Chris Grainger: 1:01

Welcome to the Lion Within Us, a podcast serving Christian men who are hungry to be the leaders God intended you to be. I'm your host, chris Granger. Let's jump in. All right, guys, this is your spiritual kickoff episode. I'm excited to be here with you. Let's get going, okay?

Chris Grainger: 1:14

So Scripture of the Week this week is in the book of Luke, chapter 10, verse 37. One small verse. The expert in the law replied, the one who had mercy on him. Jesus told him go and do likewise. So, guys, we're going to take some time right now to see how we can simplify and apply this word right here in Scripture to our life. Again, this is what this is all about the spiritual kickoff episodes each week, just how we do that simplification application to our life. And we do this Monday through Friday within our Lion Within Us community. So, if you like the SKOs we know you guys do Look, we do this every day, and even if you can't be part of the live event that we have every day, you can get access to the recordings that go live Monday through Friday within our community. So, again, head over to thelionwithinus, start, get it, get plugged in so that we can help come alongside along with your discipleship journey. All right, so now we need to know where the book of Luke is, that's, we're not going to take anything for granted. So Matthew, mark, luke and John, so Luke is the third gospel, traditionally when you open up your New Testament. Ok, now this is the end.

Chris Grainger: 2:20

This is the last verse of the parable of the Good Samaritan. Ok, so Jesus is doing some profound teaching around truth and compassion and action for us. Ok, this is what he's doing, and he's doing this directly to a man of the law and we're seeing, just to kind of get of get everyone caught up to speed. The guy in this story gets beaten left to the side of the road to die. It was bad, and you had religious leaders who just sidestepped. Nope, they're like no, no, no, not me, I'm not touching that one. There was a Samaritan, which is very interesting. This is a group of despised that were just despised people by many, and this guy crossed the boundaries the cultural, the social boundaries and did what he was supposed to do to offer care, and not only saved this guy's life, but you talk about love your neighbor as yourself. There is no better example than this. And then so he tells a story and Jesus is like all right, bro, now you go and do the same thing.

Chris Grainger: 3:32

That's a marketing, it's called a call to action. Right, I need you to do something. This is it. It's not just enough to have sympathy, and this is where so many guys get hung up. Yeah, sympathy is fine, but that has to move us to act Right. And pain's everywhere.

Chris Grainger: 3:51

Fellas, we're going to talk about a lot of pain this week. Pain's everywhere, it's visible and it's so easy to think we should just outsource this to others. No, somebody else is going to step in. We have been called, as followers of Christ, to be the ones who do. When you see something, you better do something. I mean, there's shirts that's made up around that. Right, see something, do something. And this compassion has to be personal for us. We can't delegate this stuff out. We have to live it ourselves.

Chris Grainger: 4:21

Because a good Samaritan think about this for a second. He didn't stop and think about oh, let me pull up my phone and see what my schedule looks like today. Or don't go, let me open my wallet and see I don't really have a. I can probably help him, but I'd have to go to the ATM. That's really inconvenient. So the next person? I'm sure they will. No, what'd he do? He saw a needy respondent and there's, there's just, there's a profound truth there. With that right, he, he, he. He got off the sideline right there and engaged directly because he knew he had to. And in this case there was a physical requirement, didn't he? He had to actually help this guy out and pick this guy up. So there was a physical requirement for him to do. But for us, sometimes it may be you know what we actually need to do. Something like bring a meal Someone who's struggling Maybe it's our neighbor or like we did earlier in 2024 with the Lion Within Us when the hurricane happened you need to go be the hands and feet right there. So at the end of the day, whether it's emotional care or spiritual care, you're just listening to others or praying with others, or a kind word.

Chris Grainger: 5:30

True compassion requires that we get involved, and sometimes that means we've got to take some risks. Guys, it's not always about just going the easy route, because this is what Jesus did when he left on that rescue mission for us. He ultimately put it all. He's like I'm doing this for them right now. And the hard part sometimes I know for me, not about for you.

Chris Grainger: 5:53

The hard part about being compassionate at times is we have to get out of our comfort zone. And look, I like a comfort zone, I like being comfortable, I like knowing what's coming, I like having a predictable schedule. I don't like it when things like that change A type, a personality, type leaders like me and others we is. You know, he had different economics, different cultural, different social backgrounds, but he took this step and that took a lot of intentionality and also took a lot of courage. I think we need to give this guy a little bit of courage. Testament as well.

