ADVICE

Wisdom and experience versus friends and people my age… From which group would you be most likely to accept advice?

What about advice from Christians versus that of non-Christians… Would it simply “depend” on which you liked better?

Maybe there is a way to prioritize advice…How about putting the advice of the Creator of all that exists first? Novel approach, right?

⁸ “For My thoughts are not your thoughts,

Nor are your ways My ways,” declares the LORD.

⁹ “For as the heavens are higher than the earth,

So are My ways higher than your ways

And My thoughts than your thoughts.

Isaiah 55:8-9 (NASB)

The thoughts of God are above all. He sees and knows all.

⁵If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. James 1:5 (NIV)

The next verse says, “without doubting.” In other words, if you ask, you’d better believe He’s going to do it!

Ask Him…and wait for His answer. Too often, we think we “know what He will say” and go ahead with what we want anyway.

King Solomon’s son asked advice from his advisors and a certain matter. Then he asked the advice of his younger friends, people that had grown up with him. Here’s what happened with that…

The king answered the people harshly, for he forsook the advice of the elders which they had given him, ¹⁴and he spoke to them according to the advice of the young men, saying, 1 Kings 12:13-14a (NASB)

As a result, ten of the tribes of Israel were split off and he ruled over only Judah.

Be careful from whom you accept advice…but make sure you start with God!

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SACRIFICE

What do you think of when you hear the word, “sacrifice?” Perhaps it conjures up scenes from horror movies where the followers of satan or some other “god” sacrifice animals or humans to “appease and please” their respective deities.

The word may remind you of a sacrifice you have made like the people that do the 30 Hour Famine. Those involved give up eating for 30 hours and collect money to send to less fortunate individuals.

Some of us think of the church season called lent where we “give up” something like meat or soda (though I’m not sure anybody remembers why!).

We all should be familiar with the term sacrifice in terms of giving up something… The Encarta Dictionary online gives the following as meaning sacrifice:

Giving up of something valued

a giving up of something valuable or important for somebody or something else considered to be of more value or importance

You may have heard the stories of the soldiers who have given up their lives to save their fellow soldiers. They sacrificed their own life for the lives of their comrades. All those who have died in wars have sacrificed their lives for something they considered to be of more value or importance, such as democracy and freedom.

Jesus Christ, the Son of God, gave His own life as a sacrifice for you and me….for the sins of the world. To reconcile us to God who is holy, our sin needed to be paid for and Jesus chose to do that for us.

What kind of a sacrifice can we be expected to give in return for something like that? Paul put it like this in his letter to the church in Rome…

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Romans 12:1 (NIV)

Our lives (our wants, wishes, desires, etc.) are to be “sacrificed” for something of more value and more importance…GOD’S PLAN. We are to be about God’s business…

telling people about Jesus’ sacrifice

showing them how much He cares by helping them

teaching them more about who Jesus was and is

helping them grow in their relationship with Him

The word translated “spiritual” in Romans 12:1 also has the connotation of being reasonable by means of logic. In other words, it is only logical when we consider with our minds (the mind of Christ!) and hearts, that we worship the Almighty God that sacrificed His only Son for us.

You are not your own; ²⁰you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body. 1 Corinthians 6:19b-20 (NIV)

We were bought and paid for with the blood of Christ. Daily, we should consider the sacrifice He made on our behalf and ask ourselves, “Have I given up anything in order to serve Christ?” “How serious am I about my relationship with Jesus?” “What would (or wouldn’t) I be willing to do for Him?

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IMAGE

We view images of many different things on the computer, in magazines or in newspapers. They look just like the “real thing.” A picture of an apple makes us hungry even though we can’t eat that image of the apple.

You and I were created as an image of God.

²⁷ So God created man in his own image,

in the image of God he created him;

male and female he created them. Genesis 1:27 (NIV)

We all know the story of how that image was tarnished when Adam and Eve gave into the temptation put in front of them by Satan. They chose to exalt themselves instead of the One who had created them.

God Himself brought forth the answer to that tarnished image when He sent His Son Jesus, the perfect image of Himself, to provide the sacrifice necessary to remove the stain of sin from our lives.

