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"Draw near to Me and I will draw near to you." ~ James 4:8 As we joyfully celebrate this feast of Pentecost I am overtaken by the glory of the Lord in a measure such as I have never seen! I want to release a word to my readers which is essential to hear in this hour because along with the glory, there is significant turmoil raging around us. This word will pierce through confusion and help bring clarity and focus to you in what is a troubling and difficult time. The Lord desires to bring His people stage-by-stage into a greater glory such as we have never known! The glory that is being released at this moment is a GREAT EMPOWERMENT for those who can receive it: empowerment like the apostolic church in Acts experienced. Dear friends, it was never the Lord's desire for us to leave the eternal place of "lockdown" in His Presence! Those who love Him are called and destined to remain and abide IN HIM forever! Twice in the past few weeks the Lord has allowed me to see from His perspective the advancing of His Kingdom during these times of trial. The first was in a dream, but last night as I listened, the Lord began to speak more specifically of what is happening today. I believe that applying these very personal strategies will help you receive your harvest! “Never before has there been such hostility to the truth, and never again will there be such an engaging witness to the same. “Even as the world exerts pressure on My people, so that very pressure is releasing a great cry for justice and mercy, one that would not be so passionate and heartfelt were it not for the pain the pressure is producing. “I am extracting the precious from the vile. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. ~Romans 5:7-8 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to His own advantage; rather, He made Himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross! ~Philippians 2:6-8 Dear Friends, Throughout history, God has looked for people who were either curious enough or sensitive enough to turn aside from their daily routines and spend time with Him. Just as the Lord longs for us to turn to Him, so He also draws near to us when we do so, revealing Himself in greater measure. Abraham showed hospitality to strangers and entertained angels. Moses turned aside to see a burning bush and encountered God. Joshua, Samuel, Daniel, Anna, Zaccheus, Mary, and so many others made quality decisions to seek God, and were rewarded for pressing in. Their reward? To hear God's voice and to know Him personally. I had a dream from the Lord this week which truly alarmed me. In the dream, I saw that the Church at large, Christ’s Bride, was being systematically seduced by a man who was familiar to her. He was a “believer” and an active participant in countless local and regional ministries. Because this man was working toward the same goals and supposedly serving the same Lord, the Bride willingly gave herself to his service in the deepest sense of the word. The Bride (represented in the dream by a variety of different women) bore his children and nurtured them as best as she could. However, once the children were born, the man returned to each one of the women, exposing himself as a liar, not a lover of God. Though operating within the Church, he was anti-Christ. Dear Friends, For the past week or so, the Lord has brought me repeatedly into an unusual story: the story of Hosea. As I've prayed through this “minor” prophet’s book, I have been so captured by the Lord’s heart for His Bride in this hour! Please allow me to share what I believe He is saying today, and join me in praying Hosea’s prayers at the end of this post. Dear Friends, Do you have a friend whom you love so dearly that even their phone call at midnight does not offend you? Whose number you keep "starred" on the list in your phone, so that at any time, day or night, you may be available to them? Only a few friends and family of mine make that cut! These are the ones whose lives are the most important to me; whose voices I want to hear at any time, in any condition. There is nothing they could say that would make me love them less, and I choose to give my life to them because of that love. 
Dear Friends, Nothing God does is an accident! There are no “coincidences” in the Kingdom of God. You are here on earth at this time for a specific purpose predetermined by the Father. Do you know what that purpose is? "Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them." ~Hebrews 7:25 Last night as I meditated on Jesus our Intercessor, I entered into a deep place of prayer. I interceded for various people as Holy Spirit led me. As I did so, I suddenly became aware of the Lord’s unmistakable Presence in the room. Early this morning, I heard the Lord say three times: "I am restoring the fortunes of those who have invested in Me." "There are many who have sown great riches into My Kingdom, believing that their simple sowing of seed would result in great returns. They have heard and obeyed My Spirit and a reward is coming for their faithfulness." 
