Welcome to the Lion Within Us, a podcast serving Christian man who are hunger to be the leaders God intends you to be. I’m your host, Chris Granger. Let’s jump in. Alright fellas, it is your spiritual kick off of the week. I hope you’re ready to get kicked off and I’m ready to go This week we’re gonna be going in our Old Testament, okay?

So Old Testament week. This week guys. We’re gonna be in high guy chapter one. We’ll look at two verses, verses five six. Okay, five and six says, now this is what the Lord Almighty says. Give careful thought to your ways you have planted much, but harvest it little you eat but never have enough. You drink but you never have your feel.

You put on clothes but are not warm. You earn wages only to put them in a purse with holes. Guys, powerful scripture right there. We’re gonna look and we’re gonna see how we can simplify, apply this to our life to be the leaders that God has called us to be. The first thing we need to know, right? Where is this HA guy at?

Where can we find this? So it’s gonna be in your Old Testament. Go. The easiest way to find it is go to the end of your Old Testament and then back up. To, to Malachi. So, and back up to Zacharia. And then you get to Haggai. Okay? So that’s kind of the easiest way for me when I’m trying to find this stuff.

Just go straight find. Sometimes it may be easier just to find your New Testament than back up a little bit. You’ll get to Malachi Zakaria, then you’ll get the Haggai. Okay, that’s it. It’s only two chapters. So guys, you may miss it in my Bible, just for instance, it’s only literally one page front and back, so it’s very easy.

You can miss this one, but don’t worry if. You know, take your time. You will find it. And it’s a fun little book to read. Okay, so what’s, what’s going on here? His name actually means my feast. And he was the first prophetic voice after the Babylonian Empire. So what he’s doing, he’s calling the people to finish the temple and these verses just jump out when you start studying this verse, the God’s word.

Looking at it, these verses really just called out to me cuz I was thinking about the topic that we’re gonna talk about this week. We’re gonna be focusing on the idea of quality time and does that even exist anymore? And I get it from a Christian leader standpoint. I know. You guys are busy. How do I know that?

Cause I’m busy. We’re all busy. Okay. You calendar stay jam packed. And I think sometimes in many ways we’re just addicted to it. Really? We’re addicted to busyness. We don’t like that idleness. And we, we need to understand that sometimes guys, you make you need to do be doing what God has called you to. So why is this scripture important?

Was cause Haga was warning the people to examine their ways. Really. How are they spending their. What were they doing? And he was relaying the idea that that how we use our time is so crucial. It’s absolutely crucial. Now, notice how each piece of the scripture is a comparison and a contrast that to, to, to each other, right?

That’s what he’s doing. He was trying to help people see the air of their ways and ultimately the blessing of God was not on their work. Right? It wasn’t. Because it, it, it’s not, it’s not saying they weren’t busy. These guys were busy. You know, it says right here, they planted much, right? They ate, they drank, they were clothed.

And you know what that sounds like to me, typical calendar that we all have. It does. It just sounds like all of our calendars right now. We all stay so busy. We all are rocking and rolling. We all have all these things, and so many of these things are good things. Don’t misinterpret what I’m saying here.

There’s so many good things that we have on our counter, but do they align to what God desires for us, right? Or are we doing things our way? Really think about that guys. Seriously, think about our gluttonous behavior. I’m telling you, it’s. Think about how we cons, what we consume. I’m talking about just food and drink basic stuff right here.

And you go ahead and throw in some stuff like social media. How much of that of that consumption do we consume in social media? I’m telling you a lot of these things guys, they’re pulling us down. They’re keeping us back from doing the work we’re been called to do. And then think about the time sucks. We find ourselves in, I’m telling you, these things are, time sucks so many times.

You jump on a TikTok or Instagram or Facebook or whatever it is, you’ll just get lost. They get lost and they’re not really bringing us any value. They’re not helping us grow or doing anything from a quality standpoint. We’re definitely not serving the Lord. But I’m telling you, it’s, it happens all the time.

