How to cope in the unpleasant workplace By Marie Grossett

It's Monday morning the alarm goes off; it's that time again to get up to go to work. You slowly wake up, sluggishly get out of the bed unenthusiastic about going to a job that you dislike, but those bills need to be paid and the family needs looking after.

If you love your job then that's great you'll be excited about getting up in the morning. But if you were like me getting up to a job you're not passionate about, and where the management aren't friendly this can be an unpleasant situation. I know I've been there.

I use to work in customer services at my local council. To me every day getting up was a chore. Don't get me wrong I was grateful to God that he gave me a job, but in all honesty I didn't like it. It wasn't my passion to hear people complaining and having self pity, it wasn't my passion to work for people who didn't even give me the time of day only speaking to me if they needed something done. So how did I cope?

Ephesians 6:5 'Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ. Obey them not only to win their favour when their eye is on you, but like slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart. Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord not men, because you know that the Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does, whether he is slave or free.'

Every morning before I'd go to work I would have to read that scripture. I had to remind myself that I needed to do the job I was given to the best of my ability, I'm there as a servant of the Lord to be a light in the darkness. All I had to do was just be obedient, get on with my work and be polite to everybody even if they were not polite to me.

Once I started doing that, I stopped moaning about the fact I had to get up to 'go to this place,' as I use to say and just got on with it, I began to feel much happier going to work.
Sometimes as Christians we forget it's not about us it's about God. He put us in our workplace for a reason, maybe were suppose to meet somebody for a particular season, maybe we need to witness to a particular person, whatever it is you are there for God's purpose not your own.

If you really want to leave your job and find something better pray that God would give you something else, but in the meantime do the job you're in wholeheartedly. Remember you are there for Christ and to be an ambassador for him. I know its hard finding the motivation to do something that you're not passionate about, but you can do all things through Christ that strengthens you.

Next time you get up to go to work rather than moan say 'Lord thank you for this job, give me the strength and the enthusiasm to do this job to the best of my ability. Lead me to someone that I could encourage or witness to today as Lord I'm in this place for a time and a season, for your purpose, it's all about you Lord and not about me for I am a mere servant called to do your work,'

Remember there are some people out there wishing they had a job. Let's not take for granted what we have, as God sees how we handle the small things first before he gives us the bigger things.

May God bless you this day and thank you for reading the article.


Marie Grossett aka Vanessa Grossett is a published Author of the book 'Don't Look Back', Published by Tate Publishing & Enterprises. She is also the Director of Keeping It Real Magazine the magazine.

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The Little Girl and the Atheist On the Plane

An atheist was seated next to a little girl on an airplane and he turned to her
and said, "Do you want to talk?
Flights go quicker if you strike up a conversation with your fellow passenger."
The little girl, who had just started to read her book, replied to the total
stranger, "What would you want to talk about?"
" Oh, I don't know," said the atheist. "How about why there is no God, or no
Heaven or Hell, or no life after death?" as he smiled smugly. "
OK," she said. "Those could be interesting topics but let me ask you a question
first. A horse, a cow, and a deer all eat the same stuff -grass. Yet a deer
excretes little pellets, while a cow turns out a flat patty, but a horse
produces clumps. Why do you suppose that is?"
The atheist, visibly surprised by the little girl's intelligence, thinks about
it and says, "Hmmm, I have no idea."
To which the little girl replies, "Do you really feel qualified to discuss why
there is no God, or no Heaven or Hell, or no life after death, when you don't
know crap?" And then she went back to reading her book.

Jesus Story: Back to Cana

Joh 4:43-54
After Jesus and His disciples spent two days in Samaria they went to Cana of
Galilee.

I assume they passed through Nazareth because of the comment made that Jesus
testified that a prophet had no honor in His home town. We read in the other
gospels the trouble He had when He was there last. Luke_4:24.

The people of Galilee received Him gladly. They had gone down to the feast in
Jerusalem and heard about all the things He had done. I imagine them laughing
with each other asking, " Did you see the look on the temple leaders' faces when
He over turned their tables?", and spoke of the miracles.

When a noblemen from Capernaum heard that He had arrived from Judea, he went to
Him to ask for the healing of his dying son.

Jesus accused him of not believing unless he saw the miracle. Many people brag
so much on the blessings they get from the Lord because of their giving that I
wonder if they would serve Him if He withheld all the blessings from them. I
know the Bible promises blessings to the children of God, but we must allow the
Lord to work His will in our lives. We must be willing to take the bad if it is
His will to work in us that way. A child of God moves his Father's heart when he
serves Him when the times are bad and does not desert the Him. When the Lord
feed the multitude and they wanted to crown Him king there on the spot, Jesus
fled because He refused to be followed just because He supplied needs and He
will not be forced. Let's not force the Lord to bless with scripture. Claim His
promises, but I say again, "allow Him to work His will in our lives".
John_6:15 He wants our total trust. That's what He wanted from the nobleman.

