Today’s Reflection:
DEAR GOD,
Let me start each day with a prayer
instead of a to-do list ringing in my mind.
Free me to take time to get away
and to be with you, basking in your presence
and listening for your voice rather than
paying attention to the voices around me
and in me that say, “Do this. Do that.”
Today let me be busy asking you,
“What should I do next?” and
“How can I please you?”Amen! [devozine, September/October 2015]
Prayer by Elaine Creasman [Largo, Florida], page 63 in devozine, September/October 2015. Copyright © 2015 by The Upper Room. All rights reserved. Used by permission.http://bookstore.upperroom.org/ Learn more about or purchase this book.
Today’s Question:
Pray today’s prayer. DEAR GOD,
Let me start each day with a prayer
instead of a to-do list ringing in my mind.
Free me to take time to get away
and to be with you, basking in your presence
and listening for your voice rather than
paying attention to the voices around me
and in me that say, “Do this. Do that.”
Today let me be busy asking you,
“What should I do next?” and
“How can I please you?”Amen!
Today’s Scripture:
Jesus answered him, “It is said, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'” When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune time.[Luke 4:12-13, NRSV]
This Week: pray for Christian writers.---------------------
The Upper Room Daily Reflections, daily words of wisdom and faith "Just Follow" for Saturday, 13 February 2016
Today’s Reflection:
“FOLLOW ME,” Jesus said,
and Matthew left his tax booth
and walked with Jesus.
He didn’t know where they were going.
Others were walking, too –
James and John,
Peter and Andrew,
Mary (there must have been a Mary),
and other women, unnamed.
It didn’t matter where they were going.
All along the way, Jesus called out, “Follow me.”
Some left their tasks and joined the walk.
Others turned away in sorrow. …
Today, Jesus walks along busy streets
and calls to us,”Follow me.”
“Walk with me in the countryside, in the inner city.
Walk with me in places of joy and places of sorrow.
Leave your preconceived notions, your five-year strategies.
Set down your anger and your prejudices,
And see the world as I see it.
It doesn’t matter where we are going,
Just follow me.”[Beth Richardson, Alive Now]
From “Just Follow” by Beth A. Richardson, page 33 in Alive Now, January/February 2016. Copyright © 2015 by The Upper Room. All rights reserved. Used by permission.http://bookstore.upperroom.org/ Learn more about or purchase this book.
Today’s Question:
Where is Jesus calling you to follow?
Today’s Scripture:
Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing at all during those days, and when they were over, he was famished.[Luke 4:1-2, NRSV]
This Week: pray for Christian writers.---------------------
The Upper Room Daily Reflections, daily words of wisdom and faith "To Hear God Call Our Name" for Friday, 12 February 2016
Today’s Reflection:
TO HEAR GOD CALL OUR NAME awes us. To consider facing such an experience without trembling knees is unthinkable. To stand before the One, the author of all that exists, stretches our imaginations to the breaking point. Then to have that One speak our name transforms and changes life.
Jesus, too, heard the voice from heaven saying what he already knew. He was God’s beloved. What a wonderful message! To be the beloved child of the Creator. To know one is loved like that transforms and prepares us for anything. Perhaps that is why the Gospels tell us that Jesus left the baptismal service and God’s affirming voice to go into the desert to be tempted by Satan. Jesus prevailed because he remembered the voice; he remembered who he was and who was with him.[Norman Shawchuck and Rueben P. Job, A Guide to Prayer for All Who Seek God]
From a Reading for Reflection by Rueben P. Job, page 95 in A Guide to Prayer for All Who Seek God. Copyright © 2006 by Norman Shawchuck and Rueben P. Job. All rights reserved. Used by permission of Upper Room Books. http://bookstore.upperroom.org/ Learn more about or purchase this book.
Today’s Question:
Listen for God’s voice as you live your life today.
