Week 35 Devotions

August 27 - - “Dear friends, if we deliberately continue sinning after we have received a full knowledge of the truth, there is no other sacrifice that will cover these sins. There will be nothing to look forward to but the terrible expectation of God’s judgment and the raging fire that will consume His enemies......It is a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Hebrews 10:26&27, 31). The apostle Paul tells us that God allows us to keep on living in our foolish disobedience if that is what we choose. “God let them go ahead and do whatever shameful things their hearts desired” (Romans 1:24). “God abandoned them to their shameful desires” (1:26). “When they refused to acknowledge God, He abandoned them to their evil minds and let them do things that should never be done” (1:28). God is wise enough to know that forcing us to follow Him is not really a relationship at all. A relationship exists when two people feel a mutual connection and commitment to one another, and not when one does while the other doesn’t. Jerusalem’s destruction was not simply a result of God’s fury and anger. The leaders of the Hebrew nation, “deprived people of their God-given rights in defiance of the Most High. They perverted justice in the courts. Do they think the Lord didn’t see it?” (Lamentations 3:34-36). A lot of the burden of what happened to Jerusalem fell on the shoulders of Israel’s leaders. “Your ‘prophets’ have said so many foolish things, false to the core. They did not try to hold you back from exile by pointing out your sins. Instead, they painted false pictures, filling you with false hope” (2:14). The fact is, “the unfailing love of the Lord never ends! By His mercies we have been kept from complete destruction. Great is His faithfulness; His mercies begin afresh each day.....The Lord is wonderfully good to those who wait for Him and seek Him” (3:22-25). When we know from the lessons of the past and from our own personal experience that God is wonderfully good to those who wait for Him and seek Him, and when we know from the lessons of the past and from our own personal experience that God is angry with those who refuse to acknowledge their sin, why would we even think about remaining in our sins? August 30 - - “Dear brothers and sisters, not many of you should become teachers in the church, for we who teach will be judged by God with greater strictness. We all make many mistakes, but those who control their tongues can also control themselves in every other way” (James 3:1&2). Teaching is a respected and honored profession. Those who teach have a powerful influence on those whom they teach. This responsibility should not be taken lightly; whether it’s in the church, school, home, work, or wherever. Many were the times when the problems of Israel could be traced to her problematic teachers or shepherds. Ezekiel was commanded to give the shepherds of Israel this message: “Destruction is certain for you shepherds who feed yourselves instead of your flocks” (Ezekiel 34:2). God’s shepherds were concerned only for themselves and neglecting their flocks. “So, my sheep have been scattered without a shepherd” (34:5). “You took care of yourselves and left the sheep to starve....”, therefore, “I now consider these shepherds my enemies, and I will hold them responsible for what has happened to my flock. I will take away their right to feed the flock, along with their right to feed themselves. I will rescue my flock from their mouths; the sheep will no longer be their prey” (34:9&10). God promised to one day send a Good Shepherd (34:11-24). Through this Good Shepherd, God would wash His people’s sins away. “I will give you a new heart with new and right desires, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony heart of sin and give you a new, obedient heart. And I will put my Spirit in you so you will obey my laws and do whatever I command” (36:26&27). This Good Shepherd would place the desire within God’s people to want to follow God; not because they had to, but because of their love for Him, they wanted to (II Corinthians 5:14). It would be this Chief Shepherd’s sacrifice and example that would guide God’s new shepherds in leading and shepherding God’s flock (I Peter 5:1-4). How blessed we are to know Jesus Christ, the Good Shepherd. With the new heart he gives us (II Cor.5:17), may we teach and lead those around us in a way that pleases God.

