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Speaker 1: Most of us eat every day, some of us too

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much because yesterday's food is not enough to supply energy

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for today's needs. Why then, do some of us expect

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yesterday's portion of heavenly manna the word of God to

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keep us through today's challenges. On this program, we are

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going to change all of that. Let's experience God's words

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today and receive the power we need to live healthy,

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

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author speaker, Elle David Harris.

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Speaker 2: Good morning, Good morning, Good morning. It is Sabbath, January

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twenty four, twenty twenty six. Hello, my name is El

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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

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day and today is no exception. We are continuing in

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our Lesson study series uniting Heaven and Earth, Christ in

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Philippians and Colossians, and our caption for today is Shining

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as Lights in the Night, Shining as Lights in the Night.

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Before we get into that, I'd like to say welcome

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to you and ask you to go over to your

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Daily Portion dot com. Please join our online community. Please

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please let us know where you are in the world

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at your Daily Portion dot com. This is one of

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the ways that we continue to build faith and fellowship.

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Let's go ahead and pray and we will get underway. Father,

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We thank you for giving us the light of the world.

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Please help us to reflect you in Jesus name. I pray,

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Amen and Amen again. Shining as lights in the night,

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May I just say yeah. Growing up as a city boy,

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I used to say, you know what, I'd never seen darkness,

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because no matter what's happening, even if it is nighttime

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in the city, there were the lights of the city,

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and the thing that I liked about nighttime was the lights.

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It's like, well, that's ironic. What I like about the

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night is the light because I grew up in the city.

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Of course, now I live outside of the city and

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there are not lights except the lights in the sky

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right that God has created. But it's interesting that we

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are put into a dark place to shine as lights.

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God said that we are to shine as lights in

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this wicked and perverse generation, and so in Philippians Chapter two,

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Versus fourteen and fifteen, the Bible reads, do all things

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without complaining and disputing, that you may become blameless and

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harmless children of God. Without fault in the midst of

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a crooked and perverse generation. Did I not just say

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this among whom you shine as lights in the world.

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So I'm hoping. I'm hoping that every day that you awaken,

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that you know that God is using you as a

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search light. He's looking for people to save. God is

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not lost, which is why in those testimony services sometimes

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you know, a sister would get up, a brother would

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get up and say, I'd like to talk about the

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day that I found the Lord. I found the Lord,

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and it's like, ah, well, God is not lost. We're

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the ones lost, and so we should be testifying about

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the day that God found us. Jesus came to seek

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and to save that which is lost, and therefore those

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who are found by God become like search instruments, the

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light in the dark place in order for others to

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be saved. Aren't you glad that God uses you in

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that way? Yeah. We often talk about how the moon

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reflects the light of the Sun, and of course that

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is the case. I'm not an astronomer, but I do

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appreciate one or two things out there in outer space,

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and I appreciate especially the planet Saturn, because not only

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do those rings reflect the rays of the sun, but

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they become generators of further light. Remember, God said that

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if we let our light so shine people or before men,

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people will see our good works and glorify that is,

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give further light, that is, magnify the light which is God,

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glorify our Father, which is in heaven. And so God

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is constantly teaching us in nature the way of the Gospel. Okay,

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so let me go to our life application guide and

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let's go to a personal application. We are using the

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framework win win. What is important now avoiding the trap

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of either expecting God to do it all or letting

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your own ideas and plans get in the way. And

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so we, as one of my friends said many years ago,

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he said, we are capable of living on either of

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the two extremes in our own strength. In air quotes,

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we can be on the wrong side, to the extreme,

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or to the side of trying fastidiously to be holy

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in our own strength. And sometimes we think we can

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merit our salvation. We can do either of the two

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extremes in our own strength. But he said that the

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truth is right there in the middle, a cooperation, a balance. Again,

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it's important that we avoid the trap of either expecting

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God to do it all that is one extreme, or

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letting your own ideas and plans get in the way

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that's the other extreme. Okay, sit with my hands folded

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and expect that God is going to do everything without

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mind cooperation, or go over here and think that I'm

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the one that does everything and God is just gonna

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I don't know rubber staff my efforts. So that's important.

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Now let's internalize the insight I we're spelling win. It's

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a framework. Too often you either expect God to do

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it all or your own ideas and plans get in

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the way. God calls you to surrender your life to

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him and cooperate with his work in you. You are

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not passive, but you are also not self reliant. The

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light and power of Heaven is available to you, but

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you must surrender and allow God to work through you,

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rather than depending on your own strength or waiting for

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Him to do everything. And so in that case, what

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is the next best move in Identify one area where

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you have either been passed just waiting for God to

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do it all or relying on your own plans. You

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could have anticipated this and ask Him to help you

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surrender and co operate, that is, operate at the same

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time with God, with God as the leader, with his

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work within you. That is the way we win in

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this case. As a personal application, I think we can

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drill now even a relationship's application. How do we apply

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this in our relationships? Well, here's the w What is

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important now doing all things without complaining and disputing, so

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that you can shine as a light in the midst

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of a crooked in perverse generation. No more complaining now.

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I think some of you need a diet. You need

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to be on a diet. You need to fast from complaining.

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And some people say, I'm not fasting, I'm just telling

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the truth about what's happening. It's like, yeah, well, why

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are you always often telling the truth about what is

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disagreeable to you, what is displeasurable to you? What is

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wrong with the situation? That is called complaining? I want

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you to get a dictionary. Get a dictionary. Look into

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your text messages. See when you're texting your friends at work,

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when you're texting your family members or loved ones. When

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you are texting them, is it something that you're voicing

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with your two thumbs in air? Quotes that is displeasurable.

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What's going wrong? What is not making you happy? And

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if that is your habit, look up in the dictionary

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what is complaining? You can type it into a search engine.

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Define complaining and if you qualify as a complainer, you're

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a certified complainer. Then we go back into the scriptures

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to do all things without complaining and without disputing, because

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complaining and disputing stand in the way of us shining

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as lights in this generation. Internalize the insight. You are

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called to do all things without complaining and disputing, so

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that you may become blameless and harmless children of God

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without fault. That's right out of the Bible. When you

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live this way, you shine as a light in the

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midst of this generation. Your obedience and attitude are a

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witness to the world. Complaining and disputing dim your light,

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but a spirit of gratitude and peace makes you stand out.

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What's the next best move? Identify where you're complaining and

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ask God to help you fix it, beginning like now,

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make it a great day.

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Speaker 1: Peace. Thanks for joining us listening. Friends, Always remember we

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cannot live by bread alone, but by every word that

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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,