And then you look at your calendar, it is so jammed up and what, that’s what’s going on right here at Ha Guy. He’s, he’s, that’s what he’s is warning these people about is, look, it’s not that you’re not busy, but you’re not busy doing the right stuff, and it happens all the time. Hey, and for that kind of ties back to the quality stand.

Busy doesn’t mean quality. Get that right. Busy does not mean quality. Okay? Think about what he’s saying right here. He tells them that how they, that they’re putting on clothes and they’re not being warm. So think about that. Could that be pointed to a never a content mindset, right? Closing garments, they serve as a purpose.

But think about how full our closets are right now. I guarantee your closet is full of junk that you never. It just is, we have to consider our ways and, and, and when I was reading through this and thinking, okay, Haga, alright, alright, I totally get it now. What do you want me to do? What, what should I do for this?

So it comes right after the fir, right after this verse says, the very first part of this verse, rather, where the Lord says, give careful thought to your ways. That’s it. That means you have to approach every situation, every day with intention. Are you making the best quality decisions right, with the gift that you have been given of today?

Guys, don’t miss that gift. You’ve been given the gift of today, and that’s it. You’re not promised tomorrow. So have you been making the best quality decisions for the gift that you’ve been given, which is today, to do the work that he’s called you to do now? If you haven’t, what can you start doing to make this appropriate change?

That’s what he’s doing to right here. That’s what ha ha guy is doing right here. He’s trying to call them out, say, look, we, we got, you got all this stuff that you guys are doing that you’re busy, you, you’re busy doing this stuff. I need you to go do this work. And ultimately he was trying to get them to build a temple.

That’s it. Trying to uh, to, to build that place that we can honor and glorify God. But so many times we get caught up in, you know what, I don’t have time. I don’t have time cuz I got my stuff going on. You know? And, and I’m gonna tell you what, moving from busy to quality. Doesn’t mean less on a plate, but it definitely means more meaningful impact on the time that you invest.

I guarantee you that, right? If you focus on doing the work he, that he’s calling you to, calling you to things like your income, your relationships, your wealth, your health provision, all that stuff, it’s gonna increase in abundance because we focused on the quality time of doing the work that God has called us to do.

Now, it may not be in the way the world see. But it will be there in, in, in, in, in the Lord’s eyes. You have to give careful thoughts to your ways, guys. I’m telling you, it’s so critical. Very first. Consider your ways, have you so much harvest it. Little eat. There’s not enough to be satisfied. Drink. There’s not enough to become drunk.

You put on clothes. There’s no one as warm. You earn, but you earn that money. But the wages are turning to a personal hold. Just think about that. That sounds just like everyday family, right? How many you guys have, right? A kitchen full of food. You have a, a pantry or whatever. You keep some, some food as well.

Maybe that’s where you keep you cereal, soups, all that kind of stuff. And you’ll hear a kid or your wife or even yourself will say, we ain’t got nothing in this house to eat. We ain’t got nothing to eat. Seriously, it happens all the time. I know he does. You refuse chase, don’t you? Lying. And then same thing with your closet or, or you, or you could go right now to your fri, to your fridge, open it up and I guarantee you there’s something to drink.

Maybe you got a Gatorade or maybe you have some milk, or maybe you have some soda or, or hopefully you got some water. Drink that. Don’t forget to drink a gallon of water today, guys. That is your challenge, but seriously, it’s there. We don’t ever have to worry about that stuff right now. I know sometimes we go through hard times.

We gotta get down to beans and rice and rice and beans. I totally get all that, but at the end of the day, we still can get. Right. So we just need to understand that guys, that that contentment, our busyness of our calendars and all that stuff is just robbing us a joy. It really is robbing us a joy, guys.

So we need to make sure, take the words of ha got here and understand that quality time if we really want to make a, uh, uh, make the most outta each and every day. You better be intentional with each and every minute and do the work that he’s called you to do, and you’re gonna have that piece that passes all understanding at that point, guys.

But you have to be super intentional about this. So take these words from the Old Testament prophet right here. Take ’em. Look at your calendar now, when you finish with this, maybe right now, during this podcast, pull out your calendar and look at over the next week, what in that next week aligns to what God’s calling you.

