Tag Archives: trusting God

November 10, 2014 · 6:00 AM

Being Little Children

It becomes increasingly difficult to remember what it was like to just be a kid. Running around in the woods behind our house, picking blackberry’s along trails, or making mud-pies in our dirt driveway. I fear that we are not growing-up as much as we are dumbing-down. Why do we let the creativity, passions, and the joy of life taper off as we get older? Who said that we were supposed to stop playing in puddles or gazing at the stars for hours? I’m reminded of what Matthew 18:3 tells us Jesus said, “‘I tell you the truth, unless you turn from your sins and become like little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven’.” I’ve heard many commentaries on this passage of scripture over the years, and I think many of them miss the mark. Yes, it is true that we need to have a child-like faith and we need to be open, receptive, and trusting toward God. But, there is a freedom that children have, a resilience they possess that has all but vanish from us by the time we enter adulthood.

True, it is utterly impossible for us to “become like little children” in the natural. For that matter, we can’t do it mentally or figuratively without divine intervention. The biggest problem with this idea, the Jesus-curve-ball if you will, is that he was asking everyone to be something that they had spent the better part of their lives trying not to be! Think about it. We can probably all recount the days of wishing, in hopeful naivety, about how great it was going to be when we were teenagers, or 20-something, married, etc. We literally wished our lives away. Now, here sits Jesus telling everyone they can’t even get into his Kingdom unless they start acting like little children – little, clueless, simple-minded, needy, helpless children. But what if he knows something we don’t? I know, it’s a stretch of the imagination to say the God of the universe, creator of both seen and unseen, could know things in greater depth than you and me. Notwithstanding, what if he is trying to bring us back to a place of wonderment and innocence. What if he is trying to free us from our need to be in-control, and independent?

I would wager that Jesus is saying that he desires for each of us to simply give-up. Imagine how different would the world look to you if you became a child again? We couldn’t reach the tall shelf in the closet. We couldn’t lift the heavy branch that fell in the back yard. We wouldn’t be able to touch the pedals in the car or reach the steering wheel. But we would know who to ask for help. I’ve watched my own kids risk life and limb to climb cabinets and strain while attempting to lift an impossibly heavy object. My kids always knew that they were just one prayer (or request) away from getting exactly what they need. Maybe Jesus is asking us to stop all the trying and striving to be “grown-ups” and humble ourselves to simply ask – simply trust. This I know for sure, he is eager and willing. The question is, are we?

This post was written by Chris Brown. He serves as the Director of the School of Missions for coreluv.org and is a worship leader. You can find more of his life perceptions at beingaltered.com.

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September 15, 2014 · 7:27 AM

Don’t Worry

Whenever I get overwhelmed by my circumstances, I search the Bible for God’s promises. I try to find people who were overwhelmed too. Some of the greatest leaders of the Bible needed encouragement as much as I do. They looked at their circumstances as well as what God called them to do and I can imagine their panic. We don’t always read that they were panicked, but we see what God said to them and can tell that they were. Joshua is a great example of this.

He had been to the Promised Land, seen the giants and declared that they could defeat them. In Deuteronomy 31 when Moses passes the torch to Joshua, the reality of that prediction fell on his shoulders. He said they could be victorious so God said, “Ok, then you get to lead the charge.” As Moses was passing the torch of leadership to him, he said, “Be strong. Take courage. Don’t be intimidated… He (God) is right there with you. He won’t let you down; He won’t leave you…Don’t worry.”

Those words weren’t recorded just for Joshua’s sake. They were written to remind you and me that whatever we face in this life, God is with us. We can be strong and courageous. We can be assured that God won’t let us down so we don’t have to worry. There may be an impassible river in front of us today, but God will part it. There may be giants in the land ahead of us, but God will give us the victory. We may see all the impossibilities that stand in our way, but we don’t have to be intimidated.

You and I aren’t the first ones to be lead into the unknown. We aren’t the first ones to have to face giants. What God has done for others in the past, He will do for us. The Bible says that God is the same yesterday, today and forever. He does not change. We can fully trust that He will part the waters, knock down the walls, defeat the giants in our life and give us victory. What He requires of us is to have the courage to walk to the waters edge, circle the walls in our lives and face the giants that stand in our path.

