Tag: LoveNeverFails

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Make Love the Last Resort

I don’t know who you are and I really don’t expect that you will admit this openly but someone said, just last night, “I have come to the end of my rope and I don’t know what I’m going to do now.”

Been there – said that! And so have many others. God’s love has a way of reaching people who feel they have no place else to turn; they are at their last resort.

There was the professional fisherman who couldn’t manage the storm at sea.

“And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full. 38 And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish?” Mark 4:37-38 KJV

Then there was a woman who spent every thing she had on doctor’s and only got worse.

“And had suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse, 27 When she had heard of Jesus, came in the press behind, and touched his garment.” Mark 5:26-27 KJV

What about the military leader whose servant was very ill?

“And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion, beseeching him, 6 And saying, Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented.” Matthew 8:5-6 KJV

Or the leper whose body was being eaten away?

“And, behold, there came a leper and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.” Matthew 8:2 KJV

We can’t forget the rich tax collector who had everything but friends and peace.

“And he sought to see Jesus who he was; and could not for the press, because he was little of stature. 4 And he ran before, and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him: for he was to pass that way.” Luke 19:3-4 KJV

I want you to notice that in every situation Jesus met the need of those who came to him. He didn’t lecture them and say “what took you so long”. Nor did he get offended that they had tried everything else and he was their last resort. Jesus met them where they were and took control over the situation.

He’s still that way today. Jesus isn’t a dictatorial tyrant that comes in demanding allegiance and forcibly takes control; no, he waits for us to come and ask and then He moves with love and compassion to change the circumstances.

Even King David had times that he came to the end of his rope.

“I called upon the Lord in distress: the Lord answered me, and set me in a large place. The Lord is on my side; I will not fear: what can man do unto me?” Psalm 118:5-6 KJV

I’m not sure who you are or what you’re going through but I do know if you’ll call out to the Lord he’ll be there and he’ll take you through to victory.

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A-Mazing Love

This morning my thoughts took an interesting turn. Some of you know that I like to break words down and find their root and that’s what led my wonderings today. I was thanking the Father for His amazing love – amazing grace – amazing forgiveness.

In my mind’s eye I saw one of those corn mazes that so many farms do during harvest season. I realized that much of life is like one of those mazes. We hope to start out on one path and walk straight to our desired dream or goal but that just isn’t life as we know it.

Life is filled with twists and turns. There are storms and set backs; there are disillusionments and discarded dreams. Just look at the life of Joseph. He started life with a coat of many colors and a dream of being a leader. His path, his maze, led him through a pit to a position as a house boy, then to a prison and finally he ended up before pharaoh and became the second most prominent man in Egypt. Read what he told his brothers:

“Joseph told them to come closer to him, and when they did, he said: Yes, I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt. 5 Don’t worry or blame yourselves for what you did. God is the one who sent me ahead of you to save lives.” Genesis 45:4-5 CEV

A-mazing. His life was filled with twists and turns but he knew each step of the way he was being led by God.

Now, let’s look at another man who had an amazing life.

“Jesus was still teaching 3 when four people came up, carrying a man on a mat because he could not walk. 4 But because of the crowd, they could not get him to Jesus. So they made a hole in the roof above him and let the man down in front of everyone.5 When Jesus saw how much faith they had, he said to the man, ‘My friend, your sins are forgiven.’ …10 ‘I will show you that the Son of Man has the right to forgive sins here on earth.’ So Jesus said to the man, 11 ‘Get up! Pick up your mat and go on home.’ 12 The man got right up. He picked up his mat and went out while everyone watched in amazement. They praised God and said, ‘We have never seen anything like this!’” Mark 2:1-12 CEV

A-mazing! This man had his friends come into his home, pick up his bed, carry him through the streets to a roof top, demolish the roof and then let him down through the roof with his bed held by ropes. He was helpless but not hopeless. He met Jesus and the result was amazing!

