Servias Ministries Blog

Mark recorded by THE SPIRIT in chapter 9:

14 And when He (Jesus) came to the disciples, He saw a great multitude around them, and scribes disputing with them.

15 Immediately, when they saw Him, all the people were greatly amazed, and running to Him, greeted Him.

16 And He asked the scribes, “What are you discussing with them?”

17 Then one of the crowd answered and said, “Teacher, I brought You my son, who has a mute spirit.

18 And wherever it seizes him, it throws him down; he foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth, and becomes rigid. So I spoke to Your disciples, that they should cast it out, but they could not.”

Jesus had been teaching The Gospel to the multitude and set an expectation that His disciples could heal those oppressed of the devil.  There was no question that the man’s son was plagued by a spirit which caused him to be mute and also produced seizures.   The disciples expected to cast out the spirit but were unable.  Jesus took command of the situation:

19 He answered him and said, “O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him to Me.”

20 Then they brought him to Him. And when he saw Him, immediately the spirit convulsed him, and he fell on the ground and wallowed, foaming at the mouth.

21 So He asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” And he said, “From childhood.

22 And often he has thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him. But if You can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.”

Here we have a son who has been plagued by this spirit all his life and has surely caused great frustration among his loved ones.  The son had a chronic problem with no solution offered by the world system.  However, this teacher named Jesus had proclaimed the Good News and set an expectation (hope) with the father for the restoration of his son.

23 Jesus said to him, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.”

24 Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!”

25 When Jesus saw that the people came running together, He rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “Deaf and dumb spirit, I command you, come out of him and enter him no more!”

26 Then the spirit cried out, convulsed him greatly, and came out of him. And he became as one dead, so that many said, “He is dead.”

27 But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose.

28 And when He had come into the house, His disciples asked Him privately, “Why could we not cast it out?”

29 So He said to them, “This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting.”

Do unclean spirits still exist today?  Absolutely.  Today’s medical community utilizes drugs to mask the problem and simply classifies the son’s condition as a “disorder” and medicates him.  The disciples attempted to cast out the spirit but Jesus determined that they were “faithless” and their lack of faith kept them from success.  He then makes the statement “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.”

If we are to fully walk in Love, we must prepare ourselves to minister life to others, no matter what their situation.  Love removes whatever is keeping the person from full restoration.  Are we committed to totally remove any unbelief from our midst?  Today, society simply wants to give the person a pill to keep him medicated and hopefully minimize any destructiveness.  Jesus dealt with the root cause and delivered the son whole back to his father.  Believing is the issue at hand and we must root out any unbelief in our hearts so that our trust in FATHER’S Word reigns supreme in our lives.

Jesus trusted FATHER’S Word and was not reluctant to cast out the spirit.  He was not timid concerning the spirit but took command and spoke to the spirit.  It could do nothing but obey His Word and depart from the boy.  Let us continue our preparation so that we will have the same confidence and expectation as our Elder Brother when confronted with a similar situation.  “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.”

The spirit of religion may be the most subtle of all deceptions we face.  Man gravitates toward rituals and traditions in an effort to structuralize life in any area possible.  Consider that Adam and Eve had a continuous relationship with Our Heavenly Father and required no specific protocol to enter into fellowship.  They simply flowed with HIS SPIRIT.  After the fall, structure replaced “flow”.  Time began slicing up the structure into discreet units of measure and the focus moved away from the flow.

Jesus spoke in Matthew chapter 5:

20 For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.

The Pharisees were the religious leaders of the day but inwardly they were as white sepulchres as Jesus said in Matthew chapter 23:

27  Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness.

When we replace a revelation with tradition, we begin submitting to the deception that the tradition will produce the same results as the original revelation or directive.  It is as though we think we can talk FATHER into submitting to our tradition in order to receive from HIM.  An outward act does not resolve an inward problem.  Traditions replace the need to be led by THE SPIRIT and are the basis for Babylon setting up residence in our hearts.

