April 18th, 26: 1 Samuel 20 and 21, Psalm 34, Matthew 5; Daily Bible in a Year

Click here for the DRB Daily Sign Up form! TODAY'S SCRIPTURE: 1 Samuel 20 and 21,  Psalm 34, Matthew 5 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 with your host, Speaker A, on this 18th day of April, day 109 in our journey through the Scriptures. Today, we travel through pivotal moments from 1 Samuel 20 and 21, witness David and Jonathan's bond under threat, hear David's psalm of deliverance in Psalm 34, and explore Jesus' transformative teaching in Matthew 5, the Sermon on the Mount. Along the way, Speaker A draws a connection between the law of Moses and the fulfillment found in Christ's way of love. Join us as we spend time in God's word, reflect in prayer, and open our hearts to the life-giving message of the Gospel. TODAY'S DEVOTION: He fulfills the true purpose of the law—love. When you think about the Sermon on the Mount, what stands out? Many might say it is a list of high ethical expectations, almost impossible to attain. Yet, nestled right there in Jesus' words is a deeper message: he has not come to abolish the law, but to fulfill it. What does that mean for us, today? Matthew draws a powerful parallel between Moses, who ascended Mount Sinai to receive the Ten Commandments, and Jesus, who climbs this mountainside to deliver his most famous sermon. Moses gave the law; Jesus offers its fulfillment. But Jesus tells us plainly—he is not erasing the old commands. He is here to complete them, to bring them to their true end. And that end, that purpose, is love. The law, in its truest sense, was never meant to be a ladder we climb, striving to make ourselves right with God. It was meant to point us to our need for him, to expose the heart. Jesus recites these laws—not to bind us to endless rules, but to lead us to the very heart of God. At the heart of it all is love—love for God, love for neighbor, love that is stronger than resentment, that seeks reconciliation, that moves beyond the limits of mere human justice. This is the way of Jesus—the far better Moses—showing us the way of love. And by the power of Christ, we are invited into it. This life begins as we experience the love of God for ourselves. Out of that love, we are called to let go of anger, make peace with others, keep our word, live with purity, and embrace the radical call even to love our enemies. As Jesus walks with us, the fulfillment of the law shows up in our lives—not by our striving, but by his life in us. The fruit of that life is freedom, joy, mercy, a love that shines like a light on a hilltop for all to see. So may God help us, today, to experience his love at the core of our being. Let us live as people shaped and led by this love—love that fulfills the law, embraces the broken, and brings us into God's heart. May his way become our way. That's a prayer I have for my own soul. That's a prayer I have for my family, for my wife and my daughters and my son. And that's a prayer that I have for you. 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