Week 34 Devotions

August 20 - - Our God is a just and a fair God (Psalm 7:11;11:7; 33:5). He has all the facts before Him. He knows what we think. He knows what we will say before we say it (Psalm 139:1-4). And because of His knowledge, God does not make mistakes when it comes to His judgment. He is always right and He is always just. When God said that He would “punish the children for the sins of their parents to the third and fourth generations” (Exodus 20:5), He was not suggesting that one person will receive the penalty for another person’s sin. He was reminding us that some people will end up suffering the consequences of other people’s actions, sometimes for three and four generations. This is further defined for us in Ezekiel 18. “All people are mine to judge - - both parents and children alike. And this is my rule: ‘The person who sins will be the one who dies’” (vs.4). “The child will not be punished for the parent’s sins and the parent will not be punished for the child’s sins” (vs.20). God does not take delight in seeing anyone perish (vs.23; II Peter 3:9; I Timothy 2:4). His desire is that everyone turn from their wickedness and follow Him. If a father loves God and obeys God, but has a son who does all kinds of evil, the son will perish because of his own sins and not because of anything the father has done wrong. The son will have no one to blame but himself. Likewise, the father will not be punished for his son’s sins (vss.5-13). On the other hand, if a son sees the wickedness of his father and determines not to follow in his father’s footsteps, he will live because he has done the right thing when he follows God (vss.14-18). “The one who sins is the one who dies. The child will not be punished for the parent’s sins, and the parent will not be punished for the child’s sins. Righteous people will be rewarded for their own goodness, and wicked people will be punished for their own wickedness. And if wicked people turn from all their sins and begin to obey my laws and do what is just and right, they will surely live and not die. All their past sins will be forgotten, and they will live because of the righteous things they have done” (vss.20-22). The bottom line is this: it does us absolutely no good to try and point the finger of blame for something we have done or for the way we have lived, at anyone else. The One who knows everything cannot be fooled by our lies. The sooner we accept responsibility for our actions, the quicker we can overcome them and change. August 23 - - God works through the lives of unbelievers, as well as believers. He also uses unbelieving rulers, as well as believing rulers; and pagan nations, as well as godly nations to accomplish His purposes. “From one man God created all the nations throughout the whole earth. He decided beforehand which should rise and fall, and He determined their boundaries” (Acts 17:26). The Babylonian nation was a world power for a long time. One of Babylon’s greatest kings was Nebuchadnezzar. When Nebuchadnezzar conquered a nation, he allowed it’s people to retain their gods and idols. Since none of these gods were real, they were no threat to Nebuchadnezzar or to Babylon. But, when God allowed Nebuchadnezzar to conquer Judah, the king soon discovered that Jehovah was not just a wooden idol. Nebuchadnezzar found out first hand the power of God. When Nebuchadnezzar had a dream, he looked for anyone who could not only interpret the dream, but someone who could actually tell him what his dream had been. Only Daniel was able to do this, and he gave credit for his ability to God (Daniel 2:17-23). When Nebuchadnezzar built a ninety foot golden statute and demanded that everyone bow down and worship it, three Hebrew men refused to do so. When Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were thrown into a fiery furnace and came out alive without even so much as a single hair singed from the heat, the king once again saw the power of God and gave praise to God (Daniel 3:19-30). But, the lessons the Babylonian king learned were soon forgotten. Pride is a spiritual cancer and when Nebuchadnezzar gloated on all he had done and all he had accumulated, God taught him a valuable lesson. For seven years, Nebuchadnezzar was forced to live like an animal, having “the mind of an animal instead of a human” (4:16). Only when he turned to God did Nebuchadnezzar regain his sanity (4:34). “Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and glorify and honor the King of heaven. All His acts are just and true, and He is able to humble those who are proud” (4:37). What is true of individuals is also true of nations. Those nations which ignored God and afflicted God’s people were eventually punished and humbled by God. Even Judah was spared from God’s judgment for a long time. But, whether it be Babylon, Egypt, Assyria, or even Judah and Israel, God’s mercy will eventually give way to God’s justice. Nations, like individual people, who pat themselves on their own back for the prosperity and power they have accumulated, will eventually find themselves living in the cesspool of their sins and their pride (Luke 15:11-19).

