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.

2 Timothy 4.2,5 commands, preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and teaching……But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.” LSB

Evangelism and discipleship are the ministry of every Christian we summarily call the Great Commission. This work is the assignment of the Church, God’s plan for building His kingdom upon the earth as it is in heaven. Every child of God has a role to play in the Father’s business if they will but show up, put up, and shut up to lift up the Name of Jesus before men.

The work of the evangelist is to present the gospel to people so that they can hear the truth, repent, and walk in obedience to the truth, which is the work of God completed for humanity through the Son of God, Who loves us and will judge us for determining our eternal destiny. Discipleship is the process of growing ever more consistent in obedience to everything Jesus commanded.

We need one another for reproving, rebuking, and exhorting to love and good deeds so that we stay on the narrow way that leads to life, for it is difficult, and few are upon it. The love and good deeds we are to do are those things that lead men to faith in Jesus and obedience to His commands. Evangelism and discipleship, the Great Commission, is our mission among all those God has placed in our lives, beginning with our families and extending to our cities, nation, and world. The harvest is plentiful. The workers are few.

Blessed is the man whom God finds faithful at His work upon His return to collect His own.

Our Opportunities

This election pits life against death. Don’t be ignorant of the issue. Check out more information on Proposal 3 here. If the party supporting this proposal takes over our state government, then defeating it will still result in its implementation.

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

November 7, 2022

Lack Of Perseverance And It’s Severe Consequences

by Robert J. Tamasy

Have you noticed how easy it is to start any kind of endeavor, but how hard it often is to finish it? This is one reason businesses fail. Someone has a brilliant idea and begins a new enterprise with boundless enthusiasm, but then adversity strikes, followed by discouragement and defeat. Doors that had opened with such high hopes suddenly slam shut. As a journalist and author, I have written more articles than I can count, as well as nearly two dozen books that I have written, co-authored, and edited. However, there remain several book ideas that I once felt very excited about but remain unfinished. Many times in life, as in the world of sports, it is not how you start that matters but how you finish.

Leadership consultant and coach Tim Kight has observed, “The decision to start is easiest. The decision to continue is hardest. The first commitment is what gets you started. The many recommitments along the way are what keeps you going. Be relentless.”

I had never thought of it in quite that way. Beginning a project, especially one that will require lots of time and energy, does require commitment. But we hit bumps in the road, obstacles that inevitably threaten our progress. It takes recommitment to stay on track. This is why the adage, “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try and try again,” is just as relevant for the 21st century marketplace as it was when Robert the Bruce, king of Scotland uttered those words before a major battle against the British in 1314.

Sadly, we can think of many instances when men and women lacked the perseverance to see their way through to success: Promising athletes who decided the hard work necessary for reaching the highest levels of their sports was too much. Talented musicians who refused to put in the many hours of practice needed to achieve excellence. Businesspeople aspiring to rise to the top of their professions but lacked the patience needed to continue advancing.

In reading the Bible, we find examples of both – leaders who rose to greatness through perseverance, and individuals with much potential who became sidetracked and suffered failure and disgrace. The difference? A determination not only to start but also to continue, no matter how difficult circumstances became. Here are two examples (among many) of what the Scriptures teach about persevering:

Facing difficulties eagerly. No one wants to go out of their way to encounter difficulties. However, maintaining a perspective that we grow and mature through those challenges makes it easier to endure. “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing” (James 1:2-4).

Keeping the finish line in sight. The apostle Paul had a long and fruitful ministry of service to God. But he never considered himself to have “arrived.” “Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead. I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13-14).

If something is worth pursuing, we must remember not only to commit to it at the start, but also to recommit and recommit as many times as needed until we achieve it.

© 2022. Robert J. Tamasy has written Marketplace Ambassadors: CBMC’s Continuing Legacy of Evangelism and Discipleship; Business at Its Best: Timeless Wisdom from Proverbs for Today’s Workplace; Pursuing Life With a Shepherd’s Heart, coauthored with Ken Johnson; and The Heart of Mentoring, coauthored with David A. Stoddard. 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