Fruitful Living
10 things you should know about Christmas
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.” – John 3:16-17
The true meaning of Christmas is love as we read in John 3:16-17 quoted above. The celebration of this incredible act of love, demonstrated by God through the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ into our world is what Christmas is all about.
The real Christmas story is the story of God becoming a human in the Person of Jesus Christ. Why did God do such a thing? Because He loves us! Why was Christmas necessary? Because we needed a Saviour! Why does God love us so much? Because He is love itself 1 John 4:8. Why do we celebrate Christmas each year? We do it out of gratitude for what God did for us, we remember His birth by giving one another gifts, worshipping Him, and being especially conscious of the poor and less fortunate.
1. Jesus is the reason for the season.
The primary purpose for observing Christmas is remembering Jesus’ birth. At Christmas, we celebrate Jesus’ birthday, not the little drummer boy or Santa Claus!
2. Jesus preexisted with God in the beginning before the world began.
Jesus’ birth as a baby in a Bethlehem manger doesn’t mark the beginning of His existence. Rather, as John’s Gospel teaches explicitly – John 1:1, 14 and the other Gospels imply, Jesus took on human flesh in addition to existing eternally as part of the Godhead.
3. Jesus’ birth was the culmination of centuries of messianic expectations.
Jesus’ coming occurred in fulfillment of messianic expectations including His birthplace, virgin birth, and other details surrounding His advent. Later, during His earthly ministry and particularly in His death on the cross, Jesus fulfilled many more messianic patterns and predictions.
4. We should distinguish between cultural and biblical Christmas.
We must separate fact from fiction, and historic, biblical truths from mere Christmas traditions. This includes Santa Claus, presents, reindeer, Christmas trees, and other paraphernalia. Not that these customs are necessarily harmful or unhelpful but they are unhistorical. Jesus’ birth, however, is not a legend; it is historical fact.
5. Jesus’ birth is part of a larger cluster of events that culminates in His death for our sins as God’s suffering servant.
Jesus was not only born as a baby, He grew up as a young man who knew the Scriptures. Then, when He was about 30 years old, He began His public ministry, teaching, healing many, exorcising demons, raising the dead, and commanding the forces of nature. In keeping with His own predictions, He died, was buried, and after three days rose from the dead. While at Christmas we celebrate Jesus’ birth, we should remember that it is part of a life unlike any other that brought us salvation and forgiveness of sins.
6. Jesus, the Son of God, was conceived by the Holy Spirit in His mother Mary’s womb.
At the heart of Christmas is a biological and theological miracle that requires supernatural faith. Skeptics scoff at the notion of God conceiving a child in a virgin’s womb, calling it a biological impossibility and dismissing it as mere legend. Believers will recognise that only a sinless human could save humans by dying for them, and that such a sinless human could only be conceived by God Himself.
7. There is no incarnation without the virgin birth.
Andrew Lincoln, in his book “Born of a Virgin?”, has argued that the virgin birth is unhistorical while asserting that the incarnation could still be true in a spiritual sense. This, however, is contrary to scriptural teaching, which keeps the virgin birth and the incarnation together as two sides of one and the same coin. Only a virgin birth allows Jesus to be the God-man who combines two natures—human and divine—into one person as the early church councils went on record as affirming the truth.
8. Jesus’ birth was accompanied by rejection.
Herod tried to kill Jesus– Matt. 2:16. There was no place for Jesus in the inn Luke 2:7. Even though the world was made through Jesus, the world did not recognise Him – John 1:11. Many did not welcome the birth of the Christ child. The reason for this was primarily that Jesus threatened people’s self-interest. Sinful people love sin more than God and refuse to come to the light lest their sin be exposed – John 3:19–21.
9. Jesus came to make a second, spiritual birth possible for those who believe in Him.
As Charles Wesley affirms in “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing,” Jesus was “born to raise the sons of earth, born to give them second birth.” John also writes, “But to all who did receive Him, who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God” – John 1:12–13. Later, he tells the story of Nicodemus, whom Jesus told that he must be born again – John 3:3, 5. Anyone can be born again spiritually by repenting of his sin and placing his trust in Jesus. Those who do not experience this second birth aren’t believers but Christians in name only -Rom. 8:9.
10. Jesus’ coming marks the ultimate sacrifice.
Jesus left the glories of heaven to enter the world—a dark place—naked, vulnerable, and defenCeless. He exposed Himself to the human condition and took on “the likeness of sinful flesh” – Rom. 8:3. He became weak, humbled Himself on a cross, and died for our sin Phil. 2:5–8. That—not gaudy commercialism—is what Christmas is all about.
This article was inspired by a devotional from Crossway.
MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY FRUITFUL AND HOLY SPIRIT
FILLED YEAR 2022!!
Stay Blessed!
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By Dr Joyce Aryee, the Author
Fruitful Living
Protecting the Muslim home in the modern age: Communication, addiction, temptation, marital fidelity
All praise belongs to Allah, the Lord of the worlds. We praise Him, seek His help and forgiveness, and place our trust in Him. We seek refuge in Allah from the evil within ourselves and from the Consequences of our deeds.
