abandoned to Christ.

It continually amazes me when professing Christians behave like unbelievers—insulted by God's Word, repulsed by discipline and loving reproof (or strong rebuke when necessary), and deferring to their feelings rather than the Word of God. It also amazes me that when acts of sacrificial love are demonstrated, the instant a feeling is hurt (not a sin committed mind you), how quickly love is forgotten for the deception of sin-founded feelings. What compounds this egregious manifestation of self-centeredness and ingratitude, is the expectation that one should conform to the likeness and feelings of another person rather than be conformed in every way, to the image of Christ Jesus the Lord.

"Everyone who is arrogant in heart is an abomination to the LORD; be assured, he [or she] will not go unpunished...Righteous lips are the delight of a king, and he loves him who speaks what is right."

-Proverbs 16:5, 13 (ESV)

I suppose the key word in all of this is "professing". As Jesus Himself states, many will say they know the Lord, but only a few will find and walk the narrow way, and thus, enter the narrow gate to eternal life. For it isn't those who profess they are Christians, but those who actually abide in the Lord Jesus and obey His commandments and follow Him (1 Jn 5:2-5).

"As He said these things, a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said to Him, 'Blessed is the womb that bore You, and the breasts at which You nursed!' But He said, 'Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!'

"And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever."

-Luke 11:27-28, 1 John 2:17 (ESV, emphasis mine)

In the original Greek the word keep in Luke 11:28 is φυλάσσω (transliterated phylassō), which means: to guard; to take care not to violate; to observe. Therefore, it is clear in this verse as well as many others throughout the Old and New Testaments, that God plainly states it is not through familial heritage, nor from human exertion nor individual profession that one is truly saved. It is by God's sovereign choosing that anyone is saved from His wrath. The LORD has always proved who are truly His by stating that His children are those who love the truth, repent when rebuked (not always right way, but soon thereafter), and strive to do whatever is necessary to continually bear the good fruit of Jesus Christ—that is, preaching the Gospel of God's grace to a lost and dying world, and exhorting the saints in Christ to deny ourselves (including our feelings and opinions that don't align with Scripture) daily, and follow Jesus in the way of holiness (Mt 16:24, Lk 14:33).

"And a highway shall be there, and it shall be called the Way of Holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it. It shall belong to those who walk on the way; even if they are fools, they shall not go astray."

-Isaiah 35:8 (ESV, emphasis mine)

Because the LORD our God is faithful, those He truly saves are those whom He keeps in His love. And because we are kept in God's love, He disciplines us when we stray so that even if we are fools, we will still walk in holiness. Being kept in God's love by God Himself, is what causes us to actually do what He says rather than merely agree with what He says; for even Satan agrees that the Lord is one and shudders (Is 29:13, James 2:19).

I'm not saying that once we're saved, we've been made perfect and will never sin again. What I am saying is that I only echo what the Apostle Paul was inspired by the Holy Spirit to write in Philippians 3:12-14, "Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me His own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." In this passage, the Apostle Paul mentions twice that he has not obtained perfection, that is, no longer sins or struggles with sin. Rather, Paul states that because he is saved by God's grace and not by man's works (that could never earn him salvation anyway), he is exuberantly grateful to the LORD for taking hold of him, and therefore, passionately desires to take a hold of all that God has called him to in Christ Jesus—to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness (Mt 6:33).

Therefore it is evident from the word and righteous precepts of God that anyone who habitually lives in their feelings; those who trust in themselves and how they feel, and balk at any godly counsel is more than likely not saved, or at best, is in desperate need of strong rebuke and discipline so they may not continue to walk in the sin of their flesh, but walk in the holiness of the Spirit.

For those of you today, who are reading this and have been a victim of friendly-fire (Christians assaulting Christians), then be encouraged, you are not alone. As a matter of fact, you're in good company. The Old Testament prophets, Jesus our Lord, the Apostles and disciples of Jesus then and now; those who run hard after God, are always being bullied, lied and gossiped about by the idle saints in Christ (if they are in truly in Christ, only God knows). They jeer at you because your righteous living and pursuit of holiness shines a bright light and reveals their hidden sins.

