Thank you so much for tuning in and Welcome everyone – Hope you’re well!  I’m your host, Ben Lively, and you’re listening to “Shaken Awake” – Episode #22!  

 

I just want to thank you for tuning in, wherever you are and whatever you’re doing right this very moment. 

 

And, as always, I promise you another great show – But, more than anything, my HOPE for you today, and always, is that you have an actual encounter with the Lord - He’s is always right there with you, even when you think He’s not.  So, let’s get ready to invite Him in with us, right here, right now and allow Him to speak directly to your heart and minds.   

 

So here goes, here is today’s topic: “Where are you at today with your faith and your walk with Christ?”

 

 

You know I was convicted of this going on, now a bit over 2 years, and to this day, I get gentle ‘reminders’ from The Holy Spirit to evaluate my walk and my faith with our Father.  It’s a meaningful and powerful way to stop, reflect, assess, and be still – look into your spiritual mirror and what do YOU see?  What does God see?  We don’t doubt His love, His promises, grace, blessings, preparations, and protection.  That’s part of being a child of God.  But, to evaluate what God sees in you, if you’re being honest with yourself, and Him, is ……what?

I realize we do these mini assessments every day.  We check the scale to make sure the weight is headed in the right direction, or not.  Then, hopefully, we make adjustments to improve and reach our goal – whether that’s to maintain, lose, or gain, right?  

 

We check our savings and checking account balance daily/weekly to ensure we’re healthy on our finances and tracking towards our weekly/monthly/annual/lifetime financial goals, or not.  Then, hopefully, we make adjustments to improve and reach our goal – whether that’s to maintain, lessen, or increase, correct?

 

We check our homes and cars for signs of wear and tear, damage, signs of improvements needed or fixes warranted to ensure safety and long-term care of our possessions to ensure we’re not caught off-guard later on, or face a bigger problem down the road – whether that’s to simply maintain, fix and repair, or upgrade.  Then, hopefully, we make adjustments to improve or replace, correct?

 

We evaluate our relationships, our health, our family, our careers, our outings, the weather, whom we associate ourselves with and whom we do not – we’re constantly evaluating and assessing whether or not its consciously or subconsciously.

 

Question is – how often are we evaluating our faith and our walk with God?  I mean, seriously.  How many times do you consciously evaluate your life and how that is matching up to what God has commanded of all of us, in both our faith and our walk with Him?   Is it on Sunday’s only?  Is it during Easter and Christmas only?  Is it, like I was for 41 years – NEVER?  Yes, I never thought about it…the devil had me too wrapped up in Myself, MY Life, MY pursuit of happiness, MY dreams, MY goals, MY aspirations, MY levels and ways of fulfillment, MY gifts and talents, and MY purpose – every waking day for 4 decades?  Did I not care – NO I DID NOT.  Subconsciously, I was taking God for granted in every way.  I just subconsciously, I guess, assumed He had it all taken care of and He was ‘up there doing His thing’, and I was already “saved”, so…..nothing further needed on my part.  I didn’t have ill will or ill intent – I just didn’t care at all!  I don’t know what’s worse….not caring consciously or subconsciously – they both have the end results.  I was walking with blind faith in myself and had no walk with the Lord.  It was me against the world – working with and in it.  I thought John 3:16 had me covered and all was good.  Mission accomplished – I believed in Him, and now had eternal life.  You’ve all heard my story in episode one and if you haven’t – I highly recommend you listen to it – all glory goes to God!

 

In order to evaluate your faith and walk in Christ, you must first have the desire to do so.  None of us like to do things that don’t have value or possess any good reason to spend our time on time-wasting ‘things’, am I right?

