Devotions this week are based on Week 2: Temptation to Triumph: Transformation (WATCH HERE)
Good morning – first a Happy 18th birthday to our daughter Mikenna…what a blessing she has been and continues to be. God bless and guide your journey through adulthood!
John 3:9–15 “How can this be?” Nicodemus asked.
10 “You are Israel’s teacher,” said Jesus, “and do you not understand these things? 11 I tell you the truth, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony. 12 I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? 13 No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man. 14 Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15 that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.
Jesus shifts the conversation from confusion about new birth to clarify and validate the authority of the One speaking. Jesus says He speaks of what He knows and testifies to what He has seen. He is not speculating about heaven. He has come from there. No one has ascended into heaven except the One who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. Jesus speaks with first hand, experiential knowledge of the heavenly things. He wanted Nicodemus to see what was at the heart of God coming down from heaven to this earth.
In Numbers 21, the Israelites were dying because of their sin. God instructed Moses to lift up a bronze serpent on a pole so that whoever looked at it would live. The remedy seemed too simple. Look and live. No payment. No achievement. No ritual performance. Just trust.
Jesus says that in the same way, the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in Him may have eternal life.
Darkness tells us to work harder. Light calls us to look higher.
Nicodemus struggled because he was trained to build righteousness through obedience. Jesus redirects him to something far more humbling. Salvation is not climbed toward; it is given when we look to the One lifted up. The cross would become the ultimate display of both exposure and mercy. Sin is serious enough to require death. Love is strong enough to provide it.
We are often tempted to respond to conviction with effort. We promise to improve. We design new disciplines. We rehearse self-correction. While spiritual disciplines matter, they are never the source of life. The source is Christ Himself. Eternal life flows from believing, not performing.
The writer of Hebrews 12:2 urges us to fix their eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith. Light begins not when we master heavenly things but when we trust the One who came from heaven.
When guilt rises, look to Christ. When confusion clouds your thoughts, look to Christ. When pride tempts you to self-reliance, look to Christ. Do not analyze yourself endlessly. Do not attempt to ascend by your own strength. Lift your eyes to the One who was lifted up for you.
Darkness is overcome not by striving but by seeing. And seeing leads to believing. And believing leads to life.
Reflect: When I feel spiritual pressure, do I instinctively try to fix myself, or do I fix my eyes and heart on the crucified and risen Christ? What might change in your day today if you intentionally fixed your eyes on Jesus?
Prayer: Lord Jesus, You came from heaven and were lifted up for my salvation. Forgive me for trying to earn what You freely give. Teach me to look to You in faith. Fix my eyes on Your finished work, and let Your light steady my heart today. Amen.