Did Jesus establish any traditions in His earthly ministry?  Did He start a church building program?  Did He commission a set of robes distinct from all others to be worn by Him and His disciples?

Babylon is meant to keep us confused and in subjection to an outward set of rules made by man.  We must not allow ourselves to be deceived any longer by thinking rituals, processes, traditions, or any other form of structure will bring us closer to FATHER.  IT IS AN INWARD ISSUE!

To quote Douglas Clark:

“How easy it is to see the Babylon within the Institutional Church while overlooking what in us needs to be overcome. It is true our eyes need to be open to our surroundings, but I declare to you that until the Babylon in us is exposed we will not grow in our quest to know Him! The same spirit that gave birth to the mixture of flesh and spirit within the church systems is alive and well right within us! Right now it is trying to figure out ways it can pervert what God is doing in this hour so that it can escape its own demise! The spirit I am speaking of is called Self-preservation and he is in the temple of God seeking a way to sit on the throne of God, ruling in place of the true King. This is why some home fellowships encounter the same old problems we dealt with back in the system. Babylon is in us! How often do we fail to see that the calling of God to come out of the religious systems of man is only the beginning of our journey? It is a much longer process removing the spirit of Babylon from us! That is why in our journey to know Him He often strips us of ministry and gifts for service. His gifts and anointing often become diffused with our carnal reasoning and self-efforts. This is the confusion that is defined in the name, Babylon."

Ponder the above and ask FATHER to reveal any and all remnants of Babylon in our hearts, they must be removed for us to ascend to that higher state.

The word oppressed means:  to exercise harsh control over one, to use one’s power against one; to oppress one.  This word was used by Peter when he spoke by THE SPIRIT in Acts chapter 10:

36 The word which God sent to the children of Israel, preaching peace through Jesus Christ—He is Lord of all—

37 that word you know, which was proclaimed throughout all Judea, and began from Galilee after the baptism which John preached:

38 how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.

Sickness and disease are specifically linked to being oppressed by the devil and have a spiritual aspect tied to every sickness and disease.  Just as sin began with the first adam, sickness also began at the same time.  Any malfunction, germ, virus, or other source of sickness we experience at the physical level, have a spiritual component which is where it gets its own “life”.

In Luke chapter 13 Jesus deals with a spirit of infirmity:

10 Now He was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath.

11 And behold, there was a woman who had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bent over and could in no way raise herself up.

12 But when Jesus saw her, He called her to Him and said to her, “Woman, you are loosed from your infirmity.”

13 And He laid His hands on her, and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God.

In no way could the woman raise herself up and this had been the case for eighteen long years.  Consider if you had a similar condition since the year 2000.  Surely you would have exhausted every means available to you in order to correct this condition.  The woman had finally given up in great sadness about her condition and simply accepted this condition as her “reality”.

Jesus had been teaching The Word and the woman heard His teaching but had no expectation of being healed… yet.  Jesus saw her among the people and called her to him.  Jesus used no formula or ritual but simply spoke “Woman, you are loosed from your infirmity.”   He laid His hands on her and erased eighteen years of suffering.

How many of us will spend time and money correcting or addressing any symptom which presents itself in our bodies?  There are a multitude of drug stores which are more than happy to assist in pain and discomfort management.  None of them promote a “cure”, only symptom relief.  We must place our focus on the root cause of disease rather than simply focus on the symptoms.  The Bible clearly states that sickness and disease has a spiritual foundation where its “life” can be found.  Our bodies are meant to heal themselves and are designed to live forever.   Are we going to continue to pull the weed by its leaves, hoping to kill it?  Or are we going to dig it up by the root?

Let us pray and seek FATHER in this area and find out what roots need to be removed in order to be fully loosed from any infirmity that comes our way.  If is FATHER’S Will that none of us walk around with an infirmity.  An infirmity oppresses by nature and we are meant to be free.