 

You also have to know the right criteria by which to evaluate yourself. You have to have what’s known as the S.M.A.R.T. goals in the business world (S.M.A.R.T. is the acronym - Specific, Measurable, Attainable/Achievable, Realistic, and Time Bound), in order to know how to self-evaluate.  This formula is used by some of the largest world-wide companies all the way down to mom-and-pop shops.  Why?  Because the formula works!  For both the employer (we’ll call ours God) and the employee (we’ll call them, you and I).  The greatest news with all of this is:  You don’t have to wonder, guess, or speculate what they are – it’s all in God’s Word!  He has shown us through His Word how we are to live, the faith we are to have and live by, and how to have a relationship with Him and our walk with Christ.  There’s nothing left to discretion or interpretation!  We have the formula, we just need to know it and understand it, then we’re given free will to follow it (or not, as some don’t, unfortunately).

 

Many say, we cannot earn salvation, it is not a product of our works – all we have to do is believeth in Him.  And they’re correct.  However, we also understand that God says, faith without works is dead.  Jesus also said He’d rather someone be cold or hot, for those that are lukewarm (I was that for 41 years), He will spit out of His mouth.   These are just a few, well-known and quick references to say – there is more to living a live that’s pleasing to God than resting at John 3:16.  There is more to the race that He has set before you to run, than simply resting at John 3:16.  There’s more to what He expects of each of us, in order to earn the most desirable and beautiful 7-word sentence in all the world, which is, “Well done, My good and faithful servant.”  Something has to be “Done” for him to say that.  Again, it’s more than simply resting at John 3:16.

 

Obviously, we don’t have time to go through the entire Bible and select everything God has spoken to us about walking in faith and your personal walk with Him.  In fact, He’s provide it – YOU have the free will to dive in and absorb it….or not.  That’s your choice.  But, I want to help.  That’s the whole reason for this podcast – to help provide the lukewarm, the backslidden, and those that want more out of their walk with Christ than they’ve ever had.  

 

Here’s how I’m going to demonstrate a way to do a checks-and-balances for your faith and walk with Him that is simply, easy to follow and remember, and can keep you on track when the enemy puts things in your way to wean you off the straight and narrow:  I’m going to use the S.M.A.R.T. goal concept, in conjunction with God’s Word, to help you evaluate, assess, reflect, and potentially pivot wherever The Holy Spirit guides you.  It’s infallible. 

 

The greatest thing to know is, God can and will help you in your spiritual goals!

The Bible is filled with encouraging verses about setting and meeting goals. As Christians, we have the power of the Holy Spirit to help us accomplish our objectives. God wants us to have a relationship with Him. And, if we are willing to do the work, He is willing to show Himself to us. I hope these Bible verses on goal-setting will encourage you the next time you feel like giving up, or just as important, when you are ready to begin setting goals for greater faith and a deeper walk with Christ:

 

 

I can do all things through him who strengthens me (Philippians 4:13).

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths (Proverbs 3:5-6).

But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26).

For a dream comes with much business, and a fool’s voice with many words (Ecclesiastes 5:3).

Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established (Proverbs 16:3).

Therefore, do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised (Hebrews 10:35-36).

“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord” (Jeremiah 17:7).

Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ (Colossians 3:23-24).

 

 

Ways to help you set your daily goals:

 

1. Pray. As in all things, when you’re setting your goals, start with prayer. Ask the Lord to reveal where you need to grow in the coming months to a year. Ask Him to show you where you are weak and could use a little help.

2. Give yourself time. Goal setting takes time. Allow yourself sufficient time to think about what you want to accomplish. You’ll also need time to allow God to impress you with the goals He has for you.

3. Write them down. Writing is an aid to memory so write your goals down–preferably somewhere that you will see them often so you don’t forget them.  Whether a vision board, sticky’s up on your bathroom mirror or in your car and/or at work.

4. Make a plan. I’m sure you’ve heard the saying, “A goal without a plan is just a wish.” After you have selected your goals, what are the steps that you need to take? 

5. Get an accountability partner. One of the best things we can do for our goals is to hold ourselves accountable, but that’s so hard to do. That’s where our community becomes important. Find a few other persons to come alongside you to help you accomplish your goals.  A small group at your local church or a home church is a great place to start – they’re everywhere!