Jesus sent him away telling him his son us healed. It was around 20 miles from
Cana to Capernaum. Jesus did not make a fancy prayer. He just spoke and the boy
was healed over 20 miles away. Power was given when the man "believed His word".

Why can'nt we just believe without seeing and trust the Lord? To just believe
His word blesses the Lord. Let us bless Him. Instead of always wanting to be
blessed.
We have seen in the scriptures Christ first meet with a Religous leader in
Jerusalem, then meet with a half-breed adulterous in Samaria, now he meets the
need of a nobleman from Capernaum. He is truly the Lord of all.

Jesus Story: The Wedding in Cana

In the book of John chapter two we have the only account of a wedding feast attended by Jesus and His disciples. This means nothing except that John was lead to record it and the others were not. It is a wonderful picture of Christ's character to see that the first recorded event that He took the disciples to was a celebration. A wedding.
There have been many assumptions about this story by well meaning ministers and Hollywood. I would like to first address a couple of these and keep in mind that this story is about Jesus and all of the other characters in the story are extras and not meant to be scrutinized. It was not written to present doctrine. When we stray from Jesus and focus too much on others and events, we risk the danger of taking our eyes off Jesus and sinking into the deepest of error.
For example, Mary is shown in movies as being a relative of the couple. No where does it say this, although Mary seems to be overly concerned about the wine running out and making the family look bad. Either she was a relative, a busy body or just a compassionate person noticing that the "MC" was not doing his job by tending to the wine. Many have tried to prove that Mary is not so important because Jesus called her "Woman" and not Mother. Mary did give some very good advice, " What ever He says to you, do it." But again these passages are not about Mary, although "Blessed is she among all Women". This story is about Jesus.
Another example is how many use the fact of the MC calling the wine Jesus made as "good" to show that Jesus made unfermented wine and we as Christians should not drink it also. But these verses are not about the wine. Whether the unfermented wine was drank last so the people would not get drunk all through the ceremony or the fermented wine was served first. Who knows and really, "Who cares?" This story is about Jesus.
Some have tried to use numerology to set some kind of mystic meaning to the number of pots used and how much they held. But in truth all it shows is that a lot of water was used. This story is about Jesus and not a bunch of pots.
Now to the point, when I read this story about Jesus I saw the finger of God all over it. A story no earthly man could have conceived. You see the story, which is a fact, is also a prophecy as to the way Christ's ministry on earth will end. As it states, " in three days." We remember the stories of Jonah and Lazarus and how these stories point to the Resurrection of Jesus. This event is the same. It points to Jesus rising again on the third day to complete the task giving Him, as in the deliverance of Jonah from the great fish and Lazarus from the grave. We see in this picture that the pots used in the obedience of the law, were used to produce wine by Jesus. We know that wine is symbolic of His blood being shed
for our transgressions. Out of the pots that were set aside, consecrated and used only for the purification ritual, came grace. Showing that law became grace and that's when the party got into full swing. The celebration really started then. Only the Lord could have set this up to show us He had a plan from the beginning. NO man could have done this. The Bible truly is a remarkable book and inspired by God.

Seeking the Kingdom

Our Pastor, Bro. Robert, has been teaching us on prayer. The other day he
mentioned Luke 12:32 and the three aspects of God seen in this one verse.
"Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you
the kingdom."
1st God is a Shephard. Jesus the Good Shepard always cares for the sheep. See
the 23rd Psalms
2nd God is a Father. A real father always wants to bless His children.
3rd God is a King. Jesus is the King of Kings. And it is His pleasure to give it
to us. Not to give us control of it, but to set it up for us to live in.

In full control of His reign.
These are three really good marks of the Lord. Those who say He is venageful and
hatful just don't know Him like I do.And in knowing this I have no problem
seeking the Kingdom First (Luke 12:31)

Just Read: Rescue by John Bevere & Mark Olsen

My wife, Stephanna, just read a book and gave it to me about three days ago with
the challenge to get it read by Sunday. I started it that day and finished it in
two days.
The book was, "Rescue" by John Bevere and Mark Olsen. I do not believe I have
ever read any of John or Marks books before. I am familiar with Mark's
"Hadassah: One Night With The King". This book was written in 2006 and published by Bethany House.
I found it to be a very good work of fiction with a lot of Biblical truth and
teaching, mixed in with a little suspense. I believe Steph wanted me to read it
before Sunday because it dealt a lot with Church, the Gospel, marriage, divorce
and just plain relationships without being sentimental worldview dribble. A good
look at how what looks like a great church on the outside can be deceiving. But
we want beat that dead horse.
I really recommend that everyone from Pastor down get a hold of this book and
read it. Caution through, it might mess up some of your theology.

What Color Is Your Blood?

"For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which he was betrayed took bread;" 1 Cor. 11:23 NKJV

Since I have been ministering the Communion part of our worship service on Sundays, I have noticed that the night discussed is always referred as, “the night He (Jesus) was betrayed”. Not the night of the Lord’s Supper or Communion Night. This speaks to me. Many times before that night the Lord warned His disciples and they did not heed.

