Who am I?

Heb 6:4 For in the case of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit,

Looking for the secrets of life? Maybe some divine wisdom? Good news, you do not need to climb a mountain or speak the magic words. If you are in Christ you are enlightened! You partake of the God of all Creation. Enjoy that today.

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Holy of Holies

1 Cor 3:16, 17b Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?...the temple of God is holy and that is what you are.

I consider myself pretty normal. I am a normal height for my people group. I am around an average weight and have an average build. I don't really excel at anything. I am not a superstar but I am average at many things. I could be called an average Joe but I am not. Something sets me apart. Someone has put me head and shoulders above the rest and if you stand in the same Light as me you can claim the same truth. If you have ever struggled with being "normal" or "average," then here is some good news for you.

When Jesus was crucified, the veil in Herod's temple was torn from top to bottom (Matt 27:51). This veil separated the holy place from the holy of holies where the glory of the Lord was to reside (Ex 40:34, 2 Chron 5:13b-14) Only one person was allowed to enter that room and that person, the Levitical high priest, could only enter once a year on the day of atonement (Lev 16). This was a pretty special place for in it the sins of all the people were atoned for, for the year. When the veil was torn it revealed that the glory of the Lord no longer resided in the temple. He actually pressed the eject button about 600 years earlier when the Babylonians destroyed Solomon’s temple in 586 BC.

During His earthly ministry Jesus had become for us the Temple (John 2:19). In Him resided all the glory of the Lord (John 1:14) He was a very special person for on Him the sins of the world were placed (2 Cor 5:21) and in Him we have forgiveness of all our sins (Eph 1:7). After Jesus (the temple) was crucified, resurrected and ascended; the Lord chose a new temple....

You!

If you have accepted Christ as Savior, you are now the new temple of the Lord (2 Cor 6:16, 1 Cor 3:16-17)! In you resides all the glory of the Lord (1 Cor 3:17) and all of your sins, past present and future have been forgiven (Col 2:13-14). You have been consecrated, you are literally clean, and you are now permanently holy (1 Cor 3:17). The Greek word for temple in 1 Cor 3:17 is naos. This word, as opposed to heiron which refers to the outer court, makes reference to the inner temple. You are the naos of God. You are the new Holy of Holies of God! You are special beyond belief and shame on anyone who calls you normal! You are anything but normal. You are the Holy of Holies of God! Accept the truth, claim it and live it! Praise Him today!

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Working on Resting
Hebrews 4:3 For we who have believed enter that rest,

What is the enemy saying to you about rest? As we enter the week with Sabbath Rest on our minds, be aware of what the enemy is telling you about how to get there.

When I first heard about Sabbath Rest, I was amazed. I said “Yes, God. That is it! That is what I am looking for. That is where I want to be.” But then the enemy stepped in with the simple question “What do I need to do to get there?” It was a subtle lie and it made common sense that if rest was a “place,” I would need to get there somehow. I bought it hook, line and sinker and I basically told God to sit back and watch me go. Sabbath rest here I come!

A few weeks later, frustrated, sick of jumping hoops and tired from staying up later to get a few extra minutes of Bible study; I stopped. I literally sat down and said “God, I don’t understand. What is this rest?” His simple truth that freed me from the darkness, “Why would I make you work to rest?” I laughed out loud when I realized the irony of trying my hardest to enter rest. The very nature of rest is ceasing our own works (Heb 4:10). It was a classic Galatians 3 scenario. What I had started in the Spirit I was trying to perfect in the flesh.

As God gives us opportunity this week to live in rest, please do not let the enemy set you on the wrong road. Don’t buy the lie that you need to work to get there. Rather, proclaim the truth of Hebrews 4:3, “for those of us who have believed enter that rest.” Be “diligent,” not in action but in attitude, belief, and zealousness that you are already there. Sabbath rest remains not for us to find but for us to realize that we are in (Eph 1:3, 2 Pet 1:3). It remains for us to live and experience. It remains for Galatians 2:20 to be walked out, where we no longer live but we let Christ live through us. That is Sabbath Rest.

