Grace for All

I have a terrible sense of direction.  Spatial orientation is not my strong suit.  I easily lose my way, forget where I parked, and get turned around in unfamiliar places, or sometimes, even in familiar ones.  In fact, my running joke about our home church is that when I enter a stairwell on one level, I never know where I’ll come out on the other.  For me, it is like entering a mystery transfer portal and always being a little surprised at where I end up, even after 20 years.

Before the days of GPS and Google Maps, when I would “lean on my own understanding” and try to find my way in unfamiliar places, I often got into trouble.  It was so tempting to trust that little voice in my head telling me, “That way!”  And sure enough, the more certain I was that I knew where I was going, the more likely I was to get lost, and be late.  By trying to take shortcuts, I usually ended up backtracking and taking more time to get to the destination. Even so, sometimes, if I paid attention, I would find an unexpected blessing in the detour—for example, the opportunity to see something I would not have otherwise seen, or to experience the kindness of a stranger, or to learn a little more about the territory where I live.  And sometimes where I ended up seemed to be a better or more providential destination than the one I had planned, a “divine appointment.”

Perhaps that is one reason that these verses from Proverbs are my favorite scripture passage.  I never seem to know where I’m going, but God does.  Even when I feel lost, if I fix my eyes on Jesus, and acknowledge him in all that I do, I know that he will direct my paths.  He is much better at it than I’ll ever be.  

I may not be great at finding my way, but I have learned how to trust God with all my heart, and especially to trust that no matter where I go, God will keep me on the right path.

Lord, when I am tempted to lean on my own understanding, remind me to trust in you.  May I acknowledge you in all my ways, that you might direct my paths. In Jesus’ name, I pray.  Amen.

This devotional was written and read by Greta 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/.

For years every Valentine’s Day my hometown newspaper would print Valentines sent in by its subscribers.  Some examples: To Clarice, I love you more than the first day of deer season!  To Linda, I don’t need a lottery too, I’ve been a millionaire since I met you.  To Dad, adopting me has made you the best valentine ever.  I love you so much.  Here’s my very favorite: To Theodore, you asked me 30 years ago to be your blushing bride.  You promised furs and diamond rings, and a limo in which to ride.  I made the payments on the ring, the fur is on the cat, the bank has repossessed the car, but I love you still you rat!

That same newspaper ran an article describing the romance between Angeline Kirkland and David Fuqua.  They were engaged to be married 62 years earlier but David got cold feet and backed out of the engagement.  Now they find themselves living in the same retirement home in Brewton, Alabama.  David, 89, is once again pursuing Angeline, 78.  He said, “I thought I had Angeline’s heart pretty well won, but if it ain’t, I’ll go to work at it.  I dearly loved that heart but I jumped the track and let it get away from me.”

Love has nothing to do with age, or size, or color, or income, or appearance.  It is the strongest force on earth.  The Bible tells us that there are three qualities that last forever: faith, hope and love but the greatest, the Bible says, is love.

The writer of I John takes this even further.  He makes perhaps the boldest statement in all scripture – he defines God.  Nowhere else does the Bible attempt to define God, but I John 4:8 does.  It says, “God is love.”

There are two truths about love that are rock solid based on this passage.  The first is that you are loved.  Whether you have realized it or not, claimed it or not, lived in light of it or not, God loves you and there is nothing you can do to make God love you less. 

The second truth is that you are to be a loving person. As the Great Commandment says, love God and your neighbor as yourself. Child of God, today be the loving person you were destined to be.

Dear God, wipe away all bitterness in my heart.  Free me to accept your love and to give love – both back to you and forward to others. In the name of Jesus, Amen.

The devotion was written and recorded 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/.

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/.

I tend to worry a lot.  I tend to worry about things that haven’t even happened.  I worry about how I am going to play in my next baseball game, for example, or about what people will think of me, even people I haven’t met yet! 

We don’t need to worry about that stuff, because tomorrow is not promised.  All we can count on is today. That makes me think of another verse, Galatians 6:9:  Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.  Basically, this means that we have to be patient and not worry about what is happening in the future. Instead, we must rely on God, and keep doing the right thing in the present.  If the thing we want doesn’t happen, it’s either not the right thing or not the right time.  The Lord will create a path for each of us, and sometimes failing is part of the plan that will make you who you are supposed to be. 

Sometimes things don’t work out the way you wanted them to.  When that happens, it’s hard to understand, and easy to worry.  Two years ago, I didn’t make my middle school baseball team, and then I got cut from the team I was on.   Even though that was really hard at the time, now I can look back and see how it helped me become the player I am today—a better player.  It taught me to keep working and not give up.  It taught me to have faith in God, who helped me through. 

And faith is better than worry any day. 

Dear Lord, please help me to not worry about tomorrow, and instead live in the present, and trust in You.  In Jesus’ name I pray.  Amen.

This devotional was written and read by Ryan 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/.

