Biblical Transformation - Page 1 of 7

[nChrist]

Biblical Transformation - Page 1 of 7

By Stephen Shober

"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world; but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God" (Romans 12:1-2).



Introduction



Have you ever heard someone say something like this, "I can't help it, that is just how I am and how God made me." This way of thinking is very unfortunate since it denies the transforming power of the Holy Spirit to change lives, and even goes so far as to blame God for personal deficiencies. God certainly accepts us just as we are for salvation (we do not have to try to get rid of our sin first), but His earnest desire is not to leave us the way He finds us. His desire after salvation is to start changing us from the inside-out, that is, to transform us from the depths of our being (changing how we think and act). The emphasis should not be who we are, but who we could be by the grace of God. "For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he" (Proverbs 23:7).



God created us in His image and, to some degree, being created in His image includes being made with three aspects, or parts, just as He is three. Our three aspects are: body, soul and spirit. In general terms, the soul is that part of us that is self-conscious (relating to self and the world around us), while the spirit is that part of us that is God-conscious (relating to faith and our relationship with God). 1



God's plan for our spirit is regeneration, an instantaneous act of God that saves us by His grace the moment we believe. His plan for the believer's body is to give us a glorified body in the future (with some earthly assistance for the present time). This article will explore God's plan for our mind. In Scripture the words mind, heart and soul are often used interchangeably; this pattern will be followed in this article. His plan for our mind is to renew it, to make it completely new, thereby transforming our entire life. Living a sanctified life (holy and God-pleasing) is based upon this renewing, that is, upon the Holy Spirit producing His character, will, values, and desires in our heart. Ultimately, we see that His grace is seen not only in salvation but in every aspect and all times of our life. His power within us helps assure what mankind so desperately seeks - a sound mind. "And be renewed in the spirit of your mind" (Ephesians 4:23).



We humans are a spiritual being in a physical body with a mind (soul) to do what the Holy Spirit teaches. 2



Heavenly Instructions



The word transformed (Romans 12:2) in Greek is metamorphosis (meta=change, morph=form) and means, a change in form. In common practice the word transformation is used to describe the change of a rather unattractive chrysalis (larva) into a beautiful butterfly. Christ's transfiguration in Mark 9:2-13 was a metamorphosis. The Lord wants each of us to be transformed and this is accomplished by having a renewed mind. Our mind has to be changed in such a way that the old nature with its values, beliefs and practices is replaced by that which conforms to the mind of Christ. We are not genetically programmed to transform ourselves, God will not do it for us automatically, nor will He force it upon us. He will only do it as we allow Him and cooperate with Him in the process (walk in the Spirit).



"Believers are commanded to change [if you prefer, exchange]3 the expressions of the old life and nature for that of the new nature which indwells every Christian. This is done by the renewing of the mind by the Holy Spirit. `Renewing' means `a complete change for the better' effected by the Holy Spirit (Titus 3:5)."4 The beauty of transformation is that we will find His good, acceptable (well pleasing), and perfect (complete) will to be exactly what we need in our life. His will in our life will prove to us, family, church, society, even the angels in heaven (Ephesians 3:10).
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[nChrist]

Biblical Transformation - Page 2 of 7

By Stephen Shober

Why Needed



A good spiritual lesson is afforded by a boy who observed a chrysalis transforming into a butterfly. The boy saw the struggling chrysalis trying to get out of the cocoon and wondered why it had to struggle so hard, why did God make it struggle for so long, wasn't there an easier way? Finally, the boy intervened in his desire to ease the struggle. He took his pocketknife and carefully cut the cocoon open so the struggling creature could get out. It did, it wiggled out and the boy was delighted with his heroic efforts. But then, the chrysalis fell to the ground, writhing and struggling because it could not fly - its wings were not sufficiently developed. Eventually the chrysalis died. The boy then realized that the cocoon that he saw as a hindrance and an obstacle was instead life sustaining and allowed the chrysalis time to develop into a butterfly. The struggle was a necessary part of life and his well intended shortcuts only had detrimental effects. For the butterfly to fly required metamorphosis, and that entailed struggle and time.



