Category: <span>thoughts by Ashlea Massie</span>

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.” John 13:34


At some point in your life you will need to forgive someone. The amount of forgiveness required may be small — a minor inconvenience — or a major issue — perhaps a crime committed against you or a loved one. Regardless of which offense against you comes your way, you’re going to face a decision: “Do I forgive or do I harbour hate against this person?”

Sometimes, both parties must ask for forgiveness, but at other times we are wronged by someone while we remain an innocent victim. Regardless, God doesn’t allow uss to decide to stew in their anger —he requires us to go beyond hate and instead do the opposite of what one would expect — love. It’s not a suggestion. It’s a command. And a very hard one to follow at that.

But why should we love someone who has caused us immense pain? As John states, Christ loved us. He loved us when we didn’t love him. He loved us when we were deep in sin and had no knowledge of him. He even died on the cross for all the sins we have ever committed or will commit. He died knowing how wicked we were, yet he didn’t let anger (and it would have been justified at that) stop him from saving us. Instead, he loved us and chose to die to save us when we deserved to be punished for sinning against him and others

We don’t deserve God’s forgiveness, but it’s given to us freely. Since he did so for us, how much more should we do so for others?

Dear Lord, thank you for forgiving my sin when I didn’t deserve to be forgiven. Thank you for paying a debt I couldn’t pay. Please grant me the strength and grace to forgive others and love them even as you do. Amen.

Thank God often for the immeasurable grace he has poured out on you through Christ, and invite his Spirit to grant you both the desire and the strength to forgive everyone who has ever harmed you, trusting he will do so.

By Ashlea Massie
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Further Reading

•  How Does God Do It?

•   How Big is God?

•  Salvation Explained


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If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given himJames 1:5

Are you currently facing a decision? Unsure of what to do? Have you garnered advice from others only to be confused by the conflicting accounts? Do you feel like you’ll never know what to do and will have to make a choice without counsel? Perhaps you’re even afraid you’ll make the wrong decision and suffer the consequences of it.

We can be certain that although humans may not have all the answers – our Heavenly Father speaks to us, his children, to guide us in his will.

In fact, James tells us that God will give us wisdom if we ask — he does not say maybe or hopefully God will give it to us. Perhaps he will hear. No, it’s a request that will be granted.

We don’t have to worry or wonder if God will respond or not. God has promised that he will grant us wisdom — and God cannot break a promise. Isn’t that exciting? We don’t have to spend our days worrying about whether or not we will know what decision to make. God imparts wisdom to us when we ask, and he will let us know what decision we should make based upon his perfect wisdom. He will guide us as we bring our decision to him in faith.

So if you’re sitting at your table, on your bed, or at your desk at work feeling burdened with worry and fear of the future, pause. Know this: God will guide you. You need only to ask him for wisdom. Be determined to obey, then trust and wait.

Dear Lord, help me trust in your promise and wait for the wisdom you have promised to give to me. Deliver me from worry and anxiety as I wait.

Spend time in prayer concerning the issue you are facing. Ask friends, family, and church members to pray for this decision as well

By Ashlea Massie
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Further Reading

•  A Little Self-Control Goes A Long Way
•  Life’s Lessons can Come from Unexpected Places
•  Salvation Explained

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“Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” Galatians 6:2

When a family member faced an uncertain prognosis ? a possible diagnosis of cancer — I was anxious about their future and my future. I didn’t want to think about the possible unpleasant events to come. Because of this, I was very desirous to share my burden with others, in the belief that the prayers of others would help spare my family member from her health issues. But what I found was that nobody to whom I thought I was close really cared.

Nobody said they’d pray.

Angry, I sought the counsel of a friend, confiding in them my feelings towards my supposed Christian “friends” and their actions against me. Graciously, this friend pointed out that yes, it is a sad situation when believers cannot be relied upon for help, but she gently asked if I had ever done the exact same thing without realizing it. I thought about it and had to admit that as a believer, I had failed others many times too. I had merely said a tiny prayer once for someone with health issues or completely ignored their burden because I couldn’t understand the magnitude of their situation; well, that is, until I was in their shoes.

That’s exactly what Christ calls us to do — to bear each other’s burdens. It doesn’t matter if your best friend or your pastor doesn’t do that for you, you are required to, no matter what others around you are doing. You might just be that only person’s advocate. Take some time today to think about how you can bear someone else’s burden.

