Daily Devotional
By Pastor Jerry Teboe
A Closer Walk with Christ in 2026
Philippians 4:10-13
But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at the last your care of me hath flourished again; wherein ye were also careful, but ye lacked opportunity. Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: everywhere and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me.
Today, Paul returns to the main theme of the book which was to thank the church for the gifts they had sent. This group of loving people had been generous with the apostle at other times in the past. When they heard that Paul was in prison in Rome, they went out of their way to send him help once again. You see, in the prison system of Rome, each prisoner was responsible for his own care. If something did not come in from outside of the prison, only the bare minimum would be provided, and sometimes not even that was given. So when the gift arrived, Paul was very grateful.
In his humility, he wanted them to understand that he had learned a great lesson through his many years of serving the Lord. The lesson was contentment.
He explained this to them by saying, Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. He probably was not very comfortable with his situation there in the prison, but he found that contentment is a frame of mind and does not depend on how nice the surroundings are. He continued expounding on this thought by telling them the following: I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: everywhere and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.
How was it that Paul learned such an important lesson? We can read about it in 2 Corinthians 11:23-28 where he detailed many things he had to suffer for the sake of the ministry.
But he had one more lesson to teach them about being content. This is found in verse 13 which states, I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me. The key to contentment is your source of help. For Paul, it was the Lord Jesus Christ. He trusted Jesus every moment of his life. He knew that the Lord would not fail him. This is an important lesson for us also.
Christ is our sufficiency. Paul made that clear in 2 Corinthians 3:4-5, And such trust have we through Christ to God-ward: Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think anything as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God.
Where is our sufficiency? If it is in the Lord Jesus Christ, we can have that same contentment that Paul had!
Bible Reading for the Year
July 16th, Psalms 25-27; Acts 20:17-38
Prayer Needs
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 continue to pray for Kenny Deans. He had an appointment on Tuesday, July 14th, with his kidney doctor. He had a scan of his kidneys, and the doctor should have the results on Friday.
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 had an appointment with his hematologist on Tuesday, the 14th, and he will have to take shots to improve his red blood cell count.
Please pray for Linda Franks who will have thoracic surgery on July 23rd.
Please pray for Corey Crandell and his family. His grandmother passed away Sunday morning around 11:30.
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