I was *so* close to getting scammed…they nearly got me!!
To save money while building, we often fill up a large diesel tank at a discount fuel station. I had filled the maximum once, and so hung up the fuel hose and swiped my card again…
A loud beep indicated that this second transaction did not go through. This is a fairly common occurrence – we regularly run out of money so need to be careful in how much we spend…
As I removed my card, my phone started ringing…
“We are are ringing to see if you authorised a payment…”
Just as I heard this statement, an unknown truck driver appeared, asking if he could use my membership card (so he could get cheaper fuel). My son was asking if we should give the card to this stranger.
But I was engaging with the person on the phone…how amazing and fast was this security check?! I had only just tried to process a second payment for a second lot of fuel – they had blocked the transaction, and now were on the phone within seconds!
But something wasn’t right… Distracted, I slipped into auto pilot and started asking this person if they had heard of Jesus…his reply:
“What are you talking about? We are trying to stop a fraudulent transaction”
“But I just want you to know have you heard of Jesus? He can save your soul!“
“What do you mean – no one knows Jesus – He is a fraud…”
I shared a few insights about Jesus, how I had met Him, how He had changed my life and how everyone who had ever sinned needed Him… His reaction changed quickly:
He started yelling and swearing, anger and hatred without break. I kept sharing and pleading with Him to look at the evidence and ask Jesus if He was real.
This was *not* someone from my bank. He was a run-of-the-mill scammer – no wonder he was angry. I had confronted him in his sin – that theives will face God on judgment day – that without Jesus we are all doomed.
I don’t recall exactly what I said – but as he hung up I received a notification on my phone asking if I had authorised a payment – this one named the business and amount. I clicked yes, swiped the card again & I continued to fill up the tank.
On so many levels the world we live in is amazing:
– Scammers are so persistent and cunning
– We make so many transactions it is easy to get duped by a simple scam.
– How well protected we are, that the bank recognises high risk transactions and takes immediate action
– Jesus is always at work, willing to save people who are condemned and unable to be ‘good’.
– How we have so many opportunities to share about Jesus.
It’s just a small snapshot of spiritual life. At every corner, every second, there is a deceiver trying to trick us into allowing access or making bad choices. We live surrounded by distractions that promise so much but deliver so little: a faster car, a bigger house, a more comfortable couch, different clothes – more stuff, nicer things, better feelings. All utter crap and completely meaningless in the long run.
You can’t take any of it with you, none of it actually satisfies and worse than that? It counts *against* you… Ouch. Our culture is directly opposed to the life Jesus wants us to live, but we still can. Living His Way is far from the mundane & pointless outcome that weighs us down & we see all around.
Jesus offers Truth and Life.
#thankYouJesus #makegooddecisions #spirituallife>things #FollowJesus #TrueContentment
Those who love money will never have enough. How meaningless to think that wealth brings true happiness! The more you have, the more people come to help you spend it. So what good is wealth—except perhaps to watch it slip through your fingers! Ecclesiastes 5:10-11 (NLT)
Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. 1 John 2:15-16 (NLT)
Look here, you rich people: Weep and groan with anguish because of all the terrible troubles ahead of you. Your wealth is rotting away, and your fine clothes are moth-eaten rags. Your gold and silver have become worthless. The very wealth you were counting on will eat away your flesh like fire. This treasure you have accumulated will stand as evidence against you on the day of judgment. James 5:1-3 (NLT)
But people who long to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows. 1 Timothy 6:9-10 (NLT)
“No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money. Matthew 6:24 (NLT)
If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need but shows no compassion—how can God’s love be in that person? 1 John 3:17 (NLT)
“Yes, a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God.” Luke 12:21 (NLT)
Yet true godliness with contentment is itself great wealth. After all, we brought nothing with us when we came into the world, and we can’t take anything with us when we leave it. 1 Timothy 6:6-7 (NLT)