With new technology and countless sources for counterfeit bills around the country, counterfeit money is looking more and more like the original all the time. So, how does a teller keep up with all the schemes and devices of the counterfeit money makers?
Not by learning all the endless flawed markings of the fake. Shoot, if she did that, the teller would waste tons of time and energy trying to keep up with the crooks. (Do people still say “crooks” or am I stuck in 1950’s crime dramas?) Instead, she simply learns to recognize, through and through, what a real piece of U.S. currency looks like.
A bill is almost certainly genuine if it passes four basic tests:
1. The look and feel test: U.S. bank notes are printed on special paper that is 75% cotton and 25% linen with red and blue fibers imbedded in the paper and ink on top of the paper. All of these things give genuine bills a distinct look and feel.
2. The Color-shifting Test: On bank notes bigger than $5, color-shifting ink is used to print the denomination in the lower right hand corner. On genuine notes, the color will shift from copper to green or green to black.
3. The Watermark Test: All bills larger than $2 have a watermark, which can be seen when held up to the light.
4. The Security Thread Test: All bills larger than $2 have a security thread running vertically through them. The thread has text with the bill’s denomination and an image that is unique to the denomination. As with the watermark, you must hold it up to the light to see it.
By studying the distinct markings of a genuine piece of U.S. currency, a bank teller can easily identify anything else as “not genuine.”
No matter who you are, you are hearing a lot of different voices, pretty much all the time. Some are louder than others. Some are more persistent. Some offer viable solutions to your problems. Some are more logical, more rational. Some more heart-felt and emotional. The voices you hear are unique to you and your situation. The voices you hear probably don’t sound exactly like the voices I hear.
As a Christian trying to discern the voice of God in the midst of it all, it can become extremely frustrating trying to identify the origin of the voices in your head. In fact, as a new Christian desperate to hear God’s voice, this became my most urgent question:
How do I know if the voice I’m hearing is God, Satan or me?
Let me save you tons of time and energy and give you a little voice-identification tip:
The best way to identify what is NOT God, is to thoroughly study was IS God. As Christians, we trust and believe the Bible is God’s word. Therefore, by renewing our minds in the Word of God, we learn exactly what God sounds like. We see how He spoke to others throughout history. We see the kinds of things He said and didn’t say. We learn what methods He used and the purpose behind His words.
When we learn to hold the voice-in-question up to the Light of the World, we can see if it has the distinct markings of the True Voice.
Solid food is for those who are mature, who through training have the skill to recognize the difference between right and wrong. (Hebrews 5:14 NLT)
It takes some time…some practice. But, learning to discern the voice of God is a byproduct of spiritual maturity. The more time we spend in relationship with God, the more we recognize the nature and characteristics unique to His voice.
Once we recognize what His voice IS, it won’t really matter what other voices are saying to us. It won’t be necessary to understand all the different ways our Enemy or our flesh speaks to us. Like a bank teller holding a bill that fails to pass the test, we’ll easily identify all other voices as “not God.”
Wow! That's pretty much what our pastor told us yesterday. How did you know?! 😉 Such truth, Sandy. And a great reminder.
Well said, Sandy. Great post.
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