Daily Devotional
By Pastor Jerry Teboe
A Closer Walk with Christ in 2026
A Walk with the Master Series
The Great Commandment
Mark 12:28-34
And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?” Mar 12:29 Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Mar 12:30 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ Mar 12:31 The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” Mar 12:32 And the scribe said to him, “You are right, Teacher. You have truly said that he is one, and there is no other besides him. Mar 12:33 And to love him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one's neighbor as oneself, is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.” Mar 12:34 And when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And after that no one dared to ask him any more questions.
Today’s lesson for the disciples is about the great commandment. One of the scribes who had been listening to the discourse of the Sadducees also had a question for Him. The scribes were the religious lawyers of that day. They were the ones who studied the Old Testament law with the purpose of maintaining the truth of the Word the way it was written from the start. Many of them were good men who were honest about their relationship with the Lord. This man seems to be one of these.
His question for Jesus seems sincere. He asked, “Which commandment is the most important of all?” The answer Jesus gave was a direct quote from Deuteronomy 6:5. Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The Lord then added another verse to that one which was the second most important commandment. The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”
The young scribe responded in the affirmative and said, “You are right, Teacher. You have truly said that he is one, and there is no other besides him. Mar 12:33 And to love him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one's neighbor as oneself, is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.” His statement showed an understanding of the truth of the Scriptures that stood out to Jesus and demonstrated that the scribe was close to accepting the teachings of Christ which would lead him to salvation. And when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.”
This truth is for all of us today also. We should love the Lord completely with all our heart, mind, and soul, and we should love others as ourselves. If we know Jesus as our Savior, this will be easy to do, for He will be our first love; and we will want to live for Him as we reach out to others to help them to know the great commandment also.
Bible Reading for the Year
May12th, 2 Kings 9-11; John 5:1-24
Prayer Needs
Please be in prayer for the family of John Leroy Jones. He is Shirley Deans’ brother who passed away Monday morning.
Please pray for Shirley Deans. Shirley saw the ear, throat, and nose doctor about her throat cancer. She will have a PET scan on Friday, May 15th over her entire body. On the 27th she will see the cancer doctor about the PET scan, and on the 28th she will have surgery to biopsy a lymph node in her neck.
Please also pray for Kenny Deans. He is continuing treatment for his leg. He will also be seeing a doctor about possible kidney stones.
Please pray for Peggy Warren. She fell Sunday and is in a lot of pain. She had a doctor’s visit on Monday to check up on her condition.
Please pray for Jimmy Dixon’s father who was diagnosed with lung cancer and is being transferred to hospice. Pray also for Jimmy and Donna as they stay at his home in Halifax for a while.
Thank you for praying for Dr. Joe Jordan. He was to have dialysis on Monday, but it was canceled since he did not need it. He seems to be getting better. Please continue to pray.
Please continue praying for Jennifer Teboe Buchamer. She had a Keytruda infusion on Thursday, May 7th. She is also having stomach issues caused by the medication. Please continue to pray for complete healing.
Please continue to pray for Robbie Harvey, who has MAC lung disease. He fell and broke several ribs, but he is feeling better now. He has started a new medication for his lung disease.
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