Grace for All

Several years ago I was in a meeting and a woman made the statement, “God didn’t make no trash.” She was making the point that God sees worth in each individual and their God given gifts, and tasks are of equal importance to those viewed as more important by the world.

When thinking about contributions that people can make, I at first thought about numerous biblical examples of people who were otherwise insignificant but whom God had chosen to do great things. Then I thought about those of more modern times, people like George Washington Carver, Gladys May Aylward, and the like, who came from obscure backgrounds but have been recognized by the world for what they have accomplished. But even these people are outnumbered by the “hidden figures,” those who never receive any recognition for the great things they have done.

Our church has been blessed with the resources and heart to serve those in our community through various ministries. While there are numerous stories about the people we have been privileged to help, one in particular comes to mind.  At one of the clothing events, a young boy came through with his mother. He had outgrown his shoes and needed a new pair. When he found a pair that he liked, he asked if it would be all right if he put them on to wear home. The response was yes. He looked at his old pair and said that maybe they could be used by another boy. Would it be all right if he left them? The response to that, too, was yes. This simple act “lifted up” all those who witnessed it – the women helping at the event, the mother, and the boy himself. 

Our scripture today reminded me of that story. Like the widow with her two coins, the boy had an offering of two somewhat worn shoes that he had outgrown. Yet he wanted them to help someone else. Out of what little he had, he gave a great gift.

God help us to see in each person that we encounter what you see and respond to them in a way that pleases you.

This devotion was written by Alvin Jenkins and read by Sally 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/.

We are told in many places in the scripture that God is always with us, that his presence is always there, no matter where we are, or what our circumstances are. Yet a very famous verse, says, seek the Lord while he may be found. It might lead us to ask, what’s going on here? Is God really hiding his face from us?

This passage in the gospel of Luke tells us something that is very important and sheds light on what we might think is a contradiction. It takes us back to the short time before Christ's crucifixion, when he approaches the city of Jerusalem. He looks upon the city as a symbol of all of the people that he loves. If they had only recognized the time when he was close, when he was beside them, and responded to that.

But now it is too late. The people have hidden their eyes from him. They have missed their opportunity. Jesus was close by, in this case in the flesh, and they missed it.

These words provide us with the theme for our Grace for All podcasts over the next month. There are times in our lives when Jesus is particularly near. He is far away when we turn our eyes away from him, when we get distracted by our selfish concerns, by the things that happen, by those things that seize our minds and attention, or just by every day busyness of life.

Here we are reminded to recognize that God is with us, and that he is close to us. We must open our eyes and see him.

Dear Lord, help us always to be sensitive to your presence no matter where we are in life, no matter what has happened to us, no matter what the distractions are. We seek your presence, and we seek your closeness every day. 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/.

I love butterflies. I have always admired God’s handiwork in these beautiful creatures, but during the most painful season of my life, butterflies became especially meaningful to me. A powerful symbol of transformation and new life, the butterfly spoke to my deepest need in my darkest hour: hope.

When I read this puzzling interchange between Jesus and Nicodemus, it occurs to me that butterflies are some of the few species that actually experience two births, and two remarkably different lives. When my children were small, my family purchased a butterfly dome, and patiently watched five tiny, scrubby-looking painted lady caterpillars grow, cocoon, and emerge re-created from their chrysalides as elegant, winged beings. It was an everyday miracle, happening right in our home—a little taste of heaven, not lost on any of us.  

We were awed, I think, not only by the beauty and excitement of the anticipated transformation, but because such a thing speaks directly to the soul. The message of the butterfly is that the simple, plain, ordinary, and even ugly can be radically changed into the exquisite, splendid and magnificent.  The deepest longing of my spirit is to know this truth. I need to cling to this promise of redemption of all things: hope.

When Jesus spoke to Nicodemus about being born again, I believe that he was not speaking of a one-time event but of a lifelong process.  Transformation begins in us when God claims us through baptism, or even before, but it does not end there. I am aware of my need not only to be born again, but to be born again and again and again. 

I have read that when a caterpillar is changing inside a chrysalis, the process involves a complete breaking down of the original organism. In other words, if you open a chrysalis during the middle of the process, you will find a gob of goo, not bearing any resemblance to either the caterpillar or the butterfly. The caterpillar is not only transformed; it is completely broken down so that it can be re-formed. The times in my life when I have truly experienced spiritual rebirth have felt a lot like that. Part, or parts, of me, seemed to be broken down completely before they were changed. 

The hope and promise of Easter Sunday are impossible without the despair of Good Friday. Birth is painful, but thanks be to God, the Giver of Life, for God’s labor of love! 

Holy God, Giver of Life, you make all things new. Thank you for your sacrificial labor of love through which we are redeemed and reborn. May we receive your promise, and live a life worthy of your calling. In Christ’s name we pray, Amen.

Today’s devotional is 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/.

Listen to the Scriptures from the previous week of devotional episodes for Lent.

This episode is a mix of Bible verses with music. It's a different experience, even if you've already listened to every episode.

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 talking to a friend who had recently lost a loved one, he remarked on how they had lived a good long life and didn’t suffer too much in the end. I agreed that it would be my preferred way to go, rather than to suffer a long and painful illness in the end. However, when it comes down to it there is no easy way to finish our lives. There is pain and sorrow for all involved in the loss of life. 

When Jesus gave the ultimate sacrifice, he suffered greatly. His last words could be taken many ways: his life was ending, his ministry was ending, his suffering was ending. But he was also declaring an end to the need for sacrifice and pain as a means to commune with God. He made the sacrifice for us. Jesus finished his life by giving it up for you and me. What a gift he has given us! This Good Friday, when we mourn the sacrifice and suffering of Christ, let us be thankful that it was finished with love.

