Daily Devotional
By Pastor Jerry Teboe
A Closer Walk with Christ in 2026
Ephesians 4:11-12
And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; Eph 4:12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
Paul gives a partial list of the gifts that God has given for the leadership of the church. For other gifts listed in the Scriptures, see 1 Corinthians12:4-11, 1 Corinthians 12:27-31; Romans 12:3-8. Since these lists are not identical, it may be that Paul has not named all the gifts which are available. Paul wrote that some gifts are more important than others, but that all the gifts are needed if the body is to function well.
Some of the gifts or offices for believers are named here. They are apostles, prophets, evangelists, and pastors and teachers. Each of these were offices of the local church during the time of the early church. Some of these gifts are no longer part of the ministry of the local church today.
The office of apostle was unique for those men who had been disciples of Jesus and had seen Him in the flesh. Acts 1: 21-22 states the requirements for apostles. Wherefore of these men which have companied with us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from the baptism of John, unto that same day that he was taken up from us, must one be ordained to be a witness with us of his resurrection. Of course, there is no one who would meet those requirements today.
The next is the office of prophet. The office of prophet was needed in the early days of the church during the transition from the Old Testament to the New Testament. When the Bible was completed in its current form around 165 A.D., the office of prophet was no longer needed since the canon of the Bible was complete.
The office of evangelists, pastors, and teachers are still needed today for the church to function as God intended. Their purpose is explained as those who serve for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ. Christ’s desire is that all believers should mature and then serve so that the church, the body of Christ, might be edified.
In the body of Christ, there are leaders that God has gifted to do His work. They are there to help all believers grow in their faith, to show others how to do the same, and to be unified in mind, heart, and spirit. Each of us should be involved in some area of service in the church, and all of us can be prayer partners with God’s servants that He has given us.
Bible Reading for the Year
August 7th, Psalms 85-87; Romans 9
Prayer Needs
Please pray for Faye Smith, Jack Gargis’ sister. She is 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 yesterday. Her white blood cells are elevated. Pray for the infection to stay at bay.
Please continue to pray for Dr. Joe Jordan. He is back in the hospital again. Pray for the doctors to find out what is wrong and that he can get better soon.
Please continue to pray for Shirley Deans. The doctors found that she has Afib which caused low blood pressure. As of last Friday, her Afib was getting better. They found she also has pneumonia and is taking antibiotics. She is at home and doing well. She has an appointment tomorrow at 2:30 P.M. with her cancer doctor for follow-up.
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 last Saturday.
Continue to pray for Edward Lee. He is back home and is doing better. He is taking antibiotics for pneumonia.
Linda Franks’ surgery has been rescheduled for August 31st.
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 not doing well.
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, and the pain has decreased some.
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