Grace for All

Do Not Fear

Our Theme for June

Isaiah 12:2 – “Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid.  The Lord, the Lord is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation.”

I have to admit that I am often afraid.  I am afraid of war, bombs, terrorists, violence, guns, and evil-doers.  I am afraid of what we are doing to our Earth – causing grave damage by our careless use of her resources, leading to dangerous climate change consequences.

I can feel overwhelmed when my consumption of news and social media leads to sensory overload!

That's when I must imagine a great big STOP sign.  “STOP right there,” I must say to myself!

STOP with the noise of the world and go into a quiet place (even if that place is only inside my own mind).

How can I feel my Lord’s strength if I’m blocking Him out with the terrible cacophony of the negative noise of bad news and negative “what ifs”.

• God wants to be my salvation – but I must let him! 
• God wants to be my strength, but he can’t pick up my burdens if I refuse to lay them down!
• God wants to fill me with a song of joy and love, but I can’t hear his song in my heart while I’m tuned to the wrong station.
• God can’t save me if I won’t let him!

My grandpa used to play an old, old song called Turn Your Radio On, written by Albert E. Brumley, Sr.  The chorus went like this…

Turn your radio on Turn your radio on and listen to the music Turn your radio on and glory share Turn the lights down low Turn the lights down low and listen to the masters’ radio Get in touch with God Get in touch with God, turn your radio on.

 

Beautiful advice!  Beautiful encouragement!

So, when we are afraid, we need to find a quiet place to turn off the noise and to turn to God.  We need space and time listening for God, trusting God, letting God take the load off our minds, letting God become our strength.

When we sit in His presence, we can hear peace and feel safe in the knowledge of His everlasting LOVE and Salvation. 

I hope you will join me and turn your radio on today! 

 

Let’s pray…

Help me, dear Lord!  Draw me close.  Give me the push I need to let go and let you become my Salvation!  Amen!

This devotional 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/.

Do Not Fear

Our Theme for June

The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me? (Psalm 118:6)

We know that God called creation good. And then came humans with the freedom to do both good and evil. As we look around our world today, we see that bad things can and do happen every day.

With news available around the clock from all corners of the globe we see and hear of disasters daily. We see reasons to be fearful.

Do we also see the compassion,  altruism, and generosity of our fellow humans?

I’m reminded of the healthcare workers during the early days of the pandemic, when no one was sure what we were dealing with and how they selflessly put themselves in harm's way to care for the sick. This got our attention and gratitude for a brief time.

When fear threatens to overwhelm us, can we be reminded of the good also? Ask God if there is a place we can serve. Mortals can and do hurt us, but they also provide so much good. The letter to the Philippians put it this way.

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. 

God, we pray to you for strength to overcome our fear and to be the humans who advance your will in our world. Amen.

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/.

Do Not Fear

Our Theme for June

2 Chronicles 20:17 “This battle is not for you to fight: take your position, stand still, and see the victory of the Lord on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem. Do not fear or be dismayed; “  

A large army had come against Judah. The very future of their nation was in doubt. God’s prophet shares a word of hope. “This battle is not for you to fight.  Do not fear or be dismayed.” When morning came they found that the opposing army had fought between themselves and the survivors had fled.  They were rescued.

We have all had those times when a situation or problem is so monumental and our resources so small that we feel defeated even before tackling it.  It is then that we need to be reminded that God is going before us.  We may not have to fight this particular battle.  God will take care of it. 

I think of a time when there was great division within the church I was serving when I was first out of seminary.  A major board meeting was approaching that would likely decide my future as their pastor and possibly the future of the church.  The problems and how to deal with them were more than I knew how to handle.  I prayed and finally turned it over to God.  I approached that meeting with trepidation but also with peace, believing God was in control.  What I did not know is that behind the scenes people had been working together to bring the factions together.  When we gathered there was a sense of unity that had not been present just days earlier.  The instigators of the problem, seeing they had no support, left the meeting.  The rest of us began to plan for the future instead of fear the present. The Lord had gone before us and fought the battle for us. 

I had gone worried about a fight, and God had already moved beyond the conflict to peace and the future.  This doesn’t always happen but it is a reminder that when we fear the future we need to let God go before us trusting that God will fight at least some of the battles for us.  When we do we will often be surprised at the results. 

