Welcome And Spiritual Kickoff

Chris Grainger 0:02

Welcome to the line 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, guys, spiritual kickoff time. Let's get into it, okay? So the scripture of the week this week is in the book of Mark, chapter 10, two verses, verse 8 and 9. It says, The two will become one flesh, so they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, let no one separate. So, guys, we're going to see how we can tackle these verses to simplify and apply them to our life, okay? Again, at the end of the day, the spiritual kickoff, guys, we do these Monday through Friday. It's called a daily spiritual kickoff. Matter of fact, I just finished teaching it this morning. I'm recording this podcast in the morning. So I just finished teaching. We're working through First Timothy. So uh guys, it's just a great way to be encouraged, to be lifted up on a daily basis, to just be in that word, continually growing, absorbing, just just just being immersed with other believers as well. So it's

Daily Spiritual Kickoff Invitation

Chris Grainger 1:05

just our way to serve you at the line within us. It's free. Uh we even give a free gift for anybody who joins the daily SKO. And you're if you live in any continental U.S., we give you a free gift. Uh, and then also you have access to our prayer request space. If there's anything we could be praying about for you, let us know. That's a great way to share with other brothers in Christ. And it even gives you access in that prayer request space. We have a a prayer warrior huddle, is what we call it. It's every Monday. We have that. It's an open Google Meet for anybody that is in a daily SKO. At this point, guys, we have a couple thousand guys in the daily SKO. God has been blessing it in a mighty way. So just take advantage of it. Jump into it, uh, get you on our platform, and also get you that free gift, man. Who doesn't like free stuff? Okay. All right, let's get into it, fellas. So, where is the book of Mark? We need to first understand that. So it's in your it's one of your gospels, New Testament. You got Matthew, Mark, okay, then Luke and John. So it's the second of the gospels. And this whole week we're gonna be talking specifically about the covenant of marriage and really what God has joined together. And there's context here when you're Jesus speaking that uh we need to consider when we think about these verses, because Jesus isn't just casually talking about marriage, uh, he's answering a direct question about divorce. Because the Pharisees were trying to trap him. I mean, they were like, is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife? Uh and Jesus doesn't start with cultural norms, he doesn't start with feelings, he he goes straight to God's original design, the creation order. And he tells us one man, one woman, one covenant for like, period. He basically says, You're asking me how to get out of marriage. I'm trying to tell you what marriage actually is. They're no longer two, but one flesh, right? And that's identity language. This is why this matters, right? And we recognize this, fellas.

Mark 10 And God’s Marriage Design

Chris Grainger 3:00

This is marriage is outright under attack these things. It just it just is. And and I see it more and more on a regular basis that the lion guys are coming. I'm like, this is not a subtle attack, this is not an occasional attack, like this is a relentless attack. And and guys every day are coming, they're asking for prayer, they're asking for wisdom, they're asking for discernment. And quite often, they're not asking how to fight. Some of these guys are looking for validation to quit. And that bothers me, man. It's like uh things have gone too far, or we just we just don't like or love each other anymore, or we're just growing apart. Man, think about this like nine times out of ten, if we absolutely believe what the Bible says is true, then those reasons for divorce just don't hold up, bro. Like, I mean, let's just be real. I mean, the reasons for divorce in the Bible are very clear, infidelity or abandonment. Okay, and that's that's it. So marriage is not disposable, it's a covenant, and and we we we treat it like it just can be thrown away and like, no, it's not. And marriage is hard, it just is. And we gotta stop pretending that marriage is supposed to be easy. Uh, you got two broken people saved by grace trying to become one. So of course it's hard. Of course it's hard, but that's why it's powerful. Because when you have two believers come together underneath this covenant of God and commit their lives to pursuing Christ together, bro, there is strength in that. There's strength in that, right? And that's bigger than any feelings or compatibility or or circumstances. No, they're strengthening that because our strength is found in Christ. Okay. Then Jesus tells us right here in this verse the power of one flesh. So think about what he's saying. You know, you're not just two people trying to coexist. And I think this is where the world tries to tell us, right? You're two people, you're trying to coexist, you're trying to figure yourself out. And Jesus is like, no, you're one, right? You're one, period. So that means we can we can kind of pull at that a little bit. Think about this. You don't win arguments, quote unquote win, right? Uh you either both win or you both lose. You don't check out, you fight for for that coming together in unity, right? You don't base your your your love on feelings, because feelings, man, they're they're fleeing, bro. It's commitment. Commitment. Right? That's why we call our husband support group at the lion, committed and occasionally confused, right? My brother Adam and his wonderful wife, and he all gave us the name of that one. But that's it. I mean, marriage means I love Becca when I don't feel like it. That's just part of it. And she loves me when I don't deserve it, which is quite a lot. But we both keep showing up. The good days. I mean, that's easy to show up on a good day, bro. But the hard days, yeah, you keep showing up. That's why verses like this matter. That's why we don't want to just run by it. And there's an underrated weapon in marriage, guys, we have to talk about. Because I talk to you guys all the time, and we have our husband support group, you know, we talk about these different you know, tips and tricks and ideas and all these things to strengthen our marriage. They're good. You know, you got reading books together or listening to podcasts together or according to marriage counseling, which I'm all about like JD at uncovering intimacy. You guys we talk about this all the time. He has a wonderful ministry for helping Christian marriages. So go check out his stuff if you're looking for that, right? Or if you want to connect with JD directly, come inside the lion. He is an active member of the lion within us. He's on a right on a regular basis, okay? So you got all these tips, but then you got like the most powerful thing on the planet we have, which is prayer, and that just gets neglected. But like that is a wonderful deterrent to the enemy. And and make it hard for the enemy to divide you. Start praying together, man. Start praying together. Because it's start, it's it's almost impossible to be divided when you're both submitted before God. Look, you have to do this, you have to be intentional. For me and Bacco, like this is this is a non-negotiable. I mean, we pray together every night, usually before we go to sleep. And lots of times she's she's like, oh, we're praying. Like she'll have to give me that reminder because I'm just, you know, think you know how it is, fellas. We get tired. But we're together, we're praying. It's just a it's a regular rhythm for us. And I'm telling you, there's nothing like it. There's absolutely nothing like it. We even put a little guide out there, fellas, how to pray with your wife. So check that out on the website as well. I mean, it's something, it's super simple, but it's something that can be uh just a great encouragement for you if you're not praying with her right now. But at the end of the day, in marriage, we have to stop looking for a way out. Gotta stop, man. Like, don't try to justify walking away from your marriage, right? Because hear me here. That's being weak.

