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
Hijab (Islamic veil) as an act of worship (Part 2)
Consequences on lack of knowledge about Hijab can cause Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STD)
Lack of knowledge about the use of Hijab and its role in promoting modesty can contribute significantly to immoral behaviour in societies, which in turn increases the spread of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs).
In Islamic teachings, the Hijab is not only a piece of clothing but a broader concept of modesty, dignity and moral conduct.
When society underestimates the value of modesty in behaviour, dress and interactions, it can lead to permissiveness in relationships, unsafe sexual practice, and other behaviours that increase the risk of STDs.
Peer Pressure and Western Influence in Urban Areas
In Urban centres like Accra and Kumasi, younger generations are often influenced by Western media and fashion trends that promote revealing clothing and casual attitudes towards relationships.
This cultural shift, coupled with inadequate education about Islamic principles like the hijab’s role in promoting modesty, can lead to high incidence of promiscuity.
For instance, young women and men engaging in risky sexual behaviour without understanding the consequences often do so under the influence of societal trends. This increase exposure to sexually transmitted diseases like HIV/AIDS, which remains a public health issue in Ghana.
Misinterpretation of Freedom and Modernity
In higher educational institutions, some students perceive wearing the hijab as outdated or limiting their freedom. This lack of knowledge about the hijab’s significance can lead to adopting lifestyles that prioritize fashion over modesty.
For example, a university student might choose to attend social gatherings where alcohol and casual sexual encounters are common, driven by peer pressure and a desire to fit in.
Without the grounding principles of modesty and chastity, the chances of unprotected and reckless sexual activity rise, contributing to the spread of diseases like gonorrhea or syphilis.
Both scenarios highlight how a lack of knowledge about the hijab’s deeper values can lead to behaviors that put individuals and society at risk.
While the hijab alone does not guarantee moral behavior, its principles, when understood and embraced, can foster a culture of self-respect and responsibility that mitigates the spread of STDs.
Education on these values, coupled with awareness of sexual health, is critical for addressing this challenge in society. Casual relationships contribute to the spread of STDs, which harm both individuals and communities.
Fundamental Human Rights: Religious Freedom
Ghana, like many democratic nations, guarantees the right to freedom of religion. Article 21(1) ( c ) of the 1992 Constitution of the Republic of Ghana explicitly states: “All persons shall have the right to freedom to practice any religion and to manifest such practice.”
This provision protects every citizen’s right to practice their religion, including the wearing of Hijab, without discrimination or intimidation.
Similarly, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) 1948, Article 18, asserts:
“Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship, and observance.”
These legal provisions recognise Hijab as part of the manifestation of Islam and affirm that Muslim women have the right to wear Hijab in public institutions
By Imam Alhaji Saeed Abdulai, the Author
Fruitful Living
Christ Our Lord (Final part)
This sin gave Satan the firm foothold he had been looking for. Sin and Satan now held the world in a vice-like grip. God’s people now walked in darkness: oppressed by Satan. Spiritually speaking, they lived in a never-ending winter: rarely experiencing the warmth of God’s love.
Enslaved by sin as they were, they were doomed to die both physically and spiritually. ‘(Adam’s) sin brought death with it. As a result, death has spread to the whole human race because everyone has sinned.’ – Romans 5:12
Who could rescue God’s creation from the curse of Satan, the enemy? Mankind’s rescuer would need to be someone strong enough to engage in battle against the power of Satan; someone who would fight compromise with evil, for evil cannot combat evil; only goodness can do that.
There was only one person who could even attempt the rescue bid: God Himself. So God entered the world in the form of the perfect man: Jesus Christ. ‘God in Christ was reconciling the world to Himself.’ – 2 Corinthians 5:19
Jesus knew the solution to the sin-problem. He, the man-who-never-sinned, would need to take upon Himself every sin each individual in the world had ever committed and would ever commit. It would be as though He Himself had committed the crimes of the cosmos. He would, therefore, pay the penalty in person. He would die: ‘Without beauty, without majesty (we saw him), no looks to attract our eyes; a thing despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and familiar with suffering, a man to make people screen their faces He was despised and we took no account of Him.
And yet ours were the sufferings He bore, ours the sorrows He carried. But we, we thought of Him as someone punished, struck by God, and brought low. Yet He was pierced through for our faults, crushed for our sins. On Him lies a punishment that brings us peace, and through His wounds we are healed. We had all gone astray like sheep, each taking his own way, and Yahweh burdened Him with the sins of all of us.’ – Isaiah 53:2-6
PRAYER
Lord Jesus, help me to drink in these facts:
Mine were the sufferings you bore
Mine the sorrows you carried
You were pierced through for my faults
Crushed because of my sin
God laid on you the punishment that brought me
Peace
Joy
And a whole new start in life
Help me to say an adequate
Thank you.
RANSOMED
A man was once caught stealing from his employers. When the court case was heard, the judge imposed a fine of GH¢50. Failure to pay the prescribed fine, he said, would result in imprisonment. The night of the court hearing, the man despaired. He had no money. That was why he had resorted to stealing in the first place. How was he to pay the fine? The thought of a period in prison filled him with horror. Next morning, a brown envelope fell through this man’s letter-box. It contained ten, crisp, new GH¢5 notes and a hand-written explanation: To pay off the debt. The offender never discovered where the money had come from. The only information he could glean was that a member of the nearby church heard of his plight and decided to set him free from the threat of imprisonment.
When Jesus died on the cruel cross, He brought our release from the clutches of the evil one. He also set us free from the bondage to sin in which we had been trapped. And He delivered us from the effects of the sin-stained past and from the guilt that enshrouded us: The death of Christ ‘One act of perfect righteousness, presents all men freely acquitted in the sight of God.’ – Romans 5:18. ‘God loved the world so much that He gave his only Son, that everyone who has faith in Him may not die but have eternal life.’ – John 3:16
This article has been heavily inspired by Joyce Hugget in “Approaching Easter, Meditations for Lent.”
By Rev. Dr Joyce Aryee, the author
