Grace for All

During our church's Vacation Bible School, I had the pleasure of being in the kitchen. As the children came through the line, I watched as parents worked with their children on having good manners. Some, when asking for their selection, had to be reminded to say “please.” At times, the parent holds the plate as they say several times, “Now what do you say?” until the child finally says, “please.”

Other times, the “please” is almost automatic, and often I heard a “good job” from the parent.

The cutest exchange I saw was when the child did not want either selection we offered. The parent said, “You have to choose one.” After much resistance, the choice was made. The parent said, “Now what do you say?” The child replied, “Why do I have to say thank you for something I don’t want?” Mom politely said, “Because you are lucky enough to have something to eat, you are lucky that there are people here to cook this food, and besides, it is the right thing to do.” With a sullen, stormy look, the server got a “thank you,” to which she replied, with just a trace of a smile, “You're welcome.”

This entire exchange made me think of the words from Thessalonians where we are encouraged to give thanks in all situations. I picture myself being at times like that pouting child saying or thinking, “Why do I have to give thanks for this?” We can easily list the things in life that do not spark any feelings of gratitude. Among them are illness, loss, anxiety, and fear. No, we may not give thanks for the specific negative things that are impacting our lives, but like the child in that situation, God wants us to pull back from the immediate moment and look at life in a broader context.

When we do we see that we are lucky to have a loving God who is with us in this dark time and that there are loving friends and family supporting us.

I now have a new image to hold when I come to those times where I want to sulk instead of give thanks. I am going to picture God as that loving parent standing beside me, reminding me of all the things that are going well in my life, even in the midst of the storm, encouraging me to say thank you. And if I resist, God will help me see the big picture but most of all remind me, “Besides it its the right, the gracious, and loving thing to do.”

Just like the child who beamed when praised for using their good manners, I want to bask in God’s loving smile when I am at my best and doing and saying what God is trying to teach me to do. I want to hear, “Good job!”

Life can be challenging, and it my be hard to find gratitude in the moment, but remembering that God is beside me, encouraging me to see the good in life will help those words of thanks to come a little quicker. Don’t we all want to live knowing our heavenly parent is pleased because we are doing what we have been taught to do?

Loving God, we remember that you are always beside us, encouraging us and wanting us to be our best. This loving presence is enough for us to say thank you this day and every day, no matter what might be happening in life. AMEN.

This devotion was written by Bill Green and read by Amy Large.

Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.

If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: [email protected].

First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.

These verses sound like today’s headlines. Drought has hollowed out the land. Everything is disrupted. The prophet cries out with a question that every generation eventually asks: God, have you rejected us? Why won't you show yourself?

Jeremiah doesn't soften the complaint: we hoped for peace and no peace came, we hoped for healing and found only terror.

Chapter 14 is unsettling because a few verses earlier we read that other prophets are going around promising the opposite — no sword, no famine, only lasting peace (v. 13). It sounds comforting. It is also false. Jeremiah's honesty doesn't ask anyone to pretend that everything is okay. The failure he sees is the temptation to trade honest lament for comfortable lies. That's a spiritual failure before it's ever a political one, and it shows up in every age, including ours.

Yet Jeremiah doesn't stop with just the complaint. He confesses the guilt plainly — ours and our ancestors' both — and then does something remarkable: he turns from the ache to the throne. Not because the drought has broken. Not because the terror has passed. But because he still knows who holds the rain.

Do any of the worthless idols of the nations bring rain? No — it is you, LORD our God. The circumstances haven't changed by the end of the passage. What's changed is where Jeremiah has planted his hope.

There's an old hymn that says it almost the same way: though the wrong seem oft so strong, God is the ruler yet. That's not a denial that the wrong is strong. Plainly, it is, in Jeremiah's day and in ours. Jeremiah refuses to let the wrong have the final word. Jeremiah's hope isn't naive optimism dressed up in religious language. It's hope that has already looked straight at the drought, the failure, the false prophets, and the sin — and chosen to trust anyway.

That's the kind of hope worth carrying into whatever afflicts us now — not a hope that ignores the wound, but one that has counted the cost of it and still says, our hope is in you.

Lord, we don't always know why the healing is slow in coming. Give us the honesty to name what's broken, and the faith to trust you as the one who mends it — not because the trouble has ended, but because you have not. Amen.

This devotional was written and read by Jim Stovall.

Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.

If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: [email protected].

First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.

