Most of us are familiar with the popular idiom, "Keeping up with the Joneses", but not all of us know what it means. Therefore, before I write about how we're still "keeping up with the Joneses" in the 21st century, I thought you might enjoy reading about its origin. 

Tomorrow, we'll celebrate another Mother's Day. For some, it'll be a day in which we have the opportunity to honor our mothers who love the Lord and taught us to do the same. For others, it'll be a day when we miss our mothers who are no longer with us, but have entered eternity with Christ, or grievously, without Christ. And for others, this Mother's Day will be a day where we're tempted to send cards filled with untruthful, feel-good sentiments and share posts on social media that describe a godly mother we never had/have. Regardless of what kind of mother we had/have, we're called by God to love and honor her...biblically (read: Celebrating A Different Kind of Mother to find out how to practically obey this biblical mandate).

Some, like me and my husband, were raised by mothers who worked hard to put a roof over our heads and food on the table. But sadly, neither are/were believers (my mother-in-law entered eternity without Christ🥺) However, we're still grateful to the Lord for choosing these mothers for us because it was right and fitting in His sight to do so...even though they brought us much pain and heartache. Pain and heartache are not altogether evil, especially if they draw us nearer and dearer to the Lord Jesus—where we belong (Ps 119:67-68).

Therefore, every birthday and Mother's Day, my husband and I have to choose to either flatter our mothers with cards and sentiments filled with lies, ruminating about the kind of mother they never were then, or are now; or we can lovingly share what is true—that we love them with all our hearts and earnestly pray for their reconciliation with our God and Father through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. We've chosen to do the latter because speaking the truth in love is what's most loving and honoring to the Lord, and most loving and honoring to our mothers; regardless of the results (Gal 1:10). After all, it is not honoring to any parent to have a child who lies (Prov 26:28)?

With all the diverse upbringings, Mother's Day can be filled with delight, or filled with strong temptations to look like everyone else and boast that we have godly, loving, and encouraging mothers; even if we don't. We can compare our gifts with others and give extravagantly only to outdo our friends, or we can give heartfelt gifts; which honor the Lord, therefore, honors our mothers (2 Cor 9:7).

This day is also filled with temptations to pretend we were, or are presently, the godly mothers we never were then, or are now. Whether we are, or are not the mother's the Lord commands us to be, many delight and seek to be honored, exalted, and well-spoken of. But I don't...anymore. As I've grown in my love and gratitude for what my Father has done for me in Christ Jesus, I've become more aware of the wickedness within me. And I no longer delight in feign words of adulation, undue praise, nor being exalted. My greatest joy for my children is to see them walk with the Lord (3 John 1:4), in the light of God's truth, in every aspect of their lives (Jn 3:21).

It's not that it's wrong for my children or any child to honor and give praise to mothers who have (but not perfectly) trained and diligently pursued to be a Proverbs 31:10-31, Ephesians 5:22-24, 1 Timothy 2:9-13, Titus 2:3-5 and 1 Peter 3:1-6 woman. But it is better that Christ be exalted and honored on this day or any day. I prefer for my children to always lift up the name of Jesus, and praise Him continuously because He alone can give them eternal life. I can't. And He alone can love them perfectly. I can't do that either. But I can choose to faithfully point my sons to Jesus rather than to myself, so that they may bask in the grace and mercy of God my Savior.

As we celebrate Mother's Day, let us celebrate it like we should celebrate every day—as a gracious and kind gift from God Almighty. Celebrate it as another day to worship the Lord Jesus in the splendor of holiness. Choose to use this day as another opportunity to talk about how awesome God is rather than talk about or listen to how awesome you are, because you aren't...and neither am I. God alone is awesome because God alone inspires an overwhelming feeling of reverence, admiration and fear. We do not.

Us mothers may be kind, we may be wise, we may even be godly, but we are not awesome. That attribute is given to and reserved for the one and only true God; so let's give Him His due praise, rather than try to receive it ourselves or wrongly extend it to others. And let us teach our children to speak truthfully about us, rather than allow them to speak of godly characteristics we do not presently possess, but should aspire to acquire one day, through daily dying to self and abiding richly in the Word of God—that is, Christ Jesus the Lord (Col 3:16).

"Blessed is the man who makes the LORD his trust, who does not turn to the proud, to those who go astray after a lie!...But may all who seek You rejoice and be glad in You; may those who love Your salvation say continually, 'Great is the LORD!'...What shall I render to the LORD for all His benefits to me? I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the LORD, I will pay my vows to the LORD in the presence of all His people."