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"Of Whom the World is Not Worthy"

Luke 7:28 "I say to you, among those born of a woman there is no one greater than John [the Baptist]; yet he who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he."

How important are you really? On a scale of 1 to 10 how great are you in the economy of God? Feel like a Zero? Maybe a 5 at best? Just don't know? Let's take a look at scripture to find out just how great Christ has made us.

Hebrews chapter 11 gives us a list of some pretty incredible people. Men of faith, women of God, individuals that you really look forward to meeting in heaven. These were individuals who through faith conquered kingdoms, performed acts of righteousness, obtained promises, shut the mouth of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, from weakness were made strong, became mighty in war and put armies to flight. They endured mockings, scourgings, chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, beaten, and sawn in two. These were individuals of whom the world was not worthy (Heb 11:33-38). Even though they were a part of mighty acts and incredible miracles none of their actions gave them a right standing with God. All of them gained approval through faith alone (Heb 11:39), and only by the faith in Him who justifies the ungodly were they credited as righteous (Rom 4:5).

Considering all of them, and every single person ever born of a woman, Jesus said none of them were greater than John the Baptist (Luke7:28). None of those mentioned in Hebrews 11 or anyone else born of a woman from all history past surpassed John. That was a pretty big statement coming from Jesus. John was the man! Granted He did not say they were less. He only said that they were not greater. However, the most amazing part of the statement came next. Jesus continued to say, "yet he who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he (Luke 7:28)." Whoa...

That's you! He is talking about you. When you accepted Christ, He rescued you from the domain of darkness and transferred you to the kingdom of God (Col 1:13). Christ says that you are greater than John the Baptist! Wow. Even more amazing, Christ says that you are greater than Abraham! Whoa... Did you realize that in God's economy, the only reality, that you were greater than King David? Whoa... Greater than Moses! Wow! Solomon, Sarah, Samuel, Samson, Daniel, people whom the world was not worthy of, Christ says you are greater!

It does not seem right but it is true. They all were born only of a woman but we are born of the Spirit (John 3:5). We can and do experience daily, things about which they only dreamed. We have a peace with the Creator for which they longed (Rom 5:1). We are permanently indwelled by the Spirit of God giving us a closeness and intimacy that they never even imagined was possible! Let us not take for granted what so many died looking forward to. You are great because Christ has made you great. Let the truth dictate your feelings, know who you are in Christ, live life abundantly and praise Him!

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"Take Up Your Cross"

Luke 9:23 "Then Jesus said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me."

I have pondered on this phrase for a while now. What does it mean to "take up your cross?" It has become a buzz phrase in conversation and a call of urgency in sermons but what is it? I am still not completely sure so pardon me while I ponder some more.

The most common answer that I think I have heard is "To take up your cross means that we need to die to ourselves daily." I would propose that this is as vague as "take up your cross." How do you die to yourself? What scriptures show me the way? I think there are none because you cannot die to yourself daily. The truth is that you have already died once, for all time, never to die again and it is no longer you who live but Christ who lives in and through you. To place a "die to yourself" requirement on the daily walk of a believer is to place a Christ sized sacrificial works based acceptance on that walk. It cannot be done and should not be tried.

So we are back to the beginning. If you read the whole section it makes a little more sense. It seems that the call to "take up your cross" maybe a call to salvation because it is followed by "whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake, he is the one who will save it. For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world but to lose his own soul." Still, how does "daily" fit into that?

I then received an email from an acquaintance that I think pulls the phrase back into right meaning:

• "the phrase concerning “taking up your cross” was idiomatic to identify with His rejection. It is not a verse dealing with salvation but it is dealing with discipleship and therefore to be a true disciple of Jesus one needs to identify with His rejection and be willing to be rejected himself and that is what it means to take up the cross and to do so daily and be willing to suffer rejection as He was rejected. Jesus was officially rejected by Israel’s leaders in Matthew 12 and therefore to be a true disciple you must identify yourself with that rejection and follow Him in spite of that rejection by the larger Jewish community."