What needs to be pulled outta that counter to give you some more time, one-on-one time with with God to understand what he wants you to do. Because if you’re not able to give him some time, each and every day, you’re not, you’re never gonna be able to, to to hear what he’s calling you to do. I saw a great thing on the internet the other day.

It was a guy standing out in front of a church and it was a basic, it looked like a gym sign and it was saying, you know what, you’re, if you expect to get to get full on the Holy Spirit, you know, working out one day a week, you’re completely mis. You wouldn’t go to the gym once a week and expect to be in shape, would you?

No. It’s an everyday thing. So we have to constantly drawing ourselves to him. Cuz what does God want? He wants a relationship guys. He wants a relationship with us and he wants to guide and direct us. And the more intentional you are about that, the more you protect your calendar, the more you learn how to say no.

That’s a big one, guys. The, the more you’re gonna pitch yourself in position to hear his voice and to be able to do the work he’s called you to. I know you guys are busy. I know you guys are not, are knocking a lot of stuff out. Just make sure that it’s aligning to God. So my question for you this week, where does the quality time fit on your busy calendar?

Seriously? Where does quality time fit on your busy calendar? Or does it fit at all? Are we just going through the motion checking boxes and look, this guys, I get some things you do need to check the box on, but every day it’s not just a box checking. No. Every day is an opportunity to serve him, to have joy.

You can have joy in your career. You can have joy out there doing work and, and serving the Lord. It is, it is available. You just have to lean into it. So guys, there’s your spiritual kickoff if you enjoy the spiritual kickoffs. We do these every day with inside our community. Monday through Friday. I go live on, on in mor in our community, and we do a spiritual kickoff.

So it is out there. If you guys, if this serves you well, highly encourage you to check that out. Now, you heard me a lot of times talking throughout this scripture about God and and, and what’s going on there, and maybe you’ve never actually surrendered your life to Christ. That’s okay if you’ve never taken that, that, that I, the, the, the, the actual, uh, proclaimed him as Lord and Savior, you have time.

But that time is right now, and here’s why. Because you never know guys. You un you really don’t know what’s going on. But we have been promised of this gift today. And if you are here, and if you are listening to the lion within us, that tells. God is working on you. And I should tell you that too. And if you can sit here and say, you know what, Chris?

I have never surrendered to to Christ. I don’t know what you are even talking about. Hey, I got good news for you. That gets us available for you right now listening to a podcast. Wherever you’re at, apple, Spotify, it doesn’t matter. God is speaking to you right now. So what you need to do, you need to understand that you are a sinner.

You are a. Bottom line and the sin is anything that separates us from God. So you’re not a mistake or in need of a life coach. You’re a sinner in need of a savior. So understand that. And you need to believe, you have to actually believe that Jesus Christ is the son of God. He’s it. He is the only way.

There is no other name under heaven and has given among man by which we must be saved. He is it guys. That is no other way. I wish you could nice your way in. I really do. I really wish you could just be a good guy and do things. I was, I. Dinner like my, with my wife and I was talking to his, to, to our waiter and I was asking him about his faith and he kept talking about God and he’s like, yeah, I know.

I just need to be just, just do better. And I just, I’m trying to, to live my life to do better and to, it was me, me, me, me, me, me. And I was like, look, bro, don’t you understand. That, that salvation awaits. It’s a gift. It’s a gift given to you. Yes, the Holy Spirit’s gonna guide you and, and direct you and help you have a better life and lead a better life and do what you’re called to do.

But there’s nothing you can do on your own to earn that salvation, right? That comes through one person, through Jesus. And you have to believe that He is a son of God and he came down. He paid the ultimate penalty for us, for the atonement of our sins. He paid it right there on that cross when he pushed up on his, on his nail pierce feet and said to telli, it is finished.

It is done at that point, and they laid him in a tomb three days later. He did what? Did he stay there? No, we don’t worship a dead guy. We worship a living savior. He rose. He is written right-handed father right now, and we know everything goes to him, guys. So if you’ve never, ever confessed Jesus as your savior, today’s today, what are you waiting?

