Welcome And Weekly Scripture

Chris Grainger 1:02

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, fellas, spiritual kickoff time. Let's get into it. Okay. So the scripture of the week this week is in the book of Joshua, okay? First chapter 24, verse 15. Said, but if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you'll serve, whether the gods your ancestors serve, beyond the Euphrates, or the God of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord. That's some good scripture right there, guys. Let's get into it. Okay, so the script the spiritual kickoff is all about simplifying and applying God's word. I got my simplifying apply shirt on right here, right now today. Again, if you enjoy the spiritual kickoff episodes in our podcast, how about getting it Monday through Friday, every day of the week? We do a spiritual kickoff. It's all part of the Lion Within. It's all for free. It's what we do to try to serve you, to encourage you, to help you in your walk, to give you that little bit of boost that you need to get your day going. It can be found at the daily SKO athelionwithin.us. It also gives you access to our prayer request space where we have a weekly prayer cost. We'd love to invite you into that. And also get you a free gift. So if you're in the continental U.S., you have an ability to sign up. We'll send you a link to a free gift, claim it, and it's just all being part of the line within. So again, thelionwithin.us, start your daily SKO. All right. This scripture right here. Where's the book of Joshua? We need to make sure we understand this. Okay, this is Old Testament. So it's going to be towards the beginning, the front, kind of like the front of your Bible.

Daily Spiritual Kickoff Invitation

Chris Grainger 2:39

It says, after Deuteronomy, before judges. So that's where you're going to find the book of Joshua. And we're going to be talking about this week, particularly legacy. Why that matters. And why we as men need to plant the flag. Because we're making a legacy with the decisions that we that we make each and every day. And for Joshua, this scripture right here, just give us a little bit of context. This is towards the end of his life, okay? And this is his final charge to the people of Israel. So he gathers them around. He's like, all right, you've seen what God's done. You know who God is. Now you got to make a personal decision. It has to be up to you. This is not like some little soft encouragement. This is Joshua's drawing

Joshua’s Context And The Line

Chris Grainger 3:24

a line in the sand, okay? He lays out their options for them too. We see him say it right here. So look, you have false gods of your past or the false gods of the culture around you. That's your two choices you get to make. And he starts making it personal. You have to choose for yourself who you're going to serve. In other words, like we don't just drift into godliness, right? You don't accidentally just build a legacy of faith. This is based off the decisions we make each and every day. And we're still choosing today. Like, let's not pretend, boys, that this is an Old Testament issue. We're making these choices every day, aren't we? Right? Maybe we're not bowing down to statues, right? That'd be kind of weird. It still happens. But think about what we serve money, status, comfort, success, the approval of others. Here's what I've learned to be true for my life. And I recognize this with guys I talk with all the time. Too many of us are chasing the wrong accolades. We just are. We're chasing the promotion or recognition or pause of this world. But at what cost, man? At what cost? Think of how much you grind at work right now. And then if you're grinding at work, we're passive at home. Or you're trying to build your name and you're you are neglecting your legacy. Like Joshua is just doing this scripture does something more for us because he says, but, but ask for me in my household. Like, bro, that's leadership, right? He didn't see we're gonna see how this goes, or we're gonna try our best, or we're gonna fit it, we'll fit God into our box where we can. No, man, he planted a flag. He's like, look, I'm bold when this, this is a non-negotiable. We're gonna serve the Lord. We're seeing right here in Joshua a man that knows who he is, knows who he serves, and knows what matters most. Guys, that matters. It's a big deal. It really is. Start thinking about legacy. Legacy isn't what people say about you at work. Legacy is what your kids live out after you're gone. That's a big reframe there. You can't, so I mean, this is also reality. You know this, you can win in the world and lose at home. You can. You can gain the applause of man and forth an impact. And Joshua understood this. And the decision he made didn't just affect him, it shaped generations afterwards. So, how can this look like what does this look like today, planting a flag? Like, this is not just a verse or some quote, right? This is a standard that we have, right? And for us as Christian men, I want to break it down into a couple areas. You have to be the spiritual leader of your home, right? You can't outsource this. This is not your pastor's job. This is your job. We got to pray with your wife, you gotta pray with your kids, you've got to open the word. Even when it's awkward, even when you don't understand what you're doing, get into it, right? Don't outsource it. Again, this is not something that we can just say, nope, I'm gonna put this over here for someone else. Number two, we've got to have some non-negotiable standards. Some non-negotiable standards. Like we got to say, okay, I'm our family's going to church, or I'm gonna have time with God no matter what. And I want my family to see me reading God's word. Like, I'm not compromising. I'm not gonna compromise that whatsoever. I'm not gonna have any type of confusion around those standards

