Welcome And Romans 1:16

Chris Grainger 1:09

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, meet up some time. Let's get into it. Okay, so the scripture of the week this week is Romans 1, verse 16. Okay, so it's Romans 1, 16. It says, For I'm not ashamed of the gospel. For it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. So fellas, take some time. If you haven't listened yet, go back and listen to the spiritual kickoff episode. I took some time to unpack that at length to see how we can simplify and apply that one little verse to our walk. And guys, as a reminder, we do this Monday through Friday at the Lion Within Us. It's called the Daily Spiritual Kickoff. We don't put this on a podcast, we don't put this out on YouTube or anywhere else. It happens exclusively within the Lion Within Us and our platform. Okay. So look, we offer this up as a free resource to you. So we do have a daily spiritual kickoff every day. You can check it live, or you can check watch the videos when we release them each and every day. Or you and not or and also you get access to our prayer request space, fellas. So it's a great way to share your prayer requests, and they will be lifted up and prayed over by other men as well as as part of that prayer request space. We have a weekly prayer warrior huddle. So that's a it's a Google meet that's open to all the guys and the daily spiritual kickoff. Come, we'll pray over you, we'll pray for you, and then you can come alongside us and lift up others as well. Okay, so all that's found at the Lionelithan.us, guys. Go check it out now and get that started. So this conversation is gonna be a good one. I I really enjoyed it. Uh it's we brought in Mark Ellis, who's a journalist, and he's a the founder of God Reports. Okay, so this is a platform that's dedicated to sharing like really impactful stories and testimonies from missionaries and mission organizations all over the world. Okay, so uh he he had a really interesting uh professional career, but then he shifted all his work to this, and the stories he shares have been just phenomenal. They've been unreal. He I mean, the book has 60 stories in it, so he shares three on this conversation, but then he also unpacks how we need to recognize that our story matters. And while you may not feel like your story is worthy of being put into a book and people to read about it, uh I think you're minimizing the impact of what God's doing in your life. Every one of our testimonies matters. The challenge we have is to actually share it with others for his glory. So that's what it's all about. So I really enjoyed this conversation with Mark. Hopefully, you are too, guys. So sit back and have a lot of fun with my friend Mark Ellis. Well, Mark Ellis, welcome to The Line Within Us. How are you doing today? Very good. Thanks for having me. I'm excited to have you here. We always like to start off with just a fun uh fact about you, maybe that that might not many people know about Mark. So what's something fun that uh not people are just not gonna be too aware about about you?

Meet Mark Ellis And Mission Travel

Mark Ellis 4:12

I was uh in my pre-Christian days, I was a ski bum in uh in the Rocky Mountains, and uh was a breakfast cook at a hotel, and then uh after that I uh met a guy who invited me to go uh stay at his banana plantation in Hawaii. So I took a backpack and a surfboard and went over there, and uh that was quite an adventure. Oh wow. Sounds like a pretty good gig there for a while, huh? Yeah, it's fun to do those things when you're when you're young and uh have a spirit of adventure. That's right. But in a in a couple days, I'm leaving on a mission trip to Myanmar, Burma, and to uh Thailand. So that's a that's that's adult adventure. Right. Because uh they still have a civil war going on in Burma. And uh anyway, it's uh place where we we adopted an unreached tribe, and now we have the first house church plant in that tribe, which is one of the greatest things in the world uh that could ever happen.

Chris Grainger 5:26

That's incredible. Well, be pr be praying for you on that trip sounds like it's a a great opportunity in front of you. What about your your a little bit of your testimony? Like what did you grow up in the church? Like, when did you come to know Christ?

Evidence That Led Him To Jesus

Mark Ellis 5:39

Uh I was uh uh grew up in a home where we went to church very occasionally and uh never remember hearing the gospel till I was 17, and a friend invited me to hear a visiting evangelist, and when I heard him, I just broke out in a cold sweat because uh I could tell he was there was a lot of conviction in my heart. I could tell he was telling the truth. Jesus really is the savior of the world. I believed it, but I was not ready to make him the Lord of my life, and that did not happen for another 10 years. Really? So I lived for myself through my 20s. I went to college at uh UC Berkeley. My parents uh foolishly sent me up there, and uh, you know, I was lost. I say when I graduated, I was an educated fool because I did not know God. And uh so I lived for myself uh in Southern California, but I somebody invited me to go to a Christian singles group, and I went more to meet girls than to meet God. Right. Right? I I hung around that group for seven years, and they'd have a message, and the message would go in one ear, out the other. Finally, I was at one of their Bible studies, and a guy said, I just read this book, Evidence that demands a verdict by Josh McDowell, and he recommended the book, and that that name just stuck in my head, and I thought, you know, I'm I'm 29 years old, uh, I kind of believe in God, I'm not too sure about Jesus. I really need to figure this out. What do I really believe? So I said, I thought, I'll get that book, and it was the chapter on the resurrection that was key for me because I I I had reasoned that if Jesus really did bodily rise from the dead after three days, that set him apart from Buddha, Muhammad, and every other religious leader in the world. And so when I finished that chapter, I thought the evidence was compelling. I dropped to my knees. I recited the prayer that was in the at the end of the book, the sinner's prayer, and my life changed uh in an instant. I I still have a sense in those few seconds, uh it was like one operating system had been removed and another one had been downloaded. Because I've been very liberal on social issues like abortion. I thought abortion was a good thing because our the greatest problem facing humanity was overpopulation. But in the seconds after I was born again, God gave me this horror for the sin of abortion. And I thought, where is this coming from? So I knew something, something radical had changed in my heart and soul and mind. Wow. And I was at 29 years old.