Prayer.

Loving God.  When life overwhelms us remind us you are with us.  You are going before us and much of what we fear will never transpire because you have dealt with it for us.  AMEN. 

Today's devotional 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/.

Do Not Fear

Our theme for June

“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 firstchurch.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/.

Do Not Fear

Our theme for June

John 6: 5-9 Lifting up his eyes then and seeing that a multitude was coming to him, Jesus said to Philip, “How are we to buy bread so that these people may eat?“ Philip answered him, “Two hundred denarii would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little.“ One of the disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him, “There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two fish; but what are they among so many?“

This is the famous story of Jesus and his disciples feeding the 5,000, the crowd that had gathered around Jesus. It appears in all four of the gospels, but in the verses we just read, we don’t hear the end of the story. We should pay attention to the way in which this story develops.

The problem is enormous. Five thousand people need to be fed. Jesus asked Philip what he should do, and Philip, typical of the disciples and typical of many of us, simply describes the problem. A half a year’s wages would not feed all of these people adequately.

Another disciple, Andrew, brings to Jesus, a small boy who has only five loaves and two fish, and Andrew is quick to point out how little this is compared to the problem that they face.

We face enormous problems. Wars and cruelties surround us. Climate change is upon us. Our political and social systems are wracked with division. Even the church has problems that seem insurmountable. And we have so little to offer. Our resources are totally inadequate, and, as shown here, there are always people who are willing to point that out.

We fear that we cannot solve these problems, and the temptation for us is to give up.

It is certainly true that in facing many of our problems, both personal and social, we lack to resources to solve them or even to make much difference. But then we remember what happened in this particular story. Jesus took the bread and the fish that the little boy had brought and blessed it. And after that, in a short amount of time, everyone in that multitude was fed and satisfied, and there was food leftover.

In facing the problems that we have today, what if we simply presented the small resources that we have or did the inadequate things that we could do, and then we asked Jesus to bless those things. What do you think might happen?

Would you pray with me? Our Father, we do not need to be reminded that our resources and efforts are totally inadequate to solve many of the problems that we face. We do need to be reminded of your power and your grace and the way it works in all situations. Help us to rely not on the resources that we have but on the abilities and resources of your spirit. 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/.

Do Not Fear

Our Theme for June

(1 Samuel 3: 1-10) Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the Lord under Eli. The word of the Lord was rare in those days; visions were not widespread.  At that time Eli, whose eyesight had begun to grow dim so that he could not see, was lying down in his room; the lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was.  Then the Lord called, “Samuel!  Samuel!” and he said “Here I am!” and ran to Eli, and said, “Here I am for you have called me.”  But he said “I did not call, lie down again”.  So he went and lay down.  The Lord called again “Samuel!”  Samuel got up and went to Eli, and said “Here I am, for you called me.”  But he said, “I did not call, my son; lie down again”.  Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, and the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him.  The Lord called Samuel again, a third time.  And he got up and went to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you called me.”  Then Eli perceived that the Lord was calling the boy.  Therefore Eli said to Samuel, “Go, lie down; and if he calls you, you shall say ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.”  So Samuel went and lay down in his place. Now the Lord came and stood there, calling as before, “Samuel!  Samuel!”  And Samuel said, “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.” 

Has God spoken to you?  Perhaps it was a sermon from your pastor.  I know that there have been times when I was shocked to the core.  Times that lead to true introspection and a distinct pivot in my life.

Maybe it was in Sunday School as a youth or an adult.  I know as a child, my father would drop me off.  Our church was not part of my neighborhood.  I was dwarfed by the immense, unfamiliar hallways, but somehow I always found my way to Mrs. Culp.  Every Sunday morning her smile and presence radiated Christian kindness.  I paid close attention to our lessons, and always looked forward to seeing her the next week.  I know heaven has a special place for her!

The beauty of God’s creation, do you hear His whisper in the wind through the lush forest or bountiful, sun spackled meadow?  Such moments give me pause, to stand in wonder and appreciation of His spirit stirring within.

Is it a co-worker or a neighbor that shares their faith in Jesus Christ?  The risen Lord and Savior, whose coming was foretold in the Old Testament, was born into the world to teach us as the Messiah, to speak for the Father, who will yet come again.

