Daily Bible with Hunter and Heather

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TODAY'S SCRIPTURE: Ezra 4; Psalms 113 & 127; Luke 9
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One Year Bible Podcast: Join Hunter and Heather Barnes on the Daily Radio Bible, a daily Bible‑in‑a‑year podcast with 20‑minute Scripture readings, Christ‑centered devotion, and guided prayer.This daily Bible reading and devotional invites you to live as a citizen of Jesus' kingdom, reconciled, renewed, and deeply loved.
TODAY'S EPISODE
Welcome to the Daily Radio Bible. Today is September 26th, and our readings are Ezra 4, Psalms 113 and 127, and Luke 9.
Ezra tells us that the work of rebuilding has run into opposition. God's people have returned from exile and begun rebuilding the temple, but now resistance comes. The work becomes difficult, and eventually it comes to a halt.
Psalm 113 reminds us that God lifts the poor from the dust and the needy from the garbage dump.
Then Psalm 127 gives us an important word about all our building:
"Unless the Lord builds a house, the work of the builders is wasted."
And then we come to Luke 9.
Jesus sends the twelve out with very little to rely upon except God. He feeds a hungry multitude. Peter declares that Jesus is the Messiah. Jesus is transfigured before his disciples.
But running through it all is a surprising description of what it means to follow him.
"If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily, and follow me."
Jesus is showing us another kind of life.
The world tells us to acquire, achieve, protect, and succeed.
Jesus says there is another way.
We find our lives by giving them away.
TODAY'S DEVOTION
Losing to Gain: The Way of the Cross
If you hang on to your life, making it about you, insisting on your own way, Jesus says you will eventually lose the very thing you're trying so hard to save.
That's a strange word for us.
Because the world tells us almost exactly the opposite.
Hold on.
Build more.
Achieve more.
Become more important.
Protect what you've accumulated.
Win.
Success becomes one of the great siren songs of our world.
And if we're not careful, it can become the siren song of the church too.
Big bank accounts.
Big churches.
Big platforms.
Big egos.
We can baptize all of it and call it blessing.
But Jesus points in another direction.
He says:
"What do you benefit if you gain the whole world but are yourself lost or destroyed?"
You can gain everything and somehow lose yourself.
Then Jesus says that if we want to follow him, we must take up our cross daily.
That's not exactly a winning strategy by the world's standards.
People carrying crosses aren't climbing ladders.
They're dying.
And yet Jesus tells us that this is somehow the road to life.
That's the great paradox of the kingdom.
We find our lives by giving them away.
Jesus said elsewhere that unless a kernel of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone.
But when it dies, something happens.
Life emerges.
A harvest comes.
The life released in death becomes resurrection life.
And resurrection life is different from the power of the flesh.
The flesh has to protect itself.
Prove itself.
Advance itself.
Resurrection life is free.
Free to love.
Free to serve.
Free to give.
Free to lose without being lost.
Because our life is already hidden with Christ in God.
Psalm 127 says:
"Unless the Lord builds a house, the work of the builders is wasted."
That's a good word for me.
Because we can spend our whole lives building.
Building careers.
Building ministries.
Building reputations.
Building security.
Building an image of ourselves that we desperately hope everyone else will believe.
And Jesus asks:
What if you gained all of it?
What if you actually succeeded at everything the world told you mattered?
Would you have found life?
Jesus doesn't come merely to make us more successful at the world's game.
He comes to set us free from the game.
He comes to awaken us to the life that is already ours in him.
That's resurrection.
That's freedom.
That's abundance.
So maybe today we need to turn down the siren song of this world.
Turn down the voices telling us that our lives are measured by what we accumulate, accomplish, or prove.
And turn up the music of heaven.
Listen again to Jesus.
"Follow me."
Follow me into the way of love.
Follow me into generosity.
Follow me into forgiveness.
Follow me into self-giving.
Follow me through the cross and into resurrection.