Chris Grainger 8:47

29, yeah. Wow. And that's I mean, the stats show that's pretty late. I mean, usually if you don't get them, if if you're not saved earlier in life, that the probability just goes down and down. So hats off. It sounds like you're on fire and you took that and you ran with it.

Mark Ellis 9:03

Yeah, and then uh it was a big year of change for me because I met the Lord and I met my wife in the same year. There you go. So uh that big big change in direction and and uh getting serious about things that matter.

Chris Grainger 9:18

100%. So that that sets you on a trajectory, and now you know you got this book, When Kingdom Light Shines, and these different stories that inspire faith. And I'm super curious what what spurs you to put on to to put a project like this together? Because this is no easy feat right here. But what what was the the inspiration behind it?

Why He Founded God Reports

Mark Ellis 9:38

Well, I I had uh I was in the business world for 18 years, answered a call into Christian ministry at a small church in Laguna Beach, California. It was a uh a part-time role, so I was looking for something else to do with ministry, and I'd always enjoyed writing, never really pursued it. And so I met a British journalist named Dan Wooding, who started Assist News, and uh he allowed me to become a contributor to his news service. And my first assignment was covering Promise Keepers at the LA Coliseum, and uh there was nothing more thrilling than to hear 70,000 men singing How Great Thou Art in unison. And um, so that's that's where I got my start. And along the way, I met lots of interesting and inspiring people, which are in this book. Uh, but I I started my own website called God Reports after a trip to the southern Philippines to visit two Wycliffe Bible translators, and um our church had supported them for over 40 years, and so anybody who had a 40-year commitment to anything I got my attention. Yeah, they had just completed their second translation. First translation was Sarangani Minobo, the second translation was Tagabawa. So myself and another man flew down there to have a big celebration and give the actual physical Bibles to this tribe. And I saw the way they were living. They lived in a in a house that was the size of my garage, about 400 square feet. They had to be evacuated twice due to either Muslim threats or uh communist threats. And the wife, the wife got breast cancer along the journey. Uh, the sun fell out of a tree, was paralyzed from the waist down when they started their second translation. So I saw all these obstacles they overcame to bring this precious gift of the scripture in the heart language of this people. And as I was flying home, I thought, you know, this is cool. I can write up their story, but how many other stories are out there like this? And that's where I got the idea to start another website called God Reports, which is a little more mission-oriented, sharing stories and testimonies from the mission field. Right. So that's how that got started. So over 25 years, I've collected a lot of stories, and I chose 60 of my favorites to go into this book.

Chris Grainger 12:33

Wow. Now, did you do the majority of the writing on these stories or did these submit it from other people?

Mark Ellis 12:40

All the stories were written by me. And uh, so I'm thinking about doing a follow-up book that would include other contributors to the site.

Chris Grainger 12:51

Wow, that's incredible. So, I mean, I'm curious, like, how did you collect these stories? Is it sit-down interviews? Is it phone calls? I mean, how how do you go about that process over the years?

Mark Ellis 13:01

Well, it's it's all of the above because people would be um in different places, uh, like the cer the survivor from 9-11, he lived in New York area, so that would be a phone interview. Sure. I'd interview in person, like the the last living D-Day chaplain. Uh he lived in, happened to live in Orange County, and he ended up doing my son's uh speaking at my son's Eagle Scout ceremony. Oh, that's super cool. Yeah.

Chris Grainger 13:33

Well, as you put these together, you mentioned there's 60 of them, and I'm sure it's like trying to pick your your favorite kid, right? So, but if you had to pick a couple and you want to share some some some of the things that are in the book with the listeners out there, what what comes to mind? What would be a few that you like to share?

