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.

Matthew 26.41 describes, there is a part of you that is eager, ready for anything in God. But there’s another part that’s as lazy as an old dog sleeping by the fire.

No doubt all of us fall into this same description as a follower of Jesus: a part of us is eager to know God and serve Him but another part is as lazy as an old dog sleeping by the fire. Which part wins determines our destiny in many ways.

The lazy part for Peter resulted in his failure to resist the temptation to deny Jesus, the very thing he swore he would never do. Had the story ended with his denial, would Peter have entered heaven? Can you live your life a believer in Jesus but also a denier of Jesus? Jesus says those who are ashamed of Him in this world He will be ashamed to bring into the next world. Fortunately, the Holy Spirit came and the lazy man was defeated as Peter eventually lost his life proclaiming the Savior.

We must learn to develop our spiritual muscles and deny our lazy selves if we want to be productive children of God proving our salvation by works that glorify God among men. Spiritual development is not hard but it does require discipline and new habits.

The first habit is to spend time with God daily by reading, studying and meditating on the word of God which is the Bible. We cannot know God and what He requires of us unless we read His biography which contains His instructions to us. It’s simple to read daily but it’s hard to remember to do so, to make it the first thing in our day. Yet we must.

Second, we need to pray and work. These two things go together. We read the Bible praying to obey it which occurs as we go about our day. As we pray to do what God says, God provides people in our lives for doing His will. God is called Father, so He is a relational God. All that He requires from us has to do with us loving one another so that we look more like Him.

Thinking about applying God’s Word to our lives is living quite differently from trying not to ‘sin.’ Frankly, that is impossible. God is less concerned about us not murdering someone and more concerned with us loving someone. Few of us murder people but few of us really love our neighbor.

If we are not to be found lazy we must capitalize on our eagerness by joining those who are likewise on the journey to know God and to do His will.

His Opportunities

1. CBMC is trying something new in 2018: Monday Manna live. 10.00am Mike will explain today’s scripture in person. Catch it here
   
2. CBMC’s first special luncheon of the year is March 29th. Our speaker is Deloitte CFO Pete Shimer. Register HERE

1. CBMC Leadership Coach Training is changing the way leaders are being developed and the way people are communicating. Learn how the art and science of listening well and asking powerful questions are at the heart of conversations that can lead to individual and corporate transformation. It’s true with your family, friends, business and personal ministry. This is a one day hands on training workshop with 8 weeks of follow up exercises and Teleclass conference calls to help you to embrace and practice what you’ve learned. February 23& 24 Register HERE

MONDAY MANNA

A service to the business community

A Publication of CBMC International

January 29, 2018

Painful, Yet Redemptive Relationships

by Ken Korkow

A couple weeks back I did something most people would consider unusual. I went to the Goodwill thrift store in our community and bought a small suitcase. After I took it home, then came the unusual part – I cut the handle off and threw the suitcase away. The handle I put into my pants pocket.

You might wonder, who would do this? That is understandable. But for me it was important – a reminder that when I leave this earth, I am taking NOTHING with me. Everything tangible will remain behind. However, all the things I have had of eternal value will have been sent ahead: My prayers and intercession for others; my tears for their salvation (eternal destiny) and spiritual growth; and any spiritual influence I have had the privilege of having in the lives of others.

Jesus spoke of this when He said, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, whether moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Mathew 6:19-21).

As you can see from what I listed above – praying for others, concern for their spiritual well-being, and desire to have an eternal difference in their lives – my focus these days is simple: Relationships. Sadly, the vast majority of relationships most of us have are superficial. There is little if any personal investment. We take from them what we need and then move on. You know what? This makes our spiritual enemy smile. He loves relationships, as long as they are superficial and meaningless. Because his strategy is simple: deceive, divide, and destroy.

I regret how I operated in the past as a businessman. I used relationships to get business. I would pretend to be nice – and pretend to care – to get what I wanted. I used people to get things I loved. Thankfully, several decades ago God touched my life and taught me that instead, I should be using things to love people.

This is why my years of experience working on our family’s cattle ranch has been so valuable. As you work with livestock you discover two truths: Fast is slow. Slow is fast. The same can be said about relationships. They take time and cannot be rushed.

Recently I was on a several phone calls: one to buy a truckload of insulation for a building at the ranch; another to buy a 50-foot diameter pen for working with horses, and another to buy a couple horse shelters. In each instance, while talking about my intended purchase, I could hear “something” in the other person’s voice: Pain. Or tiredness. So, I “went there” and asked each person what was going on in their life.

As I did so, the Lord opened doors. Each time, as the person shared their story, they also shared tears. This gave me the opportunity to share the truth and hope of Jesus Christ. In all three instances I prayed with them, then mailed them some discipleship material. Later I followed up on each with another phone call.

In the past, I would not have taken the time, would not have noticed – or would not have cared. But God has taught me another important principle: Pain shared is pain divided. Joy shared is joy multiplied. Now at the start of each day I pray, “Lord, please give me divine appointments – and keep the time-wasters away.” Realizing the Lord provides for my personal and business needs, this frees me up to develop redemptive relationships. What a privilege it is to share in the pain of others, along with their joys.

 Ken Korkow lives in Omaha, Nebraska, U.S.A., where he serves as an area director for CBMC. This is adapted from his “Fax of Life” column. Used with permission.

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

 MONDAY MANNA

A service to the business community

A Publication of CBMC International

January 29, 2018

Reflection/Discussion Questions

1. What do you think of the story about buying a suitcase and discarding it, retaining only its handle? Do you appreciate the symbolism?

1. Have you been making it a practice to store up treasures in heaven – or are you still busy trying to accumulate treasures on earth? Explain what this means for you.

1. How would you describe most of your relationships? How many deep, meaningful relationships do you have, compared to superficial ones without much value?

1. Do you see the value of striving to establish and maintain redemptive relationships? How do you think the principle, “Pain shared is pain divided. Joy shared is joy multiplied,” relates to this?

NOTE: If you have a Bible and would like to read more about this subject, consider the following passages:

 Proverbs 12:25, 14:13, 15:13,30, 17:17, 18:24, 27:9,17; Matthew 6:33-34

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