Because the life you're trying so hard to secure is already waiting for you in him.
Lose your life in his.
And discover that you haven't lost at all.
You've finally begun to live.
That's the prayer I have for my own soul.
That's the prayer I have for my family, for my wife, my daughters, and my son.
And that's the prayer I have for you.
May we turn away from the siren songs of this world and hear instead the song of our Lord and Christ:
"Follow me, and you will truly live."
May it be so.
TODAY'S PRAYERS:
Lord God Almighty and everlasting father you have brought us in safety to this new day preserve us with your Mighty power that we might not fall into sin or be overcome by adversity. And in all we do, direct us to the fulfilling of your purpose  through Jesus Christ Our Lord amen.  
Oh God you have made of one blood all the peoples of the earth and sent your blessed son to preach peace to those who are far and those who are near. Grant that people everywhere may seek after you, and find you. Bring the nations into your fold, pour out your Spirit on all flesh, and hasten the coming of your kingdom through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.  
And now Lord,  make me an instrument of your peace.  Where there is hatred let me sow love. Where there is injury, pardon.  Where there is doubt, faith. Where there is despair, hope.  Where there is darkness, light.  And where there is sadness,  Joy.  Oh Lord grant that I might not seek to be consoled as to console. To be understood as to understand, to be loved as to love.  For it is in the giving that we receive, in the pardoning that we are pardoned, it is in the dying that we are born unto eternal life.  Amen
And now as our Lord has taught us we are bold to pray...
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven, give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our tresspasses as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not unto temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the Kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
Loving God, we give you thanks for restoring us in your image. And nourishing us with spiritual food, now send us forth as forgiven people, healed and renewed, that we may proclaim your love to the world, and continue in the risen life of Christ.  Amen. 
OUR WEBSITE: www.dailyradiobible.com
We are reading through the New Living Translation.  

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OTHER PODCASTS:
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DAILY BIBLE FOR KIDS
DAILY PSALMS
DAILY PROVERBS
DAILY LECTIONARY
DAILY CHRONOLOGICAL

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TODAY'S SCRIPTURE: Ezra 2–3; Luke 8
Click HERE to give!
One Year Bible Podcast: Join Hunter and Heather Barnes on the Daily Radio Bible, a daily Bible‑in‑a‑year podcast with 20‑minute Scripture readings, Christ‑centered devotion, and guided prayer.This daily Bible reading and devotional invites you to live as a citizen of Jesus' kingdom, reconciled, renewed, and deeply loved.
TODAY'S EPISODE
Welcome to the Daily Radio Bible. Today is September 25th, and our readings are Ezra 2–3 and Luke 8.
Ezra brings us into the story of a people coming home.
After years of exile, families return to Jerusalem. They rebuild the altar and begin laying the foundation of the temple.
And when that foundation is laid, something remarkable happens.
Some people shout for joy.
Others weep.
The sounds mingle together until no one can distinguish the shouting from the weeping.
Maybe that's an honest picture of life.
Joy and sorrow often occupy the same space.
Hope and grief can live together.
Then Luke 8 brings us several stories of people encountering Jesus in places of fear and desperation.
A storm threatens to overwhelm the disciples.
A man tormented and isolated among the tombs is restored.
A woman who has suffered for twelve years reaches through a crowd just to touch Jesus.
And Jairus comes pleading for the life of his daughter.
Then, while Jesus is still on the way, the news arrives:
"Your daughter is dead. There's no use troubling the Teacher now."
But Jesus has another word.
"Don't be afraid. Just have faith."
Today we are reminded that fear, despair, suffering, and even death do not get to speak the final word.
Jesus does.
TODAY'S DEVOTION
Fear Will Not Have the Last Word
"Why trouble the teacher?"
That's essentially what Jairus is told.
"Your daughter is dead. There's no use troubling the Teacher now."
Those are words of despair.
Words of hopelessness.
Words that say the story is over.
