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Most of us eat every day,
some of us too much because yesterday's food

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is not enough to supply energy for
today's needs. Why then, do some

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of us expect yesterday's portion of heavenly
manna, the word of God to keep

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us through today's challenges. On this
program, we are going to change all

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of that. Let's experience God's words
today and receive the power we need to

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live healthy, vibrant lives. Welcome
to your Daily Portion with your host,

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author speaker, Elle David Harris.
Good morning, good morning, Good morning.

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It is Sunday, December seventeen,
twenty twenty three. Hello, my

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name is El David Harris. I
am your host, and this is your

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Daily Portion where we give you God's
Word every single day, and today is

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no exception. We are continuing in
our Lesson study series. God's Mission,

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My mission. Our caption for today
is captive in a foreign culture. Captive

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in a foreign culture. I've lived
in different cultures, but I've never been

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captive in those cultures. I was
there by choice. Interesting concept We'll get

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into in just a moment, But
first I'd like to say happy, Happy,

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Welcome to the first day of the
week. And yeah, God is

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being very kind to us to get
us into a good launch into the work

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week. And by God's grace,
we will continue to build in our connection

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with Him and do our work well
and whatever else that we do God entrusts

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to us. And in the meantime, in the meantime, we want to

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just open up God's word and see
what He has to say to us so

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we can have an impact on the
cultures that we are now living. Let's

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go ahead and pray, and then
we will get underway. Bother and Heaven,

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thank you for the privilege you have
given us to open up this work

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week with you. Please give us
your holy spirit and wisdom. Teach us

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how to love you, teach us
how to serve you, no matter what

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the environment is. In Jesus name, I pray, Amen and Amen again.

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Now there are many of you,
because I know that this is a

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worldwide ministry, there are many of
you who live in cultures very similar to

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the ones that we discuss currently now, like in the East and in ancient

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Babylon. The cultures have been very
similar for you. But I've never lived

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anywhere like that where the customs are
the same. And then of course the

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Persian culture will talk about just well, we won't talk about the culture,

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but we'll talk about God's people in
Persia or under the Medo Persian regime,

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just for just a moment today as
well. So I've never lived anywhere like

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that, where and where God's people
were also like before they were in captivity,

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where the religion of the land and
the politics of the land were one

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and the same. The lifestyle,
politics, and religion they were all the

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same. Like, I've never lived
anywhere like that. I know that in

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America they say that it's the same, but it's absolutely not. That's a

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different discussion. So it's very interesting
to look at things from the perspective of

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people who live in a country whose
God and religion and culture, how they

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eat right, their politics, everything
is the same. Very interesting. And

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then you live somewhere with all of
that, and then you go somewhere where

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the culture is counter to that,
where their religion they're multiple gods. Their

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food, their customs, their moras
they're different. And so now there is

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a clash, There is a real
live clash that it's very difficult to navigate.

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And so when you read now from
the Book of Daniel, chapters one,

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three, and six, you see
a major, major, major class.

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So let me just read a few
verses from chapter one, beginning at

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verse one. In the third year
of the reign of Jehoiakim, King of

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Judah. So these are God's people, came Nebucad Nezar, king of Babylon,

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absolutely not God's people, unto Jerusalem, God's place and besieged it.

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So Nebeka Nezar is given the green
light to go in and besiege the city

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of Peace, God's city, and
take his people captive. Verse two,

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and the Lord gave Jehoiakim, King
of Judah, into his hand with part

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of the vessels of the House of
God. Wait a minute, which carried

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into He carried into the land of
Shinar, to the house of his God.

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You see now there is this cultural
shift where God's people are now captive.