Paul wrote in Galatians chapter 6 by THE SPIRIT:

7 Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.

8 For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.

9 And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.

10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith.

There are those who think they have no need for further change or removal of impurities in their heart.  Consider journaling your time and interactions for a few days to determine where your fruit lies.  Into whom are you sowing life?  How much time is spent doing things which have no life within themselves?  Did you positively impact someone’s life?  Were you a good listener or did you take control of the conversation?  Were you generous or were you looking at ways to minimize?

As we move toward maturity as Sons and Daughters, we must be in constant pruning mode.  We should no longer concern ourselves with the temporary issues of life and instead keep our focus on heart purification.  Are the past rituals, customs, and traditions necessary or needed any longer?  Are they relevant?  As we proceed to full maturity, it will become increasingly subtle to identify that last 10% of dross in our heart.  This is where we must become vigilant and be brutally honest with ourselves.  Only the watering of The Word in a consistent fashion will complete the purification process.

We must shut down anything that sows to the flesh and that tends to be unique for each of us.  People might speak flattering words toward us and try to tweak our flesh.  Others might test our patience by their unreasonableness.  How we respond provides us an indication how much dross is left.  We long for FATHER to move in a great fashion and bring forth Heaven to earth through us.  Are we ready?

In 1948, there were many like us desiring for FATHER to show HIMSELF to the masses.  I am sure they thought their hearts were sufficiently pure and could handle Heaven’s power.  A great movement did occur and was later known as the Latter Rain movement.

In his book Seven Lamps of Fire, George Warnock wrote these penetrating words:

"When we see One like the Son of man walking among the lampstands with Seven Eyes — God wants us to look at Him, because He wants to change us. We can’t look into those eyes and not be changed! I recall looking into the eyes of a prophet, whom the Lord used in fellowship with other members of the body of Christ, to bring forth a new prophetic movement in the middle of the last century. When I was called forward to receive prophecy with the laying on of hands, after a brief time of waiting he said, Look at me! As I looked up I was very much aware of light in his eyes…as he began to prophesy. I will never forget that moment, and I know that it was from that time that I began to see the Word of God in a new light. I feel strongly it is time for a new moving of God in the earth. He desires to bring His people into still higher realms in the Spirit. We must have the Lamb look upon us, with those seven eyes.

"The movement I mentioned became known as the Latter Rain — a name that people gave it a year or two later. But in the beginning it needed no name, and they simply referred to it as this move of the Spirit. God was graciously pouring out His gifts on the church. These gifts are intended for the edifying of the body…gifts of healing and miracles and other wonderful operations of the Spirit — besides gifts that impart spiritual wisdom and understanding. But it was not God’s intention to start a new denomination with this prophetic movement, and I think it is for this reason that those in later generations wonder what it was all about. And they ask, Where is it now? Multitudes of people in all parts of the earth, partook of the blessing of this movement — and the impact of it has carried on in succeeding generations, as any real move of God should. But as far as I know, it never became a denomination known as The Church of the Latter Rain — at least not prominent enough to make its mark in history. And for this reason it is considered by many to have been a little shower that soon evaporated.

"In the beginning of the movement there was a certain emphasis on coming out of the old systems — coming out of Babylon. But it soon became evident that many would come out of the visible Babylon, while bringing some of the system along with them. I recall a few years later what one of the leaders said about his own experience. He said the Lord spoke to him one day, ‘You are trying to get the people to come out of Babylon, but I want to get the Babylon out of you!’ I’m afraid this continues to go on in the church, and because one has left the mainstream of the denominations, and has set up his own organization — is no proof that he has come out of Babylon. The Babylonian desire for greatness and enlargement, and wanting to make a name of renown, and keeping the whole system well under control — is strong in the hearts of men. And God must deal with all those inward desires that continue to plague the church" — end quote.

Let us not be deceived but instead continue to press in daily so that our hearts will be fully acceptable and ready to do whatever FATHER calls upon us to do.