When we do our part, He will do His. Our step of faith preceded His provision. He encourages us to be strong and courageous because we need that in order to step out in faith. Don’t let fear hold you back. Don’t be intimidated by what you see in the physical realm. Our God makes things happen in the spiritual realm that affect the physical realm. We have to trust Him completely and act in accordance with His Word and He will give the victory today. God won’t let you down or leave you, so don’t worry just believe.

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September 8, 2014 · 7:31 AM

Trust Equals Action

In Genesis 20, there is a story that many of us are familiar with, but we forget about it. Abraham told King Abimelech that Sarah was his sister and not his wife. At this point, Abraham had already been told by God that he should leave the land he was in and head to the place He would show him and he and Sarah had already been told they would have a son. He had already made his mistake with Hagar and had Ishmael. You would think that he had learned to trust God at this point.

Just like you and I, he still had some room for growth in his trust with God. You would think that a man who heard God speak to him, met with angels, watched Sodom and Gomorrah burn and got a woman pregnant when he was nearly 100 years old would be able to trust God. When you hear what Abraham said to Abimelech in Genesis 20:11, you see that he was afraid that people might kill him and take Sarah. He let fear drive his decision making instead of trusting in God.

I’d get upset with him if I didn’t have the same problem. Too many times I hear God speak to me and I let fear take me on a different path or keep me from acting on what God told me to do. There’s the fear of what others will say. The fear of living by faith. The fear of change. The fear of stepping into the unknown. All of these fears repress my desire to do what God asked me to do. I have a choice to make each time that fear steps in. I can listen to it and allow it to keep me from action or I can listen to God and act on what He said.

If Abraham learned his lesson, I can too. It was just a few chapters later when God asked Abraham to sacrifice Isaac. Without hesitation, Abraham woke up early and began to act on what God told him to do. He acted on God’s word before fear got a foothold in his mind. If we can learn to act on what God says before we allow fear to take over, we will begin to see the hand of God more in our lives. If we can trust God more than we trust fear, there’s no telling how different our lives would be.

David understood this principle too. In Psalm 56:11, he wrote, “In God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can man do to me?” David had wrestled with fear and trust as well. Ultimately, you see that he learned the principle that you and I can adopt. We need to trust God when He asks us to do something. We need to block out fear so that it doesn’t keep us from accomplishing all that God has for us. In the end, it’s God’s opinion of us that matters, not man’s. Act quickly on what God speaks to you before fear has a chance to rear its head and stop you.

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July 1, 2014 · 7:36 AM

The Fog Of Life

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Have you ever had to drive in the fog? Some days I have to go through fog so thick it seems my headlights only light a few feet in front of my car. Even though I know where I am, it creates fear. What if there’s a wreck I can’t see? What if the road turns and I miss it? What if there’s something in the road? High beams, that help you to see far when it’s clear, only make the situation worse. You have to slow to a crawl just so you can feel safe in moving forward. You have to take your time in getting to your destination. You have to accept that you aren’t going to get where you are going when you planned on getting there.

Faith is a lot like driving in a fog. It’s dangerous at times. It requires us to slow down and pay attention to everything. We don’t always see what’s right in front of us. It gets revealed to us little by little. God wants us to slow down and to make each move purposefully. He doesn’t want us to get in a hurry. That’s when accidents happen. We have to trust that we will get to where He wants us when His timing is right. That’s one of the hardest parts of being in a fog. We have our own ideas of when we want to get where He has us going and we try to get there as quickly as possible.

I’m learning just how important the journey is. It’s not always about getting to the destination. The fog, the slow times and the detours are all part of God’s purpose for our lives. They build our faith and give us the seasoning that we need so that we are ready when we finally do arrive. I’ve seen how the slow times and the hard times in my life have prepared me for where I am today. I know that as time goes on, I’ll have a better perspective on the foggy times. It’s in those times that I didn’t rely on my headlights to see what was ahead. I used God’s lights to light each step of the path as I took them one by one.

