Fruitful Living
Holy Spirit, you are welcome here
But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on His own; He will speak only what He hears, and He will tell you what is yet to come. He will glorify me because it is from me that He will receive what He will make known to you. All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what He will make known to you.” – John 16:13-15
INTRODUCTION
The Holy spirit is a person, not an atmosphere. He creates an atmosphere, and He fills an atmosphere, but He is not simply an atmosphere. He is one person of a triune God. The Holy Spirit is always speaking and working on our behalf. He comes in power, and He works through the fruit of the Spirit in each of our lives. He operates with not just a big bang kind of power, but He gives us the power to walk like Jesus walked — in the ways of love and forgiveness so that we can take the golden thread of God’s love and mercy, the nature of His grace we have received in our own lives, and weave it into the lives of those around us. The Holy Spirit graces us with His power to live out His fruit:
1.But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and self-control. — Galatians 5:22-23 (NIV)
In His prophetic nature, the Holy Spirit also prepares our hearts for what is to come. He is in fact preparing us all the time for what we are about to face. I find this fact about our Helper so comforting! I have seen this side of the Holy Spirit revealed in my own life in countless ways. One example is when I wrote the song “In Jesus’ Name.” I actually wrote it for a woman in our church who was battling cancer. Little did I know that the Holy Spirit was preparing my own heart for a battle that was soon to come. He gave me a song to sing over my own situation before I even knew about it.
In everything that He is and that He does, the Holy Spirit continues to reveal the incomparable love of the Father for His children on the earth.
And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. — Romans 5:5 NIV
2.THE LOVE OF GOD IS WHAT THE GOLDEN THREAD IS ALL ABOUT.
Love is the very heart of the universe — and it has been since the time of its creation by its loving Creator.
Love has always been and will always be — between the Father and the Son, between the Son and the Spirit, between the Spirit and the Father. Our triune God forms within Himself an unbreakable cord of Holy — all filled with the love of God. And this is the wonder of the saving grace of God that dwells within us — the holiness of grace that weaves its way throughout creation and through our world today by the power of the Spirit working within our lives.
One of the great fathers of the church, Saint Augustine, wrote the following words:
3.THE WORD OF GOD
Love, therefore, which is of God and is God, is specially the Holy Spirit, by whom the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts, by which love the whole Trinity dwells in us. And therefore most rightly is the Holy Spirit, although He is God, called also the gift of God. And by that gift what else can properly be understood except love, which brings to God, and without which any other gift of God whatsoever does not bring to God?
The Holy Spirit is the One who opens our eyes and causes our awareness to increase — like wind and fire in our bones. The Hebrew word ruach means “blow” or “breath,” and it refers to the wind of the Spirit blowing through our lives. The power of the Spirit ignites our lives with day-by-day, minute-by-minute, authentic lived-out worship of our amazing God, until we experience the growing and all-consuming flame of God’s love being birthed in our spirits.
Another task of the Holy Spirit in our lives is to bring the Word of God to life in our circumstances and in our spirits. John 14:26 tells us that the Holy Spirit makes the Bible come alive for us. He gives us understanding into what the Scriptures speak into our situations — how we need to change, what steps we should take, how the Word needs to become real for us in our day-to-day lives.
To live in the fullness of God’s sweet presence is His promise to us continually. But we need the Holy Spirit and the outworking of God’s presence in our lives to see this come to fruition. To have the Holy Spirit as our advocate is to have God Himself indwelling us as believers. So, why in the world would we ever resist the working of the Holy Spirit in our lives? A man-made understanding of the Spirit and His outworkings in our lives has probably put more people off the Holy Spirit than anything else our enemy could throw at them. We can resist the Holy Spirit by refusing to tune our ears and our hearts to His voice, especially if our hearts grow cold to the things of God due to hurts, disappointments, and bitterness. These things may start off small, cropping up in our relationships because of differences of opinion or for many other reasons, but they will result in a devastating root of bitterness taking hold in our lives. After I had encountered the Holy Spirit in my life, I felt Him start to disassemble the walls that I had built up around my heart.
Uncomfortable? Very Vital? Very.
4.HOLY SPIRIT, YOU ARE WELCOME HERE!
