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.

Psalm 107.2 asks, has the LORD redeemed you? Then speak out! Tell others He has redeemed you from your enemies.

The need of the hour is for the Church to speak out about God’s redemption. The obviousness of this truth was on full display during the presidential debates. Character, truth, honesty and humility are the result of fearing God and recognizing our accountability to Him. Those who live without regard for their Maker do and say whatever they believe to be best in their own minds.

The common enemy of all humanity from which God saves humanity is sin and death. The power of sin is its constant force over us causing us to do what we don’t wish to do and not doing the things we want to do. Sin is the evil we think, say and do toward our fellow man. Sin is why we fight with our spouse, children and neighbor.

Only He Who never sinned can break the power of sin in the lives of those who seek Him. God by His Spirit indwelling the humble child of God gives new life which is ever strengthening the child of God in their ability to do what is good for our neighbor and what pleases God.

The second enemy of all humanity is death. It is the final result of sin this unstoppable enemy that comes too early for so many but comes to all eventually. Only He Who raised Himself from the dead can raise from the dead all those who come to Him for eternal life.

Jesus is life, life eternal and life abundant. While all those who love Him will also see their bodies die, they know that He Who is in them will carry them to their eternal destiny where a new body awaits that never dies, never suffers disease and never grows old.

This message of redemption is sorely needed in a culture run amok by everyone doing what is right in their own eyes rather than loving their neighbor as themselves. This message of redemption is sorely needed in a culture that is quickly losing hope for its future, the result of being taught from infancy that there is no God and that their existence is the result of cosmic chance.

People need power over sin and people need hope for their future. The Church has been given the solution to humanities most universal and fundamental problems; now if only it will rise up and do its work.

His Opportunities

Feed a family of ten for part of the year! Do you have land that needs to have a few deer removed from it? contact Mike and he will bring his bow or his gun, your choice, and help you solve that problem while working to put meat on his table!

  1. Prayer and Bible study occurs every Friday morning at the Coral Gables restaurant in East Lansing from 7am – 8am, feel free to join us.

  2. CBMC needs your help to continue its ministry to men in the marketplace. Please support CBMC today. DONATE

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

MONDAY MANNA
A service to the business community

A Publication of CBMC International
October 3, 2016

Finding Purpose Behind The Pain

by Jim Langley

Someone once made the observation, “I wouldn’t mind pain if it didn’t hurt so much!” We can all relate to that. For some time now I have been dealing with sharp pain shooting down my right leg, excruciating at times. It is amazing how a slight narrowing of discs in the spine can cause so much discomfort.

Of course, pain comes in many packages, not just physical. And it keeps recurring in all of our lives. Whatever form it takes, pain can easily lead to despair and feeling debilitated, and distract us from the enjoyment of everyday life.

Many women have experienced the pain associated with childbirth. One of my friends has been through eight knee surgeries. Pain can take the form of mental anguish. PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) is just one example, whether for a soldier who has experienced great trauma on the battlefield, emergency workers that have witnessed firsthand the pain of human suffering and death, or individuals who have endured great abuse in their personal lives. There is the pain suffered by people afflicted by many types of addiction. The pain of emotional depression can leave a person with feelings of hopelessness.

And for those of us in the workplace, there is no shortage of pain: Unrealized goals and aspirations; job terminations; failed businesses; lost clients and sales contracts; not receiving promotions or pay raises we thought were well-deserved; financial hardships, including bankruptcy; or dealing with unreasonable people at work, including employers, bosses and coworkers.

There are many options for dealing with pain. We can medicate it. We can ignore it, stuffing it inside and refusing to acknowledge it, often to our long-term detriment. We can become obsessed with pursuits that help us forget our pain temporarily. Sadly, we occasionally hear of people who decide to escape the pain by taking their own lives. None of these approaches, of course, can truly resolve the problem of pain. Often they create more pain for those close to us to endure.

Fortunately, I have discovered one way to deal with pain that without fail can help us get a positive handle on whatever forms that pain and adversity take in our lives!

For me, it always starts with prayer and realizing God has a purpose in whatever I’m going through, even if He chooses not to let me know what His purpose might be. In Jeremiah 29:11, God states, “For I know the plans I have for you…plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Even when we do not understand the reason for the pain we endure, we can trust God is fully aware of it and will use it for His eternal purposes – and for our good.

Experience has taught me that I also need to trust He is in control, continuing to work at transforming me more and more into the image of His Son. The saying, ”No pain, no gain!” cannot be found in the Bible, but there is much truth found in that short phrase. I believe with the pains of life we can and will find much to gain, if we are willing to wait for and expect it. As it states in Romans 5:3, “we rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.”

As we deal with pain, our tendency is to plead for it to subside, but often it does not. Perhaps it would pass faster if we would learn from it more quickly, but even when it persists, we can find confidence in the assurance the apostle Paul had when he observed, “Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me, but he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness’” (2 Corinthians 12:8-9). With this perspective we can pray. “Lord, I humbly admit that Your grace is sufficient for this follower of Christ.”

© 2016, all rights reserved. Jim Langley has been an agent and chartered life underwriter (CLU) with New York Life since 1983 and an active member of CBMC of Santa Barbara, California, U.S.A. since 1987. Adapted from one of his “Fourth Quarter Strategies” discussions. His website is: www.fourthquarterstrategies.com

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