Jairus had reached out in faith.
He had come looking for Jesus because his little girl was dying.
He believed Jesus could help.
And Jesus was coming.
But then there was a delay.
Another person needed Jesus.
A woman who had been suffering for twelve years reached out through the crowd and touched him.
Jesus stopped.
He saw her.
He spoke with her.
And all the while, Jairus was waiting.
I wonder what that waiting felt like.
Every second mattered.
And then the message arrived.
Too late.
Your daughter is dead.
Don't bother Jesus anymore.
Fear and despair always want to have the last word.
They tell us:
It's over.
There's no hope.
Don't bother praying.
Don't bother hoping.
Don't bother reaching for Jesus.
Nothing can change now.
But Jesus hears the message too.
And he turns toward Jairus and says:
"Don't be afraid. Just have faith."
Jesus does not deny what has happened.
He doesn't pretend death isn't real.
He simply refuses to let death have the final word.
And then something beautiful happens.
Jesus enters the house.
But he doesn't turn this family's grief into a public spectacle.
He brings Peter, James, and John with him, along with the girl's father and mother.
And there, in that quiet and deeply personal place of grief, Jesus comes close.
I love that.
Because some pain is very private.
There are valleys in our lives that very few people ever see.
There are fears we carry quietly.
Losses we don't know how to explain.
Places where we wonder whether hope is even possible anymore.
And Jesus enters those places.
He comes near.
He takes the little girl by the hand.
And he says:
"My child, get up!"
Life speaks into death.
Hope speaks into despair.
Jesus has the final word.
Maybe that's what you need to remember today.
Your circumstances do not get the final word.
Your fear does not get the final word.
Your loss does not get the final word.
Your diagnosis does not get the final word.
Your failure does not get the final word.
Even death does not get the final word.
Jesus does.
Ezra gives us a picture of people standing among ruins and laying a new foundation.
Some are shouting.
Some are weeping.
And somehow both responses belong.
Maybe that's where you are today.
You can grieve what has been lost and still believe that something new can rise.
You can weep and hope at the same time.
You can stand among the ruins and listen for the voice of Jesus.
"Don't be afraid."
"Just have faith."
"My child, get up."
The hope we have is not that we will avoid every valley.
The hope is that Jesus meets us there.
He takes us by the hand.
And the One who is Resurrection and Life will have the final word.
That's the prayer I have for my own soul.
That's the prayer I have for my family, for my wife, my daughters, and my son.
And that's the prayer I have for you.
May we meet Jesus in the valley.
May we trust him when fear and despair surround us.
And may we receive from him the hope of resurrection.
May it be so.
TODAY'S PRAYERS:
Lord God Almighty and everlasting father you have brought us in safety to this new day preserve us with your Mighty power that we might not fall into sin or be overcome by adversity. And in all we do, direct us to the fulfilling of your purpose  through Jesus Christ Our Lord amen.  
Oh God you have made of one blood all the peoples of the earth and sent your blessed son to preach peace to those who are far and those who are near. Grant that people everywhere may seek after you, and find you. Bring the nations into your fold, pour out your Spirit on all flesh, and hasten the coming of your kingdom through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.  
And now Lord,  make me an instrument of your peace.  Where there is hatred let me sow love. Where there is injury, pardon.  Where there is doubt, faith. Where there is despair, hope.  Where there is darkness, light.  And where there is sadness,  Joy.  Oh Lord grant that I might not seek to be consoled as to console. To be understood as to understand, to be loved as to love.  For it is in the giving that we receive, in the pardoning that we are pardoned, it is in the dying that we are born unto eternal life.  Amen
And now as our Lord has taught us we are bold to pray...
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven, give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our tresspasses as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not unto temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the Kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
Loving God, we give you thanks for restoring us in your image. And nourishing us with spiritual food, now send us forth as forgiven people, healed and renewed, that we may proclaim your love to the world, and continue in the risen life of Christ.  Amen. 
