Grace for All

When hearing this verse, I can’t help but think about the 1960s song “They’ll Know We Are Christians By Our Love.” If you don’t know it, I strongly encourage you to look it up, but chances are that you’ve heard it at some point. It has four verses, at least four of which I’m aware, that discuss unity in the Spirit, walking together, working together, and a celebration of the Holy Trinity. All the verses share a common refrain: And they’ll know we are Christians by our love, by our love; yes, they’ll know we are Christians by our love. 

When I think about this hymn, my mind immediately goes to a children’s choir I led at a Presbyterian church in Columbia, South Carolina. One of the intentional efforts I make with kids is teaching them how to use a hymnal and read verses of a hymn. In case you’ve never considered it, it’s a bit of a particular skill. In order to acquaint them with this skill as well as to introduce the kids to the rich body of song we have in the church, I usually make looking up and singing hymns the first activity before we get into songs we’re learning to sing in worship. 

Well, I’m not the world’s best pianist, and I didn’t have a separate pianist playing for me in this particular church. Therefore, I also had to choose wisely what I had them sing. One day, I thought I might show them this hymn. It has a fun, minor-key melody, it’s pretty repetitive so it’s easy to learn, and the range is pretty limited, so it makes for a great children’s song. Plus, it’s easy to play! The kids took to it immediately. They really, genuinely enjoyed singing it. I had planned to sing the first two verses, but when we got to the end of the second verse, a tiny voice said, “Mr. Dwight, could we please sing the other verses?” Of course so. It wouldn’t take that long, after all. Well, a couple of weeks later, we were singing through another hymn as part of our opening activities, and when we finished, moving on to the next activity, I heard a different tiny voice say, “Mr. Dwight, could we please sing number 300?” Like the Grinch, I felt my heart grow three sizes. “Sure,” I replied, “we’ll sing the first verse.” In chorus, the kids all pleaded, “All the verses!” Well, friends, who am I to stop them? 

As a music director, I take very seriously the words I am quite literally putting into others’ mouths. While I’m sure some folks don’t think about it much, I weigh heavily the meaning and the quality of what we are singing. So, how could I possibly stop these children of God from proclaiming the message we find in 1 John? We are one in the Spirit. We will walk and work with each other. We give thanks for the trinity, and, perhaps most importantly, others will know us as Christians not by our rightness or our piety or our buildings or our bumper stickers or even sticking to our lesson plans, but by the love we show and the love we share. I don’t remember what the rest of the lesson was supposed to be with my children’s choir that day, but I do remember us all learning about God’s love. 

God, help us to feel your love and to share it with all we meet. May we never be so preoccupied with what we need to accomplish that we miss an opportunity to proclaim and show your love. 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/. 

Hope, joy, peace: these are feelings which we all seek. Without these feelings, life can be dreary and feel meaningless. However, each of us has times in life when hope, joy, and peace are elusive. It is hard to be hopeful when the doctor shares a dire prognosis. There is certainly little joy when a loved one is terribly ill and approaching death. And peace can be hard to attain in our world ,where relationships are often filled with strife, resentment, and jealousy. Everyone wants to be right, and no one wants to admit he may be wrong.  

However, I don’t think Paul, in his letter to the Romans, is talking about our feelings as much as he is talking about faith and hope in the assurance of salvation. This letter to the Romans is a continuing effort by Paul to help them resolve the conflicts between Jewish and Gentile Christians in Rome. Not only were their religious histories very different, but there were also cultural practices that created conflict. He emphasizes that Jews and Gentiles alike should welcome one another and love one another, as Christ died for the salvation of all. The heart of his message is that Jesus tells us to love one another and not look down on others, no matter how different they seem. In other words, let’s focus on how we are the same, sharing faith in Jesus Christ our savior, rather than how we are different. 

The Holy Spirit guides us and strengthens us to enable us to love one another. Loving and accepting each other is possible through faith in God. Our hope is in Him, and we can experience peace and joy in our lives because of Him. This world and we who inhabit it are far from perfect, but we can still have joy and peace because our hope is in Him. 

