Scripture Reflections – June 2024
6/27/2024 Good morning,
Our anchor of the soul.
Hebrews 6:19-20, “We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, 20 where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.
In a world that is constantly changing, a world that is constantly moving away from God’s way, we need stability. We need an anchor to prevent us from being taken by the world’s rushing current. That anchor is the hope set firmly in Jesus. Jesus is the high priest who intercedes for us. Jesus is the One who holds us firmly in His care and love and grace. Jesus enables us to be in the world without being of the world. This anchor is tied to the deepest aspect of our being, the soul. The soul is mysterious and yet we know deep within that to be anchored in the soul is to be solidly held firm with no chance of drifting away. This is a sure and steadfast hope. Yet, a hope is something set for the future. We hope for that which is promised. We hope, not like hoping for something to go our way in this world, but we hope for that which we surely know will be done because God is the One who has promised.
Our anchor of the soul gives us courage and encouragement for the future, come what may. Let us not be led astray by the constantly moving currents of the world, but hold tight to our hope, our anchor, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Pastor Ed
6/25/2024 Good morning,
“Beware of anything beyond these…”
Ecclesiastes 12.11-14, 11The words of the wise are like goads, and like nails firmly fixed are the collected sayings; they are given by one Shepherd. 12My son, beware of anything beyond these. Of making many books there is no end, and much study is a weariness of the flesh. 13The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. 14For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.
I saw a YouTube video from John Stossel (click below) about the so-called Bee-pocalypse we were so concerned about not too long ago. Turns out it was another fear-mongering media story like many others that the news media likes to “report” (or make up) in order to drive ratings. Bees are doing quite well these days, even better than the fearful days when our food supply was destined to end. Ecclesiastes tells us to beware of anything beyond the words of the wise given by the Shepherd (11). In the end all that matters for us is to fear God and keep His commandments. We don’t really get much news reporting anymore, but far too much propaganda and fabricated falsehoods that seek to control and drive us to fear and division. Truth is solely in God’s Word. Only through His Word can we discern the lies of the world. As the preacher points out in verse 13, our whole duty is to revere our God and obey His Word. That’s it! Plain, simple, to the point. All else is suspect. That does not sound very trustworthy as an overall attitude, but if we are trusting in worldly sources for the truth, we are being and will be led astray.
Our best position can be that of the apostle Paul,
But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world (Galatians 6.14).
In other words, we are dead to the world and the world is dead to us. Dead to World News Tonight!
I know, I know, we need to be aware of what is going on in the world. But let us be discerning as well, beware of anything beyond the Words of the Shepherd.
Pastor Ed
6/24/2024 Good morning,
Finding rest.
Matthew 11.28-30, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
There are times in our lives when we become exhausted. The older we get the more often those times arrive. Many things can bring on exhaustion: work, illness, even a vacation can wear us out as we tend to do things we may not normally do. The Bible is filled with calls to rest and be refreshed. Jesus calls us to come to Him and He will give rest for our souls. That is a deep rest, full recovery. Jesus seems to indicate that coming to Him is in the form of discipleship in this particular call: taking His yoke and learning from Him. Rest, in the context of discipleship, may mean reading the Gospels, worshiping, praying, or simply entering into a time of silent reflection.
Rest is found throughout Scripture:
Rest in keeping Sabbath – Exodus 31.12-17
Refreshment in fellowship – Romans 15.32
Rest in returning to the Lord – Isaiah 30.15
Refreshment in trusting God – Proverbs 3.5-8
Find rest today (and especially Sunday) in the Lord!
Pastor Ed
6/20/2024 Good morning,
Psalm 118.24, “This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.”
This verse from Psalm 118 may be as well known as any. We use it occasionally in worship, we sing songs using it, and we may sometimes quote it on any given day. The context of the Psalm is God’s salvation. Verses 21-23, “I thank you that you have answered me and have become my salvation. The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes.” Of course everyday is another day the Lord has made and has given to us as a gift. We rejoice in that! But remember too that each day we can remember the day of salvation, the God of salvation, the gift of salvation. “For God so loved the world, that He gave us His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.” Remember that today and throughout the day. Rejoice and be glad.
Pastor Ed
6/19/2024 Good morning,
God is sovereign!
Isaiah 25.6-9, On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine, of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined. 7And he will swallow up on this mountain the covering that is cast over all peoples, the veil that is spread over all nations. 8He will swallow up death forever; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the Lord has spoken. 9It will be said on that day, “Behold, this is our God; we have waited for him, that he might save us. This is the Lord; we have waited for him; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.”
