GDLC Audio

How much is enough? That’s an important question to ask ourselves as Christians living in a very affluent society. We may not be rich ourselves, but the truth is, even the poorest of the poor in the U.S. is so far better off than the rest of the world, it’s truly amazing. Unfortunately, that affluence can breed in us a very insidious sin known as “greed” as we look out only for our own interests and not the interests of others. We can become greedy, hoarding for ourselves, rather than what the Lord calls us to be...generous...giving to others. In fact, it really doesn’t matter how much or how little we have, we can all be driven to greed rather than what the Lord calls us to...namely, “Taking Up Generosity”. Today we remember that the Christian life is a generous life.

All of us suffer to one extent or another with the “thing” called anxiety. Why are we anxious? Well, likely, there are as many answers to that question as there are people. We all have different reasons, different triggers, that bring on anxious feelings. While we will all struggle with it, and the whole of our lives we will always struggle with it, Christians are not to be anxious people. We are instead to trust in our loving Lord and Savior who not only has our best interests at heart but furthermore provides for our best interests every day. Looking to our amazing God and gracious Savior, as followers of Jesus we live a life of “Taking Up Trust” as we stand by and watch our Lord provide for our every need, or as Jesus said it, as we watch “all these things being added unto us”.

Unfortunately, our sinful human nature brings many things our way, but one of the more heinous things it brings is pride. While some will tell me that they aren’t “prideful” in any way, in truth, all of us are because pride is at the heart of sin. Pride is what causes us to be a self-focused “creature” and that description reminds us that every human being struggles with it. We want things done “my way” and sometimes we are so bold to indicate that we want things done “my way” or offer people “the highway”. But the Christian doesn’t live that way. The Christian lives “His way”...period. And “His way” is a life of humility and not pride. “His way” is a life of humble service to Jesus by humbly living in this world and humbly serving others in His name. So today we remember that our Christian faith is one of “Taking Up Humility”.

Unfortunately, our sinful human nature brings many things our way, but one of the more heinous things it brings is pride. While some will tell me that they aren’t “prideful” in any way, in truth, all of us are because pride is at the heart of sin. Pride is what causes us to be a self-focused “creature” and that description reminds us that every human being struggles with it. We want things done “my way” and sometimes we are so bold to indicate that we want things done “my way” or offer people “the highway”. But the Christian doesn’t live that way. The Christian lives “His way”...period. And “His way” is a life of humility and not pride. “His way” is a life of humble service to Jesus by humbly living in this world and humbly serving others in His name. So today we remember that our Christian faith is one of “Taking Up Humility”.

Seems like there is so much to be afraid of in our world. We’re afraid of our inner-cities. We’re afraid of our suburbs. We’re afraid of pandemics. We’re afraid of a tanking economy. We’re afraid of climate change. We’re afraid of so many things and what brings fear our way is different for everyone! So it’s very comforting to know that as a follower of Jesus, we can in fact, by the power of the Holy Spirit, be a people who are “Taking Up Boldness”. Now we’ll still fear things, both temporal and eternal, but in Christ and through Christ we can give up fear and instead, remember our loving Lord has us firmly in His almighty hands every single day. Today we remember that our Christian life is one of daily “Taking Up Boldness”.

Many people are convinced that our Country is “divided”...and in many ways it is. There are certainly divisions along party lines and even divisions about core values. That’s simply going to be the way it is in these “United” States, since with human beings there will always be divisions. That truth is why it’s so critical for the Church, and more to the point, for followers of Jesus, to live lives of unity and solidarity. Jesus prayed in John 17 that we as Christian people would be “one” even as He and the Father were one...now that’s unity! And that is in fact God’s will for us...unity, not division. So today we’re reminded that following Jesus, living our Christian faith, is one of “Taking Up Unity”.