Originally published June 17, 2024

Today in the final piece of this little series, let’s consider who is doing the pruning. In the first two parts, I have considered first my own knowledge and second my actions in pruning myself and my world. Now I must consider the relationship between myself and God. May God’s will be done not mine!

Some seem to garden to impose order and control over the chaos of nature. Every plant is symmetrical, and every line is straight. This is not my garden. I prefer to let the plants grow where they may. I might shape or set an outside boundary, but some look at my garden and find it a mess. 

If you garden like I do, you hate to dig up bulbs or iris that have become overgrown and throw them away as waste. I try to find a new spot to plant them or give them away. I know that the plants will be healthier and more productive once I thin and prune. I know that once a plant has spread and spread that it leaves no room for others, yet I hesitate. Do I hesitate and resist because I don’t want to harm the plant? Do I not want to limit its beauty? Or, do I hesitate because I feel like I am losing something I possess? Do I feel like I am losing value, something I control? In other words, am I being a willful child in the face of God’s will?

As John 15 continues, Jesus states that God will throw all that is not productive on the fire. I know that at my worst moments, I would like to decide what gets thrown in the fire. I would like to decide who is not productive. I would like to think that I am righteous and do not need pruned while others do. Ironically, one of the things God had to prune from me was my desire to judge whether others are productive.

It is hard work letting go and accepting rebirth. Christ had to die in order to be resurrected to forgive our sins. We should welcome the opportunity to be reshaped, renewed, and pruned by the will of God. We should be willing to change and move closer to God. We should be flexible and guided by the Holy Spirit. But are we? Let God prune away all that is not productive and throw it on the fire. The hard work is to not control but to allow God to shape us. Let new growth of habits that benefit us and those around us form as a new season begins. Let our new vines be trained in new habits that “remain in the vine” nourished by God.

Knowing what to ignore, when to be silent, when not to act, is as important, perhaps more important, than knowing when to acknowledge, speak, or act. A silent look into the eyes of another at just the right moment can mean more than any words or actions taken. A small act at just the right time does not need attention or words to make it the perfect action. The seed that it plants will lead to abundant fruits in the future.

May we study and learn the ways of a productive life in Christ. May this be followed by a season of labor where we act with discernment led by the Holy Spirit. But perhaps most important of all may the Lord, prune away what we do not need. May we allow God’s will to shape and prune us into the hands and feet that work in the world that God has given us to love.

Today’s devotional was written by Jill Pope 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/.

Yesterday, we considered learning how and when to prune. Today, let us reflect on putting this knowledge into practice. If learning through scripture, sermons, silent reflection and prayer gives us insight and sharpens our tools, then to bear fruit, we must put this knowledge into practice.

Practicing the art of pruning is as important as fertilizing a plant to create an abundant harvest. Words of prayer without action are not prayer at all. As hard as learning and study are, there is real work to be done in the garden. I may plan for a garden, but if I do not go out and plant the seeds, weed the bed, and water then the harvest will not come. 

A person who thinks about faith and scripture but takes no action will bear no fruit. A life lived in faith requires real work in the real world. To bear fruit takes hard labor, sweat, care, attention, and faith. But it also takes many things we don’t control. Rain and sunshine in the right proportion at the right time. We don’t get to choose when a chore needs to be done. Each season we work, we improve our ability to work in relationship with the seasons if we are aware and thoughtful. We have to be attentive, willing, and thoughtful in how we work. We have to put our study, prayer, and knowledge into practice. We must listen to the Spirit to bear fruit.

I must confess that the longer the season goes on and the hotter the weather, the less I am willing to work, weed, and water. By the end of the season many would be appalled by the condition of my garden. Like the vines that wither in the heat of late summer, I need to prune away the past and look forward to the next season God presents to me. In order to bear fruit in the future, I must accept and let go of what is no longer needed. I need to prune away what is no longer productive.

Equally difficult, everytime I start a new season I look at the work before me and I waver. I wonder if it is too much work:  Do I have the time? Is it worth it? I think about my lack of expertise. I think I should do things differently, but how?

Part of learning to prune is having the discipline to keep up the work in more difficult circumstances. When we work in our gardens, we must look to the lessons that the Lord has shared with us and apply them in the heat and drought, in exhaustion, in the end of a season. In fact, we may learn that to be productive in the future, the care in pruning away the old is one of the most important tasks we undertake.

Please pray with me today.

Lord, please help me to prune away the spent vines that no longer produce. Give me the insight to know what to let go as well as the strength to do the work. When I doubt and when I think it is too much or too hard, please show me that each small step leads to a beauty in this world that only you can share with us all. Amen.

This devotional was written by Jill Pope 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/.

There is a lot of emphasis put on being productive in our culture. I guess staying busy and accomplishing things makes us feel needed or even important. But all things must be balanced whether we acknowledge it or not. If production is all we focus on then we are missing something—even devaluing it. And this leaves us out of balance.

