Fruitful Living

Dealing with the pressure of time (Final part)

Handle situations patiently to avoid pressure

PLANNING

Planning means we must make decisions – choices that determine our activities and priorities. If we do not, we can be sure that someone else will do our planning for us.

It is amazing to me how many Christians drift through life, making no goals or plans, aimlessly shifting from one place to another.

Emergencies may interrupt their lives for a season, but they soon return to their rudderless ways. All of life and, thus, all of time is a gift from God.

We do not give God a portion of our time; it is all His. We cannot leave God out of any aspect of our existence; we cannot fence Him out of our families or work or play.

SET PRIORITIES

Faithfulness to God begins now in the time dimension. We do not wait until we are with Christ in heaven to become good stewards.

Handling time, therefore, is not so much a matter of time management – finding the right kind of datebook or scheduling format – but of managing ourselves.

That means setting personal priorities. What is more important when you start the day; an extra hour of sleep or an hour alone with the Sovereign Lord of the Universe?

Establishing priorities involves decisions concerning what is most important in light of your relationship to Jesus Christ.

When people are not in church on Sunday, it is not because they do not have transportation. They have prioritised their lives apart from serving and worshipping the living God. Once we consider and arrange our priorities, then we must have the discipline to order our lives according to those guidelines.

DISCIPLINE LIFESTYLE

Discipline is never easy. Time is often wasted because we do not have the discipline to follow our convictions.

If you are a follower of Jesus Christ, then you must cultivate a disciplined lifestyle which is a combination of your genuine hunger for God and a dependence on the power of the Holy Spirit.

He will persevere through us if we give Him our opportunities and our devotion. Our willingness and obedience along with God’s enabling are essential.

The Lord has settled many of our priorities in His Word. We do not have to decide whether to go to church, minister to our family, or serve others, the scriptures clearly underscore their importance.

Once we base our convictions on God’s Word and His principles, the rest of our priorities will come into place in time.

THE EXAMPLE OF JESUS

Think about the life of Jesus. He lived thirty-three years, but thirty of those years were spent growing up and being in a carpenter’s workshop. Ponder that for a moment.

The Son of God, the King of kings, the Prince of Peace quietly, diligently laboured in a small town, hewing, sanding, and shaping pieces of wood. That was His life until the day He laid down His hammer and chisel to begin shaping lives into the image of His Father. Yet that part of His life lasted only three years. During that brief, incredibly short time, He did all the Father asked of Him.

Jesus taught multitudes, but He also had time to have dinner with various people, spending as much time in homes as He did in crowded villages.

He talked with the poor, blind beggars, and hated tax collectors, He visited women at the well and publicans and sinners at meals. What was His secret?

“And in the early morning, while it was still dark, He arose and went out and departed to a lonely place, and was praying there” – Mark 1:35. And after bidding them farewell, He departed to the mountain to pray – Mark 6:46. And it was at this time that He went off to the mountain to pray, and He spent the whole night in prayer to God – Luke 6:12. And it came about that while He was praying alone” – Luke 9:18.

TIME ALONE WITH GOD

Jesus had all the pressure of saving a sinful world. He had only three years to fulfill His public ministry; but we never read that Jesus rushed to Bethany or “scurried” to Jerusalem or “dashed” to Nazareth.

His life was always measured to a diving tempo – even in the swirl of a crowd screaming for His crucifixion. The key for Jesus and the key for us to do the will of the Father is spending time alone with Him.

If, for Jesus, prayer could not be substituted, how can we think there will be another route for us? When we get alone with our Father, the peace and quiet of the Holy Spirit settles us and assures us. He saturates our hearts with the Lord’s presence and stills our minds with His calm.

There, in the solitude, God speaks through His Word by His Spirit – changing this attitude, convicting us of that sin, compelling us to this action.

WE HAVE GOD’S WISDOM

As we commit our days and resources to the Lord, we have His sure guidance. As we cast our plans and schedules before Him, we have His wisdom.

We look to Him to order our thoughts and direct our steps, not knowing the twists and turns the day will take. The wisest thing we can do to relieve the pressure of time is to spend time alone with the Lord Jesus Christ.

After all, He is the all-knowing, all-wise One who knows our end from our beginning, who knows all about us and our future, and who can orchestrate our days.

ETERNITY WITH CHRIST

We will all give an account one day of how we invested our time on earth. We will spend eternity in one of two places – heaven or hell. If you have not made that decision to spend eternity with Christ, I encourage you now to trust Him for the forgiveness of your sins, believing in Him as the Son of God who died in your place.

Only then will time take on real meaning. If you are a believer, I encourage you to examine your life and establish godly priorities so that you are ruled by Him, not by others, then commit to spending quality time alone with the Lord Jesus Christ each day.”

By Dr Joyce Aryee, the author

Fruitful Living

Qur’an: A Book of Guidance beyond Ramadan (Pt.3)

The Qur’an as a Book of Law and Legislation

The Qur’an is not just a book of spirituality; it provides laws that govern various aspects of life. Some of the legal principles found in the Qur’an include:

•Faith in Allah: The foundation of all laws, where belief in One God (Tawheed) is emphasised as the purpose of human existence (Qur’an 112:1-5).

•Marriage and Family: The Qur’an lays down clear guidelines for marriage, the rights and responsibilities of spouses, and the treatment of children (Qur’an 4:3, 4:34).

•Inheritance Laws: The division of wealth after a person’s death is carefully outlined in the Qur’an to ensure fairness and justice (Qur’an 4:11, 4:12, 4:176).