As I am working through our General Assembly meeting in Memphis, our like minded folks are constantly reminding one another that God is still in charge. God is sovereign over all things. I am certainly trusting that as we seek to have our denomination stand firm in the truth of Scripture and not allow the world’s standards to creep in, God will act. I know we will be successful at some level because God is sovereign. Isaiah 25 is a great passage giving testimony to God’s sovereignty. God will throw a big picnic on the mountain (25.6). God will one day swallow up sin and death because He has promised to do so (25.7-8). The word on that day will be one of affirmation and rejoicing in what God has done – bringing salvation to His people. Today is but a breath compared to the eternity of God’s sovereign rule and God’s beautiful salvation in Jesus Christ. We all have opportunities in life, in good times and bad, to remember the sovereignty of God and rejoice.
Keep the faith,
Pastor Ed
6/18/2024 Good morning and greetings from Memphis!
For those who do not know, I am attending our national level church/denomination meeting in Memphis TN and we will be discussing issues before the General Assembly today through Thursday. Some of the issues are troubling, so let’s reflect on Jesus’ words in John’s gospel.
John 14.1, “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me.”
Troubled hearts are not a part of following Christ! We love to toss around that old saying, “easier said than done” when it comes to stopping trouble in our hearts. The answer to troubled hearts, the combatant to troubled hearts is belief. It is trust. It is faith. When our hearts are troubled, pray for belief. Lord, help my unbelief. When we are worried about the things of life, trust in God and Jesus. Trust His Word. Trust His love and spiritual gifts to give us the words we need to pray and speak and to act out in our lives.
Today we begin the 44th General Assembly of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church. There are several large items to discuss. I, and many others, are to speak before the Assembly and my prayer is that we all do so without troubled hearts, that the peace of God will rule in our hearts more than any trouble. Pray with and for us today, that trust and truth will guide our speeches. Pray that God will be honored and Christ proclaimed. Pray that the ways of the world will not get a foot in the door of the EPC. Pray that when this week is over we might proclaim that “we have fought the good fight, we have finished the race, we have kept the faith” (2 Timothy 4.7).
“Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me.”
Pastor Ed
6/14/2024 Good morning,
It is good to impart a blessing to others (and to ourselves).
2 Thessalonians 3.5, May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and to the steadfastness of Christ.
This blessing/prayer seeks the Lord to direct us, to lead us, to shape us in the heart. It is in the heart that we know and express the love of God. It is in the heart that we know the steadfast nature of Christ. We cannot always comprehend these things with the mind. The love of God surpassed knowledge (Eph 3.19) because it is too vast and too deep to comprehend. But we can embrace that love in our hearts; we can fully love God with the heart. We also cannot fully comprehend in the mind the steadfastness of Christ. It is like the peace that surpasses understanding (Phil 4.7) and these attributes of God and Christ are only known through the heart, through our passion for God, and through the Holy Spirit with us.
Imagine for a moment what it means to have our hearts directed in this way. Part of that may mean to redirect our hearts from something else. What does our heart desire today? Is it the love of God or something worldly? Is it the steadfastness of Christ or something we have trusted outside of His will? Lord, direct our hearts. Lead us in Your way. May we know in our hearts Your love and steadfastness of faith and grace and mercy. Amen.
Pastor Ed
6/13/2024 Good morning,
One of the most important words in the Bible – “but“.
I think it helps to pause a few seconds after verse 20 and then read on.
Lamentations 3.16-24, He has made my teeth grind on gravel, and made me cower in ashes; 17my soul is bereft of peace; I have forgotten what happiness is; 18so I say, “My endurance has perished; so has my hope from the Lord.” 19Remember my affliction and my wanderings, the wormwood and the gall! 20My soul continually remembers it and is bowed down within me. (pause)
21Butthis I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: 22The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; 23they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. 24“The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.”
The lament in Lamentations is over the loss of Jerusalem and the temple. The key word for the passage is the “but” of verse 21… “but this I call to mind and therefore I have hope.” Everything is gone…but. All is lost…but! The good news is…but! My soul is bereft, I have no memory of happiness, my glory is gone, my hope is vanquished, but I will remember…I will remember three things: the steadfast love, the mercy, and the faithfulness of God. No matter our losses, God is faithful, God is steadfast in His love, and God will again show mercy. The pivot between lament of loss and the goodness of God is in the three letter word, “but“.
