God and Me

17This is what YHWH, your redeemer says, the Holy One of Israel.
I am YHWH your God.
I teach you for your benefit,
and lead you in the way you should go. — Isaiah 48:17(HN)

I have heard over and over that it’s all about God. Whether it is worship, ministry, our daily lives, our vocations, our education, or even our recreation, it’s all about God. Now the nice and pious thing to say is yes, indeed, it is all about God. And there is indeed considerable truth to that statement. If we could focus more on God, we would certainly find ourselves in less conflict with our brothers and sisters.

But the interesting thing that I find in scripture is that for God, it’s all about people. In fact, God very much reflects the principle that we should not look out for our own well being, but rather the well being of others (Philippians 2:4). While we are supposed to put our focus on God, God is interested in us.

Why should we do the right thing? One standard answer is because it pleases God. But if you keep on reading scripture, you’ll find that the reason it pleases God is that, in the long term, it’s good for us.

In Isaiah 48, from which I took our text, God is giving instruction, rebuke, and encouragement to the Israelites who are in exile in Babylon. What went wrong that they had to go into exile? What do they need to do about it. I suggest reading the whole chapter and especially the verses after the one I quoted.

The key thing that God is telling them, however, is simply this: You rebelled against my commands, but what you were really doing was hurting yourself.

On the one hand God’s law looks very difficult, and the standard so high, that it is a schoolmaster, as Paul said, drawing us to Christ so we can receive grace. On the other hand, it’s holy, just, and good, and most specifically it’s good for us! God, the maker of the universe, knows how best one should live in it.

How should this change our actions? I would suggest that it is a wonderful demonstration of God’s grace that he cares about us. Those who worshiped idols and false gods give offerings and worship hoping to persuade their gods to do something for them. An excellent picture of the futility of this worship is the prophets of Baal on Mt. Carmel (1 Kings 18). They prayed and yelled and screamed all day, and they even cut themselves. But nothing happened.

God, on the other hand, wanted to respond and do good things for his children. It didn’t take that much to get his attention and bring about the desired result. Yes, your worship, from your side, is all about God, but you are worshiping a God who wants you to feel and to know his presence. When you give all to God you receive back from God as much as you can receive.

He’s teaching you for your benefit. What a wonderful thought! God isn’t a controlling parent or teacher who has a personal agenda that is not in your best interest. He’s on your side. What’s more, he knows you so well that he’s more on your side than you are.

For God, it’s all about you.

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Wait for It!

– Henry Neufeld

18He said, “What is God’s kingdom like? To what can I compare it?” 19It is like a mustard seed which someone plants in his garden. It grew and became a tree and the birds in the sky came and perched on its branches. — Luke 13:18-19 (HN)

We like to get things fast. We like to see the connections and to know just how we got whatever we got. This desire for “instant gratification” is often an accusation of the older generation of the younger, or of our various preachers or moral leaders of this generation as opposed to all generations. But really, it’s just a human thing. We all like it. I preach patience, but all too often I practice impatience. If I manage to appear patient, be assured that it’s only by the grace of God! If I don’t appear patient, well, I’m human.

I have even thought that Adam and Eve may have failed precisely on the point of timing. Many times we ask why God would make a perfect garden and yet place in it a tree that was poisonous not just to those who might eat it, but to all their descendants, to an entire species. But perhaps the tree represents something necessary, and that knowledge of good and evil was something that would have to come sometime, but in God’s timing. That would explain the tree being there, but being forbidden. Adam and Eve couldn’t wait. I could be wrong on this, but it’s intriguing.

But whether it started with Adam and Eve or not, it certainly is pervasive. Waiting, trusting, receiving without knowing—all these things really get on our last nerve! But God tends to work with greater subtlety.

We encounter this problem in evangelism. Someone shares their faith with a friend or neighbor, and gets no response. What happens? They get impatient, even desperate. Who can I get to persuade them? Why are they so slow? Surely they understand the importance.

But God says that the kingdom works like a tiny seed. You plant it. It grows. It becomes something much more than you thought when you did the planting. But for many of us this isn’t good enough. God should get in there and fix things now, while I’m watching. And somewhere in there we might even be thinking, “. . . and I should get the credit.”

