The Impact of a Father

Hello, Hello!

It has been a crazy past two weeks for me, but I am still here alive and kicking!  Next week, life should slow down a little so here is looking forward to next week.  Before, we can reach next week though, we cannot do so without passing through Father's Day. While there is not as much hype surrounding this day as with Mother's Day, I think it is still good that we recognize the role and impact that fathers have in the lives of their children.  I am going to speak from my experience as a son and as a father.

Before I get started, I want to take a trip to Proverbs. 

Proverbs 4:1  "[ Wisdom Is Supreme ] Listen, my sons, to a father's instruction; pay attention and gain understanding."

Proverbs 13:1  "A wise son heeds his father's instruction, but a mocker does not listen to rebuke"

I list these scriptures to show that the presence a father in the house is one of great importance.   For a son, he has to look to his father to know how to become a man.  For a daughter, it is important for her to see how a man should treat a woman, so that she'll know what is acceptable in how she should be treated by a man.  Yes, the father figure in the home is very important, but we are living in a time when there are so many fractured homes.  There are many homes today with a single mother raising children and the father is no where to be found.  In some cases, parents are divorced and the father does spend time with there kids, but it is not the same as having a father in the home every day.

I speak as a child who is blessed to come from a home where my parents were married, remained together, and are still married 34 years to date.  Now, this is not to gloat against any one who was raised by a single parent.  This is just me saying it is a blessing to have had my father throughout my entire life.  To me that is HUGE and very important!  As a child, I saw my Daddy get up day in and day out to work from sun-up until sun-down.  He did it to provide for his family, so that we might have a better life.  (As a parent, I think it is our desire for our children to have an equal and/or better life than we had.)  I saw my father open doors for my mother, show affection towards her, and love her. 

I sometimes saw the arguments and disagreements between my mother and father, but I also saw that marriage kept going past the argument.  I know men can have a lot of pride and it is hard to swallow sometimes (even when we're wrong) so it was important for me to see that anything could be worked out through love.  All of these were things that I saw and learned from my father without him having to say a word to me.

Yes, there have been times where instruction has come verbally and that is important as well, however, I think the most important thing is not what you say but how you live.  As for me, I have received many tidbits of information from my Dad and many gifts I did not deserve to have, but the most important gift I have (and could have) ever received is his presence.  It is that presence that keeps me going every day. I have a wife and two children and now it is my turn to be present in their lives.  It is through our lives as fathers that the next generation obtains instruction to pass on the generation that follows them.

We use to have a substitute teacher named Mrs. Chapman in grade school and she had a saying before every class started.  She would say,  "I just want to tell every one of my students that you are special and you are somebody".  Fathers, even if you don't hear it or maybe feel it, you are special and you are somebody.  Have a Happy Father's Day and remember to always keep your eyes on the Lord.

Be Blessed.

Regards,

Antoine E. Hall

Blog:   http://toinebo.blogspot.com
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/AntoineHall


"It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect." - 2 Samuel 22:33

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Wait a Minute, Wasn't That Just You?!

Hey Everybody and Happy Friday!  You know I am not going to beat around the bush, but rather I want to jump to the point.  If there is one thing that gets under my skin, it is for people to boast themselves up and put people down in the process.  This really bothers me and I see this especially in work places.

In an world where competition is eat or be eaten, people will try any tactic to "one-up" someone else at someone else expense.  In the Book of Romans, Paul tells us not to think more highly of ourselves than we ought, but rather be sober in judgment (see Romans 12:3).  Here sober means "proper assessment of yourself"1.  So in a nutshell, Paul is telling us we need to be aware of where we are in our lives before we start passing judgment on others.  Also, I believe we can say this means we need to be aware from which we've come!  You cannot assess where you are and where you are going without knowing from which you came.

I want to take a look at Matthew 18:21-35.  It is rather long, but stick with it.  It says,

(21) Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, "Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?"  (22) Jesus answered, "I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.  (23) "Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. (24) As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand talents[b] was brought to him. (25) Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.  (26) "The servant fell on his knees before him. 'Be patient with me,' he begged, 'and I will pay back everything.' (27) The servant's master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.  (28) "But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii. He grabbed him and began to choke him. 'Pay back what you owe me!' he demanded.  (29) "His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, 'Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.'  (30) "But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. (31) When the other servants saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed and went and told their master everything that had happened.  (32) "Then the master called the servant in. 'You wicked servant,' he said, 'I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. (33)Shouldn't you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?' (34) In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.  (35) "This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart."