OUR WEBSITE: www.dailyradiobible.com
We are reading through the New Living Translation.  

Leave us a voicemail HERE: https://www.speakpipe.com/dailyradiobible

Subscribe to us at YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Dailyradiobible/featured
OTHER PODCASTS:
Listen with Apple Podcast
DAILY BIBLE FOR KIDS
DAILY PSALMS
DAILY PROVERBS
DAILY LECTIONARY
DAILY CHRONOLOGICAL

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TODAY'S SCRIPTURE: Ezra 1; Psalms 84–85; Luke 7
Click HERE to give!
One Year Bible Podcast: Join Hunter and Heather Barnes on the Daily Radio Bible, a daily Bible‑in‑a‑year podcast with 20‑minute Scripture readings, Christ‑centered devotion, and guided prayer.This daily Bible reading and devotional invites you to live as a citizen of Jesus' kingdom, reconciled, renewed, and deeply loved.
TODAY'S EPISODE
Welcome to the Daily Radio Bible. Today is September 24th, and our readings are Ezra 1, Psalms 84 and 85, and Luke 7.
Ezra begins with an unexpected announcement.
God's people have lived in exile, far from home, but now Cyrus, king of Persia, announces that they may return to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple.
After years of displacement, the journey home begins.
Psalm 84 gives voice to that longing:
"How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of Heaven's Armies."
The psalmist longs to be home in the presence of God.
Then Psalm 85 gives us another beautiful picture of restoration. Unfailing love and truth meet together. Righteousness and peace kiss.
And then we come to Luke 7.
Jesus encounters a Roman officer whose faith amazes him. He meets a grieving widow and restores her son to life. He reassures John the Baptist that God's kingdom really is breaking into the world.
And finally, Jesus sits at a table where an unexpected guest arrives.
A woman known in the community as a sinner kneels at his feet.
She weeps.
She washes his feet with her tears.
She dries them with her hair.
And she pours perfume over them.
Everyone in the room seems to know who this woman is.
But Jesus sees her differently.
He sees love.
He sees faith.
He sees a daughter who has been forgiven.
And he tells her:
"Your faith has saved you. Go in peace."
That's where today's readings seem to bring us.
Out of exile.
Toward home.
Out of shame.
Into peace.
God is singing a new song over his people.
And we are invited to sing along.
TODAY'S DEVOTION
Go in Peace
Everybody knew who she was.
At least they thought they did.
Luke tells us that a woman from the city heard that Jesus was eating at the home of Simon the Pharisee.
And Luke tells us that she was a sinful woman.
That's her introduction.
That's her label.
That's apparently what everybody knows about her.
She enters the house carrying a beautiful alabaster jar filled with expensive perfume.
And then she kneels behind Jesus at his feet.
She begins to weep.
Her tears fall on his feet.
She wipes them with her hair.
She kisses his feet.
And she pours perfume over them.
It's an extraordinary scene.
And Simon watches all of this.
But Simon doesn't really see her.
He sees her label.
He thinks to himself that if Jesus were really a prophet, he would know what kind of woman was touching him.
But Jesus does know.
He knows exactly who is touching him.
And he sees something Simon cannot see.
He sees her.
Not merely her past.
Not merely her failures.
Not merely the story the town has told about her.
He sees her.
And I think that's beautiful.
Because shame has a way of convincing us that the worst thing about us is the truest thing about us.
Shame says:
That's who you are.
Your failure is who you are.
Your mistake is who you are.
Your addiction is who you are.
Your divorce is who you are.
Your past is who you are.
Whatever people have whispered about you, that's who you are.
But Jesus doesn't see us that way.
He sees deeper.
He sees a beloved child.
He sees the image of God.
He sees someone worth receiving.
Someone worth defending.
Someone worth restoring.
And then Jesus says something remarkable.
He turns toward the woman and speaks to Simon.
