Daily Devotional
By Pastor Jerry Teboe
A Closer Walk with Christ in 2026
The Christian’s Battle
Ephesians 6:10-12
Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Eph 6:11 Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. Eph 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
In this portion, Paul turns to the battle that all believers must fight in this world. We are in a battle against the devil for our homes and our relationships, and he uses the world, the flesh, and his schemes to do this.
All of the problems that we face ultimately come because of sin. Sin was introduced into the world by Satan when he tempted our first ancestors in the Garden of Eden. It was there that he caused them to fall from a perfect relationship with their Holy God.
Today, we see that Paul had a final message for the church in the book of Ephesians. He encouraged them, and us also, to beware of the dangers we may face by saying, Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. Our strength must come from the Lord, and we must live by His power in order to be victorious. Our enemy is the devil, and he has many “wiles” which can be translated “schemes.” He attacks us in so many ways, and some of his schemes involve discouragement, anger, bitterness, wrath, and animosity toward others, to name just a few. The number one tool that he uses is the same one that caused him to fall in the beginning, and that is pride. The believer should have no room for pride in his or her life.
We are bought with a price, and we are not our own because Jesus paid the ultimate price to redeem us from sin. That same sin which began in the Garden of Eden is still rampant in our world today. We as believers must seek God’s protection and help to be victorious in this battle in which we are all involved.
Our first defense is to truly be “born again.” Unless you have Christ as your Savior, there is no victory in the battle over sin. The unbeliever has already lost the battle and is condemned. John 3:17-18 shows this clearly. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
We are involved in this spiritual battle, and for that reason, we Christians must seek the Lord to have His protection and power. We greatly need Him to help us stand up against the schemes of the devil. That is the only way we can win in the spiritual battles we all must face.
Bible Reading for the Year
February 2nd, Exodus 29-30; Matthew 22:1-22
Prayer Needs
Please pray for Melva Jordan, Dr. Jordan’s wife. She will have a pacemaker and defibrillator put in today, February 2nd.
Pray for Anderson and Meredith Womble’s baby. Baby Drew has had a few good days! This is a blessing, and we are praising God for that! He is scheduled for surgery on the 3rd. Pray that his body continues to improve so he will be able to have it!
Please continue to pray for Jennifer Teboe Buchamer. She will have a CT scan on February 4th and will see the doctor on February 6th at Duke. Pray that God will remove the tumor and that there will be no more cancer. Pray for another miracle!
Please pray for Jackson Broome. They have chosen to go with chemotherapy which will begin on February 4th. The transplant will take place on February 11th.
Praise the Lord, Virginia Claire Goddard was born on January 28th, at 8:50pm. She was 6lbs 15ozs, 20 ¼ inches. Matt and Lauren are very happy parents.
Please pray for Madison Bowers Millwee who is having difficulties with her pregnancy.
Praise the Lord. Doris Langley came home from the hospital. She is much better.
Please pray for Ricky Hill, a coworker of Jeremy Hewitt, who has a tumor on his kidneys which is cancerous. He will have surgery on Feb 16th at Duke to remove the tumor. The doctor is hoping to save the kidney if possible.
Please pray for Missy Board, Jackie Whitehurst’s friend, who has lesions on her spinal cord.
Please pray for Marvin Silverthorne. He saw his eye doctor on January 20th. The doctor could not find any way that he could help Marvin. Please continue to pray much for his eyesight.
Please pray for Griselda Ramirez’s mother, Luisa. Her heart failure is getting much worse. Pray for wisdom for the doctors to be able to help her.
Please continue to pray for Beth Buchta that her hip will heal soon, and that she can begin to do a little more each day.
Please continue to pray for Phil Corey. Pray for his continual dialysis treatments.
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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