Several years ago, I was heading up a USAID project in Southern Africa and I found myself in Mozambique at an agricultural experiment station. The grant I had contained little room for unplanned expenses. But with that grant, we trained more than 15,000 farmers in Lesotho, Mozambique, and Zimbabwe and greatly improved corn yields for those farmers.

But on this day, I needed to go to another location. I found a minibus going that way, and I paid the equivalent of about $5, and got in. Occupancy should have been twelve, but I counted more than 20 people. It took us 5 hours to go about 130 miles.

I got the seat on the hump next to the driver and had to put my arm around him so I could breathe. The bus was hot, everyone was sweaty, and the smell of the disinfectant used to clean wounds was thick. Many on the bus had bandages on extremities and eyes. But everyone had a smile.

The driver said that just about all the passengers were going to a hospital for surgery or follow-ups, Many made the trip weekly. The road was awful. The potholes were huge and could be more than 4 feet deep. We hit one and had to sit on the edge of the pothole and to wait for the water to evaporate so the engine would start. The temperature climbed past 100..

I was hungry. My breakfast had been gone for hours. In my backpack I had two packets of cookies.. I got a package out, opened it, and then handed them back to the seat behind me. I did the same with the other package. I had just given away all of my food and had kept nothing for me.

Soon there was a tap on my shoulder and a small bag of potato chips to share, some salty crackers followed, and some homemade food and there were always smiles and thank you’s given. Then one of my cookie packets came back with one cookie left in it. The lady behind me took it out and handed it to me. And then the other one came back with one left, and it was handed to me. The kindness brought tears to my eyes.

I have so much to learn. And that day I learned the lesson Mom and Dad tried to teach me. If you put others first, good things will happen.

Dear Lord, help us to remember that practicing generosity is what you expect of all who walk with you. Amen.

This devotion was written by Neal Esh 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/.

As I write this, it is the morning after the total lunar eclipse of March 2025. I stayed up all night watching and photographing it.

I have photographed astronomical phenomena over the years, and my pictures have one thing in common: They rarely adequately represent the actual event. Technically, the images are fine, but they seldom have the impact of what I saw with my own eyes.

In addition, I often cannot explain or express what I saw in words. I don't know whether the words don't exist in our language or if I'm just not eloquent enough to find them. Either way, I can't do it.

Psalm 19 is David's attempt to do that, and it is a good one. I picture him on the balcony of his palace, looking up at the sky. Maybe he remembered his youth as a shepherd. He probably saw his share of astronomical events, and I know he saw sunrises and sunsets.

David, whom God called "a man after his own heart," quickly compares the majesty of the skies to God's glory, and that is an excellent metaphor.

God is bigger and greater than we can see or understand, like the universe. The planets and stars have inhabited space since creation, and their movements and actions will continue long after we are gone, and so it is with God. Although the science behind the universe is complex and unknowable, I don't have to be a scientist or engineer to appreciate it. God is infinitely greater in knowledge and awareness than I could hope to be, but I don't have to be a theologian to know him. I know he loves and cares for me, and I can worship Him.

Verse 1 says that "the heavens are telling the glory of God," not "have told" or "will tell." Like daily sunrises and sunsets, God is consistently and eternally present.

Although much is known about the universe, and mankind has gone past the limitations of our planet to travel into space, the more we learn, the more we realize how unfit we are for living in space.

In the remainder of Psalm 19, David writes about God's laws and points out that they are as glorious as the skies. But like studying the universe, the more we try to keep God's law, the more we realize we can never do it. God's law demands perfection, and we are not perfect. We are sinners, and we cannot be in a relationship with God in our own power.

What we need is a redeemer to bridge the gap between imperfect humanity and perfect God.

God knew that and sent his son Jesus Christ to be among us and one of us. He gave his life on the cross, forever closing the gap between us and God. It is the greatest gift of all time, and because of it, we can live with God, starting now and for eternity.

Father, thank you for sunrises, sunsets, and other displays of your glory. Thank you for providing the gift of Jesus Christ and a relationship with you through his death and resurrection. May we never take your gifts for granted, but enjoy them and mirror them to those who do not know you. 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: 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

Hello, and welcome to Grace for All, a daily devotional podcast produced by members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. I’m Grace Jonas, the reader and writer of today’s devotional, which I’ve entitled “Let Heaven and Nature Sing”. Thank you so much for joining me today!