One Flesh Commitment Over Feelings

Chris Grainger 8:00

That's being weak. And we're not called to be weak men. Because marriage is a fight worth leaning into. It is. Because God's design is not flawed. Our commitment to it is. That's the problem. And when we realign with his design, everything starts to change. It just does. I think one thing the world has done a terrible job of us uh for us around marriage is it's it makes us think it's a it's a fairy tale. It's like, no, it's not a fairy tale, it's better. It's better than a fairy tale. Why? Because it's real, bro. Like fairy tales, they live happily every after. Okay, wonderful. And then they die. The gospel, we have eternal glory with Jesus. I'll take that 10 times out of 10. And marriage is so much better. So much better. Because God has already established his authority, right? He's like, look, whatever God has joined together, let not man separate. Period. So this is not culture, this is not feelings, this is not convenience. God, right? So we have to ask ourselves, like, bro, are we fully submitted to him? Like, is he actually in charge? Or uh is it our are we circumstantially driven? Okay. And as men, as Christian men, as leaders, it's time for us to step up in our homes, right? And to live and to fight for our marriages, right? And be the husbands that God has called us to be. And this is not easy. This is why we need support. This is why we need encouragement. Again, this is why we have the husband support group, because we recognize marriage is under attack. There's nothing under attack more right now in our culture than marriage. People say, You don't even need to get married anymore. Like, well, we're married in our hearts. I mean, that's that's that's cute buttercup. That doesn't mean anything. Like, no. Marriage truly matters. It's the covenant, it's this, it's what we make before God. We have to stop dismissing that. Right? And yes, if you do it and you get married, like the and you're particularly you're two believers and you're trying to pursue Christ, you're gonna have her hurdles and headwinds, and even one's not just gonna let you just float by and everything go nice and easy. No, it's not. But it's worth it. The fight is worth it. So, I mean, I just there's so many great things that we're trying to support you guys with. If you're in a marriage right now, it's just just hearing me right now on this one. If you're in a marriage right now and things aren't great, right, and and maybe you're on the verge and divorce has been talked about and or you just don't know how to course correct, look, bro, we we're here for you. We literally have guys who have walked your in your shoes, who come out on the on the other side, and we're and we're we're here. But you gotta take some steps. You have to do some things as well. So my comparison is just check out the lion, right? Just check out the lion, head over to the lionwithmen.us, join the lion's den, not the daily SKO. Actually, join the lion's den because then that gets you into our marriage support group or husbands. We have a monthly couple, couples uh call. It's called Couples Night. So we do, okay? And I'm telling you, don't give up. Just think about it. This is our question of the week is where are you tempted to give up instead of fighting? Don't give up, man. Don't give up. I know I know you're tired. I know you're wore out. I know you think there's never gonna be able to have this any resolution here. But I promise you, there is hope. There is hope. And it's found in him. And sometimes we just need that that support, that guide, that system to come alongside to guide us and direct us. And hey, who knows? Maybe the lion can be that for you. And maybe the lion isn't. That's fine. If the lion isn't, then find what is. Find what it is, and lean into this beautiful covenant. Okay? All right, fellas, well look again. The covenant of marriage uh for two believers is a big deal. But even bigger than that, it's