¹³He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, ¹⁴in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins. ¹⁵He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. Colossians 1:13-15 (NKJV)

When we look on Jesus, we are looking at God…

⁴⁴Jesus shouted to the crowds, “If you trust me, you are trusting not only me, but also God who sent me. ⁴⁵For when you see me, you are seeing the one who sent me. John 12:44-45 (NLT)

When we accept Jesus as our Savior, we once again have that untarnished image present in us through the presence of the Holy Spirit.

My question for those of us that have taken that step is this…

When people see you, are they seeing God?

Here is Jesus’ prayer for you and me in that regard…

²⁰ I pray not only for these,

but also for those who believe in Me

through their message.

²¹ May they all be one,

as You, Father, are in Me and I am in You.

May they also be one in Us,

so the world may believe You sent Me.

²² I have given them the glory You have given Me.

May they be one as We are one.

²³ I am in them and You are in Me.

May they be made completely one,

so the world may know You have sent Me

and have loved them as You have loved Me.

John 17:20-23 (HCSB)

Let the image of Christ shine forth in you today as you surrender your will and your very life to Him.

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ACHEIVABLE

Some of us want to accept defeat before we even start. What I mean by that is, we sometimes don’t feel we’re able to do something or have what it takes to get it done so we don’t even begin our “project,” surrendering instead to defeat.

I wonder if that’s the way it is with some people who decide not to follow Christ. In other words, they think, “He was too perfect and I cannot possibly be that good, so I might as well not even try.”

As I pondered this, I found myself thinking of a passage of scripture from the book of Isaiah. I would suggest that you read the entire chapter fifty-three, but here is the main thought that came to me from that passage…

There was nothing beautiful or majestic about his appearance,

nothing to attract us to him. (Isaiah 53:2b - NLT)

Jesus looked just like you and me. He didn’t walk around with a halo over his head as we see pictured in so many paintings from years gone by. To me that says, “It’s possible” for us to please God. Jesus came to earth as a man (Philippians 2:8). Of course, He was much more that just a man. He was also God. That’s why we can’t do it (please God) totally on our own. We have to accept Jesus’ sacrifice on our behalf.

Verse five from that same passage says it like this,

But he was pierced for our rebellion,

crushed for our sins.

He was beaten so we could be whole.

He was whipped so we could be healed.

Jesus came looking like us so that we could identify with Him. He could have come in the form of a ball of light (for you sci-fi fans) but instead He came in the form of a man...for you, for me and for the rest of humanity, in order that all who come to Him might be reconciled to God. He presented us with an achievable goal because He did all the work.

All we have to do is accept what He accomplished on our behalf and follow Him. Romans 10:9 says it like this,

…if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. (NIV)

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NAMES

Some have said that Allah is the same God to whom we that claim Jesus Christ as our Savior pray. After all, what’s in a name, right? Let’s take a look at that thought…

Then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. ¹¹He is

“‘the stone you builders rejected,

which has become the capstone.’

¹²Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.” Acts 4:10-12 (NIV)

Well, that’s one person’s opinion, you might say. It comes down to this: Do you believe the Bible is the Word of God or not?

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, ¹⁷so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NIV)

Ok, but who is to say that the books we have in the Bible today are the ones that are supposed to be there. What about the gospel of Judas and all the “lost books” of the bible?

Let me ask you this one question…Do you really think that God, the Creator of the Universe, the Creator of all that is, including you and me, would allow anything of significance to be left out of His Holy Scriptures?

That brings us back to the importance of Jesus in this discussion…

God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, ²in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world. ³And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, ⁴having become as much better than the angels, as He has inherited a more excellent name than they. Hebrews 1:1-4 (NASB)

Jesus Himself said in John 14:6 (NKJV)…

“I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

So the question of the names of God comes down to this…If Islam were to teach that the only way to get to Allah was through Jesus Christ, then it would be OK to call God, Allah. However, they do not teach that Jesus is the only way.

Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. ²This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, ³but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world. 1 John 4:1-3 (NIV)

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DAILY

Many churches in today’s society have cancelled their Sunday night services and their Wednesday night services. I remember going to Sunday night services when I was a kid and they would have a time for people to give testimony of what God had done in their lives that week. Wednesday night was traditionally a time of prayer. Whoever wanted to pray had the opportunity to do so.

How often is “enough?” Is it too much to want to meet more than once on a Sunday morning? What did the early church do?

