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THE TESTIMONY OF A BELIEVER IN JESUS CHRIST

Note: All Biblical References are from the New International Version [NIV] unless

otherwise stated. KJV = King James Version of the Bible

One of the most difficult parts of the Christian life, for a person who has done very

limited study into the Scriptures is to understand how Christ's dying on the Cross atCalvary, absolved them from sin and set them free. These people will say, "Set me free

from what? I am not entangled in anything. I haven't done any wrong." When it is

explained to them that all people are born with a sinful nature and are therefore sinners,

and that Christ died so that these sins could be forgiven, they don't understand and will to

put forth opposition.

1 John 1:8-10, "If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in

us. If we confess our sins, he [Christ] is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and

purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to bea liar and his word has no place in our lives."

1 Corinthians 15:3-6, "For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance; that

Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on

the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the

Twelve."

I haven't always understood this message as I do now, and many questions continually

plagued me until the Holy Spirit finally guided me to the simple truth.

It is written in John 8:31-32, "To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, "If you hold to

my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will

set you free."

Let me explain to you the unmistakable truth and after you have read it, I pray that the

Holy Spirit will lead you to a deeper understanding of the Good News about Jesus Christ.

When God, in His infinite wisdom, created the universe and all there-in, He created an

angel who was exalted high above all others.

Colossians 1:16, "For by him [God] all things were created: things in heaven and on earth,

visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were

created by him and for him."

Ezekiel 28:12-17 speaks of this angel as follows: "You were the model of perfection, full of

wisdom and perfect in beauty.

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You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone adorned you: ruby, topaz and

emerald, chrysolite, onyx and jasper, sapphire, turquoise and beryl. Your settings and

mountings were made of gold; on the day you were created they were prepared.

You were anointed as a guardian cherub, for so I ordained you. You were on the holy mount

of God; you walked among the fiery stones.

You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created till wickedness was found

in youThrough your widespread trade you were filled with violence, and you sinned,

So I drove you in disgrace from the mount of God, and I expelled you, O guardian cherub,

from among the fiery stones.

Your heart became proud on account of your beauty, and you corrupted your wisdom

because of your splendour. So I threw you to the earth; I made a spectacle of you before

kings.

Isaiah 14:12 [KJV], refers to this angel as the "son of the morning" and tells us that his

name is "Lucifer".

Ezekiel 28:14, says "you were anointed as a guardian cherub, for so I ordained you. You

were on the holy mount of God; you walked among the fiery stones".

Ezekiel 28:15 says, "You, [Lucifer], were blameless in your ways from the day you were

created till wickedness was found in you.

Now here was an angel of superior intelligence, given great beauty, authority in the

service of God, and a free will with which to make choices and decisions, as have you

and I. Lucifer became filled with violence and sinned.

Lucifer became filled with pride [arrogance] causing his wisdom to be corrupted..[he

didn't think straight]

Ezekiel 28:16-17 , says, "Through your widespread trade you were filled with violence, and

you sinned. So I drove you in disgrace from the mount of God, and I expelled you, O

guardian cherub, from among the fiery stones. Your heart became proud on account of your

beauty, and you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendour. So I threw you to the

earth; I made a spectacle of you before kings."

Just how did Lucifer sin? What did he do? What did he say? What? ,What?, What?

If we take a look at the scriptures, these questions are pretty much answered.

Isaiah 14:13-14 says

"You said in your heart, "I will ascend to the heaven:

I will raise my throne above the stars of God;

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I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain.

I will ascend above the tops of the clouds;

I will make myself like the Most High."

Lucifer made his mistake [sinned] by thinking that the creation could become greater

than the Creator.

This gave rise to a great conflict in heaven in which Michael [an Archangel] and the

angels under his command fought Lucifer and those angels who chose to follow him.

The end result was that Lucifer and a third of the host of heaven were cast down to earth.

Revelation 12:4, 7-9 says, "His [Lucifer] tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and

flung them to the earth."

