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 Friday, November eighth,
twenty twenty four. Hello, my name is Elle 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, rounding the corner with Lesson number six themes
in the Gospel of John, and our caption for today
is stay with Jesus. I need you to do this
like stay with Jesus. We'll get into that in just
a moment, but first I'd like to say, on this
preparation day, welcome to everyone joining us, especially those joining
us for the very first time. I'm asking you to
please go over to your Daily Portion dot com. Please
join our online community. Especially pay attention, give keen attention
to that number seven, that number seven. I need at
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like to see ten thousand, but I'll leave it at
one thousand for now. To continue your growth path, your
spiritual development. Please and thanks, and also 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 then we will get underway. Father and Heaven. Thank
you for giving us the invitation to remain with you.
Thank you for giving us your holy Spirit to teach
us to abide in you. I pray God now that
we will be full of your Holy Spirit and then
be transformed so that we can be of service to
others and one day see you face to face in
Jesus name. I pray Amen and a men again, stay
with Jesus. There's so much that we learned this week,
too much to say, so much to say, so little time.
Let me just go ahead and begin with what is
in the lesson for today's study, and it reads to
whom shall we go? Of course, when Jesus turned around
in a certain situation in John chapter six, he said
to the people there, like the closest people there, Are
you going to leave me? Are you going to depart
from me? Because the going is getting tough, because you
are going through challenges, because you feel like what I'm
saying is too hard? Are you going away? And then,
of course one of his children said, well, where are
we going to go? To whom shall we go? Like
you have the words of truth, you are truth, you
are life. We're going to stay with you. The teachers
of God's people were slaves to formalism. The Pharisees and
Sadducees were in constant contention. If you know that you
are constantly in contention, then ask God, like, why am
I like this? Why does my mind always look for
an argument? Why am I always looking for a way
or often looking for a way to find fault in
myself and in others in the institution of God's people?
Why am I like this? And then ask him what
to do with that? Continuing the quote to leave, Jesus
was to fall among the sticklers for rights and ceremonies
and ambitious men who so their own glory. We're talking
about people who are supposed to be the people of God.
Departing from Jesus meant being subject to that enslaved spiritual mentality,
that thought that we could fastidiously become holy based on
our own efforts, that somehow we could make ourselves like God,
rather than surrendering our will to God and allowing him
to work us through the process of being holy. Let
me continue. The disciples had found more peace and joy
since they had accepted Christ than in all their previous lives.
Can you remember the day that you accepted Jesus into
your life? Brother? How about you, sister? Like do you
remember the day that you said yes to Jesus and
what that experience has delivered you from? What that experience
has ushered you into in a good way. They had
that experience, how could they go back to those who
had scorned and persecuted the friend of sinners? They had
long been looking for Messiah. Now he had come, and
they could not turn from his presence to those who
were hunting his life and had persecuted them from becoming
his followers. To whom shall we go? From the book
Desire of Ages, page three hundred ninety three. To whom
shall we go not from the teaching of Christ, his
lessons of love and mercy, to the darkness of unbelief,
the wickedness of the world. While the Savior was forsaken
by many who had witnessed his wonderful works. Peter expressed
the faith of the disciples, thou art the Christ. The
very thought of losing this anchor of their souls filled
them with fear and pain. To be destitute of a
savior was to be a drift on a dark and
stormy sea. Can I read that again? That last part?
To be destitute, that is without ah, to be lacking
the Savior, was to be a drift. So we're supposed
to be going one direction on this sea of life. Ah,
And we're supposed to be. But to separate from Jesus
means that we in the darkness of the sea, in
the storms of the sea, in the torrents of rain
and the winds and the waves roaring, we end up
not where we intended to be, But we end up
a drift, and then we drown. Where shall we go?
That is a good question, Stay with Jesus. I think
we answered it. Where shall we go if we're not
with you? Oh, be with me. Jesus is saying, stay
with me, abide in me and I in you. If
you do that, and you will ask what you will
and it shall be done unto you. So stay with Jesus. Well,
what can we learn from this concept today? From the
Bible Book of John, chapter fourteen and verse twenty seven,
Our first lesson comes peace. I leave with you my peace.
This is Jesus is peace. I give unto you, not
as the world giveth it unto you. Let not your
heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. Recognize, brothers
and sisters. I want you to identify in your mind
the source of peace. The true source of peace is Jesus.
Do not separate yourself from him. Do not allow trials, tribulations,
crazy thoughts, difficult times, temptations. Do not allow anything to
separate you from Him. When you are fearful, do not
let that separate you. And you have doubts, let that
not separate you. When you are disappointed, you ask God
for X and you did not get it. Don't let
that separate you. Just know that He has your best
interest at heart. So regularly reflect on the peace you've
experienced in Christ to reinforce why you should continue to
follow him. And so the Bible also teaches also teaches
that we should avoid empty rituals. I said, empty rituals.
I'm talking about the ones that are stressful, that don't
add anything to our spiritual connection with God. Do away
with those. In Matthew chapter fifteen, Jesus gave us some
counsel beginning at verse eight. This people draweth nigh unto
me with their mouths and honors me with their lips,
but their heart is far from me. So don't just
honor God in your mouth. Don't just honor him by
forwarding good quote from inspiration and from the Bible. Don't
just honor him by talking a lot about him. How
you're doing, brother, well, you know God is good, No disrespect.
I'm just saying, we want to be so connected with
God that we turn away from the vanity of rituals.
But in vain do they worship me teaching for doctrines,
the commandments of humans of men. So we avoid empty rituals,
and we run to the source of peace and stay
with Jesus. I'm grateful, I'm grateful because Jesus has invited
us to remain with him, and therefore with open arms
he keeps us and embraces us. Will you embrace him too?
Speaker 1: 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.