⁴⁶They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity— ⁴⁷all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved. Acts 2:46-47 (NLT)

They met daily to fellowship and worship God. This was a priority in their lives. It was not just an afterthought or something you just did on a Sunday morning. Maybe we have become too busy with the things of this world. Perhaps our priorities are a little askew.

Yes, a daily time alone with the Lord is good, a time of prayer, reading and studying His word. However, I believe we miss out on a great deal of what God has in store for us when we do not spend time in fellowship and worship with each other…as much as we possibly can.

Maybe it will be in the form of lunch with a friend where the conversation is centered on Christ and what He is doing in each other’s lives. Perhaps it will be fellowship found in a phone call or an email where Christ is honored.

Encourage each other daily (Hebrews 3:13) and “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!” Philippians 4:4 (NKJV)

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ANGER

People get angry about many different things. If a friend of ours gets hurt, we get angry at circumstances or people that might have done the hurting. If our parents won’t let us do something, we get angry with them.

What do most instances of anger have in common? As I pondered that question, I concluded that most anger comes from one thing…

The inability to control our own circumstances.

Stop and think about different times that you have become angry. Do they fit into this category? Below I’ve broken down some of the sub-headings under not begin able to control circumstances and some examples from the Bible…

Not getting something you want (Jealousy, envy)

Genesis 4:5-8 – Cain killed Abel because God liked Abel’s offering better than his offering.

Not understanding circumstances

Numbers 2:27 – Balaam’s donkey laid down when it saw an Angel and would not speak any more. Balaam did not see the Angel.

Not getting your own way

Numbers 24:10-11 – Balak was angry with Balaam for blessing Israel rather than cursing them as he wanted.

Not having your advice or instructions followed

Matthew 2:16 – The Wise Men didn’t come back and report to Herod about the location of the baby Jesus as he told them to.

Not hearing what you want to hear from someone (broken expectations)

Acts 7:54-58 – Stephen told the High priest and those with Him that Jesus was the Messiah and they were in the wrong

So what is the answer? How can we stop getting angry about all these things?

¹²Do not let sin control the way you live; do not give in to sinful desires. ¹³Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. Instead, give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God. Romans 6:12-13 (NLT)

Giving ourselves completely to God is the only answer! He desires the best for our lives and anger does not help us achieve that…

¹⁹Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. ²⁰Human anger does not produce the righteousness God desires. James 1:19-20 (NLT)

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BELIEVE

Doubt about the existence of God plays a big part in our culture today. At least it seems that way at times. People don’t want to place their faith in something or someone that they cannot see.

One of Jesus’ disciples was like that. Remember Thomas? He said to the other disciples, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it” (John 20:25). The “it” Thomas was referring to was the resurrection or the rising from death to life, of Jesus. Jesus then appeared to Thomas and told him to touch Him and see if it was really him. He then said, “Stop doubting and believe” (John 20:27). Below is Thomas’ response to Jesus…

²⁸Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”

Thomas not only called Jesus Lord, but also recognized Him as the living God. Jesus’ response to Thomas is relevant for you and me today.

²⁹Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” John 20:28-29 (NIV)

You and I have not only the testimony of the Bible, God’s holy Word, but also the testimony of those who have chosen to live their lives for Christ. We see God’s handiwork all around us in His Creation, but the testimony of the saints who have gone on before us is equally as real.

We can read the life stories of martyrs from the 1^st Century to the present. We can read about people like Corrie Ten Boom whose faith in God directed and saved her life. We can see the hand of God working through people from Billy Graham to Chris Tomlin.

Is there any room for doubt when we see the evidence laid out before us?

Stop doubting and believe!

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WISDOM

Wisdom has been a desired attribute from the beginning of time. One of the problems is in thinking that we are wise or wiser than someone else is. The Old Testament writers cautioned against that sort of thinking…

Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes

And clever in their own sight! Isaiah 5:21 (NASB)

Do not be wise in your own eyes;

Fear the LORD and turn away from evil.

⁸ It will be healing to your body

And refreshment to your bones.

Proverbs 3:7-8 (NASB)

The answer to seeking wisdom is looking in the right place with the right tools. The writer of Proverbs tells us where to look…

For the LORD gives wisdom,

and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.