So too we read in the New Testament of the miraculous contrast between the bad news of sin and the goodness of God…the pivot word, “but“…
Ephesians 2.1-2a, 4-5, And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked… (pause)
But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—
God, rich in mercy, great in love, made us alive by His grace (and we could put all that under His faithfulness!). So, no matter our circumstance, let us remember, “but this I call to mind”, “but God, being rich in mercy”, He will show us His love, mercy, faithfulness, grace, and salvation. Let us give thanks and rejoice.
Pastor Ed
6/12/2024 Good afternoon,
Three verses today from Hosea!
Hosea 6.1, “Come, let us return to the Lord;
The invitation is to come to the Lord, but in this case it is specifically to return. This implies having gone away from the Lord and now is the time to come back, to repent, to turn in the right direction, returning to God. Jesus gives us a similar invitation, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden…” (Matt 11.28). This first imperative from Hosea is a call to come or come back to the Lord.
Hosea 6.3, Let us know; let us press on to know the Lord;
This next call is to know God, but with emphasis to press to know the Lord. There is a sense of urgency and a sense of intimacy as well. Know the Lord, not just knowing about the Lord, but knowing the Lord in a relationship. “To press” implies that it takes some work to know. It takes energy and time and determination. It is more than just going through the motions of “church stuff”, but an intensity of desire to get to know the Lord. That may mean more time in prayer, more time in Scripture, more time in contemplation, more time in fellowship with other believers about knowing the Lord.
Hosea 6.6, For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.
In verse 6 we learn something about God and His desires. He desires that we practice steadfast love over sacrifice. He desires knowing God more than offerings. The more we love God, the more we want to know God and the more we know God, the deeper our love will grow.
Come, know the Lord, love the Lord, and know His great love for you, for He knows all about you. He knows your days, the number of hairs on your head, your going out and your coming in. Let us seek to know as we are known.
Pastor Ed
6/11/2024 Good morning,
Can these bones live? Ezekiel stands before a valley of dry bones and is asked this question. Can these bones live? His response, “O Lord, you know.” Verse 14 reveals the life only God can give.
Ezekiel 37.14, “And I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it, declares the Lord.”
There are times in life when we feel the impact of a crisis and life seems to have been drained out of our bones. We wonder if we will make it through. Can we love again? Can we be healthy again? Can we trust again? Can these bones live? God declares His action to put His Spirit within us and through the Spirit to grant us His life giving grace and mercy and love in Jesus Christ who is the resurrection and the life. This is why the Bible is also filled with hope. In the midst of any crisis, we always have hope. Rejoice in hope, for the Lord has spoken, “I will put my Spirit within you.” And here is the good news, the Lord has put His Spirit in His people! Rejoice in hope…rejoice in hope.
Pastor Ed
6/10/2024 Good morning,
James 1.19-21, 19Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; 20for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. 21Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.
James is good at “stepping on people’s toes”! Better to listen than offer a bunch of words. This should be the first rule of social media platforms. Be quick to hear, quick to listen, take great care to listen to what is being said and what is being done. Don’t start spouting off your thoughts before you know anything. We see this all over the internet as people jump to conclusions. Being quick to listen is abandoned for the sake of being the first to speak, the first to say anything for ratings if you are a news outlet or the first to Tweet (X) if that is your platform. Usually, when we are doing the opposite of James 1 — slow to hear and quick to speak, the result is “quick to anger”. We become a society overcome with rage. And those who seek to be the first to speak without doing any listening are the first to promote fear and anger in other people. Naysayers want everyone to be as miserable as they are.
The Bible teaches us that careful listening is far better than spouting off a bunch of knee-jerk reactions. A part of prayerful listening is patience to get all the facts. A part of prayerful listening is hearing all that needs to be spoken and, in the hearing, taking time to contemplate a proper response.
The best response is to receive with meekness the implanted Word of God (James 1.21). This requires listening to what God has said in Scripture, in places like James and all through the Bible. The Word of God will work its way in our hearts and minds so that we become more adept at listening (quick to hear), less likely to jump to an uninformed conclusion (slow to speak), and more likely to live by the Word, in patience and wisdom.
Pastor Ed
6/8/2024 Skipped
6/7/2024 Good morning,
The text for today follows Israel’s rebellion in worshiping other gods. Part of the reason was they failed to tell their own story, memory lost, lessons from the past non-existent. Then in 2 Kings 24, a book was found, which may have been the book of Deuteronomy, but with that book, the story was rekindled and Israel began to live again in righteousness. Without the story everyone became disobedient.