Here is where you find the Parable of the Unmerciful Servant, however, I want to show you something else.  You saw someone who lost their sense of direction.  The servant seemed to forget where he once was and learned nothing about it at all.  Not only was he unmerciful, but he was not sober in judgment when trying to accuse someone of owing him money.

If you recall, there was once upon a time that you didn't know what you knew.  There was a time that you did not know who you now know.  There was once upon a time, where you were "fresh-off-the-boat" at something and there was someone at some place who knew more than you did.  Despite all this somebody took a chance on you. Someone looked at you and said, "I think that kid will be alright under the proper guidance". 

Before you start to turn your nose up at someone who you feel is beneath you, remember there was some point in your life where you had not arrived.  That person who you see now was you once not to long ago.


1. Piper, John "Assessing Ourselves With Our God-Assigned Measure of Faith, Part 1".  Desiring God.  August 29, 2004

Regards,

Antoine E. Hall

Blog:   http://toinebo.blogspot.com
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/AntoineHall

"It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect." - 2 Samuel 22:33

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The Sinless Nature of Jesus

Good Morning,

I hope that you are doing well on this Tuesday morning.  Today is definitely a great day to be alive and I hope that you feel the same way too!  I would like to talk to you about the sinful nature of man and the affects of it on Jesus.  I hope that I do not bore you by all the detail and you will keep reading through the "thickness" as sometimes studying the bible can seem to be over our heads.

I arrived at this study this morning by spending a little time in Chapter 12 of the Book of Leviticus, where it talks about the purification process of a woman after childbirth.  If you have a look at this chapter, you will find something very interesting.  After the birth of a boy or a girl, a woman was considered ceremonially unclean for 7-14 days (7 for a boy, 14, for a girl).  "On the eighth day the boy is to be circumcised." (Lev. 12:3).  After the birth of a son and after his circumcision, the woman had to wait 33 days to be purified from her bleeding.  If it was the birth of a daughter, then she had to wait 14 days as she was considered unclean.  After the waiting period she had to wait 66 days before she could be purified from her bleeding.  A woman was purified by offering a sin offering and a burnt offering.  (If you recall, we did a study on the different offerings once before.  Have a look at the Sin Offering and Burnt Offering for more details).  The sin and burnt offerings were done for atonement (or the making of amends for a wrongdoing).

It is because of the original fall of man, that every baby born is born in sin.  "As wonderful as a new baby is, God wanted it to be remembered that with every birth another sinner was brought into the world, and the woman was here symbolically responsible for bringing a new sinner into the world" ¹.  Now, you may be wondering just as I did, why the big difference in waiting times for a son versus a daughter?  "The longer period of ceremonial uncleanness for the birth of a daughter should not be understood as a penalty. Instead, it is linked to the idea stated in the previous verses - that the time of impurity is for the symbolic responsibility of bringing other sinners into the world. When giving birth to a female, a mother brings a sinner into the world who will bring still other sinners into the world" ¹.  Given what you now know, how would you apply these same laws to Jesus?

For that answer, let's look at Luke 2:21-22.  There it says,

"²¹On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise him, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he had been conceived.  ²²When the time of their purification according to the Law of Moses had been completed, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord ²³(as it is written in the Law of the Lord, "Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord"^[a]), ²⁴and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: 'a pair of doves or two young pigeons.'" 

Just as the law stated in Leviticus 12, Mary and Joseph had Jesus circumcised on the eighth day and Mary followed the time for the purification process.  After that, they offered a sacrifice for Mary's atonement.  How is it that every person is born into sin and Jesus is not?  We know that Jesus is both God and man.  We know that God has a sinless nature.  We know that God cannot sin.  Pretty much this is an open and shut case and I could leave the thoughts right there, however, I wish to add a little more meat to the bone here.   In an article by Matt Slick, he says the following:

"Some Bible commentators, with whom I agree, hold the position that the sin nature is passed down through the father.  Support for this position is found in the fact that sin entered the world through Adam, not Eve.  Remember, Eve was the one who sinned first.  However, sin did not enter the world through her.  It entered through Adam. Rom. 5:12 says, "Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned." The concept behind this is called Federal Headship.  This means that a person (a father) represents his descendants...Since Jesus had not a literal, biological father, the sin nature was not passed down to Him.  However, since He had a human mother, he was fully human but without original sin." ²

No sense, in reinventing the wheel.  I could not have said it any better than that.  I hope you caught the reasoning for Jesus not being born into sin.  It is because of sin being passed down through the father instead of the mother and if God is the Father, then Jesus had no sin - only a mother who was still considered unclean due to the blood involved in the birth.

