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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 Monday, August nineteen,

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twenty twenty four. Hello, my name is El David Harris.

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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 lessons

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study number eight in the theme of the Book of Mark,

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and our caption for today is Jesus and Children. Jesus

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and Children. Before we get into that, just permit me

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a moment to say happy birthday to my big sister Lisa.

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Happy birthday. And if somebody's listening and she's not, just

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call her or text her and say your brother said

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happy birthday to you. And of course I'm going to

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reach out to Lisa myself, but I love you a lot,

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and yeah, that's an understatement. It's an understatement. Thank God

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that you are still here, living and breathing and inside

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of God's will. Let's go ahead and pray and then

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we will get underway. Father in heaven, thank you for

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giving us this new day and for continuing to strengthen us.

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Please give us the perspective and the love for children

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that you have. In Jesus's name, I pray, Amen and

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Amen again. Jesus and children, do you remember that song

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that in many churches they play, like if there's a

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children's story that's about to happen. Jesus loves the little children,

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all the children of the world. And then they go

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through the various ethnicities and backgrounds of the children and say,

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no matter which one of these you are, Jesus loves

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the little children of the world. That is an understatement.

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In fact, Jesus used many times children. He used children

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as the standard of righteousness, the standard of holiness, the

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standard of humility, the standard of how do we relate

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to God. Jesus used children to teach us valuable lessons,

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and he loves children. And like I said, that's an understatement.

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Let's go ahead and begin by reading by reading from

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the Book of Mark, chapter ten, and we will read

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beginning at verse thirteen, Yes, verse thirteen, and the Bible reads.

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And they brought young children to him, that he should

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touch them, and his disciples rebuked those that brought them.

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Wait a minute, what you see these guys were doing

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too much. They thought that they were not here for ministry.

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Like these guys thought that they were like Jesus's bodyguard somehow,

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when Jesus was saying no, no, no, no, no, no, no no,

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that is not why I called you. But they said,

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let me read it again. And they brought young children

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to him that he should touch them. Why would they

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want him to touch these children so that they could

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have an experience with God, so that they could be

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transformed like so many people before had been transformed by

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being in God's presence. And then his disciples rebuked those

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that brought them. But Jesus saw it, and he was

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much displeased. That is an understatement, and he said, unto them.

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Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid

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them not, for of such is the kingdom of God,

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bring the children to me, mothers, fathers, guardians, aunties, uncles, grandparents.

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Are you taking your children to Jesus every day that

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you live? And how does that look? In prayer? Are

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you praying for your children and those who are under

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your care? Teachers? Are you praying for your children the

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people that God has entrusted to your care? You don't

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necessarily know all of the details of their home life?

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Are you bringing those children to God in prayer? And

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for those same people I'm asking and even for me,

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am I representing God? When they interact with me? Do

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they have a sense of how God is? Yes?

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Speaker 1: No?

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Speaker 2: If not, then what should we do about it? Like

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beginning now, when children encounter me, Am I speaking the

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way that Jesus would speak? Am I guiding them on

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the paths of righteousness that God would guide them on?

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Have I become God's hands and feet and his voice

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to children? And it says here of such as the

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Kingdom of God. Verily I say unto you, whosoever shall

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not receive the Kingdom of God as a little child,

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he shall not enter here therein And he took them

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up in his arms, put his hands on them. This

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is why the people were bringing the children, and he

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did what He blessed them. Jesus blessed the children. He

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took them into his arms, giving them care, showing compassion,

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showing that he loved them, and then he blessed them.

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Do you think that these children forgot that experience? Come on,

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do you think that God did that just because he

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didn't have anything better to do. They did not forget

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the experience of being blessed by God. There are a

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lot of adults in twenty twenty four on this day

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in August who don't feel blessed by God. And those

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who are not feeling blessed by God sometimes make a

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mess of relationships. And so what we want to do

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is make sure that we are giving our children the

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best possible opportunity to be connected with God, so that

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when we connect, when they grow and they are connecting

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with people, they will know how to connect with people.

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They will know what it's like to have healthy relationships.

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They will know what it's like to trust God in humility.

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They will know what it's like to know that God

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will take care of them. And as they grow up,

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they will learn how to take care of others who

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are in need. Yes, and so Jesus has shown us

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what his perspective on children really is. And from the lesson.

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While children were greatly desired in the ancient world, particularly

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boys in the male dominant culture, I wish I had

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the time to deal with that. Birth and childhood were

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not easy. Without modern medical care, the risks of mothers

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in giving birth and to newborns, infants, and children were elevated.

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Many cultures had traditional medicines and amulets to use to

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protect those vulnerable individuals against malevolent forces. While children were desired,

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they were of a low social status. Can I just say,

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even in twenty twenty four, people are still saying that

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children are supposed to be seen and not heard. Have

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you ever heard that before?

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Speaker 1: Oh? My?

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Speaker 2: Along the lines of slaves. Actually, in the Greco Roman world,

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those who were deformed or undesirable would be exposed or

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even tossed in a river. Can you just let that

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settle in? How could someone do this to one of

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God's children. Jesus breathed his breath into these babies. The

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only reason they were alive is because God said so.

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When God forbid a man and a woman get together

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and they're not married, and these children are born to

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the man and the women who are not married. It's

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because God breathed his breath into the child. Has nothing

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to do with the fact that the mother and the

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father were not married, and that is not the ideal situation.

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Any time we see children alive, it's because God created

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them and He has a purpose for them. I need

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you to hear this. I remember I had to talk

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a grandmother off the ledge because her son had an

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illicit relationship with a woman. And now they are having

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a child, and the grandmother was having a difficult time

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accepting the child. And I'm like, how could you have

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a difficult time accepting the child when God is the

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one who gave that child breath. He could have arrested

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the situation. He could have made it so that the

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child never existed, but He caused the child to live. Now,

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what are you gonna do, Grandma? What are you gonna do? Grandpa?

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What are you gonna do? Mommy? What are you gonna do? Daddy?

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This is something that we really need to give keen

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attention to. Boys were valued over girls. This is terrible.

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Sometimes girl babies were left to die among the elements.

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At times, these abandoned babies were quote rescued only to

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be raised and sold as slaves, and the disciples seemed

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not to have gotten the memo that that is not

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God's way. And so when you have an opportunity to

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embrace and to assist children, take on the mindset of Christ.

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Jesus loved the little children, and we can love them.

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Thanks for joining us listening to 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.

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Speaker 1: Yeah,