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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 Friday, December fifteen,
twenty twenty three. Hello, my name

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

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Portion where we give you God's word
every single day, and today is no

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exception. We are continuing in our
Lesson Studies series, God's mission My mission,

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and on this preparation day, our
caption is true Believers, True Believers.

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Yes, we'll get into that in
just a moment, but first I

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like to just say again, happy, happy, happy Preparation Day and ask

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you to please go over to your
Daily Portion dot com join our online community.

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Please please please let us know where
you are in the world at your

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Daily Portion dot Com and pick up
the book Your Daily Portion. How many

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times can I say your Daily Portion
in a sentence? Ah? Yes,

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all right, So this is a
way that we continue to build faith and

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fellowship. Let's not burn any more
time here. Let's go ahead and pray

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and then get underway. Father in
Heaven, thank you for giving us this

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day and for the opportunity we have
to prepare for the special time that we

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have in You and the Sabbath time. And I pray God that you will

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give us your holy spirit and that
we will be receptive to your voice in

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all things. In Jesus' name,
I pray Amen and Amen again. True

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believers, True believers. So I'm
not here wanting to start an argument about

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whether there is a hot this month, yes or no. But the fact

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is that there are a lot of
people who are celebrating a holiday this month,

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right. And the fact is also
that during the discussion the story of

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Jesus's birth, there was a point
at which we see in the skies what

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the Bible describes as a star as
a star, right, and and we

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understand through inspiration that this was really
angels right brightening the sky to announce the

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birth of Jesus Christ right, and
so interestingly, the only people who came

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to truly like worship Jesus were people
that were not considered like from among God's

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people. Some people say they were
three wise men. I don't see three

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in the Bible. I've never read
it anywhere. I've tried to find it,

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but I haven't seen it. But
there were wise men that had three

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gifts. And maybe that's where people
get it from. But let me not

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get too far off field here.
But you had the franken, since you

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had the mrr, you had the
other gift. And so now they are

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there and they are hearing glory to
God in the highest like and then on

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earth peace, good will toward men. And where are God's people? That's

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what I want to know. Like
these dudes were magi, Like where did

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they come from? They came from
the east. Where were God's people who

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should have been studying the prophecies and
knowing that around this time then Messiah would

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be born in Bethlehem Ephratha? Like
where were God's people? Well? May

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I just say that the ones who
were supposed to be God's people in air

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quotes were nowhere to be found.
I mean, I just say that the

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true believers, the true believers in
that moment where these magi who came looking

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because they saw the star in the
sky and they knew something special was gonna

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happen, and they were prepared to
worship. They were prepared to give the

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best of all that they have.
I think there's a song that says,

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give up your best to the Master. So these men, whether it's two

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or it's three, I don't know, I don't know. I thought you

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were a Bible teacher, Dave.
Well, let me just say these men

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they came with worship because they were
true believers. Now that we've gotten all

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of that off my chest, the
question that we need to answer is like,

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am I a true believer? Am
I a true believer? Well?

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From the book Desire of Ages we
get a very interesting perspective among those I'm

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reading now. It's a quote,
among those whom the people of God styled

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heathen were men who had a better
understanding of the scripture prophecies concerning the Messiah

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than had all of the teachers among
God's people. I just say that again,

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among those whom God's people styled heathen
were men who had a better understanding

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of the scripture prophecies concerning the Messiah
than had the teachers. Among God's people,

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there were some who hoped for his
coming as a deliverer from sin.

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Philosophers endeavored to study into the mystery
of the Hebrew economy. Like these people

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are coming into the history and spiritual
understanding and the scrolls. They are are

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peering into what God people had firmly
in their bosom to learn the mysteries.

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And then the people of God themselves, a lot of them did not learn

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the mysteries for themselves. Can you
imagine? But the bigotry of the people

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of God hindered the spread of the
light. There are times, and that's

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the end of the quote, there
are times that God's people in twenty twenty

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three, I'm not going to go
way back to where Jesus was as he

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was being born into humanity in order
to save us. Like that seems so

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far distant. Like I don't speak
ancient Hebrew, like I don't speak Aramaic,

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I don't speak Cooine Greek. I
may read a few words here or

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there, but like that was way
back then, what about now? Like

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this December fifteenth, twenty twenty three, am I like God's people of that

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day, who did not connect with
God to the degree that they didn't even

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understand what people who came from outside
of the fold did understand. They did

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not embrace or worship in the way
that even some of these men and women

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who came from outside of the fold
worshiped and connected with God. This is

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a somber and sobering moment for the
people of God, and we need to

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be asking ourselves, do we have
that kind of faith that lays hold upon

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the promises and power of God,
The kind of faith that leads people to

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connection with Him that can overcome any
temptation, trial or sin, like any

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trial, any addiction, Like do
we have the kind of faith that says,

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you know what, I'm not into
the brownie points religion. God,

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how can I please you? Like
what makes you happy? Not because I'm

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looking for a way to get paid, but for me to just just show

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you. I just want to show
you what great a God you are to

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me, because you have delivered me, because you have put the sun in

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the sky, and when I was
among the unjust, you caused the sun

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to still shine on me. You
did not withhold my water or my daily

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bread. When I withheld worship from
you, God, can you just show

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me how to worship you? Let
me read from January seventeen, eighteen ninety

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three the periodical Advent Review and Sabbath
Harold, which reads, The Lord Jesus,

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the Mighty Savior, has died for
these people, these souls. He

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can arouse them from their indifference.
He can awaken their sympathies. He can

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soften their hearts. He can reveal
to their souls the beauty and power of

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the Truth. The Master Worker is
God and not finite man. And yet

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he calls upon men to be agents
through whom He can impart light to those

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in darkness. So, brothers and
sisters, God has given us the privilege

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really to lead people into right relationships
and pathways to God. Isn't that wonderful?

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God has jewels in all of the
churches. And it is not for

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us to make a sweeping denunciation of
the professed religious world. But in humility

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and love, resent to all the
present, to all the truth as it

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is in Jesus. Let men see
piety and devotion. Let them behold Christ's

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likeness of character, and they will
be drawn to the truth. They are

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to lift up Jesus, the world's
redeemer. They are to hold forth the

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word of life. Isn't it wonderful
that God? And that's the end of

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the quote. By the way,
isn't it wonderful that God has given us

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the privilege to see from among every
nation kindred chung tribe or people, people

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who are willing to keep covenant with
Him. People who don't look like you,

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who do not speak like you,
who do not have your specific pedigree

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in heir quotes, but they love
god fully. And God is saying to

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you that you can be a true
believer too, and you can help others

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get connected with God. It's a
wonderful privilege. Peace. Thanks for joining

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us listening. Friends, Always remember
we cannot live by bread alone, but

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by every word that comes from the
mouth of God. This has been your

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daily portion with el David Harris.
Make it a great day. Yeah,