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Immanuel

#1  Chapter 14 - Spritiual Reality, Spiritual Order and Spiritual Wisdom

Dear Ones,

Peace and grace to you. I will share a series of writings concerning life in the Kingdom of God.

Now I sincerely hope my sharing will not cause chaos or controversies that run over the boundary of any meaningful discuss. The piece of writing I will share is not to defend or offend, rather as a friend to lend a hand on your journey to spiritual matters. I enjoy to see others even care to ponder such things...

Below is one of the chapters of a writing I wrote some time ago. It is mainly addressing to those who share my view of spiritual things and are well familiar with the Bible. I hope you enjoy the chance to read the scripture in the context as I didn't expound on some basics, even this was written as a basic teaching.

I have many miraculous things happened to me: "Converted" because God talked to me while never knew anything of church or the Bible; 3 days was caught up in heaven in a out-of-body experience and preached to myriads of angels with an unknown tongue after came back; many times was able to see into heavenly things, even participate in them; 7 days did not eat or sleep while the Spirit and the power of God rested upon me; having cast out demons, heal people, etc...I would surely testify that Spiritual Reality exists and functions in a way confounding to the "wise". And this is for a reason...

1 Corinthians 1:18-31 (NIV)


Christ the Wisdom and Power of God

18 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19 For it is written:

“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise;

the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.”(a)

20 Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21 For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. 22 Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, 24 but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength.

26 Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 28 He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, 29 so that no one may boast before him. 30 It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. 31 Therefore, as it is written: “Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.”b

[1]
a Isaiah 29:14

b Jer. 9:24

[1] The Holy Bible : New International Version. Grand Rapids : Zondervan, 1996, c1984


----------------------


Now that being said, here is the article. Hope you have the patience to read it through...

Love,
Sun

=======================

CHAPTER 14: SPIRITUAL REALITY, SPIRITUAL ORDER AND SPIRITUAL WISDOM

In this section we will continue to introduce some basic of the Kingdom of God in a general sense.

•        Spiritual Reality

•        Spiritual Order.

•        Two Wisdoms



Presentation



Introduction

This chapter will be a continuation of a brief survey of some basic concepts of the Kingdom of God. As we put our faith in God, we will be able to see through our spiritual eyes a reality beyond the natural one: spiritual reality. This reality is not static, but also subject to a work that is initiated by God and will be summed up by Him as well. The Father has set up His order and entrust to His Son to establish it as He subject the Devil, who rebelled against His will and sow disorder or lawlessness into creation. The conflict between the Kingdom of Light by the Son of God and the Kingdom of Darkness by the Devil is across the ages of creation, and man is the main prize and battle field for this engagement. As we mentioned before, man will be influenced by the wisdom He receive. If he receives it through the Holy Spirit, the wisdom of God, he is able to enter into the Kingdom of His Son and be established as member of God’s house and citizen of the Kingdom of Heaven. Otherwise, he will receive the wisdom from below by his flesh or influence of evil spirits, and remain in the power of the darkness and subject to death and sin, even worse, willingly become instrument of the Devil, full of deception and wickedness.

Spiritual Reality

One of the biggest traps anyone can make is to mystify spiritual matters and give up the position and discernment that is required for our wellbeing and understanding. Because of the mystical nature, fear or curiosity will lead to unbalanced view of spiritual things.

Many believers would think that the Kingdom of God is the only spiritual reality we will encounter in spiritual life. This is more than a wrong proposition to take, but also a dangerous one. Spiritual reality, if defined as anything of a spiritual nature, would involve with more than the reality in the Kingdom of God, but also other realities in the heavenly places. Some only belong to the Kingdom of the Enemy, which most of the time is a counterfeit or copy of the Kingdom of God. This fact causes great confusion and deception to an untrained and unenlightened mind to grasp and discern. Let us take a look at what Jesus had to say when facing those who only possess head knowledge yet were totally blind to such realities.

Matt. 12:22-28 [NIV]

22Then they brought him a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute, and Jesus healed him, so that he could both talk and see. 23All the people were astonished and said, “Could this be the Son of David?”

24But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, “It is only by Beelzebub, the prince of demons, that this fellow drives out demons.”

25Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand. 26If Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then can his kingdom stand? 27And if I drive out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your people drive them out? So then, they will be your judges. 28But if I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.


Now, we can see how blind the minds of the religious men were at the time. Yes these profess that they knew God and His Kingdom and could give guidance to other’s spiritual life. Thus Jesus called them the blind leading the blind and rebuked them as ones who did not enter the Kingdom and stood in the door so that others would not enter.

In essence, they used the mind and reasoning, or their flesh, to try to grasp and fulfill what meant to come only through the Holy Spirit. This we will discuss a little later. Now let’s turn to another interesting thing as revealed in these verses: spiritual order.

Spiritual Order

Accused as of being the very opposite of who He is, Jesus refuted and warned the Pharisees by pointing of the way how spiritual reality exists and works. It exists and works not in so much chaos as evidenced in this visible realm, rather it moves and functions in a much strict and regulated order.

In last chapter, we mentioned the economy and government of the Kingdom of God. Now these also exist in the Kingdom of Darkness, even in many ways a copy or counterfeit. Let’s take a look another story of Jesus to illustrate this.

Luk. 7:1-10 [NIV]

1When Jesus had finished saying all this in the hearing of the people, he entered Capernaum. 2There a centurion’s servant, whom his master valued highly, was sick and about to die. 3The centurion heard of Jesus and sent some elders of the Jews to him, asking him to come and heal his servant. 4When they came to Jesus, they pleaded earnestly with him, “This man deserves to have you do this, 5because he loves our nation and has built our synagogue.” 6So Jesus went with them.

He was not far from the house when the centurion sent friends to say to him: “Lord, don’t trouble yourself, for I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. 7That is why I did not even consider myself worthy to come to you. But say the word, and my servant will be healed. 8For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”

9When Jesus heard this, he was amazed at him, and turning to the crowd following him, he said, “I tell you, I have not found such great faith even in Israel.” 10Then the men who had been sent returned to the house and found the servant well.


It is amusing to see that even Jesus was surprised by this Gentile’s faith; it is also sad. Obviously the nature and way of spiritual Kingdom of God is an unknown territory for the religious Jews of the day. And they supposed to be the ones teaching others the way of God.

Now, give a closer examination of the story, we can see how Jesus Himself understood and moves in the order of the Kingdom of God, which is constituted in a governmental way with authority and power granted to offices that would function within.

To trace back a bit, this is the design of God when He created everything, which is in order and boundaries that was set up for them. There are heavenly bodies and earthly ones; there are seasons and times, etc. These were created for the revelation of His wisdom, glory and power. And He created Man in His image and likeness and gave Him the position to represent Him to govern everything on His behalf. Tragically, as we mentioned before, Man forfeited this privilege and Satan usurped His position unto the earthly realm as an extension of His rebellion against God. He is called the prince of this world, the ruler of this world. His Kingdom is a kingdom of lawlessness and pride.

However, Man is not without hope. In the fullness of time, God sent His Son and released us from this powerless place and restored everything back to us. It is in this sense, Jesus came and died and resurrected again to open the way to eternal life and the place of authority and power unto man. With this in mind, He discipled the Apostles and entrusted and empowered them to do the same.

Matt. 28:16-20 [NIV]

16Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”


Two Wisdoms

We will not expound on this a lot as we mentioned the difference of the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil before. We will briefly recap it.

When God created man, He created him in His image. This implies that man was created with spiritual faculties make him readily to commune with God and learn wisdom from Him. Man was designed to be taught by God Himself, to become His disciple. And through man, God intended to reveal His wisdom and His glory to all creation. What an honor and privilege! These spiritual faculties can be compared to man’s natural senses, of which the direct ones are spiritual ears and spiritual eyes, which allow man to hear God and see His glory, thus learn of His Wisdom, walk in His Ways, change into His Nature and transform into His Glory. God wanted to father man as His own son and teach him everything He knows. Imagine how sad He was when man chose to forfeit this wonderful relationship with Him!

Yet, man lost this privilege when seduced the serpent as recorded in Genesis 3.