Jesus spoke in Matthew chapter 28:

18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.

19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

Many of us have thought in the past that only some great evangelistic ministries were given this commission thus we were off the hook.  Shouldn’t we be a testimony to whomever and wherever we find ourselves?  You don’t have to take a flight to Africa in order to find people of those countries.  Many are simply at the local mall or public event.

How are we to make disciples?  By reflecting Jesus in our word and deed, then allow the Holy Spirit to draw men unto us and share HIs Agape Love with them.  FATHER has given each us of the ability to minister Life unto this dying world.  There are countries in great upheaval as the ever-changing landscape of politics associated with man’s carnal systems try to solve problems only FATHER can resolve.  We must be ready at any time to minister Love and Life to those who will seek us out.  What they trusted in the past will disintegrate before their eyes and their hope will become non-existent until we share the Hope of the world with them.

Does this put pressure on you and me?  Not in the least.  Mark wrote by THE SPIRIT in chapter 16:

19 So then, after the Lord had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God.

20 And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs.

We can be assured that FATHER will confirm HIS Word by accompanying signs as we walk according to HIS mandate.  What a blessing to have a purpose backed by Heaven!  Everything we do should move us toward the light, life, and Love.  Let us do each task today with a sense of purpose, even though it may seem mundane.  Let our lives express Love and blessing as testimonies to others so that they can see Christ in us.  Let each day bring this world closer to the reality of Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today, and forever.

We are doing server maintenance on our unity153 server.  I will post if time allows.

From a dear friend:

From the earliest moments of my being introduced to Jesus as Savior and Redeemer, at the age of 30, I had a ‘knowing’ that this was all about a spiritual redemption of a carnal and soulish being; me.  I couldn’t necessarily communicate that or elucidate it, but the knowing was there.  Don’t ask me why I ‘knew’, because I can’t tell you.  But out of that came the understanding that Yashua was showing to us all that we were dealing with spiritual forces and spiritual realities that were hidden or overshadowed because of the power of our dominant ‘living soul’.  Genesis Chapter One is the story of God, or Elohim, or however one best identifies with their Father in Heaven, communicating the idea and intent of equipping ‘adam’, a living soul, with the ability to hear spirit truth, and then yield his carnal appetites to the authority of Spirit Truth.  The pageant seemed to indicate, and then prove throughout the history of the Old Testament, that until ‘adam’ unites with his Spirit Identity, the only thing ‘adam’ can create or reproduce is chaos. 

Every step of the way of ‘adam’ attempting to yield his appetites to Spirit Truth is contested and tried and complicated by the power of the soul, which is the mind of ‘adam’.  That powerful ‘soulish’ mind of ‘adam’ is synonymous with what the word ‘satan’ communicates to me.  ‘satan’ is simply that which is adversarial, and contradictory, to the Holy Spirit of Truth in Love.  To me, the agenda of ‘the satan’ is to not lose control of the authority of the carnal and soulish mind.  The carnal (soulish) mind simply does not want to have to give up its ‘life’ and appetites.  My own understanding, then, is that the gospel is the God Pageant of bringing the carnal, soulish appetites of ‘adam’ into the benevolent authority of the Holy Spirit of Truth in Love. 

The soul/mind of ‘adam’ is the battleground, and that is the battle.  In that battleground pageant, Yashua manifests on the behalf of us all the extent of the battle, and the extremes to which the battle can be waged.  The word ‘Christ’, from its roots as ‘Messiah’, means to willingly bow the knee in humility and service to the Holy Spirit of Truth in Love.  That is exactly the meaning of the root verb from which we get ‘messiah’; to willingly bow the knee in allegiance to the Holy Spirit of Truth in Love.   Yashua, as the Christ, shows us how the battle unfolds in all of us that set out to bring all of our appetites into willing submission to the Holy Spirit of Truth in Love.