We can spend our time thinking and worrying about the things in this life that are passing away just as quickly as we are, or we can spend our time seeing this life in the view of the next; and make decisions based on eternity rather than on the here and now.

Like many of you (I'm sure) I have some stressful situations that I have to deal with from time to time, and not all are related to my health. Sometimes it's family issues, sometimes it's difficult issues with friends within our church and outside our church, and sometimes it's issues with my own selfish desires...okay, mostly it's issues with my own selfish desires.

But regardless of the stressor, I must remain steadfast in the Word of God and in worship and prayer, lest I become consumed with my desire to find immediate relief for my stress, and forget there are other hurting souls near me. Today was one of those days.

I had an MRI today. Something I'm not ecstatic about, because it may mean I need another procedure or surgery I don't want. However, I've come to terms with this and wasn't very concerned about it. When I got to the imaging place, and had some time while I was waiting to be called for my MRI, I wanted to read an email regarding a stressful situation (unrelated to my health) that's been brewing for many months, and came to a boiling point last week.

Thanks be to God, that prior to my MRI, I was able to have a wonderful time of worshiping my Lord Jesus all morning and during my entire drive to the imaging place. As I worshiped, I also prayed, asking my Father God to keep me focused on His will rather than my own. I asked Him for patience and wisdom to do what was good, fitting and most pleasing in His sight. Then I chose to speak God's truth to myself by quoting Scripture to myself, rather than listen to myself and what my flesh most wanted to do to be comforted.

Because the Lord is faithful to do all He said He would, when His Holy Spirit led me to put my phone away and visit with the precious woman sitting next to me, I was able to take my eyes off of self and look to the tender soul God seated near me. Her name is Shirley.

Shirley was knitting a beautiful scarf, and as I commented on her scarf we began to talk about knitting, life, and why she was at the imaging place. Shirley is a loving mother, who traveled here from out of state in order to care for and help her 44-year-old daughter who was diagnosed with cancer three weeks ago. The doctors still don't know what kind of cancer she has and where it originated from. Shirley's daughter is still in the initial stages of testing and discovery before her doctors can begin giving her the proper treatment for her cancer. Her daughter is in excruciating pain and continually nauseated due to the cancer that has so far, been discovered in her hip, liver and pancreas. They're both weary of unanswered questions and desire so much to have a little glimmer of hope that all will be well.

As I listened to Shirley share her story, I prayed and asked the Lord to give me whatever was needed so that I might minister to Shirley somehow. We talked about the Lord Jesus and how we've both seen God's merciful work of healing in the lives of many around us. Then I asked her if I could pray with her and she said "Yes". I moved out of my chair and sat next to Shirley on the couch, took her hand and prayed with her as she wept. As she dried her eyes, I pulled out one of my ministry cards, wrote my cell phone number on it and handed it to her. I told her since I live in the same town as her daughter, I would love to minister to her in any way the Lord allows. Shirley was grateful and thanked me for taking the time to comfort her, pray with her and for offering help to her daughter.

I never did get to meet her daughter. As God would have it, just as Shirley and I were finishing our conversation, I was called back for my MRI.

I don't know if Shirley and her daughter are saved, but I've already been praying for both of them and now ask you to do the same. Please pray for their comfort, and healing for Shirley's daughter. Please also pray that if the Lord so chooses, that He would grant me the honor of sharing the Gospel with Shirley's daughter and serving her as the Lord gives me strength.

Prayer is a miraculous gift from God. We don't often think of it that way, but we should, because it is. 

In the 1828 Webster's Dictionary the word miraculous is defined as something, "Performed supernaturally, or by a power beyond the ordinary agency of natural laws; effected by the direct agency of Almighty power, and not by natural causes".

Even within a more modern resource like Dictionary.com, we find that miracles are attributed to, "an effect or extraordinary event in the physical world that surpasses all known human or natural powers and is ascribed to a supernatural cause."

Prayer Is A Gift

This is why prayer, that is, the ability to communicate with the Almighty by approaching His throne of grace through prayer—is a miracle. Without God granting us eternal salvation through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ, no human being can approach God's throne of grace. Without being washed by the pure and precious blood of the Lamb of God, the only throne we can approach is the throne of God's judgment; where those who've rejected God's one and only Son, will be sentenced to the full wrath of God—eternal damnation in Hell.