Maybe you’ve never been taught about the person of the Holy Spirit and the presence of God before. But if you start digging into the Word and looking back throughout your life, you will find that He’s been walking with you and leading you all along. To put time aside to linger and wait to hear God’s still, small voice is probably one of the hardest things for most of us to do. He can speak in the quiet; He can speak also in the chaos. I have learned that what I cultivate in the secret place is what I hear loud and clear as I go about life in the day to day.
When we trust in our own common sense or wisdom rather than in what the Holy Spirit is whispering to our hearts, then we can find ourselves resisting Him and His wisdom. And resisting Him can have devastating consequences for our lives and hearts and for the lives and hearts of the people on the earth today who need the presence of the Spirit to penetrate their world.
5.HOW DO WE RESIST HIM?
We resist Him when the comfort of our flesh, or the pull of the status quo, trumps the conviction of following God with our entire being. We resist Him when condemnation, shame, and guilt block our ears to what the Holy Spirit is revealing to our hearts.
Don’t allow this to happen in your life and in your heart!
6.YIELDING TO THE HOLY SPIRIT
Every morning wake up and yield your life over and over, anew each and every day. When you get out of bed, let the first thing you say each morning be: “You are welcome here, Holy Spirit! Interrupt my day with Your voice!”
When He is invited into our lives, the Holy Spirit will take on the role of Guide and Counsellor, leading us in the way we should go and revealing God’s truth to us — both through His Word and in the everyday situations we encounter.
The Holy Spirit, in and through it all, will fill us continually with power to live and move and have our being in Christ Jesus. This is the purpose of His power in our lives and His speaking into our hearts. He speaks to us to make us more Christlike in every part of our lives, to sanctify us by His power, and He is speaking all the time! The problem is never whether He is speaking. The question is always, Are we listening?
To Ponder
- How often do we think about the Holy Spirit?
- How often do we stop and listen for His still, small voice?
- We need His ruach daily! Let’s ask Him to walk with us so we can be more Christlike every day!
Stay Blessed!
For further inquiries please contact us on Tel Nos. 0268130615 or 0243588467
Email: saltnlightministries@gmail.com
Website: saltandlightgh.org
By Dr Joyce Aryee, the author
Fruitful Living
Has man lost the essence of his creation? A reflective call to rediscover our divine purpose (Part 1)
Introduction: Rediscoveringour purpose
Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds. We praise Him, seek His help and forgiveness, and ask for His mercy. May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon our noble Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), his family, his companions, and all those who follow his guidance until the Day of Judgment.
In today’s increasingly materialistic and turbulent world, a profound question echoes louder than ever: Has man lost the essence of his creation? It is a question that compels every thinking soul to pause and reflect deeply.
In the midst of scientific breakthroughs, booming technology, and economic pursuits, we must ask ourselves: are we fulfilling the sacred purpose for which we were created? Are we still living as stewards of Allah on earth, or have we strayed from our divine assignment?
This article explores the Qur’anic foundation of man’s creation, the noble position he holds, and the deviation from this divine path in modern times. It further calls for a return to spiritual consciousness and outlines practical steps to help realign mankind with his intended purpose.
Man: Allah’s Vicegerent on Earth
The Qur’an states: “And when your Lord said to the angels, ‘Indeed, I will make upon the earth a vicegerent (Khalifah)…’” (Surah Al-Baqarah, 2:30).
This declaration marks the beginning of man’s honorable journey on earth. Mankind was created from clay, as recorded in Surah Al-Hijr:
“And We did certainly create man out of clay from an altered black mud. And the jinn We created before from scorching fire. And [mention] when your Lord said to the angels, ‘I will create a human being out of clay from an altered black mud.’ So when I have proportioned him and breathed into him of My [created] soul, then fall down to him in prostration.” (Surah Al-Hijr, 15:26-29).
This prostration of angels was not to worship Adam, but to recognize the honor Allah had bestowed upon man. It signified a spiritual hierarchy in which man, though of earthly origin, carries a divine trust and responsibility.
Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) emphasized this dignity. He taught that every human is born upon the natural disposition (fitrah) and bears the potential to fulfill their purpose as a servant of Allah and custodian of His creation.
The Purpose of Creation
Allah did not create man in vain. The Qur’an states clearly: “And I did not create the jinn and mankind except to worship Me.” (Surah Adh-Dhariyat, 51:56).