It’s easy to get frustrated when your vision is clouded by the fog of life. It’s hard to slow down and wait. I understand completely. I’m a person who likes to move. I like the sense of accomplishment I feel when I get to my intended destination. That’s what’s comfortable to me. Taking a detour and a route I’m unfamiliar with isn’t comfortable. Slowing down isn’t easy. Taking in the journey isn’t what’s natural for me, but it’s in those times that I trust God the most. It’s on the detours that I learn more about who God is and who He wants me to be. It’s when I slow down and take life one step at a time that my vision really becomes clear. I don’t have to worry about tomorrow or my destination. I’m called to be in this moment.

Maybe you’re like me and you don’t like it when you can’t see very far ahead of you. We can learn a lot when life gets foggy. Don’t panic because you can’t see into the future. Don’t let fear of the unknown consume you. Our God knows your future better than we do. He sees through the fog and will guide us. Trust Him completely with each step. This uncertainty that comes from the unknown is meant to grow your faith and build your relationship with the Father. Don’t rush though it trying to get past it. Be in the moment and trust Him to use the foggy moments to get you where you’re going right on time.

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May 7, 2014 · 7:48 AM

The Mom Who Believed

Have you ever told a true story to someone who didn’t believe you? That what happened to Gabriel. Zachariah was carrying out his priestly duties working his assigned shift at the Temple. He was chosen by lot to be the one who entered the sanctuary to burn incense. While he was in there alone, Gabriel appeared next to the smoke. He told Zachariah that the prayers for a child that he and Elizabeth had prayed were heard by God and that they would have a son named John. After Gabriel spoke prophetically about John, Zachariah said, “Do you expect me to believe this? I am an old man and my wife is an old woman.”

After hearing that, Gabriel made Zachariah mute until the child was born. When he returned home, I’m sure he motioned to Elizabeth about why he couldn’t speak. It was clear later, that they had communicated about this. Elizabeth believed the message from God. She had long prayed for a child and now God was answering her prayers. Even though she felt like she was beyond child bearing years, she had the faith to keep praying for a child. God honored her faith and answered when she could only believe it was Him. He proved to her that nothing is impossible to Him and it’s never too late to answer a prayer.

Gabriel also met with Mary about Jesus’ birth. While talking to her, he told her about Elizabeth’s pregnancy. Mary rushed to see Elizabeth. When she entered the house, the baby and Elizabeth were filled with the Holy Spirit according to Luke 1:41. Elizabeth then prophesied over Mary. One of the things she said is good for each of us to hear. In verse 45 she said, “Blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of the things that were spoken to her from The Lord.” God speaks to many of us about what He wants to do in our lives. As we get older, and time goes by, we quit believing what a God spoke to us.

Elizabeth reminds us that when God speaks a promise, we are blessed to keep believing it no matter how much time goes by. We choose to believe that it’s too late for God to move, act or fulfill His promise or we choose to believe that nothing is impossible. Elizabeth chose to keep praying even though the mirror told her she was too old. She kept believing even though history told her she was beyond the time for pregnancy. She kept trusting God’s promise instead of the reports she got from the doctors. She reminds us that those who can believe through all of that are blessed.

When her son was born, the people wanted to name him after his father as the tradition was. She rejected what her neighbors and community thought she should do and insisted on doing what the angel told her husband. The neighbors then went to Zachariah since she wouldn’t budge. Surely he wanted the honor of having his child named after him. When they asked him, he wrote on a tablet, “His name is John.” Immediately he could speak. The first words out of his mouth were blessings, praise and thanksgiving to God. He didn’t praise God because his tongue was loosed. He blessed God because He had answered his prayer.

Today, let your tongue loose to praise God even before you get your answer. Trust Him to be faithful to His promise to you. He has not forgotten what He said He would do. He will fulfill it in His time so that you will know that it was all God and no one else’s doing. God doesn’t care whys the doctors have said. He doesn’t base His promise on what family history says. He doesn’t even care what everyone else says. He cares about you and the promise He made. He cares that you keep believing in the hard times, through the dark nights and when all else fails. His word will not return void. He will do what He said He would if you believe.