Maybe they will have different goals, but as you cheer each other on, you’ll be encouraged and strive to accomplish the goals you’ve set for the year.

 

Accomplishing your goals can be hard, especially when it seems as though it’s not going to work out exactly as you had imagined it. But we have to set SMART godly goals as we work on living up to our identity in Christ.

I would like to walk through an example of a SMART godly goal. Let’s say you decide you want to read the Bible from cover to cover.  Your SMART goal would look something like this, even though, the Bible can be read aloud in 70 hours at a regular pace, believe it or not!  Yet, we don’t, right, so this is why the following goal setting method is so imperative to reaching our goal; which, in this example, is to read the Bible in it’s entirety:

·       Specific–I want to read all 66 books of the Bible.

·       Measurable–I will read at least one chapter every day.

·       Attainable–I will follow a Bible reading plan by setting aside 30 minutes each day to read.

·       Realistic–I won’t try to read the entire Bible in one year because I’m not able to commit more than 30 minutes    
        each day at this time.

·       Timebound–At the end of 3 1/2 years, I will have read the entire Bible from Genesis to Revelation.

        As you see in this quick example, the goal met all the SMART criteria. Your goals should meet each criterion as 
        well, otherwise, you won’t be able to keep track of them or know when they are met. Make sure that you check on 
        the status of your spiritual goals often and make adjustments where necessary.

 

Here are just some ways to create additional S.M.A.R.T. goals and increase your knowledge, faith, and walk with Christ:

 

Read a book on a spiritual topic–One way to improve our abilities in a given area is to learn more about the topic. Read books about spiritual disciplines or areas you would like to improve in. Some topics you may want to explore are Christian marriage, fasting, or how to study the Bible.

Write a statement of your beliefs–What do you believe? You may be surprised to realize that you aren’t as clear on all the aspects of your faith as you ought to be. Spend some time thinking about what you believe about God and why. Search the Bible for Scriptures and write a statement of faith.  This will give you a reference point for what you believe: 1 Peter 3:15-16  5 but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect,16 having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame.

 

Endeavor to overcome one vice–We all have things we struggle with. Prayerfully ask the Holy Spirit to reveal any area in your life in which you need to improve then set a spiritual goal to work on it.  Could be drinking, smoking, cursing, etc – I had them all – God rid them all from me!

Galatians 5:19-21 

Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

But now look what His promises are to you and I and those that believe and love Him:

 

1 Corinthians 10:13 

No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it

 

Share your faith with one person this week–I get it, sharing your faith can be hard. But after working on your statement of belief, tell one person why you believe what you do. This could be as simple as sharing the story of how you came to accept Jesus as Lord and Savior. Or, it could be online in a chat group on one or more of your social media groups.

         Christ will acknowledge to His Father everyone who acknowledges to others that He is the Son of God (Matthew 10:32; John 3:16–18). In other words, when the time of judgment before God comes, Jesus will vouch for everyone who embraced Him as their Savior. He will stand alongside them, before God the Father, as a righteous witness to vouch for those who are His. The implication is that those who are His will be welcomed into eternity with the Father. 

Now Jesus adds that the opposite is also true. He will refuse to acknowledge to God anyone who denies Christ to other men. Because human beings can only be declared righteous by faith in Jesus (John 14:6), those He denies will be denied by the Father, as well. The consequences will be eternal (John 3:36). 

 

Reflect on your actions–Do you represent Christ? We sometimes forget that our actions reflect the God we serve. Think back on your actions of the past week, were you a good witness of who God is or what He has done for you? Would someone want to know more about God because of your actions?  Be honest!

Ephesians 4:1-3 

I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

Psalm 119:1-176 

Blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the Lord! Blessed are those who keep his testimonies, who seek him with their whole heart, who also do no wrong, but walk in his ways! You have commanded your precepts to be kept diligently. Oh that my ways may be steadfast in keeping your statutes! ...