I took a long walk today before the snow came; before our governor announced a stay-at-home advisory for the next few weeks. In this time of worldwide sickness and pervasive fear, it was good to get out of the house, to reflect on God’s beautiful creation, and to focus on Him. As I walked, I listened to a beautiful worship song from Bethel Music called “The Blessing.” (Listen to it here.) This song was released just prior to the COVID-19 outbreak, and never has a song been more timely! The lyrics are scriptures which contain the priestly Aaronic blessing over Israel in Numbers 6:24: The Lord bless you and keep you The Lord make His face shine upon you The Lord be gracious unto you and give you peace. Worship is key for me in times of trial; it feeds my spirit and strengthens my “inner man.” Just as a dear friend sent this song to me as a blessing, I encourage you to receive this song as God’s blessing over you as well. He is truly FOR YOU! Most people turn to familiar scriptures in times like these: Psalm 23, Psalm 91, John 14, 2 Corinthians 4:3-10. We pray these scriptures and receive a measure of strength from them every time they are read. Yet this morning as I prayed, I encountered Psalm 91 in an entirely different way. 
The voice of the Lord is thundering from heaven! As my friends and readers know, the hand of the Lord has been heavy on me since January 20th of this year, when the Spirit of God released a weighty, tangible glory in my home. (Read the story here). This glory has remained and steadily increased as I have pressed in to hear His voice day and night. One of the most interesting things I have heard the Lord say again and again is: “Come inside the sound of my voice.” Because prayer is a work done mostly in secret, it is rare for an intercessor to immediately know whether his prayers are effective. It is rarer still for someone to realize they are being prayed for, since humility constrains us from boasting about our praying! Yet from time to time, we do hear of amazing answers to prayer and have the joy of knowing that there is indeed power released when we pray. In the midst of a very difficult week, God allowed both me and my pastor to see the power of prayer. 
On January 22, 2020 I wrote that the glory of God had entered my home, igniting and electrifying the atmosphere before settling down around me with a holy hush. (Read the story here.) What began that night as a gentle stream has become a great flood! For the past 46 days, I have seen a steady increase in the Presence of God in my life, a rising of the River of the Spirit to "flood stage." I am not talking about being "baptized in the Spirit" or coming to know the Lord better. No; we know Him already, we are filled with Him already! What I am noticing is an increase of the manifest Presence of God. His weighty glory is rising to fill dry, empty places. This powerful Presence can be felt, seen, and heard in the Spirit. Friends, the River is rising, awakening has begun, and your overflow is coming! 
Dear Friends of His Inscriptions, The Lord is so good! Thank you to those of you who encourage me weekly with your calls, comments, and emails and who, I know, are praying for me this during this upcoming weekend's conference! It is already a busy spring - and spring has not yet sprung here in New England! We have just about a full class for the E3 Prophetic Training Course which begins this March. But I want to share another new development with you and ask you to join me in praying for what I believe is a highly significant time for New England. Several days ago, as I was preparing for this weekend's “222” conference in Rhode Island, the Holy Spirit led me to pray through Daniel 9, which contains a 6-fold confession of repentance. (Click this link to receive your free download: "Repentance Brings Revival: Prayer of Confession from Daniel 9.") What do you need right now in order to fulfill the call of God on your life? I asked my friends on social media this question. Here are some of the answers I received: Wisdom. Confirmation. Recognition. Direction. Time. Money. The kids grow up and leave home. Healing from a physical ailment. A life partner. An audience to preach to. All of these are good things, of course, helpful to anyone in ministry. Partnership and support are essential, while time and physical stamina enable us to do what God has called us to do. Yet the Bible gives a very different answer to this question. Jesus tells us there is just ONE THING we must have in order to do the kinds of works He does, and it encompasses all of the above. 