9/11 Impact Zone Survivor Story

Mark Ellis 13:50

Well, one of my favorites is the uh the story about the only known survivor from the impact zone on 9-11. And that's about uh Stanley Pramnaft, who I interviewed some years ago. He was uh an immigrant to the U.S. and had worked his way up to be to oversee all of Fuji Bank's operations on the 81st floor of Tower 2 in the World Trade Center. And uh on the that it's a massive, massive building. One floor is 40,000 square feet, that's like one acre. And Stanley was one of the few Christians working at Fuji Bank, and his practice was to sit at his desk with his Bible and eat his lunch, a lunch uh he brought from home. And on the morning of 9-11, he started getting these phone calls because Tower 2 is the second building hit. And people would call and say, Stan, are you okay? Are you okay, Stan? And he'd say, Oh, yeah, yeah, I'm fine. He didn't know what had happened. It's a soundproof building, but he looked out his window and he started seeing uh fire fireballs of debris falling uh from the other building. He was going to evacuate, but at that time they were piping through the intercom system. You know, uh stay where you are. Tower two is safe. Uh there's, you know, um there's no need to evacuate. So he just stayed in his office. So he's standing at his desk, talking on the phone, looking out toward the Statue of Liberty, and he sees a jet flying at eye level right toward his office. And it was United Flight 175. And even though it's a soundproof building, before the the jet hit his hit his floor straight on, um, he could he could hear the engines reving. And he said, I'll never forget that sound. So if you've seen replays of the jet coming in, it's flying like an eye left, it's flying uh straight, but right before it hits the building, the wing kind of tips up like this. Uh and the bottom of the wing went right through the top of Stan's office, and then of course he was engulfed in this massive fireball. And I I compare it to a modern day uh story of Meshach, Shadrach, and Abednego, the three Hebrew boys who were in the in the fiery furnace, because the the temperature was uh around him was approaching 1800 degrees from that fireball, all that jet fuel. Sure. So um Stan right before the the jet hit, he dove under his desk and he said, Jesus, save me. And everything around him was destroyed. Uh, you know, the heat was you know unimaginable. So uh I don't want to be a spoiler, but in the book it tells the story of how he survived that conflagration and got out and uh and uh made it out. So uh it's quite a story.

Marriage Support Group For Husbands

Chris Grainger 17:23

That I know when I read that one, that chapter just had me on the edge of my seat the whole time. So I mean, thank you for sharing that one. And guys, we're gonna take a quick break. I'll be right back with Mark. Let's just say it out loud. Marriage is one of the greatest gifts that God can give a man, and one of the most consistent places where we can feel unsure of what we're doing. Even the strongest marriages have moments where you look at your wife and you think, you know what? I love you. I'm so committed to you. But right now I have no idea what I should do next. And that's why we launched something new inside the lion within us community. It's our very first support group, and it's for husbands, and we're calling it committed and occasionally confused. This isn't just a place for men in crisis. Though if you're there, hey, you're welcome. This is for any man who refuses to coast and wants to take his marriage from good to great. So inside you'll find an active chat and a feed, honest conversations, and brotherhood that says, you're not alone. We've been there. Let's bring this to God and grow. And we're also doing a monthly couples night where your wife is invited because we're not letting the world set the agenda for our homes. Now, if you want access to this support group, it's very simple. Go to thelionwithin.us and join the Lions Den. Okay, that's the LionWithin.us. Start your 30-day free trial of the Lion's Den community, and boom, you have instant access to the committed and occasionally confused support group. We'll see you inside the den. So, Mark, I'm curious. You know, that was a such a powerful story there of 9-11. What what else would you like to share with the listeners?

Howard Storm And The Gates Of Hell

Mark Ellis 19:09

Uh another one of my um uh I think one of the more impactful stories. Uh there's a lot of near-death experiences of people uh with heaven saying they visited heaven and came back. There are fewer stories of people who visited hell and came back to tell that story. And uh the story of Howard Storm, who was an atheist art professor, and his encounter that left him changed is is uh very memorable testimony to me. But Howard was 38 years old, he was a tenured art professor uh leading a group on an art tour of Europe. He said as an atheist art professor, he was a double atheist uh because most universities are very liberal places where, you know, it's hard to find uh much Christian faith in the upper ranks of academia. So while he was there, they were in Paris. He had just gone on a tour of Delacroix's home and he came back to the hotel. Suddenly he had this intense pain in his stomach that caused him to fall to the floor, and he had a perforation of the small stomach, which is like a burst appendix. And it's a serious deal. If you don't get surgery immediately with uh within a number of hours, peritonitis, septic shock, and death can happen. So he's he happened to fall ill on a Saturday in a country where they have socialized medicine. And the French doctors they do a fixed number of surgeries per week, like seven surgeries, then they have the weekend off. So they couldn't find somebody to deal with this emergency. And he's in the meantime, he's lying in this bed. Uh, they're not giving him any attention at all. No, no, no uh pain meds, no nothing. He's going south in a hurry. And all of a sudden he experiences that sensation of his soul leaving his body and hovering in the room, looking down at him lying in the bed. And he starts calling out, you know, his wife was sitting there and and uh, but nobody can hear him. And then two people come to the door and they call his name. And so he thought they were on the staff of the medical center, and they said, come with us. And uh he thought it was a little unusual because everybody who had been speaking to him was in heavily accented English with the French accent. These people spoke uh perfect English. Really? So he starts walking down this long hallway with them, and as they're walking down this hall, he thinks he's going to surgery, and it's getting darker and darker, and he's just thinking, This is so strange. What's what's going on? And it's this long walk, and and uh they get to a point where it's it's he can't hardly see, and he said, Wait a second, I'm not going any further. And they said, Yes, you are. And they got in this tussle that turned into this violent fight. And uh he finds himself in the uttermost darkness on the edge of the gates of hell, and you can hear people crying out in agony. Um it's a horrific scene. He's been kind of brutalized in fighting with these. With these demons. And uh, but he hears this still small voice saying, Pray to God. And he heard, and he she's thinking to himself, that's crazy. I I don't pray. I'm I'm an atheist. And he heard that still small voice three times pray to God. So he's racking his brain. He his his parents had taken him to Sunday school as a little child. Yeah. So he's trying to come up with any little bit of what to say. Right. So he says, uh, Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so. And and these demons start mocking him and yelling at him, uh, God's not going to save you, uh, you piece of crap. And and uh so but the thing he noticed when he would do this, they would back away from him when he'd come out with any little any little bit of scripture. So finally he yells out, Jesus save me, and this brilliant light uh appeared around him. And uh anyway, he Jesus did cause him to come back into that into that hospital room. Um he went through surgery, he survived the surgery, and when he came out, all he wanted to talk about was Jesus, heaven and hell. And his wife didn't want to hear about it. She was an atheist also. She divorced him not too long after that. And uh anyway, Howard Storm ended up becoming a pastor, uh, a dramatic uh transformation of an atheist to a believer. Wow.

