10 02 2026 A Kind and Tender Parent

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1:28Welcome to your daily portion with your host, author speaker, El David Harris. Good morning, good morning, good morning. It is Friday, October 2, 2026. 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 titled The Gift of Prophecy. And our caption for today is The Gift in Modern Days. The Gift in Modern Days. We'll get into that in just a moment. But first I'd like to say welcome to everyone joining us, especially those joining us for the very first time. Welcome to our Preparation Day edition, if you will, every Friday, of course. Please go over to your daily portion.com. Will you please click the button under that big header that says, stop guessing what to do with your life. Discover God's design for your life. And once you invest a few minutes there,

2:30you will come away with a personal blueprint, a clear picture of how you are gifted. How the word behind the gift relates to it. And the first step toward using it. So please, please go ahead and do that. And if you are so inclined, go ahead and click the contribute button because your daily portion of ministry is a listener and viewer supported ministry. Let's go ahead and pray and get underway. God, we thank you for giving us this day of preparation and for the Sabbath that will be here in just a few hours. Father, I'm asking you to please open up our minds. Help us to see that you have not allowed the church to come behind in any gift, even all the way into 2020, 2026. And I pray that we will receive your spirit today. In Jesus' name, I pray, amen. And amen again.

3:30Okay, so God has manifest the spiritual gifts throughout the life cycle of the church. From the very first century church until today, the church, as the Bible writer would have said, has not come behind in any gifts. And so I will introduce you to Ellen White. I'm not going to teach a study on Ellen White because of course our focus are the scriptures. Our focus is seeing how God is at work. But we do see a manifestation of the gift of prophecy in the sister Ellen White who passed away way back in 1950. But she served her God and the church of God well during her ministry. And so for me, the most important thing today is that God's communication did not end in Bible times. I've said that to you already.

4:31For he continues to speak to his people until Christ returns. The story of young Ellen Harmon shows a God who reaches into fear and despair to reveal himself as a kind and tender parent whose love, pardons and transforms. And so we begin by reading from the Bible book of Jeremiah. Hopefully you have your Bibles. Jeremiah chapter 31 and verse 3. Our first lesson comes from Jeremiah chapter 31 and verse 3. And the Bible reads, the Lord hath appeared unto me saying, yay, I have loved thee with an everlasting love. Therefore with loving kindness have I drawn thee. And so we see that God has a steadfast love, covenant faithfulness. That is what the loving kindness word means in the text from the Hebrew word where we got it.

5:31So God drew this young woman way back, way back in the late 1800s Ellen with the same everlasting love he extends to you and he extends to me in 2026. When you feel unworthy, when you feel afraid, his steadfast love is already reaching out toward you. And so the real big question is, are you ready to receive that love? In whatever ways that God has gifted you, which is why if you look back up on your screen, you, I keep asking you to stop guessing what to do with your life, right? Discover God's design for your life. In the same way, the pioneers of this faith fellowship and the pioneers of the overall Christian ministry back into the first century. And then the ancient people of God before we even started using the word Christian, there is something that is consistent. God still calls people to do what somebody else is not doing.

6:35You understand? So if I'm an I and you're an I, well, I'm me as the I, you are you as the I if I'm a foot and you're a foot, I'm me as a foot and you are you as a foot and God has stamped a particular DNA on each of our lives so that when we come into ministry, whatever that means, however God has called us, then we can do it in a way that nobody else can do it. Not that we're better, not that we're elite and somebody else is not elite. That's not the point. It's more like, well, based on the experiences of each one of us and are calling by God and the faith that he instills in our hearts, we come into the world to glorify God and of course to help as many people as possible. So what do we do though? Step back and and and then go to God today and speak to him about the truth that he loves you with and everlasting love. Even when you feel least worthy of it, even when you feel the least worthy of it,

7:40that's what our late sister Ellen used to feel. She used to feel unworthy on a regular basis, but it's God's love. It's not our deserving of God's love. The Bible reads in 1 John chapter three and verse one where we go to our second lesson. First John chapter three and verse one, behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed upon us that we should be called the sons or the children of God. God wants you to look into like with appreciation, not just take a peek and run away, but with appreciation, with the ability to embrace now what you're seeing. When I see my wife, I'm beholding my love. I'm not just looking at somebody. You understand where I'm going with this? So I'm longingly looking at and appreciating the love of God. Well, when he says what manner of love he's talking about how great and remarkable this love is. God's love is great and remarkable.

8:41And so in Ellen's case, she came to see God as a kind and tender parent rather than a stern tyrant. And that was a big deal in her day. Because of course people were always looking up like often, especially within the faith fellowship, looking up for firebolts, lightningbolts. Like if I do this, then God is going to strike me from heaven. And then he's going to make up arbitrary rules. This is what people thought, especially during those days, that God would make up arbitrary rules that we can't follow and then punish us for not being able to follow them. And what she learned like you and I must learn even now is that he is not a stern tyrant. He's a loving tender God who is like the parent that you always imagined. And that change of view is the gospel and it can remake your heart in the same way. When we come to this realization, we know that God can remake us and we can be holy as a result.

9:44And so examine your wrong picture of God. Is there something about God that you have either contrived or you learned from, I don't know if it's your four parents or somebody in society, your faith fellowship, or one that you used to be attached to? It could be television, radio, or the internet almost said the, I don't know what I just almost said, but the internet. And God is saying, well, yeah, those are not where you find out about me. You go into my word and through the Holy Ghost, I will show you my son. And that is what I am like. So go to God, go to God, examine that wrong picture that you have carried and let the tenderness of the Father who loves you correct that today. Let me read from the book Life Sketches page 39, my views of the Father were changed. I now looked upon him as a kind and tender parent rather than a stern tyrant, compelling man to a blind obedience. My heart went out toward him in a deep and fervent love. That is the outcome we desire. Thanks for joining us listening friends.

10:47Always 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. And a one pound package of strawberries is $199 with digital coupon. Plus Kellogg's giant size cereal, 22.6 to 29.5 ounces, selected varieties are $299 each with digital coupon, limit three. Hurry in, visit vans or Albertsons.com for more deals and ways to save. It's not just electric, it's Toyota Electric. And during Toyota's easy choice sales event, going electric is easier than ever. Right now, save instantly on a new Toyota EV with special incentive programs for first time EV buyers and prior EV owners. Choose the sleek busy,

11:50the adventurous busy woodland or the sporty CHR. But don't wait, these special savings won't last. We make it easy. Toyota, let's go places. Save with digital deals at Vans and Albertsons. This week at Vans and Albertsons, Ginny O, 93% lean ground turkey is $399 per pound, sold in a three pound tray with digital coupon limit two packages. And a one pound package of strawberries is $199 with digital coupon. Plus Kellogg's giant size cereal, 22.6 to 29.5 ounces, selected varieties are $299 each with digital coupon limit three. Hurry in, visit vans or Albertsons.com for more deals and ways to save. Save with digital deals at Vans and Albertsons. This week at Vans and Albertsons,

12:52Ginny O, 93% lean ground turkey is $399 per pound, sold in a three pound tray with digital coupon limit two packages. And a one pound package of strawberries is $199 with digital coupon. Plus Kellogg's giant size cereal, 22.6 to 29.5 ounces, selected varieties are $299 each with digital coupon limit three. Hurry in, visit vans or Albertsons.com for more deals and ways to save.