At the beginning of this week, my husband departed on a three-day business trip to Maine. Immediately as he stepped out the door, another powerful Presence stepped in and filled my home. The spiritual atmosphere around me shifted and the glory of God suddenly became manifest and tangible. I must say that I was not seeking this! I was sitting at my dining room table studying the Word when the Spirit of God entered. The air around me seemed to come alive with His glory. Then a deep stillness settled around me like a blanket, and I retreated to my bedroom to seek Him. On January 5, 2020 as I prayed I saw a vision. In this vision, the Lord gave me a key to the armory of God. I took the key and entered into a spacious room with extraordinarily high ceilings. An iridescent peach-gold light permeated the room, which was much taller than it was wide. On all four walls were hung beautiful shining swords in an ordered display. From floor to ceiling, these gleaming swords covered the walls and each bore a label of some sort, identifying what it was for and how it was used. I stood in awe of this collection: so exquisite! Yet designed for use. How, I wondered, would someone of average height, like me, ever reach the uppermost swords on the wall? As I was contemplating this, I saw in the opposite corner of the room, an angel of gigantic proportions. Indeed, the angel was as tall as the ceiling itself! He was a translucent, winged white presence whose sole function in the armory was to remove swords from the walls as they were needed, giving them to the ones who had requested them. Also, in the center of the room, there was a rectangular glass case, where I saw someone carefully wrapping a brand new sword, recently cataloged, in a beige linen cloth of some kind. This weapon, too, was to be displayed in God’s armory. Then I heard the Lord say: 
In September 2019, I set aside some time for an extended prayer retreat. As I asked the Lord for His heart concerning the coming New Year 2020 / Jewish Year 5780, I saw a woman in travail, about to give birth: she had nurtured the seed that was growing and expanding within her, and now the time of birth had come! As she opened her mouth she was compelled to cry out in travail. I heard the Lord say: “That cry will be the sign of new life coming forth in a new era. So great and passionate will be the shout that the world will focus on the cry; yet the lovers of God will see the baby that emerges, fully equipped, from the womb of the woman. For My Bride is full of godly seed and recognizes that her time has come. Shall I bring a baby to the point of birth and not give delivery? (Isaiah 66:9) You will see the fruits of your labor as you make declarations in the Spirit, decreeing the new things I have prepared for My Kingdom! And they are beautiful things! The ministries birthed in this season will be as varied as the warriors themselves. DIVERSITY will be a theme in My Kingdom, yet not diversity for diversity’s sake! No, the differences among people and ministries will only highlight My beauty and My diversity. For one will say, ‘I did not know God looked like that!’ And another, ‘I did not know God could do that!’ And the world will wonder that a God who seems in such opposition to them could actually be so much like them in some ways, welcoming what is unusual and celebrating diversity! 
In this midst of this diversity will be a unity so strong, even those who have labored for unity will be amazed. You will not have to strive for unity, with all the discomforts of laying aside personal agendas and dreams, in order to connect to those unlike you. No; instead, an innate unity in the Spirit will break out and be birthed in this hour. It will be unusual and unforced. The new “children” born of the Spirit will not see black and white, male and female or any other differences; they will operate in ONE Spirit. It will not be their common interests in the flesh but their unity in the Spirit that will sustain them. Like those who built the tower of Babel, these newly-birthed ministries will walk in a higher purpose with clearer communication, accomplishing My will for this time. SPECIFIC "NEW ERA" MINISTRIES WILL BE BIRTHEDOne new ministry will see the horrors of Hollywood as a challenge to take on, leaving the masters of deception dumbfounded with their godly emphasis on signs and wonders. What they release by My Spirit will be completely irreproducible and the cameras will turn from the fake to the real as these unstoppable ones “wow” their audiences. They will not do this for fame or money but for the glory of God! I will release a power in that arena that is unknown to man, and unable to be duplicated as it was in Moses’ time. While the world focuses on media and television, I am releasing books by the thousands around the world, a “sleight of hand” which, when realized, will cause a stir. Publishing will be seen as more potent than producing, and the expansion of My Word around the globe will surprise those who thought the printed word was dead! When technology fails these printed words will have power AND position, having been secretly deposited in places around the world while no one was watching. Healing ministries will multiply as believers tap into the power of this Word: ‘I am Jehovah Rapha, the God who heals you!’ No longer will I allow the enemy to have the upper hand in destroying My saints, but I will come to their aid with Spirit-infused “rhema” words that will set the captives free. Large-scale, mass healings will begin to take place THIS YEAR. Those called will wave their hands over auditoriums and see healing manifest throughout. Buckets of healing oil will be poured out by the angels over mass gatherings of people who desire only to worship Me. 
