Sunday / Resurrection Day is coming! … Even though we seem to see a lot of questioning, and political challenges to our Christian faith today, Jesus faced even more intense opposition and persecution during His time. The various leaders of the time were out to protect either their religious and or military power. They were determined to not let this popular renegade named Jesus become a symbol of challenge, start a cause, and bring cultural change. Thank goodness even their best efforts could not stop the power of God! Empires have tried to bury and destroy the gospel for centuries, but no one can keep Jesus’ body in the grave. His resurrection power lives on and is spreading across the earth! It’s apparent in the lives of all who believe and take Jesus as their personal Savior. All I can share with you is to compare your own life before and after you accepted Christ as your Savior. My life is blessed beyond my wildest dreams since I began walking with Jesus and following His Word many years ago. …..Please, check your own experience…. . “What seemed at first a flimsy reed, has proved to be the loving and powerful hand of God.” Big Book pg 28. Lord, thank You for Jesus and the promise of eternal life when we make Him our Lord and Savior, AMEN. “So give the order for the tomb to be made secure until the third day. Otherwise, his disciples may come and steal the body and tell the people that he has been raised from the dead. This last deception will be worse than the first. Take a guard, Pilate answered. Go, make the tomb as secure as you know how.” Matthew 27:64-65 Have a blessed day y’all! Daily devotions with the Big Book and Bible combined! Paperback and Kindle versions are now available!! Every penny goes to support Faith Through Works Fellowship ministries including our beloved Furniture Bank! Please order yours today and help us help others! https://smile.amazon.com/Daily-Devotions-Pastor-Mark-Devotionals/dp/1980273847/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1520092403&sr=8-2&keywords=pastor+mark+farley

So why is it called GOOD Friday and not Friday MOURNING?.. If today is the day that Jesus died on the cross, what is so good about that? Because of something so very bad happening on this day, we have all received something eternally and forever good. The tragedy and horror of Jesus’ death followed 2 days later with His resurrection resulted in the eternal and everlasting opportunity for anyone and everyone who turns to God, through Jesus Christ, to be forgiven from their sins and to receive eternal life. So the great part of today is that what happened long ago can give anyone who asks eternal life. Those of us who believe and receive this know from our experience of getting to know Jesus through His Word and because the Holy Spirit enters our life and shows us a whole new way to think and live…. Check your experience …. “To us, the Realm of Spirit is broad, roomy, all inclusive; never exclusive or forbidding to those who earnestly seek.” Big Book pg 46. Lord, thank you for the ultimate sacrifice for our sins to give us eternal life, AMEN. “When he had received the drink, Jesus said, "It is finished." With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.” John 19:30 Have a blessed day y’all! Daily devotions with the Big Book and Bible combined! Paperback and Kindle versions are now available!! Every penny goes to support Faith Through Works Fellowship ministries including our beloved Furniture Bank! Please order yours today and help us help others! https://smile.amazon.com/Daily-Devotions-Pastor-Mark-Devotionals/dp/1980273847/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1520092403&sr=8-2&keywords=pastor+mark+farley

Is it me or them? …. Maybe it’s different for you, but it has always been easier for me to blame “them” whenever things don’t go my way. It’s “their” fault I did not get my way, or it’s because of “them” I failed…..Now that I am older and have been walking in sobriety and with Christ for a while, I have learned it’s not “them” causing my pain, rather, it’s me. The desire to want to blame others is a part of being human and self-will driven by pride, fear, and expectations. These days whenever my desire to blame “them” crops up, I immediately look at what is going on inside of me that needs to change so I can accept the situation, thing, person, or place exactly as it is and understand that through seeking God’s will and not my own self-centered will, I will gain acceptance and not be so caught up in the drama of the moment. … Check your experience. ….. . “and Acceptance is the answer to ALL of my problems today. When I am disturbed, it is because I find some person, place, thing or situation- some fact of my life- unacceptable to me, and I can find no serenity until I accept that person, place, thing, or situation as being exactly the way it is supposed to be at this moment. Nothing, absolutely nothing, happens in God's world by mistake. … I need to concentrate not so much on what needs to be changed in the world as on what needs to be changed in me and in my attitudes. Big Book pg 417 0r 449 (older edition) Lord soften our hearts s that we may see things as they are through the eyes of the Holy Spirit within us and not be blinded by the illusions of our own self-will, AMEN. "Those people are on a dark spiral downward. But if you think that leaves you on the high ground where you can point your finger at others, think again. Every time you criticize someone, you condemn yourself. It takes one to know one.” Romans 2: 1-2 Have a blessed day y’all! Furniture Bank has been nominated for nonprofit of the year!! WE NEED YOUR VOTES!!!!! AZ Foothills Magazine will be giving away a media sponsorship package to the winner! 1 vote per email address per day now through April 27 https://www.arizonafoothillsmagazine.com/nonprofit-of-the-year-2018/voting/227.html