Proverbs 2:6 (NIV)

The Bible is one way that God has revealed His knowledge and understanding to us. Another way is His Spirit, the Holy Spirit that believers in Jesus Christ receive…

¹⁰but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. ¹¹For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man’s spirit within him? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. ¹²We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us.

1 Corinthians 2:10-12 (NIV)

If we are to have true wisdom, we must have God’s Spirit living in us. The only way to do that is to confess our inadequacies and accept Jesus’ sacrifice on our behalf … accept Him as our, as your, Lord and Savior.

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FRIENDS

Some of you have heard (and some have said), “If you hang out with the wrong crowd, you’re going to get in trouble.” Those of you that are young no doubt hear that from your parents. Those of you who are parents have probably said that to your children.

Is that a valid statement? Where did that idea originate? In the Old Testament, it can be found in the Book of Proverbs…

He who walks with the wise grows wise,

but a companion of fools suffers harm. Proverbs 13:20 (NIV)

Young people who obey the law are wise;

those with wild friends bring shame to their parents. Proverbs 28:7 (NLT)

In the New Testament, the same idea is found in Paul’s letter to the church in Corinth…

Do not be deceived: “Bad company corrupts good morals.”

1 Corinthians 15:33 (NASB)

The real answer is relying on God to help us choose those we call friend…Making God and His desires for our life the highest priority. King David put it this way…

¹¹⁴ You are my refuge and my shield;

I have put my hope in your word.

¹¹⁵ Away from me, you evildoers,

that I may keep the commands of my God!

Psalms 119:114-115 (NIV)

Jesus said it like this…

You are my friends if you do what I command. John 15:14 (NLT)

How about you, would you like to be friends with the God of all Creation and let Him guide your life? All you need to do is call on the name of Jesus and trust Him as your Savior. Keep in mind, Jesus is the only friend that will never disappoint you or betray you.

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ABOVE

The English language is constantly changing. Some words have taken on different meanings like the word “sick” that used to mean that you weren’t in good health and now means (at least for some) that something is exceptionally good. That’s the contemporary version of what happened to the word “bad” when I was younger.

I won’t get into the discussion about how this may be a method of causing things that are bad and sick to become normal and accepted. What I want to share with you is how some phrases or combination of words can become tired and cause us to avoid them even though they may speak of something good.

The term “Jesus Freak” started out to be a negative word against young Christians during the 1960’s and 70’s. Those young believers typically used and gave out a modern translation of the bible called “Good News for Modern Man.” It has vacillated back and forth as meaning something good (by those who embrace the label) and bad, even to this day.

The term “born again” is another label that has an interesting past. It is often used to make fun of conservative people who have religious convictions that cause them to “stand out” from others. Actually, that’s what we that call ourselves Christians are supposed to do, but that’s another discussion.

Here’s where the term came from originally…

Jesus answered and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” John 3:3 (NASB)

The word translated “again” is derived from the Greek word, anōthen, which means…

1) from above, from a higher place

1a) of things which come from heaven or God

2) from the first, from the beginning, from the very first

3) anew, over again

Six of the fourteen occurrences of this word are translated “above” while three others are translated, “again.” Two of those are found in the third chapter of the Gospel of John. Three times, it is translated “top” and one time apiece for “first” and “beginning.”

Jesus clarifies what He is speaking about if you read on.

⁵Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. ⁶“That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. ⁷“Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ John 3:5-7 (NASB)

So, while “again” works here, it is definitely “from above” as the Spirit of God is from above. We must be born again, from above!

The next time someone uses “born again” as a derogatory term, tell them what it really means…and…don’t forget to act like you were born again from above…from a powerful miracle of God the Father, through His Son Jesus Christ with the power and indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

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SANCTIFY

Do you have a specific task in life that you just know you are called to do? Perhaps you are a plumber, a carpenter or a schoolteacher and you KNOW that you were set apart from others to do that particular thing.

Those of us that identify with Jesus Christ as our Savior have also been set apart. Jesus, in a prayer to God the Father said,

¹⁷ Sanctify them by the truth;

Your word is truth. John 17:17 (HCSB)

The word “sanctify” is from the Greek word, hagiazō, meaning to make holy, to separate from profane things and dedicate to God. It also means, to purify; to cleanse externally; to purify by expiation or free from the guilt of sin and to purify internally by renewing of the soul.