Today’s Scripture:
“The word is near you, on your lips and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); because if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.[Romans 10:8b-9, NRSV]
This Week: pray for Christian writers.---------------------
The Upper Room Daily Reflections, daily words of wisdom and faith "Return" for Thursday, 11 February 2016
Today’s Reflection:
Return to the Lord, your God, for he is gracious and merciful.[Joel 2:13]
OUR LIVES CONTINUALLY drift away from their true home. We forget we are God’s beloved. We forget that we are not God. We succumb to the temptations of money, sex, and power. We ignore the cries of our sisters and brothers. We focus only on ourselves.
During Lent, God calls us home. We remember who we truly are. We let God be God in our lives. We respond to our suffering neighbor. Put simply, we begin again with God.
Only when the fierce love of God, fully revealed in the Crucified One, pierces our hearts do we respond lovingly to God. During Lent, we listen for this good news: God passionately loves us and wants us to come home. Lent invites us to open our lives to this love however far we may have drifted and to return again to the God who longs for us.[Trevor Hudson, Pauses for Lent]
From page 12 of Pauses for Lent: 40 Words for 40 Days by Trevor Hudson. Copyright © by Trevor Hudson. All rights reserved. Used by permission of Upper Room Books. http://bookstore.upperroom.org/ Learn more about or purchase this book.
Today’s Question:
How will you open your life to love this Lenten season?
Today’s Scripture:
When they call to me, I will answer them; I will be with them in trouble, I will rescue them and honor them.[Psalm 91:15]
This Week: pray for Christian writers.--------------------
The Upper Room Daily Reflections, daily words of wisdom and faith "God, Who Makes All Things New" for Wednesday, 10 February 2016
Today’s Reflection:
O GOD, who makes all things new,
new stars, new dust, new life;
take my heart, every hardened edge and measured beat,
and create something new in me.
I need your newness, God,
the rough parts of me me made smooth;
the stagnant, stirred,
the stuck, freed;
the unkind, forgiven.
And then, by the power of your Spirit,
I need to be turned toward Love again. Amen. [Pamela Hawkins, The Awkward Season: Prayers for Lent]
From page 30 of The Awkward Season: Prayers for Lentby Pamela C. Hawkins. Copyright © 2009 by Pamela C. Hawkins. All rights reserved. Used by permission of Upper Room Books. http://bookstore.upperroom.org/ Learn more about or purchase this book.
Today’s Question:
Pray today’s prayer. O GOD, who makes all things new,
new stars, new dust, new life;
take my heart, every hardened edge and measured beat,
and create something new in me.
I need your newness, God,
the rough parts of me me made smooth;
the stagnant, stirred,
the stuck, freed;
the unkind, forgiven.
And then, by the power of your Spirit,
I need to be turned toward Love again. Amen.
Today’s Scripture:
You who live in the shelter of the Most High, who abide in the shadow of the Almighty, will say to the LORD, “My refuge and my fortress; my God, in whom I trust.”[Psalm 91:1-2, NRSV]
This Week: pray for Christian writers.----------------------
The Upper Room Daily Reflections, daily words of wisdom and faith "Awake to God’s Presence" for Tuesday, 9 February 2016
Today’s Reflection:
TOO MANY PEOPLE and churches and institutions are asleep to the reality of God’s presence in the world because they live in survival mode. They’ve forgotten their identity in Christ. They’ve forgotten the ultimate reality that the kingdom of God is already at hand and that they are God’s beloved child. To me, this situation is a matter of urgency.
The world has become dangerous and is deeply divided. The world needs people who are awake to that which is of God within them, to God’s love and the power of that love to transform and heal. The world needs churches and institutions that are awake to the same. Thankfully, I also believe, along with many others, that we are in a time of spiritual awakening, and the good news is that people who are awake to their whole hearts are in a position to help others awaken to theirs.[Weavings, Nov/December 2015/January 2016]
From “Waking Up to Our Whole Heart” by Johnny Sears, in Weavings, November/December 2015/January 2016. Copyright © 2015 by The Upper Room. All rights reserved. Used by permission. http://bookstore.upperroom.org/ Learn more about or purchase this book.