Lord Jesus, our hearts are heavy with the remembrance of your sacrifice.  Thank you for the pain and suffering you endured because of love. Amen.

Today’s devotional was written by Rev. Nathan Irwin 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/.

The Sabbath day was one of the few ways in which the Jews of Jesus’ time were able to distinguish themselves from other peoples on earth. Their strict observance of the Sabbath was an outward demonstration of their devotion to the one true God, Jehovah. Over the decades, they had developed many rules for observing the Sabbath.

All of these rules came about with the best intentions possible. They were honoring God. They needed to be observed. But eventually, the rules themselves had become sacred, particularly to the religious leaders of the nation.

They were so sacred that they blinded the leaders of the synagogue to the good deeds that Jesus was doing and to his ultimate purpose on earth. Jesus was a rule-breaker, especially when the rules would prevent him from establishing the kingdom of God on earth.

This passage reminds us in this Lenten season that while rules, practices, and customs are important, none of these good things should get in the way of expressing our love for God and our fellow human beings. None of them should stop us from showing that love when and where we have the opportunity. The greatest commandments are to love God and to love our neighbors as ourselves. The rules, however good they are, should follow far behind those two commandments.

Our father, help us in our daily lives to see beyond the rules that we have set for ourselves and for others, and to catch a glimpse of your love and grace. 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/.

The purpose of a redemptive act is to save a person or thing from captivity or loss. As Christians we believe we have been redeemed by God by the blood of Christ. For what purpose? How do we respond?

How do we show thanks for this unmerited love?

Our response can take many forms. We know that we are all to put God first, others second, display the fruit of the Spirit in our lives, and use wisely the gift that the Spirit gives us, etc. But how does this apply specifically to me or to you.

One of the ways in my life has been to share time and resources in the fight against hunger. At one time this included gleaning at a Harvest of Hope at the farm of a local university..

As things changed, it became more about helping at food drops, gleaning at farmer’s markets and retailers, repacking food, and the like. Though it all has been the opportunity to support these efforts with prayer and gifts.

In a sense, all these activities lead to saving – that is, redeeming – food from loss and redirecting it to God’s children who for whatever reason would otherwise go without.

Prayer: Dear God thank you for redeeming me. Help me to live my life so that it is a pleasing response to your love. Amen.

This devotional was written by Alvin Jenkins 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/.

This week did not go as planned.

As I write this, we are ending a week featuring more snow than the Knoxville area has had in over 30 years.

I teach college classes. We had planned to start last Tuesday. My Toastmasters Club had planned to meet Wednesday morning as usual, and have a social gathering that night. Our disabled daughter had a full nursing schedule with no gaps, a rare week.

Instead, all physical classes wound up dismissed the whole week—not the ideal start to a semester. The Wednesday morning meeting happened, but over Zoom. That social gathering that had been planned for three months? Canceled. Four nights this week, our daughter’s night nurses have not been able to get here, including tonight. In fact, I just got a phone call. Her day nurse slid off the road on the way home, and so cannot make it here tomorrow, leaving me to care for Hannah for 24, maybe 36, straight hours.

As I’ve mentioned before, our disabled daughter has taught us to make your plans, but hold them lightly, since they’re likely to change. (We have also learned that “normal” is just a setting on a dryer, but that’s another story.)

James doesn’t tell us to forgo planning altogether. After all, Scripture also says, “The plans of the diligent end up in profit, but those who hurry end up with loss” (Prov. 21:5) and “If one of you wanted to build a tower, wouldn’t you first sit down and calculate the cost, to determine whether you have enough money to complete it?” (Luke 14:28) and “Without counsel plans fail, but with many advisers they succeed” (Prov. 15:22).

But within that context, James advises us to recognize we don’t control much of anything. Things can change in an instant. There is one constant, as expressed by the Hebrew writer. “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever!” (Heb. 13:8).

Father, thank you for the reminder that we cannot control the circumstances of our lives or the things that happen to us. We can wallow in that frustration, or we can enjoy the peace that passes understanding when we place our lives in your hands. Teach us to place you and your will first as we make our plans, and to see your hand in all that we do. 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/.

As a child I remember being utterly astounded at how 5,000 people could be fed that day in Galilee, with twelve baskets of crumbs left over! Jesus, in the blessing and feeding of his crowd of listeners, nourished not only their physical bodies but also fed their souls with his teaching that day.

The listeners certainly must have gone from the place refreshed and renewed, filled with blessings beyond the meal of bread and fish. As you move through this time of Lent, consider your sources of nourishment, those things that sustain and deepen your faith. How can you offer these strengths to bless and nourish the people you come in contact with during Lent and beyond? Prepare to be astounded at what can happen.

Loving God, refresh our faith and expand our opportunities to nourish others. Fill us to overflowing with the miracle of your presence. AMEN.

Today’s devotional was written by Jenny 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/.

To know the true meaning of this scripture we must break down the definition of Hosanna. Both root words of Hosanna and Jesus mean “Save” or “To save”. It also means the crowds adored him and were filled with joy by accompanying him into Jerusalem. When the crowds shouted out to him they were rejoicing and asking for saving.

Often we need to be saved by Jesus from the temptations we see in everyday life. This can mean thinking about Jesus before making any major decisions or asking yourself if you would do this knowing Jesus was watching.

Another thing we do not do often enough is rejoice in the fact that we are blessed enough to have a warm, and welcoming place to worship. These people were following Jesus in the hot sun, simply because they wanted to be saved by him, while we so often take his loving grace for granted.

So try to make a change in your everyday life by remembering Jesus and being enthusiastic because of the saving grace he offers us.

Let us pray: Lord Jesus, we praise you and thank you for your saving grace. May we never take it for granted. Amen.

Today’s devotional was written by Isaac Irwin 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/.