Daily Devotional
By Pastor Jerry Teboe
A Closer Walk with Christ in 2026
Ephesians 5:1-2
Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; Eph 5:2 And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling savor.
Paul admonishes the Ephesians to be followers. This is a theme he has used several times in other Scriptures. There are seven different areas where Paul urged his readers to “follow” himself, Christ, or others.
1 Corinthians_4:16 Wherefore I beseech you, be ye followers of me.
1 Corinthians_11:1 Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.
Ephesians_5:1 Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children;
Philippians_3:17 Brethren, be followers together of me, and mark them which walk so as ye have us for an ensample.
1 Thessalonians_1:6 And ye became followers of us, and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Ghost:
1 Thessalonians_2:14 For ye, brethren, became followers of the churches of God which in Judaea are in Christ Jesus:
Hebrews_6:12 That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises.
In each of these examples, we see that we are to follow a worthy pattern. Paul used himself as an example only when he made it clear that his pattern was following that of Christ Himself.
We all need a pattern to emulate, and Christ is that pattern. This is what we see in Romans 8:29 when God shows us His plan is for us to become like the Lord Jesus Christ. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. If God’s goal for each of us is to become like the image of Jesus, then our goal should be to allow God to work in our lives to make us into what He wants us to be.
God’s plan for us is to look more and more like the Lord Jesus. We can accept what God is doing in our lives whether it be through trials, problems, or blessings because He knows what we need to mold us into the image of His Son! That way we can truly be followers of God!
Bible Reading for the Year
August 11th, Psalms 103-104; Romans 14
Prayer Needs
Please pray for Faye Smith, Jack Gargis’ sister. She is still in the hospital in Greenville undergoing tests. The doctors found that she has a UTI, and they are treating her with antibiotics.
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 on last Thursday. Pray for the treatment to be effective against the cancer. Her white blood cells are elevated. Pray for the infection to stay at bay.
Please continue to pray for Shirley Deans. She is at home and getting stronger. She saw her cancer doctor on last Friday, and the doctor was pleased because everything looked good. Her lungs sounded clear. She has another appointment on August 14th with he same doctor concerning her chemo treatments.
Please continue to pray for Vickie Dalton. Pray for God’s healing. She was in the hospital to have a drainage tube put into her lung. She was able to go home but needs our prayers.
Thank you for praying for Dr. Joe Jordan. He was able to go home from the hospital on Friday. Please continue to pray for him to get stronger.
Linda Franks’ surgery has been rescheduled for August 31st.
Continue to pray for Edward Lee. He is back home and is doing better.
Please continue to pray for Carolyn Tyson’s sister, Shirley Deal. She has been moved into the River Trace rehab center in Washington. She is showing some improvement.
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. The doctor has prescribed a new medication, but he is not tolerating it well.
Please continue to pray for Marvin Silverthorne for his eyesight to improve.
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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