Click here for the DRB Daily Sign Up form! TODAY'S SCRIPTURE: Daniel 7–8; Psalm 137; Luke 4 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 21st, and our readings are Daniel 7–8, Psalm 137, and Luke 4.
Daniel sees strange and unsettling visions of kingdoms, beasts, violence, and earthly powers rising and falling. Yet in the middle of these visions, Daniel sees another figure, one “like a son of man,” coming with the clouds of heaven. To him is given an everlasting kingdom, one that will never be destroyed.
Psalm 137 gives voice to the anguish of people living in exile. They sit beside the rivers of Babylon and weep as they remember Jerusalem. Their grief is raw, and so is their anger.
Then Luke takes us into the wilderness.
Jesus has just heard the Father declare, “You are my dearly loved Son, and you bring me great joy.”
Now that beloved Son is tempted.
The temptation is about far more than bread. Jesus is offered power, spectacle, and control. He is offered the kingdoms of the world if only he will bow to another way.
But Jesus refuses.
He will not build his kingdom through domination.
He emerges from the wilderness and returns to Nazareth, where he tells us exactly what his kingdom will look like:
Good news for the poor.
Freedom for captives.
Sight for the blind.
Freedom for the oppressed.
The time of the Lord’s favor has come.
Daniel saw kingdoms rise and fall.
Jesus announces the kingdom that will remain.
And he shows us what that kingdom looks like.
TODAY'S DEVOTION:
Another Kind of Kingdom Jesus is offered the kingdoms of the world.
That caught my attention today.
The devil takes Jesus up and shows him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.
And then comes the offer:
“I will give you the glory of these kingdoms and authority over them.”
Just bow down.
Just play the game.
Use power the way power has always been used.
Dominate.
Control.
Take the throne.
Make people comply.
And Jesus says no.
That's important.
Because Daniel has just given us these strange visions of kingdoms that look like beasts.
They devour.
They crush.
They destroy.
That's what kingdoms can become.
And then Jesus walks into the wilderness.
The true Son of Man has come.
And he is offered the opportunity to become another beast.
He refuses.
Jesus will have a kingdom.
But it will not look like the kingdoms of this world.
And Luke doesn't leave us wondering what Jesus' kingdom will look like.
Jesus walks into the synagogue, opens the scroll of Isaiah, and tells us:
Good news for the poor.
Freedom for the captives.
Sight for the blind.
Freedom for the oppressed.
The Lord's favor.
That's his kingdom.
Jesus doesn't conquer by becoming a bigger beast.
He conquers by remaining human.
Fully human.
The true human.
The Son who lives in communion with the Father and refuses to turn power into domination.
And I think that's good news for us because we are constantly being invited to play the old game.
Win.
Control.
Prove yourself.
Get the upper hand.
Protect what's yours.
Make sure you're the one on top.
But Jesus shows us another way.
The way of the kingdom is not domination.
It is love.
It is liberation.
It is healing.
It is mercy.
It is good news for people who have spent their lives receiving bad news.
And notice where all of this begins.
Before the wilderness.
Before the temptation.
Before the ministry.
Before Jesus does anything.
The Father has already said:
“You are my dearly loved Son, and you bring me great joy.”
Jesus enters the wilderness from belovedness.
He doesn't have to prove who he is.
He doesn't need the kingdoms of the world to validate him.
He already knows whose he is.
Maybe that's part of the invitation for us today.
The powers of this world will always offer us identities.
Successful.
Important.
Powerful.
Right.
Victorious.
But Jesus invites us into something deeper.
Beloved.
And when we know that we are beloved, we don't have to turn ourselves into beasts to survive.
We can follow Jesus.
We can choose love over domination.
Mercy over vengeance.
Service over control.
We can live as citizens of another kingdom.
A kingdom that Daniel says will never be destroyed.
A kingdom embodied in Jesus.
So when the kingdoms around you...