Maybe we can blame it on our Western "what works for you is fine" culture, but I had never even considered rejection by family and or community as an issue. The more I thought about it though the more I realized how this is a huge factor. It was a huge issue with the international students we worked with in Hawaii, it is a huge issue with Jewish believers, it is an issue with my own extended family, and it is an issue with many people in our body concerning our community. Who wants to be rejected? That sucks. However the alternative, being ashamed of Jesus, sucks even more.

Dear Saint, we have nothing to be ashamed of. We only have a life to be amazed of. A story that is incredible. And a personal relationship with the God of the universe that is nothing short of incredibly, amazingly, outstandingly, beautifully wonderful. Enjoy Him.

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Sha-Whaaat?

Joel 2:28 It will come about

after this that I will pour

out My Spirit on all mankind

Sun down on Monday begins the Feast of Shavuot a.k.a. the feast of weeks or Pentecost. This is the fourth Biblically mandated feast that was literally fulfilled on the day of the feast with the birth of the Church. So happy birthday to you and me! We really should throw a party.

The Great I AM led His chosen people through the Red Sea, and gathered them before Him at the base of Mount Sinai. The awesome presence of the Shekinah Glory caused those freed from Egyptian bondage to stand in fear and wonder. Jewish tradition says it was on Zman Matan Torah (a rabbinic name for Shavuot, meaning the "Season of the Giving of the Law"), that the Law of Moses was given to Israel.

Many centuries later, another multitude was gathered on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem for the Shavuot (Pentecost) feast. The message of the New Covenant, first promised by the Jewish prophets, would now find its voice once again among those whom Messiah called His friends:

When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a noise like a violent rushing wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. And there appeared to them tongues as of fire distributing themselves, and they rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit was giving them utterance. Now there were Jews living in Jerusalem, devout men from every nation under heaven. Acts 2:1-5

Empowered by the Holy Spirit, Peter preached Messiah's Resurrection, and many put their trust in the Lamb slain for their salvation. They were set loose from the chains of their own sin… freed forever, by God’s amazing grace. As prophesied, God's law was written on their hearts and the church was born.

So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand souls. They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe; and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles. Acts 2:41-43

Identifying with Yeshua HaMaschiach (Jesus, the Christ), they were all baptized immediately. In a very special way, these three thousand Jewish believers were the first-fruits fulfillment of the Feast of Pentecost.

Next to the gospel accounts of the Resurrection, I think the story of the birth of Messiah's Bride on Shavuot is my favorite passage of Scripture. Pictures of God’s amazing power flash in my mind as the Church drew her first Holy Spirit breath and proclaimed her birth with boldness. The opening strains of God’s symphony of Good News fell first on the ears of His chosen people. They had come from all over the world to be present in Jerusalem for the harvest celebration.

Returning to their homes among the Nations, these new Jewish believers would testify as to what they had seen and heard in their own language on that day of new beginnings… to the Jew first and also to the Greek. They turned the world right-side up in just a few decades.

Seated by His Father’s side, our anxious Bridegroom is watching and counting down to the appointed day when He will return and take His beloved back to the place He has been preparing for over two thousand years.

For a more in depth study of the fulfillment of the Feast of Pentecost click here and download for free, Dr. Fruchtenbaum's Messianic Bible Study on The Feast of Shavuot (Weeks or Pentecost).

Provided in part by Arlie Francis, Dr. Fruchtenbaum, and Ariel Ministries

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Happy Passover?

1 Cor 5:7 Clean out the old leaven so that you may be a new lump, just as you are in fact unleavened. For Christ our Passover also has been sacrificed.

You might be thinking "Happy Passover? Didn't we already celebrate Easter?" Well yeah but someone many years ago decided to separate the celebrations. Bright idea right? Well this Saturday at sundown begins the week long celebration of Passover (including the feast of unleavened bread and the feast of first fruits).

