Grace for All

It is no secret that as a species, we are environmental disasters. From oil spills to trash heaps to climate change to deforestation to air pollution… We sure miss the mark when it comes to caring for creation. We miss so many opportunities to do and to be better.

I think about our earlier generations, who lived more simply, preserving the earth. When my dad and his wife Cathie married, they chose to do so in an outdoor ceremony on a piece of family land in the mountains of Monroe County. That particular spot is what my family refers to as “the knob,” a small clearing on a hilltop in the woods of land that has been in my family for generations. My uncle is its current steward, and as such, he spoke at the beginning of the wedding ceremony, inviting us to consider that while this land has been in our family for quite a long time, it existed for thousands of years before that, barely touched by the Cherokee people who inhabited it. Just down the mountain from the knob is my uncle’s house, which my grandfather built in 1981. My uncle renovated it about twenty years ago, but from the outside, it looks pretty much the same as it has all my life. It’s a simple, small house with a couple of sheds and a big vegetable garden. Up the road from his house is where my great grandparents lived about a hundred years ago. There isn’t much else there. A family cemetery, a couple of small homes, a pond or two, a church… and the most incredible, untouched forest you’ve ever seen with a creek running right through the middle of it. It has rhododendrons and laurels for days! I remember as a boy sitting on the bank, petting the soft moss as I looked down to the creek. It all looks pretty much the same today as it did decades ago when I was a child.

However, up the mountain in the other direction from my great grandparents’ home is a large piece of land that was sold to developers. At the top of that mountain, they clear cut trees in order put in rental cabins about ten years ago or so. The result of this is that the view is amazing, I hear, if you can put up with constant gale-force winds that will nearly knock you over. The trees they removed previously had provided a barrier from the winds.

I share all of this not only because this nostalgic piece of heaven is so very important to me, but also because it demonstrates the problematic nature of humankind. We are so inclined to seeing opportunities without considering the full implications of the impact acting on these opportunities will have. We so often heed God’s call to work the land, but not as much to care for it. We can learn from our indigenous ancestors how to respect the land that has been put into our care, though. While I won’t say that we necessarily have to go as far as the Cherokee people did, making no noticeable impact at all, we also should not go as far as the developers, seeking to create a financial opportunity at the detriment of the land. Hopefully, we are able to find ways to be like my uncle, stewarding the resources and land as best we can, making little impact out of respect for the gift we have been given.

God of Creation, you gifted us this amazing earth, but with the great gift, we have great responsibility for its upkeep. We fall short. Help us to find ways to respect and preserve this land that we borrow from you for a short time. With gratitude for the abundance of ways you bless our lives, we pray 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/.

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/.

Each fall and at other times during the year, there are sprouts of trees growing everywhere in my yard, flowerbed, and even in the cracks in the driveway and sidewalk. It is truly amazing how far and wide seeds get sown; roots are put down and sprouts start shooting up after a bit of rain.

Some seeds even have little wings and propellers to help them spread near and far. Birds assist in this planting as they eat the seeds and deposit some of them all over. In fact, birds plant asparagus seeds by many of my fence posts.

I harvest as much asparagus from these plantings as from my asparagus bed. Call it mother nature’s way or God’s way for these seeds to be spread.

If we were only one half as good as spreading the word of God as God and the birds are at spreading the seeds, churches would be growing at an amazing rate. Why don’t I make a more intentional effort to tell others about Jesus? Sometimes I feel we don’t want to risk being rejected as being “holier than thou,” or preachy. No one wants to feel rejected. 

We might recall reading in the book of Acts chapter 2 about the way many were filled with the Holy Spirit and shared personal resources. The word was spread far and wide. Paul was the best know of those spreading the word.  We each have a personal testimony we can share if we just reach out to others. God will provide the opportunities for us to witness to others. We just need to be open to those opportunities.

Dear God, empower us to reach out, take the risk of being rejected and help to spread your word. Give us strength, confidence, and a willing heart to help others learn about you. Amen.

This podcast was written and read by Emmit Rawls.

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/.

Psalm 104 is a celebration of the God of creation.  The writer celebrates all the glory of this wonderful earth. The writer ends with “I am rejoicing in the Lord! “ That rejoicing, it would seem, is tied to being aware of and in awe of all that God has done in Creation.  It is also, I believe, a challenge to do what we can to keep this world as wonderful and amazing as we can.  

I don’t know about you, but I sometimes take creation and its beauty for granted.  We went out for a drive recently with our youngest daughter.  As we drove along a mountain parkway, she kept wanting to stop and take pictures.  She kept exclaiming about how beautiful it was.  She lives near the coast, so she never sees mountains on a day to day basis.  Her joy and enthusiasm made me realize that I had begun to take them, a bit, for granted.  Yes I would think they are pretty,  I would exclaim when the fall colors did their magic, but on an October day, I wasn’t rejoicing, like she was.  It caused me to pause and thank God for this wonderful creation.  