 

Start a prayer journal–Use a journal to record your prayers and the answers you receive. This prayer journal will later serve as a testimony of your faith and will encourage you when you begin to doubt what God has done for you.

Keep a journal of what God has done for you and others–God is always working. Keep a record of what He is doing in your life and others. Like a prayer journal, this will serve as a testament to others and will serve to encourage your faith.

Take part in the church–This seems like a simple thing, doesn’t it? But many times, we go to church expecting a blessing instead of seeking to bless others.  Use your gifts to serve and other members of your church family.

 

1 Peter 4:10-11 - As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Matthew 5:14-16 - “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”

 

Visit with someone, call someone to encourage and pray for them–Spend some time visiting with someone (the sick, the lonely, the elderly, the widow, the orphan).  Reach out to someone. You may be surprised at how this encourages your faith as well as theirs.  

The following verses were one of many that had Shaken me Awake the first and every time I’ve read them, which speak to this very subject.  

Matthew 35:31-46 - When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, He will sit on His glorious throne.  All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate the people one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.  He will place the sheep on His right and the goats on His left.

Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave Me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave Me something to drink, I was a stranger and you took Me in, I was naked and you clothed Me, I was sick and you looked after Me, I was in prison and you visited Me.’

Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You something to drink?  When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You?  When did we see You sick or in prison and visit You?’

And the King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of Mine, you did for Me.’

Then He will say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.  For I was hungry and you gave Me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave Me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, I was naked and you did not clothe Me, I was sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’

And they too will reply, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’

Then the King will answer, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for Me.’

And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

Pray Daily - spend some time in prayer. This is your time to express yourself to God and allow Him to express Himself to you.

Proverbs 15:29 - “The Lord is far from the wicked, but he hears the prayer of the righteous.”

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

 

Romans 12:12. - “Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.”

 

Philippians 4:5-7 - “Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Read the Bible daily–We need to spend time in the Word every day. Make it a priority as God and The Holy Spirit did in creating it!

As stated in another episode of this podcast, reading the Bible daily for the past 2+years has changed my entire life and eternal destiny.

If someone were to say to you, God physically gave me this (this being a book) and asked me to give it to you, personally.  How quickly would you snatch it away from that person’s hands and begin reading it feverishly???  That’s exactly what has happened in your life, but there it sits, collecting dust or not even in your home, yet you have how many electronic devices in the home?  By the way, I’m speak to the Ben of prior to April 2019.  But if the shoe fits……KICK. IT. OFF.!!!

2 Timothy 3:16-17 

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.

Psalm 119:105 

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

Joshua 1:8 

This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.

Matthew 4:4 

But he answered, “It is written, “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

Hebrews 4:12 

For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

Romans 15:4 

For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.

1 Timothy 4:13 

Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching.

Psalm 119:18 

Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law.

John 1:1 

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

1 Peter 2:2 

Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation—

John 15:7 

If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.

Psalm 119:10-11 

With my whole heart I seek you; let me not wander from your commandments! I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.  These aren’t jus the 10 commandments, either, folks!

Psalm 1:2 

But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.

Watch Bible-based content - There is a lot of good, Bible-based content on the internet. Instead of watching cat videos on YouTube, tune in to a Bible study, spiritual songs, or listen to a Christian YouTuber.

Unfollow social media pages and influencers who promote the wrong message–If your feed doesn’t represent Christ, you may need to change the content that shows up in your feed.

Follow social media pages and influencers who promote the right message–Follow pages and persons who share encouragement and Christian content.

Make an effort not to check social media before you have a devotional time–Reserve the first few minutes of your day for your time with God. Do not check your phone until you have spent some time in prayer and worship.

Adjust your hobbies to reflect your new lifestyle–It may be time to change or update the way you spend your free time. If your hobbies do not reflect your faith in God, it may be time for a change (change the games, books, movies, music you consume).

Watch sermons–Find pastors that teach or preach Bible-based messages and learn from them.

