Knowing When And How To Do The Right Thing
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.
Revelation 22.19 records, if anyone takes away from the words of this book of prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city that are described in this book.
If there really is a God doesn’t it make sense that He gets to make the rules for how we should live? This is important if our concept of God includes a day of accountability before this God. This accountability would seem to be a review of our life’s deeds compared to the rules or commands this God made for people to follow.
For this to be fair, God would need to write down His requirements so that we have the chance to know them. For us to be wise, we would need to read those requirements so we could attempt to do them. In the Christian worldview, this is indeed exactly the situation. There is a God, He makes all the rules, He judges everyone, He has communicated His will through the Bible and has made available to all people everywhere the knowledge of Him through our conscience, nature and His people.
One of God’s warnings to us is found in the passage for review today. Recently the Province of Ontario passed a law stating parents who deny the felt sexual orientation of their children because of religious reasons could have their children removed from them. You can read that article HERE. This is the attempt of some people to take away from other people their attempt to obey God.
This is not unusual in Church history but it is unusual for North American Christians to face a government that holds so little regard for the Bible. North America was primarily settled by Christians who believed the assumptions about God we made previously. However modern Christians have also taken away from God’s book leading them to their current experiences of hostility from secular governments.
The work of all Christians, because it is the work of the Church, is to make disciples of all people by teaching them all to obey the commands of Jesus. The dismal attempt to obey this command over these past fifty years has resulted in immensely secular governments, universities, media and business such that the most recent past American president declared the United States no longer a Christian nation. This comment would have cost him any chance of being elected fifty years ago but instead was warmly embraced by the pagan majority.
In the end, if there really is a God, the denial of God’s words, by both Christians and pagans, won’t make them go away on that day when we pass from this world into His world where He will weigh and measure us according to His words. There, so many who called themselves Christians and all those who call themselves pagans, will be found wanting and will suffer the consequences of their rebellion as He warned about in His word that they ignored.
His Opportunities
- Prayer and Bible study occurs every Friday morning at the Coral Gables restaurant in East Lansing from 7am – 8am, feel free to join us.
- CEO’s, are you looking for a private group of fellow business owners for encouragement, support, and advice? CBMC offers such a group. Contact Mike at mwinter@cbmc.com for more information.
- CBMC needs your help to continue its ministry to men in the marketplace. Please DONATE
MONDAY MANNA
A service to the business community
A Publication of CBMC International
June 26, 2017
Knowing When And How To Do The Right Thing
by Luis Cervino
The recent theatrical film, “Sully,” recreates events surrounding U. S. Airways flight 1549, which he was forced to crash-land in New York City’s Hudson River after the jet crossed paths with a flock of birds, shutting down its engines. This film depicts the subsequent investigation that in many ways was not complimentary of the courageous airline pilot, Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger, as National Transportation and Safety Board officials engaged him in intense questioning to determine the causes of the incident.
Sullenberger, who was eventually cleared of any blame, through his responses to questions made it clear that sometimes to achieve success, it is impossible to follow steps as prescribed in the manual. He attributed being able to successfully execute a water landing with no casualties on lessons he had learned through many years of experience, including steps that were not standard procedure. Most of us will never confront the challenges of piloting a commercial jet. However, sooner or later, we each are faced with a “first time” – circumstances no one has never encountered in similar situations. To properly handle such situations, we must remain calm so we can quickly analyze the situation, existing probabilities and chances for success. In my profession, many times a surgeon must make decisions with a patient’s life at stake.
The key is understanding how to make crucial decisions both effectively and quickly. This principle holds true for our lives as well; consequences of our choices will follow the lives of everyone involved, physically and spiritually. We must remember everyday life often gives us many options, but in terms of eternity, we have only two. Being business and professional people, we serve as ambassadors for Jesus Christ in the marketplace. In this role, we must be willing to defend our faith to people who do not know Him, and be ready to fulfill Jesus’ Great Commission, presented in Matthew 28:19, by making disciples, helping others to grow in their faith and mature as His followers. He stated, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations…teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you. And I assure you that I will be with you always, to the end of the world.”
Sometimes people who do not profess to know Christ will challenge our beliefs. About this the apostle Peter wrote, “But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect” (1 Peter 3:15). At times, decisions we must make will not always following a prescribed protocol. We may need to omit established steps, as the film showed for the safe landing of a crippled jet airplane. It is always good to have a plan in mind, with reasonable alternatives. But sometimes all we can do is rely on the leading of God’s Spirit – our response is to always be alert and obedient to His direction. Here are helpful steps for responding to emergencies and unforeseen events spiritually:
A. Knowledge: This give us the basis for being able to act correctly, “Jesus replied, ‘Are you not in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God?’” (Mark 12:24).
B. Trust in God: The Lord guides us in the best way as we trust in Him: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding” (Proverbs 3:5.)
C. Decision: Be prepared to act at the right moment, knowing we are well-grounded by the first two concepts: “Have I not already commanded you?: Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go” (Joshua 1:9).
Luis Cervino is a maxillofacial surgeon in Torreon, Coahuila, Mexico, where he resides with his wife, Rocio, and their two sons. He has been a CBMC member in Mexico since 1997, and has been translating Monday Manna from English into Spanish since 1999. His translations reach readers in Mexico and many other parts of the world.
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