I want to go back to a verse that we looked at a few days back. It’s a verse about the depth of God’s love.

“ In everything we have won more than a victory because of Christ who loves us. 38 I am sure that nothing can separate us from God’s love—not life or death, not angels or spirits, not the present or the future, 39 and not powers above or powers below. Nothing in all creation can separate us from God’s love for us in Christ Jesus our Lord!” Romans 8:37-39 CEV

The walls of a maze are meant to separate, to confuse and disorient but this verse states clearly ” nothing can separate us from God’s love”!

Maybe your life has been like Joseph’s, seemingly taking one bad turn after another or perhaps you have felt that you were being haplessly carried through life without any say so as to where you were going – no input into the decisions being made for you.

“9  But it is just as the Scriptures say,

‘What God has planned
    for people who love him
is more than eyes have seen
    or ears have heard.
It has never even
    entered our minds!’

10 God’s Spirit has shown you everything. His Spirit finds out everything, even what is deep in the mind of God.” I Corinthians 2:9-10 CEV

Here’s the amazing part – when we are trusting God’s love, nothing, absolutely nothing, can separate from God’s love. It’s amazing!

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Love Covers

Yesterday I was talking with some friends about our Christmas and what a wonderful time it was for me. Our children, with one simple act, made this my best Christmas ever.

As we were talking Steve mentioned the Scripture that “love covers a multitude of sins” as it says in the book of Proverbs. That really resonated with me and I thought on it off and on throughout the day.

It was on my mind again this morning as I sat down to write to all of you but this time it exploded in my heart!

“Hate starts fights, but love covers all sins.” Proverbs 10:12 NLV

Our prejudice, misunderstanding, cultural differences, and backgrounds are responsible for a great deal of malice. Wars are fought over such things. Families are divided, companies are destroyed, and friendships are broken.

But love covers! Love seeks a way to resolve and repair, to reconcile and restore. Take a look at what the Apostle Paul says in I Corinthians 13.

“Love does not give up. Love is kind. Love is not jealous. Love does not put itself up as being important. Love has no pride. 5 Love does not do the wrong thing. Love never thinks of itself. Love does not get angry. Love does not remember the suffering that comes from being hurt by someone. 6 Love is not happy with sin. Love is happy with the truth. 7 Love takes everything that comes without giving up. Love believes all things. Love hopes for all things. Love keeps on in all things. 8 Love never comes to an end.” I Corinthians 13:4-8 NLV

Now, let me remind you – this is what the love that God has for US does and when we follow the instruction in yesterday’s blog of love the Lord and our neighbors, this is what we should be doing as well.

God, who is love, and who loved us first covered a multitude of our sins with the blood of His Son.

“ Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;” Colossians 2:14 KJV

“We had broken the Law many ways. Those sins were held against us by the Law. That Law had writings which said we were sinners. But now He has destroyed that writing by nailing it to the cross.” Colossians 2:14 NLV

Blotted out – covered. In the writings of ages past, there were no erasers, no back space, no white out or auto correct. If there was a mistake, it needed to be blotted out either by covering with more ink making a big spot on the parchment or by trying to remove the unwanted wording with a damp cloth which smeared the ink.

In our case, concerning our sins, the handwritten charges against us were blotted out when they were nailed to the cross and “blotted out” by the blood of Jesus!

Don’t let our enemy satan start a fight by throwing up our past sins. Love, God’s love, has covered them.

His love covered our multitude of sins! Amen!

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Love Endures

I hope you have enjoyed the last two days writings on love. When I read my Bible, I find love on every page. Look what I found this morning.

“Praise the Lord because he is good. His faithful love will last forever.  Praise the God of gods!  His faithful love will last forever. 3 Praise the Lord of lords!  His faithful love will last forever. 4 Praise him who alone does wonderful miracles! His faithful love will last forever…24 He saved us from our enemies. His faithful love will last forever. 25 He provides food for all living things. His faithful love will last forever. 26 Praise the God of heaven! His faithful love will last forever.” Psalm 136:1-4, 24-26 ERV

Everlasting love! Never conditional, always the same, never-failing love!

