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

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

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

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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

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

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and receive the power we need to live healthy.

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Speaker 2: Vibrant lives.

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Speaker 1: Welcome to your Daily Portion with your host, author speaker,

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Elle David Harris.

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Speaker 2: Good morning, Good morning, Good morning.

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Speaker 3: It is Tuesday, December twenty three, twenty twenty five.

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Speaker 2: Hello, my name is El David Harris.

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Speaker 3: I am your host, and this is your Daily Portion

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where we give you God's word every single day, and

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today is no exception. We are continuing in our lesson

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study series Lessons of Faith from Joshua, and our caption

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for today is free to Serve, Free to Serve. We'll

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get into that in just a moment, but before we do,

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I'd like to say welcome to everyone joining us, especially

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those joining us for the very first time. Please go

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over to your Daily Portion dot com. Please pick up

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your Daily Portion Life Application Guide. I want you to

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pick up the one for the coming quarter. Like, we're

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almost there. We're just a couple of days away, so

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you have time to download it there or pick up

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the physical copy and have it delivered to wherever you

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are at your Daily Portion dot com. This is one

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of the ways that we continue to build faith and fellowship.

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

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We thank you, Thank you for this day and the

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privilege you have given to us to serve you and

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to do your will. Please please help us to take

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this freedom that you have given to us seriously and

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actually serve you. Thank you in Jesus name, I pray,

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Amen and Amen again. Free You're free. You're free to serve,

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serve God. Yes, all right, So we're going to the

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review in Harold March seventh, eighteen seventy eight. It's interesting

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to see what the pioneers were. We're thinking about God's

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word back in those days. Okay, and so here is

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the quote. Choice is the crown of humanity? Where are

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crowns set on our heads? The crown of humanity? God

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sets life before us and then bids us choose it,

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not by compulsion, but by conviction. God is saying I've

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set two ways before you. That's the end of the quote.

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By the way, here are the two pathways. Here are

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the ways that I'm setting before you, life and death,

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blessing and cursing. Let me just tell you the answer

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to this test. Choose life like that's the right answer.

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That's the right choice. From the book Steps to Christ's

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page forty three, it reads God never forces the will

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or judgment of men. He takes no pleasure in a

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slavish obedience. You understand that it's not love when people

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are bound in handcuffs and said you're gonna love and

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you're gonna do no. God is saying you're free. You

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can do whatever you choose to do, and you will

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receive the blessing or the negative consequences of your choices.

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He doesn't want slavish obedience. Can you imagine being married

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to someone who was trying to force you to love?

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Speaker 2: Some of you?

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Speaker 3: Unfortunately or God forbid, are already in that kind of

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a situation where you feel like a slave more than

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you are the spouse that he or she chose and

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may covenant with. Let me continue before I go too

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far afield. He desires that the creatures of his hands

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shall love him because he's worthy.

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Speaker 2: Of the love. You See, God doesn't like compulsion. Nope.

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Speaker 3: Number one, God honors your freedom to choose him. Again,

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I'll read from the book of Joshua, because what repetition

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deepens the impression Joshua chapter twenty four and verse sixteen.

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And the people answered and said, God forbid that we

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should forsake the Lord to serve other gods. Okay, and

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so that word, that word for choose, for choose is bahar.

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I said it to you the other day, to select

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with intention and with preference. Joshua reminded the people of

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God that's serving God has never been a coercion. We

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see a lot about that in the news. Yeah, coersion. No,

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it's never been that. God elects his people to love.

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So he does that, and yet he never forces loyalty. See,

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God had a choice. He could have chosen not to

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love us, but he chose to love us. He could

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have chosen to forsake us, but he chose never to

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leave us nor forsake us. So he does not force loyalty.

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God's people had the freedom or liberty to say yes

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or no. And Joshua wanted there yes to be real

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and thoughtful. God grants his people the dignity. I love

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that word and the decision because love cannot coexist with compulsion,

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or it cannot exist without freedom. And so our action

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step is to tell God plainly today I choose you.

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That's what I'm begging you all to do. Like I'm

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making the decision myself today. Today I choose you, God,

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and to make that choice the starting point of every

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major decision you face. When you have more month than money, God,

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I choose you. When somebody is saying some things that

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are not true about you and it's getting under your skin.

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Speaker 2: God, I choose you, huh.

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Speaker 3: When you have an opportunity to do something dishonest in

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order to propel yourself into a level of a higher

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level in your mind, in your mind, a higher level

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of success. Lord, I choose you. You see, when somebody

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is acting a fool on the road and they are

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doing like somebody did to me in rush hour traffic,

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to quote, invite me out of the vehicle in the

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most vile way he wanted. He acted like he wanted

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a little violence, he wanted smoke from me. And I

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was like, God, I choose you. I rolled up that

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window and I pressed on the gas. Because I have

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a violent past. I'm not interested in exercising that on

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some What do you call it being out of control?

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One of the tentacles of the fruit of the spirit

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is self control under the holygos. So zuip roll up

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the window, boom, lock the door, and zuump hit the gas.

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Because God, I choose you today, I do not choose

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unnecessary violence lessen Number two, commitment to God must be thoughtful,

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not based on emotions or can we say principle base

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like he t always says. Eric Thomas always says, it

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needs to be It needs to be principle based, principle driven,

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and not emotions driven. The Bible reads in Joshua, chapter

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twenty four and verse nineteen, he cannot serve the Lord,

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for he is a holy God. He is a jealous God.

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He will not forgive your transgression nor your sins. Like

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what Joshua seemed to contradict their enthusiastic pledge. He was

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not discouraging faithfulness when he said that, he was exposing

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their shallow promises. You remember the first generation said the

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same thing. Whatever the Lord said, that shall we do?

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And the next thing. They're serving an idol almost immediately,

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it didn't even it didn't even take them a couple

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of months. Well, like they were all doing the wrong thing.

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So Joshua said, I've seen this movie before. We're not

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accepting that kind of stuff here. God's people had declared

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obedience before and failed almost immediately. Right in my notes,

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Joshua wanted them to see the weight of their words.

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Serving a holy God is not a quick and emotional response,

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but a lifelong covenant grounded in God's strength, grounded in

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his strength, not in the feeling of the moment. When

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they're playing the Hammond and they're saying, who will be

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the first? Will you yield yourself to God today? Look

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at what He's done on the cross to save you

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from your sins, And all you need to do is

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give me your hand, give God your heart. And the

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music is playing, No, don't do it that way today,

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not today. People of God, make your decision based on

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principle and not based on how you're feeling in the moment.

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And so the action step is to pause before you

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make spiritual commitments. Pray, Lord, give me a heart that

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keeps what my lips declare. Help me to do what

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I say, Help me to do what I say? And

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less than number three. Finally is serving God is about

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relationships with God. Relationship, excuse me with God. I want

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you to invest five minutes today today, or more five

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minutes today recounting how God has delivered you in the past.

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This is a recurring thing, I know. Let gratitude draw

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you into obedience. Let gratitude for what God has done

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for you, draw you into gratitude. Make it a great

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day or our obedience.

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Speaker 2: Peace.

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Speaker 1: Thanks for joining us listening. Friends. Always remember we cannot

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live by bread alone, but by every word that comes

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from the mouth of God. This has been your daily

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