Daily Reading for Personal Growth, 40 Days with God

⁴ But when it comes to mercy, God is rich! He had such great love for us that ⁵ he took us at the very point where we were dead through our offenses, and made us alive together with the Messiah (yes, you are saved by sheer grace!). ⁶ He raised us up with him, and made us sit with him—in the heavenly places, in Messiah Jesus! ⁷ This was so that in the ages to come he could show just how unbelievably rich his grace is, the kindness he has shown us in Messiah Jesus.

Grace, not works

⁸ How has this all come about? You have been saved by grace, through faith! This doesn’t happen on your own initiative; it’s God’s gift. ⁹ It isn’t on the basis of works, so no one is able to boast. ¹⁰ This is the explanation: God has made us what we are. God has created us in Messiah Jesus for the good works that he prepared, ahead of time, as the road we must travel.