Christmas Eve, we had the opportunity to attend mass with our granddaughter, grandson and most of the rest of the family. This was a wonderful service. I won’t be able to quote the priest completely so I will paraphrase.

He spoke of the reason for Christmas, the birth of Christ. He said that people look for peace but don’t find it without first finding love. Love brings peace. However, we don’t find love without finding Jesus and when we find Jesus that’s enough. We don’t need anything else. He is everything we need!

Amen!

I know that message will stay with me for a very long time.

God is love. He wrapped His love in a child and sent Him to earth. The life that Jesus lived was one of compassion. His life is our example for living. Jesus said this was the greatest commandment:

“He said, ‘Teacher, which command in the law is the most important?’ 37 Jesus answered, ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and most important command. 39 And the second command is like the first: ‘Love your neighbor the same as you love yourself.’ 40 All of the law and the writings of the prophets take their meaning from these two commands.” Matthew 22:36-40 ERV

Jesus was not proclaiming some new and novel teaching. These are the very same words that God gave to Moses in the desert as he was leading the Israelites to their promised land.

The greatest thing we can do is love God and then share that love with others. But where do we find such a love? I’m so glad you asked.

“Dear friends, we should love each other, because love comes from God. Everyone who loves has become God’s child. And so everyone who loves knows God. 8 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 This is how God showed his love to us: He sent his only Son into the world to give us life through him. 10 True love is God’s love for us, not our love for God. He sent his Son as the way to take away our sins…16 So we know the love that God has for us, and we trust that love. God is love. Everyone who lives in love lives in God, and God lives in them…19 We love because God first loved us.” I John 4:7-19 ERV

The love of God endures forever and we are the focus of that love!

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24/7/365

I have to tell you; I love finding God in every day occurrences.

I can find Him in the grocery store, in traffic, at a noisy NASCAR race, in the still quiet of the morning. I can find Him while holding David’s hand in prayer, in conversation with friends, in spontaneous outbursts from my grandchildren. I can even find God in a Hallmark movie or in the commercials that come in between shows on television.

That’s where I found the Lord speak to me yesterday. I had one of those sentimental movies playing on television while I sat knitting a Christmas stocking. I wasn’t really paying much attention to the movie, it was the commercial that gained my attention.

I don’t remember what item was being prompted but the dialogue said something like this, “it’s the gift that keeps on giving all year through”. I looked up and said out loud, “that’s God love! It’s the 24/7, 365 gift. That’ll preach.”

I told Dave, “I have tomorrow’s blog title”. 24/7/365

Today I will share with you some of those 24/7/365 verses that mean so much to me.

“The Lord came to us from far away, saying, “I have loved you with a love that lasts forever. So I have helped you come to Me with loving-kindness.” Jeremiah 31:3 NLV

“When the rain-bow is in the cloud, I will look upon it to remember the agreement that will last forever between God and every living thing of all flesh that is on the earth.” 17 God said to Noah, “This is the special thing to see because of the agreement I have made between Me and all flesh upon the earth.” Genesis 9:16-17 NLV

“Go into His gates giving thanks and into His holy place with praise. Give thanks to Him. Honor His name. 5 For the Lord is good. His loving-kindness lasts forever. And He is faithful to all people and to all their children-to-come.” Psalm 100:4-5 NLV

“For to us a Child will be born. To us a Son will be given. And the rule of the nations will be on His shoulders. His name will be called Wonderful, Teacher, Powerful God, Father Who Lives Forever, Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:6 NLV

“Trust in the Lord forever. For the Lord God is a Rock that lasts forever.” Isaiah 26:4 NLV