“And they were not commanded except to worship Allah, [being] sincere to Him in religion, inclining to truth, and to establish prayer and to give zakah. And that is the correct religion.” (Surah Al-Bayyinah, 98:5).
Another profound verse underscores that life was not created aimlessly:
“And We did not create the heaven and the earth and that between them aimlessly. That is the assumption of those who disbelieve, so woe to those who disbelieve from the Fire.”(Surah Sad, 38:27).
These verses convey that creation is intentional, meaningful, and divinely ordained. The essence of man’s creation lies in his recognition of Allah, his conscious submission to the Divine Will, and his dedication to a life of worship, service, and ethical living.
Worship in Islam is not confined to rituals alone but extends to every aspect of human existence—how we earn, govern, lead our families, engage with society, and preserve the environment. Every righteous deed done with sincerity for Allah’s pleasure becomes an act of worship.
Imam Al-Ghazali explains in Ihya Ulum al-Din that true worship stems from knowledge of Allah and a heart that submits lovingly to His will. Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah likewise stresses that man’s highest honor lies in fulfilling the purpose of servitude (`ubudiyyah) to Allah, which brings inner peace and divine elevation.
Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) demonstrated this perfect balance of worship and engagement in worldly affairs. He was a husband, a leader, a statesman, and a worshipper who said: “The most beloved deeds to Allah are the most consistent, even if they are few.”
(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 6464)
Living in harmony with this divine purpose not only brings personal fulfillment but also collective peace. Conversely, neglecting it results in moral confusion, injustice, and spiritual emptiness.
Therefore, recognizing and living by our purpose is not a luxury but a necessity. It is the key to real success in this life and salvation in the Hereafter.
By Imam Alhaji Saeed Abdulai, the Author
Fruitful Living
Trusting God with our anxieties (final)
Jesus not only instructs us not to worry — He explains why worrying is counterproductive to our well-being:
❖ Worry is blind. It refuses to learn from nature, history, or personal experience. Birds and flowers testify to God’s faithfulness. The history of Israel is filled with God’s miraculous provision — from Egypt to the Red Sea to the Promised Land (Deut. 8:14–15).
❖ Worry refuses to learn the lesson of life. Time and again, God has helped us bear the unbearable and overcome the insurmountable. He strengthens us even when we reach the breaking point — and keeps us from breaking.
❖ Worry is irreligious. It stems not from our external circumstances, but from a heart full of fear and distrust. Yet Scripture declares:“You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you.” — Isaiah 26:3 (NIV)
The antidote to worry: El shaddai
Proverbs 18:10 says, “The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.” One of the most comforting names of God is El Shaddai, which first appears in Genesis 17:1 and appears 218 times in the Bible.
❖ El means “Strong One.”
❖ Shaddai means “The Breasted One.”
Together, El Shaddai paints a picture of God as:
❖ Our Strong Nourisher
❖ Strength Giver
❖ Satisfier
❖ All-Bountiful Supplier
❖ Fulfiller of Needs
❖ The Life-Giver who brings dead things back to life
(e.g., Abraham and Sarah conceiving Isaac at 150 and 90 years respectively)
In knowing who God is, we find the courage to release our anxieties. If He is truly El Shaddai — strong, sufficient, and sustaining — then we are safe in His hands.
Practical steps to peace
In Philippians 4:6–7, we are given a divine prescription for peace:
1. Stop being anxious and fretful. Recognize the emotional and spiritual toll of worry.
2. Go to God in prayer about everything. Nothing is too big or small.
3. Pray for yourself. God is your Father — your relationship with Him is personal.
4. Thank Him as you pray. Gratitude builds faith and reminds us of His past faithfulness.
When we do this, God’s peace — not the world’s peace — will guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
“And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” — Philippians 4:7 (NIV)
CONCLUSION
We are living in uncertain times. Pressures abound and anxieties easily multiply. But as children of God, we are called to walk a different path — one of quiet confidence, steady trust, and daily surrender.
God’s Word is clear: worry doesn’t help — but trust in God brings peace. Let us shift our focus from fear to faith, from anxiety to adoration. Let us anchor our hearts in the unchanging character of El Shaddai — our Almighty God — and rest in His perfect care.
By Rev. Dr Joyce Aryee, the author