Chris Grainger: 6:35

And what we do. When we do that ourselves, we get out of our comfort zone. We're reflecting the heart of Christ to others and that's ultimately what we're called to do. And the crazy part, when you start doing that fellas I can attest to this, maybe you can too when you start leaning in and do those random acts of kindness and actually serve others, there's a ripple effect that starts happening. Okay, because you're not just impacting them, you're impacting people around them, right, the people that they know and think about this. We're telling this story, we're going through this account of the Good Samaritan a couple thousand years after it happened. That's crazy. So maybe there's a random act of kindness that you can do today that's going to resonate for years, hundreds of years into the future, because it may seem insignificant or small to you, but we can't see the impact of the ripple. We can't. I can tell you who can God? And we just take that step of obedience. That ripple is massive.

Chris Grainger: 7:38

Now his ultimate challenge. What Jesus was telling the lawmaker here I'm not picking on lawyers, but it's just interesting is that this was not a suggestion. Jesus didn't say think about it. And if you feel like helping them when you got time, time, if you've got PTO or if you've got a little extra cheddar laying around, that ain't what Jesus said. He just said go, go and do likewise. It's a directive. That's what he told him. He's calling each and every one of us to embody his mercy in a world that is desperate for hope.

Chris Grainger: 8:17

Again, you may be helping a stranger or a friend in crisis, whatever it may be, or even going with a church initiative to meet a community need, like a community cleanup, whatever. That is right. The opportunities to serve are near if you're willing to look for them. They just are Just being real. We have to be willing to look up and look around, to look up and look around.

Chris Grainger: 8:35

So, now that you're thinking about this, I guarantee you today, this way God works. This time is perfect. You're going to find an opportunity to serve Someone in need or is going through a difficult time, or maybe there's a fire, or there's a loss or a loved one, something like that and the question is going to come across your mind what can I do? What can I do? What can I do? And this could be big or small, and that's fine, but here's where the road meets the road. What are you going to do about it? What are you going to do? Because your actions matter, because kindness again, this is not an outsourced doggone thing, it's calls for us.

Chris Grainger: 9:19

So I'm praying at you and I'm encouraging you to think about the words of just this small little verse right here. Go and do the same. Go and do the same. So, as you reflect about that, start thinking about where he's calling you to act, start thinking about what those opportunities are that are right in front of you. I just want to encourage you to take the step, take the step of obedience. I'm also going to encourage you. It's not going to be easy. The evil one's going to try to do everything he can to stop you from taking that step and you're going to have probably so many more affirmations of that. You need to not do it, because that's just the way he works. I just want you to focus on the one. Call the directive from Christ. Go and do the same. That outweighs anything that the evil one could try to trip us up with. So we have to get that centered and grounded in our heart. See how that works.

Chris Grainger: 10:18

My prayer is that we remember that compassion is not passive, it's active. We see stuff because we look around. We don't have our heads buried in the sand. And then, when we see stuff, we need to do stuff with it. And if we take steps of obedience, just sit back and watch how God uses you and works through you to transform people, to transform community lives all around us. So the question that we're going to think about this week, fellas, is what is one small act of kindness, just one, a small one, can you do today? And then my follow-up to that is when are you going to do it? Because once you get that clear direction, okay, god, God wants me to do this. You got a choice to make right there and my prayer is that you make the right choice and you lean into the heart. All right Now, fellas.

Chris Grainger: 11:11

Now for our listeners out there. And you're listening to the Lion Within Us. Maybe you didn't even know this was a Christian podcast. I don't know how you got to the spiritual kickoff. You kind of like the story of the Good Samaritan, you like this verse, but you know in your heart that you're not a believer Like I don't know if I believe in this Jesus stuff, and I just want to encourage you with something. I just want you to know something from the bottom of my heart you are made in the image of God and God absolutely loves you, and I just want you to know that that is true Now. That comes directly from God's word, because it shows us at the very beginning.

Chris Grainger: 11:47

Go all the way back to the beginning of Scripture. God started speaking all these things into existence until it came to man and he chose a more personal approach. He actually took his hands and he formed us. Then he breathed the breath of life into his nostrils. Then Adam sat up. He was face to face with his creator and it says we're made in the image of God and that's who you are.

Chris Grainger: 12:09

So the lies that you're telling yourself or, more importantly, that the evil one is telling you so far, is you know, maybe you're not smart enough, you're not good enough, you're too bad with your finances, you're not a good father, you're not a good husband. Whatever these lies are, they're just that. They're lies. No, you're made in the image of God. Are you a sinner? Yeah, you are, but you're made in the image of God, and we need to start with that foundational truth. Now, the problem with some of those lines is they come in as a direct result of sin, when sin entered the world. Go back to Genesis 2. Again, it happens all the way back to the very beginning of my Bible. Things went very good in my Bible for about almost two pages, and then it's downhill Because sin entered, and then it's downhill because sin entered, and that's all that is is something that separates us from God, and ever since then. So Adam was separated from the garden and they were Adam and Eve were literally pushed out of the garden and that created this separation, this separation, this chasm between a holy and righteous God and unholy us, right this, who are just, we're just sinners.