One of the last Christmas presents I received from my Mammaw before she died was a coffee mug. I should back up a bit to say that even as a teenager and young adult — at whatever point in my life I started realizing a bit about how far money goes — I marveled at Mammaw’s gift giving. A lady with nine living children, many of whom have spouses, more than a dozen grandchildren, many of whom also have spouses, and even great-grandchildren never skipped anyone over for Christmas, despite subsisting on a paltry Social Security check. I can remember Christmases in which I received socks that had clearly been part of a larger package that she divided to give to multiple people. It was quite common that she would recycle the cardboard boxes that her cereal came in so she would have boxes for all the gifts. To this day, I am astounded at her ability to express her love through giving on the most limited of budgets.

So, it makes sense at my surprise one year receiving a lovely coffee mug with some sort of flavored coffee. On the mug is inscribed the statement, a paraphrase of today’s verse: “God’s promises are new every morning.” For a few years, I used that mug every Sunday morning as I got ready for church, and I thought of Mammaw every time I did. As I said, it turned out to be one of the last gifts I received from her.

You can imagine my heartbreak, then, when the mug tipped over and the handle broke. We glued it, and it still worked, but it tipped again, breaking in new spots. Eventually, I decided it wasn’t a good idea to continue drinking from it, as it’s just too fragile. So now, it just rests on the counter, braced by a wall behind it. I simply couldn’t bear to part from it, as it is such an important keepsake of mine. It makes me think of a woman who loved richly despite her poverty. It reminds me of whence I come. It reminds me of being loved.

It also reminds me of exactly what it says: every morning is a new day. Every day is a new opportunity. Each sunrise presents us with a new slate of blessings from God. Moreover, the mug reminds me of what it is: broken, but still doing good. When I look at that mug, I know that even though I have scars, even though I feel broken at times, God can still work through me. Even though Mammaw had little to give, God worked through her to make her family feel loved. Regardless of our flaws or imperfections, regardless of the brokenness and scars we bear, God both loves us and uses us to love others. The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases. God’s mercies never come to an end. Great, indeed is God’s faithfulness.

God, we thank you for your love and we thank you for putting people in our lives who demonstrate that love to us. We know that, regardless of our circumstances, you can use us to help others. Keep us open to your call on our lives so that others will think of us and know you. We pray this in Christ’s name. Amen.

This devotion was written and read by Dwight Dockery

Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.

If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: [email protected].

First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.

Romans 8:28 may be one of the most comforting verses in the Bible. It may also be one of the most misused.

I grew up hearing, “All things work together for good.” When something terrible happens, someone may even say, “Everything happens for a reason.” But that can make it sound as though suffering somehow produces good all by itself, or worse, that God caused the terrible thing because God had something good in mind.

But it’s Bible, right?

Notice how the Common English Bible puts it: “God works all things together for good.” The emphasis is not on the terrible thing, but on what God does with it.

We see that throughout Scripture. Joseph’s brothers threw him into a pit and sold him into slavery. God didn’t have to cause the pit to use it. The pit was still evil, and the betrayal was still wrong. But none of what happened to Joseph could keep God from working.

There’s an old saying: “God doesn’t waste pain.” I like that. It doesn’t pretend pain is good. Some things that happen to us are simply terrible, and calling them good because something good came from them doesn’t make them less terrible.

But Romans 8:28 offers us something better than an explanation for our suffering. It offers us a promise about God. Whatever has happened, God is still at work.

God can bring compassion out of grief, wisdom out of failure, courage out of fear, and new life out of places that looked completely dead.

We don’t have to call the pit good. But we can trust that God is not finished working in it.

Lord, when I face things I cannot understand, help me resist easy answers. Remind me that even in the worst places, you are still at work. Take even my pain and use it for good, and help me trust you when I cannot yet see what you are doing. Amen.

This devotional was written and read by Donn King.

Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.

If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: [email protected].

First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.

You are listening to Grace for All, a daily devotional podcast produced by the people of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee.

This is Scripture Saturday, a time when we pause and reflect on the scriptures we have read throughout the week. If you missed any of our devotionals on these passages, you can find them on our website at 1stChurch.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

Now, we invite you to listen and receive Grace. Welcome and thank you for joining us.

Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.

If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: [email protected].

First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.

When Solomon became king, he had one big request for God: give me the wisdom to govern well. God said, “Yes,” and gave it to him generously.