Ge 3:4-5 [NIV]

4“You will not surely die,” the serpent said to the woman. 5“For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”


When Adam and Eve both partook the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, their natural eyes and ears were opened, so they felt shamed when they found themselves naked and afraid when they heard God’s voice calling them. They relationship with God and each other became defiled with unclean conscience, which is the essence of sin. Consequently, they were casted out of the Garden of Eden, away from God’s presence, thus forever cut off from the Fatherhood of God, or His family and His education, lost the chance to “become just like Him”.

David knew this very well, he was given amazing revelation of the ordinances of God. In Psm. 32, after describing his painful struggle of sin and his joy in the forgiveness of God, he heard God uttered him something more promising than anything else.

Ps 32:8 [NIV]

8I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
I will counsel you and watch over you.


Like many other Davidic psalms, this one also is a Messianic psalm, its application is beyond that of David himself, rather the whole human race. In it is the hope of the restitution of man’s privilege to be taught and protected by God, which is fulfilled through Christ Jesus, the second Adam, the life-giving spirit.
It is God’s desire to teach us His wisdom, the wisdom from above, not the one from below.

James offers us a clear distinction between the two:

James 3:13-18 [NIV]

13Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. 14But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. 15Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil. 16For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.

17But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. 18Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness.


We will explore this more in the coming chapters in more detailed manners.

---------------------

Scriptures

Spiritual Reality and Order

Col 1:10-14 [NIV]

10And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, 11being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully 12giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. 13For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, 14in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

Luk 4:31-37 [NIV]


31Then he went down to Capernaum, a town in Galilee, and on the Sabbath began to teach the people. 32They were amazed at his teaching, because his message had authority.
33In the synagogue there was a man possessed by a demon, an evil spirit. He cried out at the top of his voice, 34“Ha! What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!”
35“Be quiet!” Jesus said sternly. “Come out of him!” Then the demon threw the man down before them all and came out without injuring him.
36All the people were amazed and said to each other, “What is this teaching? With authority and power he gives orders to evil spirits and they come out!” 37And the news about him spread throughout the surrounding area.

Matt 6:9-13 [NIV]

9“This, then, is how you should pray:
“‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
10your kingdom come,
your will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.
11Give us today our daily bread.
12Forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.’

Two Wisdoms

John 3:10-12 [NIV]

10“You are Israel’s teacher,” said Jesus, “and do you not understand these things? 11I tell you the truth, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony. 12I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things?

Isa 11:2-5 [NIV]

2The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him—
the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,
the Spirit of counsel and of power,
the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD—
3and he will delight in the fear of the LORD.
He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes,
or decide by what he hears with his ears;
4but with righteousness he will judge the needy,
with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth.
He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth;
with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked.
5Righteousness will be his belt
and faithfulness the sash around his waist.

Luk 2:40 [NIV]

40And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him. ….
52And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.

-----------------------


Questions for Reviews

1.        What is the difference between the Kingdom of God and Spiritual Reality?





2.        What is the relationship between Spiritual Reality and Spiritual Order?





3.        Was Jesus under authority when He walked on earth? How so?




4.        Give you observation what is the characters of wisdom from above.






Questions for Meditation and Application

1.        Read John 3, and explain

a.        Why Jesus stopped Nicodemus’s way of conversation?



b.        Do you think there is a difference between seeing and entering the Kingdom of God? How so?



c.        How do you describe the effect of understanding the wisdom from above as explained by Jesus?





2.        Have you ever encountered spiritualist or witchcraft in your life? Do you think practices of such enjoy certain spiritual insight and power? How so?





3.        What is your idea of spiritual authority and order? Do you think they are necessary to be established in your life? How so?




4.        Give some practical decisions after you read and study this chapter, so that spiritual wisdom and order in your life can be improved.


2010-4-14 03:06
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一元

#2  



引用:
Originally posted by Immanuel at 2010-4-14 08:06 AM:
I have many miraculous things happened to me: "Converted" because God talked to me while never knew anything of church or the Bible; 3 days was caught up in heaven in a out-of-body experience and preached to myriads of angels with an unknown tongue after came back; many times was able to see into heavenly things, even participate in them; 7 days did not eat or sleep while the Spirit and the power of God rested upon me; having cast out demons, heal people, etc...I would surely testify that Spiritual Reality exists and functions in a way confounding to the "wise". And this is for a reason...

