Fruitful Living
Christmas is: Immanuel – God with us (1)
“The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a Son, and they will call Him Immanuel” – which means, “God with us.” – Matt 1:23 (NIV)
Introduction
God Came Down
Christmas has become a period associated with the hustle and bustle of commercial activities and of festive times – partying, eating and drinking and giving of presents. Although Christmas is a Christian festival (the name is derived from the first mass celebrated to commemorate the birth of Christ, i.e. Christ Mass) its festiveness is enjoyed by people of all religions although Christians go much further to make it a time to worship God for His great love to mankind which culminated in His coming to earth as man – the man Jesus. God chose to come among us in order to reveal Himself fully to us. In that respect, He chose not to come out of the sky as a grown up man but as a baby so that He would totally share our humanity and in doing so, sanctify our humanity by living a sinless life so that we would know that the life He gives us comes with His righteousness.
The idea of God becoming man is so mind-boggling that many, including those who profess to be Christians, have decided to put it in the realms of fiction or perhaps allegory. The reason for the finite mind rejecting this concept is understandable. After all, how can God condescend to become a human, something so lowly. In the Bible God is described as one with infinite powers of creation and destruction. Isaiah describes God thus: “Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, or with the breadth of his hand marked off the heavens? Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket, or weighed the mountains on the scales and the hills in a balance? Who has understood the mind of the Lord, or instructed Him as His Counsellor? Whom did the Lord consult to enlighten Him, and who taught Him the right way? Who was it that taught Him knowledge or showed Him the path of understanding? Surely the nations are like a drop in a bucket; they are regarded as dust on the scales; he weighs the islands as though they were fine dust. Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.”
– Isaiah 40:12-15 & 28. (NIV)
Man in God’s Image
In this beautiful description of the mighty God is the key to understanding why God would choose to become man. God’s plan for man is that there would be an intimate relationship between them and that man would exercise God’s authority on earth by ruling over all that God has created.
In fact, in fulfilment of this plan, God in creation said: “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” – Genesis 1:26. So God created humans – male and female in His own image and God blessed them and said to them “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it” – Gen. 1:28. (NIV) After creating man, God and man shared intimate fellowship until man decided to reject that fellowship by going his own way – “Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD as He was walking in the garden in the cool of the day and they hid from the LORD among the trees of the garden.” –Gen. 3:8. (NIV)
A Father’s Heart
Humans fell into sin through disobedience and became separated from God – “So the Lord God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.” Gen 3:23-24. (NIV) When sin entered the human race it became manifest in murder (Cain & Abel) vengeful pride, and increasing human wickedness. Indeed, so great was the wickedness that God was actually grieved that He had created humans – “The Lord saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time. The Lord was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain.” Gen. 6:5-6 (NIV) and the Lord decided to wipe out the human race and begin again with someone who, in spite of the wickedness around him, remained righteous – Gen 6:7-22. “So the LORD said, “I will wipe mankind, whom I have created, from the face of the earth – men and animals, and creatures that move along the ground, and birds of the air – for I am grieved that I have made them.”But Noah found favour in the eyes of the LORD. This is the account of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked with God. Noah had three sons: Shem, Ham and Japheth.
Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight and was full of violence. God saw how corrupt the earth had become, for all the people on earth had corrupted their way. So God said to Noah, “I am going to put an end to all the people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth. So make yourself an ark of cypress wood make rooms in it and coat it with pitch inside and out. This is how you are to build it: The ark is to be 450 feet long, 75 feet wide and 45 feet high. Make a roof for it and finish the ark to within 18 inches of the top. Put a door in the side of the ark and make lower, middle and upper decks. I am going to bring floodwaters on the earth to destroy all life under the heavens, every creature that has the breath of life in it. Everything on earth will perish. But I will establish my covenant with you, and will enter the ark – you and your sons and your wife and your sons’ wives with you. You are to bring into the ark two of all living creatures, male and female, to keep them alive with you. Two of every kind of bird, of every kind of animal and of every kind of creature that moves along the ground will come to you to be kept alive. You are to take every kind of food that is to be eaten and store it away as food for you and for them.
Noah did everything just as God commanded him.” (NIV)
We all know the story of God raising men and women to speak His word to mankind, to remind them of His love and holiness and to direct mankind in the way of righteousness. All the while God was waiting for the time when He would reveal Himself fully to mankind so that He would share His life with them and restore them to the original relationship of intimate fellowship.
HYMN- MHB 139
The race that long in darkness pined
Has seen a glorious Light;
The people dwell in day, who dwelt
In death’s surrounding night.
To hail Thy rise, Thou better Sun,
The gathering nations come,
Joyous as when the reapers bear
The harvest-treasure home.
To us a Child of Hope is born,
To us a Son is given;
Him shall the tribes of earth obey,
Him all the hosts of heaven.
His name shall be the prince of peace,
For everyone adored,
The Wonderful, the Counsellor,
The great and mighty Lord.
His power increasing still shall spread,
His reign no end shall know:
Justice shall guard His throne above,
And peace abound below.
John Morison (1750-98)
To be continued!
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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