Matt. 17:22 & Luke 9:44, Matt. 20:18 & Mark 10:33, Matt. 26:2

In Luke 9:44 He told them, “to let these words sink down into your ears”, and they did not hear.

You may ask, ”What does this mean to us?”. To me it means that not only did Jesus know far ahead of His betrayal, In Luke 21:16 He told us to expect it also.

Now, what I shared in Church is this: How we react when we have been betrayed is a good measurement of our spirituality. It shows us and others just how much we are like Christ. Or not.

Years ago in high school, BC, I carried a large knife in my back pocket. One day in class a good friend of mine pulled the knife out of my back pocket and cut me in the back (about one inch). It bleed as if he had stabbed me. Being my friend and knowing he did not mean to harm me, I made up a good lie to tell the teacher that patched me up. He either has naive and believed me or just did not want to deal with it.

Anyway, it was easy to forgive a friend. It is hard to forgive a person you thought was a friend but stabs you in the back. I bleed red. My scar healed a long time ago. When we are betrayed, what is in us comes out. We show our true colors.

Do we bleed spiritually like Jesus bleeds. With forgiveness.

In Luke 17:4 it reads,” And if he trespasses against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turns again to you, saying, I repent, you shall forgive him. “

That’s a lot of stab wounds. But we have a Lord that heals. If we bleed like Him.

Just Read: Torches of Joy by John Dekker

If you loved the books "Eternity In Their Hearts" and "Peace Child" by Don Richardson, you will read without putting down, "Torches of Joy" by John Dekker. Although the story took place in the 1960's and the book was written in the 1980's it is still up-to-date.
I just found, read, and devoured the book.
It tells the story of missionaries John and Helen Dekker’s ministry to the stone-age tribe of the Danis in the jungles of Irian Jaya. It chronicles the start and growth of the Church in Irian Jaya. It could be viewed as a volume of the book of Acts continued.
The troubling aspect of the book for me is that if a stone-age tribe that does not even have a written language can grow in Christ in such a short time, what is wrong with us? By the end of the third year, there more than 100 Danis had been baptized, Churches were being established, with elders, and the first Pastor ordained. By the fifth year the first Danis had responded to help evangelize another tribe. By the eighth year, the Church sent out missionaries that were graduates of its own three year Bible School. And the growth moves on.
This is an inspiring true story that every Christian should read and learn by.
The ministry of John and Helen Dekker was the results of different mission organizations that must be mentioned. The Prairie Bible College in Alberta, Canada, the Regions Beyond Missionary Union, Wycliffe Bible Translator’s Summer Institute of Linguistics, and Missionary Aviation Fellowship.

Memorial Day Post

Just wanted to remember some family on memorial day. Since MD started with our country remembering those who died during the Civil War, I would like to acknowledge two that gave their lives. I do not know if they had family to caring on so I'll do this to remember them.
Joel Brooks went off to war with five of his sons. He and my 2nd great grandfather returned to leave the line that I am from. But two Samuel's brothers did not.
Balaam Brooks of the 1st Al. Perote Guards was captured at Is. 10, survived Camp Randell and was killed at the siege of Port Hudson. Port Hudson was the last Confederate stronghold to fall on the Mississippi River and not Vicksburg. The Confederates got to the point they had to boil their shoe leather to eat in order to survive. Only after they got the news that Vicksburg fell did they surrender.He was killed before the end. As fare as I can tell his father Joel who's service was up went to Port Hudson to be with his boys and stayed for the siege. He is listed at the park that is there now but not listed in the official Alabama records.
Lucius D. Brooks of the 60th Al. was killed by a snipper at Petersburg, Va. The report says minnie ball which makes me think he was shot by a confederate, but let's stick with the official record.
Both of these I would like to remember. There are more details of their service but I let it go.
My father served in the navy was not in any war. And I take it MD is for those who died in war time.
To those who served , RIP
(All Direct bloodline to me exept 4 of Joel's sons)
Joel Brooks 1st. Al. Co.G
John Brooks s/o Joel 34th Al. Co. A & 60th Co. A
Lucious D. Brooks s/o Joel 60th Al. Co. B (Killed)
Andrew J. Brooks s/o Joel 1st. Al. Co.C (Missing)
Balaam Brooks s/o Joel 1st. Al. Co.C & B (Killed)
Samuel Brooks s/o Joel 1st. Al. Co.G
John E. Cook 1st. Al. Co.G
Edward Y. Martin 60th Al. Co. C
Elish W. Blankenship 33rd & 60th Al.
A. Matthew Grantham 1st Al. Co. I (Died POW)
J. Andrew Grantham 18th & 39th Al. (Died POW)
William R. Albrittion Provost Guard (Killed)
Jasper E. Barnes 3rd Reg. Hillard's Leg. 59th Al
Dempsy Cook 4th Reg. Ga. St. Trps Co. G