Daily Devotional
By Pastor Jerry Teboe
A Closer Walk with Christ in 2026
1 John 2:1-2
My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: 1Jn 2:2 And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.
John continues his instructions to the church that he is writing. He looks at them as his little children. It wasn’t because they were young and inexperienced, but because he saw them as the ones he had led to the Lord and wanted them to grow to full maturity. There were lessons they still needed to learn, just as we of our day also must learn the lessons of spiritual growth so that we can come to maturity.
His lesson here was that Christians can sin. John wanted them to live in such a way so that they did not sin, but they needed to realize that if they did sin, there was a solution. And that solution was the Lord Jesus Christ. John presents Him as our advocate, or lawyer before the Father. The idea is that Jesus is like a defense attorney who stands before the Father in the courtroom of heaven. We see that He is Jesus Christ the righteous. It would be as if we were standing guilty of sin in God’s courtroom, and Jesus stands up before the Father and declares the following: “Father, I know that they are guilty of sin, but that sin has been covered. I paid that sin debt when I died on the cross.”
John then explains why Jesus has the right to be our advocate. It is because He is the propitiation. That means that He was the One who paid the price for our sin, so He can present us before the Father when we do sin as ones who have been forgiven. We are forgiven because He Himself paid our sin debt.
Then John goes beyond that and explains that Jesus not only paid our debt, but He paid the sin debt of the whole world. God desires that all the world should be saved. Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth (1 Timothy 2:4).
The word propitiation is an important word because it is an illustration of redemption. In the Old Testament Tabernacle, the Ark of the Covenant was in the Holy of Holies. The top of that golden box was a covering of pure gold. It was there on the top of the Ark of the Covenant that the blood sacrifice was presented once each year by the High Priest on the day of Atonement. The top of the Ark was called the propitiation. That place is where sin debt was satisfied with the blood covering. Jesus Christ is our blood sacrifice who paid the sin debt for all the men, women, and children of the whole earth.
We should live without sin in our lives. That is our goal. But, when we sin, and we all do, we need to know that God loves us so much that He provided a sin sacrifice for us. Yes, Jesus is a worthy advocate for us. Thank you, Lord, for your Son who is our Savior!
Bible Reading for the Year
August 27th, Psalms 139-114; 1 Corinthians 10:1-13
Prayer Needs
Linda Franks’ surgery has been rescheduled for August 31st. Pray that she will stay well in order to have the surgery.
Thank you for praying for Dr. Joe Jordan. He had an appointment with his primary care doctor last Friday who is waiting on the results of upcoming tests to make a diagnosis. He saw his cardiologist on Monday. The doctor took him off one of his medications and halved another. Tuesday, he had an MRI and had a Fibro scan on Wednesday. Please continue to pray for him.
Please continue to pray for Shirley Deans. She had a bone density scan Tuesday and sees her cancer doctor Friday for labs. She may have another chemo treatment a week from this Friday.
Please continue to pray for Faye Smith, Jack Gargis’ sister. She is back in the hospital and being treated for internal problems. She is weak but is some better. The family greatly appreciates your prayers.
Continue to pray for Jennifer Teboe Buchamer. Please keep praying for complete healing. She is still having side effects from the cancer. She had a Keytruda treatment and is also taking an inhibiter pill. Pray there will not be any bad side effects from the pill and that the treatment will be effective against the cancer.
Please pray Beth Buchta. On September 9th, she has an appointment with her orthopedist about the ongoing pain in her leg.
Please be praying for Liz Atkinson. She has been very sick with a stomach virus but is some better now.
Please continue to pray for Vickie Dalton. Pray for God’s healing. She had some issues last week, but seems some better now.
Please continue to pray for Marvin Silverthorne for his eyesight to improve. The doctors just discovered some spots on his pancreas. Pray for him please.
Please continue to pray for Peggy Warren. She is facing some difficult challenges, but seems to be getting better.
Please continue to pray for Robbie Harvey who has MAC lung disease. The doctor has prescribed a new medication, but he is not tolerating it well.
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