"Do you see this woman?"
That's the question.
Do you see her?
Simon sees a category.
Jesus sees a person.
Simon sees contamination.
Jesus sees love.
Simon sees someone who doesn't belong at the table.
Jesus sees someone who has already found her way home.
And perhaps that's what forgiveness really is.
It's coming home.
Ezra begins today with exiles being told that they can go home.
The long exile is ending.
And Luke ends with another exile ending.
A woman who has been living beneath the weight of shame hears Jesus say:
"Your sins are forgiven."
And then:
"Your faith has saved you. Go in peace."
Go in peace.
Not go in shame.
Not go and spend the rest of your life trying to make up for everything you've done.
Not go and prove that you're worthy.
Go in peace.
Because forgiveness isn't something she has managed to extract from a reluctant God.
Forgiveness is the heart she discovers when she encounters Jesus.
And maybe some of us need to hear that today.
Maybe you've been carrying a name that Jesus never gave you.
Failure.
Unworthy.
Unclean.
Rejected.
Too much.
Not enough.
Maybe you've spent years imagining that God looks at you the way Simon looked at this woman.
But Jesus shows us the Father's face.
And Jesus looks at her with love.
He receives her.
He defends her.
He restores her.
And he sends her away in peace.
That's the new song.
The exile is ending.
You're being called home.
You are forgiven.
You are loved.
You belong.
Go in peace.
That's the prayer I have for my own soul.
That's the prayer I have for my family, for my wife, my daughters, and my son.
And that's the prayer I have for you.
May we hear the voice of Jesus calling us out of shame and into the freedom of his love.
And may we go in peace.
May it be so.
TODAY'S PRAYERS:
Lord God Almighty and everlasting father you have brought us in safety to this new day preserve us with your Mighty power that we might not fall into sin or be overcome by adversity. And in all we do, direct us to the fulfilling of your purpose  through Jesus Christ Our Lord amen.  
Oh God you have made of one blood all the peoples of the earth and sent your blessed son to preach peace to those who are far and those who are near. Grant that people everywhere may seek after you, and find you. Bring the nations into your fold, pour out your Spirit on all flesh, and hasten the coming of your kingdom through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.  
And now Lord,  make me an instrument of your peace.  Where there is hatred let me sow love. Where there is injury, pardon.  Where there is doubt, faith. Where there is despair, hope.  Where there is darkness, light.  And where there is sadness,  Joy.  Oh Lord grant that I might not seek to be consoled as to console. To be understood as to understand, to be loved as to love.  For it is in the giving that we receive, in the pardoning that we are pardoned, it is in the dying that we are born unto eternal life.  Amen
And now as our Lord has taught us we are bold to pray...
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven, give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our tresspasses as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not unto temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the Kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
Loving God, we give you thanks for restoring us in your image. And nourishing us with spiritual food, now send us forth as forgiven people, healed and renewed, that we may proclaim your love to the world, and continue in the risen life of Christ.  Amen. 
OUR WEBSITE: www.dailyradiobible.com
We are reading through the New Living Translation.  

Leave us a voicemail HERE: https://www.speakpipe.com/dailyradiobible

Subscribe to us at YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Dailyradiobible/featured
OTHER PODCASTS:
Listen with Apple Podcast
DAILY BIBLE FOR KIDS
DAILY PSALMS
DAILY PROVERBS
DAILY LECTIONARY
DAILY CHRONOLOGICAL

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TODAY'S SCRIPTURE: Daniel 11–12; Luke 6
Click HERE to give!
One Year Bible Podcast: Join Hunter and Heather Barnes on the Daily Radio Bible, a daily Bible‑in‑a‑year podcast with 20‑minute Scripture readings, Christ‑centered devotion, and guided prayer.This daily Bible reading and devotional invites you to live as a citizen of Jesus' kingdom, reconciled, renewed, and deeply loved.