Chris Grainger 25:00

What a story. What a story. Well, how about one more? Let's share one more, and then we'll we'll dig it, we'll dig into some other areas. Any any other stories that just stood out of the house?

Astronaut James Irwin Meets Jesus

Mark Ellis 25:13

I love the story of um James Irwin. He was uh astronaut who was the eighth man to walk on the walk on the moon. He was the first to ride in the lunar rover. Yeah and he spent three days on the lunar surface collecting uh geological material. He collected 170 pounds of uh rocks and and things, and they they had trained him to do all these experiments uh on Earth before they went, and he was having trouble with this experiment. It just wouldn't go off correctly the way they had practiced. Uh James Irwin was a very nominal Christian, did not really go to church very often, but in his desperation, he prayed to God. He said, He said, Jesus, help me. And in that moment, 238,000 miles away from earth, Jesus' presence uh appeared to such a in such a real way that he looked behind him to see if Jesus was standing there. And when he came back to earth, he was an on-fire believer. He retired from NASA and devoted the rest of his life to uh Christian ministry, and he led several expeditions to try to find Noah's Ark. And uh I he he died at a young age from a heart attack. He actually, they think his heart was damaged because his spacesuit malfunctioned and he overheated to a dangerous degree on the lunar surface. And uh that may have shortened his life because he died of a heart attack about 10 years after he came home. But um I spoke with his wife and she went through all of his research, you know, boxes and boxes and sitting in their garage, and she was convinced that he had decided where Noah's Ark was located. And the reason it hasn't been found, it's in the mountains in Iran. And uh, of course, Christian missionaries cannot, and Christian expeditions cannot go to Iran. But uh it's very intriguing what she related to me based on stories from World War II when Iran was an ally allied with us, and we uh soldiers went through Iran to go north into southern Europe and uh and supply uh the allies through through that route.

Chris Grainger 28:02

Yeah. Wow. Incredible stories. And as you as you work through these and put these together and just over the years, how have the stories of faith like this impacted your own personal walk with Christ?

Power Of Testimony In Hard Seasons

Mark Ellis 28:17

Well, I all of us need a boost from time to time in our faith. And uh, no matter how many years you've been walking with the Lord, you're gonna go through valleys, peaks and valleys. And when you're in in the that dark place, of course, I I've I've led men's groups. I I my passion is to see men in the word every day. So that's key. But I think you know, stories and testimonies can also be important. There's a there's a power in testimony. The book of Revelation tells us they overcame the evil one with by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony. So I've collected 1,400 testimonies on the God Reports website, and all of those link to a page that presents the gospel. And we have about 30 people a month receiving Christ through those stories. So there's a power in stories, and when you're um when you're down, I think uh the word is being in the word is important. Uh, but I I really feel these stories have a power to lift up uh fellow believers. And and also uh I have people ordering multiple books to give to non-believers. Yeah. Because uh, you know, there is a power. I I have an atheist on our neighborhood I gave a copy to, and uh he showed up at my front door with a list of questions uh from the book. So that led to about a two-hour conversation.

Chris Grainger 29:58

There you go. Well, well, I'm curious, you know, as you start thinking about storytelling, there's so many guys maybe listening, they're like, that's great, Mark, but not none of my story. My story isn't you know relevant. It's not gonna fit into a book like this. No one's gonna be interested in that, right? So what what do you tell that guy right there who feels like his story is just not that interesting?

Mark Ellis 30:19

Well, um, I I find that often people who don't think that often have a more interesting testimony to share than than you you may think. Sure. So it may be may not be as dramatic as one of the ones I just mentioned, but everybody has a story to tell of where they were once, lost, what that was like, and then how God led them to Christ, and then how their life changed after that. So I think everybody should be able to tell that in a five-minute form, in a 10-minute form, in a you know, 20-minute form, because you never know when God's going to set up that divine appointment. And uh, you know, it happens to me on planes and different different places where God will sovereignly put somebody in your path who needs to hear a story of hope.