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April 10, 2014 · 7:49 AM

Replacing Trust

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How many times does God ask us to do something and then we see if it’s feasible before trying to do it? We try to get all our ducks in a row before “stepping out in faith.” It’s not really faith if we set everything up ahead of time to ensure our success. We trust in the things we see and know versus the unseen. We end up doing it in our own strength instead of His strength. We then wonder where our reward is for such an act of faith. The truth is we have our reward because we did it in on our own instead of trusting in Him.

In the last chapter of II Samuel, God was upset with Israel. David sent his army commanders out to do a census so he would know how many warriors he had. His officer replied, “May your God multiply people by the hundreds right before the eyes of my master the king, but why on earth would you do a thing like this?” He resisted David because he knew what David was doing and it wasn’t right. After years of serving God, walking with Him and talking with Him, David was still tempted to walk by sight.

David reiterated his command and sent the men out. In verse 10, it says, “But when it was all done, David was overwhelmed with guilt because he had counted the people, replacing trust with statistics.” The man, who once was indignant because an entire army was afraid of a giant defying his God, was now in the shoes of the army. He forgot that holy fire that he once had that wasn’t afraid of anything that came against God’s people. As he got older, he trusted God less and relied on what he knew instead. He forgot that God won his battles, not his numbers.

I think of my child who is willing to jump off of anything when I’m around. He trusts that I’ll catch him. As he gets older, he’ll try to push me away while he jumps off of things. He’ll get bumps and bruises and finally he’ll quit taking those leaps. His fear of gravity will overtake his trust in me. We do the same thing to God. We take leaps of faith early on in our walk with Him. We’re amazed when He catches us. Then we start trying to act independently of Him. We try to do acts of faith without Him. We fail and our pride gets bruised. We ask God where He was and why He didn’t catch us when we were doing things for Him. We then quit acting in faith all together. We end up only doing things for God where we are guaranteed success.

God asks us to trust Him completely. He asks us to trust a Him blindly. When we take those leaps, there is a time when we are free falling. Our stomach is in our throat. Our adrenalin is rushing. We are wondering if God will catch us because our destiny is not in our hands. That’s where God wants us to live. That’s where He wants our faith. He doesn’t want us to trust in statistics, numbers, things we can see or our own strength. He wants us to trust in Him alone. If He calls you to do something, don’t trust in what you see or try to make things work. Take the step of faith and have that child like trust that your Father will catch you.

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April 7, 2014 · 7:43 AM

Afraid Of Silence

One of the things I’ve had to learn to be ok with is silence. At work, when I ask a question, there is often a moment of silence before someone answers. I usually count to 10 in my head before rephrasing the question. Silence either means they’re thinking or I asked in such a manner that no one is clear. Those moments when there isn’t a response are tough. The silence is deafening. It’s as if you can hear each heartbeat pounding in my chest echoing throughout the room. It can be uncomfortable too. That’s why so many people break the silence in rooms.

Sometimes when I pray, God is silent. I ask God a question and all I hear are crickets. That always scares me. I wonder if I have hidden sin or maybe too many distractions in my mind. I wait, but no reply. I wonder if I asked it the wrong way so I’ll try a different way. Still no answer. I’m learning that it’s ok when He doesn’t respond. Being in His presence is enough. He doesn’t have to give an answer to all of my questions. Just because He doesn’t respond, it doesn’t mean He isn’t there.

There are so many times when I desperately need an answer. I cry out to Him, beg for Him to hear me and wait for a response. As time goes by, I become more desperate in my cries for help. I doubt that He hears me or is even with me. It’s like the time in Mark 4:35-41 when the disciples were trying to cross the Sea of Galilee and a storm came up. The disciples cried out for Jesus to help them. They were greeted with silence from Him. Wasn’t He on board? Wasn’t it His idea to cross the sea at that time? Didn’t He care that they were about to die? Didn’t He hear their desperate pleas? Yet all they got in return was silence.