Week 33 Devotions

August 13 - - It must have been difficult for the people of the kingdom of Israel when the pagan nation of Assyria conquered them and deported Jews to foreign lands. Equally difficult would have been the thoughts of those living in the kingdom of Judah when Babylon did the same to it’s people a few years later. God has promised to bless those who are obedient to Him (Deuteronomy 28-30; Psalm 33:12) and curse those who are disobedient to Him. As we read through the history of Israel, it is obvious that God’s patience with His people’s disobedience is far greater than anything we can humanly imagine (Genesis 18:16-33), and His mercy is often extended toward His people much longer than they deserve. But, God’s promises are sure. When He punishes, we can be sure His punishment is fair. When He rewards, we can be sure His blessings are usually more than fair. Sometimes, God allows pagan nations (Assyria and Babylon, for example) to execute His judgment upon His people. But, God is just. And in both cases, the judge soon became the judged. She, who once brought destruction upon Judah, would soon be destroyed, herself. And, “the terror that falls upon the Babylonians will be the work of the sovereign Lord Almighty” (Jeremiah 50:25). On the other hand, God also promises hope to those whom He loves. Punishment is but, for a season. “The day will come,” says the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and Judah. This covenant will not be like the one I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand and brought them out of the land of Egypt. They broke that covenant, though I loved them as a husband loves his wife,” says the Lord. In this new covenant, God promised to put His laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. “I will forgive their wickedness and will never again remember their sins” (Jeremiah 31:33&34). “The time is coming,” says the Lord, “when all Jerusalem will be rebuilt for me” (vs.38). God’s people would, “ask the way to Jerusalem and start back home again. They will bind themselves to the Lord with an eternal covenant that will never again be broken” (Jeremiah 50:5). Our God is a God of hope. “He will not constantly accuse us, nor remain angry forever. He has not punished us for all our sins, nor does He deal with us as we deserve. For His unfailing love toward those who fear Him is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth. He has removed our rebellious acts as far away from us as the east is from the west” (Psalm 103:9-12). We have no one to blame when the consequences of our sins finally come home to rest on us. And, we have no one to thank but the Lord when His goodness is demonstrated toward us. August 16 - - After Cain had murdered his brother, Abel, the Lord asked Cain, “Where is your brother? Where is Abel?” (Genesis 4:9). Cain lied. “I don’t know! Is it my responsibility to keep track of him?” That’s the way sin usually works. Rather than face our sins head-on and admit the truth, we oftentimes compound one sin by committing another. Like Cain, we lie to avoid facing the truth of our sins. Apparently, the Lord did feel that Cain bore responsibility for Abel because Cain was severely punished for his sin (4:10-16). God reinforced the responsibility we have for others when He commissioned Ezekiel as a prophet. “I have appointed you as a watchman for Israel. Whenever you receive a message from me, pass it on to the people immediately. If I warn the wicked saying, ‘You are under the penalty of death,’ but you fail to deliver the warning they will die in their sins. And I will hold you responsible, demanding your blood for theirs. If you warn them and they keep on sinning and refuse to repent, they will die in their sins. But you will have saved your life because you did what you were told to do. If good people turn bad and don’t listen to my warning, they will die. If you did not warn them of the consequences, then they will die in their sins. Their previous good deeds won’t help them, and I will hold you responsible, demanding your blood for theirs. But if you warn them and they repent, they will live, and you will have saved your own life, too.” (Ezekiel 3:17-21). While we must all give account to God for our own sins (Romans 14:12; Galatians 6:5; II Corinthians 5:10; Matthew 16:27), it appears that we, who have been given the Good News, also bear a responsibility for passing it on. There are some facts we learn in life that we pass on to others just to help enlighten them with new news. Most of the time, that new news is not going to change their lives very dramatically, if at all. There are other facts we pass on to others because the news would in some way be beneficial to them. But, the Good News the Lord asks us to pass on to others can eternally change people’s lives. This Good News is that God has sent His Son into this world to bring about our redemption. This Good News is that God loves us so much, He was willing to sacrifice His Son that we might find forgiveness through him. And everyone who receives this Good News and believes in the Son God sent, becomes a child of God (John 1:12) and receives eternal life (John 3:36). That being the case, why would we not want to share this Good News with others? Why would we want to keep this Good News to ourselves?