“Those whom the Lord has paid for and set free will return. They will come to Zion with singing. Joy that lasts forever will crown their heads. They will be glad and full of joy. Sorrow and sad voices will be gone.” Isaiah 35:10 NLV

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son. Whoever puts his trust in God’s Son will not be lost but will have life that lasts forever.” John 3:16 NLV

“We give honor and thanks to the King Who lives forever. He is the One Who never dies and Who is never seen. He is the One Who knows all things. He is the only God. Let it be so.” I Timothy 1:7 NLV

“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.” Revelation 22:13 NLT

There you have it. Love, promises, strength, joy, loving-kindness or mercy, Father, King and life – all of these gifts are from our Eternal Father and all of these gifts are eternal – 24/7/365. God’s gifts to us!

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Christmas Cards

I know it’s only December 1st but have you received any Christmas cards yet?

I have a few friends that address their cards and write their Christmas letters on Thanksgiving weekend. Then, like clockwork, they are in the mail and delivered by December 1. In fact, I have already received one – it arrived, hand-delivered, on Thanksgiving Day.

Are you like me? I love getting these Christmas greetings from friends and loved one far and near. Reading their newsy letters brings them close once again.

As I sat here this morning wondering what I should share, I prayed a simple prayer and asked “Lord, what do you want to say this morning?”. Here’s the answer – it’s from God’s heart to you – ‘nuf said.

“The Lord hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.” Jeremiah 31:3 KJV

“From far away, the Lord will appear to his people. The Lord says, “I love you people with a love that continues forever. That is why I have continued showing you kindness.” Jeremiah 31:3 ERV

Years ago, I read this verse about this time of year and it really impacted my heart. I felt like it was God’s message for the Season. His matchless love – His unconditional love – His love that never fails is the reason we have Christmas.

The Father reached out to us with His most extravagant gift, Jesus, His Son.

Maybe, just maybe, you’ll print this verse and attach it to your mantle or at least copy it and put it in your phone so you can look at it several times each day. This message of everlasting love and God’s lovingkindness, His “hesed” is a message from His heart to ours!

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More Love

That really is an oxymoron. If you love or are loved how can there be more?

With our heavenly Father there is just love for He is love. His whole character, His nature, His very being is love!

We can come to comprehend His love in greater depth but there is never a point where He withholds His love and then releases more of it. He can’t stop being who He is, He is love.

Yesterday while I was looking further into “hesed”, loving-kindness, I found these words.

“Hesed is to love as God loves. When God’s presence passed by Moses on Mt. Sinai and revealed his very essence, God proclaimed his great hesed. (Exodus 34:6) In his book The Bible Among the Myths, biblical scholar John Oswalt describes it this way:

The word hesed…[is] the descriptor par excellence of God in the Old Testament. The word speaks of a completely undeserved kindness and generosity done by a person who is in a position of power. This was the Israelites’ experience of God. He revealed himself to them when they were not looking for him, and he kept his covenant with them long after their persistent breaking of it had destroyed any reason for his continued keeping of it. …Unlike humans, this deity was not fickle, undependable, self-serving, and grasping. Instead he was faithful, true, upright, and generous—always.

Like other Hebrew verbs, hesed is not just a feeling but an action. It intervenes on behalf of loved ones and comes to their rescue.” excerpt from Hesed: Love in the Long Term.

by Lois Tverberg

Contrary to what some teach, our heavenly Father is not the one causing evil and disruption in our lives. He is the One bringing peace in the midst of our storm.

“ For this is like the days of Noah to Me. As I promised that the waters of Noah should not flood the earth again, so I have promised that I will not be angry with you or speak sharp words to you. 10 The mountains may be taken away and the hills may shake, but My loving-kindness will not be taken from you. And My agreement of peace will not be shaken,” says the Lord who has loving-pity on you.” Isaiah 54:9-10 NLV

and we have this promise in Ephesians

“At one time all of us lived to please our old selves. We gave in to what our bodies and minds wanted. We were sinful from birth like all other people and would suffer from the anger of God.

