Chris Grainger: 1:02

Welcome to the Lion Within Us, a podcast serving Christian men who are hungry to be the leaders God intends you to be. I'm your host, chris Granger. Let's jump in. All right, fellas, we are in the spiritual kickoff time. Let's get going, okay?

Chris Grainger: 1:14

So we're going to be looking in this week, talk about the topic of margin and for today, we're going to look at Luke 10, two verses, 41 and 42. Okay, martha, martha, the Lord answered. You are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed, or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better and it will not be taken away from her. So, guys, we're going to see how we can simplify and apply this in our life, and the whole idea of this we're going to be talking about this whole week is why do we need margin in our life? That little bitty word margin is such a big deal. So we're going to unpack this again.

Chris Grainger: 1:51

Spiritual Kickoff, guys, is all about simplifying and applying God's Word to our life. If you like these reflections and these insights, head over to thelinewithinus. Check on different ways that you can connect with us. To get started, we do the daily spiritual kickoff every day within our community, so it's a great way to get involved, to see what we're doing and to help you grow in your spiritual walk. So if you go to thelinewithinus, click on offerings, you'll find it right there.

Chris Grainger: 2:17

All right, so now we didn't know what the book of Luke is. We're not going to take anything for granted. So Matthew, mark, luke, john OK, so Luke is the third gospel. Ok, so this is the third gospel in the New Testament. That's where we're going to find this and you find this scripture and it's amongst a deeper story where where Jesus is visiting is actually was visiting Mary and Martha there. Ok, and I love this scripture. I absolutely love the way the chosen depicted this as well. But one thing that resonates maybe it resonates with you the busyness of life can leave us feeling pretty overwhelmed and we don't have very much time just to sit to reflect, much less connect with God, very much time just to sit to reflect, much less connect with God. And we find a story here that highlights the tension directly and it gives us it doesn't just show us the tension, it gives us wisdom how we navigate that. Okay, so you got two sisters just to make sure everybody understands the roles Martha, mary, and they were welcoming Jesus into their home. Yet their response to his presence night and day, completely night and day.

Chris Grainger: 3:27

And I get it right, martha was preoccupied. I resonate with Martha. She had preparations, she had the duties of getting the house ready. You can see it now the flight of the bumblebee right, getting ready. Jesus is coming over. We got to get stuff ready. She's worried about meeting expectations and doing everything. Just right, because Jesus was there. She wanted it to be perfect.

Chris Grainger: 3:52

Mary took a different route. She chose to sit at his feet. She was soaking in his words and she was prioritizing his presence over productivity. And Martha and I totally get it she got frustrated, right, and she saw this as an imbalance in effort here, like, look, look, what are you doing?

Chris Grainger: 4:19

And Jesus' response, which is the scripture of the week, this week is spot on. He said, look, you're worried and you're upset about so many things, but only a few are needed and indeed only one. And he was really highlighting to her the importance of being where your feet are, because the moment wasn't just about the household chores, no, or versus a spiritual reflection. It was Jesus' teaching us here about priorities, trust and margin in our life, because Martha's busyness is not just about, it just mirrors what we see today, doesn't it? Packed schedules, a to-do list that makes some people just want to throw up, and then the relentless drive to perform every day Like there's never. You know, even on off days you're not off. So, like Martha, we can confuse productivity with purpose and it happens to me all the time and we can overlook, when we do that, what matters in the process.

Chris Grainger: 5:25

And then I look at Mary and I get frustrated when I look at Mary because I struggle, being that type of person. But Mary's decision to sit at his feet, it wasn't laziness. And I have to tell myself that Mary wasn't being lazy, she was being intentional. And I think type A driven people we see as lazy and I think type A driven people we see as lazy. But Mary recognized that in the midst of life demands there are some moments that we all get when the most important thing we can do is, you know what? Nothing, just pause, stop.

Chris Grainger: 5:55

Margin is not about doing less, it's about making room for what matters most, creating space to hear God's voice, to reflect on his truth and experience his presence. So Jesus gently pointed out that Martha's distraction caused her to miss the significance of the moment. Just think about that. She's too worried about the dishes, getting stuff ready, which is still important. She missed Christ being there. Getting stuff ready, which is still important. She missed Christ being there.

