This is a Christian Website Just for You!

                          

THIS CHRISTIAN WEBSITE is just for you! 

Thanks for taking the time to browse through this Christian Site.

It is now almost 12 years since I retired from the leadership of a local church, little realizing what lay ahead. I did not know anything about a computer or a web site. It has been an adventure and quite a learning curve.

After being a Christian since I was a teenager 64 years ago, I have learned steadily quite a bit about the Christian Faith, life and experience. Having served as a Christian minister over 40 years and caring for a number of churches and been a resident lecturer in a Bible College one has gathered quite a lot en-route. The last three years one has been involved on this web site to present, I trust, helpful material that will benefit those who peruse it.

Do look at  the on the left hand side of the page to Select Category, if you click this it will open up a vast amount of subjects with a great deal of material that could prove beneficial to you in study.

In the next few weeks I will be presenting new studies and lectures into 1 Peter and something on what is known as Focus. There will also be further good outlines on prayer and messages from other people that should prove to be a blessing and inspiration.

I do use others to help me in providing the wide range of material and am grateful for their support.

Do be free to make comments. They will prove beneficial as one seeks to continually upgrade where possible.

Your friend and helper,

Rev. E. Anderson

Something to Think About

 “A divine encourager is one that puts fresh heart and hope into people, enabling them to get up and going with renewed life and inspiration, causing them to triumph and succeed. So divinely stir and cheer up someone today”Ernest Anderson

                             

 

 

A Daily Prophetic Word and Meditation

                                     

                                    Rev. E. Anderson

GOD DOES SPEAK TODAY

One of the things we need to know about and be sure of is this that God does speak today. This being so, we need to hear His voice and be able to listen and understand what He has to truly say to us and into our lives.

He speaks in a number of ways to those who are tuned in to Him. He communicates through the Bible the Scriptures of truth, through the Holy Spirit bringing in a unique manner to our spirits divine understanding, through daily circumstances, through other human being and nature, also.

The two main ways, however are through the Bible and the Holy Spirit. God has caused this ancient and inspired book to be composed for all men to read in sincerity and when His help His sought, He lightens up the whole Bible and makes it understandable and meaningful. It is possible to discover and know God through these sacred books. On our site we present a daily reading and give a simple explanation that will prove helpful to those who daily read and ponder it.

By the Holy Spirit God seeks to speak prophetically and personally into our lives. He seeks to impart encouraging and helpful messages that will be relevant to our lives at given moments. Each day there will be a word of this nature given so that you can meditate on it and find apt words at the right moment into your situation.

Wednesday – November 25th      

Live with a real sense of divine anticipation and expectation in your being, conscious of the fact that God is your Father and that he has planned to bring about some very choice things within your life and service. He has not brought you into His elect household to neglect you but surely to bring to pass things that will cause you to be a better person and to make your life blessed and useful. He desires that good things will happen to you so that you will have every reason to be glad over your wonderful relationship. So hand your life over to Him today and anticipate that He will hear and answer your prayers that you present to Him. He is interested in both doing the small and big things so that His providential hand is seen to be much at work on your behalf. He will provide for this day and preserve you and all your interests.

November 25th   

OPEN DOORS – 1 Corinthians 16

In his work and service for the Lord, the apostle Paul was dependent upon the direct guidance of the Lord. He wanted more than anything else, since his conversion to Christ, to accomplish His will with regard to his ministry. He was sensitive to the fact that he had been called to spread the message of Christ at all times but he was also aware of the fact that he must be directed in mission. It was the job of His Lord to open up the doors and way before him. Note in v8 – “But I will stay on at Ephesus until Pentecost, because a great door for effective work has opened to me.”

Ephesus became a venue where a tremendous amount of Christian work took place to further the cause of Christ. It became apparent that this was to be a powerful base to forward the growth of Christendom. The apostle gave himself to this endeavour and was rewarded in the raising up of a spiritual eldership to enable the on going work– Acts 20: 13-35. Later on he was able to write a letter to this church, which has graced the New Testament with divine revelation with respect to Christ and His Church. The door that was opened then was used to lasting effect through which Christendom is still blessed today.

