December 20th, 25: The Living Water: Jesus at the Festival and the Gift of True Freedom

• Click here for the DRB Daily Sign Up form!
• TODAY'S SCRIPTURE:
• Click HERE to give!
• Get Free App Here!

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 podcast! In today’s episode, your host Hunter invites you to join him on December 20th, just ten days away from completing another year-long journey through the Scriptures. Together, we turn to the Gospel of John, reading chapters 7 and 8, and reflect on Jesus’ bold declarations during the Festival of Shelters—the promise of "living water" that quenches our deepest thirsts.

Hunter walks us through powerful moments, including Jesus’ encounter with those questioning his identity, the mercy shown to the woman caught in adultery, and Jesus’ profound invitation to come and drink from the fountain of salvation. Alongside readings and thoughtful insights, Hunter leads us in a time of prayer, lifting up our families, communities, and world.

Stay tuned for encouragement, spiritual insight, and reminders of God’s unconditional love. Make yourself comfortable, open your Bible, and prepare to drink deeply from God’s Word together today.

TODAY'S DEVOTION:

The salvation the world is dying for has come. The "living waters" that Jesus spoke of, that salvation, isn’t something confined to a religious ceremony or contained within a temple or an altar. It emerges from the heart of God Himself. The drought, the dryness, that our rebellion has brought on—it's over. The longing for life-giving water, for true hope and renewal, ends with the arrival of Jesus. He stands before us as the very source of life. It is not a ritual we must perform or a law we must perfectly uphold. It's a relationship, an invitation to come and drink deeply from what God is offering.

We hear about the Festival of Shelters, with its beautiful and meaningful ceremony: the priest descending to the pool, retrieving water, and pouring it out as a sign of God's provision and promise. Scripture from Isaiah is recited, the anticipation and longing for Messiah fills the air. Then, at the highest point of the feast, Jesus steps forward and boldly declares: "Anyone who believes in me may come and drink, for the Scriptures declare that rivers of living water will flow from his heart." In doing so, He upstages the festival, showing that He is the fulfillment of all these promises—the very fountain of salvation, the One Isaiah spoke of, the One for whom all creation has been waiting.

This is the good news: it is not about striving or earning or endless searching. He is here, the source of life, and He simply asks us to come—to bring our thirst, our emptiness, our need—and to receive. The triune God, the very Creator, beckons us to draw near and to be filled. These rivers of living water are for everyone who believes. Let us never stop drinking, never stop receiving what He freely gives.

That’s the prayer for my own soul, that I will see it and receive it and drink deep. It’s the prayer I carry for my family, my wife, my daughters, and my son. And it’s the prayer that I hold for you. May we all recognize the invitation, may we drink deeply of Him, and may we find our life, our joy, and our hope, in the One who is the fountain of salvation. 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