Fruitful Living
20 ways to love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength (Part 1)
“The most important one,” Jesus answered, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these” – Mark 12:29-31
INTRODUCTION
The Lord our God is the One and only LORD and we must love Him with all our heart, all our soul, all our mind, and all our strength. Our Lord Jesus Christ was quoting from Deut. 6:4-5 “Listen, O Israel ! The LORD is our God, the LORD alone . And you must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength.” whenHe answeredone of the teachers of the law as quoted above. Jesus said that loving God with all of ourselves is the first and greatest commandment. This command, combined with the command to love your neighbour encompasses all the other Old Testament laws. God’s very essence is love; when we love one another, we are fulfilling God’s most fundamental wish for our lives. We shall therefore love the Lord our God, and always keep His charge, His statutes, His ordinances, and His commandments.
Here are the first 10 things we need to do to obey these commandments of Jesus.
- UNDERSTAND WHAT LOVE IS FROM A BIBLICAL PERSPECTIVE.
The word “love” has several meanings and, as such, can be applied to different situations. For example, there is the kind of love between a mother and her child, between friends, the romantic love between a man and a woman, etc. When we talk about the great love that Jesus referred to, some Scripture references translate it as “steadfast love.” It is “perfect love,” “covenant love,” “authentic love,” and “unconditional love.” Note that biblical love is not only a feeling because feelings come and go. Such love comes from who God is 1 John 4:8, and it is practical 1 John 3:1, 4:9-10. So, biblical love is a decision to act that love from a deep affection towards God.
- ACKNOWLEDGE OUR DEPENDENCE ON THE HOLY SPIRIT
We need to admit our inability to fulfill the great commandment of loving God by ourselves. The sinful nature of humans makes it impossible for any of us to love like that. We depend on God to be able to love because He is love 1 John 4:8. We can only love Him because He loved us first 1 John 4:19. Love is part of the fruit of the Spirit Galatians 5:22-23, so only through the Holy Spirit can we truly love God and our neighbour as the Word of God commands us to Mark 12:29-31. Therefore, we need to pray and ask His help to develop His love in our lives.
- LOVE GOD WITH ALL OUR HEART
Jesus’s words from the good answer He gave to the scribe about the great commandment are a quote from Deuteronomy 6:4-5. It starts by telling us to love God with our whole hearts. Our contemporary culture understands the “heart” as the centre of emotions, but the Jewish culture in Jesus’s times understood it as more than that. For them, the heart of man was the centre of His will as we read Proverbs 4:23. “Above all else, guard, for it is the wellspring of life.”
We can think of the heart as the place of our spiritual life, thoughts, feelings, motivations, reason, and understanding. Our decisions, our morals, and our will come from it. So, loving God with all our heart is to have a strong desire and will towards Him.
- LOVE GOD WITH ALL OUR SOUL
God’s Word also tells us to love our Heavenly Father with our whole soul. The Hebrew word for “soul” gives the idea of the breath of life. The Greek word gives a more global idea of the inner self, the individual, the mind (in the sense of our deep thoughts). We can say that it is the non-physical part of the human as we read Psalm 16:10; Ezekiel 18:4.
It is what defines our personality, who we are. So, loving God with our whole soul is to love Him with everything we are, is to find our inner self inclined to Him, seeking Him and having Him at the centre of our affections
- LOVE GOD WITH ALL OUR MIND
God’s people must also love Him with their whole minds. The biblical meaning of “mind” is the intellect. The original Hebrew text of Deuteronomy 6:4-5 doesn’t include “mind,” it was considered by the Jewish culture part of the soul. This part of the great commandment shows how important it is that our intelligence is submitted to God and finds satisfaction in obeying Him. Romans 12:2 reminds us that we need to be transformed by the renewal of our minds to be able to test and approve God’s will – that is how we can love God with our whole minds.
- LOVE GOD WITH ALL OUR STRENGTH
Jesus Christ also told us to love our God with our whole strength. We find the word “strength” in the Bible a lot of times, and most of them refer to the power of God. Strength refers to the physical aspect of loving God. It is how we show that we love Him and do everything we can to put our love for God into action. If our inner motivation and desire are to love God, our actions (the strength of our bodies) will show it.
- LOVE JESUS ABOVE EVERYONE AND EVERYTHING ELSE
Christ Jesus told His disciples that anyone who wanted to follow Him must love Him more than everything and everyone else Matthew 10:37; Luke 14:26. It doesn’t mean that we won’t love other people, on the contrary. Only by loving Him can we truly love others. But if we love something or someone more than God (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit), it is idolatry. The Bible says that the Lord is a jealous God Exodus 20:4-5; Deuteronomy 4:24, which means that He requires that our affections be placed correctly, that is, on Him. Nothing should have a higher place in our affections than God.