We ended up arriving at the same conclusion that Jesus is sinless, but I wanted to understand the reason a little further.  I hope this has helped you and I pray that you have a great day. 

Be blessed gang!


¹ David Guzik.  "Leviticus 12 - Cleansing After Childbirth".   Enduring World Media.  2004.
² Matt Slick:  "Why wasn't Jesus born with original sin?".  Christian Apologetics & Research Ministry.

--
Regards,
Ant  oine E. Hall

Blog:	http://toinebo.blogspot.com
Twitter:	http://www.twitter.com/AntoineHall

"It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect." - 2 Samuel 22:33

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Vision: From Beginning to End

Greetings folks,

I hope that you are enjoying your short week so far.  I just wanted to share some things that I have learned over the past few days.  Well actually it's more like I heard a sermon on Sunday and I heard a radio broadcast today and they kind of meshed around the topic of vision.

So, vision.  Just what is it? According to the Free Online Dictionary, vision can be defined as "[t]he manner in which one sees or conceives of something".  I would like to talk about vision in the sense of being able to conceive of something that you cannot physically see and what it could, might, or will be.  For example, I have the vision to get my family out of debt.  I can see it in the future, but I can visualize it as though I am debt free right now.  Without a vision, people will perish (see Proverbs 29:18). 

If you have some goals in your life, you will never reach them if you cannot see yourself there.  If you cannot visualize where you want to go, you will never have anything towards which to drive.  Also, if you choose not to have a vision, then do not complain about where you are.  It does you or anyone else any good to complain about a situation if you have no intentions on changing it.  Read Habakkuk 1-2 and you will find that Habakkuk makes two different complaints to the Lord.  Upon the second complaint the Lord told him to envision it, then write it down (see Habakkuk 2:2) so it can be seen.

Something just as important as the vision is the plan to reach the vision.  Having a good idea is nothing but a good idea until you come up with a plan to reach the end-game results.  I have good ideas all the time.  With some of my ideas, I have watched as others implemented them and be prosperous as I had a vision with no plan.  This is what happens when you do not have a way to get there. 

Lastly, you need to be willing to execute the plan.  If you have a vision and come up with a plan, I hope you are willing to execute it.  I have been in so many meetings where someone had a vision and we met to create a plan only to have the end result be to schedule the next meeting.  If you never get started with the execution, your vision is no closer than it was when you first thought about it.   If you can visualize it, plan it.  If you plan it, execute it. 

Has God given you a vision?  Are you sitting on that vision?  If you are, I encourage you to not perish, but to write it down, come up with a plan and get started.

Be Blessed folks and have a good one!

Regards,

Antoine E. Hall

Blog:   http://toinebo.blogspot.com
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/AntoineHall

"It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect." - 2 Samuel 22:33

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Boldness (Replay)

On Wednesday, May 28, 2008 I did a WFTD (Word For the Day - for those who do not know the meaning) on boldness.  I have said it before, but sometimes I think some things bear repeating.  We all read the Bible and same passages several times but we all get different meanings depending on how the Word speaks to us.  So without further adieu, here is "Boldness".

------
May 28, 2008

Good morning family and Happy Hump Day to ya!

I pray that everyone had a good holiday weekend.  I tell you, I have to thank God for keeping my family as we traveled on the highway to and from Milwaukee over the holidays.  The roads were not for the faint of heart over the holidays especially with bad weather out there.  It's the vacation though that really let me see again my children in action since Daddy is off at work these days.  I mean man, I am learning that I can learn a lot from children.  I think I mentioned this once before, but I think it could be repeated that children have no sense of holding back their thoughts based on the circumstance.  They say what's on their mind at that exact same moment.  It is us, we have learn to bridle our tongue and hold our thoughts when they need to be said.

For example, my daughter went to visit some family friends and she walked into the home where someone apparently had just finished cooking/eating – smelled like some good home cooking to me!  Well my daughter turns around and says, "IT STINKS IN HERE!".  We were like no Zion, that's not nice, do not say that.  However, you could see the frustration on her face because she felt she had not done anything wrong.  It is this very same boldness that all of us need to maintain because some of us get run over by the world and others in it.  In 1 John 2:28, it says,

"And now, dear children, continue in him, so that when he appears we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming."

