Welcome And Weekly Kickoff

Chris Grainger 1:27

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, this is your spiritual kickoff episode. Let's get into it. Okay. So the scripture of the week this week is in the book of 2 Timothy, chapter 1, fifth verse. It says, For I am mindful of the sincere faith within you, which first dwelled in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice. And I am sure that it is in you as well. So, fellas, love that verse. Don't want to fly by this verse. And it really ties in well with what we're going to be talking about this week. So hopefully we can take some time to simplify and apply it to our life today. Okay. And again, if you enjoy this, I just encourage you. I know I say it every week. Go sign up for the daily spiritual kickoff. It's our way. We would love to serve you and encourage you Monday through Friday. Right now, teaching through the book of James, through the Gospel of James. I'm sorry, John. What in the world? The Gospel of John. So hopefully, uh, fellas, you enjoy that. Uh, it also gives you access to our prayer request space where we pray for whatever you want us to pray for on a regular basis. And we have a prayer meeting every Monday. We would love to invite you to that. If you're in the continental U.S., we also got a free gift we'd love to give you. Okay. So all that stuff's there, fellas. Thelinewithin.us. Sign up for your daily spiritual kickoff. All right.

2 Timothy And Faith At Home

Chris Grainger 2:47

So we're now, let's get to this first. This is in 2 Timothy. So we need to first understand where is 2 Timothy. That's in the New Testament. The Apostle Paul wrote this one. Obviously, it's after 1 Timothy. It's before Titus, but after that, more importantly, it's toward the back of your Bible. Okay, just go to Revelation. Just start working back. You'll get there. Okay. So that's where it's going to be at. And this week we're going to be talking a lot about parenting, being a father. And I love this verse because it shows us this directly, because ultimately, fellas, faith, it starts at home. It starts at the table. It really does. And some verses, when we read in scripture, they whisper, but if they if you sit with them long enough the way I do, with the way I did rather with this verse, it just gets louder and louder and louder. This verse right here, Paul, again, he's kind of reaching the end of his life. He's in prison. He's facing death. And he's writing to Timothy, his beloved son in the faith. He loved this guy. And this is not just some casual encouragement. He's offering him here. These are some weighty words from an older man of God to a younger man who's going to be basically carrying the torch. Like he's passing it on to Timothy right here. And when he talks about Timothy's faith, it's beautiful. He doesn't mention a church program or some ministry strategy or a youth event or a sermon. No, he doesn't mention any of that. He remembers Timothy's home. Man, there's just something cool about that. He remembers Lois, his grandmother. He remembers Eunice, his mother. And Paul says that the sincere faith that is living inside of Timothy at that moment first lived in them. And that matters so much, fellas. Because before Timothy became Paul's co-worker in the work that God was calling to do, before he was a pastor or sent on any ministry assignments, he was a young boy that was being shaped inside a home. Somebody had to teach him. Somebody had to pray with him, show him how to pray. Somebody had to read scriptures to him and model sincere faith in front of him. And Paul just reminds us right here, and Timothy, from childhood, that you've known the sacred writings. He tells us that in 315. So from childhood, that means that Timothy's faith didn't begin when he ran into Paul. No, that's not when it started. Timothy had already been formed by faithful instruction in the home. And what Paul was doing right here, he's just fanning the flame, baby. He's just fanning the flame that his grandmother and his mother had started, and they initially laid the wood for it. And as Christian dudes, we please, we need to hear this. Your home is not a side ministry. It's not. It's your first ministry. It just is. The church matters. Yeah, pastors matter, youth leaders matter, Sunday school teachers matter. Absolutely. I'm not anti that. I am anti when you're in the wrong church. Sometimes you got a course correct. Our family had to do that, and it's been the best thing for us, period. Hands down. Cannot say, well, if you're not in a life-giving church, get out, okay, and find one that is. But when you get in one, they do matter. But they are not replacements. I don't know how I care how great your church is, it is not a replacement for

