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.

1 Corinthians 16.13-14 commands, be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. Do everything with love. These may be my favorite verses in the Bible. I am particularly drawn to the admonition to act like men. We need more of that today particularly in this highly feminized culture where the woman of the year for 2015 was/is a man.

Most Bible translations change the phrase ‘act like men’ to ‘be courageous.’ I like that change because it equates manliness with courage. Courage is a rare commodity among men today except in the military where it is displayed quite regularly by the commitment of our troops in Muslim countries, and especially among our special forces. Most men aren’t in Special Forces and won’t be joining the military any time soon.

So how do we ‘act like men’ and be courageous? Paul’s admonition is perhaps a linear method for working out this expectation God has for at least half of His image bearers. Being watchful means standing resolute as a guard able to recognize false ways from God’s ways. Like a watchdog on a leash, the man of God protects himself and his family from internet, school, television and any other source that refutes God’s truths with some other explanation of who people are and how they are to live.

Everytime our child relays a lie they learned, everytime they encounter a false god, every message that denies the Creator and His good will for humanity the man on watch refutes it, corrects it and replaces it with God’s truth. Of course this watchfulness is not limited to just the home but needs to be done in the marketplace as well. Once the misinformation comes the man of God stands strong with a backbone advocating and doing what is right. Regardless of a child’s pleading that ‘everyone else does it’ or the boss saying it’s ‘politically incorrect’ the man of God stands firm on truth because he knows he will one day give account to God.

Loss of job, lower grades, unhappiness of a child is no excuse for not doing what is right or for compromising God’s truth. The will of God is clearly revealed in the Word of God so that the man of God can do it and advocate for it no matter what. Suffering for righteousness sake is a badge of honor for the man of God. This is what it means to act like a man. To take abuse without retaliation for doing and speaking what is right in the eyes of God. A man protects himself and his family from lies and leads them in faith toward obedience to God.

It takes great resolve, true inner strength to be a man of God where the motive is love. Love for family, love for society, love for God is best expressed in obedience to God. God’s ways are the healthiest, most wholesome, most rewarding ways for humanity to live. Love is the motive in God’s commands and love is the method for carrying out God’s commands. The man of God is not a power hungry ogre but a deeply committed, unshakable servant of God who will not tolerate evil but will give himself to good no matter the cost and no matter who follows.

His Opportunities

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. 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.

3. Tuesday, March 15th at the City Rescue Mission from noon until 1pm is your next CBMC Rescue Luncheon. This is your opportunity to serve lunch to the men and women who depend upon the Mission for their meal. Commit Here 

4. Thursday, March 17th is the next CBMC Central Michigan Marketplace Ambassador Network Meeting. Our goal is to increase the opportunity for central Michigan business and professional men to connect to CBMC and one another and through connecting become more committed to the ministry of CBMC and its vision/mission. Join us at CHAMPP’S Restaurant and Bar located at 2800 Preyde Blvd Lansing,MI48912 from 5.30 - 7:00 pm every THIRD THURSDAY of the month Register Here

You can support CBMC today. https://give.cbmc.com/giving/?appealcode=winter 

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

March 7, 2016

Is It True We Can't Take It With Us?

by Robert J. Tamasy

Occasionally we hear the cliché, “You can’t take it with you.” The implication is that on the day we pass from this life, we will not be taking suitcases filled with our belongings. No moving van will be following the hearse. Following the death of a wealthy, internationally famous entrepreneur, when asked how much the businessman had left behind, a company spokesman accurately responded, “All of it!”

Strangely, however, often we do not act as if that is true. Many of us accrue as many material things as our incomes allow. For some people this means multiple homes, numerous cars, closets filled with attire that could clothe entire villages in Third World countries, expensive vacations, enough gizmos and gadgets to occupy several lifetimes. We fret over investment portfolios, agonizing when returns drop and rejoicing (temporarily) when they soar.

Yet, upon taking our final breath, everything we have amassed remains behind, left perhaps to family members and loved ones, or even to the government in the form of inheritance taxes. So if in reality we can’t take it with us, why does our behavior make it appear we think otherwise?

This is not to say material things – TVs, cell phones, computers, houses, various forms of transportation, shirts and skirts and slacks, books, boats, even bowling balls – are inherently wrong. But if they demand our full attention and devotion, it might be good to re-examine our priorities and passions. We find a decidedly different perspective on “stuff” in the Bible, one worthy of our consideration:

Material possessions make a poor master. We can use the things we possess as tools, or servants, enabling us to do the good things we have the opportunity to perform. Or they can become objects of worship, consuming our time, talent and energy. Jesus said, “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the others. You cannot serve both God and Money” (Matthew 6:24).

Material possessions demand our affections. Having enough money in our bank accounts is not bad, unless we have trouble defining what “enough” means. Too many people, however, have been driven by their obsession with bank balances and bottom lines, at the expense of deserving people around them. This is one reason Jesus 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, where 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” (Matthew 6:19-21). What did He mean by “treasures in heaven”?

Material possessions are never enough. How many people have you met who have sincerely stated, “I have everything I need. I never want another thing”? Probably not many people, if any at all. In answer to the question, “How much is enough?”, most of us if we were honest would reply, “Just a little bit more.” About this Israel’s King Solomon, reputed to be the wisest man who ever lived, wrote, “Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income…. As goods increase, so do those who consume them. And what benefit are they to the owner except to feast his eyes on them…. Naked a man comes from his mother’s womb, and as he comes, so he departs. He takes nothing from his labor that he can carry in his hand” (Ecclesiastes 5:10-15). 

© 2016. Robert J. Tamasy is vice president of communications for Leaders Legacy, Inc., a non-profit based in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.A.

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