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 Wednesday, September
twenty five, twenty twenty four. 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 in our final
week in our Lesson study series through the Book of Mark,
and our caption for today is appearing to Mary and Others.
Appearing to Mary and Others. We'll get into that in
just a moment, but first I like to say welcome
to you and ask you to please go over to
your Daily Portion dot com. Please join our online community.
There is a number seven on the screen when you
get there. I want you to take a good look
at it and see what God wants you to do there. Also,
pick up your Daily Portion book 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 in heaven,
thank you for this day, for the opportunity that you
have given to us to open your word. Please, God,
I ask you to help us to see like you
see and not as we as humans see. Give us
your vision in Jesus name. I pray, Amen and Amen again.
I want to say that God respects his creation, and
I want to be careful how I say it. He
loves us, and you want to say, well, how much
does he loves us? He loves us so much that
not only did he give his life for us through Christ,
like Jesus gave his life so that we can be saved.
He blew his breath. He blew the breath of life
into humanity, and we became a living soul. Adam. He
blew his breath into Adam's nostrils, and he became a
living soul. He created Eve from Adam's rib, and he
made her a living soul. Each of them had their
relationships with God. Adam when he was with God right
after creation, he was with God. He was with God,
just he and Adam, He and God, He and God.
God puts him to sleep, and then God makes Eve.
And while Adam is sleeping, Eve has her own connection
with God. She's with God. She's with God. And then
he wakes up Adam, and then the two together have
their relationship with God. They formed that threefold chord that
is hard to be broken. God, Adam and Eve. But
sometimes we minimize what God did in Eve and her daughters.
We minimize that and what God is doing right here
in this aspect of the story. I was critical of
us humans. I was critical of God's people yesterday. Not
in a negative way. You heard me in a positive way.
But we needed constructive criticism to say, well, why were
these women at the tomb there to bury or to
embalm a dead man when Jesus promised that he would
wake up on or take up his life on the
first day, and so he honors these women. Though they
do come to the tomb, their intent is to worship
at the tomb in their own way and to honor Jesus.
While they were hopeless and sad, they should have been
hopeful and looking forward to seeing him wake up. But
that's beside the point. Now, they were going there with
a heart that's positive toward God, a heart that was
full of worship and gratitude, a heart that expressed thankfulness
to God. Okay, but now they get the blessed surprise
that Jesus actually did what he said he was going
to do. He took up his life again. And so
God honors these women. In Mark chapter sixteen, I will
read beginning at verse nine. Now, when Jesus was risen
early the first day of the week, he appeared first
to Mary Magdalene. So he appears to a woman in
a society of male domination. He appears first to a
woman in a society of male domination, and not to
his disciples. And this woman had seven experiences with evil spirits,
plus some other stuff that she went through. So she
wasn't even like the premiere, if you want to say,
and I'm saying this for a fact, like she wasn't
the number one person in her class, like she wasn't
the most likely to success. But she loved God most
because she had been delivered most her love quotient was
very high because she appreciated what God had done for her.
Some of us believed that she was the one that
was at Jesus's feet. He was at Jesus. She was
at Jesus's feet on multiple occasions, worshiping and getting as
much from Jesus as possible, so that she could experience
the fullness of God through him. Yes, and so it
says here he first appeared to marry Magdalene, out of
whom he cast seven devils. Where were his disciples? Anyway?
Verse ten, She went and told them, And she went
and told them that she had been with him, as
they mourned and wept. And they, when they had heard
that he was alive and had been seen of her,
believed not. He appeared in another form unto two of them,
as they walked and went into the country. They went
and told it unto the residue. Neither believed they them. Afterward,
he appeared unto eleven as they sat at meat, and
upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because
they believed, not them which had seen him. After he
was risen, And he said unto them, go ye into
all the world and preach the Gospel unto every creature.
He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved. But
he that believeth not shall be condemned. And these signs
shall follow them that believe in My name. They shall
cast out devils, They shall speak in new tongues. They
shall take up serpents, and if they drink and any
deadly thing, they shall not hurt them. And they shall
lay hands on the sick. And they shall recover what
a promise. And they so then even the Lord had
spoken unto them, He was received up into heaven and
sat at the right hand of God. And they went
forth and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and
confirming the Word with signs. So much to say, so
little time. You see, God has a habit. What is
the habit? He has the habit of choosing the least
likely people to be his witnesses. Are you one of
those least likely people? Brothers and sisters? Is it because
of the way you speak? Maybe you don't speak as
well as some others do. Is it the way that
you think I said, you think that you look in
contrast to the way others appear. I won't get into that.
You know what it is. Is it because of the
way you've been educated or not educated. Maybe you didn't
choose or have the privilege to go to high school.
Maybe you, like one Ellen White, Maybe you were a
person who who was you were not in school from
grade school. It was grade three that was her last
time in school. Maybe you're a person who just really
doubts yourself sometimes. And God is saying that he is
able to do just like he did through these women,
including Mary Magdalene, whose story was unlikely, unlikely as being
the chief evangelist of that moment of time. But he
because he loves us so much that he does not
allow any human thing to limit what he promised he
would do. He said, I will send you out and
I will lead people to myself. I will give you power,
I will give you authority. I will give you the
privilege of being a representative of God through your experience,
your testimony. And so the role of the unlikely witness
is key for us to remember. We must never minimize
the work that God has called for us to do. Yes,
validation in difficult times is another principle that I want
to share with you. It was extremely difficult. When these
women appeared at the tomb, they were feeling hopeless, No
doubt they were tired. I don't see how they could
have gotten any sleep in that state. But when they
experienced Jesus being alive, he validated their desire to be
with him. He validated their ministry of going to others
and sharing. Christ has risen you see. So God has
so much to say in these scenarios, but we have
to have our eyes and ears open waiting for God's guidance.
Make it a great day, peace.
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,