Stop Outsourcing Your Kids’ Discipleship

Chris Grainger 6:19

you as a parent. And one of the great errors that so many Christian families make today is that we outsource the spiritual formation of our children. We do. We expect the church in one way or another, just for a couple hours a week, to plan in them what God has commanded. And it's like, man, are you kidding me? Like that's not biblical, bro. I mean, go back and look in Deuteronomy 6, the Shema, where God's words are, He tells us to being taught diligently to our children. When you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, when you rise up, it's right there. That's ordinary life. That's Monday through Friday, Saturday. That's every day. It's at the table. It's inside the car. It's before bed. It's in the morning before school. Or when you're having to discipline them. It's the hard conversations we have. And it's also in the moments of joy and sorrow. Because Ephesians reminds us, fellas, that fathers bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. That command is not first given to the children's pastor. It doesn't say that. So it'd say children's pastor, please bring. No, it says fathers. Fathers. And we can't just gotta stop running from that. Because providing for your children is good. And I want you guys to do that. And protecting them is good. I want you guys to do that. But I think those two things just come naturally to us, right? Just like coaching them and encouraging them or helping them succeed. All good stuff. But if we help our kids succeed everywhere, except spiritually, and we failed. We failed them in what matters most. What good is it if our kids can can can crush a ball or make a great grade or get a job and build a career, a wonderful career, but they don't know Christ. I don't know. To me, we we've misplaced the priority. And Paul calls Timothy's faith sincere. That means he recognizes this genuine his faith to be genuine. It's real, it's unhypocritical. And our kids, fellas, they need to see that type of faith in us. Look, and look, I'm not saying you gotta see you be perfect. No, that's that's no such thing there. There are no perfect fathers, but they need to see honest fathers, present dads, repentant dads, dads who love Jesus when nobody's watching. Not just on a Sunday morning when everybody, all the eyeballs. No, they need to see us, guys, open up the doggone Bible every day. They need to hear us pray. They need to watch us repent when we fall off and we sin. They need to see us, how about this one? Love their mama.

unknown 9:08

Okay.

Chris Grainger 9:09

Just absolutely love the heck out their mama. Kiss her and make them uncomfortable in front of her. They need to see ultimately that Christianity is not just something we do at church, but something that rules over every aspect of our life. Because the reality is our kids are always being disciplined and taught by someone. It's really the question comes down to whether we are intentionally leading them towards Christ or letting the world lead them towards somewhere else. Because I'm gonna tell you what, buddy, the screens that are out there these days, they are disciplining our kids. They are. Like friends are, and entertainment is, culture is. The world is not waking, is not just sitting idly by and waiting for us to wake up as dad. Paul does not say, Timothy, I thank God for the religious professionals who shaped you. No, bro. He's remembering the parents and the grandparents. And that's sobering. It should be. Because some of the most important spiritual formation does it's never gonna happen on a stage. It happens at the table. At the bedtime when you're when you're praying over your little ones. When you're reading scripture in the living room, even if you're tired, right? But you're showing them that you believe God's word is life. And leadership is not always dramatic. It's the some of the most important leadership things we can do as men is just be quiet, consistent, and unseen by everybody except their family, the ones underneath our roof. And you preach something to your children every day. We just do. And you preach by what you prioritize, by how you speak, by what you laugh at, right? How you handle stress. Uh that's all those things they're learning by watching you and what matters to you. And Timothy became deeply useful to the kingdom. Think about what Timothy did in his life. Paul trusted him. Churches benefited from him, believers were strengthened by him. But imagine this for a second. I was really wrestling with this. Imagine if Timothy had never been formed in the faith. And yeah, I get it. God is sovereign. He could have used someone else. But scripture shows us that God used the faithful instruction of Timothy. He received it home. That's what he used. And his grandma and his mama had no idea how far their influence would reach. Sure they didn't. They were simply being faithful. They were teaching them what they knew to be true. They were modeling the faith and planting the seeds, and God used it. And that should encourage every dad out there who's listening. If you feel like the little things don't matter, you're wrong. Your prayer matters.

Simple Habits For Sincere Faith

Chris Grainger 12:10

Reading with them matters, correcting them matters, and taking time to let them be seen matters. It just does. And we have to recover the responsibility here, fellas. Not being harsh, not control, but being biblically the biblical leaders of our home. And it starts by first obeying, right? Being the first one to repent, the first one to serve, the first one to sacrifice, the first one to uh to to lead the home towards Christ. Remember when it says in Joshua, as for me and my house, we're going to serve the Lord. That's the type of resolve that we have to have as men. Okay? It doesn't say at me and my house we will attend when convenient. Okay.

unknown 12:56

No.

