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.

 Luke 2.14 proclaims, Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased. (LSB)

When we sing or hear this verse at Christmas our humanistic minds immediately gravitate to peace among men, world peace, global harmony. This is, after all, what we want. Peace with our spouse, peace with our children, peace with our neighbor, peace with our governments. Conflict rages everywhere, within us and around us, so we desire peace, harmony, an ability to get along in joy and cooperation with everyone.

This focus is humanistic, narcissistic, a continuation of the problem that plagues us so greatly, so abundantly that we are practically oblivious to it for it is so encompassing of us. That problem is we remain self-focused instead of God focused. The peace that is available to men described in this verse is not between men, though it can have that after affect.

The peace that has come to earth in the Prince of peace, the peace Who is God, the peace that came to earth from God two thousand years ago is for making peace with God between God and men. God is at war with men by nature. We are born enemies of God. We are born insurrectionists, rebels, haters of God and all that He has commanded. We do not obey Him, seek to please Him, humble ourselves before Him to serve Him. Instead we do what is right in our own eyes, we want our own way, which is why we have so little peace with each other and no peace with God.

Peace is given to men by God through Jesus Christ Who died in our place to end the hostility between God and men. God will have His vengeance upon every person, either at their death and resurrection to meet Him and answer to Him, or upon His return to finally end life on this earth in order to bring new life to a new earth. Those who humble themselves before God and cry out to the Prince of Peace for peace with God shall be granted peace with God Who then sends out His peacemakers to bring that same peace to others.

Those who reject God’s only means of peace with Him will forever be an enemy of His and will lose everything on that day they meet Him for their final conflict with Him. God offers all people everywhere peace, but it must be received through Jesus the Savior, He is God’s final offer for peace.

Our Opportunities

Our first luncheon is scheduled for May 12th. Download a flyer and register here, then pray fervently for men to join you on May 12th to hear our speaker and come to saving faith in Jesus the Lord.

You can partner with us here: https://give.idonate.com/cbmc-inc/lansing 

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

May 2, 2022 

Deliberately Developing Discernment

By Jim Langley 

Discernment: It is defined as the innate ability to recognize the moral and practical consequences of our decisions. Discernment also is a quality rarely demonstrated in the business and professional world today. In these times, when we seem to find evidence of moral decline everywhere we look, it would be wise to consider ways of deliberately developing discernment. 

An obvious place to start would be in our own lives. Once we have learned to become more discerning personally, then hopefully others will ask what they can do to develop discernment skills. They may recognize this would require cultivating traits such as wisdom, knowledge. insight, perception and understanding. We need great discernment to confront the many moral and ethical ambiguities of our world today. 

How can we learn to gain discernment and wisdom? Psalm 111:10 would be a good starting point. It declares, “The fear of the LORD is all wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding. To him belongs eternal praise.” Notice the psalmist refers to the “beginning of wisdom,” rather than having full wisdom. I believe this means deliberately striving to develop wisdom for as long as we live. It is true that some people without any spiritual convictions display some form of discernment, but God is the One who promises discernment for those who intentionally pursue it. 

Over the past 37 years as a Christian businessman, I have often witnessed the value of discernment, as well as what happens when people lack it. I can recall times where I lacked godly wisdom but have learned from my unwise choices. Fortunately, consequences from most of my bad decisions have been minimal. God has shown remarkable patience as I have strived to learn from mistakes – both my own and ones I have seen others make. Life is an ongoing adventure in learning. 

Hebrews 5:11-14 addresses this learning process: “We have much to say about this, but it is hard to explain because you are slow to learn. In fact, by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.” 

Sadly, many followers of Jesus Christ do not appear to have much desire for or commitment to growing in discernment. Yet I have no doubt that God wants all His people to be wonderfully discerning. Imagine how different things could be if we approached moral and ethical decisions with godly discernment. 

What is a first step toward becoming a person of great discernment? Consider the advice of Jesus’ half-brother, James, as he exhorted members of the early Church. In James 1:5 he stated, “If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously without finding fault, and it will be given to him.” 

In a world that increasingly questions the existence of absolute truth, when right and wrong are regarded as flexible, depending upon circumstances, the need for divine discernment has never been greater. May we all take this discussion seriously – for the good of mankind and for God’s glory! 

© 2022, 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 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. 

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

May 2, 2022

Reflection/Discussion Questions 

1. How would you define “discernment”? 

1. Do you agree with the assertion that discernment – godly discernment – is generally lacking in today’s marketplace, but is desperately needed? Why or why not? 

1. From your experience, what might be an example of a situation or circumstance where great discernment was needed to arrive at a proper decision, one that was best for everyone involved? 

1. Why is discernment not more greatly emphasized and valued in today’s workplace? What are factors that can work against the development and use of godly discernment and wisdom? 

NOTE: For more about what the Bible says about this topic, consider the following passages: Proverbs 1:1-6; Ephesians 1:15-17; Philippians 1:9-11; James 1:5-8, 3:17-18

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