Modern Idols And Real Legacy

Chris Grainger 6:44

in my life. We're also gonna have to guard what comes into our homes, right? So me and my house, we're gonna serve the Lord. That means me and my house, we're gonna only allow things that are consumed inside the home that are pleasing to him, right? That means I got to also watch my kids consume. I also got to watch my language and the types of conversations that we allow. This is cultivating and protecting the culture, right? How? How about being a man who has integrity when we're in private? We have this group at Alliance within us, it's called the sexual integrity group, right? It's all about guys who are struggling with pornography and temptation and lust. This is what it means, right? This this scripture reminds us like, who am I when nobody's around? How do I treat my wife, Rebecca, when nobody's around? Right? What does it shift based off a company or versus just us being alone? I'm gonna tell you what, buddy, my kids are watching. Your kids are watching, and they're gonna follow what you do. Morris Colton tall. You guys hear me talk about that all the time. Ultimately, what Joshua's telling us, live with eternal perspective, though, guys. Because this means

Leading Home With Nonnegotiables

Chris Grainger 7:54

we got to measure success differently. Because we're not chasing this temporary stuff, the world tells us. We're building something that's that's bigger than us, right? We're thinking generational, not right now. Not right now. And the reality most guys avoid is that they they they I like the idea of planting the flag until it cost them something. But it's gonna cost you something. It's gonna be uncomfortable, it's gonna cost us the approval of man, and it may cost you some opportunities. But the trade-off is you get so much more, so much more. And Joshua recognized this. He didn't wait for a perfect moment, he didn't wait till it was easy, he made a decision. Ask for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. So the question you gotta ask yourself is have you planted your flag? Have you planted it? And where have you planted it? Or are you still negotiating with things that shouldn't be negotiable? Because your family? Here's your alley. They don't need you to be perfect, bro. They just need you to be decisive. They don't need you to be perfect, they just need you to be decisive. And my prayer that you're a man making decisions based off the prompting of the Holy Spirit and being obedient to that. So our question is week what biblical standards are staples in your home? Staples, non-negotiables. What are those standards? If you don't have any, don't beat yourself up. Don't beat yourself up. There's no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus. But it is time to course correct. And if you need help, if you need encouragement, this is what we do with the lion. We want to walk with you. We want to, we want to give you some some things to consider, some some alternatives to the what the world's going to offer. Okay? So now, also, if you're a man and you're listening to this, right? Joshua says, for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. That's great. How about for you? Have you made that personal decision to surrender your life to Jesus as your Lord and Savior?

Are You Still Negotiating?

Chris Grainger 10:15

Because if you haven't, and you're trying to do this this thing called life your way, you're gonna you may have some unlimited form of success. Hey, you may be very successful, but at the end, you're gonna miss out on the eternal glory that comes with the saving relationship with Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. And I want you to hear something. You are made in the image of God. When you look in the mirror, you may see some jacked up guy, but that is not who God sees. God sees an image bearer of him. That's you. And I want you to hear that. You may not believe me right now, but I really pray that you hear that. And the the problem that we all wrestle with is we have this thing