The storm raged on. The waves got higher. The wind became more fierce. Their cries for help grew louder, but Jesus was there with them. He was sleeping in the stern of the ship. His presence should have been enough to give peace in the storm, but they couldn’t find peace in the silence. They went down into the ship and woke Him up. They asked Him, “Don’t you care that we’re going to drown?” We think the same thing when we’re greeted with silence. We think God doesn’t care. In reality, He does. He expects us to trust His presence in storms even when He’s silent.

When Jesus got to the deck of the boat, what was the first word He used? He said, “Silence! Be still!” Jesus called for silence. He wanted it from the wind, the waves and the disciples. He asked them a couple of rhetorical questions. “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?” I think He asks us the same questions when we panic at his silence in our storms. I think He wants us to trust in His presence as much as His word. We shouldn’t be afraid of the silence. We shouldn’t let doubt creep in when we don’t hear from Him. His presence speaks volumes. His presence is enough to protect us. His presence is enough to meet our needs. We just have to have more faith in Him.

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March 31, 2014 · 7:24 AM

A Tale Of Two Orphans

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One of the best things about going to the orphanages is when you first arrive. As we get out of the trucks, the kids come running up to us. They’re grinning from ear to ear and looking into each face. When they find you, they throw their arms up in order to be picked up and loved on. When you get them in your arms, they wrap their arms around you, lay their head down on you and smile in contentment. As you wrap your arms around them and hug them, that same contentment comes over you. There is completeness in that moment.

On my last trip, I couldn’t help but notice one little boy who didn’t run up to anyone. As I approached him, he took off running with a frightened look in his eye. I squatted down where I was and held my arms open. I motioned for him to come to me. The more I did, the further he got. When any of us got close to him, he began to cry. He was scared and didn’t know how to trust yet. No matter what we tried, he still ran and cried. I wish I could say that by the end of the trip, he was running up to us and hugging us. I wish I could say it got better, but it didn’t. He still ran when we came near.

As I watched the two types of relationships unfold over the week, I saw our relationship with God. So many times in life we face rejection by those we love, a devastating loss or an unexpected life change that takes us out of where we were comfortable. In those moments, God comes near looking to show us love and comfort. Many times we are like those orphans who run to Him with our hands up. We just want to be held and loved on. We want to find contentment when our world has been shattered. God gets that same contentment as He holds us. The same contentment as a father holding his child.

There are sometimes though when we run from God. We’re scared of what coming next. We don’t feel like we can trust Him after all we’ve been through. When He reaches out for us, we run. When He comes near to make things better, we reject His help. We think we’re better off alone. It’ll make us stronger if we do. We won’t have to depend on anyone. We think, “If I can just make it through this, I’ll be all right.” We try to do it in our own strength and in our own way. God patiently waits when we do. He knows that once you let go of the fear and embrace Him, you’ll see that it’s going to be all right.

We each fall into one of these two scenarios. Either we are the type that embraces God when He comes near or we are the type who runs from Him. Where do you see yourself? Are you resting in His embrace with your head on His shoulder? Are you smiling with contentment in any situation because you know He’s there to protect you and help you? Or are you afraid to trust Him? Are you running from His open arms? It’s time to realize you can’t fight every battle on your own. You can’t go through life without trusting. Stop running away and run into His arms. You’ll find the peace and contentment you’re looking for.

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February 20, 2014 · 7:44 AM

The Pathless Journey

I’m on a journey right now. I know my destination. I know what God has called me to do. I’ve known for a while now. After running from it for years, I decided to embrace it. I told God I was ready to step into my calling. All of a sudden things started happening quickly. Faster than I could keep up with. I began to make life changing plans to accommodate where I was going. Confirmations that I was on the right path were coming left and right. I knew I was on my way to my destiny. My calling was sure. My path was clear.

