(our theme for September)

Some people are inspiring to be around. We feel good in their presence. They improve the quality of our lives and make us want to be a better person.

Hilliard Hester is one of those people for me. Hilliard lives in the same apartment building that I do and sometimes we have breakfast together. I go to the dining room around 7am directly from my apartment but he comes from the gym where he has been working out for 45 minutes or so. Hilliard is 93 years old.

The thing about him that inspires me most is not that he works out regularly at his age, though that’s certainly impressive , but it’s that he has what the writer of Proverbs calls “a cheerful heart.” He always has a smile, often tells a joke (they are corny but always clean), and he lifts the mood for everyone around him. His good humor is not the cynical kind that is so common today, but clearly comes from embracing God’s goodness in a way that makes his life, and through him, my life, positive.

The Bible speaks often of joy. It is a major theme in the Psalms. When an angel come to some night workers to announce the birth of the savior of the world the angel says his news will bring great joy to all people. Joy is one of the fruits of the spirit listed in Galatians.

So why are we so gloomy? Because we get our news from the world and not from the angels. A broken spirit saps our strength. But a cheerful heart is good medicine. Thank you, Hilliard, for constantly reminding me live a life of joy.

Dear God, I know I can trust you: today, tomorrow, forever. Because I can trust you, release in me a cheerful heart. Amen.

Today's devotional was written and read 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: 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/.

(our theme for September)

When I look at the world before me what do I choose to see? If I look at a tree, do I see the fallen leaves that show the passing of seasons and the loss of life? Or do I see a tree that is healthy and doing what all living things do by living and renewing for a new season?

When I look at my garden, do I focus on the tomato with a spot or the twenty that are ripening and full of all the good that is fresh produce twenty feet from my back door?

When I look at a person in front of me do I see their age, clothes, attitude, differences from me? Or do I see God’s beloved before me with whom I can share some time?

Why is it so hard to see the goodness in the land of the living? It is so easy to look at the world we live in and see what is wrong. A friend reached out to me recently because she had just gotten the results of a medical test. She was stuck in the uncomfortable position of knowing that something was wrong but not yet knowing what the specialist would find. She was worried. I understand. I have been there. I encouraged her to have patience. I pointed out the positives of having other tests that were normal, that she was overall in excellent health, and on and on. Why is it so hard to see the goodness in the land of the living? Why do we focus on one thing, often negative, and lose sight of the complete reality before us? We see a flaw, what is broken.

Why wait to see the good? When I stop and really look, eyes wide open, I find that I live in a world filled with good things and good people. I realize that all I have to do is look, and I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. I believe that I just need to look with my eyes and heart open to all that the Lord has given.

Let us pray- God, please give me the strength so that next time I see a tree with a broken limb after a storm that I will see the whole tree. Allow me to have compassion for the broken limb but joy in the strength of the trunk that withstood the storm and the beauty of the branches that are still there. God, please give me the strength to slow down and have the patience to see all that is before me and how good it truly is.

This devotional was written by Jill Pope 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: 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/.

(our theme for September)

In a recent Sunday School series of classes, we talked about this prayer that we call the Lord’s Prayer, verses 9-13. We didn’t spend much time talking about verses 14-15. As we talked, I was reminded of thoughts that I have had for some time about this prayer and my life.

As a lot of us do, I often say the Lord’s Prayer either as part of a group or by myself. I have often wondered whether we are really listening to what we are saying. Do I really want God’s kingdom to come on earth, want God’s will to be done on earth as it is in heaven, want only my daily bread, want God to forgive me as I forgive others? I expect I really mean the part about deliverance from temptation and the evil one. Do I heed the warning in verses 14 and 15 that follow the prayer?

If I really mean it when I say this prayer, I need to keep it always in mind and measure everything I do and say against my vision of what heaven is like. If the world is to be more like heaven, I need to accept the changes that may make me uncomfortable. This is not easy to do but with God’s help each of us can do our part. When the parts of this prayer are added together, it begins to make a greater impact. It shows us how it affects the whole of our lives.

Dear God, help us this day and each day to live like we really mean every word of this prayer and forgive us when we fall short. Amen.

This devotional was written by Alvin Jenkins 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: 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/.

(our theme for September)

In reading this verse, I am reminded of the lyrics to a song from an episode I once watched of Only Murders in The Building entitled “Look for The Light”. Those lyrics are as follows:

In the episode, this song is from a musical one of the protagonists is writing and is sung as a lullaby from a nanny to a young child in her care, assuring them that should they get lost in their nightmares to look for the love of their nanny, in other words, a lighthouse in the middle of a dark ocean.

Upon listening to this song outside of the context of the show, I’ve found that it’s a beautiful illustration of the love of our God serving as a lighthouse and a glimmer of hope. I believe that we are all guilty of letting the darkness take over when our souls are troubled. While we may often find ourselves feeling like boats adrift in a dark ocean during difficult times, God’s love is our lighthouse, unwavering and unfaltering through the toughest of storms, and there to guide us ashore. We are never truly hopeless, for so long as we praise God, we will always have a gleam of hope in the midst of troubling waters.

God, thank you for weathering each storm for us and serving as a lighthouse guiding us out of troubled waters. Help us to remember that bad times don’t last forever and that we are never without hope so long as we worship you. We look for the light of your love in all times and are grateful for it. Amen.

This devotional was written and recorded by Grace Jonas.

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/.

(our theme for September)

Thank you for 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: 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/.

