Fruitful Living
THE FRUIT OF FAITHFULNESS
Faithful teachings leads to spiritual growth
But the fruit of the Spirit is faithfulness. – Galatians 5:22
INTRODUCTION
God is faithful and He wants us too to be – to Him, to others, and to the cause of our faith.
The dictionary defines faithfulness as “adhering firmly and devotedly, as to a person, cause, or idea.” It uses other words like “loyal, fidelity, constancy, and dedication” to introduce ‘dependability and trustworthiness,’ essential components of faithfulness, into the definition.
Faithfulness is a virtue that is required in all things, whether big or small. It does not depend on feelings or emotions but is driven by a sense of sound spiritual reasoning that defies external forces. Faithfulness, in the real sense of it is impelled by an inner, deeper sense of purpose, not compelled by an outside condition or situation. Thus, in and out of season, on good days and bad days, in positive and adverse circumstances, faithfulness is steadfast and dependable, an immovable force in the shifting sands of time.
Faithfulness: No Compromise
Faithfulness is a fire in the bones. It may forswear its loyalty in moments of weak faith, but it will not stop burning. Faithfulness does not make compromises – as Esther said prior to approaching the king, ‘I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish’ – Esther 4:16.
The cross stands as the ultimate example of facing our extremities without any sense of compromise. Jesus was the no-quit Christ who demonstrated how to hold to principle- even to the point of death. Self-sacrifice is the fearsome way to say ‘self-denial’. Jeremiah had denied himself in favour of what God wanted. Jeremiah understood that we must spend the small coins of self-denial in order to buy the great commitments of our lives. The apostle Paul said that he was ‘being poured out like a drink offering’ – Philippians 2:17. Jeremiah’s life was being poured out in utter faithfulness, with no more hint of compromise.
Faithfulness and Our Relationship with Christ
We preach Christ crucified. How can the message of the Good News reach others? So many scoff or turn away. But as we are faithful. God supplies power to continue on, power to overcome. Our steadfast defence of God’s kingdom will evoke His steadfast defence of our lives.
Faithfulness and Our Service to Others
Remember the Lord’s Prayer says, ‘Deliver us from the evil one’ (Matthew 6:13). The evil one is that ever present, ever challenging force that daily strives to destroy our faithfulness. If Satan had his way, all our intentions to stand true will crumble. Paul urges us to wear the armour (Ephesians 6:10-18); clothing ourselves for the fray. With the faithful protection of God’s armour, we are ready to go to battle. We are sent to be faithful in our warfare with Satan. We are to employ God’s armour for our protection and the sword of the Spirit for our faithful advance as we fulfill God’s calling to serve Him.
Faithfulness, The Habit of Spiritual Dependency
The best of all habits is the habit of spiritual dependency. ‘Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight’ – Proverbs 3:5-6.
Faithfulness simply means God can count on us. He can count on us when others are negative. He can count on us to obey when others are disobedient. Faithfulness is the quality that honours God with disobedience – joyous obedience. A faithfulness that grumbles at the requirement of God is not faithfulness at all. It is only grudging acquiescence.
Faithfulness, The High Art of Persistence
Faithfulness is one of the greatest of all virtues. For to believe much but not be faithful brings life at last to nothing. Further, faithfulness begets a hunger to have, not just the blessings of God, but God Himself. Faithfulness will not be satisfied until it sees at close range the God it cannot quit dreaming about. True Christians hunger, not even for the blessings of God, but for God. Faithfulness is the unswerving pursuit of the presence of God.
Faithfulness, The Road that Ends in Victory
Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you life as your victor’s crown. – Revelation 2:10.
Stay faithful and you will remain a conqueror. Victory is the end reward offaithfulness. Jehoshaphat was faithful, and God worked in his life (2 Chronicles 20:20-30).
God’s Blessings on Faithfulness
Abram and Sarai, old in years – some would say too old to make such a pilgrimage – set out to obey God (Genesis 12:1-5). They were faithful and in following their faithfulness, they were swallowed whole by God’s blessings.
Christianity is never not intentionally near-sighted. In Matthew 25, the King (who is Jesus) rewards or condemns people merely on the basis of what they have done to bless or curse others. Those who have served others are called blessed by the Father. Faithfulness is not just a Fruit of the Spirit. It is world-view – the basis of our eternal rewards.
God waits to bless us. All we have to do is say, ‘Yes, Lord, I will!’
Rewards Of Faithfulness
1. Divine placement in authority; Anyone who is faithful must be positioned in authority, just like in the case of Joseph the son of Jacob (Genesis 39:4-6)
2. Divine promotion and progress: Faithfulness at your current level is what qualifies you for promotion to the next level.
3. Divine provision, welfare and comfort.
With all of this read, I pray that God will endue us the grace to be faithful and grant us inner strength to be able to say No to every form of compromise, in Jesus name. Amen.
JESUS, MY SAVIOUR, BROTHER, FRIEND – MHB 478
1 Jesu, my Saviour, Brother, Friend,
On Whom I cast my every care,
On Whom for all things I depend,
Inspire, and then accept, my prayer.
2 If I have tasted of Thy grace,
The grace that sure salvation brings,
If with me now Thy Spirit stays,
And hovering hides me in His wings.
3 Still let Him with my weakness stay,
Nor for a moment’s space depart,
Evil and danger turn away,
And keep till He renews my heart.
4 When to the right or left I stray,
His voice behind me may I hear,
“Return, and walk in Christ Thy way,
Fly back to Christ, for sin is near.”
Charles Wesley (1707-1788)
Culled from the Fruit of the Spirit Bible.
Stay blessed!
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By Dr Joyce Aryee, the author
4. Correct the falsehood
If someone misrepresents Muhammad (pbuh), teach people who Muhammad (pbuh) really was.
