August 16th, 25: Choosing Jesus: The Way of Self-Giving Love Over Violence and Power

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One Year Bible Podcast: Join Hunter and Heather Barnes on 'The Daily Radio Bible' for a daily 20-minute spiritual journey. Engage with scripture readings, heartfelt devotionals, and collective prayers that draw you into the heart of God's love. Embark on this year-long voyage through the Bible, and let each day's passage uplift and inspire you.

TODAY'S EPISODE:

Welcome to the Daily Radio Bible, where we journey through the Scriptures together, one day at a time. In today’s episode, host Hunter guides us through the reading for August 16th, beginning with the turbulent days of Judah’s exile in 2 Kings 24, followed by Jeremiah’s passionate call for justice and covenant faithfulness in chapter 22. We find encouragement and wisdom in Psalm 112, celebrating the blessings of those who walk in God's ways. Our journey culminates in John 18, as we witness the dramatic arrest and trial of Jesus, and are confronted with the powerful choice between two very different Jesuses—Barabbas, the insurrectionist, or Jesus, the Messiah who offers a radically different, self-giving way.

Hunter invites us to reflect on which “Jesus” we choose to follow—not just in theory, but in the real, daily choices of our lives. The episode closes with time for silent reflection, heartfelt prayers for peace and unity, and a reminder that we are all held in the steadfast love of God. So settle in as we read, meditate, and pray together—seeking to know, trust, and embody the way of Jesus, the One who is love.

TODAY'S DEVOTION:

Two Jesuses stand before the crowd. Pilate offers a choice: Jesus the Messiah, or Jesus Barabbas—the insurrectionist. One, an agent of violence and revolt, seeking to overthrow enemies by force. The other, the true King—one who tells his followers to put away their swords, who chooses the path of suffering love, who proclaims a kingdom not of this world.

This is the radical contrast at the heart of today’s reading. Jesus does not call us to rise up in violence, to grasp at power, or to secure our futures by worldly means. He calls us instead to the self-giving, radically forgiving, co-suffering way of the cross. His is a kingdom that is wholly “other”—marked not by domination or fear, but by resurrection life born out of sacrifice and love.

The crowd was tempted—and we are too—to choose the easier way, the seemingly practical way. We hear the voices: “The Jesus way isn’t realistic. That’s not how the world works.” Even Scripture can be twisted to justify choosing a Barabbas instead of the true King. It’s telling: the Bible people of Jesus’ day stirred up the crowd for the wrong messiah.

But Jesus stands before us today, as he did before Pilate, offering us another kind of kingdom. He invites us to a life not marked by winning at any cost, but by loving self-sacrificially. He invites us out of the cycles of the world’s kingdoms—out of violence, revenge, and self-interest—into his new and living way.

This is the only way out; it’s the only way forward. And it is a daily choice. Will we embrace the self-giving, radically forgiving way of Jesus, or find reasons to excuse ourselves from it? Will we choose the suffering, self-emptying King, or just another Barabbas?

Today, I choose what the crowd did not. I choose Jesus. I choose the path he has shown—the way of surrender, trust, and love. I choose his truth. I choose his life. I choose the God who is love.

That’s the prayer I have for my soul. And that’s my prayer for my family—my wife, my daughters, and my son. And that’s the prayer I have for you.

May it be so.

TODAY'S PRAYERS:

Lord of heaven and earth, you have awakened us in your mercy once more. Still our anxious minds, quiet our striving hearts and help us to rest in the knowledge that we are held by you. May we walk in step with your spirit today. Not ahead, not behind, but beside you in trust and love through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.

O God of all peoples, you formed every soul in your image and breathed life into every heart. Open the eyes of the nations, soften hearts grown cold and teach us to live as neighbors and friends. Let your spirit move in power. Renew the face of the earth and usher in your reign of peace.

Amen.

And now, Lord, let me be a bearer of your peace. Where voices divide, let me speak grace where fear takes root, Let me plant trust where the world rushes on, let me walk with you. May I seek not to climb, but to kneel. Not to win, but to love. Not to grasp, but to give. For it is in emptying that we are filled in surrender, that we are strengthened and in union with you.

That we find our truest joy.

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 trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever and ever.

Amen.

 

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