22 And this righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no distinction,

23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

24 and are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.

— Romans 3:22-24

8 For it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not from yourselves; it is the gift of God,

9 not by works, so that no one can boast.

— Ephesians 2:8-9

From His fullness we have all received grace upon grace.

— John 1:16

through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.

— Romans 5:2

But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is perfected in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly in my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest on me.

— 2 Corinthians 12:9

Thoughts on Today’s Reading

Grace, mercy and love from Christ to you.

We live in a world where favor and privileges are often earned, not merely granted. A lot of God’s children have experienced relief from trauma by God’s hand. God did not show favor to His children because they are unusually worthy of His attention and care. He extended His grace to them out of His love for His children. Grace refers to unmerited favor extended to the undeserving. God loves His people unconditionally and delights to bless them.

An inherent aspect of God’s nature, grace stands as the foundation for salvation in Christ. Sinners offer God nothing that contributes to their salvation. Our sin-tainted works cannot offer the perfection God requires. By faith in Christ and His atoning sacrifice, believers freely receive eternal blessings that cannot be earned.’ Only by God’s grace has sin’s deadly edict been reversed. There is nothing we can do on our own to merit salvation. Not only does God’s grace flow to believers when they receive salvation, His grace also sustains them through life and into eternity. Daily and eternal expressions of God’s grace reveal God’s heart for His people in tangible ways.