Many would say that the opposite of being productive is relaxing, and in some circumstances maybe it is. But for today, let us consider the opposite of producing to be pruning. Each year brings new growth, but that growth will be enhanced by pruning. Learning how and when to prune is an art. Personally, I have always found pruning to be intimidating. My ignorance makes me reluctant to trim anything. I do not want to make a mistake. Much like my fear of saying the wrong thing in one of these devotions, I fear that I will cut the wrong branch, at the wrong time, in the wrong place.

Knowing whether to prune before new growth begins or right after a bloom is important to the long-term health and production of the plant. If we prune at the wrong time, we can cut off next year’s blooms. If we don’t deadhead faded blooms, we get fewer new blooms. We will lose the beauty. We will lose the harvest. But even more importantly, we will lose the seeds of the next generation. Rampant growth on some plants leads to destruction when the limbs become so heavy the tree splits in half. In other plants, production dwindles as lack of care chokes the plant.

Deciding what to keep and what to remove takes insight. Some plants break from old wood, others do not. Knowing what is going to bud and where takes study and understanding. I confess that I am guided by my intuition almost always. That is a nice way of saying I fly by the seat of my pants more often than I would like to admit. There is a not-so-fine line between going with the flow and being a completely unprepared fool.

In following the Way of Christ, I like to think that I am guided by the Holy Spirit in the moment. But if I have not put the time in quietly listening, learning, studying, and being guided by the Word, then I am kidding myself that in a noisy, busy situation I will hear the Spirit in my heart guiding me. What a fool I would be! But learning when and how to prune is the first step in becoming a disciple of Christ.

Lord, show us the ways of your seasons. When we work in your garden, allow us to learn the ways of Christ. Teach us when to prune and when to nurture. Give us insight to know how to become productive for years to come. Help us to grow in abundance and yet know when to prune away what is no longer needed. Amen.

This devotional was written by Jill Pope 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/.

All of us are part of a family, the people with whom we grew up. We don’t choose them, and they certainly don’t choose us. If we are fortunate, our families work as they should with members supporting and loving one another. Some are less fortunate with families torn by strife and dysfunction. No matter how we feel about them, however, those people are our family. As the saying goes, we can’t deny them.

Some have read this passage in Mark as Jesus rejecting his physical family and preferring those who are seated around him. But I don’t think that’s what’s going on here at all. Jesus can’t deny his earthly family, just as we can’t deny ours.

What he is doing instead is identifying those who are around him and those who “do God’s will” as part of his family. Can you imagine the connection you would have if you could say Jesus was your nephew, your cousin, or your brother? What if you could think of Jesus as a family member, a person who would be loyal, a person on whom you could always depend, no matter what.

And beyond Jesus himself, we become part of a spiritual family that loves and supports us and to whom we can give love and support. Our family becomes anyone who does God’s will. Jesus in these verses is offering us a powerful and inclusive invitation.

Our Father, help us to recognize the opportunity to be part of your family, and help us every day to be always worthy of membership in that family. Amen.

This devotion 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/.

And hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.

At first glance, this verse may inspire a reaction of scepticism. “Hope does not disappoint us?!?” How many times have we hoped for something that simply didn’t come into being?

In my house when there is potential for something good to come our way, my wife has said to me on more than one occasion, “I’m not getting my hopes up. If it ends up happening, I’ll just be pleasantly surprised. I’d rather that than be disappointed.” 

But I don’t think that’s exactly to what this verse refers.

In the verses leading up to this one, we read, “we boast in our afflictions, knowing that affliction produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope,” before we read that hope does not disappoint. 

So, are we to understand, then, that we cannot have hope without first enduring suffering? That doesn’t seem right.

In Romans 8, we read “I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us.” And later on, that we “who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies. For in hope we were saved.” And finally, it says “the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words.” 

In other words, this is not the hope we might feel for something that we think might happen, which may or may not actually materialize. This is a different hope. The hope for God to hear us, the hope for eternal peace with our Maker, the hope for “adoption and redemption.” That hope is one about which we can have greater certainty. And it isn’t saying that in order to be with God, we must first face affliction. No, it is saying that when we face affliction, we must remember that the surety of God can still give us hope. Our hope is grounded in knowing that, whatever suffering we may experience, we have the goodness of God’s redemption to hope for. Thanks be to God.

God, when we face affliction in this world, remind us that we have the surety to hope for your adoption and redemption. Remind us that it is never futile to hope in you, for you will not disappoint us. 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/.

Originally aired 2024-09-02

Thank you for joining us for today's Grace for All podcast.

On Saturdays, we pause for a few moments to look back on our week and to review the scriptures that we have used in our podcast.

We encourage you, after listening to this episode, to go back and listen to the episodes you missed, or to review the ones that were particularly meaningful for you. We trust that the thoughts that we have shared with you this week have provided a full portion of the joy, peace, and love of Jesus Christ.

Now, let's hear this week's scriptures.

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/.