March 5th, 26: Deuteronomy 1-2; Mark 12; Daily Bible in a Year

Welcome to the Daily Radio Bible! In this episode for March 5th, 2025, Hunter embraces listeners on day 65 of a year-long journey through the Scriptures. Today’s reading leads us through Deuteronomy 1 and 2, revisiting Moses’ reminders to the Israelites as they prepare to enter the Promised Land, and Mark 12, where Jesus offers profound teachings about authority, resurrection, love, and true devotion to God.

Hunter guides us through the narrative, reflecting on Israel’s wandering, God’s faithful provision, and the call to trust Him fully—even when the journey gets long or the challenges seem impossible. In Mark’s Gospel, Jesus addresses tough questions from the religious leaders, teaching us about giving to God what is truly His—ourselves—and highlighting the importance of loving God and our neighbors above all.

After the readings, we’re invited into a thoughtful time of prayer led by Unknown, centering our hearts on peace, unity, and surrendering our lives back to God. Hunter also marks the significance of Ash Wednesday, inviting everyone—regardless of tradition—to walk together through the reflective season of Lent as we prepare our hearts for Easter.

Join us in this sacred space as we listen to God’s Word, offer our hearts in prayer, and remember the deep truth: you are God’s beloved, and you are not alone on the journey.

TODAY'S DEVOTION:

The coin belongs to Caesar, but you—you belong to God. That’s what Jesus wants you to see. As Hunter points out, the religious leaders tried to trap Jesus in a web of money, power, and politics, but he would not be caught in the snare of their idols. Instead, Jesus took a simple coin and asked whose image was stamped upon it. “Caesar’s,” they answered. But then Jesus took this moment to direct their hearts—and ours—to a far deeper reality.

You are made in God’s image. His imprint is upon you, just as surely as Caesar’s image is on that coin. Therefore, your truest belonging is not to any ruler or any fleeting thing, but to God himself. As the catechism proclaims, “We are not our own, but belong to God.” This is our hope in life and death. You are his—his child, his family, his beloved.

So what do we give to God? Ourselves. Returning to him what is already his. When we do this—when we yield our hearts, our loves, our lives—we are freed from the idols and traps that entangle so many: money, politics, power. Instead, we find our truest and most joyful life in him. As Hunter reminds us, our real life is “hidden with God in Christ.” This is the deepest truth about who we are.

Let us learn to walk this out, returning daily to the God who made us, offering ourselves in love and trust. That is my prayer for my own soul. That is my prayer for my family, for my wife, my daughters, and my son. And that is my prayer for you.

May it be so.