Today’s Question:
How can you become more awake to the kingdom of God?
Today’s Scripture:
The LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with a terrifying display of power, and with signs and wonders; and he brought us into this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey.[Deuteronomy 26:8-9]
This Week: pray for Christian writers.---------------------
The Upper Room Daily Reflections, daily words of wisdom and faith "Walking God" for Monday, 8 February 2016
Today’s Reflection:
WALKING TOGETHER is a grace-filled metaphor for our life-giving journey with God. Our spirits are loosely joined and yet distinct. We are purposeful yet unhurried as we travel, even temporarily, along a common route. We are pried away from agendas and conscious thought long enough to make spontaneous revelations and to absorb what we did not expect.
God’s call has always been for us to get up and move, to follow. It has always been the walk itself—the arduous invigorating journey together, and not the destination—that joins us to God in indelible and mysterious ways.[Alive Now, Jan/Feb 2016]
From “Meditation on Walking” by Elizabeth Ray, in Alive Now, January/February 2016. Copyright © 2015 by The Upper Room. All rights reserved. Used by permission.http://bookstore.upperroom.org/ Learn more about or purchase this book.
Today’s Question:
Take a walk with someone this week and be mindful of God’s presence as you do.
Today’s Scripture:
Then from the cloud came a voice that said, “This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!”[Luke 9:35, NRSV]
This Week: pray for Christian writers.----------------------------
Did You Know?
In need of prayer? The Upper Room Living Prayer Center is a 7-day-a-week intercessory prayer ministry staffed by trained volunteers, call 1-800-251-2468 or visit The Living Prayer Center web site.
Saints, Inc.:
This week we remember: Catherine dei Ricci (February 13).
Catherine dei Ricci
February 13
Alessandra Lucrezia Romola was born in Florence, Italy in 1522. Her stepmother noticed the girl's unusual piety and helped her develop her prayer life. When Alessandra entered the Dominican Convent of San Vincenzio in 1535 she took the name of Catherine.
When Catherine was 20 she began to experience mystical ecstasies from noon on Thursday until Friday at 4 p.m. every week for twelve years. In these ecstasies she experienced the Passion of Christ, including the appearance of all the wounds Christ might have received in his last days. This unusual behavior drew many pilgrims who wanted to see Catherine's ecstasies for themselves. The other sisters at the convent prayed for these visions to stop, and they finally did.
Catherine served as a spiritual advisor to many people and was eventually made Abbess of the convent. She died in 1590 after a long illness.
If Catherine dei Ricci had taken the Spiritual Types Test, she probably would have been a Mystic. Catherine dei Ricci is remembered on February 13.Lectionary Readings
(Courtesy of Vanderbilt Divinity Library)
Deuteronomy 26:1-11
Psalm 91:1-2, 9-16
Romans 10:8b-13
Luke 4:1-13
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Sunday, 14 February 2016
Scripture Texts:
Deuteronomy 26:1 “When you have come to the land Adonai your God is giving you as your inheritance, taken possession of it and settled there; 2 you are to take the firstfruits of all the crops the ground yields, which you will harvest from your land that Adonai your God is giving you, put them in a basket and go to the place where Adonai your God will choose to have his name live. 3 You will approach the cohen holding office at the time and say to him, ‘Today I declare to Adonai your God that I have come to the land Adonai swore to our ancestors that he would give us.’ 4 The cohen will take the basket from your hand and put it down in front of the altar of Adonai your God.