(our theme for September)

As I write this, I’m on the verge of finishing clearing out my office because I’m retiring after 40 years of teaching, with the last 34 of them at this college, 11 years in the same office. You can accumulate a lot of stuff in a time frame like that.

The prophet Isaiah in poetic form said, “Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall.” Maybe, but let me tell you: it doesn’t get any easier when you get older. I am flat out exhausted. If I had to do this every day, it would overpower me.

Fortunately, I have hope it will end. I can see the finish line. I’m almost certain I will complete the job tomorrow. (I had better, since the next person moves in the day after tomorrow.)

When circumstances wear out even young people, we can all experience the energy that comes from hope. A well-known energy drink claims it gives you wings. It may or may not, but hope in the Lord definitely does.

Sometimes when I preach on Sunday mornings, my microphone will die right in the middle of the sermon. I swiftly reach for the fresh batteries on the left side of the pulpit and exchange the old, dead batteries for new ones. The word in the Hebrew translated “renew” carries with it the implication of “exchange.” Those who hope in the Lord don’t just renew their own strength. They exchange their depleted resources for the strength of the one who created the stars.

Father, this world can wear us down. We don’t have the strength to deal with it on our own. You have never promised us an easy time, but thank you for giving us the strength to deal with our challenges here. Guide us in waiting patiently for you so we can keep on walking. 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: 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/.

(our theme for September)

Lamentations is a book of the Old Testament that mourns the loss of the first temple. The majority of Lamentations is filled with - well- laments. The soulful cry of the wounded asks “God, why have you allowed this?”

Everyone at some point has suffered from loss, poverty, sickness, or the ill will of others’ actions. It feels that God has abandoned us, allowed bad things to happen, or has left us in darkness. How can we live a life of disease, poverty, or ill will without God?

But then we get to Chapter 3 and these verses. Chapter 3 captures the hope that God is with us and that God’s mercy will come with each new morning.

These verses and this context make me stop to ask, when destruction comes, what do we really lose? What do we retain? If the Lord is my portion, my inheritance, then don’t I have everything?

If my foremost desire and prayer is that I have God’s love then I have my heart’s desire.

If I place all of my hope in God then I will see that God is faithful to me and has never abandoned me.

When I doubt God, am I doubting myself and my ability to cope, blind to all that God has given me including God’s love and faith in me?

As one of the most famous hymns ever written states:

Great is Thy faithfulness in me. I do not need to doubt because I trust all will work out in God’s time. When I have wondered, wandered, and wanted, I find that I have wasted so much- wasted energy, wasted time. In the new morning, I see clearly the mercy that is the path God has made for me.

Morning after morning—new mercies I see.

I have never been without. I have never wanted for anything that really mattered.

I have always had everything that I need.

Hope is faith; faith is hope. Hope is love; love is faith. God does not lose faith in me!

God be with me and allow me to always see and feel the hope you have in me. Allow me to always see and feel your love and faith in me as I walk the path that you have set out for me.

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: 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/.

(our theme for September)

Today marks the 23rd anniversary of one of the most shocking and devastating days in American history. On September 11, 2001 when terrorists hijacked the planes that destroyed the twin towers of the World Trade Center, struck the Pentagon, and might have caused who knows what additional terror and chaos were it not for the brave souls who revolted and took a fourth plane down before it could reach the capital, the world changed forever.

A couple of years ago, I had an opportunity to visit the 9/11 Memorial and Museum, and stood mesmerized by the reflecting pools that flow where the towers of the World Trade Center once stood. I was not prepared for the depth of emotion I felt at that visit. After all, it had been 20 years since the day of the attacks. But I was overcome, moved to tears by the endlessly flowing water, the names of those lost, and the white roses left in memory. I was reminded that healing is a process, and that when it comes to the greatest losses we experience and the deepest griefs we bear, healing is a process that is never fully complete. I was reminded that hope, also, is a process.

Hope is not easy. In fact, hope can be hard work. Waiting patiently–for healing, for redemption, for faith to be restored, to see goodness come from evil–that’s hard work. It takes grit.

At the 9/11 Memorial site, there is a tree known as The Survivor Tree. This Callery pear tree was found lying in the rubble, torn, splintered, burned, and almost dead. Inspired to save it, recovery workers transported the tree to a nursery in the Bronx. Six years later, one of them, a man named Ronald Vega, wondered what had become of the tree and set out to find her. As soon as he saw the tree, visibly scarred but thriving, he was on a mission to return her to the Memorial site. The process was not easy. In 2010, the tree was again struck, uprooted by a Nor'easter that blew through the Bronx in March of that year. She was again re-planted and tended, watched over and prayed over. And in April of that year, she burst forth in spectacular white blossoms, indicating a full recovery. In December of the same year, The Survivor Tree was returned to the World Trade Center site, where she serves as a beacon of hope against terror and tragedy. And for the past ten years, the 9/11 Memorial seedling program has gifted Callery pear seedlings to three communities each year impacted by grand-scale violence and loss.

Today as we reflect on that day the world changed, and look ahead with uncertainty to a world that is changing, perhaps The Survivor Tree can inspire us to wait with patience, and to hope for what we do not see.

Gracious and loving God, your grace works to heal the deepest wounds of humanity and to bring a light of hope to the darkest of places. Today may we partner with you by waiting patiently and expectantly for your healing and your light, in hope for a future we cannot see. In Christ’s name we 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: podcasts@1stchurch.org.

First United Methodist...