Chris Grainger: 13:18

And I know your kindergarten teacher bless her heart. She probably told you that you're just a little puppy, you're a puppy's breath and you're a little skittle and you're such a sweet little boy. I'm sure I'll tell you she was wrong, bro. She was wrong. You're a sinner. And guess what? I am too. We all are and we all fall short of the glory of God.

Chris Grainger: 13:39

And I talked to so many dudes, that man I feel like every time I talk to them about okay, you got here, how are you getting out of here so far as leaving this earth? And they're like well, most of them tell me I think I just need, I'm just trying to be good, bro, like I'm just trying to be good bro, like I'm just trying to be good, just trying to help out. I I do the right thing. If I do the right thing enough, then that should count for god, right? I'm like man, that's, that's. I wish it did work that way, because then you could do that, then you could work it. I mean, you could really bust it and be really good and serve and help and help little old ladies across the street and go to church and read your Bible and pray and do all the stuff right.

Chris Grainger: 14:18

Problem is our definition of good varies a lot. It's very subjective, right? It's just it's up for debate because you being good, compared to your neighbor or compared to someone in, let's say, on death row, maybe you're from a worldly appearance, you're better, you haven't done things quite as bad as they have. The problem is, when we start working on this rabbit trail of thinking is we're elevating ourselves to the point of God because we're saying we're good, we're good enough, like I'm good enough, god, you should just let me in. Well, we have to remember that God is holy and we're not. No, we're not holy, he is. So there is this gap there that exists between us and him because we at some point in our life have sinned. We just have. There's no one that lived a sinless life except for Jesus. So, working our way in it's called workspace, righteousness. It just doesn't work because where's the finish line? No one can define it, because the finish line is holiness. And at that point, when we were born, we lost. There's a gap.

Chris Grainger: 15:38

So now we recognize that kindergarten teacher's wrong. We're sinners in need of a savior. What do we do? What ultimately should? What's our hope? Well, first of all, we need to recognize that we don't need a coach to help us get better. We need a savior to step in and do for us what we can't do for ourselves. And that's where, for a Christian, for us, what we can't do for ourselves, and that's where, for a Christian, jesus comes into play.

Chris Grainger: 16:02

Jesus, think about this for a second. He left heaven on a rescue mission for you, for me, for the entire world. Jesus did. He was born of a virgin. He fulfilled all the prophecies. He did the teachings. He did perform all the different types of miracles that we have all these accounts out there in Scripture. He changed everything Jesus did.

Chris Grainger: 16:24

Then he paid the penalty for your sin by going to the cross willingly and died the perfect death, the perfect blood of the Lamb, to pay the penalty for our sins. And Jesus died he didn't pass out in fame or anything like that. He died on the cross. And they took him, they laid him in a tomb. And if he were still in that tomb, what a sad state of affairs we would have today, because at that point we're just worshiping a dead guy, which, quite frankly, is the way most religions work All of them except Christianity but that's not how we stay, because Christ, yes, he was in the tomb for three days.

Chris Grainger: 17:02

Then he rose, and that is who we worship a living Savior, not some dead guy in a tomb somewhere. See how fundamentally different that is. How that changes everything about everything. And this is what we have to recognize to be true. So if we recognize that Jesus is our Savior, he is God. We are not and we need Him to do for us what we can't do for ourselves, at that point we ought to take action. We have to, and that first action is recognizing His goodness and how great he is. We're made in His image and then recognize that we're not, we're just sinners and we need him. And then that has to move us to a point of confessing Christ as the savior of our life. Lord, I don't know what I'm doing. I don't know what I'm supposed to do next, but I know I don't want to do it unless I'm doing it with you.

Chris Grainger: 17:53

And when you flip that mindset, when that mechanism changes to where you're just focused on Christ, everything shifts. Everything shifts. The scales are going to fall off. You're going to see the world in a new light. You have the Holy Spirit within. We like to call it the lion within us that's going to be ready to come out and at that point you're walking in a new light. Your salvation has been promised and, guys, you are ready to go.

