Daily Devotional
By Pastor Jerry Teboe
A Closer Walk with Christ in 2026
A Walk with the Master Series
Important Decisions
Mark 3:13-21
And he went up on the mountain and called to him those whom he desired, and they came to him. Mar 3:14 And he appointed twelve (whom he also named apostles) so that they might be with him and he might send them out to preach Mar 3:15 and have authority to cast out demons. Mar 3:16 He appointed the twelve: Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter); Mar 3:17 James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James (to whom he gave the name Boanerges, that is, Sons of Thunder); Mar 3:18 Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Zealot, Mar 3:19 and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him. Mar 3:20 Then he went home, and the crowd gathered again, so that they could not even eat. Mar 3:21 And when his family heard it, they went out to seize him, for they were saying, “He is out of his mind.”
Here we have another mountain top experience in the life of the Lord and His followers. We all love it when things go well, which we call mountain top experiences, and this was one of those for the followers of Christ. But why did He call twelve? Warren Wiersbe, the great Bible teacher, noted the following: The number of the disciples is significant because there were twelve tribes in the nation of Israel. In Genesis, God started with Jacob’s twelve sons, and in Exodus, He built them into a mighty nation. Israel was chosen to bring the Messiah into the world so that through Him all the nations of the earth could be blessed (Gen_12:1-3). However, the nation of Israel was now spiritually decayed and ready to reject her own Messiah. God had to establish “a holy nation, a peculiar [purchased] people” (1Pe_2:9), and the 12 Apostles were the nucleus of this new “spiritual” nation (Mat_21:43).
This was an important decision for Jesus. The gospel of Luke tells us Jesus spent a whole night in prayer before He made this decision. In these days he went out to the mountain to pray, and all night he continued in prayer to God. And when day came, he called his disciples and chose from them twelve, whom he named apostles (Luke 6:12-13). This decision was important because these men that were called would become the foundation of the church. Following the death and resurrection of Christ, they were the ones who would take the message of salvation to the known world of that time and establish the teaching and doctrine which we have today.
Important decisions need much prayer. Just as Jesus sought the counsel of the Father when making that decision, we also need to rely on prayer and wise counsel before we make our important decisions. Proverbs 3:5-6 should be our guide when we pray. Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths (Proverbs 3:5-6).
Bible Reading for the Year
March 5th, Numbers 34-36; Mark 10:32-52
Prayer Needs
Please pray for Sarah Crandall. She was taken to the emergency room with very low blood pressure, but was later released to go home to see her own doctor.
Please pray for family members of Phylis Whitley who have some medical issues that will require surgery. Her grandson had surgery at Duke on March 4th. He will require 10-12 weeks of recovery. Her son also will have back surgery soon.
Pray for Dr. Joe Jordan who will be having an angioplasty on March 12th.
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