"And there was a great war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon,

and the dragon and his angels fought back. But he [Lucifer] was not strong enough and they

lost their place in heaven. The great dragon [Lucifer] was hurled down -- that ancient

serpent called the devil or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to theearth and his angels [demons] with him.

Lucifer or Satan as he is called was banished from heaven forever with no hope of ever

gaining reconciliation for this unrighteous deed. Lucifer and his followers were cut off

from the Holy Presence of God foreverforever...think about itFOREVER!

Now, if we turn to the book ofGenesis, Chapter 1, we read there that God:

Created the heavens and the earth.

Created all of the creatures that inhabit the earth.

Created all of the plants that grow on the earth.

Created man and woman in His image and gave them dominion [authority] over all that

He [God] had made.

Authority over the earth was given to man only as he subjected himself to the

predominance of God who made him. That is, mans' authority over the earth was

contingent on his obedience to God's authority.

God asked for only one thing from manObedienceby not eating from the tree of

knowledge of good and evil. God told them than on the day they ate of the tree, they

would surely die. When man and woman were created they were given a free will so that they might be

able to choosebetween one thing and another.. the same free will that you and I have..

the same free will that He gave to Lucifer and the angels.

Genesis 2:16-17, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from

the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die."

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NOW LET'S RECAP THE SITUATION AT HAND:

Lucifer [Satan], who aspired to take over God and heaven, is now on the earth with his

followers [demons].

His existence is a spiritual existencei.e. He doesn't have a body as do humans, nor do

his followers.

Lucifer is extremely intelligent.

Ephesians 6:12, "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers,

against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces

of evil in the heavenly realms."

Man was created a free willed agent [able to make choices] and given complete authority

over the earth.

Genesis 1:28, "God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fillthe earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every

living creature that moves on the ground."

God's only requirement of Adam and Eve was that they should not eat from the tree of

knowledge of good and evil and if they did they would die.

Genesis 2:16-17, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat

from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die."

THE STAGE IS SET:

Enter on stage Satan and Eve.

Satan tells Eve that to eat the fruit of the tree of knowledge means that she will become as

God and know the difference between good and evil.

Genesis 3:5, "For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will

be like God, knowing good and evil."

He also indicates to her that she will not really die.

Genesis 3:4, "You will not surely die," the serpent said to the woman.

Eve then eats of the tree and gives a portion to Adam.

Genesis 3:6, "When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing

to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave

some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it."

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Now if you remember, I mentioned earlier that God gave complete authority over the

earth to Adam and Eve.. i.e. it was His gift to them.

Genesis 1:28, "God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill

the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every

living creature that moves on the ground."

However, when Adam and Eve ate from the forbidden tree who were they obeying?

Right! Satan.. the serpent.. the dragon.. Lucifer, the fallen angel.. the devil himself.

If Satan is telling man and woman what to do, and they are free willed agents having a

choice of obeying or rejecting, and decide to obey Satan instead of God, then who is

man's new master?

Romans 6:16-18, "Don't you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him

as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey--whether you are slaves to sin, which

leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness?"

Right again! .. Satan

Then if Satan is man's new master [supervisor], can you guess who now has authority

over this world and all in it?

Exactly! Satan.

II Corinthians 4:4, "The god of this age [Satan] has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so

that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

"Well", you say, "Why couldn't man change his mind and turn away from Satan and back

to God again? After all he is a free willed agent and can simply make a new choice."

You can make a new choice, but there is a little more to it than a simple a change of

mind.

READ ON!

Do you recall what happened to Satan and his followers when they sinned against God?

Right! They were cut off from the presence of God FOREVER. They couldn't get back

into heaven.

Now, who else has sinned against God?

Right again! all of mankind, through the act of Adam.

Romans 5:16-19, "Again, the gift of God is not like the result of the one man's sin: The

judgement followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many

trespasses and brought justification. For if, by the trespass of the one man,[Adam] death

reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God's abundant

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provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus

Christ.