5 “Then, in the presence of Adonai your God, you are to say, ‘My ancestor was a nomad from Aram. He went down into Egypt few in number and stayed. There he became a great, strong, populous nation. 6 But the Egyptians treated us badly; they oppressed us and imposed harsh slavery on us. 7 So we cried out to Adonai, the God of our ancestors. Adonai heard us and saw our misery, toil and oppression; 8 and Adonai brought us out of Egypt with a strong hand and a stretched-out arm, with great terror, and with signs and wonders. 9 Now he has brought us to this place and given us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey. 10 Therefore, as you see, I have now brought the firstfruits of the land which you, Adonai, have given me.’ You are then to put the basket down before Adonai your God, prostrate yourself before Adonai your God, 11 and take joy in all the good that Adonai your God has given you, your household, the Levi and the foreigner living with you.
Psalm 91:1 You who live in the shelter of ‘Elyon,
who spend your nights in the shadow of Shaddai,
2 who say to Adonai, “My refuge! My fortress!
My God, in whom I trust!” —
9 For you have made Adonai, the Most High,
who is my refuge, your dwelling-place.
10 No disaster will happen to you,
no calamity will come near your tent;
11 for he will order his angels to care for you
and guard you wherever you go.
12 They will carry you in their hands,
so that you won’t trip on a stone.
13 You will tread down lions and snakes,
young lions and serpents you will trample underfoot.
14 “Because he loves me, I will rescue him;
because he knows my name, I will protect him.
15 He will call on me, and I will answer him.
I will be with him when he is in trouble.
I will extricate him and bring him honor.
16 I will satisfy him with long life
and show him my salvation.”
Romans 10:8 What, then, does it say?
“The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart.”[Romans 10:8 Deuteronomy 30:11–14] —
that is, the word about trust which we proclaim, namely, 9 that if you acknowledge publicly with your mouth that Yeshua is Lord and trust in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be delivered. 10 For with the heart one goes on trusting and thus continues toward righteousness, while with the mouth one keeps on making public acknowledgement and thus continues toward deliverance. 11 For the passage quoted says that everyone who rests his trust on him will not be humiliated.[Romans 10:11 Isaiah 28:16] 12 That means that there is no difference between Jew and Gentile — Adonai is the same for everyone, rich toward everyone who calls on him, 13 since everyone who calls on the name of Adonai will be delivered.[Romans 10:13 Joel 3:5(2:32)]
Luke 4:1 Then Yeshua, filled with the Ruach HaKodesh, returned from the Yarden and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness 2 for forty days of testing by the Adversary. During that time he ate nothing, and afterwards he was hungry. 3 The Adversary said to him, “If you are the Son of God, order this stone to become bread.” 4 Yeshua answered him, “The Tanakh says, ‘Man does not live on bread alone.’”[Luke 4:4 Deuteronomy 8:3]
5 The Adversary took him up, showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world, 6 and said to him, “I will give you all this power and glory. It has been handed over to me, and I can give it to whomever I choose. 7 So if you will worship me, it will all be yours.” 8 Yeshua answered him, “The Tanakh says, ‘Worship Adonai your God and serve him only.’”[Luke 4:8 Deuteronomy 6:13–14]
9 Then he took him to Yerushalayim, set him on the highest point of the Temple and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, jump from here! 10 For the Tanakh says,
‘He will order his angels
to be responsible for you and to protect you.
11 They will support you with their hands,
so that you will not hurt your feet on the stones.’”[Luke 4:11 Psalm 91:11–12]
12 Yeshua answered him, “It also says, ‘Do not put Adonai your God to the test.’”[Luke 4:12 Deuteronomy 6:16] 13 When the Adversary had ended all his testings, he let him alone until an opportune time.
John Wesley's Notes-Commentary for Deuteronomy 26:1-11
Verse 2
[2] That thou shalt take of the first of all the fruit of the earth, which thou shalt bring of thy land that the LORD thy God giveth thee, and shalt put it in a basket, and shalt go unto the place which the LORD thy God shall choose to place his name there.
Thou shalt take — This seems to be required of each master of a family, either upon his first settlement, or once every year at one of their three feasts, when they were obliged to go up to Jerusalem.