Week 32 Devotions

August 6 - - The Lord told the prophet, Jeremiah, “I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb. Before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as my spokesman to the world” (Jeremiah 1:5). God’s truth is persuasive. Jesus said that if we know God’s truth, His truth would set us free (John 8:32). And because God’s truth is so persuasive, God’s truth is also very powerful. The messages God told Jeremiah to share with the people of Judah got him in trouble, time after time. God’s people simply didn’t want to hear about impending destruction, or God’s judgment which would soon be visited upon them because of their sinful stubbornness. And even if Jeremiah had not wanted to share God’s messages of impending doom just to protect his own life from the anger of the people, he couldn’t bring himself to remain silent. “If I say I’ll never mention the Lord or speak in His name, His word burns in my heart like a fire. It’s like a fire in my bones! I am weary of holding it in!” (20:9). Soon after, Judah was conquered by Babylon. And many of the Jews were transported to Babylon, including four young men named Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. We know the latter three by their Babylonian names; Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego (Daniel 1:6&7). God gave these four “an unusual aptitude for learning the literature and science of the time. And God gave Daniel special ability in understanding the meanings of visions and dreams” (1:17). When asked for advice, they shared what the Lord laid on their hearts and for a time, the king “found the advice of these young men to be ten times better than that of all the magicians and enchanters in his entire kingdom” (1:20). But, we know the rest of the story. In time, what God would inspire these four individuals to share would not coincide with what the King of Babylon or his people wanted to hear. And then, they would have the same choice as Jeremiah whether to share what God was saying and be ridiculed and persecuted, or remain silent and be popular with the king and the people. It’s not really much different for us today. When we find ourselves armed with the truth of God’s Word and we find God’s truth coming in conflict with Satan’s lies that are often promoted through people of this world, we, too, find ourselves with a choice. Do we remain quiet and not upset the powers to be? Or, do we open our mouths and be faithful to God while also experiencing the wrath of human beings? We are no where required to be mean with the truth. We are commanded to speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15). May God grant us all the grace to do exactly that, whatever the consequences to ourselves. August 9 - - Why does it sometimes seem like evil people flourish without punishment? Why do those who harm others seem like they suffer no consequences for their wrongdoing? Jeremiah asked that question and God’s answer was that it only seemed that way because of how evil His people had been. God is patient far beyond what any of us can comprehend and far beyond what any of us deserve (II Peter 3:9). The patience demonstrated by God toward those who are evil, is the same patience God demonstrates toward His own people who are evil. And at some point, God uses those who don’t know Him, to bring about punishment upon those who profess to know Him but show by their actions they really don’t. “I have abandoned my people, my special possession. I have surrendered my dearest ones to their enemies” (Jeremiah 12:7). “How will you feel when the Lord sets your foreign allies over you as rulers?....You may ask yourself, ‘Why is all this happening to me?’ It is because of your many sins! That is why you have been raped and destroyed by invading armies. Can an Ethiopian change the color of his skin? Can a leopard take away it’s spots? Neither can you start doing good, for you always do evil” (13:21-23). The worst offenders seem to be God’s prophets who were telling God’s people lies and things that were not true. Instead of warning the people to repent and turn from their wicked ways or be punished, as Jeremiah was doing, all the other prophets were telling the people lies in God’s name. They were saying that all was well, that God would send His people peace (14:13-16). To the people of Jerusalem, God said, “You have forsaken me and turned your back on me. Therefore, I will raise my clenched fists to destroy you. I am tired of always giving you another chance” (15:5&6). Ask the people of Noah’s day, and the people of Sodom and Gomorrah. God’s patience can and will come to an end, and will give way to God’s wrath. What’s even more amazing is those of us who have seen these many examples and we still refuse to learn from them (Romans 15:4). We still insist on making the same mistakes as our ancestors. We still think we know better how to live than does God. And consequently, we still receive the same consequences for our disobedience they did. God has called us from the moral darkness we once lived in, to His wonderful light for a reason (I Peter 2:9), so that we might declare His praises. God says to us the same thing He said to Jeremiah, “If you speak words that are worthy, you will be my spokesman. You are to influence them; do not let them influence you!” (15:19). Darkness always seems to corrupt good people much quicker than good people positively influence those living in the dark. That is why God warned the apostle Paul to be wary of who we spend the bulk of our time with. “Bad company will ruin good morals” (I Corinthians 15:33). Stand firm in the truth. Don’t waver or follow the crowd. “The highway to hell is broad, and it’s gate is wide for the many who choose the easy way. But the gateway to life is small, and the road is narrow, and only a few ever find it” (Matthew 7:13&14). Determine to influence others for the Lord, rather than being influenced by others to run from the Lord. Commit yourself to letting your light shine for Him, rather than having His light be extinguished in you.

