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Daily Devotion: Philippians 1:1-7

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Philippians 1:1-7    "Paul and Timotheus, the servants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus which are at Philippi, with the bishops and deacons:  2  Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ. 3  I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, 4  Always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy, 5  For your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now; 6  Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:  7  Even as it is meet for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart; inasmuch as both in my bonds, and in the defence and confirmation of the gospel, ye all are partakers of my grace."

We begin our study of Philippians with Paul's standard greeting of grace and peace. When I say it was his standard greeting, I do not intend that he meant it lightly. There are often times when we see someone and greet them with, "Hi. How are you?"  Do we always want to know how the other person is doing? Sometimes we ask that question sincerely. But if we are honest with ourselves, we do not always really want them to answer the question.  When Paul extends his greeting of grace and peace, it is always with great sincerity.

He tells them that he always prays for them. I often wonder about the length of Paul's prayer list. He prays for each congregation as he writes to them. He prays for certain individuals. He prays for the health of the body of Christ. There can be no doubt that Paul spent much time in prayer. I surely could learn from his example.

Then he commends them for their confidence. The remaining portion of this letter to the Philippians will relate to this word, confidence. I may not mention the word in each writing, but be assured Paul is writing to bolster their confidence. He is not speaking of building self-confidence; rather he is building confidence in the Lord and His grace.

As we begin this study, may our confidence also be strengthened. May we lay aside self-confidence for a while and settle our hearts and minds on the great truth of the efficiency of God's amazing saving grace.  The grace of God is not based nor is dependent upon our performance; rather it is absolutely unconditional love that is given through the work of Jesus Christ. This grace is unconditional whether you speak of saving grace or forgiving grace.  This study will have Jesus Christ as it's sole focus.  Let us rejoice in our Lord and Savior. Let us be as Mary:  "And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord, And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour." (Luke 1:46-47)

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