The One who has created the Christian Church and is its Head and life still controls its destiny and the ministry of His people. It is within His power to open effectual doors of utterance and service that will advance His Kingdom, even in modern times. All who are living under His anointing and blessing will discover that He is able to cause His servants to move into areas of successful enterprise in His Name. He wills you to know that it is within His authority to release you into an area of fruitful ministry that will advance His Name and testimony. Arise and get going!

                                 

Focus

                                    

                                  Rev. E. Anderson

AN EASY TARGET

Job’s wife said to him, “Are you still holding on to your integrity? Curse God and die!”|He replied, “You are talking like foolish woman. Shall we accept good from God and not trouble?” In all this, Job did not sin in what he said. Job 2: 9-1

Of all the people who surrounded Job as he endured his suffering, his wife is a prime target for condemnation. How could a loving wife give such terrible advice? Why wasn’t she more supportive of her husband? How could a righteous man like Job have a shrew like her for a wife?

All those seem like perfectly reasonable questions, at least on the surface. But look a little closer. Put yourself in her shoes. Everything he experienced, save the physical suffering, she experienced, too. Those were her ten grown children who died, too. Those were her livestock that were destroyed, too. It was her livelihood that went down the drain, too. When Job lost everything, she lost everything, too.

On top of that, her husband, once known as the greatest man in the entire region, had been reduced to an oozing shell of a person. Her mate was in terrible pain, and she could do nothing to help him. Her security was gone. Her life was shattered.

It’s easy to be hard on Mrs. Job, but be honest. How would you have responded to similar circumstances? It’s entirely likely that your faith, like hers might have caved under the weight such tremendous suffering.

Thankfully, however, her husband’s faith stood strong. ”You are talking like a foolish woman’s Job chided her. “Shall we accept good from God and not trouble?” – Job 2:10. In the midst of his wife’s despair and foolish advice, Job consistently modeled what it meant to follow God. Mrs. Job wouldn’t have won an award for being a model wife, but even in the face of adversity, Job continued to exemplify what it meant to be the spiritual leader of his family.

Next time you’re tempted to judge someone for her lack of support in a difficult situation, whether it be at home, at work, or somewhere else, put yourself in her shoes. Her response may be weak, immature, or even totally unbiblical. But rather than criticize her, pray that she will have a Job in her life who will come alongside and model what it means to follow Jesus in the midst of suffering.

                                 

Messages by Rix Warren

                           

Rev. Rix Warren

LIVE RELAXED IN GOD’S GRACE
by Rick Warren 

“As a father is kind to his children, so the Lord is kind to those who honour him. He knows what we are made of; He remembers that we are dust” – Psalm 103:13-14 GN.

God understands you completely. He’s fully aware of your humanity. He knows what makes you tick. He knows your faults, your fears, your failures, and your frustrations. He doesn’t expect you to be Superman or Superwoman.

If you’re a parent, do you love your children at every stage of their development or are you waiting until they’re mature to love them?

The point is, God loves you at every stage of your development so you don’t have to have unresolved guilt and unrealistic expectations. Listen:

- There is nothing you will ever do that will make God love you more than He does right now.
- There is nothing that you will ever do that will make God love you less than He does right now.

God’s love is unconditional. It’s not based on what you do or don’t do.

I like to think of it like this–I have three kids. All of them had to learn to walk and all three of them went through the same process: They’d take a step; they’d stumble. They’d get up, take two steps; they’d stumble. They’d get up and fall back down without taking a step. They’d get up; they’d fall backwards. They’d get up and take a couple steps and fall again.

As their father, what was my reaction? Did I scold them? ‘What are you doing stumbling? You’re a Warren. Warrens don’t stumble! We have dignity. We don’t stumble. Get up. You can do better than that.’ Of course not! How silly! But a lot of us think that’s how God treats us. We think that every time we stumble, God says, “Get up! What are you doing, you dummy?”

The Bible teaches us that, “There is no condemnation now for those who live in union with Christ Jesus” – Romans 8:1 TEV. What does that mean? Let’s say I take a card and write every single thing I’ve ever done wrong on it (and, you know, it wouldn’t all fit on a single card). I write down all my sins, all my faults, all my mistakes, all the skeletons in my closet, all the shameful acts and thoughts and memories and temptations. And then I put the card in a book and close it. You can’t see the card anymore. You can only see the book. That’s the way God sees us when Jesus is in our lives. He no longer sees our sin; he sees Jesus at work in our lives.

