It’s all in how you ask… Have you ever asked or prayed for something only to either not get it or get something you were not expecting? For years I have been asking and praying for weight loss, six pack abs, and a Tim Berry physique but y’all know that ain’t happening! I am sure many folks ask to win the lottery, but we all know how that goes! The thing I have learned in my sobriety and in my walk with Jesus is that it is OK to ask for things….BUT…. make sure we are asking with an open mind, willing heart, and correct motives. It seems all these years I have asked for the weight loss while not being completely willing to do the required work on my part with diet and exercise. When I do ask in prayer with the right motives, the right things happen. So, for me, the lesson is to look at my motives before asking in prayer to make sure they are backed by willingness and effort on my part. When I do this, things tend to work out pretty well. How’s this working out for you in your asking and prayer life?.. Check your experience… “Before we begin, we ask God to direct our thinking, especially asking that it be divorced from self-pity, dishonest or self-seeking motives.” Big Book pg 86 Lord let us ask You for anything with an open mind, willing heart and motives not based on self-will, AMEN. “You do not get things because you do not ask for them. Or if you do ask, you do not receive because your reasons for asking are wrong. You want these things only to please yourselves.” James 4: 3-4 Have a blessed day y’all! Did you know that you can receive up to $800 in an AZ tax credit with a donation to Furniture Bank? Every penny goes toward helping our families and individuals in need. Please pray and consider helping us as we help others! www.FurnitureBank.us

Motives and efforts…. Ever heard the saying you get OUT of it what you PUT IN to it? Great examples of this are folks that run their first Triathlons, lose massive amounts or weight, win their first body building contest, or achieve some other life altering change for the good. The secret to success in each of these examples is that while they were training and working to achieve their goal, they constantly made sure their efforts matched their motives daily. We can use this “secret” in our everyday lives for ordinary things as well. This is a biblical principle that never changes! From being a better person, to overcoming an uncomfortable situation, if we measure our motives and match them to our efforts we will see change.. How well or your efforts matching your motives?... Check your experience… . “Keep on the firing line of life with these motives and God will keep you unharmed.” Big Book pg 102 Lord, let us provide the efforts needed along with the right motives to bring the healthy changes into our lives and strengthen our walk with you, AMEN. “People may be pure in their own eyes, but the Lord examines their motives. Commit your actions to the Lord, and your plans will succeed.” Proverbs 16: 2-3 Have a blessed day y’all! Grab a daily shot of positive and inspiration! Daily devotions from 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=smi_www_rco2_go_smi_1405964225?_encoding=UTF8&ie=UTF8&keywords=pastor%20mark%20farley&qid=1524849607&sr=8-3

There are many things that I am grateful for. Too many to list here, but most of all I am grateful for my salvation, sobriety, and serenity. I am thankful for my family, friends, and ministry. It’s a spiritual principle that I try to live daily… We cannot keep it unless we give it away…. “We thank God from the bottom of our heart” Big Book pg 75 Thank you Lord for my family, my friends and the bounty of blessings You allow them to bring in my life AMEN. “I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.” Philippians 4:11-12 Happy Thanksgiving y’all!! Have a blessed day y’all! Hey friends please check out Servants Hearts! http://ServantsHearts.us it’s a free site to help connect folks with volunteer and helping opportunities! Furniture Bank, Spiritual Solutions Group, and Advocate Phoenix are please to share the newest free service from Faith Through Works Fellowship! It’s Phoenix based for now. Pray for its growth to provide helping hearts and willing hands to our organizations that need help! http://ServantsHearts.us

Humility is way different than humiliation…. Humility is a good virtue that allows us to acknowledge others and respect their dignity, talents, and opinions. Humility is not weakness; it’s a spirit of self-examination that through seeking and doing God’s will prevents us from becoming selfish and arrogant. Humiliation is a painful emotion that we feel when we’ve been shamed. It’s a negative response that usually comes as a consequence of our own selfish actions. I used to confuse the 2 words, I think a lot of corporate America still does. I have learned that a humble person is a powerful person who has a firm relationship with God, self, and others. A humiliated person tends to be isolated and suffer from their own actions based on self-centered fears, greed, and pride. How do you see yourself?... Check your experience… “Belief in the power of God, plus enough willingness, honesty and humility to establish and maintain the new order of things, were the essential requirements.” Big Book pg 13 Lord, let us humble ourselves to be strengthened and fortified by our Word, grace, and promises. AMEN. “If you are wise and understand God’s ways, prove it by living an honorable life, doing good works with the humility that comes from wisdom. But if you are bitterly jealous and there is selfish ambition in your heart, For jealousy and selfishness are not God’s kind of wisdom. For wherever there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there you will find disorder and evil of every kind.” James 3: 13-16 Have a blessed day y’all! Help Homeless Families, Veterans, elderly, and those in need! Contribute to the Arizona Charitable Tax Credit program (ARS 43-1088), you can earn a dollar for dollar tax credit on your tax return while supporting children and families as they escape homelessness and move back into homes and jobs. For more information visit www.furniturebank.us

