Saturday, July 12, 2025  

Today's Scripture
Colossians 1:1–14

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, To the saints and faithful brothers and sisters in Christ in Colossae: Grace to you and peace from God our Father.

In our prayers for you we always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, for we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. You have heard of this hope before in the word of the truth, the gospel that has come to you. Just as it is bearing fruit and growing in the whole world, so it has been bearing fruit among yourselves from the day you heard it and truly comprehended the grace of God. This you learned from Epaphras, our beloved fellow servant. He is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf, and he has made known to us your love in the Spirit.

For this reason, since the day we heard it, we have not ceased praying for you and asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of God’s will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you may lead lives worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, as you bear fruit in every good work and as you grow in the knowledge of God. May you be made strong with all the strength that comes from his glorious power, and may you be prepared to endure everything with patience, while joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light. He has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. (NRSV)

Reflection

After reading this passage several times and not knowing quite where to begin, it occurred to me that Paul is expressing thanks to God for the budding Colossian community of faith.

Community is something that can be difficult for some to find. As an educator, creating a flourishing community of learners is particularly difficult when students are hungry, when they experience housing insecurity in their homelife, or when there is a frequent teacher turnover. These insecurities impact the community’s ability to trust or settle into the sense of belonging that a community can offer.

For some reason, perhaps it’s the genes of a school administrator in me, my preferred place in a crowd is on an edge where I can observe. This habit doesn’t lend itself to becoming part of the community. At Fourth Church, as many find in their home churches, I have found a community of faith where I can lean into a sense of belonging that I find in few other communities. It is here that my faith continues to grow as I see the remarkable faithfulness of God’s people here, each an inspiration in his, her, or their own way. Some quite subtle. It is also why I have taken on volunteer roles that challenge me. Like writing these devotions or serving as a deacon and elder. They push me to find God and community in deeper and deeper ways.

I pray for Fourth Presbyterian Church as we enter a new chapter of our community together that we might “be filled with the knowledge of God’s will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding so that [we] may walk worthy of the Lord…as [we] bear fruit in every good work as [we] grow in the knowledge of God” (verses 9–10).

Prayer

Lord of love, thank you for this beloved community we share through Jesus Christ. Help us lean further into that love as we move through the various communities of our lives. To the glory of God. Amen.

Written by Robert Sinclair, Member of Fourth Presbyterian Church

Reflection and Prayer © Fourth Presbyterian Church

Devotion index by date | I’d like to receive daily devotions by email