One night, my pastor pulled me aside to talk about it. He saw the changes happening and God spoke to him about it. Prophetically he told me, “Be patient on your journey.” Almost immediately the trail went cold. The path disappeared. The confirmations quit rolling in. I can still see where I’m going, but not the path. I still believe in what God has called me to do, but I can’t see how to get there from here. That was two years ago that he spoke those words to me. I’ve had two years of asking God, “Where did you go? Why did you quit leading me? Why is the path hidden? What’s my next step?”

I’ve traced the cold path back to that night. I’ve blamed the lack of progress on those words. I’ve looked for excuses and other paths that will lead me to where I’m going, but have had no luck. I’ve struggled with God as He’s had me at the point for a while. I’ve listened to His voice and waited for His direction, but I’m still sitting here. I’m still waiting. I’m still hoping. I’m still believing. Each day that I wait, the desire to do what He has called me to grows. Each day I become more restless and fed up with where I am. I’m a doer, not a sitter. I’m a go getter, not a watcher. That’s my personality. Sitting still is hard for me.

God used Mark Batterson’s words to help me in this limbo. One of the things he said is, “The longer you wait, the more you appreciate.” That hit my soul. He also said, “God wants you to get where you are going more than you want to get where you’re going.” Then He must really want it! Then he hit me between the eyes. He said, “God is more concerned with who you become in the journey than with getting you to the destination.” That changed my thoughts. If God is more concerned with who I become on this journey, so should I. This is the training ground before I step into my calling. He is molding me and shaping me into the person He needs me to be so I can completely fulfill His calling.

Then there were the words of reassurance to calm me down. He said, “God knows how to get you to become who He wants you to become in the process of the journey.” All of a sudden my pastor’s prophetic words made sense. Change takes time. It takes pressure. It takes faith to trust God and to keep going when you can’t see the path. It takes patience. I want things now. I want them to happen in my time. I want to be in control of how God moves my life. On the journey I’ve learned to trust His timing. I’ve learned that I shouldn’t take matters into my own hands and try to force the calling to come to a reality. I should be patient and be faithful in the process of becoming who He wants me to be on this journey.

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August 14, 2013 · 8:10 AM

Cliff Diving in Faith

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One of my favorite things I used to do was to go float the Frio river. There’s something about lazily floating down the river in an inner tube with no worries. Eventually, as you’d float along, you’d come to a bend in the river that had created a cliff. At that cliff, there would be people who would climb up and jump off into the water. It looked like a blast. I paddled over to the shore, climbed up the side of the cliff and walked to the edge. That’s when it hit me: that’s a long way down.

Immediately fear crept in. I know knew why so many in front of me walked up to the edge and turned around. As I stood there contemplating whether or not to jump, my mind begin to think of every negative outcome. What if I hit a rock and was paralyzed the rest of my life? What if I messed up and belly flopped in front of everyone? What if I turned around and got back in my inner tube and kept floating? What if everyone behind me laughs? I could feel my heart beating in my throat as I stood there looking over.

Since that time, I’ve been to Acapulco and watched the famous cliff divers there. They were amazing. They had no fear. They climbed even higher than I had at the Frio. Their cliff was more treacherous. They stood up as crowds watch and video and took the leap. Some were doing inverted flips and then spreading their arms like wings to gracefully fly towards the water. I wish I could say that’s what my jump looked like. Mine looked more like a pencil being dropped into a glass of water vertically.

I’ve found that in my life right now I’ve been called out of a life of floating along. I’ve been called to take that leap off faith. I’m standing on the cliff right now looking down. Those thoughts of doubt creep in and make me fearful of taking that leap. There is uncertainty of what the future will look like after I leave the ledge. I have a choice. I can turn around and get back in my inner tube and float along or I can jump. My heart beats with anticipation. There’s excitement and fear at the same time.

Where are you today? Are you floating along safely in your inner tube? Are you looking at others who are jumping off their cliff and wishing you had the guts to do that? Maybe your climbing up the rocky cliff now and wondering how much longer you have to climb. You could be standing in line watching other turn away in fear and starting to doubt getting out of the inner tube. Are you standing on the edge of that cliff, looking over and thinking, “What if I fail?” Wherever you are, I pray today that you have the courage to keep going until you jump off that ledge.

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