The Gospel And Why Works Fail

Chris Grainger 10:54

called a sin nature. And a sin, this is a kind of put it on the bottom shelf. It's just something that separates us from God. Anything that does that, that's a sin. Okay? We're not trying to rank sins like this sin is worse than this. Like they're all sin. They all separate us from God. So what happened when God created man, things are great until we sin entered the world and it fractured that relationship. So that has separated us from a holy and righteous God. Now, most of the guys I talk with, we think, well, I just gotta be a good guy. Like I just if I if if if something happens to me and I die today, like if I'm just good enough, like I, you know, you know, I'm not breaking the law, I'm um maybe I'm giving charities, I'm I'm being very uh just a kind person. Uh you maybe you treat your wife like a queen, like all these things, right? That that inherently are good things, right? The problem is when we're at when we're operating in that mode, we're trying to overcome the sin of our life, in our life rather, with the works that we do. And unfortunately, that just doesn't just doesn't add up. The penalty of sin is death. So we can't outwork the sin that we have in our life. And we we think we can because we think we just gotta be good, but the definition of good is subjective, right? Well, I'm good compared to this, right? Me compared to the to you. You may feel good, but scripture shows us, guys, it's not me compared to you, but rather me compared to God. And guess what? 100% of the time, when it's us compared to God, we all fall short. Every single one of us falls short of the glory of God. And I'm not here to be the bearer of bad news. I just want you to recognize that so there's no quit trying to earn it. You can't earn your salvation and strive for it. So you're like, all right, Chris, if I can't earn it, and you got and you say I'm separated from God, then what do I do? What what do I do? And if you're at that point right now, you're at a great spot. Because now I want you to hear the greatest news of all time. Although you can't do it on your own, what Jesus did for you what you can't do. We need a savior, and that is what he did for us by leaving heaven for us, to come to earth for us, to live the perfect life, to show us, to prove to us without a shadow of a doubt that he is the Messiah. And then he willingly went to the cross to pay the penalty for our sin. That's what Jesus did. He didn't just die for no reason, he died for us, and this perfect blood covers our sin. Now, the crazy part is the story, like if it stops with Jesus on the cross, what are we doing? That's just a dead guy. But here it gets so much better. They lay Jesus in a tomb, which was like an Airbnb for him, because he just needed it for the weekend. He came out on Sunday, they took him in on a Friday, they took he rose on Sunday morning. That's it. And that is who we worship, that is who we believe. Jesus, the living savior. And he is the way, the truth, the life, fellas. There is no other name under heaven that's been given among men by which we must be saved. It is Jesus. It's he and he alone. So look, if you're out there floating around and you're trying to do life your way and you're struggling, and you don't have that relationship with Christ, this could be the biggest decision you'll ever make. Because what happens when we confess Jesus as our Lord and Savior, all of a sudden the old heart gets goes away. We have a new indwelling of the Holy Spirit, and it's gonna come. The scales are gonna fall off your eyes. Are things gonna magically get better? No. And if a pastor tells you that, run. No. Things just gonna be easy. No, but you'll have that relationship with him, and that is so, so, so important. So look, this comes down to a personal decision. I can't make it for you. Your wife can't, your kids can't, your mom, your grandma, whoever, right? There's nobody in your life who can make this decision for you. Faith is a personal decision that you have to make. Am I gonna put my hope and my faith and my trust in something beside me? If you're hearing my voice and like you're feeling like you're under, you're shaking, you're nodding your head, and you're like, man, I don't think I've ever done that. You can do that right here today. You can put your faith and your hope in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior just by admitting you're a sinner. Just recognize that. Yo, I'm pretty jacked up. I'm a sinner. I know that. And I need a savior. And you believe that Jesus is who he says he is. Oh, C. S. Lewis said it best. He either is a liar, a lunatic, or Lord. So you have to make the decision. Who is Jesus for you? And if you believe he's Lord, then you confess him as that. Not just Lord over Sunday, but Lord over every part of your life. Lord over the bedroom, the bathroom, the boardroom, uh, the ball field, wherever it's at, wherever you find yourself, he is Lord. Your finances, everything. Surrender it all to him. And then that's where you find the peace that passes all understanding. Once you confess Jesus as your Lord and Savior. So look, if you've never done that and you're listening to the Lion, and for some reason you're feeling it and you recognize that, hey, I need to take this decision, we'll pray together right now. And you may be like, well, Chris, I'm on a treadmill, or I'm in a car, or I'm walking, where I don't know where you're at. You guys listen to the podcast all over. So I don't know what you're doing right now. I just know one thing. Don't put off the conviction of the whole, what this what God is trying to prompt you to right now. You don't have to be sitting in a pr on a church pew waiting for an altar call to make the most important decision you ever had you ever do in your life. You could do it listening to this podcast today. And that's my prayer. This is why we share the gospel every week at the Lion Within Us. So we don't want to miss a single opportunity to advance the kingdom. And what God is doing with us right now, we're just holding on for the ride. So look, let's pray together. If you're ready to confess Jesus as your Lord and Savior, let's let's get it done. So, Father, just for that one listener right now who's listening to the podcast, and they just heard the gospel, and they they maybe heard it a thousand times, God, but finally something clicked. And I know it's nothing I said, but is it's all through you? So I pray that one listener who's who's recognizing that they're a sinner, need of a savior, that they're recognizing that you are the Messiah, and they're confessing you as Lord of their life. They don't know which ways to go from here, but they just know they need to take this step. I know you hear their prayer. I just pray a peace that passes all understanding over them right now, that you just flood them with a hedge with a hedge of protection, also to keep them from uh safe from the attacks of the enemy of the enemy, as he's gonna do all he can to steal, kill, and destroy any joy they have in their life. So I just pray encouragement for