Praying Together As A Marriage Weapon

Chris Grainger 12:00

making sure that you have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. We talk about this every week on the daily SKO. I'm sorry, on the spiritual kickoff episode. We don't do this, I don't do this every day on the daily SKO. But I want you to hear this. If you're listening to the Lion and you've not submitted your life to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, you're here for some reason. And I don't know why. Maybe you're just curious, maybe you like the Lion logo or something, and you're like, hey, I just want to check this out. I just I'm so thankful that you're here. But if you've never had that moment where you fully surrender to him, I just want you to know it's not too late. I don't care if you're 10 or if you're or 85, it doesn't matter. Wherever you're at right now, God wants a personal relationship with you. So much that like when you look at the very beginning of the Bible, you had creation. And God created the first man. He breathed the breath of life through Adam's nostrils, and he set up Adam did. He was face to face with God. It was good, it was awesome. And we're made in that image. So whatever image you think, when you look in the mirror, whatever you whatever thoughts come to mind of not good enough or condemnation, that's not from God, man. That's not from God. You're made in his image, you're fearfully and wonderfully made. He knit you together in your mother's womb. And I want you to recognize that to be true and know that. Know that for truth, okay? Now, after he created man, unfortunately, like a couple pages into your Bible, we had the fall, right? We had uh sin enter the world. And then sin is just anything that separates us from God, okay? So sin entered, and then we were separated from him. So we have this holy and righteous God and us sinners. And the problem with the world, what the world tries to teach us, is that we can overcome this gap and get to God just by being a good person or just by you know helping people across the road or giving to charities or whatever it may be, right? And all these things, like just be nice, all those things are trying to work towards our salvation. And there's a problem with this. There's no such thing as works-based righteousness. You can't work to a right standing with God. The penalty of sin, unfortunately, is death. Okay, so so there's nothing we can do to on our own to earn salvation. Like you can't buy it, you can't go to Amazon. Like, this ain't Jeff Bezos ain't got no, you can't go there and buy a case of salvation and have it delivered as heaven. It don't work that way. Okay. So if you can't be coached up to do this, what do you need? We need someone to come in and do for you what you can't do for yourself. This is why we need a savior, okay? So this is where literally Jesus enters the scene. So he left heaven for us to rescue us from our sins. And he was born of a virgin, fulfilled all the prophecies, did all the teachings, all the miracles, all the wonderful things that Jesus did to fully show us that he indeed was the Messiah. Then guess what he did? He went to the cross to pay the penalty for our sin. This is and and this is proven to be true. Jesus died. He was crucified, he was flogged, he was put on the cross, he was pierced for our transgressions. He died. He didn't faint or fall asleep or pass out. No, he he died on the cross. They took him down, they laid him to a tomb, okay? But for Jesus, that thing was like an Airbnb for the weekend. That's all he needed. Because three days later, he rose. And this is the difference between Christianity, what we believe to be true, and the other religions of the world.

Help For Struggling Marriages And Support

Chris Grainger 15:30

Because all these other religions, their founders, the people who started it, they're still dead. We worship and believe in a risen Savior. And Jesus promises eternal life when you put your faith and your trust in him. So that that I don't know what else to tell you, but I want to make sure I'm I'm following the guy who overcame death. Because I get it, death is scary. I mean, no one wants to think about it. No, it can be scary. But there is eternal life with Christ. You don't have to fear it anymore. You don't. You have that eternity waiting with him. Now, we recognize this to be true. I mean, Jesus, he ascended to heaven. He said, I'm the way, the truth, the life. No one comes to Father except through me. There is no other name under heaven that's been given among men by which we must be saved. So we have all these understandings of who Jesus is. What we got to do? Well, first of all, we need to recognize that you are indeed a sinner. That's hard. It's hard to say I'm a sinner. See, we people don't talk about sin anymore. No, we talk about struggles or areas of uh of just resistance, but we don't talk about we don't talk about sin. No, we're sinners. And we need a savior. Once you recognize that, you need to recognize, okay, who is who is God, who is that savior? What's Jesus? And I believe that with all my heart that Jesus is the savior. He's my savior. What he did on the cross, for some reason, it counts for me. I can't explain it, but it does. And I believe that. Thank you, Jesus. And then you confess him as Lord and Savior of your life. This means over everything, this is the hard part, right? So this is not just Lord over Sunday for an hour. This is Lord over your entire life. So this means he needs to be Lord over your finances, your marriage, your parenting, your career, your uh your wallet, like everything, bro. Everything is submitted to him. He is God. So look, if you've never made that decision to surrender your life to Jesus, do it today. You're like, well, Chris, I'm driving down the road or I'm on a treadmill. I don't know wherever you are. People listen to podcasts in all different places, but you're in the perfect spot to accept the free gift of salvation. Jesus is knocking on the door. If