This was the feast that Jesus shared with His disciples that we call the Last Supper and it was in this Passover meal that He gave us the rite of communion. During the meal Jesus took the “middle matzoh” that was unleavened, striped and pierced, and He broke it saying to us that it represented His body which was broken for us (Luke 22:19). This body was given that our old self might be crucified and that we could be reconciled to God (Rom 5:10, Col 1:22). Then after the meal Christ took the third cup called the “Cup of Redemption” and said this is my blood (Luke 22:20). This blood was shed for the total forgiveness of our sins. That night Jesus was taken and the next morning, Passover day, He was sacrificed.

Jesus was our Passover Lamb (1 Cor 5:6-7) and He fulfilled the feast of Passover on the actual day of the feast. Passover was a type or a picture of the final deliverance God had promised for the people of Israel and indeed for the whole world when He would offer His Son as the ultimate sacrifice. Each person need only apply the Blood of this Lamb to the doorposts of his their hearts and they will be delivered from bondage to sin and spiritual death.

Rejoice dear saint that the final sacrifice has been made and that you are now completely free from sin and death. Celebrate our Passover and walk in the truth.

Check out this video explaining the matzoh by Dr. Arnold Fruchtenbaum.

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Justification and Registration

by Preston Gillham

A friend of mine had an imported car he hoped to get registered here in the U.S. He was told that while he might be able to get license plates, he'd never be able to legally drive the car since it didn't fundamentally meet American safety standards.

Most folks understand that Christ's death on the cross paid the price for our sins. But like my friend's imported car, there was something fundamentally wrong. We had to be made right in Christ before we would be legally OK with God.

Our justification in Christ not only takes care of our sins, it also transforms the sinner and gives us a new identity. It's as if my buddy's car could be completely recreated as an American model. The fact that your sins are forgiven because of Christ is a wonderful thing. But let's not forget, we are completely new models—new creations—in Him.

For Lifetime Guarantee, that's our Lifetime Weekly.

http://www.lifetime.org/

Study Guide

The Mystery Kingdom

Matt 13:11 Jesus answered them, "To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been granted.

There are many different facets of the Kingdom of God and the one that we currently live in is called the Mystery Kingdom. Ooooh, sounds…mysterious, right? Well, the term mystery is used in the New Testament not for things mysterious as we define the word but rather for 8 different concepts that were completely new. These 8 were not mentioned in the Old Testament scriptures but were hidden since the foundation of the world (Matt 13:35). They have now been revealed to the saints for our glory (Rom 16:25-26, 1 Cor 2:7, Eph 3:4-5, Eph 3:8-9, Col 1:26).

This kingdom is not exactly equivalent with the Church age but it does include it. It began when Jesus was rejected by the Jews (Matt 12-13), will continue through the church age, and will end when Jesus returns after the tribulation when Israel accepts His Messiahship (Matt 23:37-39; 24:1-25:46). After Jesus was rejected He began to speak heavily in parables. This was to fulfill the prophecy of Isaiah 6:9-10 (Matt 13:11-17) and Psalm 78:2 (Matt 13:34-35). Jesus states that the mysteries were not given for those who do not believe but for those who do. He therefore describes the mysteries of the kingdom in parables but he took the time to explain them all to His disciples (although not all explanations are recorded in scripture Mark 4:34).

The Parables of the Mystery Kingdom
Jesus uses nine parables to describe the mysteries of the kingdom. They are found in Matthew 13, Mark 4 and Luke 8. According to Mark 4:13, understanding the first parable helps us understand the remaining parables. This would possibly imply similar symbols.