•Business Ethics: The Qur’an prohibits deception and promotes honesty in trade and contracts (Qur’an 4:29).

These laws provide the framework for a just society where fairness and morality are upheld.

The Quran and Major Prohibitions

1. Prohibition of Alcohol (Khamr) and Intoxicants

Qur’anic Verses: Surah Al-Baqarah (2:219) “They ask you about wine and gambling. Say, ‘In them is great sin and [yet, some] benefit for people. But their sin is greater than their benefit.’”

Surah Al-Ma’idah (5:90-91) “O you who have believed, indeed, intoxicants, gambling, [sacrificing on] stone alters [to other than Allah], and divining arrows are but defilement from the work of Satan, so avoid them that you may be successful. Satan only wants to cause between you animosity and hatred through intoxicants and gambling and to avert you from the remembrance of Allah and from prayer. So will you not desist?”

Explanation:

•Initially, Surah Al-Baqarah (2:219) acknowledges that alcohol has both benefits and harms but emphasises that the harms outweigh the benefits.

•Later, Surah Al-Ma’idah (5:90-91) categorically prohibits alcohol by calling it an act of Satan, leading to enmity and distraction from worship.

•The Quran and Islam promote self-control, mental clarity, and a healthy society, all of which are undermined by intoxication.

2. Prohibition of Gambling (Maisir)

Surah Al-Ma’idah (5:90-91) (As mentioned above, prohibiting both intoxicants and gambling.)

Explanation:

•Gambling is addictive and leads to loss of wealth, social harm, and emotional distress.

•The verse warns that, like alcohol, gambling leads to enmity and hatred among people, diverting them from spiritual duties.

•Islam encourages earning wealth through honest work, not through chance-based games that exploit others.

3. Prohibition of Interest (Riba) on Loans

Qur’anic Verses: Surah Al-Baqarah (2:275) “Those who devour usury (riba) will not stand except as stands one whom Satan has driven to madness by (his) touch. That is because they say: ‘Trade is just like usury,’ but Allah has permitted trade and forbidden usury.”

Surah Al-Baqarah (2:278- 279) “O you who have believed, fear Allah and give up what remains [due to you] of interest, if you should be believers. And if you do not, then be informed of a war [against you] from Allah and His Messenger. But if you repent, you may have your capital—[thus] you do no wrong, nor are you wronged.”

Surah Al-Imran (3:130) “O you who have believed, do not consume usury, doubled and multiplied, but fear Allah that you may be successful.”

Explanation:

Interest-based transactions exploit the poor and create economic injustice.

The Qur’an makes it clear that Allah and His Messenger declare war against those who persist in usury.

Islamic finance promotes ethical investment and risk-sharing, ensuring fair economic transactions.

4. Prohibition of Fornication and Adultery (Zina)

Qur’anic Verses: Surah Al-Isra (17:32) “And do not approach unlawful sexual intercourse. Indeed, it is an immorality and an evil way.”

Surah An-Nur (24:2) “The woman and the man guilty of fornication—flog each one of them with a hundred lashes. Let not pity for them make you lenient in (the execution of) the law of Allah, if you believe in Allah and the Last Day. And let a group of the believers witness their punishment.”

Explanation:

Islam protects family structures and promotes modesty to maintain social harmony.

Surah Al-Isra (17:32) does not just prohibit zina—it even forbids coming close to it (e.g., through inappropriate interactions, pornography, etc.).

Surah An-Nur (24:2) prescribes legal consequences to deter fornication.

Marriage is encouraged as the lawful means of fulfilling desires in a responsible way.

* The writer is the Metropolitan Chief Imam of Kpone Katamanso

By Imam Alhaji Saeed
Abdulai, the Author

Fruitful Living

‘Let’s cherish, preserve our culture’

• Pastor Benjamin Nobi

The Sunyani Estate District Pastor of the Church of Pentecost in the Bono Region, Mr Benjamin Nobi, has emphasised the need for Ghanaians to cherish and preserve the country’s culture in its truest form devoid of any form of adulteration.

According to him, “succeeding generations stand the risk of missing out on the valuable cultural heritage and possibly engage in acts contrary to what reflect what our forebears bequeathed to us.”

Pastor Nobi explained that “as we celebrate Ghana month in March, it must not only celebrate the occasion in passing but reflect and preserve the original cultural practices as passed on by our forebears so as to stand the test time.”

Pastor Nobi also stated that this during a book launch on Sunday at the Newtown Assembly of the Church of Pentecost.

The book title: ‘The Real Person’ was authored by Mr Emmanuel Frimpong, an elder of the church.

To buttress his point, he indicated that for instance “our forebears used to harvest rain water known in Akan as Nyankontonsuo to pour libation before the whites brought hard liquor like Schnapps,” adding that those who introduced hard liquor in pouring libation in our traditional certain have adulterated our culture.

“This aspect of our culture needs to be highlighted for the youth to know” he stated.

Stressing the importance of writing the book, Pastor Nobi stated that writing a book helps to share knowledge and pass on information which could be relevant for the future.

Elder Emmanuel Frimpong in an address added that the motive for writing the book was to draw attention to how some people can present themselves from their true character and how such people can change to reflect the will of God.

He said he spent seven years to author the book which has 108 pages with 25 sub topics.

Elder Frimpong expressed his gratitude to his family, church and individuals who supported him both in kind and cash to enable him come out with the book.

From Daniel Dzirasah, Sunyani