The Gospel And Surrendering To Jesus

Chris Grainger 17:55

you're ready to make that most important step, I'm willing to pray. We're going to pray right now. You can literally do this right now. Now don't close your eyes, particularly if you're driving. We don't do anything silly here, but we can definitely invite Jesus into our heart as our personal Lord and Savior. So, Lord, I don't know who's listening right now, but when they recognize that they are a sinner and needed you, they recognize their way has not been working. And Lord, they are just they're confessing you as Lord and Savior right now. And Lord, I pray for that one person out there who's at that moment. And they recognize they've gone too far for too long without you. And this is a moment of force correction. I'm so happy for them, God. So happy that you decided somehow for some reason to use the lion in this small way to share with them the most important news that what they will ever hear. So I just pray it has protection over them. I just pray for their strength, for discernment, for wisdom. I pray you put people in their lines that are further along in their walk that can help them in their discipleship journey, which is starting right now. Lord, we're just so thankful for this opportunity to share the good news of what you did for us. We love you. We praise you in Jesus' name. Amen. So look, if you just accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior here, I would absolutely love to hear from you. I love getting these emails. Chris, so that's C-H-R-I-S at the LionWithin.us. Send me an email. Let me know you got saved and you confess Jesus as your Lord and Savior. I got a bunch of free resources. I just want to send your way just to kind of help you get started in your discipleship journey. One is like 10 scriptures to fight like a lion. I got a PDF about habits. Lots of fun stuff I can get. Just send your way. Love to hop on a call with you and just give you some encouragement as well. And hopefully get you plugged into a good uh gospel-centered uh type of church, fellas. So let me know. We'd love to hear from you. Uh other than that, look, come on back on Wednesday. We'll have a great episode. We'll be talking about prayer and our marriage. And I have an expert that's going to come in. We're going to talk about this directly with him. Okay. So hopefully you guys are going to enjoy that. Again, the lionwithin.us, fellas, is where you find all our resources for the Bible app. Okay. So you can open up the Bible

Next Steps Resources And Review Request

Chris Grainger 20:05

app, the I'm Just a Guy series. I've got I'm wearing my I'm just a guy shirt right now, which we have these shirts available on the website, guys. If you want to go to the lionwithin.us slash store, we got shirts, we got hats, we got uh mouse pads, koozies, cups, all this just really great stuff, fellas. It's all I'm just a guy and different lion type of items. So you can check all that out. But the Bible app, the I'm just a guy series has just been it's been phenomenal. It has been absolutely phenomenal. The feedback we get from it, uh just the outreach, the impact that it's having on for so many guys in their walk. So hopefully you'll be encouraged by that. Okay. You can even connect with me directly on the Bible app if you like. So you go to the linewithin.us slash Bible. Uh you'll find uh the link there to connect with me directly inside the Bible app. I would love to be connected with you twice a month on the Bible app. I sent out a plan on one of the lion plans. We do it together so you're able to comment and engage uh in a plan directly with me. I'd love to just be a part of it and walk with you through that. So all those resources, guys, are found at the website. Again, check join the lines then. You know, be straight up. Just join Alliance Dan. That's a great way to plug in with this. We got guys as well to consider if you want to think about this. They love the lion, they love the podcast, they love the Bible app, all the stuff, and they just want to find a way to support us. Well, joining Alliance Den is a great way. You can even if you don't want to use resources, joining Lions Dan is just a great way to on a monthly cadence, just to give support our way, because it takes a ton of work. It's a ton of work to do the writing and the videos and all the recording, all the stuff, fellas, that it takes. You're hearing the final product, but up to the final product, there is a lot from pre recording to recording to post. I mean, there's so many things just on the podcast side, uh, fellas, and then we have all the other elements as well. The lion with the live events and the lion's den. And man, there's just there are a lot of things, but it's all good stuff. It's all stuff that's helping men grow in their discipleship journey. So if you want support, if you want encouragement, if you need help, we would love to be just a small part of that for you. So thelion within.us is where you find all that stuff, guys. Okay. All right, fellas. So give us a rating review if you don't mind. That would be awesome. Pick up a copy of our book, uh, unleashing the lion within. It can be found on Amazon. We have an in print ebook as well as audible version. So if you like listening to books instead of reading, hey, I get it, man. That's why we made an audible version of it. And it's me reading it. So we didn't hire this thing out. We just did it myself. So hopefully you'll be encouraged by it, okay? All right, you guys. So get after you have a great day. Look forward to seeing you next time. Just 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

Sexual Integrity Support Group Invitation

Chris Grainger 23:45

ask questions. You'll have honest conversations without condemnation. 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 yourself 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.