Chris Grainger: 18:18

But it takes the first step of obedience and that first step is confessing him as Lord of your life. And this is a hard step for lots of guys because we want to control everything. The world with Christ is not about what we control. It's about what we gain by surrendering to control to him. That's my prayer to you is that you surrender that control to him today. So, if you're ready to do that, if you've never accepted christ, today's the day, you can do this right now.

Chris Grainger: 18:45

Well, I'm listening to a podcast. I don't have to be at church. Where does it say in scripture? You have to be in church to accept christ as your savior. This is how we serve, this is how we help others. So if you feel that conviction right now, as long as you're in a spot where you're not going to get hurt, like you're not running or you're not like driving, stop and let's pray. Let's just pray to receive Christ into your life together.

Chris Grainger: 19:07

So, father, for that one listener, just the one who's ready, who's confessing you as Lord and Savior of your life. I just pray that you be with them right now. Put some encouragement in their life, just put some people in their life, just who's going to come alongside of them. Let them have to just experience the peace that passes all understanding by making the decisions they're making right now to confess you as Lord and Savior of their life. So we just love you, god. We pray that we've honored and glorified you in all we do in Christ's name. Amen.

Chris Grainger: 19:36

All right, so look, if you just confess Christ as your Savior, I'd love to hear from you, chris, at thelinewithinus. Send me an email because I want to send you some free resources, particularly our Bible study resources, our 10 scriptures resources, as well as just find out where you're at, to see if we can get you plugged into a good gospel believing, gospel preaching rather Bible believing church that's going to be so important for your spiritual growth, and also just want to just give you a high five and just, uh, just hear your testimony. So again, chris, at the land withinus, and if you're listening to the show and you like everything you're hearing so far, you'd like to learn more. The line withinus is where you can do all that. Okay, we have lots of free resources out there. We have our weekly war, which is our wonderful newsletter. It comes out every week with thoughtful reflections on how to be a better Christian leader. We have our Christian Leader Assessment, which is an amazing resource we have out there.

Chris Grainger: 20:27

We have our Bible studies that are all on the Bible app, on YouVersion. Love working with the team over at YouVersion, so check out all our different Bible studies. We have 30 plus devotions out there that we really just put a lot of effort into. So go check on that. You can actually be a friend of me on the Bible app. Love to do that as we go through Bible studies. You can come through that Bible study with me directly. It'd be a wonderful way to grow and to connect, all right.

Chris Grainger: 20:50

So again, the lionwithinus, all the resources there. The main one, our community. Click on offerings. Start your community experience right now. We have several different tiers for you to look at, to consider. Plug in, get started, let's go. We have discipleship masterminds, friday forges, bible studies, lion lunches every day I'm talking about every day, except Sunday. We don't do anything on Sunday, but every day we have events happening within the lion within our community, and you know what's missing. That's most important, you, you.

Chris Grainger: 21:26

So, if you like the episodes, if you like the Bible studies, you'll love, love, love the Lionel Thin's community. That's thelionelthinus. So, guys, thanks for listening. Come back on Wednesday. We'll have a really good episode so far as talking about how we should stop responding to the crisis that happened in our lives. I know you guys are going to love it. I absolutely just enjoyed the whole conversation. Hopefully it's going to serve you well, particularly for you church leaders out there. If you're looking for better ways to unite your teams around when things happen, to be equipped to send out a big team to respond. You're not going to want to miss this one, all right. So, guys, have a great day, get after it. Thank you so much for listening, and you know what's coming. Just keep unleashing the lion within.

Chris Grainger: 22:12

I don't know about you, but I used to find Mondays really rough.

Chris Grainger: 22:17

I would find myself trying to reset for work, trying to get my bearing on the family calendar, trying to find time for my own spiritual growth and development, and often I found myself overwhelmed or just flatly ignoring aspects of my life that I know are meaningful to me.

Chris Grainger: 22:35

What I learned was that if I had immediate access to important and impactful spiritual topics and reflections to start my week well, after the allure of a Sunday sermon has passed, I would set my whole week up to be more meaningful and for the opportunity to make a true impact that getting such a boost would help your week to get started on the right foot. We would love for you to sign up for the Weekly Roar, which is our newsletter that is produced by the Lion Within Us. Each week we'll deliver a powerful reflection and practical steps to help you apply Scripture with clarity and purpose, all being rooted in light and truth. So in just a few minutes, we hope to arm you with insights for living out biblical leadership with confidence and strength, and maybe even have a little extra bounce in your step. If that sounds useful, head over to thelionwithinus slash ROAR to sign up today. That's thelionwithinus slash ROAR to sign up today. That's thelinewithinus slash ROAR. To get your weekly ROAR today.