Week 31 Devotions

July 30 - - How frustrated God must get when He sees how we stubbornly persist in our sinful habits, completely oblivious to His demonstrations of love and forgiveness. The apostle Paul describes in the New Testament how bad people can become. “They refuse to acknowledge God, so He abandons them to their evil minds and lets them do things that should never be done....They are fully aware of God’s death penalty for those who do these things, yet they go right ahead and do them anyway. And, worse yet, they encourage others to do them, too” (Romans 1:28,32). Paul goes on to say that those who claim to love God are often no better than those who don’t. “You may be saying, ‘What terrible people you have been talking about!’ But you are just as bad, and you have no excuse!.....Do you think that God will judge and condemn others for doing these bad things and not judge you when you do them, too? Don’t you realize how kind, tolerant, and patient God is with you? Or don’t you care? Can’t you see how kind He has been in giving you time to turn from your sin? But no, you won’t listen. So you are storing up terrible punishment for yourself because of your stubbornness in refusing to turn from your sins” (Romans 2:1,3-5). Why is it we see the wrongs others do, but are blind to our own? Why is the obvious so hard for us to admit? In the Old Testament, God labels our sinful rebellion and our constant wandering from His love in pursuit of idols and gods that can never respond to us, as adultery. “You are like a restless female camel, desperate for a male! You are like a wild donkey, sniffing the wind at mating time. Who can restrain your lust? Those who desire you do not even need to search, for you come running to them! Why do you refuse to turn from all this running after other gods? But you say, ‘Don’t waste your breath. I have fallen in love with these foreign gods, and I can’t stop loving them now!’” ((Jeremiah 2:23-25). In spite of our unfaithfulness to Him, our God is faithful to us. In our search for happiness, in our desire to find intimacy, we turn to every source but the One who will not force Himself upon us, the One who proves His love over and over, and the One who longs to be in relationship with us. The Lord beckons to each of us, “come back to me, and I will heal your wayward hearts” (Jer.3:22). When we have exhausted ourselves in our selfish pursuit of fulfillment, when we have wasted away our dignity by chasing lies, the truth still remains, “only in the Lord our God will we ever find salvation” (Jer.3:23). Like the parable of the prodigal son, there reaches a point in our desperation that we finally see the truth for what it is. May we turn to the Lord now, and in doing so, experience the many blessings He has promised those who love Him and are faithful to Him. August 2 - - “How long must the wicked be allowed to live, and in many cases, even thrive?” That is a question we have probably all asked ourselves and/or God, at some time. It is also a question the prophet, Habakkuk asked of God. God had put up with the wickedness, the idolatry, and the unfaithfulness of the Israelites a long time, much longer than any of us would have. The Lord’s reply to Habakkuk? “Look at the nations and be amazed! Watch and be astounded at what I will do! For I am doing something in your own day, something you wouldn’t believe even if some-one told you about it” (Habakkuk 1:5). God was going to use the evil Babylonians as an instrument of punishment to the Israelites. To be sure, the Babylonians would think they were conquering the Israelites for the same reason they conquered so many other nations before, because their military was so superior. But, God assured the prophet, the Babylonians would eventually be defeated because of their own sins. We can look back over history and see how God fulfilled both of these events. The Israelites were eventually conquered by the Babylonians and the Babylonians were eventually conquered by the Persians. God’s ways are not always in accordance with how we would do something because God’s thoughts are quite higher than our thoughts (Isaiah 55:8&9). We see the world as though looking at a poor reflection in a mirror (I Corinthians 13:12). Because God sees all and God knows all, and because God sees the past and the future as though they were the present, His ways of doing things rarely match how we would do them. But, His ways are always the right ways, and the just ways. Faith is simply trusting God, no matter what happens in our own lives individually, or what happens all around us. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek His will in all you do, and He will direct your paths” (Proverbs 3:5&6). You see, “the time will come when all the earth will be filled, as the waters fill the sea, with an awesomeness of the glory of the Lord” (Habakkuk 2:14). There will come a day when the wrong will be made right, and the righteous will be rewarded. In the meantime, we would be wise to simply trust the Lord and obey Him.

