Latest / Your Daily Portion with L. David Harris / 08 19 2024 Jesus and Children

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08 19 2024 Jesus and Children · Your Daily Portion with L. David Harris

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  Speaker 1: Most of us eat every day, some of us too
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  Speaker 1: much because yesterday's food is not enough to supply energy
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  Speaker 1: for today's needs. Why then, do some of us expect
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  Speaker 1: yesterday's portion of heavenly manna, the word of God to
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  Speaker 1: keep us through today's challenges. On this program, we are
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  Speaker 1: going to change all of that. Let's experience God's words
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  Speaker 1: today and receive the power we need to live healthy,
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  Speaker 1: vibrant lives. Welcome to your Daily Portion with your host,
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  Speaker 1: 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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  Speaker 2: twenty twenty four. Hello, my name is El David Harris.
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  Speaker 2: I am your host, and this is your Daily Portion
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  Speaker 2: where we give you God's word every single day and
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  Speaker 2: today is no exception. We are continuing in our lessons
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  Speaker 2: study number eight in the theme of the Book of Mark,
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  Speaker 2: and our caption for today is Jesus and Children. Jesus
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  Speaker 2: and Children. Before we get into that, just permit me
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  Speaker 2: a moment to say happy birthday to my big sister Lisa.
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  Speaker 2: Happy birthday. And if somebody's listening and she's not, just
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  Speaker 2: call her or text her and say your brother said
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  Speaker 2: happy birthday to you. And of course I'm going to
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  Speaker 2: reach out to Lisa myself, but I love you a lot,
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  Speaker 2: and yeah, that's an understatement. It's an understatement. Thank God
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  Speaker 2: that you are still here, living and breathing and inside
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  Speaker 2: of God's will. Let's go ahead and pray and then
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  Speaker 2: we will get underway. Father in heaven, thank you for
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  Speaker 2: giving us this new day and for continuing to strengthen us.
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  Speaker 2: Please give us the perspective and the love for children
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  Speaker 2: that you have. In Jesus's name, I pray, Amen and
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  Speaker 2: Amen again. Jesus and children, do you remember that song
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  Speaker 2: that in many churches they play, like if there's a
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  Speaker 2: children's story that's about to happen. Jesus loves the little children,
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  Speaker 2: all the children of the world. And then they go
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  Speaker 2: through the various ethnicities and backgrounds of the children and say,
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  Speaker 2: no matter which one of these you are, Jesus loves
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  Speaker 2: the little children of the world. That is an understatement.
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  Speaker 2: In fact, Jesus used many times children. He used children
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  Speaker 2: as the standard of righteousness, the standard of holiness, the
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  Speaker 2: standard of humility, the standard of how do we relate
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  Speaker 2: to God. Jesus used children to teach us valuable lessons,
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  Speaker 2: and he loves children. And like I said, that's an understatement.
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  Speaker 2: Let's go ahead and begin by reading by reading from
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  Speaker 2: the Book of Mark, chapter ten, and we will read
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  Speaker 2: beginning at verse thirteen, Yes, verse thirteen, and the Bible reads.
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  Speaker 2: And they brought young children to him, that he should
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  Speaker 2: touch them, and his disciples rebuked those that brought them.
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  Speaker 2: Wait a minute, what you see these guys were doing
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  Speaker 2: too much. They thought that they were not here for ministry.
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  Speaker 2: Like these guys thought that they were like Jesus's bodyguard somehow,
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  Speaker 2: when Jesus was saying no, no, no, no, no, no, no no,
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  Speaker 2: that is not why I called you. But they said,
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  Speaker 2: let me read it again. And they brought young children
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  Speaker 2: to him that he should touch them. Why would they
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  Speaker 2: want him to touch these children so that they could
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  Speaker 2: have an experience with God, so that they could be
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  Speaker 2: transformed like so many people before had been transformed by
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  Speaker 2: being in God's presence. And then his disciples rebuked those
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  Speaker 2: that brought them. But Jesus saw it, and he was
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  Speaker 2: much displeased. That is an understatement, and he said, unto them.
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  Speaker 2: Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid
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  Speaker 2: them not, for of such is the kingdom of God,
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  Speaker 2: bring the children to me, mothers, fathers, guardians, aunties, uncles, grandparents.
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  Speaker 2: Are you taking your children to Jesus every day that
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  Speaker 2: you live? And how does that look? In prayer? Are
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  Speaker 2: you praying for your children and those who are under
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  Speaker 2: your care? Teachers? Are you praying for your children the
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  Speaker 2: people that God has entrusted to your care? You don't
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  Speaker 2: necessarily know all of the details of their home life?
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  Speaker 2: Are you bringing those children to God in prayer? And
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  Speaker 2: for those same people I'm asking and even for me,
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  Speaker 2: am I representing God? When they interact with me? Do
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  Speaker 2: 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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  Speaker 2: beginning now, when children encounter me, Am I speaking the
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  Speaker 2: way that Jesus would speak? Am I guiding them on
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  Speaker 2: the paths of righteousness that God would guide them on?