Confidence and unashamed.  That's what I saw in the face of a 3 year old that day.  I rather felt bad for having her to be quiet because I fear that the very things that make her a bold person, we are asking her to suppress.  If we aren't careful, we could suppress them forever and wonder why she is a quiet & meek little adult woman.  The word says we should be confident and unashamed.  As adults, we should be looking within to find that boldness to speak out for and about the Kingdom of God even when the situation feels uncomfortable to you.   Walk boldly throughout your day and remember you are a child of God who is not ashamed of you!

Be blessed and have a good Hump Day!
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Regards,

Antoine E. Hall

Blog:   http://toinebo.blogspot.com
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/AntoineHall

"It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect." - 2 Samuel 22:33

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Fear And Its Place

Good Afternoon family,

I hope that you all are doing well this fine day.  You know something has been really stirring on my brain lately and it has been the topic of "Fear".  Why?  Why in the world would the topic itself be on my brain as something about which I need to write?  It's simple.  We all have to deal with it and so thus here I am.

I know, I know we (Christians) are quick to quote 2 Timothy 1:7 that says "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind".   We are spiritual beings living in a fleshly body, thus fear is something we have to deal with from time to time.  I don't want to sound contradictive so, let me explain a little more.  First lets get a definition.  TheFreeDictionary.com says that fear is "A feeling of agitation and anxiety caused by the presence or imminence of danger".  

The BadFear can be a dilating thing and sometimes it is used against us to stop us from prospering in what God would have for us.  If you recall, the devil is out there prowling around like a roaring lion seeking whom He can devour (1 Peter 5:8).  This is where 2 Timothy 1:7 applies and we need to recognize there is a spiritual aspect of fear being pressed against us by the enemy.  We just need to use discernment to know when the devil is coming against us.  So, how does this apply to you in the real world?  I will use myself as an example. 

I use to always say, that I would never move to Milwaukee, WI. I just refused and said it was nothing I wanted to do.  My reasoning was that it was cold here (and it does get cold), but my overall reason was the fear of change from what was my norm.  I will be one to admit that I had that problem.  In the flesh this is what people deal with on a daily basis, but it had a spiritual implication.  Despite all the other things happening in my family, God had a plan for me.  Now, I may have chosen to be disobedient and try to stay in NC where I was not finding a job.  Or, I could have quickly gotten over my fear, walked in faith and trust God.  Needless to say, I trusted in God, conquered that fear, and I have been working since January.  Because I decided to be obedient, another spiritual battle was won for the kingdom.  ....that's another "L" in the devils column in the name of JESUS!!!!  Sorry, got excited. 

If you are ever to the point where you are scared to do something but have no concrete reason as to why, you need to question whether the enemy is trying to paralyze you from something Christ wants you to do.

The Good
OK, so you have to be wondering how fear could be a good thing.  I will tell you how.  I have heard adrenaline junkies say something to the affect that they are still afraid and have fear of what they do.  Fear keeps them on their toes because the moment they become comfortable, they could get killed.  See, in the flesh fear, can also serve as a warning to you.  Remember touching a hot stove once?  You did not do it again and now you know that touching a hot stove will get you burned.  Fear can serve as a mechanism to warn you not to do something in order to keep you safe. 

Have you ever gotten ready to do something you did not have any business doing and you seemed to get a little nervous?  Maybe even a little fearful?  If so, a few things were happening.  The Holy Spirit keeps us and God even watches over us until we can find our way to Him (ie, becoming saved).  I know that He has kept me safe because I could have gone down the wrong path several times.  That thing we call our conscious (I now call it the Holy Spirit) speaks to us to keep us safe and on the right path.

As with many things in life, fear has its place and purpose, but if you find yourself fearful of carrying out the will of the Lord, you are on the wrong side of fear.  Fear the Lord.  Fear His power.  Fear God's warnings.  Take heed to the the "fear" that keeps you safe and in the will of the Lord.  Never fear anything else.

Be blessed folks!

Regards,

Antoine E. Hall

Blog:   http://toinebo.blogspot.com
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/AntoineHall

"It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect." - 2 Samuel 22:33

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A Prayer Answer Held Up

Good Afternoon Fam,

In what may seem like a continuation to yesterday's post, I wish to talk about the devil's angels once again.  I think it merits discussion to know that not only are there evil angels but to know they do serve a purpose in going against the will of God (at Satan's direction).  Without further adieu, let's go to Daniel 10:10-14.