Consequently, just as the result ofone trespass [Adam's sin] was condemnation for all men,

so also the result of one act of righteousness [Christ's sacrifice] was justification that brings

life for all men. For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made

sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous."

Can you guess what fate awaits man?

Right again. He, just like Satan is cut off from the presence of God FOREVER.

You can imagine the excitement that Satan had when he thought they had defeated God

and taken man away from him. When man sinned against God.. through simple

disobedience.. he incurred a debt to God that he could never repay. Not even Satan, who

is more able than any human being presently living, could pay the debt to God caused by

his sinning and get back in His good standing. However, God in his infinite wisdom,

mercy and love provided a way to have man's debt repaid, thus allowing him [any human

being], once again, if he so chooses to come into the fellowship of God. Did you notice the free will component in this solution?

How was this debt paid? Very simply.. God paid the debt Himself. Kind of like the little

child who broke the window having the debt paid for by his father, thus absolving him

from the penalty . The father paid the penalty for the broken window on behalf of his son

thus setting his child free from the consequences.

1 John 4:9-10, "This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son

into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that

he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins."

How did He pay this debt?

He sent his Son, Jesus Christ, to earth to be sacrificed upon the cross for the sins of "all

mankind".

The God of the universe came to earth to reconcile man to Himself.

Hebrews 2:9, "But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned

with glory and honour because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste

death for everyone."

He took our sins and gave to us His purity and righteousness.

II Corinthians 5:21, "God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we

might become the righteousness of God."

Jesus Christ, the Son of the Living God purchased man's salvation. Christ paid the

penalty for man's sin so that man would no longer have to suffer the consequences.

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John 3:17, "For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save

the world through him."

Who is man? You ,me, others, everyone... Can you imagine how much God must love

you to have sent His Son to pay a debt which if you lived for a million years, could never

repay? He saved you from the hands of Satan and opened the gates back to heaven and

God which would have been closed FOREVER to you and to me had it not been forJesus Christ.

THINK ABOUT IT!

You ask, "Well if Christ paid the penalty and man is back in fellowship with God, then

why the great concern about being a Christian or a follower of Jesus Christ?" Seems like

a generous act of God and a nice favour from Christso I'll get on board, go for the ride

and be good from now on, after all, I am a free willed agent and can make a new choice.

Remember earlier we stated that you can make a new choice, but there is a little more toit than a change of mind.

In order to receive this gift of love you must:

(a) Believe that Christ died on the cross for your sins

(b)Believe that he was raised on the third day

(c) Choose to place your faith in Him

(d)Choose to exercise your free will and acknowledge that you are a sinner

(e) Choose to repent or turn away from your sins

(f) Choose to acknowledge Jesus as Lord and Saviour

(g)Choose to ask Jesus to come into your life

You have to become involved in the decision making process from a mind and heart

perspective. You can't lay back and go along for the ride. Christ did His part and paid

the debt. Now you must do your part and receive it.

Not only is it a change of mind, but it is also a change of heart. A humbling of one's self

in the presence of God and simply asking to receive this wonderful gift.

Pretty simple eh! so simple that millions have found the truth and yet so simple that

millions have missed it because it was so simple.

Acts 2:38-39, "Peter replied "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus

Christ so that your sins may be forgiven. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off -- for all whom the Lord

our God will call."

John 3:16-18, "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that

whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his

Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever

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believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned

already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son.."

We stand condemned alreadybecause of the original sin of Adamwe are sinful

because we come from a sinful human genealogy or family tree. Adam did it to us and

Christ is willing to correct the mess if we will only exercise our free will and choose. He

will not choose for usHe simply provides the way.

Romans 5:12,"Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through

sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned."

YOU MUST CHOOSE!

To do nothing is to make a choice for remaining in original sin.

To do something is to make a choice for moving away from original sin.