All we gotta do is ask?!?... Maybe it’s different for you, but I have a real hard time asking for help. I am not talking about my ministry and all our volunteer projects, I mean asking for help with my personal flaws and shortcomings. It’s easy to help others but sometimes it’s hard for me to help myself, let alone ask for assistance. This is pride and fear at work. They block the Holy Spirit from helping by filling my mind with self-centered thoughts of fear and shame, preventing my heart from showing me the path to the truth. When I finally block the pride and quiet the fear to ask for help, things not only get better, but also I get to learn that I am not alone in my shortcomings. Jesus makes it easy for us to ask for help, but our pride, fear, shame, and even anger prevent us from receiving His grace and help…Check your experience… “We had to have God's help.” Big Book pg 62 Lord, let us drop the rocks of pride, fear, and anger to allow Your Holy Spirit to help and heal us, AMEN. “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” Matthew 7:7 Have a blessed day y’all! THERE IS STILL TIME to get your 2016 AZ Tax Credit! YES for 2017! Come on now….MAKE A DIFFERENCE! $400 provides furniture to make a house into a home for our clients and families escaping homelessness and hopelessness. Furniture Bank is a 501c3 public charity and every penny donated goes toward helping our families, veterans, and individuals in need. We are in the hand-UP business and not the HANDOUT GAME! You can donate any amount for a tax deduction and tax receipt, BUT…. a gift of either $400 as an individual or $800 as a couple to Furniture Bank, Inc. a 501c3 public charity, can also reduce your tax bill to the State of Arizona by that amount dollar for dollar! Visit our website www.FurnitureBank.us and click on the PayPal button for a secure transaction and tax receipt that will follow within 48 hours. Please help us help others! We are in the hand-UP business and not the HANDOUT GAME! Please help us help others! http://www.furniturebank.us/arizona-tax-credit.html

We get out of it what we put in to it. ... ​Here is a twist of thinking I learned long ago that has not only helped me to grow as a person, and as God's kid, but also has helped me to be more in tune to the needs of others. It’s very simple. Instead of seeing what I can get from every interaction I have with people, places, and things, I see what I can bring to it. The feeling is amazing and the outcome is usually better than I expect, plus I have gotten to know people ​ ​on a deeper level! It changed my perspective and now instead of having expectations of how I think things should go, I now have blessed peace just looking to see how I can help. Go on, give it a try and as always....Check your experience… "But be sure you are on solid spiritual ground before you start and that your motive in going is thoroughly good. Do not think of what you will get out of the occasion. Think of what you can​ ​bring to it.​" Big Book pg 102 Lord, let us see what we can bring to a situation instead of always looking to see what we can get from it, AMEN. "Here is a simple, rule-of-thumb guide for behavior: Ask yourself what you want people to do for you, then grab the initiative and do it for them.” Matthew 7:12​ ​ Have a blessed day y’all! Daily devotions with the Big Book and Bible combined! Paperback and Kindle versions are now available!! Every penny goes to support Faith Through Works Fellowship ministries including our beloved Furniture Bank! Please order yours today and help us help others! https://smile.amazon.com/Daily-Devotions-Pastor-Mark-Devotionals/dp/1980273847/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1520092403&sr=8-2&keywords=pastor+mark+farley

We can't keep it unless we give it away. ...This is one of the best thought tools I have come to rely on over the years. The version I learned was phrased like this; "You can’t keep it unless you give it away." It's an action thought that has never failed me since I began my walk with Christ and in sobriety. Unless I am willing to help another, I am not in a position to spiritually receive the gifts the Lord blesses me with. Now this doesn't mean we should give away everything we have, or start a crusade to end world homelessness, but it does mean that each day we should open the eyes of our hearts to see how we can best be of service to someone around us. ...Check your experience…. "Helping others is the foundation stone" Big Book pg. 97. Lord, please open the eyes of our heart daily to see how we can best serve another, AMEN. "…that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." James 1:27. Have a blessed day y'all! Furniture Bank has been nominated for nonprofit of the year!! WE NEED YOUR VOTES!!!!! AZ Foothills Magazine will be giving away a media sponsorship package to the winner! 1 vote per email address per day now through April 27 https://www.arizonafoothillsmagazine.com/nonprofit-of-the-year-2018/voting/227.html

There is one thing that doesn't change. .... Change is constant in our world. Styles change, seasons change, tastes change, and our preferences change too. Change never seems to stop, and it can be confusing. I still miss having a cassette deck in my car and my mullet! However there is one thing that will never change no matter whether we choose to participate or not. God is constant in our lives and is there for us if we let Him… Check your experience… "Our whole attitude and outlook upon life will change …….We will suddenly realize that God is doing for us what we could not do for ourselves." Big Book pg 84. Lord let our hearts take comfort in knowing that no matter what, You do not and will not change your love for us, AMEN. "For I am the LORD, I do not change" Malachi 3:6. Have a blessed day y'all! THERE IS STILL TIME to get your 2017 AZ Tax Credit! YES for 2017! Come on now….MAKE A DIFFERENCE! $400 provides furniture to make a house into a home for our clients and families escaping homelessness and hopelessness. Furniture Bank is a 501c3 public charity and every penny donated goes toward helping our families, veterans, and individuals in need. We are in the hand-UP business and not the HANDOUT GAME! You can donate any amount for a tax deduction and tax receipt, BUT…. a gift of either $400 as an individual or $800 as a couple to Furniture Bank, Inc. a 501c3 public charity, can also reduce your tax bill to the State of Arizona by that amount dollar for dollar! Visit our website www.FurnitureBank.us and click on the PayPal button for a secure transaction and tax receipt that will follow within 48 hours. Please help us help others! We are in the hand-UP business and not the HANDOUT GAME! Please help us help others! http://www.furniturebank.us/arizona-tax-credit.html