A different way to “Google”…. Google has made life a lot easier for me! It seems whatever I need to know; from directions to anywhere to what is the name of the actress that played Lorelai on Gilmore Girls, Google has it for me in a split second! How convenient and time saving it is! If only I could get answers to my moral and self-will challenges along with my spiritual directions from Google. While Google will attempt to answer our life questions and offer spiritual direction, it can’t see our hearts or know our soul like the Holy Spirit does. Thank goodness we can find those answers WHEN we become willing to ask, look, and receive. How is this working out for you? Are you turning to your internal Google in the form of the Holy Spirit when times are confusing or uncomfortable?... Check your experience… “Here we ask God for inspiration, an intuitive thought or a decision. Big Book pg 86 Lord, let us ask You for guidance and direction with open minds and hearts, AMEN. “If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waiver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind.” James 1: 5-6 Have a blessed day y’all! Grab a daily shot of positive and inspiration! Daily devotions from 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=smi_www_rco2_go_smi_1405964225?_encoding=UTF8&ie=UTF8&keywords=pastor%20mark%20farley&qid=1524849607&sr=8-3

Truly helping others… As Thanksgiving week begins, it’s a great time of year to not only be grateful for our blessings, but also to look to help and bless others. There are plenty of food drives, meals for the less fortunate, and other community collective efforts that we can all participate in and hopefully we all can do our part. What we may not necessarily consider however is the fact that we can help others daily that are already in our lives. The verse I am sharing abut today talks about feeding the hungry, caring for the sick, and clothing the naked, BUT…what I want to draw your attention to is there are folks in our daily walk despite being fully clothed and well fed who are spiritually malnourished, heart sick, and naked to the worldly clamors we face daily. We can and must help our friends, family, and coworkers who suffer from spiritual malnourishment. How are you spiritually feeding, clothing, and helping those around you? Its amazing what a kind word, a helping hand, and even an anonymous gift of money or assistance can do!.. Check your experience… “Helping others is the foundation stone” Big Book pg 97 Lord, let us open our hearts to freely share Your Holy Spirit and the grace of Jesus with those in our lives who are silently suffering spiritually, AMEN. “For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.” Matthew 25: 35-36 Have a blessed day y’all! Hey friends please check out Servants Hearts! http://ServantsHearts.us it’s a free site to help connect folks with volunteer and helping opportunities! Furniture Bank, Spiritual Solutions Group, and Advocate Phoenix are please to share the newest free service from Faith Through Works Fellowship! It’s Phoenix based for now. Pray for its growth to provide helping hearts and willing hands to our organizations that need help! http://ServantsHearts.us

1. Watch your tongue… It’s that time of year when we gather together with family, friends, and others to fellowship, celebrate, and spend time with others that we may not see that often. Hopefully these times are full of fun, love, create more warm memories. This can also be a time where our petty differences, resentments, and unchecked emotions can try to take the stage in front of the captive audience gathered. Please take this as a suggestion and guard your words! Our self-will can override our spiritual connection during times of stress and anxiety leading to all sorts of words and actions that we later regret. Hopefully you can direct those nasty words to stay inside your head and not come rolling off your tongue. Remember the Holy Spirit lives within you and can give you grace, peace, and comfort during these times IF you let Him… Check your experience… “Patience, tolerance, understanding and love are the watchwords.” Big Book pg 118 Lord, let our words be driven from love and kindness and not from motives of hurt and pain, AMEN. “So also the tongue is a small thing, but what enormous damage it can do, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is always ready to pour out its deadly poison. Sometimes it praises our heavenly Father, and sometimes it breaks out into curses against men…” James 3:5-9 Have a blessed day y’all! Help Homeless Families, Veterans, elderly, and those in need! Contribute to the Arizona Charitable Tax Credit program (ARS 43-1088), you can earn a dollar for dollar tax credit on your tax return while supporting children and families as they escape homelessness and move back into homes and jobs. For more information visit www.furniturebank.us