Do not despair nor be dismayed, for the LORD our God is in your midst, and He is the mighty one who will save those who do what is right, from those who do wrong. Whether God gives us justice on this side of Heaven or the next, we can be encouraged because we know that our lives here are a mist and what we're building and storing, is for eternity. Therefore remain steadfast and immovable in the Lord, His commandments, and His precepts. Let no one bully you into submitting to man's ways and preferences, but look to Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of your faith; knowing that your pursuit for His pleasure and glory alone is what's most beautiful in His sight (Mk 14:6).

"In John 4:34 Jesus said to them, 'My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to accomplish His work.' I can't say that...I do so much for me. So much of my 'food' stinks. It's fodder. I'd be a hypocrite to stand before you and say those words are mine. But Jesus could always say, 'My food, my sustenance; the thing I live for, is to do the will of My Father.' That's why how a man prays will tell you more about him, than how a man preaches."

-Paul Washer

I concur with our brother Paul Washer. I want my "food", my sustenance, the only thing I live for, to be the same as Jesus—to do the will of my Father and to accomplish His work. But more often than I'd like, my "food" unfortunately, is my desires, my opinions, my creature comforts and my will. And at times, when this is my "food", my prayers are filled with the same carnality.

Similar to many, I want to be liked and accepted. I want to be surrounded by a multitude of friends and be able to post pictures on social media, displaying the happy, care-free life I so desperately desire. I want to eat what I want and in the quantities I want to eat it, without gaining any weight. I want to have an hour glass figure without disciplining my body to exercise daily. I want to be a godly woman without daily reading, studying, meditating on and memorizing the Word of God. I want my days to effortlessly fall into place like a beautifully arranged set of dominoes. I want, I want, I want...and by the way, did I mention what I want? Sadly, yes I did, and so far, it's nothing that aligns with God's Word; therefore, it's not His will.

So then, I must ask myself, "How often do I mention Christ in my list of wants?" How often do I carefully consider all that I say, do and pray for in the light of the Gospel—the very thing my Father God used to grant me the gift of repentance that leads to saving faith in Jesus Christ? If I call myself a Christian, yet harbor and feed the desires of my flesh rather than starve them and feed my spirit, then I will give cause for the unbelieving world to malign the holy words of my Father (Rom 2:24).

But because of God's saving grace and the righteousness of Christ that the Father imputed to me, I have freedom from the bondage of the sin in my flesh. I have hope to fly on the wings of eagles and soar in the faith that God has granted me in Christ Jesus. If the Son of God were not the propitiation for my sins, I would have no other choice but to remain as I am—enslaved by the insanity of my pride and destined for Hell.

Thankfully, the LORD Almighty did choose to call me as His daughter before the foundation of the world...so I am free! I am no longer bound to the sin in my flesh and no longer feel trapped to live for myself and the "food" of this world. I am free to eat at the Lord's table and taste and see that He is good! I am free to cry out to my Savior and my God for help, and repent when I sinfully eat of the world's delicacies: pride, self-preservation, entitlement, gluttony, laziness and obstinance. I am free to throw off every weight and sin which clings so closely, so that I can run with endurance the race that is set before me, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of my faith (Heb 12:2).

The only way I'll be able to more faithfully say my "food" is to do the will of God, I'll have to know what the will of God is. I can't know it by assuming His will is my will, by asking other people, listening to sermons, or reading books. While talking to more mature Christians, and listening to soundly doctrinal sermons, and reading books of the like can be helpful resources God may use, the Lord never meant for anyone or anything to replace our personal seeking of His will—revealed only in His Word (Is 54:13, Jer 31:34, 1 Cor 2:12-13).

Just like the Israelites had to daily rise early, every morning to gather manna (the bread from heaven), in order to maintain their physical health and strength; we too must daily rise early, every morning to feed ourselves with the Bread from Heaven, the Word of God (Jn 1:1; 6:33, 48-51) in order to maintain our spiritual health and strength. If we learn to daily feed ourselves with the Bread from Heaven, then our "food" and our prayers will be: to do the will of God and accomplish His work. And the aroma from the enticing and tantalizing "food" of this world (pride, selfishness, envy, gossip, slander, etc.) will become to us what it truly is—the stench of a cesspool.

May God create in me, and in all saints of Christ, hearts that hunger more for His will to be done, than for our comforts to be met.

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.

