Speaker 1: 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.
Speaker 2: Good morning, Good morning, Good morning. It is Sabbath, January
twenty four, twenty twenty six. Hello, my name is El
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 uniting Heaven and Earth, Christ in
Philippians and Colossians, and our caption for today is Shining
as Lights in the Night, Shining as Lights in the Night.
Before we get into that, I'd like to say welcome
to you and ask you to go over to your
Daily Portion dot com. Please join our online community. Please
please let us know where you are in the world
at your Daily Portion dot com. This is one of
the ways that we continue to build faith and fellowship.
Let's go ahead and pray and we will get underway. Father,
We thank you for giving us the light of the world.
Please help us to reflect you in Jesus name. I pray,
Amen and Amen again. Shining as lights in the night,
May I just say yeah. Growing up as a city boy,
I used to say, you know what, I'd never seen darkness,
because no matter what's happening, even if it is nighttime
in the city, there were the lights of the city,
and the thing that I liked about nighttime was the lights.
It's like, well, that's ironic. What I like about the
night is the light because I grew up in the city.
Of course, now I live outside of the city and
there are not lights except the lights in the sky
right that God has created. But it's interesting that we
are put into a dark place to shine as lights.
God said that we are to shine as lights in
this wicked and perverse generation, and so in Philippians Chapter two,
Versus fourteen and fifteen, the Bible reads, do all things
without complaining and disputing, that you may become blameless and
harmless children of God. Without fault in the midst of
a crooked and perverse generation. Did I not just say
this among whom you shine as lights in the world.
So I'm hoping. I'm hoping that every day that you awaken,
that you know that God is using you as a
search light. He's looking for people to save. God is
not lost, which is why in those testimony services sometimes
you know, a sister would get up, a brother would
get up and say, I'd like to talk about the
day that I found the Lord. I found the Lord,
and it's like, ah, well, God is not lost. We're
the ones lost, and so we should be testifying about
the day that God found us. Jesus came to seek
and to save that which is lost, and therefore those
who are found by God become like search instruments, the
light in the dark place in order for others to
be saved. Aren't you glad that God uses you in
that way? Yeah. We often talk about how the moon
reflects the light of the Sun, and of course that
is the case. I'm not an astronomer, but I do
appreciate one or two things out there in outer space,
and I appreciate especially the planet Saturn, because not only
do those rings reflect the rays of the sun, but
they become generators of further light. Remember, God said that
if we let our light so shine people or before men,
people will see our good works and glorify that is,
give further light, that is, magnify the light which is God,
glorify our Father, which is in heaven. And so God
is constantly teaching us in nature the way of the Gospel. Okay,
so let me go to our life application guide and
let's go to a personal application. We are using the
framework win win. What is important now avoiding the trap
of either expecting God to do it all or letting
your own ideas and plans get in the way. And
so we, as one of my friends said many years ago,
he said, we are capable of living on either of
the two extremes in our own strength. In air quotes,
we can be on the wrong side, to the extreme,
or to the side of trying fastidiously to be holy
in our own strength. And sometimes we think we can
merit our salvation. We can do either of the two
extremes in our own strength. But he said that the
truth is right there in the middle, a cooperation, a balance. Again,
it's important that we avoid the trap of either expecting
God to do it all that is one extreme, or
letting your own ideas and plans get in the way
that's the other extreme. Okay, sit with my hands folded
and expect that God is going to do everything without
mind cooperation, or go over here and think that I'm
the one that does everything and God is just gonna
I don't know rubber staff my efforts. So that's important.
Now let's internalize the insight I we're spelling win. It's
a framework. Too often you either expect God to do
it all or your own ideas and plans get in
the way. God calls you to surrender your life to
him and cooperate with his work in you. You are
not passive, but you are also not self reliant. The
light and power of Heaven is available to you, but
you must surrender and allow God to work through you,
rather than depending on your own strength or waiting for
Him to do everything. And so in that case, what
is the next best move in Identify one area where
you have either been passed just waiting for God to
do it all or relying on your own plans. You
could have anticipated this and ask Him to help you
surrender and co operate, that is, operate at the same
time with God, with God as the leader, with his
work within you. That is the way we win in
this case. As a personal application, I think we can
drill now even a relationship's application. How do we apply
this in our relationships? Well, here's the w What is
important now doing all things without complaining and disputing, so
that you can shine as a light in the midst
of a crooked in perverse generation. No more complaining now.
I think some of you need a diet. You need
to be on a diet. You need to fast from complaining.
And some people say, I'm not fasting, I'm just telling
the truth about what's happening. It's like, yeah, well, why
are you always often telling the truth about what is
disagreeable to you, what is displeasurable to you? What is
wrong with the situation? That is called complaining? I want
you to get a dictionary. Get a dictionary. Look into
your text messages. See when you're texting your friends at work,
when you're texting your family members or loved ones. When
you are texting them, is it something that you're voicing
with your two thumbs in air? Quotes that is displeasurable.
What's going wrong? What is not making you happy? And
if that is your habit, look up in the dictionary
what is complaining? You can type it into a search engine.
Define complaining and if you qualify as a complainer, you're
a certified complainer. Then we go back into the scriptures
to do all things without complaining and without disputing, because
complaining and disputing stand in the way of us shining
as lights in this generation. Internalize the insight. You are
called to do all things without complaining and disputing, so
that you may become blameless and harmless children of God
without fault. That's right out of the Bible. When you
live this way, you shine as a light in the
midst of this generation. Your obedience and attitude are a
witness to the world. Complaining and disputing dim your light,
but a spirit of gratitude and peace makes you stand out.
What's the next best move? Identify where you're complaining and
ask God to help you fix it, beginning like now,
make it a great day.
Speaker 1: 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,