Father in Heaven, spur in our hearts the desire to pray for others and remind us throughout the day to do so. Let us always be ready to pray for others and ask for prayers for ourselves and those we love. Amen.

By Ashlea Massey
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Further Reading

•  Prayer – Asking Specifically
•  Intercessory Prayer Story
•  Salvation Explained

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And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, ‘you heard from me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.’” Acts 1:4-5

The disciples were told by Jesus to wait for the promise of the Father to be fulfilled. They were told to wait in a specific location until a specific event had occurred ? the reception of the Holy Spirit. Jesus promised it wouldn’t be very long, but He never gave them a definite time. That meant waiting.

Instead of questioning, complaining, or worrying, the disciples decided to spend the waiting period in prayer. However long the wait was, they trusted Jesus to keep His word. He did! The Holy Spirit descended upon the disciples soon thereafter.

Waiting on God’s timing can be very difficult,

…especially when you aren’t given a definite time period of when the waiting will be over. This passage in Acts gives us hope though. We know that when God makes a promise, He keeps it. We don’t need to worry or be anxious that it won’t be fulfilled because it will. And we can learn during the waiting period through the practice of prayer. Prayer reveals our dependence upon God and bolsters in us faith that He will do what He says He will do.

So if you’re waiting on a promise given to us by God, He will surely fulfill it for you. The key is to be patient and pray in the waiting.

Dear Lord, help us to take comfort in your Word, knowing that you cannot lie, and that you always fulfill your promises, just as the Scriptures say. Please help us to understand that. Amen.

By Ashlea Massie
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Further Reading

•  Going Deeper with God
•  How to Pray
•  Salvation Explained

thoughts by Ashlea Massie Thoughts by Women


“And the LORD said to her, “Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you shall be divided; the one shall be stronger than the other, the older shall serve the younger.Genesis 25:23

Have you ever tried so desperately hard to make something happen or work? You knew you should have left it up to God, but you couldn’t resist trying to fix things. That’s exactly what Rebekah was faced with. God had already promised that her youngest son would receive the blessing, yet here she was, decades later, trying to make it happen in her timing.

The irony of the situation was that if she had sat back and watched God work, she would have seen his master plan unfold without any issues. But instead, Rebekah decided to take matters into her own hands, which seemed to make the situation worse. After all, Jacob had to flee his brother’s intense wrath — such hatred that Jacob’s life was in danger. Sure, Rebekah and Jacob received what they wanted, but at the cost of committing sin and risking death. Imagine how things might have been had Rebekah done as God wanted and just watched and waited to see him work!

We can apply the same response to our lives. Perhaps God will allow us the desires of our heart — but in his timing, not ours. Instead of getting in the front seat to work things out, let God do the work. Trust in his timing. When we try to do things our way, it never pans out quite well, but when we leave it up to God, the ending is beautiful.

Dear Lord, help me to respond appropriately to every situation, knowing you will work things out. Let me trust in you.

Ask God to give you the strength and wisdom to refrain from intervening when you know he simply wants you to wait on him.

By Ashlea Massie
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Further Reading

•  Did You Know that You are Someone Special?
•  God’s Plan – A Study on God’s Destiny for Me?
•  Salvation Explained

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In hope he believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been told, “So shall your offspring be.” He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead (since he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah’s womb. No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised.” Romans 4:18-21

Have you ever doubted God’s promises for your life?

Do you worry on a constant basis about the outcome of your relationship, job, financial situation, or children?

Abraham was seventy-five years old when God promised him a son. And God didn’t fulfill his promise to Abraham until he was almost one hundred years old! Imagine waiting on something you knew God had in store for you, but assuming it would come within a reasonable time period of a few years only to become discouraged as the years wore on. And yet Abraham had such great faith in spite of having to wait twenty-five years to see the promise fulfilled.

His attitude is an example for us as believers today. We are to rest on God’s promises for our lives, confident that God knows what he’s doing and will work in his timing, not ours. How can we doubt a God who can perform miracles and fulfill the impossible? Look at what he did for Abraham — if God could make an infertile woman have a child in her old age, then God can fulfill his promise toward you. All God requires is for us to cease worrying and trust in him.

Pray that God will give you peace in place of worry, filling you with faith instead.

Dear Lord, I thank you for what you have done for me, and I ask that you give me the patience to endure and grant that confident faith replaces anxiety. Amen.

Remind yourself often that God always, always keeps his promises, although sometimes, the wait is a long one.