Chris Grainger 31:21

Yeah, it's funny. I was talking with one of our guys in the line yesterday, Mark, and maybe this is just God's timing. And uh one of our members joined and he shared out his testimony. And the way he does it, he just he he has it typed up in a Word document and he sent it out. And then one of the members was asking me, he's like, that's really interesting that he took the time to do that. He and he equated it to a resume. He's like, we all keep a resume updated. You know, if you're working in the professional field, you update that with things you've done and accomplishments and schools and things like that. He's like, I wonder why we don't ever sit down and take the time just to write out our testimony so that we could call it up, you know, in a moment and be able to share that with others. And it just it's funny. We're talking about this today, and he literally just said that to me yesterday. And it's just, you know, sometimes I think we feel like this the story doesn't matter, but to your point, God is doing all these things, he's writing the story. Uh, I guarantee it can be used for his glory if we just choose to share it.

Mark Ellis 32:18

I love that. I I would encourage anybody to write down their testimony and uh have it be uh something as a legacy that you're passing on to your children and grandchildren. Uh that's impactful. I have a letter written by my great-great-grandfather that you know exhibits his faith. Yeah, and I've got a cut, his uh Quaker Bible. It's about a foot, a foot thick and uh from 1860s. And uh so that's a treasure, a family treasure that to have that evidence of faith uh through the generations.

Chris Grainger 32:52

That's really cool. Does it have any like handwritten notes in it or anything like that? That would be amazing to read that stuff.

Mark Ellis 32:58

Yeah, it's got um it's got um a uh the genealogical you know family table written written in ink. And I've got a I've got a thing I put together that I'll show you uh of uh going father to son through the generations. So this is the guy I was just talking about right here, yeah. Uh Nathan Ellis, this is his father, Nehemiah, but he was the last of the Quaker pioneers, and then father, father to son, father to son, that's my father. And then me in the in a younger version.

Chris Grainger 33:51

That's very cool.

Mark Ellis 33:53

I love the idea of legacy, even though each of those men were not walking with the Lord. There is a story to tell.

Chris Grainger 34:00

Right. 100%.

Mark Ellis 34:02

Yeah.

Praying With Your Wife Simple Guide

Chris Grainger 34:02

Well, guys, we're gonna take a quick break, we'll come back and continue a conversation with Mark. If there's one habit that can change a home, it's this when a husband prays with his wife. Not because it's a magic formula, but because it recenters your marriage under God's authority and care. And let's be honest, a lot of guys want to do it, but most don't know how to start without it feeling awkward. Maybe you've tried it before and it felt forced, or maybe you've never tried it because you don't even know what to say. Or maybe you're thinking, man, I'm not a pastor, I'm just a guy. And that's why we created this guide. It's our how to pray with your wife. Simple guide. It's biblical, it's practical, and it's designed to help you start praying with your wife in a way that actually feels natural. So it's a five-section guide and it gives you a simple framework to get started. Okay, it makes sure everything is grounded in scripture and it also has a powerful PDF that you can pull up whenever you need, especially when things get off, because they're gonna get off. That's normal. So this is all about reclaiming your marriage and reclaiming the spiritual leadership reigns of your home. Because praying with your wife is one of the strongest ways to fight for unity, to build trust, and to right the ship when life starts to pull you off a course. So if you're ready, get access today at thelionwithin.us slash guides. That's thelionwithin.us slash guides. And start unleashing the lion within at home by leading your marriage through prayer. Mar, I am curious for for you. When you share stories like this, they're impactful for sure, but I'm sure it's at the same time, you know, the evil ones out there, there's gonna be skepticism, there's gonna be pushback, uh, like, well, that's just you know, luck or may have you, or whatever people, you know, atheists may say. What's your response when you get that type of feedback? Because our guys need to know how to respond when pushback comes.

Handling Pushback And Credibility

Mark Ellis 36:09

Mm-hmm. Well, I mean, I do assess the veracity of the people I'm talking to, like a Stanley Praemath, and there's there's a man who helped in his rescue, and he's alive, and he can corroborate the story. Right. Um you see like Howard Storm's life changed, his wife divorced him, and he became a pastor. So there's evidence that something real happened. And uh sometimes it does stretch our theology, you know, yeah. To uh Paul said that he, you know, he saw the third heaven, but he wasn't allowed to talk about it, and then these people are talking about it. So you know, um, there are there are things that I that are a little bit outside the box for me, but it it's it's it's the reality of somebody's personal testimony, their life changed as a result. It it uh comports to a great extent with the Orthodox faith. And so I I I put them in the book, and uh there will be naysayers for sure. And those people that you're never gonna argue, be able to argue with. Right. Yeah, they're set.

Chris Grainger 37:28

They are set. I mean, were there any stories that that you were maybe hesitant to publish or to put out because you thought maybe they're just they're just too far or too unbelievable? Anything anything that aligned there?

