Counterfeit: Spotting the Fake - Living the Authentic

By Gail Lueth

In the chapters of this book, you will find some hidden "fake news" about your life, and you may find some of this to be shocking information. Don't be fooled! 

This book teaches you how to spot the counterfeit and live authentically. It is practical teaching for today with a creative twist that redirects your mind in

• Language: English
• Publisher: Trilogy Christian Publishing
• Release date: Oct 1, 2021
• ISBN: 9781637695999

Book preview

DEDICATION

This book is dedicated to

my children and grandchildren,

that they might know my love for the Lord

even when I fall for the counterfeit.

FOREWORD

When my young family first moved to Michigan in 2000, Gail welcomed us into her home and made us feel like family. She regularly invited us to share meals, holidays, and special family events. Because we shared such special times together, we grew to know her and her family quite well. Gail is a woman who is chasing after God with her whole heart. Her words are written with conviction and out of a complete love for God and His Word.

Reading this book has been a delight because I have watched her live out these truths in her own life. You are holding a book that was written by a woman who has grown in obedience to God’s Word and who has discovered Jesus as her greatest source of satisfaction. Don’t settle for anything less!

Paul Mumaw

Lead Pastor

Genesis Church

Noblesville/Carmel, IN

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This book would have not been possible without:

Lori Geary

prayed fervently for the

content and completion of this book.

She wrote the prayers at the end of each chapter

with you in mind

and is still praying for you today.

My dear friend

Connie Armitage

who encouraged me

every step of the way.

Susanne Trout

kept me organized and on task

with a gentle spirit and kind direction.

I will be forever grateful.

and

Randy Lueth

His support in my life

has been my greatest gift

from God.

INTRODUCTION

When you think of something counterfeit, what is the first thing that comes to mind? Gold, a diamond ring, a $100 bill, a famous painting? Whatever it is, it is a fake, a copy of something authentic and valuable. The last thing you would want to discover is that your gold watch is a fake, or the beautiful diamond engagement ring your fiancé presented to you is worthless glass. As a store owner, taking a fake $100 bill for the return of merchandise is very discouraging when you are working so hard to make your business a success.

If you believe in Jesus Christ, and have accepted Him as your personal Savior, that is authentic. Nothing can ever change that. However, in today’s culture and with today’s technology, we are constantly taking in fake information and using it as truth to live our Christian lives. Satan delights in making the counterfeit of God’s good things even more enticing to us than the authentic, until one day we realize just how fake the counterfeit really is. In the following chapters you will find some hidden fake news about your life, and you may find some of this to be shocking information.

God’s counterfeit is NOT Satan. Satan is the opposite of God. But the subtle counterfeits that Satan uses to deceive Christians are robbing today’s believers of the power to overcome sin, and the genuine blessings Jesus has for us. When we can spot the counterfeit and live the authentic, our lives become priceless treasures found only in the real, precious, and authentic one, Jesus.

Gail

"Satan uses the very things God has created for our pleasure

and causes them to satisfy us, just enough that we believe the lie."

THE COUNTERFEIT OF GOD IS CREATED THINGS

If you were to ask believers today, What is the counterfeit of God? the answer without a doubt would be Satan. That, my friend, is the first lie Satan has gotten believers to fall for. Satan is not the counterfeit of God. Satan is the opposite of God. A counterfeit is not an opposite. A counterfeit is a copy, a very good, almost perfect copy of the authentic. The true definition of counterfeit is a priceless object replaced by a worthless copy. In God’s case, many have fallen for the worthless copy. The counterfeit of God is created things; things created by God instead of the Creator Himself.

From Genesis to Revelation we find the hearts of people longing for something to worship. We long for something bigger than ourselves to believe and place our trust in. We desire something wiser to lead us and guide us. We need someone to turn to when we cannot go on alone. God made us this way for a purpose, because He never desired that we walk through this life alone and afraid. God is the authentic I AM … period.

There is an unexplainable desire in our hearts to worship something bigger than ourselves. This desire has been the tool Satan has used to lure us and introduce us to his counterfeit since the beginning of time. Satan uses the very things God has created for our pleasure and causes them to satisfy us, just enough that we believe the lie. This created thing is worth being my God.

Our culture today has been fooled by the counterfeit. Satan has slipped into our country, our churches, and our homes and placed little idols that we have fallen for and accept as authentic. We worship them daily and have no idea just how much value we place on the counterfeit gods of our lives.

In our country, the worship of star athletes and sports is over the top. Sports games have taken the place of worship as one of the top priorities for Sunday morning. Movies and Hollywood stars are at the top of the list as well. There is nothing wrong or evil about professional sports or movies. There is nothing wrong or evil about any of God’s created things. They were just not created to be worshiped. Beware, Satan’s counterfeit will very easily slip into our lives, right in the comfort of our own living rooms. Sports and movies are fun for the whole family to enjoy together and as we invite others to join us, it becomes community. But it can also become the perfect counterfeit for worship. Our kids wear their favorite jerseys, sports and movies become the number one conversation in our homes, and it could be that more money is spent on tickets and jerseys than we give in the offering plate.

Even in our homes, the counterfeit has been given control in almost every area of our lives. The authentic worship of God has been counterfeited by everything! School, kid’s sports, dance, band, music lessons, it shows up everywhere. God wants our homes to be the place where we teach God’s Word to our children along with obedience and discipline. But we don’t have time for that. We just don’t have the energy. So, we fall for the counterfeit. Worship our schedule. Our very own created schedule, the big god of our households.

Believe it or not,