It had taken so many miracles to have you converted, so please bear with us for our ignorance - not every one gets that blessed. It takes time if not miracles. Would you mind telling us more your own experience?


2010-4-14 07:45
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Immanuel

#3  

一元,

I hope I could enjoy that liberty. But it is not about my own experiences. As long as I know it I have many friends, who are not so much into church or religion but have enjoyed similar experiences. My Lord blessed me greatly with people of love, purity and righteousness, also great spiritual wisdom and insights. These are across the globe and across ages.

I was "converted" not because of these miracles, even they played a great part in my walk of faith, I was converted because I came to the end of myself, having lost a single strand of confidence in my own ability to find truth, crying out aloud in my heart for truth. It was the most trying time in my life prior to that, I spent years after forfeiting all joys of the world, trying to find truth, now as I knew,  also love, only to be disappointed by one after another till He began to commune with me.

He talked to me for a week while I had no knowledge that He is the God mentioned in the Bible, nor enjoyed any clue that He is a spiritual being, invisible but living.

To approach spiritual things with pride of our own intellect is as if to put the ladder on the wrong wall. Spiritual things can't be reasoned out, if it can be done with our own effort, then many intelligent men would have acquired them. To our disappointment, many spoke out of the abundance of their pride and self-indulgence, knowing nothing about love and righteousness.

Faith is a substantial thing, just like life beyond death is a substantial thing. If one entertains great confidence in being himself or herself, then he or she has already shut up the door of life and truth.

The Bible mentioned three things that will not be allowed in a spiritual life by the power of God. They are lust of the eyes, lust of the flesh, and the pride of life.

Truth is always offensive to those who refuse to come to the light of it. We gather human knowledge and indulge in our ability to study and figure things out, that is not the way to gain spiritual knowledge. Spirit knowledge comes by the Spirit, there is no other way.

All the dealings of God towards man is always because of His love unto us. But few will find consolation in His love and His life. Human being, by its nature, is prideful. And without humility, no one is allowed to enter the counsel and the wisdom of God.  

Thus repentance is prerequisite for one to see and enter into the Kingdom of God. Repentance is not merely about confessing of sin and asking for forgiveness, it is about the renewal of our mind, or the turn around in our thinking. How difficult that is for one who enjoys great confidence in being "right" of things! How I know it was difficult for me!


2010-4-14 10:34
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一元

#4  

Honestly, I regard me myself to be a natural believer. I guess I have a few Bibles at home, all from my friends, but I rarely read them. Why bother? Every one of us is a masterpiece from His workbench. And every life of ours is sacred enough to be read as a piece of Scripture. Why loathe our bodies? They are the most beautiful art-forms imbued with Creator’s inspiration. Why despise our sensations? They are the most vivid and timely evidence of God’s miracles in the making. Yes, we are humble - humble under the mighty humility He has conferred on us. By the same token, we are proud - proud of every bit of pride He bestowed upon us. As much I admire those who have experienced miracles and been enlightened with unearthly commune, I hold no jealousy. From time to time, I reckon the nature around us is supernatural enough, and my very life, normal and sometime struggling as it is, the most wonderful happening beyond my comprehension.


2010-4-15 08:54
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晨思

#5  

Very well said, 一元, I share the similar sentiment with you. Most people are spiritual in their own ways (regardless of their religious affiliation). The world itself is a living god , it’s truly alive,  breathing and thriving daily, I am glad I am part of the whole to experience the pains and pleasures that the life brings, my life is a miracle, so are other living things around me, the plants and animals, the life journey itself is mystical, even with no religion, we all manage to find our unique way to get there, ie, through art, poetry, dancing, singing, even running, there are thousands of ways to be 'spiritual'.

I stay away from religion just because the belief system is self-enclosed (instead of open-minded) and could not embrace other ways of thinking. To enjoy life is to love life, the rest is trivial.