Right now. Right now I say, Lord, I’m. If you are, let’s pray Filer, just, I’m praying right now. There is one man, one woman, one child of God that is ready to confess you as Lord. I pray that right now that you receive them, that you give them the Holy Spirit. I pray that they commit their life to you, and they know that this is not just something that they say now, Lord, that they mean this with all their heart, that their heart is turned over to you, that they surrender and through that s.

That you’re outpouring on, the Holy Spirit will just poured onto them. God. So I pray blessings. I pray peace. I pray wisdom. And the sermon, I pray, courage for them to walk and do the work you have called us to do. I pray all this according to your will, in Jesus name. Amen. So if you just prayed that prayer, Look.

Hallelujah. Praise the Lord. That’s one more that’s getting in right there. One more’s getting in The cool part about a podcast. I guess the cool part in and not so cool part, I don’t know all you guys who, who, who accept Christ, but you know what? I believe the Holy Spirit does the work. I’m just doing the delivery, just delivering a message, being obedient.

The Holy Spirit’s gonna do the work and he, if you’ve accepted Christ as your savior, send me an email cuz this will be the best message I will ever. That you accepted Christ listening to the line within us. Send an email to support at the line within us that support the line within us and just say that you just accepted Christ listening to the line within us.

I’m gonna send you some free stuff. I’m gonna send you some stuff to get you started. Some scriptures that you’re going to need to know cuz you just entered the battlefield. And buddy, you need to be ready. And I also just wanna tell you how much, how, how, how much I love you, how proud I am, how excited I am for you, and just give you some encouragement cuz we need more encouragement for, for, for our fellow believers out there to get there, to get out and do the work that we’ve been called to do.

So I pray that you didn’t make that decision. So guys, come on back on Wednesday. Okay? So we’re gonna have an episode where I’m gonna really be talking about quality time. This one, it came to me. From my daughter, my oldest daughter, she hit me up with this. She’s like, this should be a topic you should do.

Cause it’s something I that’s on my mind a lot. So I was like, all right. So I sat down, I did some research and I, I think I, I pray that again, it’s nothing I’m gonna say, but preferably the spirit’s gonna speak through me. That’s gonna give you guys some things to think about from a quality time standpoint.

All, a lot of this ties back to what high guys are saying right here, right? And, and how we spend our time, how we spend our money, understand that provisions. So we have to be very careful about the, our ways and understand that our ways matter. Okay? So again, if you haven’t joined, if you haven’t given us, uh, a five star rating and review, please do that.

We need more ratings and reviews. All that stuff does matter for. Pop over to the line within us. That’s the lion within us. Join the 30 day free trial to get inside our community. Guys, I’m telling you, community’s buzzing is hopping. We got stuff going all the time. It’s pretty incredible. Uh, so if you wanna see what that’s about, Hop in the 30 days get started.

If you’re not ready to do that, just send an email. It’s a support at the line within us. I will jump on a personal one-on-one zoom call with you. I will show you what the community is all about. I do not want this to be a barrier. I want you to understand what we’re building, why we’re building it, and how it serves you.

And guys, the stories have been incredible on how this has impacted men directly their lives with their, their, their relationship with their wife, their relationship with their. How they’re le showing up as leaders at work, their career decisions, how they’re making more money, how they’re being, uh, more, uh, uh, actual obedient servants of Christ.

So guys, it is happening each and every day. It’s pretty awesome. So go start your 30 day free trial there. Check out our merchandise as well. We have our brand new never retreat shirts. We have hats in stock, so guys go get you some line. Within US merchandise, we have stickers as well, so you can put some, some big old stickers on the back of your vehicles.

I have one on my two cars and, and guys get out there and just show what the line within us is all about. And when people say, man, what is the line within us? Right then and there, you have an opportunity to share the gospel. So take that, use it. Be obedient. I’ll see you back here on Wednesday, I pray you guys have a great day.

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