When I come to Christ and say, “God, here’s my life. Everything I’ve ever done wrong, every time I’ve ever made a mistake. All those stupid things I’ve done. I want to put my life in Jesus Christ.” Jesus wraps me with His love, and God looks at Jesus and sees that Jesus is perfect. He doesn’t see my sin. That’s what it means to relax in God’s grace.

                             

Points to Ponder

                                          

                                   Ernest  Anderson

WAITING FOR GOD TO COME ( God hidden ill others)

Once, God promised an elderly lady that he would visit her that day. Naturally she was a bit proud about that she scrubbed and cleaned and polished and dusted and put everything in order. And then she sat down and waited for God to come.

Suddenly someone knocked| at the door. In a hurry, she raced to the door, hastily pulled it open and what did she see but just a poor beggar standing outside. “No, not today; for heaven’s sake get along with you. I’m waiting for God to come any minute now, I can’t be bothered with your”. So she sent the beggar off and closed the door behind him.

After a while there was another knock. This time lady opened even faster than before. But what did she see standing outside? Just some poor old man. “I’m waiting for the good Lord to come. Sorry, I can’t take care of you today”. With that she slammed the door in his face.

Quite a bit later someone again knocked at the door. She opened it and who stood there but another ragged and hungry beggar, who kept pleading for a bit of bread and roof over his head for the night. “Oh. leave me alone. I’m waiting for the good Lord! I can hot take you in”.  And so the beggar had to move on; and the old lady sat down to wait again.

The hours passed by and soon evening was coming on, but there was sill no sign of God. -The lady became a bit concerned. Where cold He be?

Finally, she went to bed with a heavy heart. She fell asleep and dreamed that the good Lord had come to her and said, “I came to you three times today and all three times you threw me out”.

From now on everyone who hears this story never sends anyone away from their door. For they just don’t now who it actually is standing were. Who would want to send the good Lord away?

Willi Hoffsuemmer

                              

     

A Daily Prophetic Word and Meditation

                                      

                                    Rev. E. Anderson

GOD DOES SPEAK TODAY

One of the things we need to know about and be sure of is this that God does speak today. This being so, we need to hear His voice and be able to listen and understand what He has to truly say to us and into our lives.

He speaks in a number of ways to those who are tuned in to Him. He communicates through the Bible the Scriptures of truth, through the Holy Spirit bringing in a unique manner to our spirits divine understanding, through daily circumstances, through other human being and nature, also.

The two main ways, however are through the Bible and the Holy Spirit. God has caused this ancient and inspired book to be composed for all men to read in sincerity and when His help His sought, He lightens up the whole Bible and makes it understandable and meaningful. It is possible to discover and know God through these sacred books. On our site we present a daily reading and give a simple explanation that will prove helpful to those who daily read and ponder it.

By the Holy Spirit God seeks to speak prophetically and personally into our lives. He seeks to impart encouraging and helpful messages that will be relevant to our lives at given moments. Each day there will be a word of this nature given so that you can meditate on it and find apt words at the right moment into your situation.

Tuesday – November 24th      

One of the important roles that you are called upon to fulfil in your life and Christian ministry is to serve the body of Christ and even others in the world with the inspiration of encouragement. You are to be a divine encourager. Because of your spiritual union and communion with God, there is to be a pure and sure flow of helpful knowledge and thought in your mind and heart that you must pass on to others in their moments of despair and discouragement. You can be used by your Lord today to impart messages that will be just right and good into lives that feel undone and require support and strength. The word given to Isaiah is yours today: “Comfort ye, comfort ye my people” saith your God – Isaiah 40: 1. Be a means today of communicating some good, choice words to others that will cheer them up, lift the load and enable them to go on and press through their trials and problems.

November 24th   

 

CHRIST IS RISEN – 1 Corinthians 15

The glorious truth of the Christian Faith is that the One who founded it rose from the grave and lives forever to see it established and blessed. In this passage there is a powerful setting forth of the historical fact of Christ’s resurrection. It was in accord with the prophetic revelation of the Scriptures and was witnessed to by many people. Christ appeared to many following His conquest of death and gave real and indisputable proof of it. The twelve apostles who knew so much of Him in His life and ministry were totally convinced of His triumph of this principal enemy of man. They were utterly assured that He had mastered this monstrous evil.

