all its laws, ceremonies, and the sacrificial system was God’s way of seeking to help Israel keep the impossible. Since God knew they could not keep their promise on their own, He sought every way possible to aide them. Perhaps they were like another movie in that they were on to the “Mission Impossible!” The more God tried to help the more they in action said, “Thank you for the ritual, but we got this!”

In fact, that whole system was to lead the whole nation of Israel to the TRUE LAMB OF GOD; the true source of victory, and the true power of God yet all they saw was ritual, deed, action, and self-cleaning.

You see it is by JESUS, alone, that we will have victory.

Is there victory over Sin? Yes! But that victory is only found in the Cross, and only found because of Jesus and the things He did;  not us and the things we do.

They promised at the base of Mount Sinai, but God wanted to live in the hearts of His people.  But they thought they could do it alone.  They went on a solo mission that was not God’s intention.

The whole sanctuary service and system with all its services, rituals, and festivals, was set up to lead Israel to Jesus!

• Jesus – Who is our Promise

• Jesus– Who is our Power

• Jesus – Who is the Answer

• Jesus – Who is the Might of God

• Jesus– Who is the  Way

• Jesus– Who is the Truth

• Jesus– Who is Life.

• Jesus- Who is better than all their Human effort!

But Israel missed the boat!  They missed the meaning because they missed Jesus! Understand that missing Jesus is always –Disaster! The story of the Old Testament is Israel failing, going it alone, while God is calling them to get on board. Throughout the old covenant, God kept calling, calling, and calling, them to Jesus.  Jesus is better, Jesus is better, come to Jesus…   The reality is, you can’t keep going it alone and making it work. Israel would not enter into the rest of Jesus (Hebrews 4) and thus they rejected the Messiah.

Look at the way the author of Hebrews puts it:

But as it is, Christ has obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent than the old as the covenant he mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises. For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion to look for a second.²

What is his point?

Jesus is better!

• Better ministry

• Better Covenant

• Better Promises

• No fault or no blame

The old had been replaced? Why, because the Law was bad? No, the problem was not the Law but rather that the people sought to misuse it. They did not keep their promise.  Because like me, at age 14, when my family was in shambles, they simply did not have the ability to keep their promise. How dare I promise my friends I’d be back when no matter how much i wanted it to be true, I knew it was beyond my ability for I would no longer live there! Israel could no more go back to Sinai and keep the Law perfectly than I could return to a fishing pond years after the fact when all were no longer there.

Jesus Paid It All!

The purpose of God’s law, God’s instruction, God’s sanctuary system is not to perfect us … but to lead us to perfection (Jesus). I like to tell people new to the faith, and we spell things differently at the foot of the cross!

• Do you know how to spell Perfection? J.E.S.U.S

• Do you know how to spell Victory?  J.E.S.U.S

• Do you know how to spell Overcomer? J.E.S.U.S

• Do you know how to spell Forgiven?  J.E.S.U.S

• Do you know how to spell Character? J.E.S.U.S

• Are you getting the point yet? Jesus is better!

“For he finds fault with them when he says:

“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord,
when I will establish a new covenant with the house of Israel
and with the house of Judah,
not like the covenant that I made with their fathers
on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt.
For they did not continue in my covenant,
and so I showed no concern for them, declares the Lord.
For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel
after those days, declares the Lord:
I will put my laws into their minds,
and write them on their hearts,
and I will be their God,
and they shall be my people.”³

Jesus brings victory on a whole new level. Jesus changes the name of the game. Jesus makes a New Promise, a new deal, a new way, that does not in the least undo the Law, but rather, changes the doer of the Law and on whom he/she depends. It is no longer me trying to keep a promise I just can’t keep, it is  Jesus in me healing me, and building me into a more whole and holy being; even down to my very “desire” level!

I want to tell you, and I want to affirm to you that I  believe in Victory over sin. I believe in having my character changed. I believe in transformation. I believe in being a new creature in Christ.  Oh, the joy! Yes, the sweet, sweet joy, of knowing, I believe, I don’t have to stay in my sins! Oh, the power, and confidence I find in knowing I don’t have to lay and play victim to my own sin. It does not hold me, because it cannot hold me captive, for it is not me it now faces, but Jesus, in my heart, and Jesus in my mind! Oh yes, once it could defeat me, but it can’t even get close to Him!

In contrast, I remember once I was visiting a former church of mine with a group of students I was mentoring, when to my horror, an older lady got up in front of the Sabbath School, and told the people with all sincerity and self- deluded belief, “I am 6 days without sin! I mean it. I have no sin, in any way at all, in the past 6 days, and I stand before you to testify, it is possible to stand before a Holy God without sin and you, too, can do it.  You really can if you just try hard like I did, you can be perfect!” But here is the problem with perfectionism it is easy to tear down. Suddenly a hand went up from a young person I was mentoring and he simply said, “Dear sister, six days without sin is massive. I am impressed but I am sorry that you had to stand up and brag about your perfection because you were a shoo-in for the 7^th day until you did!”

Legalism is a funny thing, in that we always want us to go home to it. Legalism for most of us is the faith of our immature years. We can’t go back to legalism anymore then we can go back to preferring diapers and baby bottles over toilets and solid food. Our intent may have been good when we once practiced it but we look just plain silly now when we do it.  Legalism is like that old friend from your childhood you never really said goodbye to. There is just that nagging feeling of unfinished business that sends you back for a quick visit every now and then. It is like we want to go back and keep our childhood promise to legalism to fulfill our commitment to be its friend forever.

Jesus keeps all our promises.

At the end of my favorite movie, Stand By Me, Richard Dreyfuss types on the screen, “I never had any friends like the ones I had when I was twelve, does anyone?”⁴

So, is that our problem, “I never had any friends like the one called legalism, does anyone?” My answer is “Yes, Jesus is a better friend than Legalism.” Some promises are best unkept.  Break your friendship off with your childhood immature faith, Ol’ buddy, Legalism and make a new one with Jesus today! He is that best friend of all ages! We don’t need childish things, we need Jesus. I’ll break my promise to be good, but only because Jesus, kept it for me, and declares me good already. How can I do, what was already done?  The New Covenant is a matter of heart and mind, let your heart and mind be fixed on Jesus, and stop being so immature as thinking you can keep promises of ignorance. When Jesus keeps the law in you, He keeps to His expectations, not yours, and He is what matters. Let Jesus be your new promise, and new best friend, don’t keep Him waiting as you run away to move. Jesus is better!—

Related Articles:

Breaking Up With Nostalgia

The LIE Christians Tell About The Gospel

Direct Talk On Doubt

Footnotes 

1. Disclaimer! Watch the TV version because the original version is rated R for a reason! Wow, talk about bad language!
2. Hebrews 8:6-7 ESV
3.  Hebrews 8:8-10
4. I paraphrased to avoid an inappropriate expression.

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