By Ashlea  Massie
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FURTHER READING

•  The Gift of Forgiveness
•  My Search for Inner Peace

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The God of this people Israel chose our fathers and made the people great during their stay in the land of Egypt, and with uplifted arm he led them out of it.” Acts 13:17

Have you ever doubted God’s plan for your life?

Perhaps you felt confident about the route you believed God wanted you walk in. You stepped out in faith, but then some unexpected bumps along the road hit you. And now you’re confused.

Are you on the right track? Wouldn’t God make everything work out if he truly has this plan for you?

Throughout the Old Testament, we see God’s plan laid out piece by piece to bring the Israelites to the promised land. They couldn’t see it, but as readers of those historical events, we have the ability to see how God’s plan unfolded.

Joseph’s imprisonment in Egypt? For a greater purpose, to be uplifted and in charge in order to establish the Israeli nation, eventually. Joseph only knew part of God’s plan  — he never saw the full plan.

The purpose of the difficult times along the journey to leaving Egypt? To encourage trust, trusting that God would provide even when it seemed like the Egyptians would overcome them, or when they thought that they would starve or die of thirst. God always came through. And the route along the journey was not easy either — it was full of hiccups. But God called them out, and they were doing as God had asked, with the exception of a few times when they made the journey longer and harder because of sin.

The same principle applies to our life. We may experience hardship doing the will of God, and that’s normal. We can’t always understand why we have to endure the pain along the way, but we can trust that those bumps along the way are for a greater purpose, known by God. We just can’t see it quite yet. So we trust.

Dear Lord, please help me to trust, to take the good and the bad, and to use negative experiences on the journey as ways to build my faith. Amen.

Remind yourself of God’s big picture, the Gospel, by reading Paul’s synopsis in Acts 13:16-41 of the route God created in order to bring Christ to us.

By Ashlea Massie
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The Trust Factor
Praying with Confidence

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“Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.”  Mark 11:24

Do you ever pray for things without believing God will actually answer your prayer?

You may be thinking, “That’s an odd question. Why pray if I don’t believe?

Oftentimes, we pray for God to work in situations that seem impossible from a physical standpoint, and the more we pray without seeing an answer, the more discouraged we may get. But discouragement has no place in prayer. If we have no faith that God will answer our prayers, then how can we receive the answer we so desire?

According to the Bible, our answer is received when we have faith that God will perform a work in our lives because his Word states that he answers any request that is according to his will (1 John 5:14-15). Belief is what moves our prayers, and unbelief is what hinders them. We should never doubt that God will answer, and instead rest on his promises to us when we pray in faith.

Does it seem like your loved one will never be saved? The more you pray for him or her, the deeper in sin he or she goes? Does it seem that God will not restore your marriage that is in desperate need of mending? Don’t be discouraged or despairing. Don’t stop praying. Instead, strengthen yourself with the promise that God will answer us when we believe he will work in these seemingly impossible circumstances. God parted the Red Sea for the Israelites. He saved men like Paul who had hardened hearts. He opened the wombs of barren women. He can do anything. It may not be an immediate response to our cries, but God will answer.

Dear Lord, give me the ability to believe that you will act and help my unbelief. Forgive me for doubting that you will work in my life and that of others.

Invite the Spirit to show you if there is anything that is causing you to doubt God. Remind yourself of God’s ability to do the unbelievable. Take some time to read passages where God intervened when the world would have doubted that it was possible: 1 Samuel 1-2, 2 Kings 5, and Genesis 37-41. Be encouraged.

By Ashlea Massie
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• A Prayer for When You Need more Faith
• Another Prayer: Holy Righteous God, and only living God…

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“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.” Proverbs 3:5

Have you ever been in a “What if” situation? What if the biopsy doesn’t come back benign? What if I’m never able to have children? What if my child never returns to God?

They’re all possible situations, but they’re also the worst outcome for each scenario. It’s interesting how our minds automatically place us in the worst possible situation, leaving us to fret until the outcome becomes clear.

Elisabeth Elliot had this to say about our circumstances: “Peace does not dwell in outward things, but in the heart prepared to ‘wait trustfully and quietly on Him’ who has all things safely in His hands.” Instead of focusing so much on the here and now and potential outcomes, we must focus on God; when we rely on him, we will find peace. It doesn’t come easily, but the more we look at our problems, the bigger they grow. The less we focus on our problems, the more our anxieties are assuaged with the peace of God.

