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
“There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands; no one seeks God. But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ, to all who believe. For there is no difference.” — Rom. 3:10, 21–22 (NIV)
INTRODUCTION
We bring you this week the concluding part of “A Righteousness Revolution,” published last week. For ease of reference, we recap the last paragraph of last week’s article. Please enjoy and pass it on!
THE GOAL OF THIS TRANSFORMATION
What is the goal of this metamorphosis? Scripture states it in a number of different ways, which overlap and can be seen as different ways of expressing the same basic concept. Scripture often does this because our minds are inadequate to comprehend, and our language inadequate to express, the full scope of God’s revelation to us.
TO BECOME LIKE GOD IN CHARACTER
The whole concept can be summed up in the simple and astonishing statement that we are to become like God. Not like God in power; we can never aspire to that, although we can move in much greater power than many Christians have ever imagined. But like God in character.
We are to “put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness” — Eph. 5:24; the “new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator” — Col. 3:10. “We, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into His likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord who is the Spirit” — 2 Cor. 3:18. “When He appears we shall be like Him” — 1 John 3:2. We are to “participate in the divine nature” — 2 Pet. 1:4. We can have “the mind of Christ” — 1 Cor. 2:16; Phil. 2:5. (Emphasis added in each case.)
Adam and Eve were created in the image of God — Gen. 1:26. With Adam’s Fall, much of that image was lost. But with Christ’s sacrifice for us, those who accept Him as Lord and Saviour can be restored into God’s image.
“Just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man [the first Adam], so shall we bear the likeness of the man from heaven [the second Adam, Jesus Christ]” — 1 Cor. 15:49.
Jesus said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father” — John 14:12.
We think of this (if we dare think of it at all) as meaning that we can heal, cast out demons and even raise people from the dead. It does mean that, and people who have faith in Jesus Christ are doing that now. But does it not mean more?
Jesus said that He did only what He saw the Father doing and spoke only the words the Father gave Him. Can we, should we, expect to do the same? He said, “I and the Father are one.” Can we expect this for ourselves? He said, “Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father” — John 14:9. Can this be said of us?
Paul told the Corinthians that they were “clearly an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart” — 2 Cor. 3:3 (NKJV).
Is this not part of what it means to “be” His witness — Acts 1:8 — so that people can look at us and see Christ? We are to be witnesses by who we are, not just what we say. Jesus expects that there will be something different about us, that people will be able to look at us and know that we are His disciples — John 13:35.
He said of His disciples, “They are not of the world, even as I am not of it” — John 17:16.
His demands are to imitate and model Christ’s behaviour and to be clear reflections of the Lord — Matthew 5:16.
ESTABLISHING OUR ATTITUDE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS
Writing from a prison cell in Rome, the apostle Paul wrote about the attitude a Christian should have: “Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ” — Philippians 1:27.
He is telling us that no matter what unexpected disruptions, frustrations or difficulties come our way, we are to respond with a Christ-like attitude.
Paul later writes, “Your attitude should be the same as that of Jesus Christ” — Philippians 2:5. He also encourages us in Ephesians 5:1 to be “imitators of Christ as dearly beloved children.”
As children love to imitate what they see and repeat what they hear, we also are charged to imitate and model Christ’s behaviour and to be clear reflections of the Lord.
Jesus maintained a perfect attitude in every situation because He prayed about everything and worried about nothing. We, too, should seek God’s guidance about every aspect of our lives and allow Him to work out His perfect will without interference.
Jesus’ attitude was never to become defensive, discouraged or depressed because His goal was to please the Father rather than to achieve His own agenda.
In the midst of trials, He was patient. In the midst of suffering, He was hopeful. In the midst of blessing, He was humble. Even in the midst of ridicule, abuse and hostility, He “made no threats . . . and did not retaliate. Instead He entrusted Himself to Him who judges justly” — 1 Peter 2:23.
MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS: LOVING MUHAMMAD MEANS FOLLOWING MUHAMMAD
We say: “We love the Prophet.”
Alhamdulillah.
But the real test of love is not how loudly we shout when someone insults him.
The real test is: Do we behave as he behaved?
Allah says: “Indeed, you are surely of outstanding character.” (Qur’an 68:4)
And Allah says: “Indeed, in the Messenger of Allah you have an excellent example.” (Qur’an 33:21)
Therefore, if we claim to defend Muhammad (pbuh) but abandon his patience, mercy, justice and wisdom, we must ask ourselves:
Are we really defending him or are we betraying his example?
AN INSULT DOES NOT MAKE A PRIVATE PERSON A JUDGE AND EXECUTIONER
This point must be understood clearly.
Islam has laws concerning crimes.
Islam has courts.
Islam has legitimate authority.
Islam does not turn every angry individual into judge, jury and executioner.
The Qur’an says: “O believers! Stand firm for justice.” (Qur’an 4:135)
And the Prophet gave severe warnings against unlawful killing.
He said: “Whoever kills a person under covenant will not smell the fragrance of Paradise.”
(Sahih al-Bukhari, 3166)
Therefore, no Muslim should stand in a mosque and mobilize ordinary people to kill another person because of an insult.
That is not prophetic leadership.
That is not emotional courage.
That is not the Sunnah.
And it is certainly not a license for vigilantism.
If an offence has been committed, report it.
If a crime has been committed, let the competent authorities investigate it.
If punishment is legally warranted, let lawful judicial institutions determine it.
The Ghana Police Service has itself reminded religious leaders and the public that freedom of religion or expression cannot be used to justify inciting violence or encouraging people to harm others.
For Muslims, this is not merely a question of Ghanaian law.
It is also a question of taqwā (fear of Allah).
THE PROPHET TAUGHT US HOW TO SPEAK
Allah says: “Invite to the way of your Lord with wisdom and good instruction, and argue with them in the best manner.” (Qur’an 16:125)
This is the Islamic methodology of da’wah:
Wisdom.
Good counsel.
Best argument.
Not abuse.
Not threats.
Not mob action.
Not revenge.
WHAT SHOULD WE DO WHEN SOMEONE INSULTS THE PROPHET MOHAMMED (PBUH)?
Servants of Allah, remember these SEVEN STEPS.
1. PAUSE
Do not react while you are angry.
Allah praises those: “Those who restrain anger and pardon people.” (Qur’an 3:134)
2. VERIFY
Do not forward every video.
Do not believe every audio.
Do not react to an edited clip without knowing the context.
10 | P a g e
Allah says: “Then verify.” (Qur’an 49:6)
3. DO NOT RETALIATE WITH AN INSULT
Remember Qur’an 6:108.
We do not insult Jesus (Peace be upon him).
We do not insult Christianity.
We do not insult churches.
We do not insult the Bible.
We can disagree theologically while remaining respectful.
The author is the chief Imam of katamanso Municipal and Certified Counsellor and Governance Exper