TODAY'S EPISODE
Welcome to the Daily Radio Bible. Today is September 23rd, and today is a special day for me and for this community.
Thirteen years ago today, the Daily Radio Bible began.
What started with a microphone and a simple desire to read through the Scriptures together has become a daily gathering of people around the world.
And through all these years, the invitation has remained remarkably simple:
Come to the Scriptures.
Listen for the voice of Jesus.
Allow the Spirit to reveal the love of God.
And then go live that love in the world.
So thank you.
Thank you to everyone who has walked this road with me, whether you've been here for thirteen years or this is your first day.
Today our readings are Daniel 11–12 and Luke 6.
Daniel sees kingdoms rising and falling, conflict and upheaval, and things that are difficult to understand. Yet beneath all the turmoil is the promise that God remains faithful and that death itself will not have the final word.
Then Jesus brings us down to bedrock.
Love your enemies.
Do good to those who hate you.
Bless those who curse you.
Give without expecting anything in return.
Forgive.
Do not condemn.
Treat others the way you want to be treated.
These aren't merely beautiful ideas.
Jesus says they are a foundation upon which we can actually build a life.
And after thirteen years of gathering around these Scriptures together, perhaps the invitation is still exactly the same:
Dig deep.
Find the Rock.
Build your life there.
TODAY'S DEVOTION
Dig Deep
Go deep.
That's the invitation Jesus offers us today.
And after thirteen years of doing this together, I think it's still the invitation.
Go deep.
Jesus tells a story about two people building houses.
One person builds on the surface.
The other digs.
And digs.
And digs.
Until finally he reaches bedrock.
Then he builds his house there.
And when the storms come and the floodwaters rise, that house stands.
Not because the storm wasn't powerful.
Not because the person living in the house had everything figured out.
The house stands because of what is underneath it.
Jesus says this is what it looks like to hear his words and put them into practice.
And notice the words Jesus has just spoken.
Love your enemies.
Do good to those who hate you.
Bless those who curse you.
Pray for those who hurt you.
Give.
Forgive.
Be merciful.
Don't condemn.
Treat others the way you want to be treated.
That's the bedrock.
And sometimes I think we want something more complicated.
We want the right theology.
The right answers.
The right religious system.
The right arguments.
And those things can have their place.
But Jesus keeps taking us deeper.
Down beneath the words.
Down beneath appearances.
Down beneath religion.
Until we encounter him.
The Rock.
Paul says our life is hidden with Christ in God.
That's deep.
Deeper than our fear.
Deeper than our failure.
Deeper than our shame.
Deeper than the labels people have placed upon us.
Deeper even than the stories we sometimes tell ourselves about who we are.
There is Christ.
And our life is hidden in him.
Jesus looks at the poor, the hungry, the sorrowful, and the rejected, and he calls them blessed.
Why?
Because there is something deeper than their circumstances.
There is Someone underneath it all.
Christ.
Present.
Faithful.
Steadfast.
Love himself.
And thirteen years into this journey, that's what I keep discovering.
The point isn't simply to get through the Bible.
The point is to let the Bible bring us to Jesus.
To hear his voice.
To discover our life in him.
To allow his love to become the bedrock underneath everything else.
Because storms do come.
Floodwaters rise.
Things we thought were secure sometimes shake.
But there is a foundation beneath us that cannot be shaken.
The deep, deep love of God revealed in Jesus Christ.
So today, on this anniversary, I want to say thank you.
Thank you for digging with me.
Thank you for showing up day after day.
Thank you for being part of this community.
And let's keep going.
Let's keep digging.
Past the easy answers.
Past fear.
Past shame.
Past religion that tells us we have to earn what God has already freely given.
Let's dig until we find the Rock.
And then let's build our lives there.
In his love.
In his mercy.
In his forgiveness.
In his life.
Because Christ himself is our foundation.
And he is enough to hold us.
That's the prayer I have for my own soul.
That's the prayer I have for my family, for my wife, my daughters, and my son.
