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.

Acts 15.4 observes, when they arrived at Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church, the apostles, and the elders, and they reported all that God had done with them.

There should be among Christians, an expectation, that the people of God accomplish something of the work of God. There certainly is such expectation by God Himself which will become clear to us on that day when we stand before Him, to be rewarded for the works we have accomplished for His purposes while we lived upon this earth.

If we abide in Him we will bear fruit. God has commissioned His people to build His kingdom upon earth as it is in heaven. Because God desires all men to be saved and has given the message of salvation to His Church, we should expect people to become reconciled to God through Jesus Christ as a result of our sharing His work accomplished on our behalf.

We would be much healthier, though no doubt fewer in number, as Christians, if annually, we gave a report on what God has done through us over the past year to increase His kingdom on earth as it is in heaven. Too little is done because there is no accountability within the church. God will hold each man accountable and will measure our performance on that day when we meet Him face to face to determine our eternal destiny.

Oh that we would truly come together to spur one another on toward love and good deeds so that we all hear the Master say, well done good and faithful servants, enter into the joy of your Master.

His Opportunities

  1. The next CBMC special luncheon, your best opportunity for obeying the Great Commission, is scheduled for March 21st. Our speaker will be O’Leary Paint CEO John O’Leary. We will be meeting at The View from 11.45am-1:00pm. Registration will be open soon but mark your calendars now and begin praying for the men you will bring as your guests so they can hear how knowing Jesus as Savior will change their lives for eternity.

  2. CBMC Men’s Conference April 4-7. Be encouraged in your faith and in your faith at work.  Register and get more information here. Let me know you are going so we can carpool together in CBMC 1!

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

January 21, 2019

The Tension Between Working And Waiting

by Ken Korkow

When I was growing up, my mother often said, “All good things come to he who waits – so long as he who waits, works like heck while he waits.”

Yes, my mom and dad were both focused and driven. They had survived the Great Depression and did not want anyone in their own family to have those experiences. Therefore, the values and virtues of hard work – even at the cost of other things – were vigorously imparted into our mindsets.

I remember thinking as a boy, “When I grow up, I will NOT be like my dad.” But I became exactly like him, not just hard-working but also driven, focused on completing the task and reaping the rewards that came with it. Fulfilling the adage, “An apple doesn’t fall far from the tree,” I had patterned my life after my father to the extent that I often heard someone say, “You’re just like your old man.”

Please understand, I inherited many positive traits and gained good lessons from my parents. And I appreciated those. However, the older I get, I have learned to rely less on the power of my own flesh and instead act upon the recognition that my real identity, purpose, and manner of living come from the Lord.

Please consider the words of Hannah Whitall Smith in her classic daily devotional book, Streams in the Desert:

“A quiet spirit is of inestimable value in carrying on outward activities; and nothing so hinders the working of the hidden spiritual forces, upon which, after all, our success in everything really depends, as a spirit of unrest and anxiety.

“There is immense power in stillness. A great saint once said, ‘All things come to him who knows how to trust and be silent.’ The words are pregnant with meaning. A knowledge of this fact would immensely change our ways of working. Instead of restless struggles, we would ‘sit down’ inwardly before the Lord, and would let the Divine forces of His Spirit work out in silence the ends to which we aspire.” 

Such a perspective, of course, runs counter to the typically urgent, must-get-it-done philosophy that governs so many of us as we undertake our daily work responsibilities. However, experience has taught me that there also is great benefit from an determined effort to cultivate a quiet spirit and practice stillness despite the chaos that may surround us. Here are a couple of principles I have learned and applied from the Bible:

Be willing to slow down and wait on God, rather than trying to make things happen ourselves. In our fast-paced, high-stress world, it takes great resolve to step off the treadmill and trust in God to guide us and resolve the difficulties and challenges we might be facing. It requires faith, but I have learned trusting in the Lord has never failed me. “He says, ‘Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted  among the nations,I will be exalted in the earth’” (Psalm 46:10).

While slowing down, we also should present our concerns to God. Worry and anxiety are constant companions for many of us in the workplace, but usually they are counterproductive emotions. The more we worry, the less we accomplish. Prayer, on the other hand, can accomplish much more than we could imagine. “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God” (Philippians 4:6).

The Bible urges us to work – and work diligently. But it also teaches there are times when it is best to wait, be still, and watch to see what God can do.

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.

 MONDAY MANNA

A service to the business community

A Publication of CBMC International

January 21, 2019 

Reflection/Discussion Questions 

  1. Do you agree with the statement that good things come to those who wait – as long as they are working as hard as they can while they wait? Explain your answer. 
  1. Why is it so difficult for us to be still and to wait, especially when we need to bring a project to completion, have a deadline to meet, or must find an answer to a pressing problem at work? 
  1. In the quote by Hannah Whitall Smith, she states, “There is immense power in stillness.” Do you believe this? Why or why not? And if so, what would this power be? 
  1. Can you think of a time when you decided to “be still” and chose to wait, even if reluctantly, when everything inside you screamed that you had to keep working? If so, what was the outcome? 

NOTE: If you have a Bible and would like to read more about this subject, consider the following passages: Psalm 37:4-7; Proverbs 3:5-6, 16:3,9, 19:21, 21:21,30; Matthew 6:25-34, 7:7-12 

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

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