Tell them about his mercy.
Tell them about his justice.
Tell them about his patience.
Tell them about his forgiveness.
5. Report genuine offences
Use lawful channels.
The Muslim does not become the police, prosecutor, judge and executioner.
6. Protect the innocent
If one Christian insults Islam, do not attack another Christian who knows nothing about it.
If one Muslim makes an offensive statement, do not blame all Muslims.
7. Restore peace
After the controversy, bring responsible Muslim and Christian leaders together.
Talk.
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Clarify.
Forgive where forgiveness is appropriate.
And rebuild trust.
Ghana must not become a battlefield of religious provocation
My dear brothers and sisters in Islam,
Let us look around Ghana.
Muslims and Christians have lived together for generations.
We have Muslim fathers with Christian in-laws.
Christian mothers with Muslim sons-in-law.
Muslim and Christian business partners.
Muslim and Christian neighbours.
Muslim and Christian classmates.
Muslims and Christians serving together in the military, police, public service, universities, hospitals, markets and businesses.
This is Ghana.
We must protect this peace.
Religious freedom is precious.
But religious freedom comes with religious responsibility.
A microphone is not a weapon.
A pulpit is not a battlefield.
A smartphone is not a licence to spread hatred.
A viral video is not a fatwa (religious decree).
And anger is not evidence.
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A word to Muslim scholars
To my fellow Imams and Islamic scholars:
Allah has placed a trust upon our shoulders. You are the best of generations selected for the guidance of mankind. Quran chapter 3:110.
When people are angry, we must calm them.
When people are confused, we must educate them.
When people want revenge, we must teach justice.
When people want violence, we must remind them of Allah.
Our microphone should extinguish fire—not pour petrol upon it.
The Prophet said:ِ
لَيْس َ الشَّدِيد ُ بِالصُّرَعَةِ، إِنَّمَا الشَّدِيد ُ الَّذِي يَمْلِك ُ نَفْسَه ُ عِنْد َ الْغَضَب
“The strong man is not the one who can overpower others; rather, the strong man is the one who controls himself when angry.” (Sahih al-Bukhari, 6114; Sahih Muslim, 2609)
This is strength.
Self-control is strength.
Restraint is strength.
Wisdom is strength.
Justice is strength.
A word to Christian preachers
And to our Christian brothers and sisters, especially those who preach:
We Muslims deeply revere Jesus (peace be upon him)
He is not an ordinary man in Islam.
He is ʿĪsā ibn Maryam عليه السالم, a mighty Messenger of Allah.
The author is the Chief Imam of Katamanso Municipal and Certified Counsellor and Governance Expert.
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When Paul tells us that our “attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus,” he had summarized in the previous two verses what such an attitude was: selflessness, humility, and service. “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others” – Philippians 2:3-4.
In other words, the attitude a Christian should reflect is one that focuses on the needs and interests of others. Without question, that does not come naturally to us. When Christ came into the world, He established a whole new attitude to relationships with others. One day when His disciples were arguing among themselves regarding who was to be greatest in His kingdom, Jesus said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you.
Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave – just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” – Matthew 20:25-28. Jesus is teaching us that, when we become preoccupied with our own things, it can cause conflicts and other problems with people we know. Instead, God wants us to have an attitude of serious, caring involvement in the concerns of others.
Paul speaks more about this Christ-like attitude in his letter to the church in Ephesus: “that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.– Ephesians 4:22-24. Many religions of today, including the New Age philosophies, promote the old lie that we are divine or that we can become gods. But the truth of the matter is that we will never become God, or even a god. Satan’s oldest lie was promising Adam and Eve that, if they followed his advice, “- and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” Genesis 3:5, NKJV.
Each time we try to control our circumstances, our future, and the people around us, we’re only demonstrating that we want to be a god. But we must understand that, as creatures, we will never be the Creator. God doesn’t want us to try to become gods. Instead, He wants us to become like Him, taking on His values, His attitudes, and His character. We are meant to “be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness” – Ephesians 4:23-24.
Finally, we must always keep in mind that God’s ultimate goal for His children is not our comfort, but the transformation of our minds into the attitude of godliness. He wants us to grow spiritually, to become like Christ. This doesn’t mean losing our personalities or becoming mindless clones. Christlikeness is all about transforming our minds. Again, Paul tells us, “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will” – Romans 12:2.
It is God’s will that we develop the kind of mindset described in the Beatitudes of Jesus – Matthew 5:1-12, that we exhibit the fruit of the Spirit – Galatians 5:22-23, that we emulate the principles in Paul’s great chapter on love – 1 Corinthians 13, and that we strive to pattern our lives after Peter’s characteristics of an effective and productive life – 2 Peter 1:5-8.
Establishing our actions in righteousness
Every person is commanded to live up to divine standards.
a. In the words of Jesus
“ For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. Be ye, therefore, perfect, even as your Father, who is in heaven, is perfect” – Mt. 5:20, 48.
Every person in the world is required to live up to that standard. You say, “You’ve got to be kidding!” No, I’m not. You are obligated to live up to that standard with a pure inside as well as a right outside. But you say, “I can’t!” You are absolutely right. That’s why we are given the solution…
b. In the words of Paul
As it is written: “There is none righteous, no, not one; But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference;– Rom. 3:10, 21-22a.
Though you can’t obtain on your own the righteous standard Christ set, you can receive His righteousness if you are one of those who believe. Isn’t that great? God set the holy standard. And when you acknowledge that you can’t live up to it, He says, “My Son is not only the Lawgiver, but He is the Redeemer as well, who makes it possible for you to live on that level.” Beloved, it’s a fantastic thing! The standard is so high we can’t obtain it. But Christ met that standard and imputes to us His righteousness. Oh, what a blessed thing!
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