Chris Grainger: 6:25

And that just hits me between the eyes, because it's true for me, because my day gets consumed by noise, by task, by stress, and I miss opportunities often I know I do to connect with God and certainly to connect with other people and margin the beauty of it. It gives us an opportunity to step off that hamster wheel of busyness and drive and intensity and focus on what lasts and that's our relationship with God. See how that works. But this takes effort, it takes discipline and a lot of it starts, fellas. I don't know about you, but for me learning how to say no, right, learning how to say no to things that are pulling us or distracting us from God. That means we may have to say no to some seemingly good things, prioritizing, but it does mean, if we say no to that, we better prioritize the right stuff Spending time in his word, spending time in prayer, being fully present in the lives of those he's entrusted us with Right, because margin is not a luxury.

Chris Grainger: 7:28

Some people think well, you've got to get a certain amount of money to get margin. No, no, no, no, it's not there. It's not a luxury, it's a necessity for spiritual health and growth. And think about it. It's a helpful exercise. But what if Jesus were to walk into your home today? Would you have the space, like if Jesus calls you up right now, like yo, let's go for a walk? Would you have the space to stop, be still and sit at his feet?

Chris Grainger: 8:06

Or would you be like Martha and find yourself too consumed by the many things in this world to savor the presence of the one who matters most? And I mean, as you think through this this week, think through what are the many things that are pulling you away, that are distracting you from God's presence, and then think, okay, how can you create some intentionality around manufacturing margin in your life? And it may mean you have to slow down Some of it. You just got to slow down. I mean some of it just got to slow down. But I know one thing I learned from reading God's word and thinking about Martha and Mary God desires our presence more than our performance. Think about that for a second. He desires your presence more than your performance. So embrace this gift of margin right and trust. When we prioritize him, everything else just kind of fall where he wants it to fall.

Chris Grainger: 8:47

So, as we think about it this week, think about the question that I really want you to ponder is what's robbing the margin in your life? Because if you can recognize what's robbing the margin, then you can do something about it. But too often we just go too fast and we miss even knowing what is robbing us right. So again, if you like these reflections, every day, monday through Friday, we try to do something similar called the Daily Spiritual Kickoff in our community. So head over to thelinewithinus and check on our offerings and you can get connected right there Now.

Chris Grainger: 9:16

If you're listening to the Line Within us right now and you haven't surrendered your life to the Lordship of Christ, then what we do on the day, on the spiritual kickoff episodes each and every week, is I share the most important thing that I can share with you and that's what Jesus has done for me. And you can argue me all day long on the Bible. You know up and down different, you know how it counter, counteracts itself, and it's, you know it's. Maybe you don't believe it to be true, but I can just say one thing God has done some amazing things in my life and I want the same for you. And it first starts with understanding that you are made in the image of God. And I know you may think that you're jacked up and you're flawed and you've got all these problems, and I get it. Some of these things are just real, but all these negative thoughts are from the evil one. You, my friend, are made in the image of God and at the beginning he spoke everything into existence Spoke, spoke, spoke, spoke. And when he came to man, he formed him with his hands and he breathed the breath of life into man's nostrils. And Adam sat up and he was face to face with his creator and it was awesome I mean it was awesome. And when he was in the garden it was beautiful. He's with God. This is who we are, this is what distinguishes us from the rest of the world. And then, unfortunately, that lasted really good for a page and a half of my Bible.

Chris Grainger: 10:29

Then it went downhill, sin entered, and sin is anything that separates us from God. And ever since then it's us trying to reconcile and get back to Him. But the problem is there's just a huge gap, because the penalty of sin is death. But the problem is there's just a huge gap. Because the penalty of sin is death, there's nothing we can do to overcome that gap, and we try so hard. I know so many guys that try so hard. I just got to be a better person. I just got to treat my wife right, I got to read the Bible, I got to take my kids to church, I got to volunteer, I got to donate money All these things that we feel like we do to be good, because we're trying to be good enough. So, hopefully, if one day, if we die and we go and we're being judged, maybe God will just let us in out of effort.

Chris Grainger: 11:07

And the problem is with effort. It's not that it's not good. I want you to do good works. They're just not enough to earn our salvation, because the good that we're striving for is unattainable, because God is holy. We are not and there's this massive gap that we can't overcome, so we can't pay it ourselves. And so many people try to coach their way up. And the reality is, guys, we don't need a coach, we need a savior to step in and do for us what we can't do for ourselves.

