Daily Devotional
By Pastor Jerry Teboe
A Closer Walk with Christ in 2026
Philippians 4:4-7
Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice. Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand. Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
Paul returns to his theme of joy and rejoicing in Philippians. Once unity is restored, there is reason to rejoice. Better than that, when we rejoice, it will be seen in the way we live. This involves the word “moderation,” which is appropriate or careful living. The reason for this way of life is because of the Lord’s soon return. We want our life right with Him when He comes to receive us to Himself. And every man that hath this hope in him purifies himself, even as he is pure (1John 3:3).
With that in mind, Paul comes to discussing anxiety which might overwhelm us if we allow it to. He tells us that prayer is the solution for worry. The word “careful” carries with it this theme. Whatever there may be that causes us conflict in our spirit and burdens us to the point that we are consumed with our problems needs to be resolved.
Paul’s guide to overcoming anxious thoughts is to remind us of the Lord Jesus’ promise in Matthew 11:28-29, Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. The Lord Jesus told us to come to Him. When we come to Him in prayer, we find the rest we need from our burdens of worry and distress.
Remember Paul’s statement. Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. This is the way he recommends for us to pray to remove worry. First, we must pray. This is when we focus on God and our approach to Him (Hebrews 4:16). Second, we bring our request, which is supplication. Let Him know what our burdens are. Tell them in detail. Yes, He knows what we are going through, but when we list them before Him, it takes them off our back and puts them on His. As we walk with Him, He helps carry our burdens. This is the idea of the yoke mentioned in the Matthew 11. Lastly, we praise Him for the way He is going to solve our concerns. A thanksgiving heart is a grateful heart which gives us the assurance that we will receive His answer to our prayers.
The result of all this is found in verse seven. And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. God’s peace is what we need when anxiety overwhelms us.
Praise the Lord for this wonderful promise! It is in the Book, but we must take advantage of it for it to be beneficial to us so that we can have peaceful hearts and peaceful prayers!
Bible Reading for the Year
July 13th, Psalms 17-18; Acts 19:1-20
Prayer Needs
Please pray for Corey Crandell and his family. His grandmother passed away Sunday morning around 11:30.
Please continue to pray for Kenny Deans. He will have an appointment on July 14th with his kidney doctor.
Please continue to pray for Dr. Joe Jordan. He is doing physical therapy but still has a long way to go. Pray for him to get stronger! He also has an appointment with his hematologist on Tuesday, the 14th.
Please continue to pray for Shirley Deans. This Friday, the 17th, she will see her cancer doctor for the results of her bone marrow biopsy. Please pray there is no cancer!!
Continue to pray for Jennifer Teboe Buchamer. Please keep praying for complete healing. She sees her doctor at Duke on Friday, July 17th. Please pray for wisdom for the doctor concerning her future treatment plan.
Please pray for Linda Franks who will have thoracic surgery on July 23rd.
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 now has an infection and is under hospital care.
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