Seed sowing is a principle of God’s kingdom. It means that God uses things that don’t look like much to accomplish things that are really quite incredible. That means that we will often not be able to get the connections, see the work go on, or account for the credit due to the various workers involved.

The same is true in your own life. The gospel is trying to grow inside you and transform you. You may wish that you had patience right now, so that you could accept this sowing principle in your heart, but God is likely to grow you up slowly. God is not a God of instant gratification.

What seeds is God nurturing in your heart?

“Though it tarries, wait for it!” — Habakkuk 2:1 (HN)

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Gifts, Tithes, and Offerings! Oh My!

Jody note: Our church has been speaking about next year’s budget and what will be our commitment. This devotion has come to my mind again this year and so I share its wisdom with you as we all ask God for His guidance and plan.

Henry Neufeld

13This service you have done will provide proof, and people will glorify God for your obedience to the confession of the good news of Christ and the generosity of your sharing with them and with everyone. 14Their hearts will go out to you in their prayers because of God’s overflowing grace that is on you. 15Thank God for his indescribable gift!          2 Corinthians 9:13 (HN)

This passage comes as Paul describes what the church in Corinth and other churches in what we now know as Greece had done and were planning to do for the church in Jerusalem. There is a great deal that we can learn from the way that Paul deals with this offering. Paul calls for voluntary and cheerful gifts. The money is being carefully handled so that everyone knows it goes to those who are in need. The people plan for what they are going to do and then go about following their plan.

But what led me to this passage today was something different. The more I watch the work of ministry, and the way our churches function, the more I’m convinced that the very last thing we want to dedicate to God is our pocketbooks and bank accounts.

Now this isn’t a devotional calling for you to send me money. I’m not calling for you to send your money to your favorite televangelist in the hopes that God will give you 10, 100, or 1,000 times as much back. I’m thinking in simpler terms than that. I’m thinking of everything from your local church to your own community and how you live with them, and how we share both our joys and our hardships.

The proof of the obedience of the Corinthians to the gospel was provided by their generosity in providing for believers who were in need. Think about it! We often regard the provision of our resources, especially financial resources, as a sort of an add-on. But Paul calls it the proof, and it’s because of this proof that people will glorify God.

The ministry of your local church, and of dozens of local service agencies depends on the generosity of God’s people. The things we take for granted, like music in church, a preacher or teacher to present the word of God, Sunday School rooms for our children, and fellowship halls or community life centers all cost money, as well as time and prayers.

I run the risk in writing to a devotional list that those who are already giving feel put upon, and those who aren’t so involved don’t get convicted. But all I’m asking each person to do is to talk to God about your involvement in giving, especially to the ministries of your local church. Do what God directs. Don’t accept guilt from me or anyone else. Just talk to God.

Which is, when all is said and done, a good piece of advice on every issue!

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My Lord AND My Friend

Henry Neufeld

11Moses tried to appease YHWH his God. He said, “Why are you getting so angry with your people, whom you brought out of the land of Egypt with great strength and a mighty hand? 12Why would you let the Egyptians say, ‘He brought them out here into these mountains for an evil purpose, to kill them and to wipe them from the face of the ground. Repent from your furious anger and rethink the disaster you are bringing against your people. 13Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel your servants, to whom you swore, “I will multiply your descendants like the stars of heaven, and all this land of which I have spoken I will give to your descendants and they will inherit it forever.       Exodus 32:11-13 (HN)

There’s a constant tension in scripture between God’s great power and authority, which we call “sovereignty” and his closeness, mercy and willingness to answer prayer. Theologians use the terms transcendence and immanence. Transcendence means that God is tremendously “other” than what we are, unimaginably more powerful. Immanence means that God is very close to us. In Christianity, both are seen as true about God.

Individually we have a harder time seeing it. For some of us, God is so sovereign that he is unapproachable. How could I possibly dare argue with God. We don’t really pray for anything, and then we say “let your will be done.” On the other hand, many of us view the presence of God as something fun and friendly, sort of like having a puppy around, only more powerful. Those of us like this tend to demand things of God in prayer and give him instructions.

