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.          

Romans 16.10 observes, greet Apelles, whose fidelity to Christ has stood the test. Greet those who belong to the household of Aristobulus.

Fidelity to the Lord. Isn’t that what is ultimately required of us to enter heaven? We believe in Jesus, those of us who claim to be Christians, but God’s arch enemy, Satan himself, believes. A believer is not the same as one whose fidelity to Christ has stood the test.

Those who are faithful to the end, those whom Christ will welcome with open arms into His kingdom, those who are Christians without a doubt, are those who believed then acted consistently within the accords of that belief. What is the belief? That Jesus is God, Savior and Lord of all. What then is the appropriate behavior?

Obedience to His commands at cost and often consequence just as He obeyed flawlessly and perfectly at the cost of His life. We are measured by what we do not by what we don't do. We don’t murder, steal or rape and then think we are good and faithful to the Lord. This is not obedience to our Lord, it is failure to disobey His commands but it is not obedience to His commands to sacrifice, give and share the gospel in the world by making disciples of all men through the teaching of obedience to all His commands.

We are faithful, we are obedient when we do what our God and Lord tells us to do which is to love our neighbor as our self whose eternity is hell unless they repent and obey Jesus. Without our sharing Jesus with people, they will remain ignorant of their eternal destiny. We who know, serve, give and share with them sacrificially, compelling them by our words and actions, to likewise follow Jesus, are obeying our Lord’s command to be His witness in the world.

Our reward from God, the proof of our fidelity to Jesus, will not be measured by what we haven’t done but by what we did for the glory of God and the expansion of His kingdom upon earth as it is in heaven.

Our Opportunities

1.     Our first outreach luncheon is scheduled for March 31st at the University Club Henry Center. Our speaker will be Navy Seal Patrick Bisher. Don’t miss this opportunity to share the gospel with your friends through the testimony of a warrior of God. Details soon but mark your calendars, begin praying for men and plan to reserve your table/space as soon as possible.

2.     A mission opportunity is available to you every third Wednesday of the month at the new Rescue Mission Drop-in center. We are looking for one or two men a month to share their story of God’s work in their lives for about 20 minutes from 10-10.20ish. Interested in encouraging the homeless by sharing what God has done in your life? Next opening, March 18. Email Mike to sign up.

1. Help us win and disciple business men through your donations at: 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

February 17, 2020 

Love In The Office That Cannot Be Discouraged

by Robert J. Tamasy 

When you hear the term, “love in the office,” what comes to mind? A romantic relationship between coworkers or colleagues, perhaps? Some workplaces forbid such “fraternization,” while others merely discourage it or insist such relationships be kept discreet. But what about a kind of love in the office that cannot nor should not be discouraged, with no cause for discretion? 

What I am referring to is the kind of love we often see described in the Bible. For instance, Jesus on numerous occasions told His followers to, “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:39). This was preceded by what He called the “greatest commandment” – to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” (Matthew 22:37). 

Well, that sounds nice and fits well for religious or spiritual settings. But what about the everyday, dog-eat-dog, highly competitive business and professional world? As one song put it, “what’s love got to do with it?” Actually, when we look closer, we see that love can – and should – have a lot to do with how we conduct ourselves and relate to others in the marketplace. 

Looking back at what Jesus said about loving God and loving our neighbors as ourselves, this does not refer to the emotional, warm, fuzzy feelings we get when we are around people we care about. This is about revering and honoring God in all we do, and in the process, demonstrating sincere interest and care for others – including colleagues, coworkers, bosses, customers and suppliers. 

Think about perhaps the greatest single statement about love in the Scriptures: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). This definitely was not a hugs-and-kisses kind of love. It was an expression of divine love – and sacrifice – that the human mind cannot fully comprehend. Yet every day of our lives, we can benefit from this. 

There is no way humanly speaking we can replicate this unfathomable form of love, but at the same time, as followers of Jesus we are called to demonstrate sincere, even sacrificial love to those around us, whether it be where we work, in our homes, or our communities. Jesus said, “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13). 

What this looks like in a real-life situation will differ from one person to the next, partly depending on the circumstances we find ourselves in. But here are a couple of examples: 

Living others by putting them first. Often in the business world, the mantra is, “Looking out for No. 1 – look out for yourself,” This is not the admonition we receive from the Scriptures. “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better (more important) than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others” (Philippians 2:3-4). 

Seeking to give rather than to receive. The natural tendency is to seek whatever we can get out of a situation, but the biblical command is to instead, seek how much we can give.. “…the words of the Lord Jesus, that He Himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive’” (Acts 20:35). 

© 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

February 17, 2020 

Reflection/Discussion Questions 

1. Thinking of the phrase, “love in the office” (or the workplace), what immediately comes to your mind? 

1. Has this “Monday Manna’s” different perspective about love expressed in a marketplace setting changed or challenged your thinking on this? If so, in what ways? 

1. Have you ever seen “love” demonstrated in a workplace setting, as it has been described here? If so, what did that look like? If it was shown toward you, how did it feel? 

1. How would you go about trying to communicate and display an others-oriented, unselfish kind of love in your own working environment today? How difficult do you think it would be for you to do so? Explain your answer. 

NOTE: If you have a Bible and would like to read more about principles it presents, consider the following passages: John 13:34-35; 1 Thessalonians 3:12; 1 Peter 4:8-10; 1 John 4:7-12 

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