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.    

Mark 13.9-10 warns, watch out! They’re going to drag you into court. And then it will go from bad to worse, dog-eat-dog, everyone at your throat because you carry my name. You’re placed there as sentinels to truth. The Message has to be preached all across the world.  MSG

The purpose of persecution among God’s people is the promulgation of the gospel. It is when men drag us into court that the Holy Spirit comes into us to speak through us for spreading the gospel by us to all men everywhere.

Certainly we can and should share the gospel with our neighbors and our coworkers all of the time. However we should expect men to resist our message resulting in our persecution because of that message. Their accusations against us because of our message are to be defended by further proclamation of the gospel. Our defense is, ‘God loves the world and has come personally in Jesus to save it.’

Persecution is even now arising. There is much pressure to deny God’s word about gender. There are many ignorant of God’s Word describing His creation that from one man and one woman all people were created on the planet making all people equal in value and desire by God Himself.

Keeping our faith quiet in the marketplace is the recommendation from HR but it is the antithesis of the command from our King! We are to boldly yet humbly, passionately yet lovingly, help people become reconciled to God through Christ apart from Whom is to live in condemnation before God for all eternity in suffering in hell.

We are sentinels to the truth as children of God. God’s word must be proclaimed across the world. This means speaking God’s ways and God’s will to all men everywhere and especially when men cause us to suffer for righteousness sake!

Our Opportunities

1. Our next special luncheon is scheduled for October 7 with MSUFCU chief legal counsel, Steve Owen. Download the flyer to invite your friends and register to attend HERE.
   
   
2. CBMC is focusing on prayer during the month of September. Register here to watch encouraging videos, download a study guide, and join fellow believers in prayer for the marketplace in September.

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

September 20, 2021 

Do You Feel His Pleasure?

By Jim Langley 

What do you engage in that brings you great joy? Does your work, or other activities that you regularly pursue, bring you a sense of pleasure? I can tell you from personal experience there is nothing more exhilarating than knowing you are in God’s will, doing what He wants you to do with the abilities and gifts He has given to you. 

I will never forget the first time I saw the theatrical film, “Chariots of Fire.” It has become one of my all-time favorite sports films, but it is also a film that documents the lives of two diverse, real-life figures. Harold Abrahams was a Cambridge man, a Jewish Englishman, and the fastest sprinter in the world in 1924, while Eric Liddell was a Scotsman, a devout Christian, and Abrahams’ greatest rival in the 1924 Olympic Games that were held in Paris, France. 

Abrahams was driven to achieve success, but Liddell’s motivation was to serve and honor his Lord through everything he did. Fully aware that he was being called to the foreign mission field in China, Liddell also felt strongly that God wanted him to compete in the Olympics. Years later, following his death in China, these words were found in his personal journal: “I believe God made me for a purpose, but he also made me fast. And when I run, I feel His pleasure.” These unforgettable words were spoken by the actor portraying Liddell in “Chariots of Fire.” 

I was not yet a follower of Jesus Christ when I originally saw the film with a co-worker but was greatly touched by Liddell’s story. I suspect it was one of several contributing factors to my faith commitment three years later. As an athlete, I could identify with the competition between these two men. In fact, I took up jogging as a recreational pastime right after seeing the film. The film inspired me to at least attempt to feel God’s pleasure as I ran. 

These days I feel His pleasure in much that I do and in the person I have become through my walk with Christ. Whether it is dealing with clients in my insurance business, playing a round of golf, writing, or meeting with someone I am mentoring, I sense God’s pleasure in pursuing tasks and opportunities He places before me. I say that with humility, because I know there are many others who also feel His pleasure over the course of their daily lives. My life now centers around Christ and His Spirit, guiding me through each day. Can you relate to this? Do you feel His pleasure? 

Let’s look at this idea through the words of Jesus and His disciples. Toward the end of Jesus’ high priestly prayer, found in the gospel of John, we see Him praying these words to His Father in Heaven on our behalf: “I have made You known to them, and will continue to make known in order that the love that You have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them” (John 17:26). That love and joy can be expressed in His pleasure as we trust and follow Christ in our lives each day. 

In Philippians 3:7-9, the apostle Paul declares, “…whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ – the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith.” It is apparent from his writings that Paul truly experienced God’s pleasure, even in his trials and circumstances. 

Let me ask you directly: Do you feel His pleasure in your life? If not, would you like to? It is available to all who come to Christ in humility and repentance, and place their trust in Him as Savior and Lord! 

© 2021, 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 www.lansing.cbmc.com

MONDAY MANNA

A service to the business community

A Publication of CBMC International

September 20, 2021 

Reflection/Discussion Questions 

1. How would you define “pleasure”? Based on what we see on TV, in the movies, even in magazines and on the Internet, what would you say is the prevailing cultural view of what it means to experience pleasure?
   
   
2. What kinds of things bring pleasure to you in your life? Give an example or two.
   
   
3. Whether you are familiar with the film, “Chariots of Fire,” or not, it is a depiction of a person committed to following his God – and pursuing opportunities to maximize athletic abilities. In the film, Eric Liddell states, “when I run, I feel God’s pleasure.” Can you relate to that in any way? Explain your answer.
   
   
4. Much of the typical workday is tedious, mundane, even frustrating. How do you think it is possible to “feel God’s pleasure” under those kinds of circumstances? 

NOTE: For more about what the Bible says about this topic, consider the following passages: Matthew 7:21-23; Ephesians 1:5-10; 2 Timothy 1:11-12; James 1:25-27; 1 John 

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