YOUTH WILL BE EMPOWERED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT IN ACCELERATED, AUTHENTIC MINISTRIESWith these healings will come a release of faith, miracles, and more healings. Young people will be so touched by the power of My Spirit that they will surrender their lives on the spot to follow Me in these accelerated ministries of unity! They will form partnerships with each other at the speed of the Spirit: quickly merging together to accomplish the next wave of revival that is on My agenda. Moving in the Spirit will not be foreign to them because they have been born and brought up in such a mode. The struggle that those who went before them endured will not be present for these youths, for they will be willing to accept at face value what I release, without question. Why? Because they will know it is real. AUTHENTICITY will win their hearts, and I am an authentic and honorable friend to them! Faith is rising up in the hearts of prophets and intercessors because the time is near for these things to come to pass. What you have dreamed will now become a reality! Be ready to assist in the laboring, birthing, and early nurturing of this era. It is “all hands on deck!” You are on the cusp of this anointing and the role of the prophets will be as midwives (or doulas) in the Spirit. Those with prophetic gifts will both recognize and identify that which is being birthed at this time. As new ministries are launched, the prophets will declare: “It’s a boy! It’s a girl!” They will NAME these newly-birthed ministries. For My church is returning to her place of dominion and authority and the prophets and intercessors will have a role in defining and naming these new things. Look to the prophets for the definitions and descriptions of what you do not yet recognize, for they will “call it as they see it,” relying upon My Holy Spirit to define holy things. Those who listen to the prophets will build with the prophets; those who ignore or misname My cherished ones will suffer the consequences. WHAT YOU WILL NEED TO BIRTH THESE NEW THINGS:TRUST - You will need to trust in Me and in each other. A TOWEL / A SERVANT’S HEART To cleanse and deliver new ministries, you will need a love that sees beyond the messiness. A PLACE OF RIGHT ALIGNMENT - Safe places will be needed to position these new “babies” as they are coming to life. Right positioning and placement will come as you make the appropriate apostolic connections. HONOR - Cultivate a healthy respect for the new life that is coming forth!” 
THIS IS A SEASON TO VALUE MY BRIDE!In this new era and new season I will shift the Body of Christ out of a place of despair and distress, into a season of joy and great value. For I would again reveal to My Bride the value I place upon her: her love, her devotion, and her sacrifice (See Song of Songs Chapter 4). In previous seasons, My Bride was undervalued by man; the coming season will be an era of great glory, marked by a display of My favor upon My beloved one! I will destroy the lies of the enemy about the condition of My Bride with the words of My mouth. My words will always take precedence! Every word of the Bridegroom from Song of Songs will become a declaration of love and an explosion of empowerment over you! Make ready your garments! Make yourself ready as a bride adorns herself for her husband, for so you will adorn yourself for Me! Let the love-truths of My Word demolish the hateful lies that your brothers and your enemy have spoken over you. Arise, My Beloved, and come into the full understanding of who you are and what you mean to Me! No more will I allow prior hurts to define you. No more will you speak of yourself as ‘dark’ or ‘damaged.’ For you will HEAR, and some will hear for the first time, the depth of My loving call to you, the sound of My voice and even the sound of My whispers! My whispers in the night will shatter invisible barriers with which the enemy has encircled you. You will no longer ‘hide behind the lattice,’ visible yet invisible, but will be released to come and follow after Me! All that has held you back in previous seasons is gone; a new day has come. ARISE, My love, and come away!”*
(To read the expanded word for the Bride of Christ, please click here. To listen the YouTube podcast, click here.)