Verse 5
[5] And thou shalt speak and say before the LORD thy God, A Syrian ready to perish was my father, and he went down into Egypt, and sojourned there with a few, and became there a nation, great, mighty, and populous:
A Syrian — So Jacob was, partly by his original, as being born of Syrian parents, as were Abraham and Rebecca, both of Chaldea or Mesopotamia, which was a part of Syria largely so called, partly by his education and conversation; and partly by his relations, his wives being such, and his children too by their mother's.
Ready to perish — Either through want and poverty; (See Genesis 28:11,20; 32:10,) or through the rage of his brother Esau, and the treachery of his father-in-law Laban.
Verse 10
[10] And now, behold, I have brought the firstfruits of the land, which thou, O LORD, hast given me. And thou shalt set it before the LORD thy God, and worship before the LORD thy God:
It — The basket of first-fruits, Deuteronomy 26:2.
Verse 11
[11] And thou shalt rejoice in every good thing which the LORD thy God hath given unto thee, and unto thine house, thou, and the Levite, and the stranger that is among you.
Thou shalt rejoice — Thou shalt hereby enabled to take comfort in all thy employments, when thou hast sanctified them by giving God his portion. It is the will of God, that we should be chearful not only in our attendance upon his holy ordinances, but in our enjoyment of the gifts of his providence. Whatever good thing God gives us, we should make the most comfortable use of it we can, still tracing the streams to the fountain of all consolation.
Psalm 91:1-2, 9-16
Verse 1
[1] He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
He — He that makes God his habitation and refuge.
Verse 12
[12] They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.
Bear thee — Sustain or uphold thee in thy goings, as we do a child.
Verse 13
[13] Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet.
The lion — Shall lie prostrate at thy feet, and thou shalt securely put thy feet upon his neck.
Dragon — By which he understands all pernicious creatures, though never so strong, and all sorts of enemies.
Verse 14
[14] Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name.
Because — This and the two following verses are the words of God.
Romans 10:8b-13
Verse 8
[8] But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach;
But what saith he — Moses. Even these words, so remarkably applicable to the subject before us. All is done ready to thy hand.
The word is nigh thee — Within thy reach; easy to be understood, remembered, practised. This is eminently true of the word of faith - The gospel.
Which we preach — The sum of which is, If thy heart believe in Christ, and thy life confess him, thou shalt be saved.
Verse 9
[9] That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
If thou confess with thy mouth — Even in time of persecution, when such a confession may send thee to the lions.
Verse 10
[10] For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
For with the heart — Not the understanding only.
Man believeth to righteousness — So as to obtain justification.
And with the mouth confession is made — So as to obtain final salvation. Confession here implies the whole of outward, as believing does the root of all inward, religion.
Verse 11
[11] For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.
Isaiah 28:16.
Verse 12
[12] For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.
The same Lord of all is rich — So that his blessings are never to be exhausted, nor is he ever constrained to hold his hand. The great truth proposed in Romans 10:11 is so repeated here, and in Romans 10:13, and farther confirmed, Romans 10:14,15, as not only to imply, that "whosoever calleth upon him shall be saved;" but also that the will of God is, that all should savingly call upon him.
Verse 13
[13] For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
Joel 2:32.
Luke 4:1-13
Verse 4
[4] And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.
Deuteronomy 8:3.
Verse 6
[6] And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it.
I give it to whomsoever I will — Not so, Satan. It is God, not thou, that putteth down one, and setteth up another: although sometimes Satan, by God's permission, may occasion great revolutions in the world.
Verse 8
[8] And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.
Deuteronomy 6:13.
Verse 10
[10] For it is written, He shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee:
Psalms 91:11.
Verse 12
[12] And Jesus answering said unto him, It is said, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.
Deuteronomy 6:16.
Verse 13
[13] And when the devil had ended all the temptation, he departed from him for a season.
A convenient season — In the garden of Gethsemane, Luke 22:53.
