Daily Devotional
By Pastor Jerry Teboe
A Closer Walk with Christ in 2026
Philippians 1:9-17
And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment; Php 1:10 That ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ; Php 1:11 Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God. Php 1:12 But I would ye should understand, brethren, that the things which happened unto me have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel; Php 1:13 So that my bonds in Christ are manifest in all the palace, and in all other places; Php 1:14 And many of the brethren in the Lord, waxing confident by my bonds, are much more bold to speak the word without fear. Php 1:15 Some indeed preach Christ even of envy and strife; and some also of good will: Php 1:16 The one preach Christ of contention, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my bonds: Php 1:17 But the other of love, knowing that I am set for the defense of the gospel.
In this portion of Philippians, we see that Paul is concerned for the people of the church and their relationship to the Lord. The most important aspect of our walk with the Lord is our love for Him and others. Once we are assured that Christ is in control of our lives and that He is one day coming again for us, we should strive to live in fellowship with Him each day. And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment; That ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ; Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God. You see, it is when our lives are sincere and without offense that it brings praise and glory to the Lord. Sadly, we do not always reflect the Lord in our daily actions. We must be careful not to allow the world to control our lives. If we want to live for God, we must put Him first.
Once Paul has shown them what their relationship with Christ should be, he turns to his present position. Remember, this is one of the prison epistles. Paul is in jail in Rome when he is writing this letter. He wants them to know that even though he is detained, the gospel message is still being spread abroad. But I would ye should understand, brethren, that the things which happened unto me have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel; So that my bonds in Christ are manifest in all the palace, and in all other places.
Some are taking strength and are encouraged by Paul’s faith, and they are preaching the gospel because he cannot. There are others who are preaching the gospel, thinking that Paul would be discouraged because he is not free to do so himself. However, the heart of Paul is such that he is encouraged no matter how the gospel is spread.
This must be our desire also. So many people are without the gospel and are lost not ever having heard the gospel message. We need to spread the Word in every way we can. That is the only way for people to be saved, and the only way for the church to grow. Let’s be constant to preach the Word and share Christ!
Bible Reading for the Year
June 23rd, Job 4-6; Acts 7:20-43
Prayer Needs
Please continue to pray for Shirley Deans. She saw her cancer doctor, and the cancer is in both sides of her neck, shoulder, and chest. She will have to get a bone biopsy and Echocardiogram. She needs your prayers!
Please continue to pray for Kenny Deans. He saw the doctor last Wednesday about kidney stones and will have a CT scan this week.
Praise the Lord! Jennifer Teboe Buchamer is home. Thank you for praying! Continue to pray for her complete healing.
Please continue to pray for Dr. Joe Jordan. He is doing physical therapy but still has a long way to go. Pray for doctors’ appointments this week.
Please continue to pray for Peggy Warren. She is facing some difficult challenges.
Please continue to pray for Robbie Harvey who has MAC lung disease. He seems some better; however, he still has a lot of pain.
Please pray for Carolyn Tyson’s sister, Shirley Deal. She had a stroke after having an infusion port taken out. She has now been moved to rehab.
Please continue to pray for Marvin Silverthorne for his eyesight to improve.
____________________________________________________________
Pray for our Missionaries!
Sue Singleton and the mission in Cambodia
Dr. Joe Jordan and the CBM (Cross and Bible Ministries)
Travis and Caroline Fennessy – IBM missionaries to Southeast Asia