THE LORD'S DECREE FOR 2020“What you see, decree! What you decree you will see! Those who can boldly take their places beside Me in the throne room of glory will have the privilege of seeing what they decree in the Spirit come to pass on the earth. I want to co-labor with you to establish righteousness on earth and this will require you to boldly take your authority IN ME and use it for good! Your place of prayer is your place of battle, and you have the privilege of sitting with the greatest General who ever lived, to see and receive My strategies for this hour. As you decree them I will carry them out, for I have myriad troops at My disposal. The battle belongs to the Lord, but the secret strategies belong to the prophets.” We need prophets and prayer warriors more than ever this year! We need the overcoming declarations they are making in their prayer rooms to reverberate and resound across the earth. This is a year to stop fighting with natural methods and instead, use our intimate access to God’s Throne to employ His mighty warriors, the heavenly hosts! We need those who can step into their secret place with God and do damage to the enemy. Now is the time and this is the year to do so! *In meditating on the Song of Songs, notice that the Shulamite Bride is at first so very aware of her “darkness,” and of her failure to tend her own vineyard. Although she is in love with her Bridegroom, she is very conscious of her sins and flaws, refusing to arise with Him as a joint heir and partner in His work. What changes? The loving Words of the Bridegroom move her from a place of reluctance to a place of obedience, increasing her joy! In this new season, we will hear the words of our heavenly Bridegroom saying, “You are all fair, my love, and there is no spot in you!” The love-declarations of Jesus in this hour will set the Bride free!
© Deborah Perkins / www.HisInscriptions.com. Special thanks to His Inscriptions reader and artist Elizabeth Cartier for the beautiful background artwork in this post's images!
Deborah Perkins is a seasoned prophetic writer, teacher, and Christian leader with more than 35 years of ministry experience across denominations. At God's request in 2013, she founded His Inscriptions, an online ministry devoted to helping people worldwide “Discover Life-Giving Communication with God.” Through her website, inspired teaching and a weekly blog, Deborah offers discipleship to those who want to grow their relationship with God. Deborah currently lives in New England with her hubby, 3 sons, one cat and a coop full of chickens. Learn more about Deborah or order her books on her Amazon author page. 
Dear Friends,
Christmas blessings to every reader of His Inscriptions! In this joyful season I am celebrating the gift of Jesus Christ!
I have been meditating on the first chapter of Ephesians, which reminds us of our hope of heaven's promised blessings, our redemption through Christ's forgiveness, our adoption as sons and daughters of a heavenly Father, and our inheritance in Him. 
Every year, I take time to go away on several prayer retreats with the Lord. I especially like to spend a few days alone, prior to the new year, listening to God’s heart for the following year. This year, God pulled me away in September, at the Jewish New Year, to speak to me about the year 5780 and our civil year 2020. The Lord led me to visit Northfield, Massachusetts, the place where Dwight Moody was born in 1837. Moody built a Bible school that overlooks the Connecticut River, and in recent years, there have been many revival meetings held on his Northfield campus by different Christian ministries. Moody’s birthplace and grave are in Northfield, along with his wife’s, and I prayed about revival as I walked the grounds. 
Dear Friends, Is it possible to love someone you have not seen? Absolutely! 1 John 4:11 reads: Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. “Only 14 percent of young adults (ages 18-35) say they attend church because someone in their worship community cares deeply about them.” ~Barna Research What are you doing to reach the next generation? Take a look around your church or small group fellowship. How many of your regular attendees are from the “next generation” following you? 10%? 20%? 50% or more? If you see a healthy crop of young believers growing and being discipled in your church, congratulations. You’re a rarity! As research shows, the majority of young people in our culture are suffering from serious neglect. Notably, they don’t feel anyone in church “cares deeply” for them. (Barna, 2019) "Adjust and Trust!" This is what I heard the Lord saying as I sat with Him recently. Many people are going through a season of transition where God's promises are visible on the horizon, yet not fully realized or accessible. Flexibility and faith are essential in the midst of change. Do not be frustrated in the process but trust God to bring you through your transitions and into your promised land! Here is a short word He gave me concerning times of transition: My spiritual father has a favorite saying he’s used for years when things get tough. No matter how difficult the situation, he’ll put a big smile on his face and say, “We win!” 
COMING UP THIS MONTH!The next E3 Prophetic Training Course will be starting this October, in just a few weeks! Join us online for this 6-week training and mentoring class and discover how to hear God better for yourself and how to encourage those around you with your prophetic gifts! Want to learn more? Click here or on the photo above to visit our info page or to register for this Fall's E3 class. We will be meeting either Monday nights or Thursday nights, based on participants' availability. Contact Deborah soon to reserve your space!
