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: podcasts@1stchurch.org.

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 verse comes in an oft-quoted passage of Paul’s letter to the Colossians. After listing a number of actions (such as greed, impurity, and evil desire) and motivating behaviors (like anger, wrath, and malice) that are considered un-Christlike, he describes stripping away these old practices and reclothing ourselves in the image of our creator. He goes on to say that old hierarchies and divisions are invalid in this renewal before contrasting the old practices with new ones, like compassion, kindness, forgiveness, and love. One of my favorite parts of this passage is that he goes on to say that we dwell in what the New Revised Standard Version translates as harmony, others as unity, and that we should sing songs together. Amen!

We are really fortunate at our church to have pastors who provide us great insight and fresh perspective on the scriptural passages that are often so familiar to many of us.

Recently, Pastor Jonathan was preaching about the concept of being “born anew,” and he made the point that many of us who were raised in the church consider this a bit of a foreign concept, since we don’t remember not practicing our faith, and there was often not a landmark moment when we decided we would follow Christ. In a subsequent week, he was describing a conversation he had with a mentor, asking when the mentor had decided to devote his life to the call of ministry. The mentor’s reply was “most recently, this morning.”

I think that we often hear familiar scripture like today’s passage, and we think about when that might have happened to us in the past. Some past time when we rejected the bad and embraced the good. We don’t consider that we make the decision to reject the old ways and embrace the new daily. In fact, I would argue that it’s really situational — we have to make these decisions multiple times every day. Having been brought up in a faith tradition that believes that one “becomes saved” at one point, then all is set, this way of thinking is a reframing of what I was raised to believe is the relationship with Christ. Like a healthy marriage that is not just vows on the couple’s wedding day, but constant decision making to help each other prosper and grow through this life, even — and especially — when it’s difficult, our relationship with Christ is not a once-and-done experience, but a renewal throughout our lives. But like the healthy marriage that allows us to peel away at the onion, revealing new experiences and understanding of one another, the relationship with Christ also evolves to reveal new understanding of Christ and to present never-ending ways we can embody his goodness, allowing us to experience renewal each time.

God, in Christ Jesus, you give us a new way to live, for which we are thankful. Help us to always look for times when we can put on the clothing of Christ, experiencing the renewal and rebirth that you offer us, and never let us think we are finished learning how to better reflect your love. In Christ’s name we pray. 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: podcasts@1stchurch.org.

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Over the years, I have come to understand one of the simplest prayers may be one of the most powerful. God, please help me, I need it.

This prayer recognizes and calls out to God, admits my life needs to go in a different direction and seeks God’s help to make the change. This prayer also establishes a personal relationship through a willingness to seek help from God and to try and do what God leads us to do. Where will the help come from? It will come from a relationship with God, by spending time in prayer, by reading the Bible to find guidance and direction, and from the wisdom of the Godly people that are placed in my life.

In today’s devotion, I would like to focus on a portion of scripture that provides both guidance and direction for me. These words come from the book of Ephesians, chapter 4, verses 21 through 32, with special emphasis on verse 23. Please hear these words from the New Living Translation.

Even though it might provide some challenges, the advice here is solid; tell the truth, don’t hold grudges, clean up our language, turn from bitterness and anger. Be kind to one another, forgive one another, encourage one another, and through good hard work give generously to others in need.

These words sound good and sound easy, but in reality it can be an impossible challenge for me to follow through on this because it is not in my nature to always be so nice and forgiving. Let’s go back to that simple prayer, “God, please help me, I need it.” There, I have admitted the truth, I need help, but where will I find it? Verse 23 from today’s scripture gives us the guidance we seek, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. I need help and that help will come through the works of the Holy Spirit if I will just slow down my nature and follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit. The more I do it, the easier it becomes but it requires daily attention because my sinful nature is always there. I try to set aside daily time for reading the Bible but will readily admit I don’t accomplish this every day. I try to pray every day, and I find this is not only easier but very helpful. And I try to listen to the wisdom of the Godly people in my life, and yes, not all the people in my life are full of Godly wisdom. These are things I can focus on each day.

When the Apostle Paul wrote the scripture we read today nearly two thousand years ago, he wrote it as a letter to the people of the churches in...