As pointed out here: His resurrection is but the forerunner of the bigger harvest yet to be at the end of time. It is stated in v26 –“But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.” He is the first sheaf of a bumper yield to be when He returns for His Church. All the Christian dead died in hope of being delivered from death to possessing a new, immortal body over which death will have no authority. Christ will come again and will demonstrate His life and power by calling forth from the graves all who have died trusting Him – vv51-57.

In this present life the Christian believer can know the delight of the presence of the living Christ. He comes to share His resurrection life and power in the now of existence, giving the ability to live His kind of life. It is the abundant life that He speaks of in John 10: 10. But then, if death should waylay the believer, there can be a dying in real, divine optimism. Christ is to return in majesty and power and will resurrect each saint, giving a new body and entrance to His eternal Kingdom.

                                

A Time to Laugh

                                 

                                    Rev. E. Anderson

A SELFISH PRAYER

A mom was driving her five year old son to McDonald’s one day and they passed a car accident. Whenever the Mom saw something terrible like that, she would always say a prayer for those who might be hurt, so she pointed and said to her son, “We should pray.”

From the back seat she heard his earnest request: “Please, God, don’t let those cars block the entrance to McDonald’s.”

CURIOSITY

A teacher was finishing up a lesson on the joys of discovery and the importance of curiosity. “Where would we be today,” she asked, “if no one had ever been curious?”

One child quietly spoke up from the back of the room. “In the garden of Eden?”

AN APT RESPONSE

A young guy in a two-engine fighter was flying escort for a B-52 and generally being a nuisance, acting like a hot dog, flying rolls around the lumbering old bomber.

The hot dog said over the air, “Anything you can do, I can do better.”

The veteran bomber pilot answered, “Try this hot-shot.” The B-52 continued its flight, straight and level.

Perplexed, the hot dog asked, “So? What did you do?”

“I just shut down two engines, kid.”

BULL’S EYE

 

One of the best marksmen in the FBI was passing through a small town, and was astonished to notice evidence of the most amazing shooting. On trees, on walls, and on fences there were numerous bull’s-eyes with a bullet hole in dead centre of each one.

The FBI man asked a local resident about the person responsible for this wonderful marksmanship. The resident introduced him to the shooter. “This is the best marksmanship I have ever seen,” said the FBI man. “How in the world do you do it?”

“Nothing to it,” said the man. “I shoot first and draw the circles afterward.”

LITTLE JOHN THE BAPTIST

Johnny’s Mother
looked out the window and noticed
Him “playing church” with their cat.

He had the cat sitting quietly and he was preaching
to it. She smiled and went about her work.

A while later she heard loud meowing and hissing
and ran back to the open window to see Johnny
baptizing the cat in a tub of water.

She called out, “Johnny, stop that! The cat is
afraid of water!”

Johnny looked up at her and said,
“He should have thought about that before he joined
my church.”

today’sTHO’T

The devil is the father of lies, but he neglected to patent the idea, and the business now suffers from competition.

                              

Leadership Factors

                                

                                 Rev. E. Anderson

CHRISTIAN LEADERSHIP COURSE

Study 20   LESSONS LEARNED UNDER CHRISTIAN LEADERSHIP – Part 2 

JOSHUA WAS MENTORED BY MOSES AND GOD

There are notable tokens and evidences of the man’s desire to know God and be properly taught by God’s choice servant.