May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon our beloved Prophet Muhammad s.a.w, his family, his Companions and all those who follow his guidance until the Day of Judgment?
As-salāmu ʿalaykum wa raḥmatullāhi wa barakātuh.
It is a great privilege to bring you this important topic for discussion.
Our subject today is:
“Protecting the Muslim Home in the Modern Age: Communication, Addiction, Temptation and Marital Fidelity.”
This is not simply a lecture about marriage.
It is a conversation about human beings, emotions, faith, choices, technology, temptation, responsibility and the future of our families.
And because I speak both as an Imam and as a certified counsellor, I want us to approach today’s discussion from two complementary perspectives:
The perspective of revelation and the perspective of human behaviour.
Islam gives us guidance about what is right and wrong.
Counselling helps us understand why people sometimes struggle to do what is right, how unhealthy patterns develop, and how people can be helped to change.
We therefore need both.
The foundation: what is marriage in Islam?
Before we discuss marital problems, we must first understand what marriage is supposed to accomplish.
Allah says:
“And among His signs is that He created for you spouses from among yourselves so that you may
find tranquillity in them; and He placed between you affection and mercy. Surely in this are signs
for people who reflect.” (Qur’an 30:21)
Notice three extraordinary words:
1. SAKĪNAH – Tranquillity.
2. MAWADDAH – Affection and loving attachment.
3. RAḤMAH – Mercy, compassion and tenderness.
A successful marriage therefore should provide: Peace + Love + Mercy. (Quran 30:21)
Marriage is not merely: “I found someone attractive.”
Marriage is not: “I want someone to cook for me.”
Marriage is not: “I need somebody to have children with.”
Marriage is not simply: “I don’t want to be lonely.”
Marriage is an amanah — a trust from Allah.
Your spouse is an amanah.
Your children are an amanah.
Your sexuality is an amanah.
Your wealth is an amanah.
Your words are an amanah.
Your private conversations are an amanah.
And your marriage will ultimately be part of what you are accountable for before Allah.
There is a well-known Ḥadīth of Jābir ibn ʿAbdullāh, in which the Prophet Mohammed (pbuh) addressed the Muslims during the Farewell Pilgrimage and spoke about the rights and responsibilities concerning women.
The author is the Chief Imam of Katamanso Municipal and Certified Counsellor and Governor Expert
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like the branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given to you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. – John 15:1-8
Introduction
There are certain sins that Christians are always good at pointing out – usually in others. But there are a few that we tend to ignore, and these same few are the ones we also tend to commit more often ourselves.
1. Selfishness/self-righteousness
How often did Jesus call out the Pharisees in the New Testament? All. The. Time. And it was always for self-righteousness or selfishness. If you have to compliment yourself on something good you’ve done, then you aren’t doing it right. So many of us like to display our faithful acts so that others will know what good Christians we are. Christ doesn’t care what everyone else thinks of your generosity. He cares about your heart and your motivation. If you need other people to know about the good things you do, feel, or think in order to feel validated, then you need to re-evaluate. – Matthew 6:1-4
2. Patriotism
For the record, I do NOT think patriotism in and of itself is a sin. I put this here because all too often we put faith and Christian values in the same box as political party and patriotism. The bible is clear about the fact that Jesus’ name will be declared to ALL nations and peoples of the world. We shout, “‘Ghana!” and talk about how much better we are than everyone else, but that’s not biblical. We project Christianity on to the Ghanaian flag and assume that God is Ghanaian, but that’s not how it works. Celebrate Ghanaian values and understand how blessed you are to live here, but remember that at the end of the day you are a citizen of heaven, and heaven will be full of people from all over the world. – Revelation 7:9 – 10
3. Fear/worry
Jesus is very clear about worrying. He flat out tells us not to worry. Faith requires trust. 1 John 4:18 says, “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear. . .” God is love. He loved us enough to send his son to die to atone for our sins. His love is perfect; therefore, we should have nothing to fear. I know fear is inevitable sometimes. It is a major struggle for me. We are not perfect, but fear and worry are not part of the equation with Christ. These attitudes that imply a lack of faith. All we can do is remember that God is sovereign and always in control – Matthew 6: 25 -34
4. Pride
We talk about pride all the time in church. We consistently discuss how detrimental and dangerous it is, but it seems like we don’t recognise what pride actually is. We don’t realise that every time we refuse someone forgiveness we are acting in pride. Every time you argue with a friend, family member, or spouse and insist that you will not be the one to apologize first then you act out of pride. Remember the grace that Christ extends to you and try to extend that same grace and forgiveness to others. – Philippians 2:1-5
5. Gluttony/coveting
This sin is closely related to pride. We bury ourselves in debt in order to make sure we have the best and newest things. The disciples often lived off of the generosity of others and Jesus was a poor carpenter. I’m not saying that wealth is inherently bad. It’s not. If you can afford that Mercedes, by all means, buy it. But if you can’t; if you are spending hundreds of dollars each month paying off debt, then you could be committing a modern form of gluttony. You need to look inside yourself and search your heart. If your nice things were taken away, would you still be satisfied and able to find joy in Christ? Why are you really in debt? Who are you trying to impress, God or men? – 1 Timothy 6:6 – 8 7 17 – 19
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