"keeping up with the Joneses [sic]. According to his own account, cartoonist Arthur R. (“Pop”) Momand lived in a community where many people tried to keep up with the Joneses. Momand and his wife resided in Cedarhurst, New York, one of Long Island’s Five Towns, where the average income is still among America’s highest. Living “far beyond our means in our endeavor to keep up with the well- to-do class,” the Momands were wise enough to quit the scene and move to Manhattan, where they rented a cheap apartment and “Pop” Momand used his Cedarhurst experience to create his once immensely popular Keeping Up with the Joneses comic strip, launched in 1913. Momand first thought of calling the strip “Keeping Up with the Smiths,” but “finally decided on Keeping Up with the Joneses as being more euphonious.” His creation ran in American newspapers for over 28 years and appeared in book, movie, and musical-comedy form, giving the expression keeping up with the Joneses the wide currency that made it a part of everyday language."

-Robert Hendrickson, Word and Phrase Origins: Fourth Edition, p.470

Back in the days prior to social media, prior to bloggers and prior to everyone being able to share every detail of their lives online, we used to keep up with the Joneses the old-fashioned way. We used to go outside of our own homes and talk to our neighbors (something rarely done these days). Sometimes we were genuinely happy to see our neighbors and had altruistic concern and regard for their welfare. And sometimes we just wanted to see them to make sure we were up on the latest gossip or to compare how our husbands, children, homes, gardens, cars and wardrobes measured up.

Though keeping up with the Joneses is a shallow, pride-filled and futile activity, when we did it before the social media era, our sphere of comparison was limited to people we actually knew (neighbors, classmates, co-workers). But nowadays, we're keeping up with "Joneses" we know, and don't know. We're trying to keep up with our real friends, and people we hardly know on Google Plus, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram, just to name a few.

The travesty is that though we are children of light, we aimlessly wander about this world, falling into every cavern of what's most popular and "right" in the eyes of this world...or even in the eyes of other Christians. But this doesn't have to be so because the Lord Jesus freed us from the captivity of sin.

As holy and dearly loved children of the Most High God, we know that we live by faith in the Son of God who loved us and gave His life for us (Gal 2:20). We know that our self-worth and value are not in ourselves or what we possess. We know that every aspect of our lives are magnificently secured in Christ Jesus and His righteousness. Therefore, unlike the world, we don't have to hide behind the façade of "I have it all together." We can admit, and even be content in our weaknesses so that the power of Christ may be manifested in our lives (2 Cor 12:9-10).

We don't have to get on social media and talk about the perfect spouses, marriages and kids we don't have. We don't have to post, tweet or share photos on Instagram about the perfect relationship we don't have with our parents, siblings, co-workers, and friends inside and outside the church. We don't have to do all these things because we abide in Christ and we should love the truth. Our confidence and commendation comes from Christ, not from unbelievers, or even other Christians.

"Not that we dare to classify or compare ourselves with some of those who are commending themselves. But when they measure themselves by one another and compare themselves with one another they are without understanding...For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends."

-2 Corinthians 10:12, 18 (ESV)

Can you imagine how confusing it must be for our parents, spouses, children, co-workers, friends, etc. to see a post of how wonderful our relationship is when we both know it's not? Can you imagine the extra friction it causes in our already strained relationships when privately we share how much we hurt one another with our selfishness and thoughtlessness, but then we get on social media and say the very opposite?

Posting and sharing falsified "good" and "positive" things about our relationships with others isn't honoring nor pleasing to God. Rather than lie about our "perfect" lives and relationships, we ought to speak the truth. That doesn't mean we post and share our dirty laundry for all the world to see either. What it means is that as children of the Most High God, we choose to behave prudently and honestly (Prov 14:8). According to God, a lie is never loving—it's always hateful and hurtful (Prov 26:28).

Rather than offend God and hurt others (and really, even yourself), if you see others posting about their godly lives and relationships that you wished you had, then pray and ask God to help you learn from these people instead of lusting after what they have. But if you see people posting about their lives and relationships that are "good" according to the world, then repent and ask the Lord to help you desire what is truly good—discipline, pruning, refining—being conformed into the image of Christ—loving what He loves and hating what He hates.

We're commanded by God our Father to live as children of light, not as children of lies. So rather than trying to keep up with the Joneses, let's keep in step with the Holy Spirit in every aspect of our lives—whether in person or in our social media world. Let's shine the light of Christ rather than expose our vain desires.

"If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another."

-Galatians 5:25-26 (ESV)

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."

~Psalm 40:4, 16; 116:12-14 (ESV)

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