Chris Grainger 12:57

No. Well, we will let the church handle it. No, that ain't what it's all about. It's like we will serve the Lord. Period. So we have to start outsourcing what God has assigned to us. And I know I'm beating this drum over and over and over, but I feel like this is an important one to beat. And the church can help, but the church cannot be dad. You just can't. There's pastors, they can support you for sure, but they're never going to replace you. Ever. And sermons are important. We want to hear God's word. I love, love when God's word is unpacked appropriately, but it can't replace daily example. It just cannot. And it cannot replace your presence. So guys, open the Bible. Pray at the table. Talk about Jesus naturally. You don't have to make it some weird thing. Bring your kids to church for sure. And then afterwards do like I do with my young'uns. Hey, what'd y'all, what'd you, what was your takeaway? What did you hear? Or from my younger ones who are in like children's church. What'd you guys learn today? Oh, cool. What stood out to you the most? Man, you start having conversations like that, bro. It just changes everything. Because they see that you're genuinely interested. And they also see that you see them. Okay? And then also just love the mama, man. I'm telling you, this is one of the big ones, fellas. I think that we downplay or overlook. But just love their mama like there ain't no tomorrow, bro. Just love her like crazy. And let them see that. My four-year-old, bro. And whenever I like when I kiss my my wife, she she just gets this glow on her face. She just loves it. She thinks it's so cool. She always asks, she says, Mom, you gonna marry dad? Like we're already married, but I mean, she in her mind, she just that that's a level of intimacy that is healthy for her to see. Not to mention I get to kiss my beautiful bride. So fellas, I'm telling you, lean into these things. Show them what sincere faith looks like. Teach them the truth. Because think about this one for a second as we wrap this up. The next Timothy may be sitting at your table right now. You don't never know. By God's grace, your faithfulness at home right now may echo farther than you'll ever be able to see this side of heaven. It's just really cool, really, really cool when you think about it, fellas. So hopefully you're encouraged by that. And look, question a week is how are you discipling your family beyond Sunday morning? Okay, we have to disciple them, but not just on Sundays.