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  Speaker 2: Have I become God's hands and feet and his voice
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  Speaker 2: to children? And it says here of such as the
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  Speaker 2: Kingdom of God. Verily I say unto you, whosoever shall
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  Speaker 2: not receive the Kingdom of God as a little child,
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  Speaker 2: he shall not enter here therein And he took them
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  Speaker 2: up in his arms, put his hands on them. This
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  Speaker 2: is why the people were bringing the children, and he
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  Speaker 2: did what He blessed them. Jesus blessed the children. He
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  Speaker 2: took them into his arms, giving them care, showing compassion,
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  Speaker 2: showing that he loved them, and then he blessed them.
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  Speaker 2: Do you think that these children forgot that experience? Come on,
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  Speaker 2: do you think that God did that just because he
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  Speaker 2: didn't have anything better to do. They did not forget
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  Speaker 2: the experience of being blessed by God. There are a
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  Speaker 2: lot of adults in twenty twenty four on this day
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  Speaker 2: in August who don't feel blessed by God. And those
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  Speaker 2: who are not feeling blessed by God sometimes make a
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  Speaker 2: mess of relationships. And so what we want to do
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  Speaker 2: is make sure that we are giving our children the
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  Speaker 2: best possible opportunity to be connected with God, so that
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  Speaker 2: when we connect, when they grow and they are connecting
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  Speaker 2: with people, they will know how to connect with people.
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  Speaker 2: They will know what it's like to have healthy relationships.
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  Speaker 2: They will know what it's like to trust God in humility.
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  Speaker 2: They will know what it's like to know that God
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  Speaker 2: will take care of them. And as they grow up,
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  Speaker 2: they will learn how to take care of others who
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  Speaker 2: are in need. Yes, and so Jesus has shown us
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  Speaker 2: what his perspective on children really is. And from the lesson.
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  Speaker 2: While children were greatly desired in the ancient world, particularly
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  Speaker 2: boys in the male dominant culture, I wish I had
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  Speaker 2: the time to deal with that. Birth and childhood were
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  Speaker 2: not easy. Without modern medical care, the risks of mothers
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  Speaker 2: in giving birth and to newborns, infants, and children were elevated.
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  Speaker 2: Many cultures had traditional medicines and amulets to use to
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  Speaker 2: protect those vulnerable individuals against malevolent forces. While children were desired,
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  Speaker 2: they were of a low social status. Can I just say,
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  Speaker 2: even in twenty twenty four, people are still saying that
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  Speaker 2: children are supposed to be seen and not heard. Have
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  Speaker 2: 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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  Speaker 2: those who were deformed or undesirable would be exposed or
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  Speaker 2: even tossed in a river. Can you just let that
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  Speaker 2: settle in? How could someone do this to one of
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  Speaker 2: God's children. Jesus breathed his breath into these babies. The
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  Speaker 2: only reason they were alive is because God said so.
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  Speaker 2: When God forbid a man and a woman get together
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  Speaker 2: and they're not married, and these children are born to
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  Speaker 2: the man and the women who are not married. It's
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  Speaker 2: because God breathed his breath into the child. Has nothing
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  Speaker 2: to do with the fact that the mother and the
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  Speaker 2: father were not married, and that is not the ideal situation.
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  Speaker 2: Any time we see children alive, it's because God created
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  Speaker 2: them and He has a purpose for them. I need
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  Speaker 2: you to hear this. I remember I had to talk
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  Speaker 2: a grandmother off the ledge because her son had an
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  Speaker 2: illicit relationship with a woman. And now they are having
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  Speaker 2: a child, and the grandmother was having a difficult time
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  Speaker 2: accepting the child. And I'm like, how could you have
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  Speaker 2: a difficult time accepting the child when God is the
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  Speaker 2: one who gave that child breath. He could have arrested
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  Speaker 2: the situation. He could have made it so that the
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  Speaker 2: child never existed, but He caused the child to live. Now,
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  Speaker 2: what are you gonna do, Grandma? What are you gonna do? Grandpa?
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  Speaker 2: What are you gonna do? Mommy? What are you gonna do? Daddy?
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  Speaker 2: This is something that we really need to give keen
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  Speaker 2: attention to. Boys were valued over girls. This is terrible.
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  Speaker 2: Sometimes girl babies were left to die among the elements.
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  Speaker 2: At times, these abandoned babies were quote rescued only to
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  Speaker 2: be raised and sold as slaves, and the disciples seemed
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  Speaker 2: not to have gotten the memo that that is not
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  Speaker 2: God's way. And so when you have an opportunity to
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  Speaker 2: embrace and to assist children, take on the mindset of Christ.
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  Speaker 2: Jesus loved the little children, and we can love them.
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  Speaker 2: Thanks for joining us listening to friends. Always remember we
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  Speaker 2: cannot live by bread alone, but by every word that
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  Speaker 2: comes from the mouth of God. This has been your
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  Speaker 2: daily portion with el David Harris. Make it a great day.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah,