Fruitful Living
Living a Christ-centred life
• A group of people in worship
For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. – 1 Corinthians 1:18
INTRODUCTION
During Paul’s time in Ephesus, he received a troubling report about the state of the church in Corinth, so he wrote a letter to them, which is included in Scripture. One of the main issues facing this church was lack of unity. Many teachers, some of whom presented different messages, visited the churches in the New Testament. As a result, various factions that favoured one Christian leader over another threatened the unity of the church and undermined its effectiveness. Paul’s solution was to focus the church’s attention solely on Christ and His message, which includes the gift of the Holy Spirit and the wisdom He brings. People without Christ do not have the Holy Spirit to aid them in comprehending God’s revealed truth, which is the reason they do not receive what comes from God’s Spirit.
However, those indwelt with the Spirit of the Lord have the mind of Christ. Although no human can know everything about God, our understanding of Him and His purposes always have room to expand. God will give us the needed spiritual insight to understand more about Him through the Holy Spirit’s involvement in our lives.
The heart of the gospel is Jesus Christ. Everything we preach centres around Him. The focal point of His ministry is His substitutionary death on the cross. The lost have no other way to be saved, so the proclaimer must always seek to magnify and lift the Lord Jesus Christ. Only in Jesus Christ can saved individuals be united. People are not saved by accepting a system of theological propositions, but by receiving Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour. He must always be the central theme of our proclamation.
1 Corinthians 1:1-31.
Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and our brother, Sosthenes. To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be His holy people, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ—their Lord and ours: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Thanksgiving
I always thank my God for you because of His grace given you in Christ Jesus. For in Him you have been enriched in every way—with all kinds of speech and with all knowledge— God thus confirming our testimony about Christ among you. Therefore, you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed. He will also keep you firm to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, He who has called you into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
A Church Divided Over Leaders
I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought. My brothers and sisters, some from Chloe’s household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. What I mean is this: One of you says, “I follow Paul”; another, “I follow Apollos”; another, “I follow Cephas”; still another, “I follow Christ.”
Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptised in the name of Paul? I thank God that I did not baptise any of you except Crispus and Gaius, so no one can say that you were baptised in my name. (Yes, I also baptised the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I don’t remember if I baptised anyone else). For Christ did not send me to baptise, but to preach the gospel—not with wisdom and eloquence, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.
Christ Crucified Is God’s Power and Wisdom
For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.” Where is the wise person? Where is the teacher of the law? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has God not made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believed. Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.
Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are so that no one may boast before Him. It is because of Him that you are in Christ Jesus who has become for us wisdom from God—that is our righteousness, holiness and redemption. Therefore, as it is written: “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.”
1 Corinthians 2:1-16
And so it was with me, brothers and sisters. When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power.
God’s Wisdom Revealed by the Spirit
We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. No, we declare God’s wisdom, a mystery that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began. None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. However, as it is written: “What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived”— the things God has prepared for those who love Him— these are the things God has revealed to us by His Spirit.
The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us. This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words. The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit. The person with the Spirit makes judgements about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgements, for, “Who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct Him?” But we have the mind of Christ.
Conclusion
Salvation is God’s atonement of sin through the cross of Christ. God has acted to save us, and we have accepted salvation through faith in the past. We are experiencing salvation daily through the power of the Spirit in the present. We will know the fullness of salvation at the resurrection.
The wisdom of God goes beyond the highest point of human wisdom. Those who have been saved by the grace of God have seen the true wisdom that comes from God. Christ is the outward expression of the wisdom of God.
God’s salvation comes to the world through preaching the message of Christ crucified on the cross for our sins. This Christ-centred message is the wisdom of God. Those who believe it in their hearts will be saved. Salvation, then, comes through hearing good news about Christ and committing oneself to the message.
Stay blessed!
For further inquiries please contact us on Tel Nos. 0243588467 or 0268130615
Email: saltnlightministries@gmail.com
Website: saltandlightministriesgh.org
By 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 baptized 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.
We continue from where we ended last week
Seven words on the cross
4. The word of spiritual suffering
“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” – Mark 15:34. These words mark the climax of Jesus’ suffering for a lost world. Jesus experienced separation from God the Father as the sinner’s substitute. Here the sorrow, grief and pain were at their worst!
He was pierced for our transgression – “But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His wounds we are healed.” – Isaiah 53:5 (NIV) and gave Himself a “ransom for many” – Matthew 20:28; 1 Timothy 2:6. God made Him who had no sin to be a sin for you and me – 2 Cor. 5:21.
Jesus died, forsaken that we might never be forsaken – Psalm 22. Because of this we are redeemed by the suffering of Christ – 1 Peter 1:19.
5. The word of physical suffering
“Later, knowing that all was now completed, and so that the Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.” – John 19:28.
Jesus nearing death goes through the agony of thirst! Jesus the fountain of Living Water desires earthly water and is given vinegar – sour wine which He rejects! He had to endure pain and shame.
6. The word of triumph
“When He had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished” John 19:30 – mission accomplished. The work of redemption is done! Jesus did not say “I am finished”. Rather He triumphantly made a declaration that He had completed and accomplished His work on the cross.
