Good Morning Friends,
The mystery of Jesus is that He is both like us and utterly unlike us. If we could fully grasp Him, He would not awaken the Spirit in us to worship God with awe. Jesus is God‑with‑us, yet He also enters our humanity, taking on our sin so its poison does not destroy us but becomes the place where God’s love saves us. As we consider the Kingdom now and the Kingdom to come, we ask a practical question: How does Christ strengthen us to deal with the fallout of life’s challenges?
Scripture Summarized
Numbers 21:4–9 Israel grows impatient in the wilderness and complains against God. In response, poisonous serpents afflict the camp. When the people repent, God instructs Moses to lift a bronze serpent on a pole and anyone who looks at it lives.
Philippians 2:6–11 Christ, though fully God, empties Himself, takes on human form, and becomes obedient even unto death on a cross. Because of this humility, God exalts Jesus above every name.
John 3:13–17 Jesus explains that just as Moses lifted the serpent, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, so that all who look to Him in faith receive eternal life. God sends His Son not to condemn but to save.
Message: Disasters like fires, pandemics, and wars create fallout: isolation, anxiety, and loneliness. Yet these pressures are not new. Scripture is full of plagues, some are spiritual, others are social, economic, and environmental plagues. What is new is how often people try to face them alone. Moses himself faced despair, and even spiritual leaders need a community that points them back to God’s mercy. The serpent story reveals a pattern: in every tragedy, God provides a way of healing. The bronze serpent was not magic, it was a sign directing Israel’s gaze back to God. Jesus makes this pattern explicit: He is the One lifted up so the poison of sin does not have the final word.
The symmetry between Moses and Jesus helps us understand our identity. Both were born under oppression, both were spared from death in infancy, both were shepherds, both bore the burdens of others, both launched ministries marked by God’s supernatural presence, and both reappeared after death to complete God’s purposes. Yet Jesus surpasses Moses. Jesus is not only a leader but the Savior who heals the root of all human disaster: sin.
To place our identity in Christ is to look to Him as Israel looked to the bronze serpent. The cross is where our healing begins. And in a world full of fear and fragmentation, the Church becomes the family God uses to embody that healing. Like the Good Samaritan, we love people in ways that point them to Jesus. Like Mary and Martha, we open our homes and lives to build community. Complaining, self‑focus, and despair shrink us; Christ’s love enlarges us.
And So, Jesus teaches that all have sinned and all need a “do‑over.” When He is lifted up, the poison loses its power. When we lift Him up for others, they see the One who heals. When our identity is rooted in Him, the Spirit forms us into a people who reflect God’s values, resist isolation, and embody hope together.
Pray we lift high the Cross and proclaim Christ’s love. Pray that our identity as God’s children strengthens us through every challenge. Pray that our faith, Christ’s faith in us, heals our grumbling spirit. Pray we reflect the image of the living God. Pray that our belief in Christ’s life, death, and resurrection is visible to others. Pray our community becomes a recognizable Body of Christ. Pray we never lose our spiritual identity, even in hardship. Pray we live as people of light, taking on the family identity of the divine. Pray we use our Spirit‑given power to build, heal, and redeem, and not to tear down. Pray that our identity in Christ becomes a blessing to those who have lost much and strengthens and heals us all.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 