I think Moses struggled with all of this, but he managed to get an excellent balance. He was able to submit to God’s sovereignty. If you don’t believe me, simply read Exodus and see how many times God tells Moses to do something that doesn’t seem to make much sense, and yet when Moses knows God has given an order, he obeys. Look at all the detailed instructions for the tabernacle and for the laws of Israel. To accept all of those laws would require someone who was willing to submit to God’s sovereignty.

But Moses knows God very well, and he knows when something doesn’t make sense. It’s hard the get the sense of the first line of our text today. One of my Hebrew lexicons gives the following possibilities: to soften by caressing, to appease, to flatter. The Contemporary English Version reads “Moses tried to get the Lord God to change his mind.” Eugene Peterson, in The Message, paraphrases it as “Moses tried to calm his God down.”

Is all this respectful? Well, I would hardly want to argue that I have a better relationship with God than Moses did. Moses knew God. He had talked with him personally. He was well aware of the powerful presence of God and of his transcendence. He knew that God was powerful and knew everything. But he also knew that God was a covenant God, filled with mercy and compassion, and that God had a plan.

So Moses steps out on the basis of this strong relationship and says, “God, this isn’t like you! You promised. You put your power on display. You better think again about what you’re doing.” And God has mercy. Now I’m not going to spend my time worrying about whether God actually changed his mind or did what he would have done anyhow. That’s all good theology, but the Bible doesn’t present this as “good theology.” It just presents it as God intending to do one thing, and God’s servant Moses persuading God to do it some other way. Sometimes we’re so worried about good theology that we can’t just read and absorb the Bible story.

Here there is good experience, and a good relationship. Is your relationship with God up to a few arguments? Are you so certain of God’s character that you can get down on your knees and say, “God, this isn’t like you. I can’t believe you’re going to do it. You need to think again!”

I’m not saying you’ll be right. I’m not telling you that God will agree with you. Maybe he will and maybe he’ll say, “I know better.” But the Biblical example here gives us permission to challenge God on the basis of his word and his character.

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The Seeker

Henry Neufeld

1He entered and was passing through Jericho. 2There was a man named Zaccheus, a supervisor of tax collectors, and he was rich. 3He tried to see who Jesus was, but he couldn’t since he was too short to see over the crowd. 4He ran ahead and climbed into a sycamore so he could see when Jesus passed by. 5And as Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zaccheus! Hurry down! Because I must stay at your house today.” 6Zaccheus hurried down and received Jesus joyfully. 7But the crowd was indignant. They said, “He’s going to be a guest with a man who is a sinner.” 8But Zaccheus stood and said to the Lord, “Look! Half of what I own, sir, I’m giving to the poor, and if I have improperly charged anyone I will give it back to him four-fold. 9Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a child of Abraham. 10For the son of man came to seek and to save the lost.”       Luke 19:1-10 (HN)

Zaccheus is one of those Bible stories you can use to teach quite a number of different lessons. Out of the whole crowd in Jericho, who is it that gets special attention from Jesus? Who catches the attention of those who later remember Jesus and tell his story? There are lessons there for our service to God in church and home.

One reason I like Zaccheus is that he doesn’t manage himself very well in crowds. When Jody and I are walking together in a relatively clear area, I have to pay attention to my pace, because I’ll leave her behind or rush her. I have two speeds for walking—stopped or full speed ahead. But when we come to a crowd, our situations are reversed. She flows through crowds. She knows which way people will move and can dodge between them and get to where she is going. In crowds I’m the one left behind. It seems to me that wherever I turn there’s another body in my way.

In church, we have the front row people and the back row people. Do you run into church and head straight for one of the front rows? What about a class or conference room. The stereotype is that the ones up front are interested, prepared, and eager to please. Personally, I’m more of a middle range person. I like to be fairly inconspicuous in a crowd.

Spiritual seekers also seem to fall into categories. There are those who show up at every event at their home church. Prayer meeting—they are there. Sunday School—you can count on them. Worship services? 52 weeks per year. Others seek all over the place. If there is a revival at a neighboring church, they are there to visit. Special speaker? Off they go. A chance for someone new to pray for them? They’re on their way.

