Recently I was studying the most recent Canadian $10 bill and was amazed by all the security features. As counterfeiters are getting more sophisticated and high tech, the Bank of Canada works to keep ahead of them with security features that are becoming harder to counterfeit. To check what a genuine $10 bill is like, the Bank of Canada website has an article listing its security features. Just remember: Bank notes are only secure if you check them. The banknote is made of polymer. There is raised ink in places. Other parts are transparent, while others shift color as you move it around. They wrote this article not because it is encouraging me to counterfeit that $10 bill. They wrote it so I know what to look for in spotting a fake.

On the top of my $10 banknote, just under the word Canada it says, “This Note is Legal Tender”. Which means I can go to the store to legally buy say some milk and a loaf of bread using the $10 bill.. The 2 items should cost under $10. I will hand the clerk my $10 bill and the clerk will hand me back the difference in change. But did you know there are five different denominations of official Bank of Canada banknote currency that’s no longer recognized as legal tender? The bills in question are the $1, $2, $25, $500, and $1,000 notes. You can’t buy anything with these notes anymore. They are no longer legal tender. As long as they are genuine, you can still cash them in at a chartered bank for their full value.

As Christians we live in a world that is constantly checking us out to see if we are genuine. Are we genuine and the real thing? The Bank of Canada website gives me the information of what I need to look for to see if my $10 bill is genuine. But did you also know that the $10 bill I have does not belong to me. It actually belongs to the Bank of Canada. Under Section 460(2) of the Criminal Code of Canada, it is illegal for me to deface or tamper the banknote, as the image on the banknote becomes no longer as it should appear. As an example, even though the banknote is genuine, I should not add an extra “0” after the number 10. Even as a joke. It is deception and in doing so that $10 bill becomes worthless. No longer legal tender. In the same way, as Christians we belong to God. God made us in His image. Satan wants to tamper with that image. He will try every trick in the book to deceive us and make us feel worthless. 1 Peter 5:8: “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour”. Romans 14:8: “For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s”. When we live to the Lord, we live a life that is honouring and pleasing to Him.

The Bible lists lots of ways I can tell if I am a genuine Christian. Here are 5. Believe it or not, I got these 5 points from Artificial Intelligence when I googled “Marks of a Genuine Christian”. The verses from God’s Word and comments I have chosen myself. It’s important to take inventory of our faith and examine ourselves from time to time.

1. Belief in Christ. A true Christian confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, who died on the cross and rose from the grave for the forgiveness of sins. 1 John 5:1: “Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God”.
2. Love for God and others. It’s like daily living out the Golden Rule. Mark 12:30: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. Love your neighbor as yourself”.
3. Holiness and Obedience. It is shunning away from things that are sinful, ungodly and unholy. 2 Timothy 2:22: “So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart”.
4. Fellowship and Unity. That desire to be with other Christians for worship and fellowship. 1 John 1:5: “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin”.
5. Faithfulness and Perseverance. The Christian life is not free from trials and testing. A genuine Christian will be faithful to God knowing that God is our refuge and strength. No matter what circumstance. In Christ we have a hope to endure to the end. James 1:12: “Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him”