DAILY BREAD READING (Published Daily by Our Daily Bread Ministries)
APRIL 13, 2026
READ: Ephesians 2 (Focus vs. 1-9)
MEMORY VERSE
“It is by grace you have been saved, through faith.” Ephesians 2:8
BACKGROUND
When Mark was pulled over by an officer for driving while intoxicated, he was afraid his college football career was over. He was sure he was going to jail. But the policeman instead dropped him off at his college. When Mark asked why, he said, “I’m giving you grace.”
Still, the young man was certain his coach would find out, and he’d lose his scholarship. So when his coach asked to see Mark after practice the next day, he was very apprehensive. Surprisingly the coach said, “I know what happened last night, but I’m giving you grace.”
He then suggested that Mark consider attending church the next Sunday.
He went. And guess what the pastor talked about? The grace of Jesus in offering us salvation when we don’t deserve it.
Mark got the message. That day, he trusted Jesus as Savior, and he spent the rest of his life serving Him—starting a ranch for boys who need a second chance—who need grace.
It’s by God’s grace that believers in Jesus “have been saved” (Ephesians 2:8). Grace does what good works can’t do (v. 9; Romans 11:6). It’s a gift provided by Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross.
The burden of our sin doesn’t have to weigh us down. As Mark discovered, God’s grace can free us and give us life “to the full” (John 10:10).
Dave Branon
INSIGHT
When C. S. Lewis was asked what makes Christianity unique, he didn’t hesitate: “Oh, that’s easy. It’s grace.” God’s grace is the overarching theme of Ephesians 2.
Paul points out how, without grace, we wouldn’t even be aware of our spiritual condition. “You [all of us] were dead in your transgressions and sins,” he wrote (v. 1).
A dead body can do nothing to rescue itself. And we were all spiritually dead, “gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts” (v. 3).
But God “made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved” (v. 5). It’s all God’s grace, “so that no one can boast” (v. 9).
God’s grace draws us to Him. God’s grace keeps us. His grace sets us free “to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (v. 10).
Tim Gustafson
APPLICATION
How have you experienced God’s grace in your life? What are some ways you can show it to others?
PR’s (Pastor Richard) RE-EMPHASIS (From Today’s Post)
Grace does what good works can’t do… The burden of our sin doesn’t have to weigh us down…God’s grace can free us and give us life “to the full”… It’s a gift provided by Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross.
PR’s TAKE
“Grace is not simply leniency when we have sinned. Grace is the enabling gift of God not to sin. Grace is power, not just pardon.” John Piper
PRAYER
“Dear God, thank You for showering Your grace on me. Please help my life to be marked by grace and mercy.”
TODAY’S HYMN/WORSHIP/PRAISE/GOSPEL SONG
“AMAZING GRACE”
Amazing grace how sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found,
Was blind, but now I see.
‘Twas grace that taught my heart to fear,
And grace my fears relieved;
How precious did that grace appear
The hour I first believed!
Through many dangers, toils and snares
I have already come:
‘Tis grace has brought me safe thus far,
And grace will lead me home.
The Lord has promised good to me,
His word my hope secures;
He will my shield and portion be
As long as life endures.
Yes, when this flesh and heart shall fail,
And mortal life shall cease:
I shall possess, within the veil,
A life of joy and peace.
The earth shall soon dissolve like snow,
The sun forbear to shine;
But God, who called me here below,
Will be forever mine.
