On the Couch With God - Daily Devotional

Bible Reading: Romans 12:9-21 We may think our culture is not as hospitable as it could be towards Christians. We see many reasons to be grateful to God, compared to the early church’s trials. Paul delivers a clear message to the church in Rome. He encourages them to rejoice with those who rejoice (Romans 12:15a), as he did with the Christians in Philippi. There is something beautiful when we celebrate the victory of others. It is hard in such a competitive world. Envy seems to reign around us. It is for such reason that we must learn to celebrate when something good happening to someone else. Paul is not saying we should only rejoice when things are going well for us, but it says we should rejoice when it goes well for others, even if things are not going as well as we want for ourselves. I had the experience to rejoice with others when my life felt it was falling apart. It did not come easy. However, I felt the transforming power rejoicing with those that rejoice. Doing so, we recog...

Bible Reading: Philippians 1:4-6 The Lord God carries on His work until the final day. Paul is an example of what Jesus accomplished in our lives. The apostle is an example of God’s goodness being reflected in his life. He used to persecute Christians. After his encounter with Jesus, he became a champion for the cause of the gospel. Paul grasped what Jesus had achieved for us on the cross. Paul saw how Jesus changed his whole being. He knew if the Christians in Phillippi were able to grasp this truth, they would be changed as well. For this reason, he wrote to them, “ … he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus ” (Philippians 1:6b). There are many reasons to be grateful. One of them is God’s radical generosity. Jesus went to the cross for us, and His teaching would transform us. If you are a Christian, the Holy Spirit already has redeemed you and brought you into God’s family. He is working to transform us into the likeness of Jesus. G...

Bible Reading: Genesis 1 The world we live in is just beautiful. I have travelled around the world, and I have been in awe of God's creation. I can only imagine how the world was the day that the Lord God finish His masterwork. God's grace is expressed throughout creation. Recently, a lady in our church post a photo of the most stunning rainbow that we could imagine. God acknowledged the goodness of the earth. "God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day" (Genesis 1:31). It should not be a surprise because the creation talks about the Creator. King David wrote about it on the Psalms, "The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands" (Psalms 19:1). A joyful heart recognises God's goodness and the beauty around us. We are always tempted to see the negative side of things. I think it is because we are overwhelmed by 24-hour negative information. It is hard to s...

Bible Reading: Philippians 4 Today’s reading has one of the most known verses in the Bible, “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!” (Philippians 4:4). This verse lifts our souls. We love to be glad, joyful, happy and to rejoice. Would it not be fantastic to be able to rejoice always? It is not easy. One day, we will, when the Lord comes back. Paul wrote these words when he was in house arrest, chained to a Roman guard and awaiting a trial that could be a death sentence. Paul had all the arguments to feel sorry. Christians in Philippi were neither in a comfortable situation because they were poor and outcasts. They could have reasons to complain. Yet, Paul’s word was “rejoice”. It is never easy to rejoice when we face difficult circumstances, or our family suffered injustice. Life is unfair. There are reasons to feel distressed. However, a joyful heart is such good medicine when we face hardships. A joyful heart revives our hopes when it points to God’s good works in...

Read: Psalm 107 Last week, we wrote down various reasons why we are thankful for: our friends, family, jobs, health. Each one of us had a list of motives that we were grateful to our gracious God. It makes such a difference when we realise all the things that the Lord Almighty has done in our life. This week I would like to invite you to continue thinking about thankfulness. Though, we could look to who we are thankful. Let us look to the loving Heavenly Father and recognise Him as the source of our physical and spiritual blessings. We can approach our Abba and thank Him for what He has done in our lives. He is waiting for us to come to Him. Today’s reading starts with the following words, “Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever” (Psalm 107:1). It invites God’s people to give thanks to the Lord God for His redemption from the Babylonian exile. We have so much to be thankful to Him. Out of His love, God has chosen as His people. The Lord has delivered us and b...

Bible Reading - Ephesians 1:3-14 “ Blessed is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavens in Christ ” (Ephesians 1:3). If you have written down the three things to be thankful every day; may I ask you to take the list and look at it? How many are everyday things (food, family, job, health or good weather)? There is more to a thankful heart than we think. There is a spiritual reality that too often we forget about it. We should be grateful to God for spiritual things that have become in our daily life: salvation, forgiveness, spiritual gifts, faith. We don’t think in the spiritual blessing because we are often conditioned to believe materially. Paul writes his list of things that he is thankful. He lists many of the spiritual blessings that are available for all of us. Paul starts saying, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” and finish it with “...to the praise of his glory” (Ephesians 1:3, 14). Paul ...

Bible Reading - 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 “ Rejoice always, pray constantly, give thanks in everything; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus ” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18) In God, there is always a way forward. Whatever you are facing, there is a place of rest and peace. A door that can bring joy, even when there is so much evil around. A thankful heart towards God drives away all the negativity, worry and envy. On the other hand, if we dwell on negativity, we soon discover the world becomes a darker place. Worry grows when we focus on what could go wrong, and we don’t see other options. Envy arises when we begin to be more concerned about others’ blessing that ours. It is too easy to fall into one of those traps. We must resist following the path of negativity, worry and envy. We find God’s blessing when we grow closer to God and become more like Jesus. It may seem impossible right now; however, the way of the Lord is one that is walked one step at the time. A life of thankfulnes...

Bible Reading - Philippians 4:8-9 “ Finally brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honourable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable—if there is any moral excellence and if there is anything praiseworthy—dwell on these things ” (Philippians 4:8) We go to God more often, when things don’t go how we expect them to go. It is in such situations that we seek the Lord. We desire our heavenly Father to help us when our world has become turbulent. Circumstances change so fast that one minute things are great and the other we face trouble. Our hearts go from joy to anxiety in a moment. Paul invites us to embrace a new lifestyle focus in godly aspects of life. If we want to increase joy and decreases anxiety, we must learn to bring our requests to God and trust the Lord that He will answer in good time. Trust is such a keyword. It means to rely entirely on the wisdom and decision of somebody else. Additionally, we must have a thankful heart....

Bible Reading - 1 Philippians 4:6-7 “ Don’t worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus ” (Philippians 4:6-7) Today, we start a new devotional series called “Faith over Fear.” To find faith and overcome fear, it requires to develop a thankful heart. Paul was a prison when he wrote to the Philippians. It is one of the least expected places to nurture a spirit of gratitude. However, it is precisely what Paul asked the Philippians to do, even when the church in Philippi faced persecution and poverty. He wrote, “strive together for the faith of the gospel without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you” (Philippians 1:27- 28). A thankful heart brings joy, and joy is a wonderful medicine against anxiety. We don’t learn it overnight, either in a weekend. It grows as we spend time with God, and form in G...