Again, you must choose. If you do this, [remember you have a free will], you will no

longer belong to Satan, but will become a follower of Christ a Christian. It is a prepaid

ticket to the courts of the Most High God. All you have to do is come and take itit's a

gift.

Romans 6:23, "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ

Jesus our Lord."

"Well", you say, "I'm not a follower of Satan, I am a good person, I am a spiritual person,

I help people, I go to church, I do this and I do that and I, I, I.

Remember that Adam turned from God and gave his allegiance to Satan while in the

Garden of Eden.

When Adam made this fateful choice, sin entered into the whole of the human race.

(Kind of like one drop of poison ruins the whole bucket of water for drinking.)

Therefore, because of Adam, all mankind is tainted with this original sin. We are born

into ityou, me, everybody.

To choose Christ is to choose forgiveness of sin.

To make no choice is to choose Satansince you belong to him already you choose no

forgiveness of sin. The scriptures tell us if you are not a follower of Christ, then your are a follower of

Satanyou are one or the other. There ain't no shades of greyit's black or white

Romans 6:16-18, "Don't you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him

as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey--whether you are slaves to sin, which

leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks to God that,

though you use to be slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which

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you were entrusted. You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to

righteousness."

You may not be an evil person, nor a Satan worshipper, nor indeed do anything above

that which is honourable, good, decent and completely above board. However, it is this

stain or original sin from Adam and how it is viewed by Godthat needs to be attended

to. You simply cannot will it away, forget about it, turn your back on it, ignore it, saythat God wouldn't treat you or humans like this, and what about.etc. etc. etc. Well you

can go on and on and on and onhowever, when the dust all settles, the rain stops

falling, the sun comes out and the birds begin to sing again know thisSin will still be

there, itain't goin' away and something has to be done about it. The neat part about this

is you can use your free will and CHOOSE or NOT CHOOSE to do something about

it. IT'S YOUR CHOICE.

Do you remember who is in control of the world? Who is it that is helping you put up

your arguments against Christ? Who is it that doesn't want you to find out the truth?Who is it that wants you in his kingdom and not in that of Christ's?

Right.. Lucifer, Satan, the Dragon, the Deviletc. etc.

II Corinthians 4:3-4, "And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are

perishing. The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see

the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God."

Who is it that will lead you down the garden path to Hell? Right.. Satan.

Think about it again the choice is yours.

As a Christian you will no longer be under Satan's banner, a member of his kingdom, or

under his headship.

He will no longer be the master of the kingdom in which you are a member.

You know, when Christ died on the Cross, Satan thought he had won another victory

over God. Remember his first victory was taking man away from God through the

INCIDENT IN EDEN. Here he thought he had so much control over the earth and man

that he [Satan] caused the Son of God to be crucified. I'll bet Satan and his demons had a

party on that occasion. HOWEVER, can you imagine the anguish that swept over Satan

and the boys when three days after His crucifixion, Christ came back to life again? Satan

who had formerly had complete control over death, no longer controlled this aspect overman.

Hebrews 2:14-18, "Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity

so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death -- that is, the devil --

and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. For surely it is

not angels he helps, but Abraham's descendants. For this reason he had to be made like his

brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in

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service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. Because he

himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted."

Satan is defeated, thanks to Christ, and he knows it. He knows his fate is one of

everlasting punishment as will be the case for all who follow him. Satan, as I have

already stated is defeated, but he doesn't want you to know that and consequently is

trying harder than ever to keep you from finding out the truth about God.

As you know, Satan and his angels [demons] will never get back in good standing with

God, for you see no one paid the penalty for the sin they committed.

Hebrews 2:16, seems to make this pretty clear when it states, "For surely it is not angels he

helps, but Abraham's descendants [meaning us]. For this reason he had to be made like his

brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in

service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. Because he

himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted."

Where do you stand in relation to Jesus Christ? Where would you like to stand in

relation to Him?

