True

…grace and truth came to be through Jesus Christ. ~ John 1:17b NASB

True or False

There is something about the nature of true that cuts through the tangled web of confusion and turmoil. To be strong and courageous, we begin with a set point of choosing to believe Jesus is 100% true with no lie in Him.

It’s been said that Satan knows the truth too. Which is why he is so adept at utilizing it – sometimes at 99%. But it’s that 1% of his poisonous lies that can set its hooks in us. Sad but true, the world is anchored in his falseness. If only it was just 1%. But you know as well as I do that the falsifying of all God created good is daily multiplying.

It was many years ago that Holy Spirit taught me a truth I have never forgotten. He was confirming it at that specific time, only to be witnessed many times over since then. It continues unfolding as the pattern of Christ and the pattern of the world remain in play. It was this: for every single genuine facet or word of God, Satan has a corresponding facet or word that is the counterfeit opposite. Mixed with truth, it is still a true forgery.

Truth’s Prayer of Grace and Protection

The last event of Jesus’s earthly life before He went to the cross is recorded in John 17 – His high priestly prayer. I recommend you read it and stay with it for as long as it takes to soak into your soul, seeding it with fresh hope. We are the ones responsible for what we nourish our inner being with. No one force-feeds the children of God.

Not that we may not be tempted and at times stumble due to finesse of the false by Jesus’s arch enemy. Just because He overcame Satan’s temptations in the wilderness, doesn’t mean the deceiver didn’t return to Him later. We know he most certainly did – and rejoiced at what he thought was his victory. Until the Resurrection.

Truth as the Living Word means that as He prayed for His disciples and those who would believe through their message of personal witness and testimony then, His prayer included us at this present time. Christ’s death on the cross was an eternal action taken at a specific time. What He accomplished then was completed (“It is finished!”) – with a result that continues. He laid down His life and He took up His life again so we may do so too.

Before Christ condemned and cast out Satan on the cross, breaking his power, He had already prayed for us who believe.¹ And for all who would believe on Him through our message of His redeeming love, mercy, and grace.² Reading this, you may consider yourself a disciple of Christ, or are one who will believe as His message is shared. True is the heart-will of the Father, the love of the Son, and the desire of Holy Spirit to enable Their Life in us. Thomas resisted believing without seeing. Jesus’s word to him? “Stop doubting and believe.”³ Truly, it was Him.

What I have taught you is the truth

I John begins with the Word of Life and walking in the light. It concludes with “that you may know”⁺⁴ you have eternal life. In I John 2:27, John, speaking of the anointing of the Spirit, writes in essence – “what I have taught you is the truth; what you are being tempted by is not true.”

“That you may know” was preceded by Jesus in John 16:1 telling His disciples that He had spoken these things (in chapter 15) to clear stumbling-blocks out of their path. John listened, learned, lived, and taught from the true he had seen and heard in his life with Jesus. Holy Spirit affords us the same freedom from what is false.

What you are being tempted by is not true

In closing, I want to share a story that illustrates what you are being tempted (aka tested) by is not true.

For context, it was fifteen months ago (February 2023). I settled in to work on my next Vineyard Days post after publishing His Seeking Heart of Love two days earlier. I had just clicked on a free photo provider’s site (which I had not utilized for quite some time) when an incessant repetitive alert voice ensued. Panic too since I had a full-screen lockup and words alerting my laptop was compromised, with ‘call this number’ listed in big red letters. All while ‘the voice’ screamed nonstop that I had been locked out. It was instant dial-a-computer-chaos, ie. scam.

I called the number (don’t do that) and will spare you the blow-by-blow account, except to say it cost me 30 minutes of my life, but not the thousands of dollars the scammers (ie. ‘Microsoft technicians’ and ‘FTC agent’) were after. By the time my husband passed by my office door and heard me being accused of ‘illegal activity traced personally to me’, I had been threatened with money laundering through six or seven countries, purchase of several porn site subscriptions (illegal activity), and that any Social Security, Medicare, and all bank accounts would be shut down until this was resolved.

Don’t forget the instructions of exactly what to do to draw out funds to protect my accounts and purchase a money exchange, because a uniformed officer will come to my house to collect the exchanged funds. I was uneasy, hesitant; the scammer had an answer for every pushback. What started out ‘helpful’ morphed later in the call into threats of severe punishment in increased angry tones.

when grace looks like your husband and your IT guy

My husband then intercepted the call, with the scammer pulling out a whole new playbook. After a few minutes, my spouse hung up (do this at the beginning if you get caught in a similar incident) and told me to call our IT guy. I did, thinking he’s a small business owner and probably not available. He answered right away, calm as could be when I briefly explained what occurred, and said he gets about three of these a week. He spent 15 minutes on the phone, talking me through the instructions of rolling back the steps I’d been instructed by the scammers.

Then he said, “It is not real. We’ll get you back to as though it didn’t happen. Advise your bank and credit union though so they’ll know to monitor your accounts just in case – though it should be ok.” Thankfully, it was and is.

“This is just what the Enemy does.”

I woke up the next morning with clarity from Holy Spirit: this is just what the Enemy does; he operates his scam. IT IS NOT REAL. But this is how we can be snared, reeled in, caught, and exploited. In this scenario, it was for the purpose of stealing and destroying elements of our life. Our IT guy shared they can put up all kinds of pop-up screens with legit-looking information. Including the initial one of warning / do not turn off your computer / you’re locked out / call in. He identified it as a “total workaround on their end for the purpose of getting a money exchange.” In the end, the scammers delivered a true lesson, wisdom for all of us, and God’s grace in action.

~ Gracefully Free

¹ John 17:6-10         ² John 17:20            ³ John 20:24-30       ⁴ I John chapter 5 

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