"If we do not become changed from the inside-out - if we don't morph - we will be tempted to find external methods to satisfy our need to feel that we're different from those outside the faith."5 If we do not allow our self to be transformed, we will settle for being informed (ever learning, II Timothy 3:7) or conformed to something other than Christ. It is here we Christians must be careful not to fall into one of the adversary's clever schemes, that is, the belief that by not conforming to the world we are obeying Romans 12. A person can be against everything the world offers but that only makes that person a non-conformist. Non-conformity is not transformation. Non-conformity can result in a person being a cranky, belligerent, isolationist - this is not God's desire. Transformation is a personal matter between each of us and the Holy Spirit, and, as the Lord produces His mind in us, we are compelled from our heart not to conform to the world.



Perhaps an illustration will help clarify the above statement. If your boss said to you, "an emergency requires that you quickly go to the warehouse, do not walk but take the company car." Then, if you were to think, "Well, I was told not to walk so I'll run," would that be obeying the boss? Certainly not. The boss' emphasis was on what to do, not on what not to do. While running is not walking, that is not what the boss wants and it will not get the job done - just take the car and that resolves all issues of walking/running. In our case, the Lord's emphasis is on transformation, which results in conformance to Christ. The degree we are conformed to Christ is the degree to which conformity to the world is averted. Pure non-conformists can end life mean-spirited and negative because no transformation has taken place, only a preoccupation with being against the world.



Too often we think that Romans 12:2 gives us two commands: 1) not to conform to the world and 2) to be transformed. There is no "and" between the two phrases (implying two things); there is a "but," which indicates the Lord is instructing us to do one of two things (be transformed). We have the choice of either conforming to the world or of having a renewed mind conforming to that of Christ. The choice of a renewed mind avoids the other. The legalists love to teach there are two items here for our obedience and then they come up with a list of do's and don'ts to measure non-conformance to the world. This is missing the point entirely. Ideally, under grace, transformation creates a mind that has no interest in conformance to the world. In practical terms, our earthly struggle is often the fight between the world and Christ for our mind's attention; we want to make sure the transformation side is always winning the battle.



Salvation is required before transformation can begin, but transformation should commence immediately thereafter. Any self-transformation attempts are useless. Just as we cannot save ourselves (He has to do it all for us), we cannot transform ourselves; however, He will do it for us, over time, as we yield to Him. Transformation is not an instantaneous act of God like salvation; it is a life-long process conducted by the Holy Spirit. It is the process of growing spiritually (with ups and downs), of growing in grace, with the goal of continually being conformed to the mind of Christ.
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[nChrist]

Biblical Transformation - Page 3 of 7

By Stephen Shober

Please consider these reasons why we must each be morphed:



* To overcome the defacing of His image due to sin.



* Our mind is polluted from the fall, the world and our own choices - we need mental detoxification, mind renewal, reprogramming, and the mind of Christ.



* We need a new value system, desires and goals - His (Philippians 2:13).



* Renewal of our mind removes negative thinking, a prime source of mental and physical illness. 6



* To put off the old man (sin oriented, self-centered, defensive behavior, unable to admit being wrong, anger, moodiness, etc.) (Ephesians 4:22).



* To put on the new man (Colossians 3:10, Ephesians 4:24).



* To remove the overwhelming burden of thinking our performance is the measure of our standing with the Lord.



* Mental baggage (hidden in the deep recesses of our mind) holds us down, keeps us captive to the past, and we have to get rid of it.



More on Mental Baggage



A woman saw a very large and powerful elephant at a circus that was restrained by a small chain. The woman knew that the elephant could easily break the chain if it wanted, but every time the elephant came to the end of the chain it just stopped and did not even try to break free. The trainer said that the chain was the same one that was used when the elephant was little, and at that time the elephant tried and tried to break it but could not. So the elephant learned at that time that it could not break the chain, and he still remembers that. "You see," said the trainer, "it is not the chain that holds the elephant captive but his memories." Sadly, this is true for many of us, our memories hold us captive and we do not experience the freedom that is ours in Christ. Precious memories are the fabric of our lives, but unpleasant memories unravel that fabric.