Mark Ellis 37:41

Uh occasionally I have pulled a story off our website. Okay. I get a I get a email from someone saying, you know, um questioning uh because they have some sort of inside information. Uh-huh. So I have pulled stories down. And there are stories that are so miraculous, you think, wow, that's you know, that's amazing. But then if I get a letter saying this person has a history of telling fabulous stories uh too often, and um they're not credible. And uh so I have pulled some stories down.

Chris Grainger 38:28

I guess some of that just comes with discernment and you know, from the Holy Spirit as well, from your standpoint, is as collecting the information and and then sharing it, and and and then to your point, you know, if it's uh if they're an atheist, if they're a non-believer, they're gonna try to find holes any in anything you put out anyway. So yeah. Sounds like to me you're trying to be more of an encouragement to those who are leaning in or curious about faith and and and helping them understand, you know, make those make those connections of how it actually applies to life.

Mark Ellis 39:00

Right, right.

Chris Grainger 39:02

That's really cool on this. And and as you start thinking about when you look through these stories, I'm curious, what do you see around the tie to obedience of faith to the actual miraculous outcomes? So, I mean, so many Americans we talk at the lion all the time about just do whatever God calls you to do. Take the steps of obedience. And then so many of the stories throughout the when the kingdom light shines is a direct result of the step of obedience. So, how how do you make that tie or make that connection? Or what would be a word you would share for our listeners who are just questioning that next step obedience that God's calling you to?

Obedience And Guarding Against Drift

Mark Ellis 39:36

Well, there is um blessing that comes from obedience, I believe. I mean, we're not uh we don't earn brownie points with God. Right. Uh however, uh there is a blessing that comes from walking faithfully with Him. And I have to guard my own life as a in ministry. I recently um have gone to uh turning off all the screens at night after after dinner, uh turning off the phone, the laptop, and just reading good books. Because uh, you know, for me, even walking with the Lord 40 years, there's there's just too many distractions, too many temptations to being online uh on the internet. So that's one of the things I've done recently because I it's a I want to finish well, and I just turned 70 and and I thought, gee, even at 70, the flesh still rears its ugly head. Right. Uh the flesh never gets any better. So that's one of the tough lessons I've learned in watching Christian leaders fall. And you think, how could this happen? You know, here's this esteemed figure who's influenced so many people. And the truth is, if you walk in the flesh, you can be just as bad as you ever were. That's right. And that's a that's a moment-by-moment uh decision. It starts in the early morning with your devotions and extends through the day. Right. You know, walking, walking in the spirit.

Chris Grainger 41:19

Yeah, and I tell guys all the time that those moments where we hear like you know prominent people in faith when they fall, it didn't happen that day. It's not like suddenly, all of a sudden, you know, they they fell. It starts with just a little curiosity or a little just a little drift, and next thing you know, that slow drift, and you're completely out of alignment with what God's called you to do. So just thank thank you for sharing that. I think some guys needed to hear that today for sure.

Mark Ellis 41:45

We don't fall into sin, we s walk into it one step at a time. Right. Right.

Chris Grainger 41:54

Yeah, 100%. And and maybe to the listener out there, Mark, who's feeling just spiritually dry right now. Maybe maybe life's just not they've gotten a bunch of uh rough days in a row, or they feel like God's distant. How do you hope that Wing Kingdom Like shines is going to encourage them or meet them where they're at?

When Faith Feels Dry

Mark Ellis 42:14

Well, I I hope the the book will inspire their lives, but I also want people to be in the word also daily. Uh that's first and foremost, to be in fellowship with other believers uh in a small group. We we know too many mature believers who have stopped going to church. And a lot of that happened in during COVID. They got out of the habit and they thought their their couch seemed kind of comfortable. And um it just saddens, saddens me and my wife uh that we see this phenomenon out there. People who walked for the Lord, walked with the Lord, who should know better, who said, Oh, you know, I don't need to go to church. You know, I I can watch it, watch on TV, but we need other believers as men, we need other men to uh sharpen us, to hold us accountable. Right. So I need that in my own life, even walking with Jesus 40 40 years. I have a men's group I lead on Saturday mornings. So that's important to me.

Chris Grainger 43:22

Yeah, you don't want to force forsake the fellowship of the saints, fellas. That's such a big deal. Well, Mark, I'm I'm super encouraged by this one. Hopefully it's gonna get into a lot of hands out there. And before we wrap up, we'd love to have a little fun lightning round with you before we uh before we go today. Okay, all right. Well, great. Well, I'm curious for you. So you've already mentioned the surfboard. So what's your favorite hobby? What do you enjoy doing? You still surfing, or is that another hobby that you've replaced that with?

