Good morning; I am reminded in scripture as Jesus came to the close of His earthly ministry, how He took time to eat the Last Supper with His disciples. He took time to warn Peter of his coming denial and how satan would attack him, but that He (Jesus) had already prayed for him. Thank God Jesus already knows how satan will attack us, and if we would listen and walk with Jesus, what heartaches would be prevented. Then the Bibles records that Jesus went into the garden and prayed, “Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless, not my will, but thine, be done” (Luke 22:42). My friend, when Jesus looked into that cup, He saw the Father’s perfect will, He saw my sins, He saw your sins, and He saw the sins of the world. As Jesus prayed, knowing the events that laid before HIm, knowing the road He would walk, knowing the cross He would carry, His only desire was to please the Father. Thank God Jesus was obedient to the Father, He “became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross” (Phil. 2:8). Once Jesus looked into that dreadful cup and drank the cup you, and I should have drank. The very cup of sin that would be placed upon Him at the cross. The Bibles records, “And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and His sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground” (v.44). I know you, and I face difficult times in life; I know we feel pain and hurt; I know we feel heartache and loneliness. But, I can only imagine what Jesus was feeling in this garden that night. His disciples were sleeping, facing death, facing humiliation, but most of all, He would be separated from the Father. God the Father would have to turn His back on His only Son for the sins of the world. Jesus, I want to thank you this morning for all you went through for my sins to be forgiven. I pray for forgiveness when we have failed you, and I pray conviction upon those who don’t know you this morning. Be Blessed in Jesus Name

Good morning; I pray you had great worship on this past Lord’s Day with a local body of believers. This morning believers and non-believers should wake up thanking God for His GRACE! I shared in the thoughts of the apostle Paul when he said, “By the GRACE of God I am what I am: and His grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain, but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the GRACE of God which was with me” (1 Cor. 15:10). Paul was grateful for the GRACE of God that saved him, as well as the GRACE of God that allowed him to serve in the Kingdom of God. My friend, we are not deserving of the GRACE of God, but I am so thankful that He (God) continues to show me unmerited favor. I want to surround myself with folks who love God, who loves His church, and are excited about the service God has called them into. We must serve God with the same grace we asked for when we got saved. And Paul warns the Corinthian believers, “Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners” (v.33). Father, I pray for my fellow believers in Christ that we would walk in the same GRACE that saved us. Father, I pray we would surround ourselves with people who are excited about God and Your work, “Iron Sharpens Iron.”