The author often gets letters, calls, and emails from believers who have had a miserable past. The accounts go on and on about a terrible childhood, physical abuse, sexual abuse, depression, wrong treatment, unfaithful friends/spouses, bad parents, alcohol and drug abuse.Some people seem to be dealt a very poor hand in life, some create it themselves. Sometimes the past is composed of good things that no longer exist (careers, fame, family, friends, wealth).



If we wallow in the negative events of our past and do not allow transformation, then the past will continue to be our present and future.



In an effort to relieve the pain of the past and in order to foster healing many people have tried forgiving those who have offended them. Often they are disappointed, stating that forgiveness doesn't work because they still remember the pain of the past and people still treat them the same. Forgiveness does not mean we will forget the past; only God can forget such things. Forgiveness on our part does not change the past, or others for that matter; what it does is release us from the stranglehold the past has on our present life. Thus, it creates in us a new perspective that allows us to move forward in life. Forgiveness creates a condition in which the memories of the past do not continue to control us emotionally - so a memory of the past does not create sorrow, hostility or tears. In this regard, a Christian friend or therapist using Scriptural principles may be used by the Lord to help a person see and interpret the past and themselves differently. It is better to forgive past injustice than to let it fester into bitterness 7 that tarnishes the rest of our life. Our future in Christ can be very different, provided we allow Him to make the truth that "all things are become new" (II Corinthians 5:17) part of our daily life.
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[nChrist]

Biblical Transformation - Page 4 of 7

By Stephen Shober

For clarification purposes, forgiveness and forgetting the past relate to our mind; however, other civil, legal and family responsibilities still remain. One can walk away from an errant mind into a new way of thinking but one should not walk away from earthly responsibilities. So, debts, child support, criminal activities, and similar responsibilities must still be addressed.



When our minds are held captive there is no joy. Renewal of the mind allows the Lord to remove that which holds our minds captive and restore our joy. Consider this Biblical example. After the first destruction of the temple in Jerusalem many Jews were forced into Babylonian exile where they lamented, "By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion. We hanged our harps upon the willows in the mist thereof. For there they that carried us away captive required of us a song; and they that wasted us required of us mirth" (Psalms 137:1-3). I believe this text teaches the principle that when in captivity there is no relief from sorrow. Hanging the harps on the willow is very symbolic for it makes two things clear: 1) the harps that normally brought joy could no longer do so, and 2) the willow trees (the bark contains salicylic acid, the precursor of aspirin) could not blunt their pain. (From that time the graceful tree was known as the weeping willow). 8



There is no joy while our mind is held captive to anything but Christ.



Purpose



Pastor Sadler states, "When the present dispensation was committed to Paul, the very nature of `grace' gave birth to a new revelation in regard to our Christian walk." 9 Lewis Sperry Chafer emphasizes, "God has a purpose under grace, for a whole new manner of life for the believer," 10  that is:



* Adjustment of our life to the indwelling-presence of the Holy Spirit, and of maintaining an unbroken attitude of dependence on that Spirit.



* The law could work no change in the heart/mind, nor can our attempts to keep rules; the Spirit only can do this.



* Under grace, God proposes by the Spirit to first create the heavenly motives and desires, and then, by the same Spirit, to empower the life through the Word unto the full realization of those desires (Philippians 2:13).



* Thus, it may be seen that grace is not a way of escaping obedience to God, it is the only possible way in which true obedience can be secured.



If you squeeze an orange you get orange juice, every time. If you want grape juice no amount of faith or sincere prayer will enable grape juice to come out of an orange. Even a child knows you always get orange juice, "because that's what's in it." The question is, what comes out of us when we are squeezed? What is truly inside is what will come out when squeezed by the stress of life. Does cursing, addictive behavior, bitterness, revenge, or sorrow come out? As the Lord transforms our mind and renews it His fruit is produced in our mind; then what will come out will be love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance (Galatians 5:22-23). "For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth" (Ephesians 5:9).



How Morphing Works



Believers should embrace and clearly understand transformation.