Pray To Surrender To Jesus

Chris Grainger 18:34

this brother or sister right now. We love you, God. You're welcome one more into the kingdom. It's in your name we pray. Amen. So look, if you just confess Jesus as your Lord and Savior, I would love to hear from you. I got some resources. I'd love to send you. I send these out on a regular basis. Just send me an email, Chris C-H-R-I-S at the lyingwithin.us. Love to connect you with some of those resources. Also find out where you're located at. We got guys all over, okay, literally all over the world now. But if you're in the continental U.S., we have guys all over the U.S. who could help you get plugged into a good gospel center church, right? Something that just preaches the Bible and the Bible alone. Okay, so there's some things you need to think about. We'd love to walk with you and just be a small part in helping you get started with that, okay? So look, guys, the Lion Within is things, God's doing something mighty right now. It's crazy the things that are happening, uh, the growth that we're seeing from the Bible app to some other platforms we're working on. Uh, it's just been unreal. So, but the lionwithin.us is where you find all our resources, okay? I've already mentioned the daily SKO. Like

Next Steps And Lion Resources

Chris Grainger 19:39

you should join that. And there's no reason not to join that. It's free. It's a great way to get plugged into it with this, okay? Consider the Lion's Den. Hop in there. We have Lion Lunch, we have Friday Fours, we have Bible Studies, we have three support groups. I mean, it's always growing. This is crazy what God's doing within that. Or maybe you want to put in an application for a leadership mastermind and recognize that you don't have those solid brothers in your life that are pouring into you. Guys, we have it. We've built the system, we have it in place, and it works. That's why you hear from all of our member spotlights on these Fridays because these guys see the power of what it looks like to have true brotherhood and how it's impacting their life. So if you don't have that, guys, we'd love to walk with you. So you get started with us at thhelionwithin.us. Open the Bible app up, search for the Lion Within Us, follow us there, guys. We got plans coming out all the time. And we'd love for you to just jump in on one of those Bible plans, and hopefully you'll be encouraged by it, okay? As I mentioned, I'm wearing this shirt, simplify and apply on the back. It says God's word. Guys, we have this whole little store we set up on our website. So if you go to the lionwithin.us slash store, we got I'm just a guy shirts, the simplify and apply shirts, we got hats, we got coffee cups, we got some really cool products there. And it's not just for we want to sell products because we make like almost nothing on the products, it's about getting you, if you're encouraged by the lion, with some with some with some merchandise that you can tell talk to others about the lion. Like, hey, that's a pretty cool shirt. We got a we got a a mouse pad as well. Hey, that's a pretty awesome mouse pad. What is that all about? And it gives you opportunities to invite people in to a way that God is helping is encouraging you in your life. We'd love for you to do that for others, okay? So thelionwithin.us is how you find all those resources, guys. Unleashing the lion within is our book on Amazon. Check that out. We have that in Audible version as well. And again, the LionWithin.us is our website. Give us a rating and review if you don't mind. That would be huge. If you could also share this podcast out, share it out with others. If you think that having me come in to your men's group would be beneficial, I'm starting to do more and more of this on a regular basis. I'd love to come in, give you guys a little talk or encouragement or help or serve in any way. We have lots of ways we can do that. So email me on that as well. Happy to talk to you about how we can help you and your men's group may either get started or just kind of get a recharge in it, whatever you're looking for. But we have lots of ways we can do that, okay? All right, guys. We'll see you on our next episode. I'm excited for this puck for the for the next conversation. I think you're gonna get a lot out of it. Thanks for listening and hanging out today. There's so many other places you could be, but just really from the bottom of my heart, I just want to say thank you. Blown away by how how awesome you guys are, how God is moving, and just let me know if I can serve anyway. All right, fellas, have a great day. Get after it, and you know it's coming, right? Keep unleashing your lion within. 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 before. 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

Simple Guide To Pray Together

Chris Grainger 23:29

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 write the ship when life starts to pull you off a course. So if you're ready, get access today at the lionwithin.us slash guides. That's thelionwithin.us slash guides. And start unleashing the lion within at home by leading your marriage through prayer.