And that's the prayer I have for you.
May we go deep.
And may we discover again that underneath it all, holding us, surrounding us, and sustaining us, is the love of God revealed in Jesus Christ.
May it be so.
TODAY'S PRAYERS:
Lord God Almighty and everlasting father you have brought us in safety to this new day preserve us with your Mighty power that we might not fall into sin or be overcome by adversity. And in all we do, direct us to the fulfilling of your purpose  through Jesus Christ Our Lord amen.  
Oh God you have made of one blood all the peoples of the earth and sent your blessed son to preach peace to those who are far and those who are near. Grant that people everywhere may seek after you, and find you. Bring the nations into your fold, pour out your Spirit on all flesh, and hasten the coming of your kingdom through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.  
And now Lord,  make me an instrument of your peace.  Where there is hatred let me sow love. Where there is injury, pardon.  Where there is doubt, faith. Where there is despair, hope.  Where there is darkness, light.  And where there is sadness,  Joy.  Oh Lord grant that I might not seek to be consoled as to console. To be understood as to understand, to be loved as to love.  For it is in the giving that we receive, in the pardoning that we are pardoned, it is in the dying that we are born unto eternal life.  Amen
And now as our Lord has taught us we are bold to pray...
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven, give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our tresspasses as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not unto temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the Kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
Loving God, we give you thanks for restoring us in your image. And nourishing us with spiritual food, now send us forth as forgiven people, healed and renewed, that we may proclaim your love to the world, and continue in the risen life of Christ.  Amen. 
OUR WEBSITE: www.dailyradiobible.com
We are reading through the New Living Translation.  

Leave us a voicemail HERE: https://www.speakpipe.com/dailyradiobible

Subscribe to us at YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Dailyradiobible/featured
OTHER PODCASTS:
Listen with Apple Podcast
DAILY BIBLE FOR KIDS
DAILY PSALMS
DAILY PROVERBS
DAILY LECTIONARY
DAILY CHRONOLOGICAL

Click here for the DRB Daily Sign Up form!
TODAY'S SCRIPTURE: Daniel 9–11; Psalm 123; Luke 5
Click HERE to give!
One Year Bible Podcast: Join Hunter and Heather Barnes on the Daily Radio Bible, a daily Bible‑in‑a‑year podcast with 20‑minute Scripture readings, Christ‑centered devotion, and guided prayer.This daily Bible reading and devotional invites you to live as a citizen of Jesus' kingdom, reconciled, renewed, and deeply loved.
TODAY'S EPISODE:
Welcome to the Daily Radio Bible. Today is September 22nd, day 265 of our journey through the Scriptures, and there are just 100 days left in the year.
Our readings today are Daniel 9–11, Psalm 123, and Luke 5.
Daniel is carrying a tremendous weight. He looks back upon the ruins of his people and forward into visions of things he can barely comprehend. At one point, the sheer weight of it all leaves him without strength.
And then God meets him.
Daniel receives another touch.
"Don't be afraid," he is told. "You are very precious to God. Peace! Be encouraged! Be strong!"
And Daniel says that as these words are spoken, his strength returns.
Psalm 123 gives us another picture of dependence. The psalmist lifts his eyes toward God, looking for mercy.
Then in Luke 5, people come to Jesus carrying their own burdens.
There are exhausted fishermen with empty nets.
There is a man covered with leprosy.
There is a paralyzed man whose friends carry him through a roof.
There is Levi, the tax collector, sitting at his booth.
Again and again, Jesus meets people where they are and gives them something they cannot manufacture for themselves.
Healing.
Forgiveness.
Calling.
Belonging.
Strength.
Maybe that's the invitation for us today.
We don't have to manufacture what we don't have.
We can open our hands and receive another touch.
TODAY'S DEVOTION:
He Gives Us a Second Touch
Daniel was overwhelmed by what he saw.
The vision God had given him.