Week 30 Devotions

July 23 - - Human beings were made to worship. The One who brought us into existence, has also created us to long for something and/or someone beyond ourselves (Ecclesiastes 3:11). Whether it is a gene or a chromosome; or whether it is an emotion or a feeling; there is an awareness inside all of us that knows there is something and/or someone greater outside ourselves. Unfortunately, we often reduce this Creator to an idol that we can see and touch. Humans create a thing to represent a god that first of all, does not exist. And then, these idols are nothing more than inanimate objects. What idol has ever talked to us? What idol has ever answered our prayers? What idol has ever told us where we came from? Or, where we are going to? Though we cannot see our God, or reach out and touch Him, the evidence of His existence is all around us. When we grow tired, “He offers strength to the weak. Even youths will become exhausted....But those who wait on the Lord will find new strength” (Isaiah 40:28-31). When we are tempted to be afraid, He promises, “I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown! When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you” (Isaiah 43:1-3a). Our God assures us, “You have been chosen to know me, believe in me, and understand that I alone am God. There is no other God; there never has been and (there) never will be. I am the Lord, and there is no other Savior ......” He tells us, “From eternity to eternity I am God. No one can oppose what I do. No one can reverse my actions” (Isaiah 43:10-13). Why do insist on reducing that which we worship to something/someone we can under-stand? Why are we content to put our trust in something we have made with our own hands? What possible comfort can come from something that cannot even communicate? The God we worship has accurately predicted events long before they occurred. Our God has made promise after promise to us and kept everyone of them. And yet, we still stubbornly refuse to put our faith and our trust in Him! Those wise enough to acknowledge Him, find truth. Those humble enough to trust Him, find assurance. I know for sure where I am putting my trust. How about you? July 26 - - “My thoughts are completely different from yours,” says the Lord. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:8&9). For centuries, the Jewish people looked forward to the day when a military messiah would liberate them from their enemies. What they longed for was an army general whose genius would lead them to victory over those who had become smug in their oppression of God’s chosen people. But, God’s ways of doing things don’t always match what we think God should do. God’s methods sometimes seem mad to us, but God sees the bigger picture. God knows where every chess piece on the game board of life is located and God knows where and when they should be moved. Approximately, 700 years before the birth of Jesus Christ, God revealed the kind of Messiah He would send and what that Messiah would accomplish. “There was nothing beautiful or majestic about his appearance, nothing to attract us to him... He was despised, and we did not care......he was wounded and crushed for our sins. He was beaten that we might have peace. He was whipped, and we were healed! All of us have strayed away like sheep. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the Lord laid on him the guilt and sins of us all......From prison and trial they led him away to his death. But who among the people realized that he was dying for their sins - - that he was suffering their punishment? He had done no wrong, and he never deceived anyone. But he was buried like a criminal....it was the Lord’s good plan to crush him and fill him with grief....And because of what he has experienced, my righteous servant will make it possible for many to be counted righteous, for he will bear all their sins” (Isaiah 53:2-11). What God’s chosen Messiah was establishing was a spiritual kingdom and not a physical kingdom. Jesus did not say God’s kingdom would have borders. Quite the opposite. “One day the Pharisees asked Jesus, ‘When will the kingdom of God come?’ Jesus replied, ‘The Kingdom of God isn’t ushered in with visible signs. You won’t be able to say, ‘Here it is!’ or ‘It’s over there!’ For the Kingdom of God is among you’” (Luke 17:20&21). God’s kingdom would not consist of those who lived in a certain place, pledged allegiance to a certain flag, and paid homage to a certain king. God’s kingdom would consist of people living all over the world, who swear allegiance to the suffering servant Isaiah prophesied about 700 years earlier, Jesus Christ. The kingdom of God would exist inside of people, those who know Jesus Christ as their personal savior and are filled with God’s Holy Spirit. Many in the Jewish community are still waiting for the Messiah to come because Jesus did not fit the description they were looking for. What about you?