Category: Guys With God

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Spiritual Bank Account

Got enough “stuff”? 


Years ago I was asked to help a man who had some personal life issues. 


I was still kind of new to the ministry and was a bit confused from my initial meeting with him. 


I met a man who was obviously very wealthy and powerful. 


He owned a very public and successful business, had money, and was surrounded by more material wealth than I had ever seen. 


He had what seemed to me at the time, an army of assistants and employees catering to his every need. 


In my initial first 30-second assessment, this man had it all! 


Despite all this, I was sent to help and was amazed at what I learned as I got to know this man. 


He was filled with anger and loneliness. 

Even though he was surrounded by people, along with enough material wealth and possessions to make anyone envious, HE WAS MISERABLE! 


He had no personal relationships and had estranged most of his family over the years. 


I learned that money had become his God and those material things were his mistress.

He had no real relationship with anyone. 


Long story short, I spent some time with him but it was obvious he was not having any of what I offered in my “Jesus bag and sobriety kit” as he came to call it during the few months I tried to help him. 


I was replaced by more senior ministers so I lost track of his progress but I never forgot how miserable this extremely wealthy man was. 


I felt sorry for him because despite his power and wealth he was morally bankrupt and spiritually poor

How about you? 


How is your spiritual bank account and net worth!… 


Check your experience…


“He is the Father, we are His children.” Big Book pg. 62 


Lord let our true wealth come from the richness our Spirit gains from you and our relationships with those around us, AMEN. 


“We came into this world with nothing. For sure, when we die, we will take nothing with us.” 1 Timothy 6:7 


Have a blessed day y’all! 


Join us in prayer and with your financial support as we tackle the challenge of helping and mentoring young adults aging out of the Foster Care System.


https://homesfromheaven.org/

Take Time to Listen

Take time to listen before waiting to speak… 


Have you ever caught yourself on “auto-pilot” in a conversation? 


For me, it usually happens during a familiar conversation or recurring situation. 


My mind tells me the answer before the other person even asks or finishes! 


Now maybe it’s different for you, but I catch myself going into an auto-pilot mode when I start deciding what must be done even before I have really listened and or HEARD what the other person is trying to say. 


OK, so this is part of the standard fare for raising kids under 5 when it comes to junk food and unsafe toys, we DO know the answers before they form the question, 


but this type of listening hurts us in all other aspects of our lives. 


Think about it. 


We like to be listened to, heard, and feel that we have been understood. 


 It’s a spiritual principle that we need to treat others in the same way that we wish to be treated. 


So maybe this is the 3rd time Aunt Mabel has told you the story about her trip to the grocery with the wrong coupons. 


Perhaps by actively listening to her and building conversation around her story, she may finally feel heard and stop telling you the same story. 


How do you listen?


Does the solution noise in your head drown out what the other person is trying to say? … 


Check your own experience and…


Take time to listen instead of waiting to speak. 


“We never gave the spiritual side of life a fair hearing.” Big Book pg. 50


Lord, let us listen with our hearts and hear with You Holy Spirit that resides in us all, AMEN. 


 “To answer before listening– that is folly and shame. Proverbs 18:13 


 Have a blessed day Y’all! 


Please help us help others! 


http://www.furniturebank.us/arizona-tax-credit.html 


 Donate today! 

Put On A New Self

We gotta put it on… 


Have you ever noticed that we have to make many choices daily? 


We decide what clothes to wear, what foods to eat, and even the routes to take to get us from place to place. 


Some require a lot of thought and some very little, but either way, we have to give it our thoughts and make our choice. 


It’s the same in our Spiritual life. 


Even though we are saved and promised eternal life when we take Jesus as our Lord and Savior, He still gives us the free will to choose our Spiritual walk daily. 


So how is that working out for you? 


Are you choosing to put on your Spiritual Armor daily and walk in His path? … 


Check your experience. … 


“walk day by day in the path of spiritual progress.” Big Book pg. 100 


Lord, let us put on Your Spiritual Armor daily and walk covered and protected, AMEN. 