I’m not concerned today with the best way to find God. I just want us to notice how different we each are in the way we go about these things. I don’t think the particular way we search is important. Sometimes I like to think about how a story might have gone. What if Zaccheus had been blocked by more people and had not made it to the tree in time? What if he climbed up and then a limb broke? Silly ideas, perhaps, but they interest me.

I think the ending of this story would have been the same in all those cases. Because Jesus came to seek and save the lost, and Zaccheus was lost and ready to be found. I think Jesus would have found him if he’d fallen and been trampled by the crowd.

One of the joys of seeking God is that we know he’s seeking us. Sometimes we forget this, and we become stressed over friends who have not found God. But God is seeking them too, and he knows even better than you do how to get there. Like Zaccheus, whether you’re seeking for yourself or someone else, don’t give up. But trust God, the great Seeker, to make sure you find him.

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Who Do I Say I Am?

Henry Neufeld

10But I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you speak in unity, and that there not be divisions among you. Let yourselves become of one mind and of one opinion. 11For I’ve heard something about you, my brothers and sisters, from those of the household of Chloe. I’m told there are factions among you! 12This is what I’m saying: Each one of you says, “I’m of Paul!” or “I’m of Apollos!” or “I’m of Cephas!” or even “I’m of Christ!” 13Has Christ been divided? Surely it wasn’t Paul who was crucified for you, or into Paul’s name that you were baptized!          1 Corinthians 1:10-13 (HN)

When somebody asks who you are, what do you say? What do you think? If they asked you about your religion, what would you say? Are you a follower of Jesus, a Christian, a Methodist, Baptist, Episcopalian, or member of some specific non-denominational church?

When Paul wrote to the Corinthians they were having an identity crisis. They weren’t sure who they were as a group, and many different factions among them had some pretty wild ideas of precisely what their identity was. Paul called them to be of one mind and one opinion. Now this isn’t a devotional about church unity. I could write a whole bunch about church unity, defining it, defending it, talking about how you make or break it, and so forth.

But today I want to stick with a simpler question: Who are you? Who am I? What is our key identity?

Paul asked the Corinthians the question: Has Christ been divided? The reason he asked that was simply that the Corinthians were identifying themselves with lots of people and lots of factions and not specifically with Christ. There were even people who were identifying themselves as “of Christ,” but who did so to distinguish themselves from other Christians and mark themselves as special.

Who died for you? Jesus did! Into whose body were you baptized? Christ’s body! As a Christian, one who has been “buried with him by baptism,” you have died, and your primary identity is Jesus. When you meet people and introduce yourself, you are introducing them to Jesus. People ask me how they can witness. I tell them that they are witnessing. The question is whether it is a good witness or not.

If I introduce you to someone I can tell you many things about them. Those things can be good or bad. I can sound enthusiastic or not. I can suggest just by my tone of voice whether this person would make a good friend.

The temptation is to present yourself as a partisan for your church congregation, your denomination, or your tradition. In that way your church membership is just another point of reference in who you are, like your employment, your membership in civic organizations, or your political party.

But when you say, “I’m a follower of Jesus,” that’s who your are. That’s a key to your identity. You may hold up your church congregation and the various reasons why that is the particular place where you worship and serve, but Jesus is front and center.

My challenge to myself, and to you as well, is to live this week with the realization that I am constantly introducing people to Jesus whether I want to or not. What kinds of things am I telling those I meet about Jesus?

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The One in the Storm with Me

I said, “Oh that I had wings like a dove! Then I would fly away, and be at rest.

Behold, then I would wander far off. I would lodge in the wilderness.

Selah.

I would hurry to a shelter from the stormy wind and storm.”                Psalm 55:6-8 (WEB)

God has faithfully brought us through yet another storm. Thank You, Lord! God is also faithfully bringing me and many of those that I love through personal storms.