And we are commanded to do this by the Lord — trust in him during these difficult times. Don’t assume things that have not yet occurred will. If they don’t, imagine all the time wasted worrying! But if they do occur, you’ll have prepared yourself to accept the path God has for you and therefore be better able to handle it. Whatever God allows into our lives is never to hurt us but to grow us, and instead of worrying about what may be, we must keep our eyes on what we know about God and his plan for us.

Dear Lord, please turn my anxiety into peace during this trial. Give me a willingness to accept whatever your will is and the ability to relinquish my worries for your calm spirit. Amen.

Make every effort to do something that detracts the focus from your problems — serving others, praying, reading the Bible, listening to sermons, etc. You’ll find that the more you focus on God, the easier it becomes to relinquish your worries to him.

By Ashlea Massie
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In my distress I called upon the LORD;
to my God I cried for help.
From his temple he heard my voice,
and my cry to him reached his ears.
” 
Psalm 18:6

Sometimes our circumstances seem overwhelming. We may feel like we will never get out of the particularly bothersome situation we are in. Perhaps it’s a season of joblessness or the struggle with a prodigal child. Maybe it’s a health issue or a relationship issue. Whatever the circumstance may be, there’s always a glimmer of hope, despite how bleak the outcome appears to be or how we might feel.

David felt overwhelmed by his circumstances, too. David’s distress involved constantly fleeing from the jealous king, Saul, in order to preserve his life. He was fighting to survive and constantly asking God to deliver him. Although it was quite some time before David was completely delivered from Saul’s wrath, David was able to see the hand of God working at various times when Saul’s plans were thwarted. David experienced small victories and that gave him hope for the future.

God delivered David from the circumstances he couldn’t handle and from the despair David felt. If God was able to deliver this man from imminent death, then he can surely deliver you from your situation as well.

We must be aware of the small victories God gives to us as we cry for deliverance. Although we may not experience automatic deliverance when we want it, God hears and has a plan for our situation. We can find hope in stories like David’s in which God did redeem him from his distress. These stories are here to give us that same hope too!

Dear Lord, I don’t understand my circumstances, but I know you do. You gave victory to David; please give me victory too. Please hear the voice of your humble child and grant relief. Amen.

By Ashlea Massie
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Hope for the Hopeless

Good News for You

God’s Love for you

Did You Know that You are Someone Special?

A Poem of Hope

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How can we thank God enough for you in return for all the joy we have in the presence of our God because of you? Night and day we pray most earnestly that we may see you again and supply what is lacking in faith.” 1 Thessalonians 3:9-10

Most of us have probably spent that last couple of months during this pandemic sitting in front of our computers, tablets, or phones streaming a live sermon instead of attending church in person. Some might be tired of this way of church. Others might enjoy it.

Perhaps you’ve become accustomed to participating in online worship, which includes not having to get dressed and then driving to church, so you no longer have a desire to meet with your fellow believers.

For this very limited amount of time, we have had to isolate ourselves from each other, but eventually, we will be able to meet up as normal, which is important! The Bible says that meeting in person is best.

Paul mentions his eagerness to meet with fellow believers and that there’s a missing piece when believers do not join together for fellowship. His issue was distance, unlike ours, but under similar circumstances. He wanted to meet with them but couldn’t because he most likely was imprisoned. We may feel we are now as well, to some extent!

Paul’s eagerness should encourage us to have a desire to be back in fellowship with our brothers and sisters. This desire comes from God alone. Fear not if you lack it! Pray to God for this desire, and he will assuredly give it. And for those who are longing for the return of fellowship, pray for God to hasten the time to return when believers can safely gather together in person.

Dear Lord, grant me a longing to fellowship with other believers, that I would not grow lazy in my walk with You, but that I would desire Paul’s enthusiasm for those around me. Amen.

By Ashlea Massie
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FURTHER READING

Love your Neighbor

How to be a Friend to an Immigrant

Extending Grace to Others

Love is Patient and Kind – a story of a man on a bus

Be Patient


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“And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us.” 1 John 5:14

I didn’t tWhat went through your mind when you first realized the pandemic was a legitimate concern? Was it fear? Anxiety? Courage? Strength? Perhaps you even wanted to help out.hink much about the pandemic until I read the stories of the Italians filling up beds in hospitals, many not recovering. When I heard they were dying alone, I was mortified. Imagine being alone and lost in your final moments on earth. How horrific.

I wanted to do something to help out and felt like my only option was to volunteer. Obviously I couldn’t go overseas to help out. The voice of reason, from a friend, reminded me that there was another and just as equally effective choice. The best way to serve when I can’t physically be there is through prayer.