When I was younger, I remember a song from either Vacation Bible School or a Children’s Play containing the lyrics “I’m not gonna let the rocks cry out for me” and “I’m not gonna let the hills bow down for me” in reference to praising God. I remember as a child, these lyrics seemed silly to me, which, even as an adult, they still seem a bit silly. But, not for the reasons you may think.

After all, the lyrics to the well-loved hymn “Joy to the World” contain the lyrics “let every heart prepare Him room, and Heaven and nature sing.” And refers to fields, floods, rocks, hills and plains repeating the sounding joy.

When I was young, I could not put a finger on why I thought the lyrics to that children’s song sounded silly to me, but now analyzing the lyrics to this hymn and this verse hand in hand, I know why that is: there are several hymns and church songs referring to creation singing of God’s love, but specifically in this context when we refer to creation, we refer to beings such as rocks, oceans, and other landmarks. In my mind, I feel this goes to show that while, yes, we shouldn’t let the rocks cry out for us or the hills bow down for us, we should fill the Earth with songs of worship and let all features of God’s wondrous Earth be alive with praise in harmony with our own.

Dear God, while we may believe the only things that can sing your praises are the beings with voices, help us be reminded that there is a beautiful Earth surrounding us that you painstakingly created that we should rejoice and be worship in harmony with. May we always love and appreciate the Earth you have created and fill it with the songs of your praise. In your name, amen.

This devotional was written and read 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/.

Have you ever said those words, “Why God is this happening to me?”

I have.

At those moments I must be feeling much like the people to whom Isaiah was talking. They felt that God was ignoring the predicament they were in. Or maybe that God didn’t care or that God had grown tired of trying to fix the messes that they had gotten themselves into. You know the list when we are playing the blame game and wanting to lay all that is happening at God’s feet and proclaim that if God cared then none of this would have happened.

Isaiah’s response was to remind them, and us, that God is the creator. If God created all the world then God would never grow tired or weary. God’s power and understanding is limitless. And God is willing to share that hope and strength with us. But we have a part to play. We must believe it. We must put our faith and hope in God. When we do we will gain strength. We still have to deal with the situation that we are in. But we know again we are not alone, God is aware of what we are going through. Our misery is not hidden from God. And in good time, with God’s love, this powerful creative God will help us to soar again with the eagles.

I recall a woman I got to know when I was a teenager. Blanch lost her eyesight when she was about 75. For the longest time she was in a great big pity party, to use her words. She kept asking God, “Why Me?” Finally she started to ask God a different question. “How can you use me?” She became a prayer warrior. Her daughter would keep a list of all the people who asked her to pray for them. She would read Blanch a few every so often and then Blanch would pray for them. She spent hours a day in prayer. It lifted her spirits and moved her back into the world. She had been staying home afraid and embittered. Now she was back to church and her women’s group and full of life. She had begun to soar. Her blindness was not cured, but her attitude was transformed. She realized this all powerful God loved her and had a use for her. She made a tremendous impact on me as a young man and I am sure she did on others who admired her ability to enjoy life even when it was hard.

Loving God, when we feel like you do not care, remind us that you never grow weary in loving us and caring us. Help us to put our trust in you knowing that we will get through this difficult time, we will gain strength and yes, might even soar again like an eagle. AMEN.

This devotion was written by Bill Green and read by Donn King.

Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United...

The advice we receive throughout our lives follows a pattern of stay strong, be independent, be resilient, fix your problems, and be proud of your accomplishments. The advice in scripture in dozens and dozens of places throughout the old and new testaments is to be meek. In the modern world, we rarely hear people advise us to be humble. We strut and brag. We go around pointing out what is wrong with others. We want more, and we are taught to go out and get it out.

But how does one really show strength and feel a sense of peace in a world so full of turmoil?

It does not take strength to hate, and it does not take strength to yell. It takes strength to show restraint, to accept that we do not know the truth, to look around and realize we have what we need, to put everything in the hands and heart of the Lord, and to follow the path that Jesus showed us.

The Earth is the Lord’s, and we are the children of God. What greater joy is there in childhood than to have a hurt, a fear, or a worry and to run to the arms of our mother for consolation. The peace we find in that moment is to rest in the strength of those that love and protect us. The need to be strong, to be right, to be better, and to belong is so strong that it causes us to kick and scream like children in a tantrum. If only we would stop and embrace the grace that surrounds us.

