DEVOTIONAL SERIES SEP 28-oCT 1
This Devotional Series is based on a message delivered on Sep 27, 2026, and can be viewed at: https://www.kallamgrove.org/messages/partners-in-the-gospel/
Paul reminds the Philippians of their deepest identity: they are “in Christ.”
Philippians 1:1-2
Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the overseers and deacons: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Paul begins his letter by calling the believers at Philippi “saints in Christ Jesus.” That may sound like a formal greeting, but it tells us something important about how God sees His people. A saint is not someone who has managed to become unusually good. A saint is someone who belongs to Jesus. Paul is writing to ordinary people with ordinary struggles, and yet he begins by reminding them of their deepest identity: they are “in Christ.”
We are often tempted to define ourselves by what we have accomplished, what we have failed to accomplish, what other people think of us, or what we are currently struggling with. But none of those things is our deepest identity. If you belong to Christ, the most important thing about you was settled before you got out of bed this morning. You are His. That does not mean there is nothing left for God to change in us. Philippians will say exactly the opposite. There is plenty of work still to be done. But the work begins from a secure place. We don’t obey God in order to become His people. We obey because, in Christ, we already are.
Reflection Question: What circumstance, failure, or opinion of someone else am I allowing to define me more than my identity as someone who belongs to Christ?
Prayer: Father, help me remember today that my deepest identity is not found in what I do or what others think of me, but in belonging to Jesus. Amen.
whenever Paul remembers the Philippians, he thanks God for them.
Philippians 1:3-5
I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.
Paul says that whenever he remembers the Philippians, he thanks God for them. Some people make us thankful simply because of who they are. Perhaps it is a parent who taught you to follow Christ. Perhaps it is a friend who stood beside you during a difficult season. Perhaps it is someone who quietly serves at church and rarely receives recognition. Perhaps it is a person who prayed for you when you didn’t even know they were praying.
Paul doesn’t simply remember the Philippians. He remembers them before God. There is something powerful about that habit. Instead of allowing our memories of people to become dominated by their weaknesses or the things they have done that have frustrated us, we can deliberately remember the ways God has worked through them. And perhaps there is someone you need to thank God for today. You may never tell that person what their influence has meant to you. But you can stop and give thanks to God for them. Sometimes gratitude changes the way we see a person before it changes anything about the person.
Reflection Question: Who is someone God has used in my life for whom I have not recently stopped to thank Him?
Prayer: Lord, bring to mind the people through whom you have blessed me, and teach me to see them with gratitude rather than simply noticing their faults. Amen.
One of the hardest things about loving people is watching them remain unfinished.
Philippians 1:6
And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.
Paul says he is confident that God, who began a good work in the Philippians, will carry it on to completion. One of the hardest things about loving people is watching them remain unfinished. We see it in our children. We see it in our spouses. We see it in our friends. We see it in ourselves. Someone we love makes the same mistake again. A habit doesn’t seem to change. A spiritual struggle continues. A relationship takes longer to heal than we hoped. We wonder whether anything is really happening.
Philippians 1:6 reminds us that God is not finished simply because we cannot see what He is doing. The people Paul loved were not perfect. Neither are the people we love. But Paul had learned to look at them through the promise of God rather than simply through the evidence of the present moment. That doesn’t mean we ignore sin or stop encouraging people to grow. It means we don’t give up on someone simply because their growth is slower or messier than we expected.
God is patient with unfinished people. And that includes you. There may be things in your own life that you wish God had already completed. But the fact that you are not finished does not mean God has abandoned His work.
Reflection Question: Is there someone I have become discouraged about because I have forgotten that God is still at work in them?
Prayer: Lord, give me patience with the unfinished people in my life, including myself, and help me trust the work you are still doing. Amen.
Like Paul, let us bring the people we love before God and ask Him to do the work only He can do.
Philippians 1:9-11
And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.
Paul’s prayer for the Philippians is remarkably specific. He doesn’t simply pray, “God, bless them.” He asks God to make their love abound, to give them knowledge and insight, to help them discern what is best, and to produce righteousness in their lives through Jesus Christ.
That is a helpful challenge for our own prayers. Sometimes our prayers become general because our concerns are so large. “Help my children.” “Bless my family.” “Help our church.” Those are good prayers, but Paul shows us that we can pray more specifically. Think about someone you love today. What do they actually need? Maybe they need wisdom to make a difficult decision. Maybe they need courage to do something they know is right. Maybe they need greater patience. Maybe they need their love for Christ to grow. Maybe they need discernment to recognize what is best rather than merely what is permissible.
Paul’s confidence that God was at work did not make him pray less. It made him pray more specifically. We can do the same. We don’t have to know exactly how God will answer. We simply bring the people we love before Him and ask Him to do the work only He can do.
Reflection Question: Who is one person I need to stop praying for generally and begin praying for specifically?
Prayer: Father, teach me to pray specifically and faithfully for the people you have placed in my life, trusting you to do in them what only you can do. Amen.