1 My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.
2 And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.
3 Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments.
10 Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, "Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down.
Todd was sentenced to a nine years in prison while Julie received a seven year sentence after being convicted of bank fraud and tax evasion. The couple began their sentences in January 2023, before being released this May. President Trump issued the pardon after sharing he believed they were treated unfairly by the justice system because of their celebrity status.
“[The Chrisley’s were] prosecuted because they were celebrities,” President Trump said. “They were treated more harshly because of their status. And that’s not the way our criminal justice system is supposed to work.”
The Movieguide piece featured quotes from FoxNews.com from the couple:
“God has literally taken me to a place where I have so much peace with no longer worrying about trying to please — or trying to meet the expectations of someone else,” Todd said when his trial was ongoing. “The expectation I long to meet is of God. God expects me to be a good, decent, honorable human being. He expects me to honor His word, He expects me to be the leader of my household, He expects me to set an example for my wife, my children, to lead by example but where I fell short in doing that is that I really didn’t give glory to God in all of the things we were accomplishing because I felt like I was the one doing the work.”
“The outpouring of support that we have received…I can’t even tell you what it’s done…The fact that you are praying and praying specifically, we appreciate that and we don’t take it lightly,” Julie added after they were sentenced to jail. “The only thing we can do is keep moving forward, keep being positive, and keep knowing that God is in control. And that’s where we’re gonna stay.”
Alex Little, an attorney for the Chrisleys, said in an interview that he did not know why Trump chose to pardon his clients this week.
But as part of his pitch, Little said, he supplied Trump's "pardon czar," Alice Johnson, with a binder filled with court documents and testimonials.
“President Trump feels very focused on the issue of criminal justice because he has been a focus of investigations that were directed at him," Little said. "And he’s treated it differently because of that.”
About that so-called "pardon czar," NewsNation.com reports:
Before she was pardoned by President Donald Trump during his first term, Alice Johnson was behind bars for 20 years for drug-related offenses.She is quoted as saying about the Chrisleys and those pardoned around the same time: “I know not only their stories, but I make sure that I’m selecting people who have either been rehabilitated, who pose no safety risk, and also we look at cases where there has been obvious weaponization against these individuals..."
Now, Johnson spends her days as the White House’s “pardon czar,” overseeing and recommending clemency cases for the Trump administration.
“I never stopped fighting for my freedom,” she said. “My Christian faith and the prayers of so many kept hope alive. When President Trump heard about me, about the injustice of my story, he saw me as a person. He had compassion, and he acted.”And, daughter Savannah Chrisley has partnered with Pray.com for a new AI-generated Christian video series; Movieguide reports:
“Free in body thanks to President Trump, but free in mind thanks to the Almighty God,” she continued. “I couldn’t believe it: I always remembered that God knew my name, even in my darkest hour. But I never thought a president would.”
The first ever AI-generated Bible miniseries, HEROES IN THE BIBLE: RUTH, has a familiar face hosting each episode of the four-part series: TV personality and podcaster Savannah Chrisley.
“There’s no triumph without tragedy. The story of Ruth shouts that truth from the rooftops,” Savannah Chrisley said in a sneak peak trailer.
“How do we respond when everything seems lost, and how can the blossoms of love spring forth from rubble and ash?” she asked.
The series, the influencer said, shows that “love can, in fact, be found in loss. Redemption can be reclaimed after destruction.”
As the Chrisleys walk in their new-found freedom, we can think about the redemption each of us has in Jesus Christ. We were facing a death sentence, bound up by the power of the enemy, helpless to save ourselves because of our sin. But, Jesus came to open up the prison doors and to set us free from the hold that sin had on us. We can now walk in new life.
We were not falsely accused, though - our sin had condemned us. But, after salvation, we may experience the harmful accusations of the enemy. Not only will he attempt to remind us of sins past, sins forgiven, but will even accuse us for things that we have not done, to heap guilt and shame among our minds, keeping us from experiencing all that God has in store.
So, we can go to our Advocate, confess our sins, and receive forgiveness for our sins. We can go to Jesus when we are facing accusations from the enemy and use those two components that can help us walk in victory - overcoming by...the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony. As it's been said, when the devil tries to remind us of our past, we can remind him of his future.