1) The Parable of the Sower: Matthew 13:2-23; Mark 4:1-20; Luke 8:4-15
a. The Mystery Kingdom will involve the sowing of seed or preaching of the gospel
b. The sowing of the gospel will be opposed by the world, the flesh and the devil.
c. There will be different soils indicating that some people, cultures and world locations will be more receptive to the gospel.
d. There will be four different responses to the gospel. The first and the last responses are straight forward. The first is no response to the gospel (Matt 13:19). This may be unbelief or just lack of understanding. The last is acceptance of the gospel and a life fruitful in the Spirit (Matt 13:23). The salvation of these responses is clear however the salvation of the middle two responses is debatable. Either way the response is similar. The second response to the gospel is an emotional response (Matt 13:21). If this response involves salvation then this person’s faith will be based on their emotions and experience. They will not be grounded in the word of God and will be blown every way by circumstance, good sounding music or ear tickling preaching. If this response does not involve salvation the person will walk away from their emotional response to the gospel as soon as times get difficult. The third response is a worldly response (Matt 13:22). If this response involves salvation then the person maybe theologically sound but will have difficulty living a consistent Christian lifestyle due to worldly cares. If this response does not involve salvation then this person is one who has heard and understands the gospel but will not make a decision due to worldly concerns. This could be a family, status, or fear issue. This section maybe similar to 1 Cor 2:6-3:3

2) The Parable of the Seed’s Growth: Mark 4:26-29
a. The seed of the Gospel will grow on its own. The sower does not cause the growth of the seed. All he does is sow it. It is God who causes the growth (1 Cor 3:7).

3) The Parable of the Tares: Matthew 13:24-30
a. This parable is explained in Matthew 13:36-43
b. In the Kingdom there will be a false sowing. That is, there are false believers; people who claim to believers but are of the evil one, sent to undermine the kingdom of God.
c. God permits these people to remain because uprooting them would injure the believers
d. A judgment at the end of the mystery kingdom will separate the two. This judgment may be included in the judgment of the Sheep and the Goats (Matt 25:31-46). By that time the Church will have been raptured (Rev 3-4, Lev 23, 1 Thess 5:1-11) to the “barn” but many who became Saints during the Tribulation will be included.
e. The two plants can be identified by their fruit. The wheat will produce grain. The tares just consume resources and produce no fruit.

4) The Parable of the Mustard Seed: Matthew 13:31-32, Mark 4:30-32
a. The mystery kingdom will grow very large
b. The mystery kingdom will have many divisions, denominations or large branches.
c. Birds will come and sit on those branches. In the first parable the birds were agents of the enemy. We can conclude that in the kingdom there will be false believers as well as cultic groups that claim to be Christian but change the gospel or deny Jesus’ deity. Two perfect examples are Mormon and Jehovah’s Witnesses.
d. In the parable the birds are in the tree but not of the tree.

5) The Parable of the Leaven: Matthew 13:33
a. In scripture when a woman is used symbolically, she often represents a spiritual or religious body (Gal 4:21-31, Rev 2:20, Rev 17:1-8). Here she represents a false religion.
b. Leaven represents sin in scripture (1 Cor 5:6-8). Most likely the sin of false teaching (Matt 16:6). This parable tells that the kingdom will be affected by sin, especially false teaching. This will grow to a point where it will affect the entire kingdom. We know from other scripture that towards the end there will be an increase in sin, false teachers and false prophets and the people will turn from sound doctrine to that which tickles the ear. It will eventually lead to an apostate “church” that professes with their mouth but does not believe (Rev 3:14-22).

6) The Parable of the Hidden Treasure: Matthew 13:44
a. The Old Testament often refers to Israel as God’s possession (also translated as special treasure. Ex 19:5; Deut 14:2; Ps 135:4). In this parable Israel is represented as treasure and it shows us that although the Jews rejected Jesus as a nation there was a remnant of Jews who did believe. The treasure is that remnant of Israel (Rom 11:5, Gal 6:16).

7) The Parable of the Pearl of Great Price: Matthew 13:45-46
a. Scripture does not reveal the exact identity of the Pearl when used symbolically. However, since the scriptures identify the treasure as Israel it may be safe for us to assume that the Pearl represents all those not Israel (ie the Gentiles). This is further supported by the use of the sea and things from the sea as a symbol of Gentiles (Dan 7:2-3; Rev 17:1, 15).
b. Gentiles as well will be a treasure to God, his possession and people.

