Reading: Psalm 38:1-8

LORD God,
I thank you for Jesus.
I am thankful
that I can put my complete trust in you.
You forgive me and cleanse me
from all my sins.
I am saved by your amazing grace
not by my effort.
Amen.

— — —

 But because of his great love for us,
God, who is rich in mercy,
made us alive with Christ
even when we were dead in transgressions—
it is by grace you have been saved.
And God raised us up with Christ
and seated us with him in the heavenly realms
in Christ Jesus,
in order that in the coming ages
he might show the incomparable riches of his grace,
expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.
For it is by grace you have been saved,
through faith—
and this is not from yourselves,
it is the gift of God—
not by works, so that no one can boast.
For we are God’s handiwork,
created in Christ Jesus to do good works,
which God prepared in advance for us to do.
(Ephesians 2:4-10), NIV)*