Yashua, Jesus if you prefer, is called the ‘last adam’. [1 Corinthians 15:45-47]  I think that is better understood as ‘the last of adam’.  And the Greek language, and the Hebrew language, support that understanding.  Yashua, as the ‘last of adam’, dies to the satanic demands of soulish carnality, and is resurrected as Christ,The Anointed Servant, a quickening (Life giving) Spirit.  Indeed, I believe all of the New Testament is explanatory of the God Pageant of us being allowed to die to the control of the carnal appetites of ‘adam’, and being resurrected into union with the Life Giving Holy Spirit of Truth in Love.  Yashua demonstrated the unfolding of that pageant on our behalf.  We are allowed to partake of the victory in the pageant by faith; and the on-going satanic struggle of acting out this Truth in our own lives on a daily basis, again by faith in the Truth of the Pageant.

So, did Yashua have a personal encounter with a separate entity known as ‘the devil’ (diabalo; the diabolical one) or was he being tempted, to the ultimate degree, by his own human (carnal/ soulish) nature?  He was ‘son of adam’.  Hebrews Chapter 2 tells me that he was, as ‘adam’, in every way identical to those he came to rescue.  And as ‘Son of Adam’ he also illustrated that he was ‘Son of God’; just like you and me.  Heb. 2:16-18 are specifically important to me; as well as Heb. 5: 5-9.  Also, Philippians 2:8.  These verses all convince me that Yashua had to overcome every soulish and carnal and human temptation that is common to all of us. [Isaiah 7:14-16]  The only ‘devil’ that makes me do evil is my own carnality and soulish appetites.  And our Brother showed us the way out of that satanic carnal control.  ‘Tis the Son of God in me that overcomes the son of adam.  And the Son of God is the Holy Spirit of Truth in Love’’.  And that Son of God is a gift to us received only by faith; a gift from Our Father in Heaven.

FATHER has given us HIS Word so that we can dwell and meditate on the unquestionable facts surrounding HIS Love for us.  The Bible is a book of miracles which are confirmed by a multitude of healings  and hearts being changed.  Otherwise, it would be just another book of history and philosophy.

FATHER’S Love saved us when we did not deserved to be saved for it was a gift of Agape Love.  HE sent HIS Son to insure the permanency of our relationship with HIM.  Jesus’ ministry included healing the sick yet the only ones who did not receive, questioned the facts.  These people relied on past sense knowledge even though there were unquestionable miracles being performed.  Matthew wrote by THE SPIRIT in chapter 13:

54 When He had come to His own country, He taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished and said, “Where did this Man get this wisdom and these mighty works?

55 Is this not the carpenter’s son? Is not His mother called Mary? And His brothers James, Joses, Simon, and Judas?

56 And His sisters, are they not all with us? Where then did this Man get all these things?”

57 So they were offended at Him.  But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own country and in his own house.”

58 Now He did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief.

Even when confronted with unquestionable facts, some people will hold on to the past and traditions.  We must overcome this obstacle in order to mature as Sons and Daughters.  How do we do this?  By the cleansing of The Word.  Paul wrote by THE SPIRIT in Ephesians chapter 5:

25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her,

26 that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word,

The Word has properties which will purify us from wickedness and remove any spot or wrinkle so we should take advantage of those properties on a daily basis.  As we do, we will change, then we will begin to change the world around us.  I treat passages as Truth, far beyond what the world would have us believe.  The world keeps looking for solutions but without success.  They will manipulate the masses into thinking some far out theory only to later find it was flawed from the beginning.  Why even spend time and energy seeking solutions elsewhere when the Creator of the universe has sufficient provision found within HIS Book of Love?

Entertaining the world’s solutions will subtly move us toward unbelief in FATHER’S Word.  This is exactly what happened when Eve made the decision to partake of the fruit.  “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?”  The unquestionable fact was challenged and questioned thus the fall of mankind occurred. 

We now have a set of unquestionable facts to live by and were given to us to reverse the curse.  Our Lord Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.  We need to embrace this unquestionable fact and not allow anything to challenge this Truth.  It is the basis of our maturing as Sons and Daughters.