In so many ways we can become numb to things that are around us.  We take them for granted, whether that be the mountains on our skyline, or heaven forbid, the love that others share with us.  If our praise is to be pleasing to God, we must this day and every day rejoice in our life and our world.  And when it comes to creation, we should be standing with the earth and trying to do all we can to protect it for future generations.  

Care for the earth should not be a contentious political position.  It should be a stance of all people for, after all, don’t we want our great-great-great grandchildren to have something to rejoice in?

Loving God, we confess that at times we take this wonderful creation for granted.  We also confess that we have not always been good stewards of it. Forgive us. Help us to pause each day and rejoice in all that you have created, in all that you give us. And help us to be mindful of what we do knowing that we have a legacy to pass on. AMEN.

This devotion was written by Bill Green 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/.

To grasp the weight of Job 41:11, we must look at the larger picture—specifically, chapters 38 through 42. Some scholars believe Job is the oldest book in the Bible, which, if true, underscores a timeless struggle: Why do bad things happen to good people? And just as ancient is the mistaken assumption that suffering must be punishment for wrongdoing.

The first 37 chapters detail Job’s misfortunes and his debates with so-called friends who insist he must have sinned to deserve such hardship. Job, however, maintains his innocence. He wrestles with the idea that God seems unjust, pleads for an answer, and longs for an audience with God. He believes that if God would only listen, He would clear Job’s name. Yet he also grapples with a deeper issue—how can a just God allow the world to operate in ways that make no sense to him?

As the saying goes: Be careful what you wish for. Job gets his audience with God, and what follows in chapters 38 through 41 is not an explanation but a storm of questions that put Job in his place. God challenges him: “Will the one who contends with the Almighty correct him?” (Job 40:2). Job quickly realizes he’s in over his head: “I spoke once, but I have no answer—twice, but I will say no more.” (Job 40:5). Yet God isn’t done. In chapters 40 and 41, He drives home Job’s smallness in the grand scheme of creation. And in Job 41:11, God makes it crystal clear: Everything belongs to me.

Humans can no more grasp God’s ways than a dog can comprehend human reasoning.

And yet, when God turns to Job’s friends, He rebukes them—not Job. Their rigid belief that suffering equals punishment misrepresents God. “I am angry with you and your two friends because you have not spoken the truth about me, as my servant Job has” (Job 42:7). Job’s raw honesty and humility please God more than their false certainty.

Father God, we may never understand you fully, but we can love you and trust in your love for us. Keep our hearts open, and protect us from the kind of certainty that leads to misunderstanding you. We ask this in Jesus’ name. 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/.

“And they were calling to one another, holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty- the whole earth is full of his glory.”

This passage details Isaiah’s vision of God’s heavenly throne room where angelic beings declare that the whole earth is full of his glory. This means God is present in everything on earth. His glory is reflected in the seasons, the ocean’s waves, skies of blue and gray, the sounds of children playing and even in quiet moments of reflection.

In our fast paced lives we often overlook God’s magnificent glory in things around us. Isaiah’s vision reminds us to pause and appreciate God’s creation and love. Whether it is the wonders of nature, the birth of a baby or the sound of birds in the trees, God’s creation and ever present glory permeates the world around us.

This is most apparent to me when I visit the Smokey Mountains near my home.   Isaiah’s vision of heaven is grand and awe-inspiring. Angelic beings circle the throne of God, calling out His holiness with powerful voices. Yet, the same glory that fills heaven also saturates the quiet beauty of earth. In the stillness of the mountains, away from life’s noise, we can often sense God’s presence most clearly. The towering peaks, the flowing streams, and the vast skies seem to echo the seraphim’s song: “holy, holy, holy, is the Lord Almighty- the whole earth is full of his glory.” 

Isaiah 6:3 challenges us to shift our perspective—to see beyond the surface and recognize that the world is a reflection of God’s creative power and love.  Knowing that the earth is filled with God’s glory calls us to live lives that honor Him—showing kindness, seeking justice, and extending grace to others.  

God’s holiness isn’t distant—it’s near, surrounding us and calling us to notice, to worship, and to live lives that honor His glory. Today, slow down, look around, and embrace the beauty of a world filled with His presence.   

Lord Almighty, Your holiness echoes through the heavens and across the earth. In the peacefulness of the mountains, I sense the depth of Your glory and the serenity of Your presence. Quiet my heart so that I can hear Your voice and see Your beauty in all creation. Help me to live in constant awe of who You are. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

This devotion was written by Gary Hensley 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/.