  • He showed a remarkable spirit of submission and deference to Moses, the servant of God. The younger had him in high regard and respect in a proper manner and relationship.
  • He revealed a willingness to act in a servant role to this great leader, became his attendant – Exodus 24: 13. It was no problem to act in the capacity as his humble lackey and perform and lowly duty requested. He placed not only a dignity on his leader but on the privilege of service. He was not serving him with his eye on his job! 
  • He was of good stock and had a healthy lineage, an Ephraimite – Joseph’s line Numbers 13: 8, 16 Not really a son of nun –none! Had a great forefather and example. Ephraim was the son of Joseph and the tribe would become very distinct.
  • He was ready to be installed as commander of the forces in an initial conflict – Exodus 17: 8-16. He is appointed commander of the forces and is ready to lead the military in to contest and conquest. He was not in the business for a cushy ride! Influence of Moses very much on him.
  • He manifested a great spirit of faith and took a positive attitude towards going to take the land -–Numbers 14: 6-10. Must have imbibed something of the mind and heart attitude of his leader and had an assurance of God as to possession.
  • He possessed a name of significance that must have acted as an inspiration and goad to both life and work and in his role as apprenticeship – Numbers 13: 8,16; Deuteronomy 32: 44 – a divine name. He had not been misnamed in the family but it was a prophecy of what he would be and do, and Moses perceived and encouraged it. His name as it was called was purposed to highlight the Lord and His purpose amongst them.
  • He exhibited a tremendous respect for the Lord and entertained a real love for God’s presence – lingered around the Tabernacle – Exodus 32: 17 shows he must have been close to Moses up the mount and he was not aware of what was occurring below. Exodus 33: 11. He had learned from Moses the art and act of divine communion and took the opportunity of building up his own relationship with the Lord.
  • He must have possessed an inward sense that he was destined to be Moses successor and desired to be worthy of that situation – there would be much to live up so the need to get truly grounded and matured. The passing of time and the developing situation would begin to make him think that there was something up the line for him and he needed to be truly prepared. He learned to abide his time in God’s overall plan and patience had its effect.
  • He was ready to receive the enduement that was to proceed from the patriarch/prophet and to be encouraged by Him – Numbers 27:15-23; Deuteronomy 3:28. For him, it was priceless and opportune to have this man’s hands laid on him. This was a real seal upon him for life and fulfilling divine destiny.
  • He was a person who wholeheartedly followed the Lord thus indicating that he accepted his tuition through Moses as coming from the Lord  – Deuteronomy 1: 36. He knew that Moses would not lead him astray in anyway but keep him on course and spiritually in the finest condition.

 The following are some of the magnificent qualities created and consummated in this man.

Courageous – Numbers 14: 6-10 

Emotional - Joshua 7: 6-10

Wise military man - Joshua 8: 3-29

Prophetic – Joshua 6: 26,27

Strong religious leader – Judges 2: 7

                                Good administrator – Joshua 10-12; 23: 1-16

 Quality divine leaders have the ability in God to produce future quality leaders that will take the Church of God forward to achieve the divine design and destiny. All the time and effort must be put into achieving this goal. The combined union of the older and younger and all that comes in between should ensure a real growth in God’s purposes and kingdom.

                               

 

Christian Testimony

                              

                                Lesley Vainikolo

VOLCANO ALERT

Sheila Johnson DISCOVERS THAT DESPITE BEING A FEARSOME OPPONENT ON THE RUGBY PITCH, England international Lesley Vainikolo’s Christian faith is ventral to his career

 “IM JUST AN an ordinary guy and rugby is my job. That’s the way it should be,” says Gloucester and England player Lesley Vainikolo.

Lesley may be over six feet and weigh nearly 18 stone but for all that, the Tongan-born colossus is a meek and easy-going character.

Born into a Christian family in Tonga, moving to New Zealand when he was just five, Wesley freely admits to being  “a bad boy” when he was young. His mother caught him stealing from her purse as a teenager and told him off and Wesley says: “That’s when I realised God was there and I broke down in tears and said sorry to my Mum. We said a prayer together and since then I’ve never doubted”.

Lesley also found from quite an early age that he was good at sport, first athletics, qualifying for the 1998 World Junior athletics Championships and then rugby. He says: “God chose me and gave that one-in-a-million talent”.

He started playing professional rugby league for the Canberra Raiders in Australia in 1998, where he was coached by his mentor and idol Mal Meninga. In his first season for the club he was voted the Canberra Raiders rookie of the year. It was also in Australia that Vainikolo first acquired the nickname of ‘The volcano’, partly because he was fast and partly because the Australian commentators found his surname difficult to pronounce.

Vainikolo moved to England in 2002 to join the Bradford Bulls, and the following year was voted best rugby league player in the world. He received his first offer from Gloucester Rugby Club in 2005 which he declined, but accepted a second offer in 2007, making the switch from playing rugby league to rugby union. He was then selected for the England squad, taking part in the Six Nations.

Lesley’s faith is vital to him in the way he plays his game. “My faith is very important to me both in my rugby and in my life. God gave me the talent, but I have to work hard as a winger because the position is quite demanding. I take my bible everywhere and read a passage from .. . it before every game then l bless the jersey, myself the team and the other team as well”.