Lightning Round And Legacy

Mark Ellis 43:50

At 70, my my timing, my balance, and my shoulder strength is not what it was at 20. Right, right. Occasionally I'll get that out there and paddle around. I I might catch a wave, and but it's uh in the summer when things warm up and uh and uh I choose choose the right time. Uh but I do I I do enjoy um uh a little bit of golf, a little bit of uh tennis, uh walk, run. My wife and I are lifelong swimmers. Okay. So where we live, uh I'm gonna I'll go for a noon swim today. It'll be about in the 70s. Oh wow. So uh, you know, the sun's shining. So it's been the craziest January here in Southern California. While others, most of the country is freezing to death. We've had an unusually warm January.

Chris Grainger 44:50

Yeah, I'm not gonna be mad at you. You know, it's it's cold here in North Carolina, but uh enjoy that 70 degree w uh swim today. Love it, love it. How about uh what's your favorite food, Mar? What's what's your go-to there?

Mark Ellis 45:05

Um, I love a good Steak, I have to say. Okay. And uh we just uh we just went to Costco and got bought fillets for uh some friends and uh that's that's great when I can barbecue that uh put put the right seasoning on it and get it just right. Now what's just right for you? How are you cooking your steak? Medium rare. I like it pink. Okay.

Chris Grainger 45:32

There you go. There you go. What about your uh you're a storyteller and you like stories, and and movies are kind of like that. So what's your all-time favorite movie? What's your go-to? It's a wonderful life. Um oh, such a good one.

Mark Ellis 45:46

Yeah, I'm I'm uh Jimmy Stewart has always been one of my favorites. And uh in a younger, well, over the years I I do some impressions. He's one of my favorite impressions. Yeah, and I've been work working on a creative project about his life as a tribute to him and the World War II generation. It's something I've just been working on uh that I want to do eventually. Starting with Friends and Family as a stand-up performance uh talking about his life.

Chris Grainger 46:23

I I love the movie. I always watch it for some reason for the last, let's see, 15 years. I just watched on on Christmas Eve. You know, that's just it's like it comes on TV anyway, but we'll have it tape or record it. But I just uh there's something about that story that time of year, it's just it's it it hits it hits home.

Mark Ellis 46:43

It's a Christmas classic, and uh it was not a uh a success when it came out.

Chris Grainger 46:48

Yeah.

Mark Ellis 46:49

The company that did it went bankrupt. And so it was free programming that could be used, and and that a station in New York picked it up at Christmas, found out it was a big hit, and so all these other stations started picking up because it was free content and it became this Christ Christmas classic.

Chris Grainger 47:10

Isn't it crazy how that works? That's that's crazy. Now, when you think about God, Mark, what's your what's your favorite thing about him?

Mark Ellis 47:20

The beauty of his character. And when I wake up in the morning, I love the names of God, and that's a way that I like to connect vertically with him first thing in the morning. So I'll go through the names of God just when I'm laying in bed. You know, Adonai, uh uh my beloved, cornerstone, uh Deliver Elohim. And I just go through that, and it's a way that I uh start out my day. I um I still face the reality of of my flesh throughout the day. Right. Fighting fighting is all men need to fight uh that good battle. But um I I I think if we start the day on the right note, giving him the first fruits, right, uh that's gonna that's gonna set us up for uh a good day.

Chris Grainger 48:21

100%. Let's flip it 180. What's your least favorite thing about the evil one?

Mark Ellis 48:28

Uh just how subtle and cunning that he is and uh uh Jeremiah talks about how the heart is is wicked and deceitfully wicked, who can know it? So I've been in those situations where uh I've been deceived. I did not guard my heart the way I should have. And so I was drawn to things that I that I toyed with. I I never went over that edge, say in terms of temptation with with another woman, but I got close, at least pursuing the fantasy in my own mind. And it's crazy the degree to which you can get off in fantasy land in your brain because of that that cunning deceitfulness of the evil one and just the weakness of my own flesh.

Chris Grainger 49:26

Yes, sir. Yes, sir. Well, thank you for sharing all this, and and what do you hope the listeners, Mark, remember the most from just our conversation today?

Mark Ellis 49:36

That God is real, that he's alive, that he's still working as powerfully as he ever did in the book of Acts, and that's what I that's what I aim to demonstrate through these stories. That uh the same the He's the same yesterday, today, and forever, and he'll be with you no matter what you're going through.

Chris Grainger 49:57

Amen to that. So, where do you want Mark, the listeners to go to connect with you, your ministry, get a copy of the book? Where would you like to send them?

Mark Ellis 50:07

Well, the book, uh When Kingdom Light Shines, is available on Amazon. Uh, they can also go to the God Reports with an S, GodReports.com website. We have a link to the book there. It'll just take them to uh to Amazon. So um, that's the easiest way to get it.

Chris Grainger 50:27

Okay.

Mark Ellis 50:28

And anything for you, any other places you want to send them to connect with you on social media or anything like that? No, through through godreports.com. There's a my information is on there if they want to email me, uh Mark at godreports.com. So okay.

Chris Grainger 50:46

Well, thank you so much for sharing that.

Mark Ellis 50:47

Is there anything else you'd like to share with our listeners today? Go with God and uh trust in him and you you need not fear.