Mark 4: 30 to 32 

A tiny seed growing to great stature!  That is what we can all be!  Through our actions we can be the wind that gusts upon the calm waters of the pond, stirring up a ripple effect for Christian good in our community.  

The editorial notations in my Bible indicate that the book of Mark is one of action!  Forty two times the Greek word for hurry up is used across Mark.  This gospel is imploring us to hurry up!  Make a difference for Jesus! 

So let’s follow Mark’s example and let’s hurry up and grow our own faith.  Let’s hurry up and get out there in the world and make a difference modeling the love that God has for us.

There are so many things that can grow as the mustard seed does.  This podcast originated as an idea, a discussion among three Christians that I know of, and they hurried up and got busy!

In my own experience at the food pantry, local middle schoolers hurried up and collected bags and bags of canned goods that were donated.  Well, all those cans upon arrival at the pantry had to be organized into flats and moved onto the shelves. We hurried up and got busy!

For some reason those students were focused on peas!  With their own creativity, I am told that they created a “leaning tower of Peasahhh”!  They hurried up and got busy, and we had plenty of peas on flats, on shelves to share with those in need, to share God’s love, as those students and their teachers did!

Let us pray:

Heavenly Father, give us the energy and convection to hurry up as Mark urges us to model our lives after Jesus!  Amen.

This devotion was written and read 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/.

While under house arrest in Rome, the apostle Paul had a visit from a man named Epaphras. Epaphras started the church in Colossae, a city in Asia Minor (modern Turkey), about 1,300 miles from Rome, and he sought Paul's council on a problem with his congregation.

The church was doing reasonably well, but the members were under tremendous strain. Many of them were raised in a society that worshiped the many Greek and Roman deities. Although they believed in Jesus, they viewed him as just another god. In addition, the Jewish converts in the church insisted that commitment to Jesus could not be complete until they began to follow the Torah and to observe Jewish customs such as circumcision, a special diet, and observance of Jewish holy days.

So Paul wrote a letter to the Colossian church. The letter opens with a prayer that first thanks God for the church and its people and then asks God for wisdom and understanding for the church. 

Immediately after those prayers, we find today's scripture. This poetic passage expresses two essential points: First, Jesus is supreme over everything. Nothing created in nature or by man, invisible or visible, is superior to Jesus, including the gods they grew up worshiping. Second, Jesus is enough. No adherence to the Jewish law and no deeds or actions need to be added to God's gift of salvation through the death and resurrection of Jesus. 

After that declaration, the rest of the book serves as a treatise on the life of a follower of Christ. The entire book is about Jesus's superiority and sufficiency and how that empowers his followers to live.

While we might not worship other gods, and we don't follow the Jewish law, if you're like me, you feel the strain of many things vying for your attention and maybe even your worship. It is easy to make Jesus just another thing that demands our time and devotion.

It is also easy to rationalize our work in the name of Jesus as being the completion or fulfillment of our Christian life or that somehow, we need to show God that we deserve our salvation. 

When we feel the strain of this world, we should take a page from Paul's playbook. The very first thing he did for the church at Colossae was pray. The next thing he did was emphasize the truth that Jesus is above all else. He is superior to anything we can see or imagine. And he is sufficient. He is all we need, now and forever, in everything.

After we internalize that, we can live the life that God intended for us.

That's a solid strategy.

Father, thank you for the gift of Jesus. Constantly make us aware that his  death and resurrection are complete, superior, and sufficient. May we rest in that and live the life you purchased for us with his blood. 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/.

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/.

Welcome! We have so many questions about the world around us, there is much we do not know about how and why our universe works the way it does. 

Today’s scripture reading does make one thing clear about our world…hear these words from the Book of Deuteronomy chapter 10 verse 14.

Everything? That means all the physical things we can see, mountains and oceans, cities and fields, plants and animals. Also things we can’t see…wind, gravity, warmth and cold. It is the same with humans…we can see bodies and hear words, but can not see thoughts and emotions. And yet ALL these things were created by and belong to God. He cares about all these seen and unseen things in our world, none are hidden from him. 

These verses help me be mindful about how I treat Gods belongings, the things I can see and those I cannot. To treat the environment, our physical surroundings with care, to treat other people with kindness, to watch my words and emotions. It is easy to feel insignificant in this huge world and these verses help me realize that I am important to God, me just one human being.

Father God, we live in an amazing world you have created for us, full of beauty and wonder. Also sadness and violence. Help us to care for all of your belongings, people and animals, rivers and pastures, everything seen and unseen you have provided. We give you thanks for our community and ask your help to be good caretakers. Amen.

This podcast was written and read by Leslie Ragland.

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/.