Most of us eat every day, some of us too much because yesterday's food
is not enough to supply energy for today's needs. Why then, do some
of us expect yesterday's portion of heavenly manna the word of God to keep us
through today's challenges. On this program, we are going to change all of
that. Let's experience God's words today and receive the power we need to live
healthy, vibrant lives. Welcome to Your Daily Portion with your host, author
speaker, Elle David Harris. Good morning, Good morning, Good morning.
It is Sunday, March ten, twenty twenty four. Hello, my name
is Elle David Harris. I am your host, and this is your Daily
Portion where we give you God's word every single day, and today is no
exception. We are continuing in our lesson study series through the Book of Psalms,
and our caption for today is a day in your courts is better than
one thousand? A day in your courts are our best better than a thousand.
We'll get into that in just a moment, but first I'd like to
say welcome to you and ask you to please go over to your Daily Portion
dot com. Please join our online community, pick up the your Daily Portion
book and let people know where you are in the world. In that little
box it says where are you in the world, And we continue to build
faith and fellowship at your Daily Portion dot com. Let's go ahead and pray,
and then we will get underway. Father and Heaven. Thank you for
giving us this new morning and the privilege we have to enter into your pavilion,
enter into a worship experience with you relationship. Father, Please please help
us to do so. Wisely, help us to come in with a heart
full of praise, receptive to your Holy Spirit. In Jesus name, I
pray, Amen and Amen again. A day in your courts is better than
a thousand, Okay. So we're going to begin by reading in the Book
of Psalms, the Book of Psalms, chapter eighty four, and see what
the Lord has to say. And by the way, this was composed by
David when he was exiled from from Jerusalem. Remember Jerusalem, the city of
Peace represented to the people of God, the presence of God, the prosperity
of God. And so if you're exiled from from Jerusalem, then there's some
passion that goes on in your heart and mind as as you seek the face
of God. Okay, and so let's go to verse one, and the
Bible reads, how amiable, which means lovely, How amiable are thy tabernacles,
O, Lord of Hosts, my soul longeth, yea, even fainteth
for the courts of the Lord. My heart and my flesh crieth out for
the Living God. Have you ever been in a situation where you cried out
for God? You cried out for God. You remember the times that you
prayed and it felt like God was answering your prayers quickly, or you were
experience experiencing a good time among the people of God. But now it seems
that something has changed. Ah. Have you ever been in a situation where
you longed for the presence of God because something seems to have changed in your
relationship and you're crying out to God. Well, this was going on in
David's life. My heart and my flesh crieth out for the Living God.
Yea. The sparrow hath found an house and a swallow, a nest for
herself where she may lay her young even thine alters, Oh, Lord of
Hosts, my King and my God. Blessed are they that dwell in thy
house. I need you to see the House of God as a blessing.
You realize that the House of the Lord is a house of praise, a
house of prayer for all people. In the Book of Isaiah, chapter fifty
six, the Bible talks about people who feel separated from God because maybe they
were born outside of the community of faith. Maybe they are considered what the
Old Testament people would have seen as unclean, right or or broken, and
somehow ceremonially unacceptable. And God said, there, for those who are covenant
keepers, for those who keep the Sabbath holy, pardon me. Those individuals
must not call themselves a stranger. They must not call themselves a dry tree.
The people of God would have understood that language. They need to be
calling themselves among God's people. He said, because my house is a house
of prayer for all people, I'm going to give covenant keepers a name that
is better than of sons and of daughters. It's a name that will remain
forever. And so we see here that people are saying, like, listen,
I need to be in your presence. They will be still praising thee
verse four Sillah blessed is the man whose strength is in you, in whose
heart are the ways of them? Let me just pause for a moment and
the lesson. The lesson writer says that the psalmist longs and faints to make
the sanctuary his permanent abode, so he can be near to God forever.
You ever long for the time that Jesus will come? Have you ever thought
you know? I'm really tired of this life the way that it is.
I think that almost every single day, like I'm tired of this life as
it is. I don't like traffic at all, like I hate and despise
traffic. I don't like diseases. I don't like when our brothers and sisters
are in need. I don't like being in need. I don't like being
in a situation where I feel distant from God or from His people. I
don't like trials or tribulation or temptations. And so I long. I long
for being in the House of God forever, living in God's presence, according
to the lesson writer, makes a sanctuary a unique place. In the sanctuary,
worshippers can behold the beauty of God Ah and be satisfied with the goodness
of His house. And this is an unparalleled experience that happens when a person
is in relationship with God, which consists of praising him finding strength in him.
Do you find strength in God? Do you invest time in the mornings
when you wake up to say God, I praise you for Do you find
and make time for God and say I thank you for I am grateful that
you and trusting in Him. The sanctuary is the place where such a relationship
is nourished through worship and fellowship with other believers. See. One of the
mistakes that people make is to try to do this alone. You don't have
a community that you're attached to, and I mean a faith community of people
who understand that God is so good? Well, how good is he?
He's so good that his mercies endure forever, like people who understand what it's
like to be forgiven from our sins. Those times that we promise God we
would live a certain way and did not live that way, Those times that
we have broken our promises to other people, and we need the strength to
get up and go forward, making amends and learning from our mistakes and still
moving forward. Yes, so, the people, the fellowship of believers is
a part of this sanctuary. This place of quiet rest, this place of
refuge that God has set up for as people remember, God's house is a
house of prayer for all people, and so the living presence of God in
the sanctuary gives worshipers a glimpse of God's glorious kingdom and the taste of eternal
life. There's so much more that we can say here. Let me see
how many more verses we can get, and if we can get one or
two takeaways. Okay, verse six, who passing through the valley of Baka
make it a well a rain, also fillth with pools. They go from
strength to strength, every one of them. And Zion appereth before God,
O, Lord, God of Hosts, hear my prayer. Give ear,
Oh God of Jacob. Behold, Oh God, our shield, look upon
the face of Thine Anointed, For a day in thy courts is better than
a thousand. I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of God than
to dwell in the tents of wickedness. For the Lord God is a son
and shield. The Lord will give grace and glory. No good thing will
he withhold from them that walk uprightly, Lord of Hosts. Blessed is the
man that trusts in thee. Do you trust God? Do you trust God
more than anything? Do you love God more than anything? Today can be
the day that we begin to build trust and love for God. Here are
a few takeaways. We are longing for the presence of God. We should
always long for the presence of God. Also, beauty and satisfaction is in
God's house. Happiness is in relationship with God. Blessings radiate from the presence
of God's strength along the journey is what we're after. And then we want
to live a worthy life away from the sanctuary as we prepare for the time
that Jesus comes. A wonderful rest of your day, peace, Thanks for
joining us listening. Friends, Always remember we cannot live by bread alone,
but by every word that comes from the mouth of God. This has been
your daily portion with el David Harris. Make it a great day. Yeah,