The enormity of what was behind him.
The uncertainty of what was ahead.
The ruins of the past.
The challenges of the present.
All of it left Daniel saying:
"My strength is gone. I can hardly breathe."
Have you ever felt that way?
You look ahead at something that seems impossible.
Or maybe you look behind you at something painful, something broken, something you wish had gone differently.
And you feel paralyzed.
Frightened.
Unable to move.
Maybe you can hardly catch your breath.
If you've ever been there, you're not alone.
Daniel was there too.
But then something beautiful happens.
Daniel says:
"Then the one who looked like a man touched me again, and I felt my strength returning."
He touched me again.
A second touch.
And then Daniel hears these words:
"Don't be afraid. You are very precious to God. Peace! Be encouraged! Be strong!"
And as Daniel listens, his strength returns.
I love that.
Daniel doesn't find the strength somewhere inside himself.
He doesn't grit his teeth and try harder.
He doesn't give himself a motivational speech.
Strength comes to him.
It is received.
God meets him in his weakness.
And maybe that's what some of us need today.
Another touch.
Maybe you've been walking with God for years.
Maybe you've experienced grace before.
Maybe you know what it is to be carried by love.
But today you're tired again.
That's okay.
Sometimes we need another touch.
Sometimes we need to hear again what we've heard before.
Don't be afraid.
You are precious to God.
Peace.
Be encouraged.
Be strong.
And when I turn to Luke 5, I see Jesus doing this everywhere he goes.
He meets Peter after a night of empty nets.
He touches the man with leprosy.
He speaks forgiveness to the paralyzed man.
He looks at Levi sitting at the tax collector's booth and says, "Follow me."
Jesus keeps moving toward people.
Touching.
Healing.
Forgiving.
Calling.
Restoring.
Giving people what they cannot give themselves.
Maybe you need that today.
Maybe the road ahead looks daunting.
Maybe the road behind carries shame or regret.
Maybe you're simply tired.
Open your hands.
You don't have to manufacture strength.
You can receive it.
Let Jesus meet you where you are.
Let him touch the place that is tired.
Let him speak again:
Don't be afraid.
You are precious to God.
Peace.
Be encouraged.
Be strong.
And maybe your prayer today can be very simple:
"Yes, Lord.
Thank you.
I receive your love.
I receive your peace.
I receive your strength."
Sometimes we need a second touch.
And sometimes a third.
And a fourth.
Grace keeps coming.
That's the prayer I have for my own soul.
That's the prayer I have for my family, for my wife, my daughters, and my son.
And that's the prayer I have for you.
May it be so.
TODAY'S PRAYERS:
Lord God Almighty and everlasting father you have brought us in safety to this new day preserve us with your Mighty power that we might not fall into sin or be overcome by adversity. And in all we do, direct us to the fulfilling of your purpose  through Jesus Christ Our Lord amen.  
Oh God you have made of one blood all the peoples of the earth and sent your blessed son to preach peace to those who are far and those who are near. Grant that people everywhere may seek after you, and find you. Bring the nations into your fold, pour out your Spirit on all flesh, and hasten the coming of your kingdom through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.  
And now Lord,  make me an instrument of your peace.  Where there is hatred let me sow love. Where there is injury, pardon.  Where there is doubt, faith. Where there is despair, hope.  Where there is darkness, light.  And where there is sadness,  Joy.  Oh Lord grant that I might not seek to be consoled as to console. To be understood as to understand, to be loved as to love.  For it is in the giving that we receive, in the pardoning that we are pardoned, it is in the dying that we are born unto eternal life.  Amen
And now as our Lord has taught us we are bold to pray...
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven, give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our tresspasses as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not unto temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the Kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
Loving God, we give you thanks for restoring us in your image. And nourishing us with spiritual food, now send us forth as forgiven people, healed and renewed, that we may proclaim your love to the world, and continue in the risen life of Christ.  Amen. 
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