We tend to want to act first when crises come. We hurriedly run into saving the day with our actions. But that’s not how Christians should react. Our first reaction should be to pray. We often forget just how powerful prayer is.

Prayer can change everything. Our God can move mountains with our prayers, which are just as important as anything we can do. God wants us to take the time to pray for those out there on the frontlines, mostly lost individuals with no hope of eternal life. Would you join me in praying for these people? After all, it’s the best way to serve!

Dear Lord, please help me to recognize the importance of prayer as service to you. Let my prayers be acceptable to you. Amen.

By Ashlea Massie
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“But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil.”  Luke 6:35

We have all been around that one person who verbally attacks us with their words or berates us for no reason. Perhaps you work with someone like that or even live with someone like that. Maybe the cruel words are subtly spoken after church as you mingle with others you would consider to be friends. Malicious people will always be with us. Instead of worrying how to best avoid them or thinking of ways to reciprocate their unkind actions, we are to respond in a loving manner, as Christ would.

But why do we need to make this a habit, despite the fact that these individuals don’t deserve our mercy? Jesus mentions that God treats ungrateful and evil people with kindness. Loving one’s enemy is tough, but Jesus gives us practical ways to do so. He tells us to be good to them, and to respond with calmness towards them. Then pray for them. It doesn’t matter if we don’t feel like it. The more we pray for that individual, the more our initial feelings of bitterness or anger will disappear.

And who are these people exactly? They are just like you and me — people who were once categorized as ungrateful and evil until God washed our sins away. We used to be hostile to God, but he changed us. And if he can change us, he can change them. We must always keep that thought at the forefront of our minds.

Dear Lord, please give me a soft and tender heart towards those who are against me. Give me the strength to care for them as you do. Amen.

By Ashlea Massie
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And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.”  John 14:16-17

Living in this world can be difficult. The stressors of life and the unexpected turn of events can be hard to handle at times. And if we’re being honest, it sometimes feels as if no one cares for us or has our back. Those friends and family members we relied upon so heavily are suddenly gone when things turn sour. And if we do have family or friends we can rely on, that won’t always be the case. So where should we turn to first?

Fortunately, as disciples of Christ, we have someone to run to all the time. No matter what the circumstances may be, we have access to God through the Holy Spirit. And God has promised to be with us by sending the Holy Spirit to live within us at all times — the good and the bad. We are never abandoned by God. Though outward circumstances might give us that impression, God has designed it so that we don’t have to fall for that lie.

When we seek out the Lord through prayer, the Holy Spirit intervenes on our behalf. He intercedes for us even when we don’t know what to say.

God is a better source of comfort to turn to than any friends or family members. He will never let us down, and that is seen through the promise to give us with the Holy Spirit while we are here on earth apart from him. And isn’t it wonderful knowing that we are never, nor will we ever be, alone?

Dear Lord, please help me to turn to you first in all circumstances. Thank you for giving us the Holy Spirit so that we are not alone. Amen.

By Ashlea Massie
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The word of the Lord came to me: ‘Son of man, behold, I am about to take the delight of your eyes away from you at a stroke; yet you shall not mourn or weep, nor shall your tears run down.’ …. at evening my wife died. And on the next morning I did as I was commanded.” Ezekiel 24:16,18

Imagine being told that the one thing you cherished the most on this earth would be taken from you, and not only that, but you would not be allowed to even mourn and heal over the loss of this particular person.

Ezekiel had done nothing wrong to elicit the death of his wife. There was also nothing wrong with mourning the death of a loved one. But, God needed Ezekiel to be an example to the Israelites by showing them that what they loved most would be taken away from them. It would happen so quickly they wouldn’t have time to mourn.

Because Ezekiel obeyed God, his decision to follow through with such an extremely hard task revealed his dedication to God. It proved that God was the number one priority in his life.

Would we be able to act like Ezekiel though? Or would we despair if our most loved human on this earth was taken away from us? God set Ezekiel as an example not only for the Israelites but for future believers to be reminded that we must cherish God first above all else in life. God wants us to make him our first priority because only his love is eternal. All else will fade.

We must prepare for the hard times to come and be willing to let God take back what he generously lent to us. Our only way of putting God first is through prayer, and God will grant us the ability to love him more than anything else in this life, making the tough times bearable.

Dear Lord, thank you for giving us our loved ones, no matter how long of a time we have with them. cc

By Ashlea Massie
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