Practice Forgiveness–Make a decision to forgive those you believe have trespassed against you (this applies even if they did not acknowledge that they had wronged you or asked for forgiveness).

Ephesians 4:32 

Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

Mark 11:25 

And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.”

1 John 1:9 

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Matthew 6:15 

But if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

Practice love–Jesus told His disciples that the world will know His disciples by the way they love each other. Show the love of Christ to someone today.

1 Corinthians 13:4-7 

Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

1 Corinthians 13:13 

So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

1 John 4:7 

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God.

1 John 4:19 

We love because he first loved us.

 

Practice grace–Grace may be defined as undeserved kindness, practice grace today.

2 Corinthians 12:9 

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

Ephesians 2:8-9 

For by grace, you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

Romans 6:14 

For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.

Romans 11:6 

But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise, grace would no longer be grace.

James 4:6 

But he gives more grace. Therefore, it says, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”

 

Be intentional in your relationships–Be purposeful today with the people God has put in your life. Put away your devices and make a conscious effort to be present in your interactions.

Fast once per month–Choose one day per month to deprive yourself of something for the express purpose of spending time with God.

Do an online Bible study–Find a community online and complete a Bible study.

Spend time in worship–We were created for worship so spend some time expressing your adoration and reverence for God.

Hebrews 13:15 

Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name.

John 4:23 

But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him.

Romans 12:1 

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.

John 4:24 

God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”

 

Sit and be still before God–Sit still and allow God to speak to your heart.

Zechariah 2:13 Be still before the LORD, all mankind, because he has roused himself from his holy dwelling.

 

Psalm 46:10-11 “Be still, and know that I am God! I will be honored by every nation. I will be honored throughout the world.” The LORD of Heaven’s Armies is here among us; the God of Israel is our fortress. 

 

Exodus 14:14 “The LORD will fight for you while you keep still.”

 

Habakkuk 2:20 “The LORD is in his holy Temple. All the earth—be quiet in his presence.”

 

 

So, my final question to you is then this:  When you breath your last breath here on earth, and begin your eternity somewhere, hopefully Heaven no doubt – what needs to change, starting today, that will bless you where your treasures are stored up, and which won’t condemn you when you give an account for your life and every word spoken and action taken to Jesus Himself?

 

My final statement is this:   There is no doubt that God, our faith, and our daily walk with Him is the single highest priority and reason we’ve been chosen by God to be here on this Earth for as long as we have here – only God knows how many heartbeats we have left here.  There’s no second chance to live another life.  Place your life, your actions, your concentration, your faith, your trust, and your undying and relentless pursuit in life to please the Father, and to live a life that’s pleasing to Him in order to hear those precious words – “Well done, My good and faithful servant.”  What on Earth could POSSIBLY be more significant?

So, before we end today’s show, I just want to thank you all again for tuning in and I HOPE you were touched by God through today’s message and scripture.  I’d like to ask you a favor only IF you received any value out of today’s show – would you tell at least one person you know – call them, text them, email them, talk to them – tell them to give this show a listen.  It may just help them in their walk with Christ.  And as a special request - If you could give me a quick star-rating or review on whichever podcast app you listen on, that would greatly help to catch the attention of inquiring listeners, which will allow the Lord and the Holy Spirit to reach even more lives through this broadcast.

 

If you’d like to get ahold of me, you can write me a note on www.shaken-awake.com/contact you can also email me directly at ben@shaken-awake.com or even call or text me directly for any reason at (407)-493-3208 (repeat).  I want feedback, questions, ideas, requests, criticisms, corrections, - if it’s important to YOU, it’s important to ME.  

Next week!!!!  Tune in Next Sunday evening – or WHENEVER YOU’RE ABLE, as we dive into another important topic: “TRUE Repentance vs. Remorse / Regret – which one represents YOU?“

Next weeks episode is another powerful and DO-NOT-MISS episode – thanks for joining!  

Until next week, take great care of yourself and each other, and God Bless You all.  

 

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