JUVENILE HARVEST MESSAGE FROM HIS EMINENCE, REVEREND E.M.F OSHOFFA
Kayode Ajala
It is with a heart filled with a perfect blend of joy and sobriety that I greet you all today as we celebrate this year’s Juvenile Harvest Thanksgiving in the Celestial Church of Christ Worldwide.
My joy stems from the reality that once again we have the opportunity to carry out the Almighty’s directive concerning the celebration of Harvest. The Bible tells us in Deuteronomy 16: 16-17, that God commanded the Israeli test to celebrate Harvest as an acknowledgement of His love, mercy and goodness to them.
While my sobriety is ignited by the plight of the forty two teachers and school children, still in captivity after their kidnap in Oyo State. I pray for their safety and eventual release from captivity in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.
Let me make it clear that God enjoys and appreciates thankfulness and praises as a give back from the people He has invested so much in. In Psalm 127: 3, we are told that children are a heritage from the Lord.
This means that children belong to God. They are ours only in a secondary sense. God gives children to parents as a man entrusts his fortune to his heirs. God gives children to whoever He wishes. We do not have children because we deserve them but, by His grace alone. Therefore, there are things that are expected of us as we celebrate our Juvenile Harvest Thanksgiving in the Celestial Church of Christ Worldwide today.
In the first place, we must show that we are grateful to God for giving us these children. Secondly, because God gives children to us out of His own volition, we have a duty to train them for Him and to His glory.
Also, because they are God’s heritage, they are meant to grow in the knowledge and wisdom of God. They are expected to grow to love, follow and serve God and if this must be so, all parents and guardians of must take Christian and godly upbringing of their children very seriously.
Today, as a church, we celebrate our Juvenile Harvest Thanksgiving globally, let us prioritise the foregoing. Let us also demonstrate our concern for the plight of the children and teachers kidnapped in Ogbomoso, Oyo State, by beseeching and praying to God fervently for their release and safe return, during our Juvenile Harvest Thanksgiving Celebration today.
I wish you all a happy Juvenile Harvest Celebration as we look forward to a better and greater Nigeria. May the Lord watch over our homes and children, and also intervene in Nigeria in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.
His Eminence, Reverend E.M.F Oshoffa
Pastor and Spiritual Head,
Celestial Church of Christ Worldwide.
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