Father, we are so grateful for the gift of your Son and the promise of salvation because of  His death and resurrection. Help us to remember that our worldly troubles are temporary and that we can remain steadfast in hope and experience joy and peace because of His great sacrifice. Amen.

This devotional was written and read by Pat Scruggs.

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/.

We seem to be surrounded by anger lately—contentious politicians, screaming pundits,  angry neighbors, and impatient drivers. There are certainly reasons to be upset, but acting out in anger seldom solves anything.  

As the mother of boys, I have had many opportunities to calm contention. When they were  fighting with each other, I never thought, “Well, if I get angry, too, they’ll stop.” We all know we can’t diffuse anger with more anger, but that doesn’t mean we’re not tempted.  

This proverb reminds us that angry people create strife, and those to are slow to anger calm contention. I think we all recognize the truth in the proverb, but it is oh-so-easy to respond in anger.  

Email and social media provide even more temptation. We can spew vile statements from behind a keyboard without seeing the consequences of our actions. If we spew that venom on  social media, we can really stir some strife. With algorithms that prioritize clicks, interactions with angry or misleading posts only ensure that even more people will see them.  

In an environment primed to promote discord, how can we remain slow to anger? How can we calm contention?  

My practice involves a pause. The more offended or angry I am, the longer the pause needs to be.  

One exceptional leader I worked with relayed how he responded to a situation at work that made him furious. The anger was precipitated by an email, so he proceeded to type his anger-filled response. He said, “But I didn’t hit send, and that’s the important part.” He saved his response, went home for the day, and sent a much calmer and reasoned response the next morning. It was an excellent example of slowing down to calm contention.  

For me, social media requires a different tactic. As a professional communicator, I loathe mis- and disinformation. I have to go beyond the pause and simply not respond. While I  really want to respond, I know that any comment or emoji just ensures that even more people see the erroneous information.  

Let us endeavor to calm contention rather than stir strife. Our world certainly needs less strife.  

Lord, we see strife in this world, and we are often tempted to contribute to it. Help us to be slow to anger and thoughtful in our interactions so that peace may be on earth as it is in heaven. Amen. 

This devotional was written by Kathryn King and read by Judy Wilson.

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/.

Welcome to the Saturday episode of the Grace for All podcast. Thank you for joining us today. Saturday is a special time when we take a few moments to review the scriptures that we have cited in the episodes this week.

If you missed any of those episodes, you might want to consider listening to them today. And even if you heard them all, there may be one that you might want to listen to again. We hope that each of these scriptures and podcasts will bring you a full measure of joy, peace, and love.

Now, let's listen to the scriptures that have been on our hearts this week.

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/.

Isn’t that the objective for all of us? To stand before Jesus in judgment and hear “Well done, good and faithful servant?” 

It is something that I strive for! We are to try our best to emulate Jesus in our temperament and use our gifts to serve Him as best we can. 

• Are you a musician? Play on! 
• Are you an artist? Create on! 
• Have great people and organization skills? Get out there, roll up your sleeves, and game on! 

Let’s put our faith in action to achieve small things that lead to greater accomplishments. 

Our reward in heaven is great to “enter the joy of the Lord.” Of course, it is not easy to make our way to serve Christ. It takes effort and determination on our part to make step after step to serve Christ in our own way. That’s why we should ask God to send the Holy Spirit, to fortify us! 

The fruitfulness of our labors is the assurance of our future reward to share in God’s joy by remaining faithful in our efforts to apply the God given abilities that we have been blessed with. 

So when the going gets tough, take that deep breath and refocus. Our time on this earth is brief; life in heaven is eternal. Jesus tells us his kingdom is not of this world. Keep your eyes on the prize! The distractions among us are many, but so are the needs of our brothers and sisters. 

We are being watched not only by God above, but by those around us. When you do good, it is seen by a Christian brother or sister who will be heartened and likely offer you encouragement. It is just as likely that you will be witnessed by the unchurched, who are many! Those people will surely ask you why? Why are you acting with love and kindness? 

And you can say, “One day, I want to hear ‘Well done, good and faithful servant!’” as you encourage them to do likewise in the name of Jesus Christ. 

God in Heaven, send your Holy Spirit to work through us to give us the strength and determination to talk the talk and walk the walk in the name of your Son, Jesus Christ, the Messiah! 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/.