Today's Post:
THE THREE DOORS
You His Inscriptions readers are an amazing group of leaders in your local churches, families, and communities! It is you I want to encourage today with this special focus on ministry. As I sat with the Lord in prayer last week, He gave me a picture of three doors. With the exception of our quiet times, these three doors are meant to remain open, the Presence of God accompanying us as we pass through each door into different spheres of influence. The first door was the door to our hearts, or our "innermost room." Jesus called believers to go into this innermost place and close the door so that we could commune with the Father in secret. The Passion Translation describes this place as the "resting place of His love" (Ephesians 3:17), the source and root of all that we do. It is like the "Holy of Holies" - a sacred space where there is a divine exchange of our sin for His righteousness, our unworthiness for His love, and our humanness for His supernatural Spirit. It is the only place in Scripture I know of where we are told to close the door, seal ourselves off, and be alone. We "cap" our well, so to speak, for the sake of replenishing and purifying what He has placed within us. The second door opened to those closest to us: family and friends with whom we live our daily lives. This represented our secondary ministry, second only to God. The third door opened to the world of our communities, churches, and nations; our "metron" or expanded sphere of ministry. While many believers place this sphere first, that is not the biblical pattern. (See 1 Timothy 5:8.) What exactly is this ministry? It is the ministry of reconciliation. (2 Corinthians 5:11-21). The beautiful truth of the New Testament is that God's "door" is always open. The veil that separated us from intimacy with Him was torn at Christ's death, and we are now able to boldly approach His throne through Jesus's righteousness! Hallelujah! Paul said he "resolved to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified." (1 Corinthians 2:2) The message of Christ is our ministry! For our message to be authentic and powerful, we must ourselves be ministered to by the Lord. 2 Corinthians 3, 4, and 5 describe a new perspective on ministry. Ministry at its best is not an "office" or a title, but a position of servanthood. Here is what one of the most qualified Jewish leaders of Bible times thought about Christian ministry once he was converted: The lives of the people you minister to are your "letters of recommendation." As you minister to people, Christ writes "living letters" on the tablets of their hearts by the Holy Spirit, His "pen." Any competence or skill you have (think of Paul's amazing qualifications, all of which he counted loss!) is the direct result of Christ's empowering Presence. HE makes you an adequate minister, not your works. You are sent forth by God with pure motives, speaking out of your union with Christ. You are an Ambassador for Christ, yet everything you say and do is heard and seen by your governing King! You are a mirror which brightly reflects the glory of God. If your gaze is not directed towards His brilliance you will reflect only darkness. It is because of God's mercy alone that you are entrusted with New Covenant ministry! You preach Jesus crucified, not yourself glorified. You give yourself as a servant to those you desire to lead. At times you won't know what to do, but quitting is not an option. Failure is not an option, either, when you are listening to the Lord and following His strategies. You may be persecuted by people, but God does not forsake you. Your body may be wasting away but your inner man is renewed day by day. You don't live a self-absorbed life but a generous and poured-out life, because you follow Christ's example. You no longer evaluate or judge people by their external appearances. Your new perspective in the Spirit enables you to discern the heart. In short, God has entrusted you with the ministry of OPENING DOORS to Him, however you do it. The flavors of ministry are as varied as the people God calls! You might paint a picture, write a word, grow a garden, cook a meal, counsel the hurting, teach the ignorant, fight for justice, build for the homeless or give to the poor. Yet no matter how you reach out, you are opening the door to what you have seen and understood about Jesus in your relationship with the Word. You are lifting the veil for someone else. Through you, God is pleading with the world to be reconciled to Him. This is ministry! I pray that you will take time this week to reflect on why you do what you do as a believer and a leader. I pray that your ministry will always be authentic, borne out of a love for Jesus that is cultivated in the secret place of the closed door. I pray that you will emerge from your "Holy of Holies" full of the Presence of the Lord, flinging wide every other door that might be a barrier to someone else who needs Him. May you have a ministry of opening doors for those around you, so that all may be reconciled to God! 
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AuthorA severe hearing loss from childhood caused Deborah Perkins to develop what she now calls her secret weapon: tuning in to God's voice. A Wellesley College graduate and an award-winning writer, Deborah is now a wife and mother of 3 boys. Deborah has devoted over 25 years to professional and lay Christian ministry in New England and beyond. Her passion is inspiring people to cultivate greater intimacy with God. 
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