This happens by or through the truth. What is truth? That word has been maligned in our society today to the point where some say it means different things for different people.

However, the Greek word here is aletheia and means, “what is true in any matter under consideration” (Thayer’s Greek Dictionary). The scriptures say that…

The law is truth – Ps 119:142

Jesus is the truth – John 14:6

Here in John 17:17 the term translated “word” is logos. The word “logos” is used to describe Jesus in the very beginning of the book of John where we read,

¹ In the beginning was the Word,

and the Word was with God,

and the Word was God.

² He was with God in the beginning.

³ All things were created through Him,

and apart from Him not one thing was created

that has been created.

¹⁴ The Word became flesh

and took up residence among us.

We observed His glory,

the glory as the One and Only Son from the Father,

full of grace and truth.

John 1:1-3, 14 (HCSB)

If you claim Jesus as your Savior, you have been separated from the rest of the world and are being made holy through the Holy Spirit of Christ that lives in you and by the active, living Word of God.

There IS such a thing as truth. Seek it out. Read the Word (the Bible). Pray to Jesus. The Lord God Almighty has separated you out from among others and set you apart to serve Him.

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PERCEPTION

Perception is an interesting phenomenon. The Encarta Dictionary says it is, “the process of using the senses to acquire information about the surrounding environment or situation.” Yet, each of us perceives things slightly differently depending on many factors such as how we were raised, our life experiences and many other variables.

See what you think about this story that Nathan, the prophet told David, the king…

Then the LORD sent Nathan to David. And he came to him and said,

“There were two men in one city, the one rich and the other poor.

² “The rich man had a great many flocks and herds.

³ “But the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb

Which he bought and nourished;

And it grew up together with him and his children.

It would eat of his bread and drink of his cup and lie in his bosom,

And was like a daughter to him.

⁴ “Now a traveler came to the rich man,

And he was unwilling to take from his own flock or his own herd,

To prepare for the wayfarer who had come to him;

Rather he took the poor man’s ewe lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him.

Nathan had told David this story after David had taken another man’s wife, got her pregnant and then had the husband killed in battle. Now read David’s reaction to Nathan’s story…

⁵Then David’s anger burned greatly against the man, and he said to Nathan, “As the LORD lives, surely the man who has done this deserves to die. ⁶“He must make restitution for the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing and had no compassion.”

2 Samuel 12:1-6 (NASB)

Nathan then told David that the story was about him. That he had taken what belonged to another even though God had already showered him with many wives, much wealth and victory in battle.

David finally saw what he was talking about and admitted that he had sinned against God.

Many of us are like that…we only see our side of the story instead of trying to look at the big picture from other points of view. Seeing things only from our own perspective is often the cause of many heartaches, disappointments and misunderstandings.

What’s the answer? Seek God’s perspective. Ask Him to help you understand the bigger picture that you may not be able to see. Then thank Him in advance for His guidance and direction. God is faithful. He knows the intentions of your heart and will reward you for your honesty with Him.

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WISE

A wise person thinks a lot about death,

while a fool thinks only about having a good time.

Ecclesiastes 7:4 (NLT)

Hmm…why does thinking about death make you wise?

****thinking****

Well, perhaps we may realize how short life is or can be. Yesterday there was a funeral for a twenty-one year old young woman. Last night I learned that an eighteen year old was in a serious accident, was in a coma and had flat-lined several times.

There are no guarantees for the length of life that we live. So that should cause us to consider HOW we live the life that we are given…on a day-to-day basis. That would make us wise.

I wore a t-shirt last night from a Dare2Share event I had taken my youth group to a couple of years ago. Across the front is written in large caps, “LOSER.” Believe me that drew attention. Whenever somebody would read it aloud, I had them read the back, which had Jesus’ words from Matthew 10:39

Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. (NIV)

Why did I bring that up? Because, “losing our life” (as one girl last night put it) is giving up being selfish and just living for ourselves. In other words, it clarifies the second half of today’s verse…a fool thinks only about having a good time.

If we are to be wise, we will put aside our personal desires and instead plug in God’s desires for our lives. We will ask the wise questions…What does God want me to do with the short time that I have on this earth? What does He want me to do today?

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