The Gospel And A Real Decision

Chris Grainger 15:30

And look, at the end of the day, if we're trying to lead our family into the ways of Christ and bring them to know him better, then we first have to really have that relationship with him ourselves. And that's my prayer for you. If you're listening to the Lion within us, thank you first and foremost for listening to the podcast. But if you don't have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, you're gonna have a hard time leading your family spiritually. So I just implore you, I would encourage you to ask yourself the question: who is Jesus to you? Who is he to you? If you have any questions about that, we'd love to talk to you. We'd love to share the good news of the gospel with you, that you are a sinner. Yeah, but look, the penalty of sin is death, and we can't overcome the sin in our life with good works. This is where most guys think that this is what we what we try to do, man. Because guys are fixers. I mean, I don't know a guy out there that doesn't try to fix stuff. We don't we like fixing stuff, right? Problem is we can't fix the sin in our life. Because we we we I think I have come to this realization lately. I think we under in our in our finite minds, we can't wrap our heads around the holiness and sovereignty of God. And because of that, we tr we downplay, we we bring him down to a level that we can understand, and that's a mistake. And when we bring him down to a level that we that we think we can understand, then all of a sudden, sin becomes not such a big deal in our eyes because we can't understand the holiness of who he is and the standard is that he set from that that that is him. And well, and that's where we get crossed up. So all of a sudden we start playing a comparison game. Like when my sin compared to your sin, or my sin compared to someone on death row or like a career criminal. Like when we do that, we start feeling relatively good about ourselves, don't we? Because my sin compared to someone who's sitting on death row, from a worldly standpoint, I'm not that bad. But the reality is the standard's wrong. Because me comparing myself to someone who's on death row is the wrong, it's it's the wrong standard to look at, first and foremost. Because the ultimate standard in comparison is God. And when I look at my life and the things I've done in my life, and I compare that to a holy and righteous guy, bro, 10 out of 10, I fall short every time. I just do. And so do you. So do you. And don't beat yourself up. That's just a reality of the sin nature that we live in. But at the end of the day, so if we fall short of the glory of God, like, and then we try to overcome it with the good good works in our life, and look, I'm pro-good works, bro. I'm pro I want you to do some good stuff. I want you to help some folks out there. I just don't want you to think that that's earning any type of right standing with our Heavenly Father, because it's not. It's just, it just isn't. So what do you do? Well, you need a Savior to do for you what you can't do for yourself. And this is why we make such a big deal about Jesus. Because he is the Messiah. He is a Savior who came to take away the sin of the world, who was born of a virgin, performed all the different miracles and signs and teachings, fulfilled all the prophecies, and then went to the cross and willingly gave up his life for you, for me, for the entire world. Because he loves us so much. That's Jesus. Then he died on the cross, he paid the penalty for our sin right there on the cross, and he died. And everything is covered by his perfect blood. So your sins paid for. This is who we serve, this is who we honor, this is our Lord. He defeated death. Jesus Christ. So that right now, he's at the right hand of the Father. There's no other name under heaven that's been given among men by which we must be saved. He is the way, the truth, and the life. No one gets to the Father except through him. Period. That's Jesus. So we have to make it, it's like decision-making time now. All right, what are we going to do with this information? If we believe this to be true, if we recognize this to be true, what are we going to do with it? Well, it really starts as very simple, just understanding the sin that you have in your life and just calling it out. I'm a sinner. I just am. There's a world we don't use a lot these days, but we wouldn't that's and that's permanent evil one. But just call it out. I'm a sinner. Period. First, you know, full stop right there. And I need a savior. And I recognize I can't save myself. So I'm a sinner and need of a savior. And I believe that Jesus is who he says he is. And I believe that what he did when he left heaven on the rescue mission for me, that somehow it counts for me. I believe that. And then once you once you kind of get those two initial items covered, it comes down to confessing him as Lord and Savior of your life. Saying, Jesus, I don't know why you did it. Because I definitely don't feel like I'm worth it. But I'm so thankful that you did it. And I'm on I'm confessing to you, I'm bowing my to you. You are Lord over my life. Not Lord over some Sunday morning for an hour or Wednesday night for an hour, but Lord over my life. So every day of the week, every waking moment you give me until my time is up here on earth, you're Lord. In the bedroom, in the boardroom, in the bathroom, in the kitchen, wherever you find yourself. And traffic, can I get amen on that one? You're Lord of my life. And when you do that and confess him as Lord and truly put him at the center, the peace that passes all understanding will flood your mind and your hearts because you're in him. He's in you. And that's my prayer for you. So if you're listening to this and you're a dad and you listen to this to this SKO podcast, and you're encouraged, and you recognize you've never truly surrendered your life to a lordship of Jesus Christ. Let's just do it right now. You may be in the truck, you may be on a trip, I don't know where you're at. But now could be the moment that changes your life forever. So let's just pray and invite him in, the Prince of Peace, into your life. So, Father, I don't know who's listening right now. But there was there's I have a feeling there's one man who's at the end of his rope. And he's recognizing his ways just have not been working. And he's finally to the point of surrender. And Lord, that point of surrender looks different for a lot for every one of us. He's recognizing his need for a savior. So as he's calling out to you, Lord, and confessing you as Lord of his life, I'm just praying for this brother. I'm just praying you put a hedge protection around him. Because I know the evil one's not happy right now. I just pray you keep this man safe. Encourage him. Put some people in his life that will just that will disciple him, that will help him on the journey that he is starting right here, to now, today. And God, we love you so much. We know that uh outside of you, we're nothing. So I just pray for this man right now. I'm so thankful for this opportunity to point him to you, the author and perfecter of life. We love you, God. We praise you in Jesus' name.

unknown 23:27

Amen.