Chris Grainger: 11:37

And that's what Jesus did. He stepped in on a rescue mission from heaven for you, for me, for the whole world. He he stepped in on a rescue mission from heaven for you, for me, for the whole world. He was born of a virgin. He fulfilled all the prophecies. He did all the teachings, all the miracles. Jesus showed us time and time and time again that he is the Messiah, he is the Son of God, and then he went to the cross to pay the penalty for our sin. Again, we can't pay it. He paid it for us and he died on the cross and they laid him in a tomb. And the reason we don't mourn that and we're not worshiping a dead person is because he rose. Jesus rose, he overcame death, and that's what we put our faith in, that's what we put our trust in, that's what we put our hope in, and he ascended to the Father. He's in heaven right now and he is the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Him. He is it, jesus. There is no other name.

Chris Grainger: 12:28

So what you have to do, ultimately, you're at a point of decision and you have to reflect on it. You have to think about it, because at some point you've got to decide are you going to do things your way or are you going to do things His way? And once you get to that point where you recognize God's calling you to Him, you have to turn, you have to repent, you have to turn from your old ways and put your belief in Him, so recognizing you're a sinner in need of a savior. Jesus is going, he is it, he is the Messiah, he is the one I'm going to call Lord. And then you confess him as Lord over your life, over everything your money, your family, your career, your health, all these areas. Jesus, I give it all to you. I give it all to you because I love you. I give it all to you because I know your way is the best way and I'm choosing purposely to follow you. And once you do that, the Holy Spirit's going to come, it's going to dwell, you'll be a new man, you'll have these scales fall off. You'll just be able to see the world in a much different way. And then, through the process of day by day, picking up that cross, following him. He's going to show you, he's going to guide you, he's going to direct you.

Chris Grainger: 13:37

But it starts by making the decision to confess Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior. And if you're ready to do that today, what better time than right now? Let's pray together and let's confess Christ as our Lord and Savior, and I'm here to do it with you. So, lord, just thank you for today, for this chance to share the gospel, just to share the most important news in my life, and I just pray that it's falling on the ears of someone who needs to hear this right now. God, maybe they're at the end of the rope. They don't know where else to turn. They're at the bottom and they know they need to look somewhere. And I'm just saying, I'm praying, I'm hoping that they look up, they look to you and I know you hear their prayers and as they confess in you as Lord and Savior, right now, I just pray you just put a peace over them that passes all understanding that you just put some people in their life that's going to encourage them, them, that will lift them up, that will just be there to support and guide and direct them, and I just pray, god, that you just move in their life in a mighty way today. So we love you and we praise you so much in Christ's name, amen, all right, so you just accepted. Christ Touchdown, hallelujah, fist, bump, touchdown, let's go.

Chris Grainger: 14:51

So I want you to send me an email, chris, at thelioneltonus, because I'm going to send you some free resources. We've got a Bible study. We have lots of different downloadables. There's lots of resources. I want to just send you away to get you equipped, to get you started. I also want to find out where you're at in the country, because we can help you find a good, bible-believing, gospel preaching church and that is very, very important to us to make sure that you are equipped to go out and do the battle that you've been called to do. So again, chris, at the line with NUS.

Chris Grainger: 15:18

Ok, so now, guys, come back on Wednesday. So we're going to keep unpacking this idea of margin. I'm going to go to this story again, unpack the whole scripture. We'll look at that together. Then we'll give you a few more reference points to think about regarding margin. That hopefully, will be beneficial as you move forward, because I know your schedules are busy. Everybody's jam-packed, everybody's got so much stuff going on. So when I wrote this Bible study, I felt like it was a topic that I know was important to me, and God revealed a few things to me and I'm hoping he does the same thing for you and I'm really hoping that you're encouraged by it.

Chris Grainger: 15:54

So you can go over to the line within the IUS. You can click on all the different ways. We have our free tools and inside the free tools we have our Bible studies and things like that. We have the weekly roar, we have our assessment, we have some downloadable guides and things like that, and then you can click over and so far as offerings and check out our community, the different ways to get started with us. For the guys to actually want to lean in and start being a discipleship around leader. The leader of guys called you to be. So lots and lots of resources there, guys, on the website thelionwithinus, to get started. Okay, so we'll see you on Wednesday. Thank you, guys so much. Give us a rating and review. If you want to donate to the show, that would be amazing. All that stuff is right there. If you can just support, click on the support tab on the lionwithinus. You have ways to sponsor as well as ways to donate to what we're doing, all right. So, guys, have a great day. We'll see you next time and remember to keep unleashing the lion within.

Chris Grainger: 16:59

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

Chris Grainger: 17:05

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: 17:23

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 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. If you think 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 having 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 get your weekly ROAR today.