8) The Parable of the Dragnet: Matthew 13:47-50
a. This is similar to the parable of the tares and the pearl of great price.
b. Again the sea represents the gentile nations.
c. The mystery kingdom will end in judgment. The righteous will be brought into the next kingdom, the Messianic Kingdom, and the wicked will be thrown into fire. This may be the judgment of the gentile in Matthew 25:31-46. Once again the Church will not be present.

9) The Parable of the Householder: Matthew 13:51-52
a. The Mystery kingdom was to include brand new aspects.

E-votional

Full of It

2 Peter 1:3 His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence,

Holy crap! No, holy truth! Have you ever longed to be “more spiritual?” Maybe if you just had the gift of tongues or a little more faith you could really shine. Well, truth is you may not know how good you have it. Let’s take a look at what our Lord has done.

Through the true knowledge of Jesus Christ (a.k.a. salvation), the Lord has granted to us everything we need in life to live and be godly. Wow, that really makes me rethink my “need” for a new ipod. Even beyond electronics, the Lord has already given us everything we need to be godly. That is incredible. To put it another way, He has blessed us with every spiritual blessing (Eph 1:3). Every blessing? Really? Really! And He does not promise them to come He promises that they are all part of the salvation package that we have already received the moment we accepted the Lord. To put it even another way, you are as holy as you are ever going to be. You are as godly as Billy Graham, as compassionate as Mother Teresa, and a righteous as Jesus Christ is righteous right now! Blasphemy? Truth (Rom 5:17, 1 John 3:7).

If our Lord resides in us and we in Him (Gal 2:20, 1 Cor 1:30), if we partake of His divine nature (2 Pet 1:4) then what the Lord is full of we also are full of! What? How amazing is that? The Lord is full of love and so are we! Have you ever read 1 Corinthians 13 and realized that it was describing you? He is full of righteousness, truth, grace, peace, etc and etc, and the awesome part is; so are we! That is how good the good news is.

If you are not experiencing righteousness, holiness, godliness etc, it does not mean that package was lost in shipping. Take a look at your original salvation invoice and you will be surprised how full your warehouse is. All of these spiritual blessings are just sitting on our shelves waiting for us to tap into them. Dear saint, check out these verses and realize how full of it you really are!

1) You are full of goodness Rom 15:14
2) You are qualified Col 1:12
3) You are enlightened Heb 6:4
4) You are perfect Heb 10:14
5) You are complete Col 2:9-10
6) You are near to God Eph 2:13
7) You are protected 1 Pet 1:5
8) You are enriched in everything 1 Cor 1:5

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Fullness

Colossians 2:9-10a For in Him (Christ) all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form and in Him you have been made complete (given fullness),

Have you ever felt empty? Maybe part good part evil? Well here is some good news that you might have to look up to believe (and please do).

In Christ, we have been made complete! Wow! He has given us fullness (NIV). Incredible! And He does not say we "will be," He says we "have been." So what does that mean? That means that Jesus is our sufficiency. It means that we have been given everything pertaining to life and godliness (2 Pet 1:3). It means that we no longer need to be thirsty because we have that well of living water inside of us (John 4:10, 14). It means that we are done deals, wholly right, completely good and 100% full. There is no more room, so we can stop trying to shove stuff in there. In Christ we no longer need a title, another dollar, another person or anything else to make us complete because we already are. He has filled us.

Let me take it a step further, if Christ is the fullness of Deity and we are in Christ (1 Cor 1:30) and Christ is in us (Gal 2:20, John 14:20) then the fullness of Deity is in us. Let me say that again, the fullness of Deity is in us! Wow! How can we not be complete? How can we not be full?

You are incredible dear saint of God, not for anything you have done, but because God is that cool! You are awesome because our Lord is awesome. As we walk together this year "Growing in Fullness" let us remember that fullness is our starting point not the finish line. Let us remember that we are not trying to attain to something that we are not but instead we are trying to live what we are. Be encouraged by His truth and praise Him today.