Let us seek silence, humility, and be meek. Let us turn the other cheek, accept censure, take the harder path, the Way, that is straight but an uphill climb in the world that surrounds us. Let us not cocoon ourselves in our own dignity like a blanket of self-righteousness.

Peace is to be found not in proving we are right, seeking more, or telling others how to act but in acting with grace towards all God’s beloved children. In humility, may our actions be meek because we quietly listen to the Holy Spirit as our actions are guided to listen not provoke, to assist not demand, to hold hands not to yell, to forgive not retaliate, and to trust that God holds us so that we may have all the peace of grace and love in the universe.

This devotion was written by Jill Pope and read by Judy Wilson.

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/.

Let's listen to that verse again from The Voice – “I looked again and could hardly believe my eyes. Everything above me was new. Everything below me was new. Everything around me was new, because the heaven and the earth that had been, passed away and the sea was gone completely.”

Some days the news of the world is so filled with sadness, pain, heartache, destruction, and hateful rhetoric, that I want to leave it all behind. So, I turn off the noise of the world by shutting off all the electronics and all the social media sources and I go into my quiet place to pray.

This quiet place is just an easy chair, in the corner of a room with no TV, no computer, no phone. This quiet place was claimed and designated several years ago, as my Prayer Chair. When I go there and sit in quiet solitude it is easy to find God’s peaceful presence and He covers me with His loving arms, calming my fears, and leading me beside the still waters.

And there, with Him, in the quiet, I see the new heaven and the new earth, filled with God’s LOVE and peace. I rest there as long as I need. Then, refreshed and full of his LOVE, I return to my busy day. But I take the feeling with me and with my refreshed spirit I see new possibilities, new hope, and God’s LOVE everywhere I look.

I see the potential for that new Heaven and that new Earth. And I feel peace, hope, and LOVE, washing away the old earth inside my heart and mind. The short journey to my Prayer Chair was not easy when I first claimed it as my refuge. It took courage and determination to shut out the world’s noise, just by sitting quietly in one plain armchair.

But as time passed in this special place, the chair became a place of respite and hope, a sacred quiet place, where God is always waiting for me. Simply sitting in that chair seems to “plug me in” to God.

Now the chair itself is absolutely nothing unique, but its purpose has come alive over time. She has become a portal, a place to quickly plug into God, shutting out the noise of the world. There is physically no new heaven and no new earth, outside of that chair…yet, sitting here in my Prayer Chair, I can see the promised New Earth clearly – the New Earth ruled by LOVE!

Friends, if you need a respite from the worries and pain of things of this old world, I highly recommend claiming your own Sacred Chair, or Spot, or Closet. Go there physically or mentally, whenever you need to be closer to God and to see the hope, the LOVE, and the new possibilities of God’s new earth, ruled by LOVE.

Lead us, Lord, to our sacred place close to You, where we can find LOVE and peace in Your New Heaven and New Earth, as we work to make this old one better through your LOVE. In Jesus’ name we pray. AMEN!

This devotion 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: 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...

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/.

The creek had been buried by overgrown brush and debris for fifty years until the neighborhood coalition worked to “daylight” it. Now children gather at its restored banks, learning the names of native plants from elders who remember when fish were plentiful. “This creek carries stories,” explains Rita, who helped lead the restoration. “When we heal the water, we heal the connections between people and place.”

The psalmist imagines nature itself celebrating divine shalom – rivers clapping, mountains singing. To modern ears, this might sound like mere poetry. But what if these ancient words point toward a deeper truth: that environmental healing and social shalom flow together like converging streams?

In this restored creek, we glimpse such possibility. Where careless neglect once constrained life, native plants now filter runoff. Where once-divided neighborhoods now share garden paths. Where children once saw only an eyesore, they now watch water fowl swim in clear water. This is creation care – not just preserving what remains but restoring what was lost. Not just sustainability, but regeneration.

As climate challenges mount, such small acts of restoration matter more than ever. They remind us that peace with creation isn’t achieved through grand gestures alone, but through countless local acts of attention and love. Every creek restored, every garden planted, every community gathered around healing places joins the ancient song of clapping rivers and singing mountains praising God.

Dear Lord, show us places and people who need to be restore. Show us the acts of environmental healing that we could do today. Amen.

This devotional was written by Chuck Warnock 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/.