In I Corinthians 3: 18-20, Paul says, "Do not deceive yourselves. If any one of you thinks

he is wise by the standards of this age, he should become a "fool" so that he may become

wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God's sight. As it is written: "He

catches the wise in their craftiness", and again, "The Lord knows that the thoughts of the

wise are futile."

Remember, man in the Garden of Eden was told he would die if he were to eat of the tree

of knowledge of good and evil. Well, physically his body did die and so will ours

because of this original sin.

Romans 5:12, "Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through

sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned."

However, because of Jesus Christ, we who are His followers and accept him as our

Saviour will overcome death as He did and will receive new bodies when Christ comes to

earth for a second time.

I Thessalonians 4:13-18, "Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall

asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and

rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in

him. According to the Lord's own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left

till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the

Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the

archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that,

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we who are still alive and are left will be caught up with them in the clouds to meet the Lord

in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage each other with

these words."

The followers of Satan do not have this promise to look forward to. Not even Satan has a

body so how can his followers expect to gain such. The death that was spoken of in the

Garden of Eden is a two-fold death.

(a) The physical death in which our human body dies.

(b)The spiritual death in which we are cut off from God FOREVER. Because of Adam,

Satan can claim your soul after death.

When Christ died on the Cross, He overcame this two-fold death and turned it into

victory.

Although we will die physically because of sin, we have His promise of a new body and a

home with God in heaven.

I Corinthians 15: 35-44, "But some may ask, "How are the dead raised? With what kind of

body will they come?" How foolish! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies.

When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be, but just a seed, perhaps of wheat or of

something else. But God gives it a body as he has determined, and to each kind of seed he

gives its own body. All flesh is not the same: Men have one kind of flesh, animals have

another, birds another and fish another. There are also heavenly bodies and there are earthly

bodies; but the splendour of the heavenly bodies is one kind, and the splendour of the earthly

bodies is another. The sun has one kind of splendour, the moon another and the stars

another; and star differs from star in splendour.

So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is

raised imperishable, it is sown in dishonour, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is

raised in power, it is sown a natural body it is raised a spiritual body.

If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. So it is written: "The first man Adam

became a living being"; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit. The spiritual did not come first,

but the natural, and after that the spiritual. The first man was of the dust of the earth, the

second man from heaven. As was the earthly man , so are those who are of the earth; and asis the man from heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. And just as we have borne the

likeness of the earthly man, so shall we bear the likeness of the man from heaven.

I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does

the perishable inherit the imperishable. Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep,

but we will all be changed --in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the

trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the

perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. When

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the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then

the saying that is written will come true: "Death has been swallowed up in victory." Where,

O death is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?"

The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us

the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore my dear brothers, stand firm. Let

nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you knowthat your labour in the Lord is not in vain."

We are no longer cut off from the presence of God, but Christ opened the portals of

heaven for all who choose to accept Him as their personal Saviour. Because of Christ,

God will claim your soul after death.

Well, there you have it, the simple truth and essential facts surrounding the Good News

about Jesus Christ.

Has this truth spoken to your heart? Do you really want what Christ offers? If not, then

simply discard this outline and write it off as foolishness. However, just before you do,would you please take time to read the next paragraph.

In I Corinthians 3: 18-20, Paul says, "Do not deceive yourselves. If any one of you thinks

he is wise by the standards of this age, he should become a "fool" so that he may become

wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God's sight. As it is written: "He

catches the wise in their craftiness", and again, "The Lord knows that the thoughts of the

wise are futile."

If you have been moved by what the Good News has to offer you, perhaps you would

want to investigate it more deeply. To this end, I would suggest that you find yourself a

good Bible Preaching Church and become involved in a further and deeper search into

the truths about Jesus Christ.

If you would like to turn your life over to Christ, you can, right now, in the privacy of

your own home or wherever you might be. Simply ask Him to forgive you of your sins

and cause your life to be changed in such a manner that you will live only for Christ for

the rest of your life.

RememberTHE CHOICE IS YOURS.

In his Love and Service

Bill

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