2 Kings 23.1-3, Then the king sent, and all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem were gathered to him. 2 And the king went up to the house of the Lord, and with him all the men of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem and the priests and the prophets, all the people, both small and great. And he read in their hearing all the words of the Book of the Covenant that had been found in the house of the Lord. 3 And the king stood by the pillar and made a covenant before the Lord, to walk after the Lord and to keep his commandments and his testimonies and his statutes with all his heart and all his soul, to perform the words of this covenant that were written in this book. And all the people joined in the covenant.
Imagine for a moment this scene played out in the US Congress. The chaplain is asked to pray for the assembly and he begins to read the book of Deuteronomy from chapter 1 with the intent to read through the end to chapter 34. How long before the gavel falls to stop him? Imagine reading “all the words of the Book of the Covenant” to a denominational meeting of the United Methodist or the PCUSA or any denomination that has rejected God’s Word for the sake of cultural relativism. Imagine the church losing sight of its story, its identity, its unique witness to the world found in the truth of the Gospel. We cannot and will not lose our story. We gather Sunday to remember our story, to remember to whom we belong, to once again be renewed in our covenant of grace with the Lord. One of Israel’s biggest and most frequent sins was to forget the story of God with them. Let us remember our story every day. In that memory we find strength to endure. In that memory we know our identity in Christ. In that memory there is faith and hope.
17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 18 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. (2 Corinthians 5.17-19)
Pastor Ed
6/6/2024 Good morning,
Imagine God saying this to you, “Ask what I shall give you.” (1 Kings 3.5)
Here is Solomon’s request:
1 Kings 3.8-9 8And your servant is in the midst of your people whom you have chosen, a great people, too many to be numbered or counted for multitude. 9Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, that I may discern between good and evil, for who is able to govern this your great people?”
An understanding mind can also be read as a listening heart. It is not just for kings and rulers, but a much needed and welcomed gift for all of God’s people. We have much to discern in our time. Issues of the day are disturbing and sometimes complex. In such a context we turn to God and His Word. We pray for discernment, for a heart and mind that listens to God’s Word and seeks to obey. Whether the Bible speaks directly to an issue or gives us a general understanding of good and evil, we know that this Word is the authority for our life and faith and discernment.
We can also practice spiritual disciplines that nurture a listening heart. The listening heart is a disposition about life that knows the importance of silence, of listening, and of paying close attention. It is a listening that is obedient and attuned to God’s Word. Listening is not about hearing an audible voice, but it is about paying attention to the Word of God through a “listening obedience”, doing God’s Word, abiding in God’s Word as it transforms our being by the work of the Holy Spirit.
In Ephesians 6.17 we read, “take…the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” Take up the Word of God first and foremost. This is one way God answers our prayer for a listening heart. He has given us His Word. We know the Truth, for we know Jesus Christ. We know God’s Word, because the Spirit has opened our listening hearts to believe and to give us an understanding mind. Trust in God and in His Truth and we will indeed know how to discern good and evil. Thanks be to God.
Pastor Ed
6/5/2024 Good morning,
It’s Proverb day!
Proverbs 12.9 Better to be lowly and have a servant than to play the great man and lack bread.
The book of Proverbs includes many “this is better than that” sayings. This one speaks of humility in community rather than autonomy and going hungry. Better to be humble with help than independent with no bread. Better to have a realistic understanding of your status than to think more highly of yourself. We know people on both sides of this Proverb, those who are humble and those who pretend they are more than they are. Our culture feeds into that kind of narcissism (play the great man) and does not value the lowly humble person. The world lifts up those who think they know better than others because they play a sport or act in movies or happen to be in front of the microphone. The elite sit in their ivory towers and tell us what is best for us.
The apostle Paul writes in Romans 12.3, “For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.” Better to not think more highly of yourself than you ought to, but think along the lines of faith. “Lord, I believe, help my unbelief” (Mark 9.24).