"For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For His invisible attributes, namely, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.

"but God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by His blood, much more shall we be saved by Him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by His life."

—Romans 1:18-20, 5:8-10 (ESV)

My salvation is a miraculous, gracious and merciful gift from the Lord, and so is any access I have to Him. That includes prayer.

How To Approach The Throne of Grace

Imagine if you were to meet with a CEO of a large corporation or royalty of any nation, would you approach him/her casually as if they were your equal, or would you approach him/her with the utmost respect? Would you approach them with an attitude of entitlement, or would you approach them with humility and jubilant gratitude that they would even give you an audience with them? Those of us who are in our right mind, would approach any person of importance with the utmost honor and respect and would be elated to have even a minute of their time.

So then, if God is greater than any human being, why do we approach Him with chumminess and sometimes, down right impudence; demanding the Lord to do our will? I believe one of the reasons is due to an often misused verse in Scripture: Hebrews 4:16, "Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need."

The Greek word used for "confidence" in Hebrews 4:16 is παρρησία, transliterated "parrēsia" which specifically refers to the manner of someone's speech—how someone of common stature might receive gracious permission to speak freely before the presence of someone of great authority (e.g., a king, military commander, parent, etc.). It is not however, the same Greek word used in 2 Corinthians 3:4 where the Apostle Paul states that our confidence is in Christ and not in ourselves. The word "confidence" in 2 Corinthians 3:4 is πεποίθησις transliterated "pepoithēsis" means to trust; to have full reliance on.

Therefore, we ought never assume to approach the LORD Almighty with pepoithēsis (confidence) in self, because without being washed with the blood of His Son, we have no right to even dream of having an audience with the Most High God; except to receive His wrath. But for those who've repented of their sins and trust (have full confidence) in Christ alone for this life and the next, we are invited by the Father to approach His throne of grace and speak freely about our needs; knowing we'll receive mercy and help rather than wrath and condemnation (Rom 8:1).

How We Should Pray

Understanding who the Almighty God is—a holy and righteous consuming fire (Heb 12:28-29), it makes sense our prayers would be filled with awe, thanksgiving and exaltation. It makes sense we'd want to align our prayers with His will and what most pleases Him, rather than align them with our will and what most pleases us. After all, what most pleases God is righteousness. And what usually pleases us, is the desires of the flesh and the desires of our eyes and the pride of life (1 Jn 2:16).

Though we ought to pray for physical health and healing, food, clothing, shelter, and all the things needed for this life; these prayers shouldn't outnumber our prayers for what's most beneficial—our spiritual health, protection and provisions.

The prayers of the faithful saints in the Old and New Testaments are vastly different from the prayers of the saints of the 21st century. Whenever we read prayer requests, share prayer requests, hear them announced corporately in church or elsewhere, unlike what's exampled in Scripture, the majority of our prayers are consumed with the cares of this world rather than the cares of God. Again, I'm not saying we ought not pray for these things, we should; we're commanded to. However, prayers for our physical needs shouldn't be the bulk of our prayers.

The primary focus of the prayers recorded in God's Word are for the exaltation of God's name (1 Sam 2:1-10); for God to search and test our hearts to see if there's any sinful way in us and lead us in the way everlasting (Ps 139:23-24); to remove from us falsehood and lying and give us neither poverty nor riches, but only give us what we need so we're not tempted to profane the name of the Lord with our pride and entitlement (Prov 30:8); to fill us with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, walking in a manner worthy of Christ, bearing good fruit, increasing in the knowledge of God, strengthened with all power to endure the temptations of this life with patience and joy (Col 1:9-12); and make us worthy of being called children of the Most High God, fulfilling every resolve for good and every work of faith by His power so that the name of Jesus may be glorified in our lives (2 Thess 1:11-12).

God said only when we pray His will, we will receive what we've asked for (Jn 16:23-24, Js 4:3). But if we want to pray God's will, we need to immerse ourselves in His Word; for that's where He's revealed His will for us.

Praying, that is, communicating with the Almighty without being immersed in His Word, is a foolish and fruitless work.

"My tongue will sing of Your word, for all Your commandments are right. Let your hand be ready to help me, for I have chosen Your precepts. I long for Your salvation, O LORD, and Your law is my delight. Let my soul live and praise You, and let Your rules help me."

—Psalm 119:172-175 (ESV)