Our Mission 

To present Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord to business and professional men and to develop Christian business and professional men to carry out the Great Commission.     

Psalms 91.14-16, explains, because he loves Me, says the Lord, I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges My Name. He will call on Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him and show him My salvation. 

The blessing of the Lord, who does not want that in their life? I know I certainly do. How then do we receive God’s favor?

By loving Him with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength. By praying to Him, bringing before Him all of our needs, concerns and cares. God is delighted when we look to Him for help, and His presence, in all things, because without Him, we can do nothing.

We receive God’s blessing too by telling others about Him so that all men may be reconciled to God the Father, Who longs for all humanity to become His beloved children. These things; love God, pray to Him, share His story with others, are what pleases God our Savior and causes Him to bless us with His presence, His help and His salvation.

If we want His presence in our troubles, for trouble is a certainty for all men, if we want His help through the trouble so that we suffer minimal damage, then we need His blessing. If we want to see the fruit of our love for Him, the salvation of people and our own upon that day when we, like all men, meet God face to face to receive our reward for obedience to His commands, then we need God’s blessing.

Are we then to work for our salvation rather than receive His pardon by grace through faith? Absolutely not, for God alone has come to save us, and He has quickened our spirit to know Him. He has poured His Spirit into us for leading us to Him and making us productive for Him when serving Him is our chief end.

Yet He commands us to love Him, He invites our prayers and He has commissioned us as His witnesses to the nations. Therefore, the obedient to God, receive the joy of God, and the blessing of God, which is His presence, His help and His salvation.

These are the very things He promises to those who love Him, seek Him and share Him with men.

Our Opportunities

1. Don’t let the Coronavirus keep you from giving. Help us win and disciple business men through your donations at: https://give.idonate.com/cbmc-inc/lansing 

1. Step one to becoming an effective ambassador for Christ in the marketplace is to pray for unsaved men by name. The easiest place to gather for prayer is at your place of business. CBMC helps Christian men form prayer teams. Check out our program here then email Mike for helping getting one started at your company.  

CBMC Central Michigan 4407 W. St. Joe Hwy. Lansing 48917  / 517 481 5996 www.lansing.cbmc.com

MONDAY MANNA

A service to the business community

A Publication of CBMC International

June 22, 2020 

Combating Fear of the Unknown, Focusing on the Known

by Robert Tamasy 

Years ago, discussing the challenges of making decisions during a war in the Middle East, described the variable factors involved as “known knowns, known unknowns, and unknown unknowns.” Most of us will never have to handle such wartime responsibilities but given the uncertainties of the marketplace – even when we are not in the middle of a global pandemic, the unknowns can weigh heavily on us. 

As we entered 2020, one of the “known knowns” was that the economy in many parts of the world was flourishing. Based on what we had been experiencing, there was great anticipation that prosperous times would continue throughout the marketplace. Among the “known unknowns” was that some major event could arise to cause a sudden shift in the economic climate. Everyone knew that was a possibility, but no one knew for certain what that might be. The greatest “unknown unknown” as we started the new year, of course, was the emergence of COVID-19, an incredibly aggressive virus that would spread from China and bring about a global pandemic. 

Our tendency is to let the unknowns – ones we know about, and those we do not – to overwhelm us, filling us with fear and worry. However, there is an alternative. We can choose instead to focus on the “knowns,” those things we can trust in and depend upon. The problem is, in turbulent times such as we have experienced recently, there are few knowns we can concentrate on with confidence. 

This where faith – the confident assurance and earnest expectation we have in the God of the Bible – can sustain us. Corrie ten Boom, who with her family in The Netherlands helped many Jews escape the Nazis during World War II, wrote about this. She said, “Never be afraid to commit an unknown future to a known God.” 

In the Word of God, we find hundreds of promises and precepts, assurances we have from God as followers of Jesus Christ that apply as directly to the marketplace as they do to any area of life. Here are some of them, and I would encourage you to search the Scriptures for many more: 

We can know God has a specific purpose for our lives. “’For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future…. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:11). 

We can know God uses adversities we face for our benefit. “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28). 

We can know God is not distant, that He is approachable. “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who was tempted in every way that we are yet was without sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need” (Hebrews 4:15-16). “In [Christ] and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence” (Ephesians 3:12). 

We can know God hears and responds to our prayers. “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us – whatever we ask – we know that we have what we asked on him” (1 John 5:14-15). 

© 2020. Robert J. Tamasy has written numerous books, including Marketplace Ambassadors: CBMC’s Continuing Legacy of Evangelism and Discipleship; Business at Its Best: Timeless Wisdom from Proverbs for Today’s Workplace; Tufting Legacies; The Heart of Mentoring, coauthored with David A. Stoddard; and has edited other books. Bob’s biweekly blog is: www.bobtamasy.blogspot.com.

CBMC Central Michigan 4407 W. St. Joe Hwy. Lansing 48917 / 517 481 5996  lansing.cbmc.com

 MONDAY MANNA

A service to the business community

A Publication of CBMC International

June 22, 2020 

Reflection/Discussion Questions 

1. What are some of your “known knowns,” things you believe you can count on every day with confidence and assurance as you pursue your vocation and everyday life? 

1. What are some of the “known unknowns” that cause you concern? What about the “unknown unknowns” that could cause you to have sleepless nights? 

1. Why are the unknowns of life so problematic for many of us? How can they cause stress – at times unnecessary – when we focus on things beyond our control? 

1. Do the “known knowns” that we find the Bible bring you peace and comfort in times of adversity? Why or why not? If you do find sources of reassurance in the Scriptures, what are some that seem most important to you? 

NOTE: If you have a Bible and would like to read more, consider the following passages: Isaiah 40:31, 41:10; Jeremiah 33:3; John 3:16; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Philippians 4:6-9 

CBMC Central Michigan 4407 W. St. Joe Hwy. Lansing 48917 / 517 481 5996  lansing.cbmc.com