Pastor Ed
6/4/2024 Good morning,
1 Peter 3.13-15
13Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good? 14But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, 15but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect,
One of the ways we honor Christ as holy is to be prepared to defend our hope in Jesus Christ. Such a defense can be as simple as confessing Jesus is Lord and Savior. We can also give a defense with a more detailed testimony to our journey in Christ and His love for us. We could learn those particular Scriptures that speak directly to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Consider how you might respond to someone who would ask you, “Why do you believe in Jesus?” I find it helpful to treat that question as a school assignment by contemplating how we would respond and writing it down in some fashion. Write a narrative story or some bullet points or some other way you feel most comfortable in giving witness to your story and the Gospel of Christ. It need not be a twenty minute dissertation with detailed biblical references, as I said before, it could simply be that you trust in Jesus as Lord and Savior because He died and rose for you. All of us have a story to tell. All our stories are valid when the Gospel is reflected in them whether that is a story about always having known Jesus from childhood or a “Pauline” conversion experience getting knocked off our high horse. Peter tells us to be prepared and ready to defend the faith and hope in us.
The final tag is to give the defense with gentleness and respect. We are not to be coercive or brash or angry in sharing the Gospel. Such an approach will often take great patience and peace within our being. Sometimes we will have to shake the dust off our feet and move on to another place or person (Matt 10.14). May the Lord help us to discern to whom we shall speak and when we should move on. Be prepared, for there have been and will be opportunities to defend our hope in this broken world.
Pastor Ed
6/3/2024 Good morning,
Short one today! (Well, the Bible reading is.)
2 Peter 1.2 May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.
Peter greets his readers with a blessing of grace and peace. But it is not just a kind way of greeting the reader. He is also sending what we might label asa a prayer/charge that both grace and peace increase. That increase, or multiplication, occurs through knowledge of God and Jesus. The deeper our knowledge of God grows, the deeper grace and peace is multiplied. The closer we get to God the more we understand grace and peace and that leads to a multitude of other gifts: greater gratitude, deeper love, fear of the Lord, awareness of Presence, and so on. Knowledge comes with study of the Word and with experience. We study. We examine our lives daily. We pay attention to moments in time that have deep significance and even moments that appear mundane. We pray and worship and serve and give witness to the Gospel, and in all these things knowledge increases and grace and peace are multiplied in us. When grace and peace are multiplied to us, those around us are also blessed with grace and peace because God will be working grace and peace in and through us. Knowledge is not just for information, but also transformation of our lives. Knowledge is found in the Bible, in places that call us to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness (Matt 6.33). It is found in Isaiah 55.6 when called to seek the Lord. Is it in all the places where we are called to keep commandment and abide in Jesus (John 15).
2 Peter 1.2 is a wonderful prayer and blessing to lift up for ourselves and to offer others. Listen to the verse once again as it is offered for you today… May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. Amen.
Pastor Ed
6/1/2024 Good morning,
Let’s visit the gospel of Mark…
Mark 1.14-15, “14Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, 15and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’”
Mark does not do much of an introduction with a birth narrative or cosmic prelude as John does. Mark gets to the start of Jesus’ ministry immediately. By the 14th verse Mark reveals the message of the gospel of God which is summarized in one statement. The statement begins with:
“The time is fulfilled…” The time is now. God’s timing is perfect and to His choosing to send His Son into the world at the right time to show us His redemptive purpose. The Greek word for time here is kairos which means a moment in time rather than a date or hour which is the Greek chronos from which we get chronological. This is the moment for the gospel of God. The time is at hand.
“and the kingdom of God is at hand…” This is the moment to reveal the kingdom of God. This is the moment to reveal the Messiah. This is the moment in history (chronos) wherein God sends the One who embodies the kingdom of God because Jesus is the King. This is a revelatory moment (kairos). We see the kingdom in Jesus’ teaching, miracles, and ultimately in His death and resurrection.
“Repent and believe in the gospel.” Believe in the good news that the Messiah has come. It is the right time; it is the kingdom in our midst. The right response to this good news is to repent and believe. Repentance is confessing our sins and turning away from sin in order to follow Jesus and be alive to God. Belief is putting our trust in Jesus, putting our full confidence in Jesus and in the gospel. It is a twofold action of confession and trust. Without repentance there is no genuine belief and the deeper we grow in believing, the more we see our ongoing need to repent.
There is an urgency to the statement. The time is now, the kingdom has arrived, turn from your sin and trust in Jesus. That also gives us an urgency in making the same proclamation of the gospel. We make that proclamation sometimes in telling others about Jesus, but also in how we conduct ourselves, in that we worship, we serve, and in all the ways we reflect the gospel in and through our lives. Better said, we reflect the gospel in how God shines that message in and through our lives. The good news comes to the world in the Word of God and in the people of God as we proclaim that Word.
Let us pray for that sense of urgency and that God would send people into our lives to give us an opportunity to share with them that the time is now, the kingdom of God is here, and they should repent and believe.
Pastor Ed
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