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They are taking implements of worship from
God's people and now dedicating them to

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the false gods in Shina. Wait
a minute, And he brought the vessels

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into the treasure house of his God. Lowercase g. And the king spake

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to Ashpinaz, the king of the
Eunuchs, and that he should bring certain

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of the children of God, the
people of God God the king's seat,

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and of the king's seed, and
of the prince's children, in whom there

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is no blemish, well favored and
skilled in all wisdom and cunning, and

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knowledge and understanding and science, which
and such as had the ability in them

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to stand in the King's palace,
and whom they might teach the learning and

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the tongue of the childeans. And
it goes on. The king gives him

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a portion of the king's meat,
like they're supposed to receive from the king's

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table, the kind of food and
drink that the king would prescribe. Why,

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because he's trying to make this elite
class from those he's conquered, even

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the people of God. Well,
there's a clash, a spiritual and cultural

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clash here, because the people of
God are like, what bade a minute

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pause. The people who are well
favored that are now among the pickings from

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the king are saying, but hold
on, we don't eat that way,

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we don't drink that way. But
the king is making an elite set of

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people who can advise him. What
do you do when the king of that

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place, who's also considered a lower
case, g like well, not to

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the people they believed him to be
superior. But the one who was considered

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to be god like is saying like, this is how you will eat,

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this is how you will drink,
this is what it will take for you

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to be established into this privileged class. And God's people are like, nah,

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I'm not doing that. We can't
do that. The three Hebrew young

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men, right Micheel hananayah as Aiah. Of course Danielle, they were like,

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no, we're not going to We
don't have any intention of defiling ourselves.

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And the Bible does teach in verse
eight. But Danielle proposed it purposed

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in his heart that he would not
devile himself with the portion of the king's

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meat, nor with the wine that
he drank. Therefore he requested a prince

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of the eunuchs that he might not
defile himself. Now God had brought daniel

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into favor and tender love with the
prince of the eunuchs, and then,

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of course Lord bless him. He
was able to broker a deal where they

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would eat and drink the way God
would have them to do. And they

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proved wiser, they proved stronger,
They proved, as they said in air

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quotes Fatter that meant healthier than the
men who ate from the king's table.

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And to make a long story short, while they are bound in Babylon,

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the king is having visions from God
or dreams from God and doesn't understand what

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they are, and he uses all
of his influence and says to the people

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under his domain like I need you
to tell me my dream. And also

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the interpretation. They couldn't do it, but God's people did because God showed

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favor on them. And to make
a long story short, God gave Nebuchadnezzar

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understanding of history, long history,
and he showed even the fall of Babylon,

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even though at the time he was
at the top of the world.

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Anibeka Neezar, being the unholy person
that he was, was saying, wait

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a minute, I will never fall. So I am going to now fast

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forward a couple of chapters in the
book of Daniel. I'm going to erect

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an idol that says that I'm going
to be here forever, and everybody must

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worship well. The people of God
who were now advisors to the king are

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shown as Ariah, Michel, Hanna, Andaiah shown as not being willing to

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worship the king only willing to worship
God, they would not bow. And

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at the threat to the pain of
death, they would not bow. And

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in that place where they were threatened
with bodily harm and death, and their

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families threatened with bodily harm and death, those men stood firm. They stood

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firm with their connection with God,
their dedication to God. And no matter

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what king, those young men stood
for holiness. And then you fast forward

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into chapter six where now Daniel,
who's been through multiple empires, now is

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serving the king. And the people
were jealous of him and envious of him,

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and they made up something so that
Daniel would be in a similar pickle.

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And to make a long story,
Shart, the man of God continued

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to worship God even though they were
trying. They threw him into a den

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of lions. God protected his people
through the fiery furnace, through the den

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of lions, through the cultural strangeness
and differences, because why they were dedicated

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to serving God even though they were
captive in a foreign culture. Are you

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willing to serve God? Come what
may, no matter where you are.

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Peace. Thanks for joining us listening. Friends, Always remember we cannot live

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by bread alone, but by every
word that comes from the mouth of God.

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This has been your daily portion with
El David Harris. Make it a

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great day. Yeah,