Prayer And Next Steps To Grow

Chris Grainger 23:28

All right. So look, if you just accepted Christ, touchdown first and foremost. And I know some of you who listen to the SKO podcast, you know I'm going to do a little bit of a gospel presentation every week. And I'm not going to apologize because each and every week, I never know who's going to be listening. And we don't put we we want to make the main thing the main thing, and the main thing around the line within us is Jesus Christ. Period. So we just so thankful. If you just accepted Christ, I'd love to hear from you. You can send me an email, Chris, at the linewithin.us. I'd love to see that email. Love to send you some encouragement, some resources, pray for you. Just be a just be a um uh part of your cheering, cheering lead, uh a cheerleader for you as you start your discipleship journey. So let us know, fellas. Love love to hear from you. Again, thank you for listening to the podcast, the Lion Within Us Now, we have the Lion Within Us Ministries, 501c3 nonprofit setup, fellas. If you are encouraged by the messages every week, and we're putting out podcasts, we're putting out Bible reading plans, so many ways we're serving guys day in and day out, seven days a week. Would you consider being a donor supporting what we're doing? Guys, it would it would mean a lot. So if you want to do that, the lionwithin.us slash donate is a way you can support the show. We encourage you to be a monthly donor for whatever amount that looks like. Maybe one dollar, maybe one dollar, maybe a thousand. I don't know what what God's calling you to. But we would ask you to consider supporting us. So the lionwithin.us slash donate is where you do that. Or you can just go to the lionwithin.us, start your daily spiritual kickoff, get the resources, join the lion's den, put in an application for a leadership mastermind, or open the Bible app and search for the Lion Within Us, connect with us over there. Maybe you want to pick up a copy of our book, Unleashing the Lion Within, go to Amazon, search for that. Guys, we have lots and lots of ways we serve. Hopefully, you're encouraged by them. Check out the events as well, because the events tab on the line within us shows all the different conferences and events that we will go into that we're a part of. God is moving in a mighty way. And I will say this as we wrap up. If you would like to have me come serve and support your men's group at your church, reach out. I've already sent my email earlier, but reach out. Love to know what that looks like. I'm starting to do more and more of that. Me and my wife have agreed to how many events I can do each month. So look, fellas, at this point, let's let's let's fill the calendar up. Right now, we're booked out through October. I'm not sure when this podcast is going to come out. We're booked out through October. So we're looking November on. November and then to 2027. So love to connect with you, love to hear how I can serve. If you think you'd be interested in that, send me an email, Chris at thelinewithin.us, or support at thelinewithin.us. Both those emails they'll get to me. And I'd love to talk to you about that and see how I can come along to serve. All right, guys. I hope you have a great day. Thanks so much for listening. That next guest is going to be phenomenal. I know you're going to love it, particularly for you dads out there. Uh, if you don't mind, give us a rating review wherever you're happening to be listening. If you're listening on Spotify as well, you can leave comments now on Spotify. We put the videos up on Spotify as well. So hopefully you'd be encouraged by that. All right, guys. Have a great day. We'll see you next time. Keep on leashing the lion with that.

Health Stronghold And Lion’s Den Trial

Chris Grainger 27:02

It's time to stop neglecting the body that God gave you. And we're done making excuses and watching discipline slip. So we decided it's time to rebuild strength the right way. And we have our Health Stronghold Support Group, which is a dedicated space inside the Lion's Den, specifically for men who are ready to steward their bodies with discipline and purpose. Look, this is not just for guys trying to lose weight. Let's just clear that up. This is for guys who know that energy affects you how you lead. Your habits affect how you lead your family, and discipline affects your calling. And most guys don't need another workout plan or some extreme diet ideas. They need a stronghold. They need to have a place where they can hear other men say that I fall into. I want consistency, not shortcuts. So inside our health stronghold, you're going to find real conversations around physical health and discipline, honest discussions about habits, setbacks, and progress, and encouragement for men pursuing strength. This comes with a monthly call with one of our trusted guides as well. So look, it's not about vanity, it's about stewardship. It's a place to train without shame and pursue strength without comparison. You don't have to impress anybody. You don't have to have it all figured out. You just got to show up. So the health stronghold is found inside the lion's den. And you can start a 30-day free trial today. So if you're ready to stop drifting, head over to thelionwithin.us. That's thelionwithin.us. And hop inside the lion's den. Start your 30 day free trial and get started today at thelionwithin.us.