- LOVE GOD WITH PRACTICAL ACTIONS
We must keep in mind that biblical love is not only about feelings. When we read how God expressed His love for us in the well-known verse of John 3:16, we see that God did something for us – He gave His Son to die for us so we could have eternal life. There is no greater love than that John 15:13. So, when we love someone, we do something about it. Biblical love is action, not only feelings. Therefore, we need to learn how to put our love for God into practice. We do that by obeying His word.
- OBEY GOD’S COMMANDS
In a short definition, we can say that loving God is to obey His commandments John 14:15; 1 John 5:3. The Lord Jesus questioned the people who called Him “Lord” but didn’t do what He had told them to do Luke 6:46. If He is the Lord of our lives, it means that He has ultimate authority over us, so we do what He tells us to do. It is simple, but it is not easy because our sinful nature fights against it (the apostle Paul explained how that works in Romans 7:14-25). That’s why we need His help to obey Him and make Him the Lord of our lives.
- LOVE OUR NEIGHBOUR
When Jesus said that we must love God with our whole being, He added that we must love our neighbour as we love ourselves, Mark 12:31, quoting from Leviticus 19:18. The apostle Paul wrote that this commandment fulfills the whole Law of God from the Old Testament Galatians 5:14. God shows grace and expresses His love for the creation by giving good things to everyone every single day, no matter if they are evil or good as we read Matthew 5:43-46; James 1:17. As children of God, we should do the same. We express our love for God by obeying and imitating Him. So, we must love other people, even if they don’t deserve it – that’s what God does for every single person every day. In practical terms, we love others by doing to them what we would have them do to us, even if they don’t, as read in Matthew 7:12 –“So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.”
To be continued!
The greatest commandment of all time teaches us that the first thing we need to learn in our Christian life is to love God with our whole being. This important commandment of God requires total commitment to Him and a decision of the will from the children of God to accomplish it.
If you have not yet confessed to Jesus as your Lord and personal Saviour, this is an opportunity to do so. And when you do, just surrender totally to Him with your eternal future, for He will never leave nor forsake you – Hebrews 13:5
STAY BLESSED!
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Dr Joyce Aryee, the author
“…at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly” – Romans 5:6 (NIV)
Introduction
JESUS Christ shed His blood on the Cross as the perfect, all-sufficient sacrifice for our sins. His atoning death and victorious resurrection constitute the only ground for our salvation.
The Holy Spirit glorifies the Lord Jesus Christ and convicts the world of its guilt. He regenerates sinners, and we are baptised in Him into union with Christ and adopted as heirs in the family of God.
The Holy Spirit also indwells, illuminates, guides, equips and empowers believers for Christ-like living and service.
What does Easter mean to Christianity?
Easter is the celebration of the Death and Resurrection of Jesus, our Lord and Saviour. God sent His Son to earth to die as a sacrifice for all our sins. Jesus died on the cross to forgive everybody for all the sins we have committed.
Jesus’ blood covered everybody from the beginning of time to the end of the world.
He died for all of our sins. On the third day, Jesus conquered death and rose from the dead. Jesus is the only God who has ever risen from the dead. He is the Saviour of the world. Without Jesus, we could not have ever been Christians. He died so that everybody who believes in Him could live forever and everybody on the face of the earth can become a Christian.
All you have to do is accept Him as Lord and Saviour, confess your sins, obey Him, and live your life for Him.
“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” – Romans 3:23. However, because of Jesus, we have been saved! For the Christian, Easter is the celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus, our Lord and Saviour.
Before Jesus’ death
They slapped Him and pulled His beard;
They spat on Him;
They pushed Him around;
They stripped Him and flogged Him and tore out His skin;
They pushed a crown of thorns on His head – it drew blood;
They put a heavy cross on Him to carry to the place of His execution;
To Calvary He went.
There they pierced Him with nails and hung Him on the cross – naked!
Even at this stage, at the stage of absolute agony and humiliation, they sneered at Him and mocked Him.
He had done no wrong. On the contrary, for my sake, for your sake and for the sake of a sinful world, He accepted the will of His Father and endured this very shameful, painful death.
He said very little during His trial, BUT on the cross He said seven things which we should meditate on.
Seven words on the cross
1. The word of forgiveness
“Father forgive them for they do not know what they are doing” – Luke 23:34. What an extraordinary love and mercy! I am saved – you are saved because Jesus asked for forgiveness for us.
2. The word of salvation
“I tell you the truth; today you will be with me in paradise.” – Luke 23:43. Even in such excruciating agony Jesus reached out to a sinner.
The songwriter Frances Jane Van Alstyne, popularly called Fanny Crosby, the blind prolific hymn writer, says it so well in the hymn we all love to sing – TO GOD BE THE GLORY!
Stanza 2:
O perfect redemption, the purchase of blood!
To every believer the promise of God;
The vilest offender who truly believes,
That moment from Jesus a pardon receives.