* It is not an instantaneous act of God, it is a process of God (lifelong).



* It is not a gift (it is not acquired all at one time or in a complete form like a gift); it is the ongoing work of the Holy Spirit requiring cooperation and effort on our part. In this regard, it helps to understand that generally a spiritual gift and an act of God go together (example: salvation), whereas, spiritual fruit and a process of God.



* The passive voice (Greek) in Romans 12:2 means the Holy Spirit will do the transforming for us as we cooperate with Him (listening, yielding, relying, submitting, learning, praying, studying, obeying).



* We do not get a renewed mind by just praying, asking or believing. There are no shortcuts or quick and easy ways for becoming spiritually mature.



* It results in His fruit growing in us (Galatians 5:22-23, Philippians 1:11, Ephesians 5:9).



* Fruit grows slowly, requiring: nurturing (Word, prayer, obedience), cultivation (weed removal, i.e., those old things in our life that choke out our new life in Christ), watering (worship and praise), fertile ground (a mind receptive and hungry), pruning (some strategic removal of "self" so that we can be closer to the Vine and produce better fruit), and pest removal (Ephesians 6, spiritual warfare).
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[nChrist]

Biblical Transformation - Page 5 of 7

By Stephen Shober

Four circles could represent our entire being. On the outside is our temporary house (our body), next deeper down into our being is our soul (mind/heart), and further into the deeper parts of our being (our core) is our spirit. The most inner circle would be a black hole (void of God) for the unsaved, but for the believer the Holy Spirit comes within.



As the Holy Spirit works, He is primarily interested in the most important areas of our existence, i.e., our spirit and the deeper parts of our soul. What is contained in these areas where the Spirit primarily works? Well, the core issues of life. Starting at the deepest issues and going toward the less deep, the order is somewhat like this: God-consciousness, faith, conscience, character, value system, will, desires, and so forth. Things like personality and emotions are far from the core; it is not as likely He will change our body, personality or emotions as it is He will change the core issues. He changes our core issues and creates fruit in our life; thus, a person will have inner joy (character issue) but may not display a happy face (emotion). Other examples of His transforming power are seen when a person's value system is changed from pro-choice to pro-life or when a person's desires are changed over time such that addictive behavior is overcome. Godly convictions, conscience and behavior are created through a renewed mind.



The Spirit is needed in transforming us because we are incapable to affect any change on our own. As an example, consider our character, which comes from the depths and recesses of our being. Our character is different than our personality, our personality is our outward manifestation to the world around us. Our character looks inward, it feels our hurt and joy, it arranges our inner value system and motivations. Character is the foundation upon which our personality acts. Our character has some very basic needs, and these needs are generally established early in life and are based upon our first and most primitive experiences. The word for character originally meant, "to carve, engrave, scratch, or cut grooves." 11



Prepare for the Journey



The life-long journey of transformation is not necessarily easy and it has frustrations. It is the journey He has planned and will guide; it goes places we did not know existed. None of us could have even dreamed of such a journey.



A. Accept thorns: Recall the boy and chrysalis story; struggle is one means for growth if we want to mature. God uses struggles and trials to mature us; we must bear His cross. Accept the fact there will be many discouragements and even doubts, but do not let them deter you from further growth.



B. Expect Spiritual Advancement: Philippians 3:15-16 - Let your level of spiritual attainment be your guide for further advancement, but do not get stuck at some level and think you can not mature more. Your imperfections will be revealed by the Holy Spirit so that you may continue to grow and be more complete (not sinless, but a well rounded Christian). Maturity versus infancy is the issue; God wants to continually transform us so we more and more conform to Christ.



C. Rejoice in the Refiner's touch: God loves you just the way you are, but refuses to leave you that way; He wants you to be like Christ. We love babies just as they are, but do we stop when they fill their pants? No, that is their nature; we want to help them grow and refuse to leave them that way (II Corinthians 3:18 ). We do not want to be spiritual babies for long.