(10) A hand touched me and set me trembling on my hands and knees. (11) He said, "Daniel, you who are highly esteemed, consider carefully the words I am about to speak to you, and stand up, for I have now been sent to you." And when he said this to me, I stood up trembling. (12) Then he continued, "Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them. (13) But the prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, because I was detained there with the king of Persia. (14) Now I have come to explain to you what will happen to your people in the future, for the vision concerns a time yet to come."

Alright, so here we have Daniel who had lifted up his prayers to the Lord. An angel has come to answer Daniel's prayers, but notice something here.  The angel said that Daniel's prayers had been heard but he had been held up for 21 days trying to get to him to give him an answer.  What in the world could hold up one of God's angels from carrying out their duties....survey says....one of Satan's angels!

In verse thirteen, it references the prince of the Persian kingdom is what resisted him.  One thing to note is that a man (you and I) cannot war with an angel who is spiritual, so the prince is not mortal.  Thus the prince here was an angel in opposition of the angel sent by God.  It was not until Michael, an angel (referred to as one of the chief princes), came to his aide that he was able to get to Daniel with the answered prayer.

I once did a WFTD that talked about God going silent and prayers seem like they are not being answered.  Well today, I also want to offer you an alternative explanation as to why a prayer could be held up.  There is a battle going on that we do not see and while we may feel abandoned at times, there are still angels out there who are on the side of Christians.  Ephesians 6:12 says, it best:

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

Know that your prayers are not mere words falling on deaf ears.  There is a war going on and anything to get you to believe that God is not able to answer you is a victory for the enemy.  You keep sending up the same prayers and eventually you will get an answer.

Regards,

Antoine E. Hall

Blog:   http://toinebo.blogspot.com
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/AntoineHall

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Angels Aren't Always Good

Heeeeeeey Folks,

I how are you all doing?  Today, I do not want to be too long, but I want to share something with you that never dawned on me.  Did you know that Satan has angels too?  Let's go to the Word.

"The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him." (Revelations 12:9)

Typically, we all have the image in our minds that angels are on the side of God.  We always associate them with being good, having halos, and having wings however, this is not always the case.  Remember that Satan is an angel himself and it was not until he wanted take God's place that he and his cohorts (other angels participating in trying to take God's place) were thrown out Heaven.

In 1 John 4:1, it says "Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world."  Anybody can be touched by an angel.  The question is whether that angel is being sent with an intention of your good or bad.

Be blessed folks.

Regards,

Antoine E. Hall

Blog:   http://toinebo.blogspot.com
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/AntoineHall

"It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect." - 2 Samuel 22:33

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Two Blocks From Main Street

Hello Family,

I hope that you are doing well this fine Thursday. Today, I want to talk to you life on your street.  According to the Free Online Dictionary Main Street can be defined as the "[a]verage businesses and households considered as a group".  If you remember, the past Presidential Election put heavy in emphasis on "Main Street" vs "Wall Street" (where Wall Street is for big business and the wealthy).

Why am I talking about this?  Well it is because the other day I was at work and received a phone call from a past co-worker.  He had been out of work since November 2009 and was looking for work.  As many of you may (or may not know) I was out of work from May 2009 until January 2010 of this year!  Yep, my family and I survived and God brought us through it all!  I had to move to Milwaukee, WI to find employment but the good news is that I found some.

I say all of this because I was just out of work and it is easy to get caught up in the day to day churn of life, therefore, forgetting what it was like being out of work.  Well that call woke me up really quickly and made me realize that times are still rough for a lot of people and I am blessed to even have a job right now.  When you are in your own little world and street, it's hard to understand what is happening two blocks over because you do not see it. 

I do not want to be misunderstood as bragging, but I count it all joy that the Lord has brought my family to where we are.  Had we not been in the trial that we are exiting, our faith would not have grown at all.  In James 1:2-3 it says to "(2) Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, (3) because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance."  We all have persevered something, but always remember that you are but a blink of an eye of being back where you were.  Always continue to learn and grow in faith and do not take God's blessings for granted.

Be blessed folks!

Regards,

Antoine E. Hall

Blog:   http://toinebo.blogspot.com
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/AntoineHall

"It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect." - 2 Samuel 22:33

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JM: Made To Love

Hello family.  I do not have the embed video because it appears to be disabled, but today I want to share with you Toby Mac's "Made To Love": 

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aBaX1T4VxOw

Enjoy folks!

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