Click here for the DRB Daily Sign Up form! TODAY'S SCRIPTURE: 2 Kings 25; 2 Chronicles 36; Jeremiah 40–41; Revelation 12 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! On this September 7th episode, Hunter guides us through 2 Kings 25, 2 Chronicles 36, Jeremiah 40–41, and Revelation 12.
Today we stand among the ruins of Jerusalem. The city has fallen. The temple is destroyed. The walls have been torn down. The people are killed, scattered, or carried into exile. Everything that once seemed secure has collapsed.
And yet Jeremiah remains.
The prophet who had warned of what was coming is still there among the broken walls and shattered lives. He does not seize the moment to gain power. He remains as a faithful witness to God.
Jeremiah shows us something about our own calling. When the world around us feels fractured, our task is not to join the struggle for domination. Jesus has shown us another way. The kingdom of God does not tear others down in order to rise. It enters the ruins, lifts up those who have fallen, and bears faithful witness to the love of God.
TODAY'S DEVOTION:
Their worst nightmare has come true.
Everything they feared has happened.
Jerusalem has fallen. The temple is destroyed. The palace is gone. The walls have been torn down. People have been killed, scattered, and carried away.
They are living among the ruins.
And yet Jeremiah is still there.
His name carries the idea of one appointed or raised up by God.
Jeremiah had been thrown into a cistern and left for dead. He had been ignored, rejected, mocked, and imprisoned. He had warned the people about where their path was leading, but they refused to listen.
And now everything he warned them about has happened.
Jerusalem lies in ruins.
Yet Jeremiah remains.
That strikes me today.
Jeremiah does not remain so that he can say, “I told you so.”
He does not stand over the ruins congratulating himself for being right.
He remains because God has appointed him to be there.
He remains as a witness.
And perhaps there is something here for us.
We live in a world that can sometimes feel as though the walls are coming down.
We see war.
We see division.
We see political fear and anger.
We see loneliness, addiction, poverty, injustice, and violence.
And sometimes we experience ruins much closer to home.
A marriage falls apart.
A diagnosis comes.
Someone we love dies.
A dream disappears.
A relationship breaks.
A future we imagined for ourselves suddenly seems impossible.
What are we supposed to do among the ruins?
The temptation is often to grab whatever power we can.
That is what Ishmael son of Nethaniah does in Jeremiah’s story. In the instability following Jerusalem’s destruction, he reaches for power through violence.
That is the way of the world.
When everything feels uncertain, seize control.
Protect yourself.
Defeat your enemies.
Make sure you come out on top.
But Jesus has shown us another way.
The weapons of our warfare are not the weapons of this world.
The world tears people down in order to lift itself up.
The kingdom of God lifts up those who have been torn down.
That is our calling.
We are not called to conquer the ruins.
We are called to remain faithfully within them.
To love.
To serve.
To listen.
To forgive.
To bind wounds.
To proclaim hope.
To bear witness to a kingdom that cannot be destroyed.
Revelation pulls back the curtain and shows us that there is a larger story unfolding. The dragon rages. The powers of accusation and violence do their worst.
But they do not win.
The Lamb wins.
And those who belong to the Lamb overcome not by becoming dragons themselves, but through the life and self-giving love of Christ.
So perhaps Jeremiah has something important to teach us today.
Remain.
Remain faithful.
Remain loving.
Remain present.
When others are scrambling for power, kneel beside the wounded.
When others are tearing people down, lift someone up.
When fear tells you to protect yourself at all costs, remember the One who gave himself away in love.
You have been appointed for such a time as this.
Not necessarily to rebuild everything yourself.
Not to control history.
Not to win every argument.
But to faithfully bear witness to Jesus right where you are.
Even among the ruins.
Especially among the ruins.
That’s the prayer I have for my own soul. That’s the prayer I have...