It could be with your interaction with a total stranger.  The person you paused to help out of a jam, or the less fortunate person that you assisted in some way, shape or form just like Mrs. Culp would.

I know God spoke to me as a child!  In my home, the lights were on, the bills were paid and there was food on the table, but I was on my own, without direction in my young life.  So I prayed to God, “Please send someone to show me the way.”  As can frequently happen, that prayer was answered, but not exactly how I expected.  God did not send just one person, but six!  Six coaches and/or teachers that shared praise, instilled confidence and taught the values of discipline, perseverance and teamwork. 

I am the person I am today because God spoke to me by answering my prayer and sending those six that showed me the way.

God in Heaven speak to us all, show us the way.  Send your Holy Spirit to stir us up.  To love our neighbor as ourself, just as you command us!

Amen.

Today’s devotional 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/.

Do Not Fear

Our theme for the month of June.

"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:9)

 

My wife and I are always happy when we get to spend time with our grandson, He just turned three, and he is a joy to be around.

 

I remember once when we were keeping him. I was sitting in a recliner reading, my wife was across the room, and our grandson was in the floor playing with his trains. We had the window shades down, so we couldn't see outside.

 

All of a sudden we heard a loud boom. I figured it was thunder, but I got up and looked out the window. Sure enough, a thunderstorm was well underway. My grandson had a worried look on his face as he looked up at me. I said, "Don't worry, buddy, it's just a little thunder." He looked just a bit better as he went back to his trains, definitely keeping his eyes and ears open.

 

About two minutes later, we heard the thunder boom again, this time louder than before. It was the kind of thunder that you feel as much as you hear. My grandson looked at me then suddenly stood up, ran across the room, and jumped into my outstretched arms. He crawled up into my lap and dug himself close to me. I said, "It's ok. Nothing's going to get you." I picked up a book, and we read it together.

 

He went from fear to peace in about five seconds. He was at peace because he knew that he was safe in his Pop's arms.

 

I'm not afraid of thunder and lightning anymore, but the fears and worries of life sometimes overwhelm me, and I feel scared and alone.

 

The phrase, "Do not be afraid," or some variant of that appears multiple times in the Bible. I know that is true, but there are some times I am still afraid. Honestly, there are times when it is right to be afraid. Fear sometimes evokes a protective instinct that keeps us safe.

 

More times than not, however, we worry about things that are beyond our control, or like my grandson, we fear things for no good reason.

 

In all our fears, we should know that we are safe in our Father's arms. Holding ourselves close to God brings us a peace; the peace that the apostle Paul said "passes all understanding."

 

God the Father stands ready, with His arms outstretched, to draw us close - wherever we go and whenever we need it. All we have to do is run toward Him.

 

Father, thank you for being there, not just when are frightened or overwhelmed, but always. Thank you for your peace, and the grace that makes that peace possible. Amen.

Today’s devotional was written and recorded 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/.

Theme for the month of June:

Do Not Fear

 

Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again.  The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still. Exodus 14:13-14

 

“Stand firm,” Moses tells the Israelites, and “Be still.”

 

Standing firm is not my strong suit.  In the face of fear, I am more likely to be buffeted and swayed than to stand firm.  When self-doubt creeps in, I can easily crumble under pressure. 

 

Being still is not my strong suit, either.  I would rather rely on a flurry of activity to fend off angst.  Tick off the to-do list.  Check the boxes.  Move on to the next task and the next and the next.

 

How often do I miss the LORD’s deliverance?  Try to fight my own battles and fail to see the LORD fighting for me?

 

The instruction Moses gives the Israelites when they are being pursued by the enemy challenges every fiber of my being.  When every instinct I have is to run away, when fear, even terror, moves me to flee, what faith, resolve, and self-discipline it takes to stand firm and to be still!

 

It feels like giving up, like surrender and I suppose it is, but it is not surrender to the enemy. 

 

It is surrender to the One who parts the waters and goes on before me, the One who makes a way where there seems to be no way.

 

The Israelites must have thought Moses was out of his mind—stand firm, be still and let the enemy overtake us?  It would have been better to stay in captivity in Egypt because we’re going to die in the wilderness!   But if they had not listened, they would have missed out on their freedom.  THey would have missed out on witnessing the parting of the Red Sea, on witnessing the power of God.