Here's the thing we often overlook. The Hebrew word for "wisdom" is bigger than the kind you need to run a kingdom. It covers a craftsman's skill, an artist's eye, and something closer to home — the everyday competence of living life well. Scripture even pictures Wisdom as a friend – a woman standing at her door, inviting people to the hospitality of her table.

Solomon asked for administrative wisdom, and he got it in full. His judgments were sharp, and his governance was shrewd.

But he never asked for the wisdom of living well, and you can see the problem it left by the end of his life: hundreds of wives and concubines, a treasury piled high, and stables full of horses collected just to have them.

Scripture tells us plainly where he failed:

Solomon's administrative wisdom was legendary. His faithfulness to God was not. And that gap, more than any missing skill, is what left him short.

I think most of us know something like this. We carry real wisdom characteristics — good judgment, discernment, a knack for our work, an eye for people. They're genuine gifts. But none of them were meant to run on their own.

Without a faithful relationship with the God who is the source of all Wisdom, those gifts will only take us so far. They'll carry us for a while, and then, like Solomon's, they'll run out.

Wisdom, in its fullness, was never meant to be a set of traits we collect. It's a life built on faithfulness to the God who gives it.

"Father, grant us Your Wisdom in all of its fullness, and remind us that Your gift of Wisdom is built upon our faithful relationship with You. Amen."

This devotional was written and read by Chuck Warnock.

Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.

If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: [email protected].

First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.

It is summertime and there is plenty of light! I enjoy my wildflower gardens that thrive in that light. I find they are a place where I can pause, reflect and enjoy God’s creation right in front of me. It has been cited that a walk in the garden can bring down your blood pressure. I know that I certainly feel better after a few moments there!

The Pharisees were in the crowd as Jesus taught and it is very likely that they were having a spike in their blood pressure! It was their business to know the Scriptures and it is very likely that Psalms 27:1 may have flashed through their minds: “The LORD is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life, of whom shall I be afraid?”

Or maybe the Pharisees were thinking “The unfolding of your words gives light” Psalm 119:130. Either way they surely looked around them and saw the definite influence that Jesus was having on the crowd and certainly felt the threat to their vaunted standing in society.

Our challenge comes in Matthew 5:16.

Are you teaching Sunday School? Excellent! Are you helping to feed the hungry or shelter the homeless? Terrific! Looking out for your fellow brother, sister, stranger to lend a helping hand or share a gesture of kindness? Well done! As in “Well done good and faithful servant! Welcome!” Yes! To hear those words in the Kingdom of Heaven!

Light references truth and eternal life.

In John 12:45 Jesus cried out,

The chapter ends with verse fifty:

How much clearer can the message be? Jesus’ light is radiating before us!

Send us Jesus out into the crowd of daily life that our actions, our words, and our behaviors would glorify your name and spread your light in this contentious world. Amen

This devotion was written and recorded by Sam Barto.

Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.

If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: [email protected].

First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.

Barbara and I were returning from a family reunion in Alabama not long ago and making our way up the interstate highway. We encountered several impatient drivers who zoomed in and out of traffic, seeking to get to their destination quickly. They put the rest of us at risk. I’m sure that was not their intention, but the result was to make us uncomfortable and vulnerable, and create a climate that raised anxiety for everyone.

I thought of the counsel of Richard Foster, who in his classic guide, The Celebration of Discipline, wrote, “Our adversary majors in three things: hurry, noise, and crowds .”

Think about this wisdom: the three things that stand between us and spiritual peace are hurry, noise, and crowds. There are times when we cannot avoid hurry. And times when we can not avoid noise. Nor crowds. But none of these things contribute to our peace. In fact, they are the most significant factors standing in the way of our peace.

Barbara and I had this conversation with our son and daughter-in-law. She said, “This is easy for you because you are retired. It’s difficult for us because we have to go to work every day and can’t control our situation.” She was right. But the truth remains that hurry prevents peace, noise inhibits peace, and crowds restrict peace.

Jesus understood that life requires a rhythm—engagement and retreat, helping and restoring. And the very thing that enables us to help adequately is the time of quiet and prayer that replenishes our spiritual resources. Our Lord withdrew for prayer and renewal. And so must we.

Keep this truth near you. Our spiritual adversary majors in hurry, noise, and crowds. We must major in rest, quiet, and solitude. This is what replenishes our spirits.

Dear God, slow me down, quiet me down, and enable me to be alone with you so that I may be the one you intended for me to be. Amen.

This devotion was written and read by Herb Sadler.

Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.

If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: [email protected].

First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.

