Religious

A TIME OF RECONCILIATION AND GROWTH

Published

2 years ago

December 20, 2023

(Sermon by Archbishop Daniel Okoh, President of Christian Association of Nigeria, at the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols held at the Bouquet Hall of the State House, Abuja on Tuesday, December 19, 2023)

PROTOCOL

I am delighted to be part of this Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols and I wish to express my gratitude to His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu (GCFR) and his dear wife, the First Lady of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, for giving my wife (a musicologist) and I the opportunity to not only listen to good music but to sing along with the brethren to the glory of the newborn King and to share the word of God with this distinguished audience this evening.
Sisters and Brothers, this Christmas is special to us in Nigeria in the sense that it is the first Christmas Celebration after the General elections that saw the emergence of the Distinguished Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu (GCFR) as the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the affirmation of his election victory by the Supreme Court of Nigeria. Congratulations, once again, Your Excellency. It is the Christmas that many Nigerians are looking up with renewed hope that things will get better. And I pray that things will certainly get better in the name of Jesus Christ. Immanuel in Nigeria, the hope of glory.
I would like to use this opportunity to appreciate our dear President, His Excellency, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, for his sensitivity to the diverse nature of our nation and for demonstrating commitment to foster a sense of inclusiveness in governance in these few months he assumed the leadership of Nigeria. May God Almighty prosper his efforts at making peace and prioritizing security in our nation. In his tenure, Nigeria will flourish again.
Brethren, General Elections that were keenly contested this year have come and gone; and we now have a sitting President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. It can only be one President at a time. There is a need for a genuine reconciliation among individuals, families, groups, and communities to join forces to address our common challenges as a nation. The season of celebration of the birth of the Prince of Peace, who is the word made flesh, affords us, as children of God, a golden opportunity to reflect on the length that the Almighty God went to reconcile Himself with depraved and estranged humanity.(Ephesians 2:15-18). According to the abundance of His grace, He left the comfortable, heavenly places and came into the hopeless, broken world like a baby in a very poor, lowly, and humble condition (Luke 2:7) to dwell among us (John 1:14) so that He will redeem us, the condemned, and restore the erstwhile communion with humans. (Romans 5:11).
On the night that Jesus was born, the heavenly hosts filled the air with their joyful song:

“Glory to God in the highest, on earth peace, goodwill toward men” (Luke 2:14).

They were announcing and celebrating the Peace that Jesus brought to the world at His birth. Apostle Paul went on to say of this Good News,

“All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to Himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And He has committed to us the message of reconciliation”. (2 Corinthians 5:18 & 19). In this passage, we were told that Christ forgave our sins while we were sinners and enemies of God. He showed us His love and drew us closer to Himself and also involved us in giving leadership to reconciliation among individuals and communities. All believers therefore should be the Champions of reconciliation and not Champions of crisis and division.

The works of Reconciliation were completed on the cross of Calvary by Jesus more than 2000 years and He has since given us the Message of Reconciliation. This is the time to let go of all bitterness and forgive one another as Christ forgave us so that we may experience genuine peace with one another and enjoy peace in our communities. Learning from the Prince of Peace, we must love our enemies! Jesus says, “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your friends, hate your enemies’. But now I tell you: love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another” (John 13:34). It is instructive to note that Jesus loved us while we were sinners and came to reconcile us with God. The Celebration of Christmas should not be with only our friends but must be a time that we go the extra mile to personally forgive and overlook offenses to make reconciliation with our enemies.

The truth is that reconciliation is not complete until one reconciles with all. In the spirit of Christmas, therefore, I urge every one of us to take the first bold step, bear the burden of peace, and reach out to our enemies with the message of reconciliation. This is not the time to pull others down but a time to build, encourage, and grow. Therefore, let us rally around our leaders and offer our support so that the peace that will ensure growth and development will come. Nigeria is blessed with an abundance of gifted persons; let everyone look out for opportunities to serve and make one’s humble contribution to make Nigeria great again. The approach of His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to his political opponents after his election and inauguration is quite commendable.

He continues to reach out across boundaries to every Nigerian to work together for a better Nigeria. So far, His Excellency, President Tinubu and his dear wife, Distinguished Senator Oluremi Tinubu, have shown that they are truly fathers and mothers of the nation. Your magnanimity shall be rewarded. Dear Brethren, I urge you to, in the spirit of Christmas, pause and check: Who do you need to rebuild a broken relationship with this Christmas? Be bold to lead in settling your relationship with people this season and you will be glad you did. Peace among individuals, families, and communities will foster sustainable development.