As I watched out the window last night, I saw wind that whipped branches around like ribbons. Rain blew sideways. For several hours, it was hard to see that the storm was passing. It seemed like we were ‘stalled’ in this storm. Too often when I am in a personal storm, it is hard to see past what is happening at the moment. It seems that I will be ‘whipped’ and ‘beat up’ for some undetermined amount of time. Despair and hopelessness can become all that I know. “Where are You, God? I want to escape!!!”

Last night, even though I could not see – I could hear the meteorologist on TV assure me that the storm was moving on. That meteorologist had the facts based on what he could see from radar and even an airplane reconnaissance that had been done. And so, in my personal storms, it would be wisdom for me to listen to the One who actually has the knowledge, the Truth. Neither my own mind nor the reasoning of well-meaning friends can be taken over what God tells me through His Word and our time together.

Thirteen years ago, I went through divorce after almost 20 years of marriage. In the first few months, I tried desperately to find my footing while also trying to help my three children. I was in the middle of a storm and I could not see the end. I felt alone and yet surrounded by many people who had either an opinion, a prayer to offer, or nothing – leaving me truly alone. It was hard to move out of our home with two teenagers and a young child and find a place we could afford on my salary. I didn’t even have a bed. But as I look back on that time, I remember going into my room at night and laying down on my pallet and having the most intimate time with my Lord. I devoured His words of Scripture. I poured out everything I was thinking. God sifted through and in those dark, late night hours, I heard many truths. I grew because God was faithful. I learned that storms do pass. I learned Who really has control of all storms. Remember Job? Satan could only do what God said he could do. I am so very glad that God has a choke-chain on satan!

If there is a storm in your life, be wise; be careful to whom you turn, even yourself. Your flesh can be deceitful. Push in closer to God. Spend time with the One who is faithful and Truth; who is comfort and healing. The One who loves you more than you can imagine. So invest the time to find out!

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Hurricane Coming: Ready???

Therefore prepare your minds for action; be sober and set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ— as children of obedience, not conforming yourselves according to your former lusts as in your ignorance, but just as he who called you is holy, you yourselves also be holy in all of your behavior; because it is written, “You shall be holy; for I am holy.”                                 1 Peter 1:13-16 (WEB)

As I am writing this, Hurricane Ida is approaching our home town. I have lived on the Gulf Coast for over 30 years now. I have learned what to do to prepare for a hurricane and tropical storms. I have left my home with the knowledge that upon my return there could be nothing left. Praise God, this storm is not going to be like that!

There are ‘hurricane force winds’ in my life. God wants me to be prepared. He gives me tools and knowledge and strength to survive these storms. In fact, He gives me the ability to survive in VICTORY!

How much time do I give in preparation? Is it a priority in my day? Is Jesus really my friend that deserves my time? That question seems rhetorical, doesn’t it? But does my daily schedule reflect my verbal commitment that says I give God the ‘first fruits’ of my time? Or does He get only this ten-minute devotional and a quick “Thanks!” at the end of the day?

Jesus says He loves me enough to rebuke and discipline me, desiring that I repent. He stands knocking at my door, wanting to come in. (Revelation 3) It seems that Jesus is polite, waiting for my invitation to come in and spend time together. Jesus has prepared a lesson for me. His desire is to build me up and encourage me. Yes, there will be correction involved but how awesome is it to be disciplined one-on-one by Jesus who loves me instead of stumbling around in ignorance and self-destruction. Am I willing to have ears to hear? Micah said, God has shown me what is good and what is required of me: to act with justice, love forgiveness, and walk (spend time) humbly with my Lord. (Micah 6:8) THEN I will be prepared for whatever is to come.

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God my Savior

Henry Neufeld

1And you will say in that day:
“I will praise you YHWH. Though you were angry with me Your anger turned and you consoled me.
2God is my savior; I will trust, and not be afraid.
Because YHWH is my power and defense, And he will be my deliverer.”
3You will draw water with joy, from the wells of salvation.
4And you will say in that day:
“Praise YHWH! Call on his name! Let the people know about his deeds.
Proclaim that his name is exalted! 5Sing psalms to YHWH
For he has brought triumph. Let this be known throughout the world.
6Cry out and shout for joy, you who dwell in Zion,
For the Holy One of Israel is great among you.         Isaiah 12 (HN)

How is God different from human beings? I hope you get a laugh out of this question. How is God not different from human beings? He’s more powerful, more knowledgeable, larger, eternal rather than temporary. We have long words for all these things, but let’s settle for saying he’s so vastly different that we can’t really comprehend it.

