Daily Devotional
By Pastor Jerry Teboe
A Closer Walk with Christ in 2026
A Walk with the Master Series
Reaching Others
Mark 2:13-17
He went out again beside the sea, and all the crowd was coming to him, and he was teaching them. Mar 2:14 And as he passed by, he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he rose and followed him. Mar 2:15 And as he reclined at table in his house, many tax collectors and sinners were reclining with Jesus and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. Mar 2:16 And the scribes of the Pharisees, when they saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, said to his disciples, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?” Mar 2:17 And when Jesus heard it, he said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”
Jesus was calling new disciples to Himself. The leaders of that day were so proud of their own status that they could not believe Jesus would allow such men to be His followers. Calling four fisherman, whom they considered ignorant and unlearned, was bad enough, but now He was calling a tax collector. Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus (Act 4:13).
Warren Wiersbe, the well-known theologian states the following: It soon became evident that Jesus was deliberately associating Himself with the outcasts of Jewish society. He even called a tax collector to become one of His disciples! We do not know that Levi was a dishonest man, though most of the tax collectors were; but the fact that he worked for Herod Antipas and the Romans was enough to disgrace him among loyal Jews. However, when Jesus called him, Levi did not argue or delay. He got up and followed Jesus, even though he knew that Rome would never give him back his job. He burned his bridges (“And he left everything behind” — Luk_5:28 2, nasb), received a new name (“Matthew, the gift of God”), and enthusiastically invited some of his “sinner” friends to meet the Lord Jesus. These were Jewish people like himself who did not follow the Law or appear to have much interest in things religious. It was exactly the kind of people Jesus wanted to reach.
Jesus had a goal of reaching people. The fact that Matthew opened his home for a dinner and invited his friends was exactly what Jesus wanted to happen. He was always about reaching out to share the message of salvation with all who would listen.
What a great example for us. We should be busy trying to reach our friends also. What ways can we think about how we might share the gospel and be reaching others to invite them to know the Savior?
Bible Reading for the Year
March 2nd, Numbers 28-29; Mark 9:1-29
Prayer Needs
Please pray for family members of Phylis Whitley who have some medical issues that will require surgery. Her grandson will have surgery at Duke on March 4th, which will require 10-12 weeks of recovery. Her son also will have back surgery soon.
Please pray for Robbie Harvey, Barbara Teboe’s nephew, who has MAC lung disease, and antibiotics are no longer working. Pray for healing!
Please continue to pray for Jennifer Teboe Buchamer. Praise the Lord! Her pain is better. Pray for her healing.
Please pray for the cousin of Sarah Crandall, Margo Fields, who is doing chemo now for colon cancer.
Please pray for Madison Bowers Millwee. She is now at 27 weeks and is doing well. Everything is relatively stable at this point. She will continue modified bedrest until she delivers
Please pray for Phil Corey in his continual dialysis treatments.
Please continue to pray for Marvin Silverthorne for his eyesight to improve.
Please continue to pray for Beth Buchta that her hip will completely heal soon, and that she can do a little more each day.
Please continue to pray for Jackson Broome. The transplant took place on February 11th. He came through it well, but is having some trouble with his medication.
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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