“..and you must put on the new self, which is created in God’s likeness and reveals itself in the true life that is upright and holy.” Ephesians 4:24 


Have a blessed day Y’all! 


Join me in looking at the things we face daily with passages from both the Big Book and Bible! 


https://www.amazon.com/s?k=pastor+mark+farley&ref=nb_sb_noss 


 How about a daily dose of hope and inspired thought? 

Sick as Our Secrets

We are only as sick as our secrets… 


Sometimes withholding information is good to do, like when it is not needed for the situation at hand or could overwhelm or overload someone due to their current circumstances. 

Most of the time it pays to be transparent and not keep secrets because they have a way of coming to light, especially in this day and age with Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram, and all the other ways we socialize and communicate. 


The spiritual fact is that no matter what is in our hearts or in our minds, the Lord knows through the Holy Spirit dwelling within us. 


So maybe this doesn’t apply to you, but why is it that there are times when I think I can “pull one over” on the Lord, or feel that if I don’t look at it or pray about it He won’t know? 


I chalk it up to my weak self-will fueled by either pride or fear, depending on the motivator, but the truth is the longer I hold off from bringing it to the Lord, the harder it is for me to gain grace and be free. 


How’s this working out for you?.. 


Check your experience… 


“…we soon became as open minded on spiritual matters as we had tried to be on other questions.” Big Book pg. 48 


Lord, let us open our hearts and minds to Your grace and guidance, AMEN. 


 “For there is nothing covered up that will not be seen. There is nothing hidden that will not be known.” Luke 12:2 


Have a blessed day Y’all! 


What if you had a person who coached and mentored you in building a better life? 


 Inspired 365 Life Coaching with Mark Farley!! 


https://www.faiththroughworksfellowship.org/inspired-365-life-coaching 


Want a one-on-one coach to get you out of where you are? 


 Email today and let’s chat to see if we can make up a plan for you to get you to where you want to be! 


[email protected]


Prayer Destroys Worry

Some loaves and a few fish….. 


Sometimes when worldly needs and demands pile up we can begin to feel overwhelmed with responsibilities and requests that our minds have a hard time wrapping our heads around. 

When our heads do the math, it doesn’t always add up causing fear and anxiety. 


Just remember, if it is God’s will, it will happen, perhaps not the way we imagine, but it will happen. 

Just look at the 4000 Jesus fed with 7 loaves and few fish! … 


“Our ideas did not work, but the God idea did.” Big Book pg. 52 


Lord, let us bring our needs, wants, and desires to You in prayer and pray to WANT what we get and not to GET what we think we want! AMEN 


 “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.” Philippians 4:6


 Have a blessed day Y’all! 


Join me in looking at the things we face daily with passages from both the Big Book and Bible! 


https://www.amazon.com/s?k=pastor+mark+farley&ref=nb_sb_noss 


How about a daily dose of hope and inspired thought? 

Sources of Wisdom

Another type of “Book Learnin'”… 


We go to school for 12 or more years to get our education. 


Most of us get some sort of on-the-job training from our employers. 


A lot of us get many educational lessons from the school of hard knocks. 


And a few of us get ongoing education from our Big Book and its daily 12 Step practices. 


But what about Spiritual learning? 


I have yet to see it on any applications in the working world. 


The lessons I am finally learning in life come from the Bible and being in God’s will and Word daily. 

Maybe it’s different for you, but my wisdom comes from applying the words in God’s Book to my life. 


… Check your experience. … 


“There had been a humble willingness to have Him with me and He came. But soon the sense of His presence had been blotted out by worldly clamors, mostly those within myself.
 
And so it has been ever since. How blind I had been.” Big Book pg. 12&13 


Lord let us walk daily in Your Will and Word to gain the wisdom we need, AMEN. 