He isn’t fazed by criticism either. “It just motivates me to do better”, he says  “I never think above what I am, I was brought up that way”.

There’s a lot of pressure on him to maintain the bad language and drinking culture that often surrounds rugby. Lesley says: “Sometimes I go out with the team and have a few beers and go home and they’ll just carry on doing what they want to do”. 

But like the rest of us, he doesn’t always get it right,  “ I get frustrated in the game sometimes and then the bad language just comes out, but I always ask God to forgive me. I’ve taken a few bad roads in my life, but the only way to learn from your mistakes is to follow the man above”.

Lesley had a difficult first year in Gloucester, suffering two family tragedies within four weeks of each other – the death of his father after a long battle with asthma and his brother from a sudden fatal heart attack – but has drawn strength from his faith and the birth of his first son, Kava, in March 2008. He is now finding his feet in the Gloucester team and is signed up with them until 2010.

His family is enormously important to him and his wife and son live locally.

“My wife loves it over here,” says Lesley, “but we will go back to New Zealand when I’ve finished here as I’ve got all my family there, and all my wife’s family too. But I’ve got one year at Gloucester now under my belt and I know I’ve got more to giver”.

                             

Messages by Rev. Chuck Swindolls

                              

                         Rev. Charles Swindolls

BLIND SPOTS

Rev. C. Swindolls

AII of us played follow-the-leader as children. But even then, when the guide in front was too daring or foolish, we would step aside. There were definite limits on how far we would follow.

Sadly, this is not always true in the spiritual realm, where leaders unworthy of the name sometimes command blind devotion. (Remember Jonestown and Waco and those fallen televangelists?).

No one ever defined that follow-no-matter-what syndrome better than out Lord in Matthew 15:14: ‘Let them alone; that are blind guides of the blind. And if a blind man guides a blind man, both will fall into a pit’.

Remember now, Jesus warned us against, not all guides. God still uses strategic, trustworthy dedicated leaders. Always has, always will. These visionary guides have 20-20 vision as they continue walking with God. They deserve our respect.

But how can we tell when ‘blindness’ starts to set in? What are the symptoms to look for in strong natural leaders that tell us trouble is brewing? When should we stop following lest we, too, become blind?

After thinking about this for quite awhile, I am ready to suggest six blind spots we dare not overlook.

Authoritarianism. Take care when a leader begins repressing your freedom. When he or she becomes inflexible., dictatorial, tyrannical oppressive – stop following. If there is the lack of a servant’s heart, or a teachable spirit, pride is in control. Be especially wary of one who seems to have all the answers. 

Exclusiveness. Watch out for the ‘we-alone-are-right’ and the ‘us-four-and-no-more’ attitudes. When what is being promoted starts making you clannish, closed and cliquish, beware! This reveals itself in an encouragement to break commitments with your mate, family members, and long-standing friends. Paranoia often accompanies such exclusiveness.

Greed. Money-grubbing is another tell-tale sign. Especially if funds wind up in the leader’s pocket and become ‘nobody’s business’. Remember 1 Peter 5:2. Dependable shepherds am not motivated by ’sordid gain’.

Sensuality. Moral purity is a must if the leader claims God’s hand is on his life. Follow no guru, no matter hair visionary or charismatic who promotes and practices sexual looseness, who is too  familiar with the opposite sex: who laughs at lust and flirts with infidelity A holy life is never optional.

Unaccountability. Leaders who refuse to be accountable to anyone forfeit the right to be trusted and followed. Bewail of the secretive, irresponsible untouchable ,’I am God’s anointed’ mentality. No matter how eloquent or how competent, every leader needs counsel and occasional confrontation.

Rationalisation. When wrong is justified with a defensive spirit, when inappropriate actions are quickly glossed over, when scriptural truth is twisted to fit a sinful life-style, when grey-black facts are whitewashed, stop your support. Remember, ‘accommodation theology’ is a danger signal. Look for these things in the ones you follow: a servant’s heart, a vulnerable spirit, a sensitive conscience, and a quick willingness to admit wrong.

The hypnotic, demanding spell of a blind prima donna is exactly as Christ described it: the pits.

Take His advice: let them alone!

                                

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