The Psalmist wrote by THE SPIRIT in chapter 31:

​23 ​​Oh, love the LORD, all you His saints!

​​For the LORD preserves the faithful,

​​And fully repays the proud person.

24 ​​Be of good courage,

​​And He shall strengthen your heart,

​​All you who hope in the LORD.

Dealing with adversity is simply a part of life.  Each of us attempts to minimize adversity whenever possible and we take steps to protect ourselves from events and people who would negatively impact us or our wellbeing.

Paul wrote by THE SPIRIT in Romans chapter 15:

13  May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing [through the experience of your faith] that by the power of the Holy Spirit you will abound in hope and overflow with confidence in His promises.

Our Heavenly Father is the GOD OF HOPE thus we should walk in hope as well.  In the midst of adversity, we can rely on our hope IN HIM to help us through the challenges, even with joy and peace in our hearts.  When things look bleak, we must not place our focus on the problems at hand but instead the hope and firm expectation that FATHER will provide a way out of the situation.

In 1996, my wife and I were in financial distress and we were running out of cash to pay our bills.  She had a dream that we sold a piece of property we owned in Alabama and at one time it was worth one-third of what we paid for it.  In her dream, she was given the sales price of the property which was about three times what we had originally paid.  I called the realtor on Friday afternoon and she committed to place a “for sale” sign the next morning, even though there was virtually no traffic this time of year.  When we told our asking price, she was taken back and told us that property had not selling at such a high price.  As she was placing the sign the next morning, a man drove by and asked her the price of the land.  She told him and he immediately said he wanted it.  As he was writing the check at closing, he commented “I know I am paying too much for this property but I want it.”  Our financial stress ended and we never missed a payment.

We must trust that FATHER will use whatever means necessary to fulfill HIS Love toward us.  It may be in some unusual manner or HE may move upon someone to provide a solution to our problems.  As we keep our eyes on HIM, HE will strengthen our hearts and sustain us through whatever trials come our way.  Let us abound in hope which is based on the firm expectation that FATHER Loves us and is looking out for our best interest.

Paul wrote by THE SPIRIT in 2 Corinthians chapter 11:

3 But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity and purity that is in Christ.

Paul shares a reality that most do not want to acknowledge on a personal basis.  Our minds are easily deceived and corrupted by the craftiness of the carnal man.  Just consider how much Scripture you knew when you were saved, virtually none.  Yet your and my salvation came forth as a gift from FATHER.  We did not have to go through certain rituals, traditions, or other manmade processes to receive this gift which was freely given to all.

When did FATHER provide this gift?  About 2,000 years ago at the cross.  Was it only sufficient for a select few?  No, all of mankind has been accounted for at the cross.  How simple!  So every sin that you and I have committed or will commit has the Blood of Jesus Christ to cover them, with no exception.

What about sickness and disease?  Is there any sickness, disease, or symptom left out at the cross 2,000 years ago?  No not one.  Jesus has already provided for our healing and does not have to anything further.  It is up to us to believe in the simplicity and purity that is in Christ.

Was I able to achieve a total purity of thought and action in order to be healed by FATHER?  No.  I look back and see how my understanding was tainted with man’s traditions and teaching yet FATHER’S healing power did not require my performance in any way in order to heal my body.  I simply believed in what Christ did at the cross.

All of our provision awaits only our beliefs to shift from the carnal, sense knowledge to the knowledge in Christ and understand that the biggest hindrance to us receiving the fullness of Christ is our willingness to allow the old man to have a say.  The moment the old man speaks, corruption begins to infiltrate our thinking and we begin to use the world’s logic and understanding to address the problems before us.  This is why it is imperative for us to press in and be led by THE SPIRIT and quit “striving” on our own.  Entering into HIS rest is the sure path to success in overcoming all obstacles set before us.  How Simple!