PEACE! Wouldn’t it be wonderful! No more anxiety. No more fighting. No more angry words. Peace of Mind! 

I remember waking up every morning as a little girl, filled with excitement because a school day lay ahead. I loved school and could think of nothing else when my heart was so full of that special love. Unfortunately, nights were another story altogether. At night the nightmares and worries of what-ifs filled my head. My daddy was abusive and the worries of what his anger might bring often made sleep elusive or brought terrifying nightmares. 

He ran away when I was nine, but my worries and fears continued. The "what ifs" plagued me constantly—except in school. School was my safe place, my haven. I felt loved and at peace, whether at school physically or there in my imagination.  

You know, prayer can be similar to imagination. If we pray for peace and imagine it, we can feel it. In prayer we can draw ever closer to Jesus and feel His Peace. Imagining how His Peace feels draws that peace closer and closer. We can feel Him with us and He brings Peace. 

When we feel anxious about the news or worried about the other shoe dropping, we can move into Jesus’ promised Peace. If we turn to that Peace in our minds, hand over our worries to Jesus, and hold tight to His Peace, it becomes real. When we turn over the worries to Jesus and hold Him close, the nightmare is over. Resting in His Peace may not make everything perfect in the physical world, but His Promise is true… “Peace I leave you, my Peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” 

Get on your knees or go into your quiet place and reach for Him in prayer. Let go your worries and imagine His Peace. It is there waiting for us. We can find it. He has overcome the world. 

Lord you promised us in Jeremiah 29:13 that we will seek you and find you, when we seek you with all our hearts. Please help us to do just that. To find time alone with you and to seek your Peace with all our hearts. Then finding that beautiful Peace, help us then to spread it around, everywhere we go. We ask this in Jesus’ name. Amen. 

Today’s podcast 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/.

One of the striking things about this passage is the phrase, “Now he could do no mighty work there.” In this famous visit to his hometown, I wonder what mighty work Jesus had in mind for his neighbors and kinfolk. 

Jesus was just beginning his ministry, but he had already made an impact on those who had seen him and those who had heard about him. He was drawing large crowds wherever he went, and the stories of the “mighty work” that he was doing were abundant. But when he arrived in his hometown, he was met with a skepticism that quickly hardened into unbelief. This unbelief was so strong and rigid that, in the words of the gospel writer, “He marveled” because of it. 

We are sure that God has the power to work in mighty and mysterious ways. In this instance, that power was checked by unbelief. Are we like these citizens of Nazareth? Do we check the power of the Holy Spirit by our inability to believe, our lack of faith? 

The story could have ended differently, but sadly, Jesus and his disciples left town, and Nazareth stayed much the same as it had always been. Jesus moved on, and the city missed its grand opportunity. 

Dear Lord, help us to find faith rather than skepticism when there are opportunities for you to exercise your power. Show us those opportunities where our belief can work with your power to do the mighty works that you have in mind. 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/.

How often we have said, “I hope…”

Hope in this context is akin to wishes.  It is about something that you desire but are not really sure that it will occur.  

With this verse, we get another meaning for “Hope.”

Hope is a way of facing the future, often in the face of uncertainty or adversity, with a positive outlook, even with expectation.  It has nothing to do with results but instead focuses on our feelings.  It should make you ask how you look at the future when things are tough? Is it with fear and anxiety, seeing all the difficulties ahead? Or, can you look forward with a sense of optimism knowing that you are not alone.  You know God is with you and no matter what, you have everything you need.  This is the Hope that God offers and that gift can and does bring us peace and even, at times, joy even in the midst of difficult times.  

I was taught what this hope looked like many years ago.  I was visiting a woman who suffered from a chronic and debilitating disease.  She had had more surgeries than she could remember and was pretty much bedfast and always in pain, even with medication.  I would go to comfort her and invariably found I was uplifted.  Our conversations were filled with the joys she was experiencing that day, a card from a friend, a new bird at the feeder outside her window, an extra special dessert and so on.  