3. The word of love
“Dear woman, here is your son,” and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” – John 19:26–27. Even in the agony of dying, Jesus was concerned about the welfare of His mother and appointed the disciple whom He loved to take care of her.
Then, and even now, children have a responsibility to take care of their dependent parents as stated in 1 Timothy 5:8 – “If anyone does not provide for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.”
When we refuse to take care of members of our families, especially the immediate ones, we are worse than unbelievers.
Jesus is a perfect example of obedience to God’s word. He has given us power to do this as He did.
By Rev. Dr Joyce Aryee
Fruitful Living
HAJJ: The 5th pillar of Islam, a sacred journey to the House of Allah An elevated call to faith, sacrifice, spiritual renewal (Part 1)
ALL praise is due to Allah, the Lord of all creation, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate. We glorify Him, seek His guidance, and ask for His forgiveness. We send peace and abundant blessings upon the noble Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), his family, his companions, and all those who follow his guidance until the Day of Judgment.
Introduction: A journey beyond space and time
Hajj is not merely a ritual—it is a divine invitation to spiritual rebirth. It is a journey that transcends physical movement and penetrates the depths of the soul. From every corner of the world, millions respond to the timeless call of Allah, gathering in Makkah in a powerful demonstration of unity, humility, and submission.
Clothed in simple garments, stripped of worldly distinctions, pilgrims stand equal before their Creator—an awe-inspiring reminder of the Day of Resurrection when all humanity will stand before Allah.
Hajj within the framework of the five pillars of Islam
The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said:
“Islam is built upon five: the testimony that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, establishment of prayer, payment of Zakat, fasting in Ramadan, and pilgrimage to the House for whoever is able to find a way.” (Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, 8; Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, 16)
Hajj is therefore not optional—it is a defining pillar of the Islamic faith for those who possess the means.
Qur’anic foundations of Hajj
Allah says:
“And [mention] when We showed Ibrahim the site of the House…” (Qur’an 22:26)
“And proclaim to the people the Hajj…” (Qur’an 22:27)
“And [due] to Allah from the people is a pilgrimage to the House…” (Qur’an 3:97)
These verses establish the divine origin, universal call, and obligatory nature of Hajj.
Who is qualified to perform Hajj?
Hajj is obligatory upon a Muslim who is:
• Of sound faith, maturity, and sanity
• Physically capable
• Financially able
• Able to travel safely
• For women, accompanied by a Mahram (according to the majority opinion)
Financing Hajj: A matter of purity
The Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) said:
“Indeed, Allah is pure and accepts only what is pure.” (Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, 1015)
Hajj must be financed with halal earnings. Sponsoring others is highly rewarded, while performing Hajj on behalf of the deceased or incapacitated is permissible.
The sacred timing of Hajj
Hajj is observed in the month of Dhul-Hijjah, from the 8th to the 13th, with the Day of Arafah (9th) being the climax of the pilgrimage.
Preparation includes repentance, sincerity, settling debts, seeking forgiveness, acquiring knowledge of rituals, and ensuring physical and financial readiness. Hajj begins with the purification of the heart.
Pillars of Hajj (Arkān al-Hajj)
• Ihram
• Standing at Arafah
• Tawaf al-Ifadah
• Sa’i
These are indispensable acts that validate the Hajj.
The rituals of Hajj (Manāsik): A living legacy
The Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) said:
“Take your (Hajj) rituals from me.” (Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, 1297)
Hajj rituals—from Ihram, Tawaf, Sa’i, Arafah, Muzdalifah, Mina, stoning of Jamarat, sacrifice, and farewell Tawaf—are deeply symbolic acts rooted in the legacy of Prophet Ibrahim (A.S). They embody submission, sacrifice, patience, and unwavering obedience to Allah.
Prohibitions during Hajj: Preserving sanctity
Allah says:
“There is no sexual relations, no disobedience, and no disputing during Hajj.” (Qur’an 2:197)
Prohibitions include marital relations, use of perfume, cutting hair, arguments, and sinful behavior. These restrictions discipline the soul and elevate spiritual consciousness.
Author’s profile
Imam Alhaji Saeed Abdulai
Kpone Katamanso Metropolitan Chief Imam
Governance Expert and Islamic Scholar
Imam Saeed Abdulai is a distinguished Islamic scholar and community leader known for his impactful teachings on faith, governance, and societal development. He actively contributes to religious education and public discourse in Ghana and beyond.
References
• The Noble Qur’an (2:197, 3:97, 22:26–27)
• Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī
• Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim
• Sunan al-Tirmidhi
• Ibn Kathir, Tafsir al-Qur’an al-‘Azim
• Imam al-Nawawi, Sharh Sahih Muslim
By Imam Alhaji Saeed Abdulai, Kpone Katamanso Municipal Chief Imam, Certified Counsellor and Governance Expert