4 But God had so much loving-kindness. He loved us with such a great love. 5 Even when we were dead because of our sins, He made us alive by what Christ did for us. You have been saved from the punishment of sin by His loving-favor. 6 God raised us up from death when He raised up Christ Jesus. He has given us a place with Christ in the heavens.” Ephesians 2:3-6 NLV

A heart of gratitude is established on love. Day 2 in the month of giving thanks. Thank the Father for His unconditional love and then look for an opportunity to share “hesed” with someone.

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Love Letters

Today is rarely, if ever, associated with love. However, I refuse to give away even one day and not focus on the love of God.

Through the years my confidence in God’s word has grown. What was once a hope in the truth of the Scriptures has become a steadfast faith in the infallibility and eternal truth that is only found in God’s word.

“Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.” Matthew 24:35 NLV

God’s word will never fail; love never fails. God’s word is the written expression of His love. He has chosen to share His heart with us in the pages of His word.

Have you ever received a love letter?

I bet you read it more than once. It’s possible that you read it so many times that you nearly had it memorized before the next one came. I don’t think love letters have quite the impact they did years ago. Letter writing was the communication of the day. Not very fast but treasured.

God loves us so much that He took the time to write the most amazing love letter! Reading it over and over again we find new things that we didn’t see the first time and reading it long enough we are impacted by His great love.

“1 I will confess and praise You [O God] with my whole heart; before the gods will I sing praises to You. 2 I will worship toward Your holy temple and praise Your name for Your loving-kindness and for Your truth and faithfulness; for You have exalted above all else Your name and Your word and You have magnified Your word above all Your name!
3 In the day when I called, You answered me; and You strengthened me with strength (might and inflexibility to temptation) in my inner self. 4 All the kings of the land shall give You credit and praise You, O Lord, for they have heard of the promises of Your mouth [which were fulfilled]…6 For though the Lord is high, yet has He respect to the lowly [bringing them into fellowship with Him]; but the proud and haughty He knows and recognizes [only] at a distance. 7 Though I walk in the midst of trouble, You will revive me; You will stretch forth Your hand against the wrath of my enemies, and Your right hand will save me. 8 The Lord will perfect that which concerns me; Your mercy and loving-kindness, O Lord, endure forever—forsake not the works of Your own hands.” Psalm 138 AMP

The name of the Lord is to be lifted higher than any other name. The name of God the Father and His Son Jesus are to be honored – that’s why it’s considered “profane” when their names are used in cursing and damning. God is not the damn-er but the blesser.

In verse 2 of this chapter, it also says that God has magnified His Word more than His name. That’s the value that God puts on His Word. In Psalm 107 we read that He sent His word and healed them.

In verse 8, God promises to perfect that “which concerns me”. As a loving father reaches out to help His child, my heavenly Father reaches out to “treat me with kindness”, as one translation says.

Put down the texting, FB and other means of electronic communication today and read the love letter that was written to you! It will warm your heart and change your life.

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So Much More!

I hope you are enjoying this little study in Isaiah 55. I am!

Just yesterday Dave and I were talking about some decisions we were making, seeking the Lord’s direction and acknowledging that we would only do certain things if we had the Father’s peace. We prayed, we talked, we prayed some more and then we were reminded of yesterday’s teaching – “I will make an everlasting covenant with you. I will give you all the unfailing love I promised to David.” There you have it, the peace came!

Since we’ve been back from Greece, we have been asked several times if the trip was what we hoped it would be. Our answer was immediate, everything we hoped for and more.

That’s how I feel about the verses we will go over today, everything we hoped for and more!