– He had accomplished the earthly mission assigned by the Father;
– He had fulfilled the important Old Testament prophecy about the suffering Messiah -Genesis 3:15; Isaiah 53:3-12.
– Completed the work of redemption as the sacrificial and Passover Lamp of God – John 1:29; 1 Corinthians 5:7 involving blood atonement – Ephesians 1:7; Hebrews 9:12 & 22.
– The decisive moment of victory over Satan and his network of demons – Colossians 2:15
– Jesus has achieved the means of reconciliation of God with His creation and sinful humanity. – 2 Corinthians 5:18-19 & 21; Colossians 1:20-22. It is worthy to note that nothing can be added to the finished work of the cross for salvation. The way of salvation is now open to all who believe and draw on Jesus finished work on the cross – Matthew 27:50; Luke 23:46. The debt for our sin has been paid in full and the plan of salvation established.
7. The word of committal
“Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit My spirit.” When He had said this, He breathed His last.” – John 19:30; Luke 23:46.
The Lord Jesus voluntarily committed His life into God the Father’s care – He went in spirit to His Father in Heaven.
“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” – John 3:16 (NIV).
Kindly note: You are warmly invited to join us for our programme, Meditations on Easter, on Saturday, 11th April 2026 at Christ the King Parish Hall at 8:00 a.m.
The theme is: “He Is Risen Indeed, Hallelujah!!! – The Transformative Power of the Resurrection” (Matthew 28:5; 1 Peter 1:3–4).
Our deepest desire this Easter is to experience the power of Christ’s resurrection more intimately in our lives and to share the hope of the risen Lord with others.
Stay Blessed!
For further inquiries please contact us on Tel Nos. 0302-772013 or 0268130615
Email: saltnlightministries@gmail.com
Website: saltandlightgh.org
Fruitful Living
HAJJ: The 5th Pillar of Islam, a sacred journey to the house of Allah …an elevated call to faith, sacrifice, spiritual renewal (Final part)
Types of Hajj: Understanding the forms of pilgrimage
There are three recognised types of Hajj:
• Hajj al-Tamattu’: Performing Umrah first, exiting Ihram, and then entering Ihram again for Hajj.
• Hajj al-Qirān: Combining Umrah and Hajj in one Ihram without exiting.
• Hajj al-Ifrād: Performing only Hajj without Umrah.
Each type has specific rulings, and the choice depends on the pilgrim’s circumstances.
Miqāt and the State of Ihram
The Miqāt refers to designated boundary points where pilgrims must enter into Ihram before proceeding to Makkah. Crossing these boundaries without Ihram invalidates the proper commencement of Hajj.
Ihram is not just clothing—it is a sacred state of discipline, intention, and spiritual consciousness.
Fidyah and Dam: Expiation in Hajj
Islam provides remedies for mistakes during Hajj:
• Fidyah: Compensation such as fasting, feeding the poor, or sacrifice for minor violations
• Dam: Sacrificial penalty required for certain omissions or violations
These ensure that errors do not invalidate the pilgrimage but are corrected through prescribed means.
The virtue of Hajj Mabroor
The ultimate goal is to attain Hajj Mabroor (an accepted Hajj). The Prophet Mohammed pbuh said:
“An accepted Hajj has no reward except Paradise.” (Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī; Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim)
Its signs include sincerity, avoidance of sin, humility, and lasting transformation after the pilgrimage.
The role of intention and acceptance
Hajj is not judged by outward actions alone but by sincerity of intention (Niyyah). A person may perform all rituals correctly yet fail to attain acceptance if sincerity is lacking.
Allah looks at the hearts, not merely the actions.
Life after Hajj: A new beginning
Hajj is not the end—it is the beginning of a renewed life. A pilgrim is expected to:
• Maintain righteousness
• Increase acts of worship
• Avoid returning to sin
• Become a model of good character in society
The true success of Hajj is reflected in one’s transformation.
What is Umrah?
Umrah is a lesser pilgrimage that can be performed at any time of the year. It includes:
• Ihram
• Tawaf
• Sa’i
• Shaving or trimming hair
Though not obligatory like Hajj, it holds immense spiritual reward. The Prophet Mohammed said:
“One Umrah to another is an expiation for what is between them.” (Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī; Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim)
Visiting the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah
While not a pillar of Hajj, visiting the Mosque of the Prophet Mohammed pbuh in Madinah is a highly recommended Sunnah.
The Prophet Mohammed said:
“Do not undertake a journey except to three mosques: Al-Masjid al-Haram, my mosque, and Al-Aqsa Mosque.” (Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī; Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim)
Praying in the Prophet’s Mosque carries immense reward, and sending salutations upon him at his grave is a deeply spiritual experience.
Summary and conclusion
Hajj is a journey of total submission, unity, and spiritual rebirth. It connects the believer to the legacy of the Prophets and prepares the soul for the ultimate return to Allah.
The Prophet Mohammed pbuh said:
“Whoever performs Hajj for Allah and avoids obscenity and wrongdoing will return like the day he was born.” (Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, 1521; Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, 1350)
May Allah grant us the opportunity to perform Hajj, accept it from us, and make it a means of our salvation. Ameen
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.
22. 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