 

Through Moses, God tells them not to be afraid, but instead, to be still, and let the LORD fight for them.  I love the poetry of the King James translation of this verse:  “The LORD shall fight for you and you shall hold your peace.”

 

Be not afraid. 

Hold your peace. 

 

This is the word of the LORD for the Israelites fleeing Eqypt, and for God’s people, always, in fearful and uncertain times.

 

Let us pray: 

Lord, in the face of fear and uncertainty, teach me to stand firm, to be still, and to hold my peace, trusting in your deliverance.  Amen.

 

Today’s 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/.

The theme for the month of June:

Do Not Fear

Genesis 21:17-19 And God heard the voice of the boy, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, “What troubles you, Hagar? Do not be afraid, for God has heard the voice of the boy where he is. Come, lift up the boy and hold him fast with your hand, for I will make a great nation of him.” Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water. She went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink.

Through no fault of her own Hagar had been banished from the camp of Abraham.  She and her young son were perishing from thirst in the wilderness,  She places her son under the shade of a bush and moves off a little ways so she does not have to watch him die.  She cries out to the Lord.  God hears her prayers, tells her not to fear and then to open her eyes.  She sees a well of water that will revive and sustain them both.  

Though life difficulties do not always end so positively, the words Hagar heard are words for us as well.  When we are struggling and maybe feel that life is hopeless we are reminded to open our eyes, to see the resources that are around us.  We sometimes do not want to see  then for the help comes from people we do not like, or cause us to humbly admit that we can’t do it alone or to receive that help would force us to move in directions that we vowed we would never go.  Stubbornness is often a key element in our refusal to see what resources God has placed before us to help us. 

I recall many times when I felt overwhelmed.  I gritted my teeth and kept on struggling, becoming more and more exhausted.  When I was at my lowest energy I would often pause, take a deep breath and finally ask, “God, how do you want to help me?”, instead of telling God what I wanted in the way of help.  Almost always, just like Hagar, I would see things I had been blind to, because of pride and stubbornness. 

God never forsakes us.  It might feel at times that we are alone, lost and without hope.  In these moments the word of God to Hagar is ours, “Do not be afraid.  Open your eyes.” When we do we are usually amazed at what God can and is doing in our lives if we will just see.  

Prayer

Loving God, When we feel abandoned like Hagar, strengthen us.  Ease our fears and help us to open our eyes to see the help you have provided.  AMEN.

Today’s 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/.

Genesis 15:1 (NIV) After this, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: “Do not be afraid, Abram.  I am your shield, your very great reward.”

Our podcast theme for the month of June is Be Not Afraid, which is also frequently stated as Do Not Fear. 

Writers have identified these phrases occurring in scriptures 365 times and have written daily devotions such that every day of the year, a portion of scripture with these words can be used for contemplation and meditation.  We are not going to attempt to cover every one of these verses but a representative sample such that we become familiar with the concept when we encounter it in our study of God’s Word.

Genesis 15:1 is the first place in scripture where the phrase is found and depending on which translation you read, it may say either “Do not be afraid” or “Do not fear.”  In this particular verse, the phrase comes at the beginning of a message given within a vision.  As I read through scripture, the phrase seems to mostly be an introduction from either a vision or the appearance of an angel.  In either case, the phrase precedes a message.

For most of my life, I associated Do Not Be Afraid with the appearance of the angel.  If I had an angel suddenly appear in front of me with or without a flaming sword, you better believe I would be afraid!  In all likelihood, the phrase Do Not Be Afraid would have to be yelled because I would be running away.

The more I read scripture, the more I realize I am not being challenged to accept the messenger but instead, to not fear the message itself.  It is not in God’s nature to ask us to do things that we can already do.  Instead, it has been my experience that God says do not be afraid, but I am going to ask you to do something you don’t think you can do.  In fact, you probably cannot do it on your own but Do Not Fear because I will be with you.  With your faith in God, you can achieve more than you ever thought possible.

I offer you this prayer: 

Lord, teach me not to fear when you ask me to do something that I don’t think I can do.  Open my eyes and heart to see that you are present with me through all trials when I place my faith in you.  Amen.

This devotional was written and read by Owen 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/.