Where You’ve Been Spiritually Passive

Sexual Integrity Group Invitation

Chris Grainger 50:57

Amen. Amen. Well, Mark, it's been an honor to work with you, sir. Thank you so much for the work you're doing. We'll be praying for your safety on your upcoming trip as well, sir. Thank you so much. All right, guys, I told you I was gonna be a great one. So thankful for Mark for sharing again. The question I want you to think about this week as you come through these stories and you start thinking about our scripture of the week is where have you been spiritually passive instead of boldly aligned with Christ? Look, spiritual passivity, I get it, it happens, okay? There's no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus. However, we can't just be passive and do the work that He's called us to do. It doesn't align. If to be aligned to Christ and to be an ambassador for him means that we have to put in the work, fellas. And these stories that Mark shared today and the the encouragement that we gave you along the way to lean in and use your story, it's not just something we say just because we like to say words. No, it's you need to take it to heart. God is doing a great thing in you, and you could be you. Your story could be the one thing that draws someone into an understanding of who Christ is and for his glory. Like that that should get you excited. That should get you leaning in a little bit and recognize uh what I can do today to help someone in their walk. So hopefully that's been useful to you. So thankful to Mark for sharing. And guys, go check out thegodreports.com. Highly recommend that. Get a copy of the book When the Kingdom Light Shines, Stories that inspire faith. Uh, if you just search for that in Amazon, it'll pop right up, fellas. And other than that, head over to the Lion Within Us, like the LionWithin.us. Get connected with us, fellas. I mean, if you're listening to The Lion and maybe you're reading our plans on the Bible app, maybe you picked up a copy of Unleashing The Lion Within, great. All those things we're so thankful for that. But we want to connect with you, we want to encourage you, we want to come alongside you in your discipleship journey. And then the lion within us at our lion stand is a great way to do that. You may be saying, well, Chris, I got my own men's group. Like, I'm busy, bro. You don't understand. I'm like, I get it. But the lion is serving you in some way. Obviously, you're here, you're listening, you're you're being encouraged by it. Joining the Lion Stand is just another way to support what we're doing. It takes a lot of resources to put this type of material, this type of content out on a consistent, prolific basis the way that we do, guys. I mean, we're writing two plans for Bible lab every month. We've got three podcasts a week that are coming out. We've got daily scripture kickoffs happening Monday through Friday, events every day of the week. Guys, it takes work. And we're putting in the work. So if you're getting any value from it, we would ask you to support it. Very simply, very bluntly said, support it. Just go to thelionwithin.us, click on the lion's den, be among, and join that. And then at that point, you're contributing to the work that we're doing each and every month. And I guarantee you, it may not sound like a lot to you, but it adds up, it makes a big impact. And we need the help. Just gonna be straight up. We need the help, we need the support, and we're asking you to get out there if you're listening, if you enjoy the lion, if you're watching it, wherever you consume it, hey, come alongside with us and join in the bat in the fight. Okay? All right, the lionwithin.us, join the lion stand. And look, on Friday, fellas, you're gonna get to meet one of our guys that are in the lion's den. Super excited for you to meet them, to have a chance to sit to hear their story, their testimony, because the to our testimonies matter. Okay, that's what it's all about. But hey, give us a rating and review. That helps big time. And share the lion. Just share the lion. Maybe you like the story today about the 911 survivor, right? The 9-11 survivors rather. Or maybe um the story of the atheist who went to the gates of hell and was brought back and saw uh the evidence of salvation with Jesus. I don't know. I don't know how what what stirred you today, but I know one thing. It could stir someone else as well. So if you enjoyed it, just hit the share button on your phone and share the episode out with others. That makes a big difference. All right. So again, the lionwithin.us is our website, guys. Look forward to seeing you there. Open up the Bible app, check for us out on the Bible app as well. Other than that, we'll see you next time. Have a great day, and remember to keep unleashing the lion within. It's time to stop battling pornography, lust, and temptation alone. We're done sitting on the sidelines, seeing shame win, and hearing from guys that are fighting private wars with no backup. So we decided it's time to fight back. We have our sexual integrity support group, which is a confidential space inside the lion's den for men who are ready to step into the light and pursue real freedom. This isn't just for guys in crisis, by the way. It's for any man who's tired of the cycle, who's tired of living in secret, who's tired of saying this is gonna be the last time. Look, most guys don't need another app or some rules. They need some brothers to come alongside them to say you're not the only one. This doesn't define you. And freedom is possible. So look, inside our group, you're gonna find a confidential, judgment-free forum to engage and ask questions. You'll have honest conversations without commendation. And you'll also have a monthly call with a trusted guide. So look, this isn't just about stopping pornography. It's about becoming a man of integrity, a man aligned, a man who lives in freedom, not secrecy. And you don't have to clean your stuff up first to come. You just have to step in. So our sexual integrity support group is found inside the Lion's Den. And you can start that today with a 30 day free trial. So if you're ready to stop fighting alone and need that extra support, start your 30 day free trial right now at thelionwithin.us. That's thelionwithin.us. And step inside the Lion's Den.