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 Monday, February
twenty three, 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 if
you continue in the faith, If you continue in the Faith.
Before we get into that, I'd like to say welcome
to you and ask you to please, if you've not
already done so, go over to your Daily Portion dot com.
Please join our online community. Pick up your Daily Portion
Life application guide. Also, please click that contribute button because
we are listener and viewers supported, and also let us
know where you are in the world at your Daily
Portion dot com. This is one of the ways we
continue to build faith and fellowship. Let's go ahead and pray. Father,
we thank you for this day. Please help us to
remain steadfast. Please, in Jesus' name, I pray Amen, and
amen again if you continue in the faith. All right, So,
one of the problems with people who start following Jesus
is that we stop. I was trying to find the
right way to say it. One of the problems with
people who start to follow Jesus is we stop, We
get sidetracked, We say, okay, well all right, Jesus, I'll
catch you later, rather than continuing like we start with
Christ by faith and then try to continue by our
own works. And I know we're not studying the Galatians.
But this is something that Paul really like zeroed in
on and said, well, who has beguiled you? How did
you get to the point where you knew that you
should start, pardon me with Christ by faith and then
suddenly you feel like you're gonna do things in your
own strength well, if I had to rewrite the script,
it's the same way here in our lesson for today,
where where we start we get off to a good
start and then get tired. We start with Jesus and
then hang back and don't do anything and don't remain steadfast.
That is, if it's the worst case scenario. Okay. And
so what I'd like to do is read a couple
of quotes and then we'll jump in with two feet okay.
And so from way back Pioneer Style eighteen sixty eight
from Reviewing Harold, we read salvation is secured only by
a living Okay, So that means we can't stagnate, Like,
that's not the that's not the reality of a believer.
Only by a living okay, abiding Wait a minute, faith
that endures to the end. How many ways did this
brother say that we continue with God? Salvation is secured
only by a living Okay, that's a continual growth, abiding.
That means we don't separate ourselves from God. Faith. Well,
that's also a living reality that endures. So that means
we don't give up until the end. Well, when it
is in the end, when Jesus returns, let's go to
the Acts of the Apostles, page four hundred and seventy six.
We are to remain thank God. We are to remain
steadfast in the faith, holding fast to the hope of
the Gospel. Hold fast that means to grabble onto whatever
it is that God has taught us, whatever has to
do with us remaining connected to God. Do not allow
your fingers to open up and release that thing. Hold
on for dear life. And I don't mean in a
desperate sort of sense. I'm talking about you treasure to
the reality. So maybe I shouldn't have said for dear life,
but you treasure this reality, this blessing, this connection with God,
so much that you have no desire, no intention, and
there's nothing in you that will release it, as if
it doesn't matter. We are to remain steadfast in the face,
holding fast to the hope of the Gospel. What is
the gospel? What is the gospel? It is the power
of God unto salvation, to everyone who believes the power
of God, unto salvation. So we're not letting go. I
think John said in the book Revelation, he said, hold
that fast, that thou hast that no man take thy crown,
And so lesson number one today is coming in from
Colossians chapter one and verse twenty three. Colossians chapter one
and verse twenty three, and the Bible reads, if ye
continue in the faith, grounded and settled. That means we're
not shifting. We're not looking for somewhere else to go.
We're not testing the waters to see if this is
the right place. Like when you walk into the room,
meaning the relationship with God, you're not looking around and
saying is this the right place, waiting for some greeter
or a host to say, yes, you're in the right
place and please have a seat here. No, when you
step into that relationship with God by faith, you know
that this is the right place. This is where you belong,
and that is your identity. So you're grounded, you are settled,
continuing the text, and be not moved away from the
hope of the gospel. Don't go nowhere, Okay, don't go nowhere.
This means to remain, persist and to continue. And here
is what the Greek this is the power of this
Greek word about remaining is to continue right. That means
to remain, persist and continue. Here's a big word deliberately,
not by default. Not just hoping for the best passively,
but deliberately intentionally. Okay, So Paul's if in quotes does
not express that's not the goal of the if. It
assumes ongoing faithfulness while stressing responsibility, you have the responsibility
LD if you get up in the morning and switch
on your lights, camera, and you pray and then go forth,
you are going to reach the masses if you see,
faith is not one time. It's not a declaration that
just you know, now you put it up on the board.
You know how people give you these plaques and awards
and all kinds of stuff for doing what God said.
I wish I had the time to deal with that,
No shade, I'm just saying, like, because because because you preach, teach,
and baptize, somebody gives you an award. That's weird, by
the way, that's weird behavior. I don't see how that's biblical.
But okay, but okay, okay, so so and then I'm
not saying this happens. But then you put it up
on the board, and then and then say look at that,
Look at what I did in nineteen eighty two, nineteen
eighty six, nineteen seventy four, Look at what I did,
and then we buffet and shine it, take pictures next
to it, and say look what I did past tens.
This is not the movement of the believer. In terms
of what we're talking about. Faith is not a one
shot situation. It is a daily posture of trust and
reliance upon Christ. Continuance is the evidence of genuine faith.
So the action step off my soapbox now is make
faith a daily decision. Choose Christ again each morning and
let me just say it this way instead, every moment
of the day. Choose Christ every decision that we have
the privilege of making. What does this have to do
with my connection with christis is the right way to go?
Based on how God would have me to live through
prayer and surrender. Lesson number two From Aesians chapter three
and verse seventeen, the Bible reads that Christ may dwell
in your hearts by faith, that ye being rooted and
grounded and in love. In love, a grounded believer is
not just emotional looking back to when the day that
we gave ourselves to the Lord. No, not anchored in
experience or emotion or tradition. The foundation is Christ himself,
as revealed in Scripture. When faith rests in Christ's word,
it is not easily shaken by a false teaching or hardship. Listen,
continue in the faith full stop, and God will see
you through Maykans.
Speaker 1: 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.