2010-4-18 12:59
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Immanuel

#6  

一元,晨思,

谢谢你们的回复。你们讲的,都是高尚和可贵的道理,能够体会到你们的深思和品格。我是十分敬佩和欣赏的。只是不敢苟同而已。

认真的宗教和哲学思想都要论及本原,认知手段,物我关系以及精神归宿等基本的问题。世界是不是可知的,要用什么样的途径或方法认知之,自我的来与去如何于在外在世界不断流变的背景下定位与定义,精神自由或者精神彼岸如何获知和到达等等的问题,都要有一个确实的定界或答案。不然的话,我们往往会以主观的东西规范客观来证实或者证明自己的观念,其弊端至少有两点:

第一。 我们容易以自己的知识和观念折射实在或者本在。容易为个人经验所局限,或者人云亦云。故此不能拨云见日,在探求真理的路上,或者停滞,或者迷歧。

第二呢。当我们用自己的本来的世界观、人生观和方法论,去概念和推演真理, 我们会陷入对自我智慧和认识能力的迷信。

这样的话,因为前提和语言(这些当然需要根本于实实在在的东西来界定)都不能一致或者沟通,有意义的讨论和对话往往会陷入到无意义的分析和争辩, 甚至于会演变成意气之争,导致误解和悲剧。这是大多数的根本于思辨的宗教(基督教芜杂的神学尤为典范)和哲学,包括实证科学的失误。这样的途径,其经验、体验、冥想,甚至体悟,都是以自我为中心,自信着自己的头脑和能力。无论接受传统(别人的流传),还是自我发明,归结一下的话,都归终于主观能力。基督教作为一种宗教体系和实践在这一点上的失误和犯罪,为人类精神自由和价值的追求带来多少的纷争和不幸。实在让人痛心和可恶的。

那么,这个以思辨和个人经验为依归的主观能力在认知真理(外在的实在)和意义(我物归属和关系,存在价值)上可不可靠呢?

如果不是可靠的。那么我们所有的观念和价值无非是空中楼阁,海上蜃市而已。这对于追求真理和精神自由的人,是多么危险的一件事啊。譬如你们讲到的精神境界可能终究不过是一种境界而已,而不是实在的东西。以这样的态度和方法探究精神(属灵的)现实,值不值得自我反思一下呢?


2010-4-18 14:00
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晨思

#7  

谢谢Immanuel,你够博学的。我钦佩宗教精神,也认为宗教展示的思想境界是令人向往的,是高贵的,只是不想受到过多束缚,因为自由散漫惯了。我读闲书偏科学哲学,主要是凭兴趣,宗教略知一二。你提到主观能力在认知真理上不可靠,可我不认为世上存在某种认知是可以完全确信而没有令人怀疑的地方,你只能说某种认知正确的可能性较大,而去信的。

第一,“我们容易以自己的知识和观念折射实在或者本在”,~并非完全是个人的经验,个人对世界认知是通过前人(他人)的认知加上个人的经验。

第二,“当我们用自己的本来的世界观、人生观和方法论,去概念和推演真理, 我们会陷入对自我智慧和认识能力的迷信”。~我不认为真理是完全能被人所认知的,所谓真理都是个人或集体推演出来,都有主观片面性。

我无意争辩,也一向尊重信教者。对于成年人,说服与被说服都很难。


2010-4-18 23:41
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Immanuel

#8  

晨思,你说的很有道理。谢谢你能平心静气与我对话,这让我十分欢喜。

要进入耶稣基督所说的精神生活,一个人必须重生得灵。所以对于追随基督的人来说,精神生活就是灵命生活-有不可见而可知的神的圣灵教导指引的生活。

由此,要进入和生活在灵命里,一个人必须放弃自己以物质现实为根本现实的观念,不但承认精神现实为实在,而且承认以自我智识为途径认知精神现实的不可能性。这一点,不但是平常人有困难, 也是大多数所谓基督徒的困难。他们常常以自己的聪明知识替代灵命和灵悟智识。

我的朋友,我当然知道你无意争辩,我也无心说服你。我希望你切切不要以为我是高姿态,自矜于自己的学识聪明。我是看到你在内心里希望发见生命的真谛和意义,真心为你高兴,想分享我的一得之见而已。

我极力“自我推荐”:有时间的活, 请耐心地通读我所发的章节。 权当是了解一些事情,不要先存了意见才好。因为文章多引用圣经,不妨有一本在旁边。New International Version是我用的。

记住了:我无意劝服和改变你,只是想与你分享我自己都万分珍重和宝贵的东西。

提到“新生儿”, 我要发的下一章正要讲到。。。。


2010-4-19 07:15
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