“Seek the Lord while you can find him. Call on him now while he is near. 7 Let the wicked change their ways and banish the very thought of doing wrong. Let them turn to the Lord that he may have mercy on them. Yes, turn to our God, for he will forgive generously. 8 “My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. 9 For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.” Isaiah 55:6-9 NLT

Some people read verse 6 and get the impression that God is elusive or that He is hiding. Not so. The Lord is always near to us, we’re the ones who often hide. Just like Adam hid in the garden because he was ashamed of his sin, we often pull back from God, from prayer, from fellowship.

Jesus said in His teachings, “ask and it will be given you, seek and you will find, knock and the doors will be open”. Isaiah is saying the same thing here – seek for God, you will find Him; ask (call) and you will receive.

Receive what? Forgiveness!

We’ve all done things we are ashamed of; we’ve all sinned. Big sin or little ones, they all interrupt our relationship with the Father. We read the word “wicked” and think “I’m not that bad” but that my friend is self-justification. According to God’s standard we’ve all missed the mark.

“For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.” Romans 3:23 NLT

‘Let them turn to the Lord that he may have mercy on them. Yes, turn to our God, for he will forgive generously.’ (vs 7) Let that sink in – turn (seek) to God and He will forgive generously. Right now, take a deep breath and breathe in the forgiveness of God. Don’t run, don’t hide, come to receive forgiveness and the healing it brings. It’s not like the conditional forgiveness that we give. The “I’ll forgive you now but if you ever do it again, that’s it” kind of forgiveness.

“My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.”

God doesn’t just love us; He is love and love never fails. We, in our thinking, can’t imagine being able to forgive and forget completely but that’s exactly what God does. He promises to remember our sins no more!

“He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west.” Psalm 103:12 NLT

His ways and thoughts are definitely higher than ours. He wants us to take on His way of thinking, learning His character and knowing His heart.

As Isaiah said, “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.” God’s love is everything we have hoped for and so much more!

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Letters of Love

Don’t you love getting personalized gifts? Something that was made or designed just for you…

It could be something to wear, eat or decorate with but you know that it is specifically for you. Cards made by your kids, grandkids or your spouse are the most treasured items we have.

Now let me ask you this. When you read the Bible is it just a book that you read because you think you should or is it a personalized love letter that you can’t put down?

If it’s the former let’s change it to the latter. God inspired its writing so He could tell you how much He loves you.

Take this passage in Ephesians 2.

“Once we were also ruled by the selfish desires of our bodies and minds. We had made God angry, and we were going to be punished like everyone else.

4-5 But God was merciful! We were dead because of our sins, but God loved us so much that he made us alive with Christ, and God’s wonderful kindness is what saves you. 6 God raised us from death to life with Christ Jesus, and he has given us a place beside Christ in heaven. 7 God did this so that in the future world he could show how truly good and kind he is to us because of what Christ Jesus has done. 8 You were saved by faith in God, who treats us much better than we deserve. This is God’s gift to you, and not anything you have done on your own. 9 It isn’t something you have earned, so there is nothing you can brag about. 10 God planned for us to do good things and to live as he has always wanted us to live. That’s why he sent Christ to make us what we are.” Ephesians 2:3-10 CEV

Please go back and read those verses again but this time substitute the words I, my, me for the words we, our, us and you. Now, go back one more time and read it again only this time read it out loud. I want you to hear, really hear, the message of God’s love with your own ears.

Personalize God’s word. Let it sink down deep into your heart and let the Holy Spirit begin to reveal to you just how special you are to your heavenly Father.

“You were (I was) saved by faith in God, who treats us (me) much better than we (I) deserve. This is God’s gift to you (me), and not anything you (I) have done on your (my) own. 9 It isn’t something you (I) have earned, so there is nothing you (I) can brag about.” my paraphrase

I have several different places I read in the Bible each morning. Each of them reminds me of God’s goodness and love. I don’t want to start the day without that being my foremost thought.

“This is how God showed his love to us: He sent his only Son into the world to give us life through him. 10 True love is God’s love for us, not our love for God. He sent his Son as the way to take away our sins.” I John 4:9-10 ERV

Amen!

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