In this your first Christmas in office, Your Excellency, the Christian Community in Nigeria come to you with the love of God to pray for your success in your mission to move Nigeria from the present pitiable state to an enviable state of prosperity. You have extended a hand of fellowship to us and we embrace you and your family with the love of Christ and promise to partner with you in nation building for the task is quite daunting. You will not stumble and you will not fall. In your time, all Nigerians who emigrated from Nigeria in search of greener pastures shall return with joy and their mouths shall be filled with laughter and their tongue with singing like the people of old Israel who returned from exile. (Psalm 126:1 & 2).
Finally, I urge all of us to keep trusting God and believing the assurances of the presence of God with us – Immanuel – for our hope is sure when we trust in Him. He will protect us when we take refuge in Him. (Proverbs 30:5). As we celebrate, let us remember those who are on the margins of society – the poor, the hungry, the homeless, and those who are wounded emotionally, physically, and spiritually so that they can rejoice as well.

I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Wonderful New Year!

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News

Put God First in your Marriage, Dr. Rebecca Godwin-Isaac Urges Women

Published

4 weeks ago

August 2, 2025

The Gleamer

By reporter
Abuja, Aug 2, 2025 The Founder of a Civil Society Organisation (CSO), the Girl Yesterday, the Woman today (GYWT), Dr Rebecca Omokamo Godwin-Isaac has urged women to put God first in their marriages.

Godwin-Isaac made the call during her 10th marriage anniversary in Abuja.

She advised women to also resist competition and the lures of money as conditions for love.

“My message to people out there is that in everything that you must do, God should be the centre of your home.

“I didn’t marry for money, I didn’t marry because my peers are getting married or my mates were getting married.

“I married when God chose a husband for me and I decided to say God , you are welcome into my home, you are the pillar

“You are the centre of my home, come take the way. So that’s what I have learnt and with that, God has been sustaining us,” she said.

Also speaking, the husband, Mr Isaac Yusuf affirmed the inevitability of challenges in marriages and the ability to surmount it through God’s help.

Yusuf who thanked God for his grace in the past ten years of their marriage, urged homes to embrace love.

“We have had so many challenging times, but we have kept God in the forefront of our relationship and as well, we have kept love as well in our home.

“And that has helped us far a lot in overcoming the challenges, we see challenges daily but we are able to overcome them no matter what the challenge is.”

Earlier, the officiating cleric, Pastor Aki Eke, had adminished husbands to love their wives and wives to respect their husbands.

Eke however described Christ as the symbol of marriages as illustrated by God.

“When God uses Christ symbolically in marriage, we are simply saying that husband love your wife.

“I have also seen the love bring the solution . I pray that as we love , God will bring solutions in our homes.

“And peace will reign in our in our homes. What God has put together, let no man put asunder.”

The bride’s father, Pastor Godwin Aliyu prayed God to continue to unite the couple with abundant love and understanding.

Aliyu who frowned at divorce and separation, said he advised the daughter to always preserve her marriage.

“As a father, I have been praying for them, success unity, more love, more oneness that their home will not break.

“I tell my daughter that she should not allow anything that will make her family to break up.”

On his own, the groom’s father, Mr Yusuf Wunduh, described the son as a gentle and hardworking man whose unity with the wife have benefitted them a lot.

“My son is a very hardworking person, a gentleman in the true sense of the word, they have achieved a lot together.”

The Bride’s mother, Mrs Gladys Aliyu who described the daughter as a loving and caring person, exprrssed joy over their unity in marriage.

“I feel happy, I feel joyful as a mother, I feel happy and I feel joyful. I am grateful to God as well.

“Other mothers there, in marriage, there is always ups and downs, they should have endurance and perseverance and advise their children to live in peace and in unity.”

“She is a very good daughter of mine, a loving one, caring one, hardworking lady.”

A friend of the couple and legal practitioner, Mr Tadas Okonkwo saluted the resilience and integrity of the couple in living together for ten years.

Okonkwo who described them as fantastic couple, said their marriage was built on honesty and love.

“I see them to be honest, they are real, they are genuine in whatever they do.

“For these these beautiful couple, handsome young man, Engr Isaac Yusuf and her Excellency Rebecca, for them to be together, that shows , they are people of integrity.”

The highlight of the event was the couple’s renewal of marriage vow by Venerable Chukwuma Okafor.

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