But I want to focus on a very simple difference, one that we sometimes ignore. God is a redeeming God. God likes to take things that have failed, and make them a success. He likes to take people who have given up, been destroyed, or have been bent out of all recognition, and make them new.

I’ve quoted Isaiah 12, because it was part of my reading today. It’s one of those many, many texts that talk about how much God likes to save, and how we can count on him, in spite of our times of failure, to be a redeeming God.
Sometimes we see this “redeeming God” only in the New Testament, in Jesus. But that is far from the truth. From the time in Genesis 3 when God went to look for his rebellious children in the garden, God has been in the business of redeeming people. It’s a constant throughout scripture. Sometimes we read all the texts about judgment and get the idea that God spends all of his time in the Old Testament angry. But if you read carefully, even the angry parts are given with the intention of redeeming people.

One reason it’s hard for us to get this message of “redemption, redemption, redemption” into our heads is that we just don’t think that way. “Three strikes and you’re out” doesn’t just happen in baseball. For many of us it’s a theme of the way we deal with people. Redemption is just not a “natural” thing. Face it. If we had to deal with Judah at the time of the exile, we’d probably all wash our hands of the whole thing. “They’re off to Babylon now. Let’s go find someone who can do it right!” But God knows that his people are limited, and he doesn’t give up on good material. He calls them back from exile and goes right back to work on them.

Notice verse 3—you will draw water with joy from the wells of salvation. That tells us God’s plan for us. But I’d like to take it in another sense as well. Can we learn to be more and more like God on this point? Can we drink from the wells of salvation until salvation—redemptive grace—pours from us to others? Can we become just a little bit more like God on this?

And all of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord, the Spirit.          1 Corinthians 3:18 (NRSV)

By his grace we can!

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God’s Rewards

“For the Son of Man will come in the glory of his Father with his angels, and then he will render[give rewards] to everyone according to his deeds.”        Matthew 16:27 (WEB)

Some days are hard. Any day that I feel myself drawn into a valley I try to remember the blessings for which I thanked God the night before when I was falling asleep. If I still want to attend my own personal ‘pity party’, I remember those who in their daily lives must struggle for food, clean water, freedom to worship without fear of reprisal, and those who have chosen to serve these same people.

Rewards mean very different concepts to all of us. When I think of the ‘rewards’ that God has promised me, I am usually thinking of what will be mind eternally. I look at the lives of the disciples and I do not see lives of earthly rewards as in money, homes, and general abundance. They were more about Kingdom building than inheritance building for their children and grandchildren. Their faith was their legacy.

I believe it is also important for me to remember that I am not ‘banking’ favors so as to ‘buy’ a big mansion from God in heaven! What I do here – I do because I choose to be obedient and have an opportunity to serve and witness to others the saving power of Jesus. I have heard people talk about ‘diamond door knobs’ on their mansions – and I am just excited to be in any heavenly dwelling!

Therefore Yahweh has rewarded me according to my righteousness,
according to the cleanness of my hands in his eyesight.       Psalm 18:24 (WEB)
It is verses like this that I read and accept and yet…I don’t dwell on them. In my mind, I am happy when God blesses me and gives more than I can imagine! But I do not expect a ‘pound of reward’ because I did a ‘pound of obedience’. I welcome input on this. It seems a point that could bring good discussion!
Each day is a reward from God as He guides me along the path He has for me. There is so much to see and be blessed as we walk the path of each day. Some days I have to consciously look harder than others to see what God wants me to see and other days – it’s like there are spotlights on those special moments.
Let’s take time today to consider God’s rewards. Let us be more open to the many and varied rewards that He has for each of us. Let’s encourage each other by tell the stories of God’s rewards. Help me to see the rewards and I will try to do the same for you! Accept His rewards today!
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