This verse is a powerful reminder that God, the Helper of Israel, and of all human kind, does not want us to live in fear. There are also a dozen times in the New Testament where Jesus encourages people not to be afraid. We should take something repeated by God that many times, as absolute truth! Yet we worry and are fearful of many things in this day and age!

Chapman University, a top private University in California, in 2025 compiled their poll entitled – What Americans Fear Most. The result of that poll shows that many of us experience common fears. The Top 10 are felt by more than 50% of Americans.

The following are the Top 10…

1. Corrupt government officials
2. People I love becoming seriously ill
3. Economic/financial collapse
4. Cyber terrorism
5. People I love dying
6. US becoming involved in another World War
7. Pollution of drinking water
8. Russia using Nuclear Weapons
9. Pollution of oceans, rivers, and lakes
10. Government tracking of personal data

For the 10th consecutive year, fear of “Corrupt government officials” has topped the list, with 69% of Americans making this their #1 fear in 2025.

Now, I would add AI and all sorts of unknown emerging technologies to this list of things we can’t control or sometimes can’t even understand. The world can feel too big. Who is in control, we might ask, when the news of the day bowls us over in anxiety and fear!

But, my friends, GOD is in control. Yet we might ask – then where is He?!

Let’s consider what Jesus said about that when he walked on the earth as a man 2000 years ago… In Matthew 28:18-20 we find these words,

He is with us, but we may not be holding onto his promises. It’s so easy to get caught up in the news of the day, so we need to make time to read our Bibles, to pray in quiet space with Jesus, and to center ourselves on God’s LOVE and promises. He is with us, but we have to accept His presence, His promises and His peace.

Let’s do that right now.

Dear loving, faithful God, please help me to remain centered in your promises. Help me to trust you and to focus on your strength, and your love, and not my own fear and helplessness. Help me to rest in your peace. In Jesus' name we pray…AMEN

This devotion was written and read by Bernice Howard.

Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.

If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: [email protected].

First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.

In Paul’s letter to the Roman church, he spends the first eleven chapters building one long argument: Jew and Gentile stand on identical ground before God. No distinction, he says in chapter 3 — all have sinned, all are justified freely by grace. In chapter 11, Gentile believers are branches grafted into an old olive tree, sharing its root with Israel rather than replacing it.

A few years before this letter, the emperor Claudius had expelled the Jews from Rome — Jewish Christians included. The church kept meeting without them, shaped by Gentile believers who'd never kept kosher and saw no reason to start. When the ban lifted, Jewish believers came home to a congregation with its own habits already set. Paul calls one side "weak in faith" and the other "strong," and neither gets a compliment. The weak still ate only vegetables, still marked certain days as holy. The strong ate anything, treated every day alike, and chapter 14 opens by telling them not to look down on the ones they disagree with. Two groups at the same table, two consciences, each sure the other had it wrong.

Paul doesn't referee that argument. He keeps pointing both sides back to Christ, who died for the believer sitting across the table. Early in chapter 15, he quotes four Old Testament passages picturing Gentiles praising God alongside Israel, one voice. That's what he's been building toward since chapter 1.

Our verse for today, verse 13 of chapter 15, serves as the letter’s benediction, right before Paul shifts into travel plans and personal greetings. Everything he's argued for fourteen chapters lands here, in a prayer.

The word translated "abound" in verse 13 is perisseuō (per-is-SYOO-oh), and it means to overflow or exceed a standard measure. It describes having more than enough, a surplus, or a superabundance in quantity and quality. By my count, Paul used the word over 20 times in his other letters, but the most notable use in the Bible is in John's Gospel, after Jesus feeds five thousand people with five loaves and two fish. "Gather up the fragments left over," Jesus tells the disciples (John 6:12). The same word, perisseuō, describes what remained: Twelve full baskets (v. 13). Not a crowd barely fed. A crowd fed until they were full, with room to spare.

Paul’s prayer is not that the argument would end. He prays, "May the God of hope fill you with joy and peace, so that you perisseuō in hope.” More hope than it takes. More than you asked for. More than you can imagine.

The whole letter's theology rests on one request: that what fills this newly rejoined, still-adjusting family would be more than the moment required.

Not enough to get by. Left over. Twelve baskets of it.

Father, you are the God of hope. Fill us with joy and peace in the middle of what isn't resolved, and let your Spirit make that hope abound — more than the moment requires. Amen.

This devotional was written and read by Cliff McCartney

Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.

If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: [email protected].

First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.