D. New light/truth demands change: Transformation enables us to mentally accept the concept that a "reasonable service" for our Lord is to present our bodies as a living sacrifice, Romans 12:1. If you have to give up former ways, habits or addictions, He will first change your desires and then give you the willpower to do it - change becomes easier than originally thought. As we commit to a new way of life it will, over time, become a natural way of life. Change/sacrifice is what God asks, and is a ministry of the Holy Spirit we should take great care not to quench.
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Biblical Transformation - Page 6 of 7

By Stephen Shober

E. Stretch Forward:



Outcome of Transformation



Transformation results in a closer walk and intimacy with Christ. Intimacy allows us to be ourselves without fear of disapproval. Thus, I can pour my heart out to Him without fear of His disappointment and He can pour Himself into me without my resistance or fear. A transformed mind thinks something like this:



As the Lord leads, I desire to live with a personal, intimate relationship with the Lord - a life infused with a God-given purpose. May my intent be to know Him so closely that everything I think or touch is filled with the fullness of Christ. Furthermore, may my passion be to have a mind with the inclination and desires to believe and pursue Christ-likeness with every aspect of my being.



Transformation creates true empowerment. Power is produced from within, actuating and providing us with the ability to perform what He desires in our lives. As His fruit begins growing in our mind, our lives displays more and more Christ-likeness, and our lives reflects the fruit of growing in grace. We are empowered to glorify God.



Practical help



There is a fairly well known process for getting from the thought of doing something to actually getting it done. First we have the thought of accomplishing something, this is the conceptual stage that involves our will; it takes place in our mind. The next step is to move the thought from our mind to verbalizing it (saying it), this expresses our desire to others and tends to establish it in our heart. Once we have verbalized our desire then we move to establishing our intent (the planning stage): answering the what, how, and when questions that help assure accomplishment of the goal. Then, the final stage is to have a passion about doing (action) what is needed to see the goal become an accomplished fact.



Note how similar this is to what God did for us so that we could be "in Christ" in this present age. First, by His will he developed the concept in His mind (thought it all out before the foundation of the world), verbalized it (let Us make man in our Own image), planned for the whole process of Christ's death and the life hereafter (He even planned to keep some things secret for a time), and finally He put it all into action and directed the process.



Each step of maturity brought about by transformation of the mind helps assure the next steps of spiritual growth are godly in origin. The renewed mind can then correctly express the desire, plan for change and passionately pursue the goal. But, all too often we quench the Holy Spirit (I Thessalonians 5:19) by finding excuses for not allowing the Holy Spirit to work fully in our life, e.g., "All men lust," "A bad temper runs in the family," "I just cannot love my spouse." How sad, how inexcusable! He commands us not to have this mind-set and has created a way that He can accomplish needed change from the very core of our being. The Lord's heart must ache for the person who has been a Christian for years and has preferred to retain the mind of the old nature. This compromised holiness is the precursor to a compromised life, with less impact and service than desired.



In addition to quenching the Holy Spirit there is another way we hinder transformation. It has to do with how we view things in general, and how we view something can subconsciously drive our intent and passion. It has been shown that we have best results when we view a situation from the positive, rather than from the negative. If viewed from the negative, there is often a break in the process between Desire and Intent. God puts the thought in the mind, the person translates that into a desire, but Satan (or self) finds a way for partial obedience to seem very godly, and this prevents further advancement. The example below will help clarify this.



The person above must make cooperation with the Lord a moment-by-moment issue. Cooperation requires searching for Scriptures that apply to the situation, confronting the situation constructively, making no provisions to continue to sin, repenting (immediately stopping wrong behavior and acknowledging the sin), and practicing replacing anger with the things noted in Philippians 4:8. A specific formula/approach for success in overcoming each problem area of life cannot be given because it is the work of the Holy Spirit and may be different in each person's life. What works for one may not work for another, this is His domain. Again, there are no short cuts and each person must search the Scriptures daily for help and insights, while also searching for strongholds in their life that have to be brought into obedience to the Lord.
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[nChrist]

Biblical Transformation - Page 7 of 7

By Stephen Shober

How should one verbalize a temper problem: "I wish I did not have a bad temper" or "I will be longsuffering"? How about relationships: "My spouse and I have irreconcilable differences" or "Christ can make something beautiful out of the ashes or our marriage and I will make that my top priority." Consider this approach for any issue, say, being overweight.