One day I asked her why she never talked about her health. She said something very profound that I have carried with me.  She said, “You have a choice as to what to focus on. It does me no good to talk about my health. It is what it is and nothing is going to change it. It that were my focus my days would be long and dreary. Instead I choose to focus on all that is good that is still happening each day in my life.  It allows me to look forward in anticipation.” 

This is the power of hope. It is a reminder that no matter what we are experiencing we are never going through it alone. That presence of God gives us power, peace and often joy. It isn’t about getting my wishes granted but about facing each day with joy and and confident expectancy for what God will do.  

God of hope, sometimes we feel lost and afraid, We are not at peace. At those times let your spirit rest on us anew.  Fill us with peace.  Remind us you are with us and help us to feel joy at what you are doing and with hop look forward to what is yet to come.  AMEN.  

This devotional was written by Bill Green and read by Joey Smith.  

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 this day and age, it can be all too easy for our faith in others or even in God to waver or undergo trials and through periods where it is not as steady or consistent as it may have once been. However, the love and faith of God is not dealt out solely to those whose faith may remain perfectly steadfast, as mentioned, if the people should be faithless, He will remain faithful and not give up on others since he cannot walk away from himself.

In going beyond this verse, it is stated by Paul that if we are to endure through these trials of faith, that we shall obtain salvation and eternal glory through Jesus Christ. While walks of faith may often look different for each person and be faced with challenges or areas where people may consider their faith to be lacking or overall faithless, the love and faith of God is something that may never be turned away from the people so long as they wish to continue enduring for the hope of salvation and eternal glory as stated by Paul.

God, thank you for always remaining faithful and showing to us that your love will never fail or run out for us. Help us to remember that while our journeys of faith may look different or be wrought with challenges, that you will never give up on us or lose faith in us. Amen.

This devotion was written and recorded by Grace Jonas.

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/.

I've read these words hundreds of times, but when you remember that Paul wrote them from a Roman prison cell, they have a bit more significance. 

Think about Paul's situation for a minute. He's chained to Roman guards, he’s dependent on friends for food, and he’s facing possible execution. The Philippian church, which was struggling itself, somehow managed to scrape together some money to send help through their friend Epaphroditus. Paul had every reason to be anxious, every reason to worry about tomorrow. Yet from that cold, uncertain place, he writes about peace. 

And not just any peace, but a peace that "surpasses all understanding." It is not what we usually think of as peace. It's not the relief you feel when the test results come back clear or when the bills are finally paid. It's not even the quiet you experience during a good vacation. This peace "surpasses understanding" because it doesn't make sense. When everything in your life is giving you reasons to worry, when your brain is making lists of all the things that could go wrong, this peace shows up anyway. Paul knew this firsthand because this peace is actually a gift—one of the fruits of the Spirit that God grows in us. It's something the Holy Spirit cultivates in our lives, often in the most unlikely circumstances. 

Paul says this peace will "guard" your heart and mind, like a security system for your soul. In our everyday lives, we're constantly under attack by worry that knocks on the door of our lives, demanding to be let in. God's peace doesn't necessarily make these problems disappear, but it stands guard at the entrance to our hearts. It protects what really matters: our ability to love well and our capacity to stay grounded in who God says we are. 

Here's what strikes me about this peace: it's deeply personal but not private. Paul talks about it guarding "your" heart, but it happens "in Christ Jesus." You can't think your way into this peace or meditate it into existence. It flows from a relationship with God and with others who follow Jesus Christ. 

Maybe you're in your own kind of prison right now. Maybe you're trapped by circumstances you can't control, confined by depression, or locked in a situation that feels hopeless. Paul's words from his cell remind us that God's peace isn't an escape plan. It doesn't promise to spring us from every difficult situation. Instead, it changes how we experience the difficulty. It guards our hearts from bitterness and our minds from despair. 

I think about Paul, sitting in that prison, writing about peace that makes no earthly sense. He discovered something profound: even in the worst circumstances, we're still loved, still held, still part of something bigger than our current struggle. That's the kind of peace that can only come from God. 

Father, grant us the peace that passes understanding, especially when our circumstances would suggest anxiety is more appropriate. Guard our hearts and minds today, and remind us that our security rests not in perfect circumstances, but in your perfect love. 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/.