Being Like Jesus

 PHRONESIS DEVOTIONAL 30 DAYS DEVOTIONAL WITH PREACHER SAM September 14, 2023. Topic: SPIRITUAL MOUNTAIN I Bible Reading: Exodus 3:1-6 Verse for Meditation: Psalms 24:3 NLT Who may climb the mountain of the LORD? Who may stand in his holy place? Spiritual Mountain is not a mystical teaching but an allegory to explain some spiritual truths. And I will be categorising these spiritual mountains into three; the mountains of God, the mountains of Influence and the mountains of Opposition. Excuse me to say that the mountains of God are in three different stages or heights. The first is Mount Sinai (Horeb), the second is the mountain of transfiguration and the third is the Upper Room. Both Moses and Elijah had a divine encounter on Mount Horeb (Ex. 3:1; 1 Kings 19:8). So mount Horeb is the mountain of encounter. Jesus was transformed on the mountain of transfiguration (Matt. 17:1-2). So on this mountain there is transformation. And the Upper Room, the early disciples were empowered by th...

PHRONESIS DEVOTIONAL 30 DAYS DEVOTIONAL WITH PREACHER SAM September 13, 2023. Topic: THE MINISTRY OF RECONCILIATION Bible Reading: Matthew 5:13-20 Verse for Meditation: 2 Corinthians 5:18 NIV All this is from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation. We do not just have a message, we also have a ministry. God did not just save us, but He also gave us a responsibility to save others; we are saved to save. When someone hears that everyone has a ministry, what comes to his mind first is a church arm, that is wrong. Just as how worship has been misunderstood for those slow songs we sing unto God and praises have been misunderstood for the fast songs for dancing unto God, that is how the word, ‘ministry’ has been wrongly used semantically. One of the ways to interpret scripture is what we call the law of first mention. That is where it was first mentioned in the Bible and how it was used in context. So worship was first used in context w...

PHRONESIS DEVOTIONAL 30 DAYS DEVOTIONAL WITH PREACHER SAM September 12, 2023. Topic: THE MESSAGE OF RECONCILIATION Bible Reading: 2 Corinthians 5:14-21 Verse for Meditation: 2 Corinthians 5:19 NIV That God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. Every new man in Christ has a message and a ministry; both the message and the ministry is about reconciliation. From our devotional text, the love of Christ constrains us; it constrains our desire not to sin. And the reason is because of the conviction and the revelation we have that the sin nature is dead, and our living is for the One, Jesus Christ. So the revelation of what Christ did to give us victory is the revelation of His love that always constrains us. Hence, what stop a man from sinning is not the do's and don’ts. And to start with, we were not given some new regulations, but a new regulator, the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit ...

 PHRONESIS DEVOTIONAL 30 DAYS DEVOTIONAL WITH PREACHER SAM September 11, 2023. Topic: THE SUPERNATURAL LIFE Bible Reading: Ephesians 1:15-23 Verse for Meditation: Matthew 10:8 TPT You must continually bring healing to lepers and to those who are sick, and make it your habit to break off the demonic presence from people, and raised the dead back to life. Freely you have received the power of the kingdom, so freely release it to other. What is a supernatural life? This is a life that is considered beyond natural. Before the fall, that was man’s natural life. But because of the fall, the new man is seen as one living a supernatural life. The first person that man heard after he was created was God (Gen. 1:27-29). Before the fall, man had constant fellowship and direct encounter from God daily (Gen. 3:8), also before the fall, there was nothing like sickness, hardship, pain, stress or death. They all came on account of the fall. So when people hear of a man that hears God every day or...

 PHRONESIS DEVOTIONAL   30 DAYS DEVOTIONAL WITH PREACHER SAM September 10, 2023. Topic: RESPONSIBLE CHRISTIANITY Bible Reading: Romans 12:1-13 Verse for Meditation: Philippians 1:21 NKJV For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. At salvation God gave us His life (Rom. 6:23); Jesus Christ gave us His righteousness (Rom. 5:17); and the Holy Spirit gave us Himself (Acts 2:38). Death simply means being separated from life source. When man fell, man died. Man was separated from God the life source, that was why he hid himself when God came down to the Garden of Eden; shame and death are of sin (Gen. 3:8; cf. Isa. 59:1-2). “Surely die” means, “in dying you will die.” That means the spiritual death has resulted to a physical death; man being separated from the living. This is another effect of sin (Gen. 3:19; cf. Heb. 9:27). In the book of Revelation, there’s what is called a second death (Rev. 20:14); this is an eternal death and separation from God. But what Christ did rest...

  PHRONESIS DEVOTIONAL 30 DAYS DEVOTIONAL WITH PREACHER SAM September 9, 2023. Topic: NEW CREATION REALITIES II Bible Reading: Romans 6:3-10 Verse for Meditation: Isaiah 32:17 NKJV The work of righteousness will be peace, and the effect of righteousness, quietness and assurance forever.    Now that you believe the gospel, how do you know that you’re saved?    I understand that there is a fear of missing heaven, but feat is not of God. In Philippians 1:6, Paul was so confident of the people’s salvation. Does he know what they do behind closed doors? Paul was not careless with words; he was so sure of their salvation. How much more a personal assurance of salvation?    Remember the message of the cross, that Jesus died for all sinners, even the worst sinners. And if you believe the gospel and you confessed that Christ is your Lord then you are a new man in Christ Jesus!    A new creation can be likened to a new born bay without any past (Jn. 1:...

 PHRONESIS DEVOTIONAL 30 DAYS DEVOTIONAL WITH PREACHER SAM September 8, 2023. Topic: NEW CREATION REALITIES I Bible Reading: 1 John 5:1-13 Verse for Meditation: 2 Corinthians 5:17 NKJV Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.    How do men get saved? By grace through faith (Eph. 2:8). So the moment you believe the gospel and confess Christ as your Lord, you got saved (Rom. 10:9-10). Apostle Emmanuel Iren wrote in his book, Saving Grace, that people never got saved by praying; they got saved by believing. A person stands a better chance of getting saved if they are properly taught the gospel instead of merely making them repeat words after you, as it’s been done during altar call. And “altar call” is not a New Testament practice. Altars referred to that platform on which lambs were sacrificed under the Law of Moses. But that mode of worship is long retired. What preachers often stand on is si...