Come December 2, Apostle Virginia Oduh of Jesus Christ Reigneth Forever Ministries will be leading worshippers in their numbers to celebrate God’s faithfulness at the church’s annual harvest and thanksgiving service. In this interview with SEYI JOHN SALAU, the Shepherd Mother, as she is proudly called by members of the church, gives insights into why the church is in a joyful mood despite the socioeconomic challenges in the country. Excerpts:
This year’s harvest is themed ‘Harvest of Joy’. How did you arrive at the theme?
For this year’s harvest we are thanking God for life. I am alive, my family is alive, and equally the church members are alive. No matter what is happening in the country, God kept us alive, hence we are celebrating a harvest of joy. God did not allow any evil thing to happen to us despite the hardship in the country. God has been there for us.
If you have to compare the previous edition to this year, what would be your expectations?
By the grace of God, this will be highest year for everyone that believes. One thing is to believe. Once you believe in Christ, everything around you will be filled with joy; it only demands little understanding that God can do it. That is how it will be for everyone that believes. The life we live today is by the grace of God, that is why I want everybody to rejoice and be happy, not because you are going to eat much that day, but because the joy is there that God is keeping us alive. If you look at Nigeria today, so many things have been happening in the country, but God is there for us.
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Looking at the level of insecurity in the country, what is your advice to the government?
My own belief is that God will help this country if all of us put our faith in Christ. We should rejoice and stop speaking evil of the country, and count everything as joy. When you remember that name of Jesus, count everything as joy. All the things you hear about people killing everywhere will come back to normal, only that people take it as if nothing good can happen again. I believe that God can do it and things will work well for us as a nation. We should learn to rejoice in the Lord. Do not look at the size of your pocket but look to God alone for solutions.
What is your view on the state of the nation?
I still believe things are looking very tough at the moment because we as a nation are still struggling with leadership; we have not got the best leadership that Nigeria needs. The unfortunate thing is that our people do not know enough and our options appear to be very limited.
The harvest is on December 2, the first Sunday in December that ushers worshippers into the Christmas mood. What are your expectations for Christmas?
After the harvest, my prayer is that the Christmas for this year will be filled with joy, and I believe everybody will experience a Christmas filled with joy. Christ freely gave up His throne in heaven to become flesh among man. So also, Christians must follow His example of sacrificial love towards mankind. Christmas is a time that we celebrate the birth of Christ that came to die. If Christ wasn’t born, there is no probability that He would have died. If God wanted to send somebody or a being that wasn’t born, He would have sent an angel, but no angel, according to the bible, could have been able to do what Jesus did. That is the more reason we are encouraging Christians to celebrate the joy of knowing and having Christ as the saviour of the world.
What is your message to the church and your members as they celebrate this harvest of Joy?
My message to the church and members is that they should remain dedicated to the things of God and equally maintain a lifestyle of being a praying church. As believers in Christ, we must be a sacrificial church, and must be a true church of God where His power reigns. Therefore, I am saying there is a need for us as a church to always worship God in the beauty of His holiness to continually enjoy His presence in the church. Finally, my message to the worshippers as they congregate to worship God is that we are going to heaven together, and therefore we should know that divided we fall, united we stand as a body of Christ. There is no need for strife in the church.