Upper Room Ministries
PO Box 340004
Nashville, Tennessee 37203-0004 United States
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Sermon Story "God Redeems" by Gary Lee Parker for Sunday, 14 February 2016 with Scripture Deuteronomy 26:1 “When you have come to the land Adonai your God is giving you as your inheritance, taken possession of it and settled there; 2 you are to take the firstfruits of all the crops the ground yields, which you will harvest from your land that Adonai your God is giving you, put them in a basket and go to the place where Adonai your God will choose to have his name live. 3 You will approach the cohen holding office at the time and say to him, ‘Today I declare to Adonai your God that I have come to the land Adonai swore to our ancestors that he would give us.’ 4 The cohen will take the basket from your hand and put it down in front of the altar of Adonai your God.
5 “Then, in the presence of Adonai your God, you are to say, ‘My ancestor was a nomad from Aram. He went down into Egypt few in number and stayed. There he became a great, strong, populous nation. 6 But the Egyptians treated us badly; they oppressed us and imposed harsh slavery on us. 7 So we cried out to Adonai, the God of our ancestors. Adonai heard us and saw our misery, toil and oppression; 8 and Adonai brought us out of Egypt with a strong hand and a stretched-out arm, with great terror, and with signs and wonders. 9 Now he has brought us to this place and given us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey. 10 Therefore, as you see, I have now brought the firstfruits of the land which you, Adonai, have given me.’ You are then to put the basket down before Adonai your God, prostrate yourself before Adonai your God, 11 and take joy in all the good that Adonai your God has given you, your household, the Levi and the foreigner living with you.
On this first Sunday of Lent 2016 and also Valentine's Day, we look at the redemption that God brought the people of Israel from their bondage to the Egyptians to the land that God promised their Fathers: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The promise of God is alwys sure and the people who to bring to God the firstfruits of their income which in their agricultural day meant the products of the fields and cattle. We groan sometimes in giving to God through the church because this is not agricultural or cattle products, but money that can be used for our needs and wants. Yet, God has not changed but is still calling His people to give the firstfruits. This is because the first born of all families is God's and instead of sacrificing them on the altar e give to God through His church the firstfruits of our income, which is actully the Gross, not the Net. We even complain about this because the money going out between the gross and net is either for taxes or health insurance or retirement or whatever we may have chosen to be taken out from our wages or salary. When we think about our families, we look at our firstborn and take pride in them whether they are male or female or even differently abled or maybe have a different sexual orientation. In the past, even if the child was born differently abled we either let the child die or placed them in a government run institution because the care for them conflicted with our societal values. This hould not be the case because God ha given them to us for His purposes whether it is to train them up in the ways of God's Holiness or to be taught ourselves how much God loves us that our first priority should be to love God with our whole heart, mind, soul, and body and to love all other people as God loves us unconditionally. We come to this time to allow God search our whole lives to see where we have fallen short of His ways with all other people including our families as we come to remember not only the exodus from Egypt, but what He did through His Son,Jesus, as we take and eat the body of Jesus and drink His blood in our communal participation of the Holy Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist. We come to receive from God singing the Hymn "As saints of old their first fruits brought" by Frank von Christierson
1. As saints of old their first fruits brought
of orchard, flock, and field
to God the giver all good,
the source of bounteous yield;
so we today first fruits would bring:
the wealth of this good land,
of farm and market, shop and home,
of mind, and heart, and hand.
2. A world in need now summons us
to labor, love, and give;
to make our life an offering
that others too may live.
The Church of Christ is calling us
to make the dream come true:
a world redeemed, your kingdom come,
all life in Christ made new.
3. In gratitude and humble trust
we bring our best today,
to serve your cause and share your love
with all humanity.
O God, who gave yourself to us
in Jesus Christ your Son,
teach us to give ourselves each day
until life's work is done.
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Gary Lee Parker
4147 Idaho Street, Apt. 1
San Diego, California 92104-1844, United States
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