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.

1 John 4.21 is clear, the command we have from Christ is blunt: Loving God includes loving people. You’ve got to love both.

It is absolutely amazing to me that the Creator has so completely intertwined His command to love Him with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength, with the command to love our neighbor as our self. This command of God is entirely unique to Christianity among all religions in the world: now or ever.

It is because humanity is created in the image of God that He values so highly our relationship with Him and with one another. When God lived among us as one of us He perfectly embodied and fulfilled the requirement to love God and love man. We tend to choose one or the other.

Some love God and are very religious. Sometimes these people go so far as to isolate from humanity lest they become corrupted by humanity for they see God as holy, which He is, and they must be holy, which we must, in order to be with God intimately. Holiness however is a gift from God appropriated to us by faith in God Who is Jesus Christ, Who alone makes us holy through His life, death and resurrection.

Holiness isn’t something we can do but something we are given by grace through faith. We are to live holy lives because God is Himself holy. We are to be holy among people so that they will see the wisdom of such living and want it for themselves.

Others love people but have no use for God. They try and help the poor, hungry and naked but they fail to give them what they most need – hope. Those who love people only feel good about their work but fail to do work which lasts forever either in reward or result. All people will meet God in judgement and all people must be prepared for that encounter. Without loving God, we love people by making this life more comfortable for them while preparing them for a most uncomfortable eternity – one which we too will likewise join them in if we continue to not love God.

The perfect man mimics the perfect Man – Jesus the Savior. We love God by loving men and we love men because we love God and recognize that He first loved us by creating us then becoming one of us so that we can live forever with Him.

His Opportunities

1. It’s back – Monday Manna Live – weekdays, Monday mornings, 9.55am HERE

2. December 18th the annual CBMC Getting to Know God Better luncheon seminar will be presented. This event will help you develop greater intimacy with God as you develop greater consistency with God. We have a proven and effective strategy for making this happen. More information and Register HERE

3. Year End Update. Through 11 months we have met 74% of our annual need; halleluiah and thank you to everyone helping us succeed. This month we need $39,000 in giving to make 100% of expenses/budget. Your investment helps us win the most difficult to save, the rich man, disciple men in the marketplace, and focus on building businesses that glorify God. Help us finish strong. Invest in CBMC. GIVE today.

CBMC Central Michigan 6011 W. St. Joseph Ste. 401 Lansing 48917 / 517 481 5996 www.lansing.cbmc.com

CentralMichigan-circle MONDAY MANNA

A service to the business community

A Publication of CBMC International

December 10, 2018

Conforming – Or Being Transformed

by Jim Langley

Have you noticed how easily we get caught up in doing things the way our culture dictates, becoming squeezed into the world’s mold? We find almost everyone conforming to the current trends, adopting the behaviors, values and beliefs endorsed by the entertainment media, popular books, the Internet and social media.

In 1977, a popular song rose to the top of the music charts. Soon people in many parts of the world were singing or humming, “You Light Up My Life.” For years we heard it performed at weddings. A sweet sentiment, right? The closing line, “it can’t be wrong when it feels so right,” sounded innocent enough, and many people adopted it as a personal creed. Over time it morphed into, “if it feels good, do it!” More than 40 years later, this attitude still holds sway in people’s minds and hearts.

We often see this in the business world. We become enticed by the quick successes of others and follow their lead, hoping to experience similar results. Over my insurance career, I have seen some of my colleagues fall into practices that led to short-term success, but ultimate failure. Sometimes their schemes caused them to lose their ability to conduct future business, even huge financial penalties and prison time. Feelings can deceive.

On a larger scale, we have seen companies fall out of favor due to unethical business practices. Business institutions spend millions on strategic marketing campaigns to improve severely damaged corporate images. It only takes a few top level executives to hatch devious plans, but in the “if it feels good, do it” culture, we also see lower-level executives buying into deceptive strategies in the quest for personal gain and prestige.

Addressing members of the church in Rome, the apostle Paul warned against conforming to thinking and practices we see in the world around us. He wrote, “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God – this is your true and proper worship.Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will”(Romans 12:1-2).

Paul was saying this is how we, as Christ’s followers, are to live, seeking to please our Master. One translation of Romans 12:2 warns, “don’t let the world squeeze you into its mold.”Rather than conforming to the pattern of this world, we are to be transformed into the image of Jesus, our Savior and Lord, by His power at work in us.

We might succeed in deluding ourselves that there is no harm in conforming to the ways of this world,that there are no consequences. But there are always repercussions for our actions, good or bad. Paul addressed this problem nearly 2,000 years ago, but today not much has changed. The only difference is the magnitude of the impact our bad decisions can have in this fast-paced world, when a misguided decision made in one city can affect thousands, even millions of people in many other parts of the world. So how can we avoid being “conformed” so that we can be transformed by God? Here are two suggestions:

Put God first. We are promised that the Lord will meet our needs if we trust in Him, not our own devices. “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (Matthew 6:33).

Put others second. When we take time to consider the best interests of others before ourselves, the likelihood of avoiding compromising, unethical decisions rises exponentially. And we save ourselves a lot of trouble. “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others” (Philippians 2:3-4).

© 2018, all rights reserved. Jim Langley has been writing for more than 30 years while working as a life and health insurance agent. In recent years, his passion has turned to writing about his personal relationship with God. His goal is to encourage others to draw near to Him as well. A long-time member of CBMC, he started writing “Fourth Quarter Strategies” in 2014.

CentralMichigan-circle MONDAY MANNA

A service to the business community

A Publication of CBMC International

December 10, 2018

Reflection/Discussion Questions

What are some of the ways that you have observed business – even at the organization where you work – being influenced by the culture that surrounds us?

Can you think of a time when you consciously strived to avoid actions commonly practiced by your peers because you felt they were wrong? What was the impact of this decision to not be “conformed to the pattern of this world”?

Why is trusting in our feelings, going according to what some people call “gut instinct,” often so problematic? Have you ever espoused the philosophy, “How can it be wrong when it feels so right?” What did you learn from that?

In your view, what does it mean to be “transformed by the renewing of your mind”? How should we strive to do that?

NOTE: If you have a Bible and would like to read more, consider the following passages:

Proverbs 10:9, 11:1,3, 21, 12:15, 14:12, 20:23, 22:3, 28:2; Matthew 5:19-24,43-48

CBMC Central Michigan 6011 W. St. Joseph Ste. 401 Lansing 48917 / 517 481 5996 lansing.cbmc.com