“But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure and full of quiet gentleness.  Then it is peace-loving and courteous. It allows discussion and is willing to yield to others; it is full of mercy and good deeds. It is wholehearted and straightforward and sincere.” James 3:17
 


 Have a blessed day y’all! 


What if you had a person who coached and mentored you in building a better life? 


Inspired 365 Life Coaching with Mark Farley!! 


https://www.faiththroughworksfellowship.org/inspired-365-life-coaching 


Want a one-on-one coach to get you out of where you are? 


 Email today and let’s chat to see if we can make up a plan for you to get you to where you want to be! 


[email protected]

Static Noise

Static noise…


Back in the day before technology advanced to what we have today, we used to dial the radio to find a station and suffer through the static noise as we searched for the station we wanted. 


Over the years I have noticed that static noise has taken on a new approach with technological advances. 


Have you experienced a pop-up ad on your computer or television? 


How about the ads that interrupt the “free” Pandora Radio that we don’t want to pay subscription prices for? 


It seems static is all around us in the form of unneeded and unwanted sights and sounds. 


I have learned to tune it out by focusing on what I am trying to hear or see. 


We have the same challenge with our spiritual development too. 


Now maybe it’s different for you, but it seems that when I am trying to pray, study, or spend time in the Word, the worldly clamors of sights and sounds try to get my attention. 


I have to truly focus my heart, mind, and soul in order to allow the Holy Spirit to fill me. 


How’s it working out for you?.. 


Check your experience…  


“But soon the sense of His presence had been blotted out by worldly clamors, mostly those within myself.” Big Book pg. 13 


Lord, let us tune our hearts, minds, and souls into Your Word and Your will, AMEN. 


“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind,” Romans 12:2 


Have a blessed day Y’all! 


Join me in looking at the things we face daily with passages from both the Big Book and Bible! 


https://www.amazon.com/s?k=pastor+mark+farley&ref=nb_sb_noss 


How about a daily dose of hope and inspired thought? 

Actions or Intentions?

Actions or Intentions … 


Perhaps you are free of this or have no issues with it, but it’s an age-old twist on our thinking that causes a lot of us to become resentful, jealous, envious, or even bitter. 

We want people to judge us by our intentions while we choose to judge others by their actions. 


It’s another condition of being human. 


The solution is pretty simple. 

We must own this twist of thinking and correct it through our own actions and efforts and not our intentions. 


Think about it; are we able to see the results of others or our own intentions? 


I INTENDED to lose weight…. I INTENDED to get my college degree…. I INTENDED to be a better husband and father….. 


It carries no lasting effects. 


Only actions on our part bring the desired and needed results. … 


Check your experience. … 


“It is easy to let up on the spiritual program of action and rest on our laurels.” Big Book pg. 85 


 Lord let us put actions behind our efforts to be better people, seeking Your will and not our own, AMEN. 


“let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.” 1 John 3:18 


Have a blessed day Y’all! 


 Join us in prayer and with your financial support as we tackle the challenge of helping and mentoring young adults aging out of the Foster Care System.


https://homesfromheaven.org/ 

Praying to Want What We Get

Focus… 


It’s amazing to me how elite athletes stay focused on their game despite the distractions all around them, or how actors and artists keep their focus on their craft and avoid distractions. 


It’s a great testimony to how focus leads to the end result. 


Spiritually speaking, we have the same opportunity with our focus. 


Practice in prayer over the years has taught me that when I focus my prayer life on being in tune with God’s will for the person, place, or thing I am praying for…


I get the blessing to be free from praying to GET what I WANT


 ….and instead….


 I have the Spirit, heart, and mind to WANT what I GET from my prayers. 


How’s this working out for you? 


Check your experience… 


“praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.” Big Book pg. 59 


Lord. Let us pray to want what we get instead of praying to get what we want, AMEN. 


“Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion.” Ephesians 6:18 


Have a blessed day Y’all! 


Please help us help others! 


http://www.furniturebank.us/arizona-tax-credit.html 


Donate today!