There is instruction in the oxymoron, "Lord give me patience and give it to me now." Prayer alone will not yield patience. Prayer coupled with a willing mind and obedience to His Word will. The very instance we feel impatience occurring we must cut it off, "make no provision for the flesh," and replace it with proper behavior. This may require some personal suffering; but recall Romans 5:3 indicates tribulation (suffering) leads to patience, which leads to experience (character building) and that to hope. So, when we seek patience we are likely to experience suffering and gain experience in the process. Transformation is the process of embarking on a journey with the Holy Spirit, trekking into unexplored secret avenues of our lives, going down paths we never knew existed, and accomplishing the impossible. We learn it is a journey based upon obedience, trust and reliance upon Him.



Closing



The next step in making us whole (sound-minded) is our transformation. A leopard cannot change its spots; on the contrary, a Christian must. We have access to Divine empowerment to change the spots (core issues) of our life. To say, "I cannot help who I am," is not true. Christians have the Holy Spirit within them, so the issue is not who you are, but who He is. He determines who you can be. In all stages of our life, no matter what our age, the Lord has work to do; the issue is, are we willing to yield and cooperate. It has been said there are two sides to every person, one minute sweet and lovely to one person and a minute later explosive in rage to another; this does not have to be the case for the believer.



Transformation is accomplished through mind renewal, and as He renews our minds the fruit of the Holy Spirit is produced in our life - slowly but surely replacing the attitudes and character traits belonging to the old nature. Then, when we are squeezed by life's trials we display the love, joy, peace, and longsuffering indicative of Christ in us. A popular hymn refers to us as worms before our salvation; we may have been worms at that time, but His ministry is changing us worms into beautiful creatures of great worth.



Endnotes



1. Scofield, C.I.; The Scofield Reference Bible; Oxford University Press; 1945.



2. Vogel, H.C.A.; The Nature Doctor; Keats Publishing; 1991.



3. The phrase in brackets was added by this author.



4. Brock, Robert; "The Commands of Christ for Christian Living"; Expo. Press; 1997.



5. Ortberg, John; The Life You've Always Wanted; Zondervan Publishing House, 1997.



6. Morter, Ted M.; Cell Health and Wellness; Lifetime Books, Inc.; 1992.



7. Bitterness has been shown to negatively influence a person's gall bladder and anger negatively influences a person's liver. Over time both of these will lead to physical as well as mental illness.



8. Castleman, Michael; The Healing Herbs; Rodall Press; 1991.



9. Sadler, Paul M.; Paul's Epistle to the Ephesians; Berean Bible Society; 1999.



10. Chafer, Lewis Sperry; Grace; Zondervan Publishing House; 1979.



11. Malone, Thomas & Patrick; The Art of Intimacy, Simon & Schuster, 1987.

[parkker007]

Thank you so much blackeyedpeas for this; I've been having a lot of doubts in my life recently. I know I am saved; I have asked God to save me from my sins and wipe my heart clean, and to give me the Holy Spirit to lead me where He wants me. However, I don't wake up every morning wondering how I can serve God, and I find it hard to drop bad old habits.
I think some of it stems from the fact that I have been exposed to these things all my life in a Christian home. I have always known that it's wrong to lie, wrong to disobey my parents, but I've obviously done these things many times anyway- is it possible that I've become somehow "desensitized" to these sins, and that's why it's easy for me to do them even after the Holy Spirit tells me not to?
I think my main problem is that I have been ignoring the Holy Spirit for too long and going my own way throughout high school... I want to change in the deepest parts of my heart, but I can never seem to follow through.

[nChrist]

Hello Parkker007,

I'm very happy this helped you. It helped me also. We won't have to struggle for eternity - just for this short life. We must also remember that we are never alone. GOD is with us and in us. If we pray and mean it, GOD will help us.

Love In Christ,
Tom

1 Peter 1:3-5 NASB
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.