In the last book of the Bible, the Book of Revelation, the author is given a number of visions. Chapter Four has a vision of heaven revealing the heavenly creatures who are praising and worshipping God and I particularly like verse 11 from the Common English Version where it describes the twenty-four elders crying out...

Isn’t it fitting that the Bible begins with God creating the world and everything in it and then concludes with a praise of God for his creative nature. I love watching the sun rise and sun set and have been blessed to witness them in many different places around the world. Each one reminds me of God’s creative power and daily renewal. God did not just create and quit, God continues to create, and we should praise God for it. I celebrate God’s creative nature today, May 13th, every year as I remember the birth of our first child, a son. For a number of reasons, we were so thankful and grateful for this gift, and it is right that we praise and honor God.

But have you ever thought about why God created our son, why he created you? The verse gives us the answer when it says it was by God’s will. In several other Bible translations, it says that it pleased God or was by God’s pleasure to create. How awesome to realize that God was pleased when creating you. Should we not remember this on a daily basis and thank God for not just creating and loving us, but for the creation of those around us.

Will you join me in this prayer: Lord God, you are worthy to receive glory and honor and power. Thank you for creating us and loving us and teaching us to love all your creations both people and the world. Amen.

My name is Owen Ragland, if these words today caused you to celebrate the creation of someone special in your life, please consider reaching out to them and letting them know you thank God for creating them.

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/.

On April 8, 1964, my life changed. I was two months from graduation from college in june, ready for a summer job with Virginia Tech extension, preparing for marriage in august and starting graduate school in September.

While studying between classes, a secretary said i needed to call home. I was told my father had been killed in a sawmill accident on the farm. I drove the 250 miles home, wondering all the way how this could have happened and wondering what the future held. We lived on a 200-acre farm with about one half of it in a managed forest, the other in cropland and pasture. My mother was a typical farm wife and mother to my two younger sisters who were still in high school and an older sister who was a teacher.

There was no receiving of friends in those days except many came by our home and said to let them know if they could do anything. The neighboring farmers came and plowed the fields and planted the corn, soybeans and peanuts. My uncle whose place was next to ours farmed our place that year and rented it years after. I graduated, worked at my summer job and farmed in the evenings. I married in august and started graduate school in September.

For at least two years, I could not get out of my mind what had happened. In particular, I could not understand how God could have allowed or caused this accident to happen when i was facing several major decisions in my life. I had been baptized at age twelve, and been active in church, royal ambassadors and such. However, it seemed all of that had in no way prepared me for the grief and decisions i had to make then and in the future.

I continued graduate school but came home on every opportunity to fix things that were not working at home, mostly plumbing. Yet, I still could not get out of my mind why the accident happened at all and why at that critical time in my life. Should I have stayed at home and farmed? My fiancé had already accepted a teaching job. I am sure some of the neighbors thought I took the easy way out by going to graduate school. At least i did not have to hear it.

I came upon a poem.

That seemed to help me move on, looking more toward the future. Later, in 1996, the man who bought the sawmill said my dad had installed the transmission in backwards which led to the accident. That seemed to answer my question of how it could have happed. It also brought closure. God wastes no opportunity to use our experiences for his glory. That experience has helped me comfort and better relate to those who suffer tragic losses.

Dear God, help us to learn from the past, but focus on the future and how we can be and do more to serve you. Amen.

This devotion was written and read by Emmit Rawls.

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...

This short passage is enigmatic and raises more questions than it answer. How do we interpret these words of Jesus and his exchange with his disciple John? I confess that I do not have many answers and will continue thinking about this scripture for a while.

One thing seems to be clear. John and his colleagues want to stop people from exercising the authority of Jesus. Their actions and attitudes are based on the fact that the people who are doing these things are not a part of their group. They want to maintain the power of Jesus exclusively.

But Jesus does not have that attitude at all. While those who are with him all the time are special to him and he treats them as such, he understands that his mission on earth is much broader than these twelve men. Jesus is not challenged when others outside his circle speak and act in his name. He see value in those efforts and confident in their outcomes.

How often do we get caught up on our groups and seek to devalue and even prevent the good works of other people? Like little children, we want what we think is ours, and we don’t want others to have it. We forget that the good things we have and the opportunities to do good some from God, and we should always consider them gift. And we should remember that God gives to others as He does to us.

Our Father, help us to be more open to the good works that others may do and to never forget that your gifts are freely given. We have no special privilege and ownership in your kingdom. Amen.

This devotion was written by Jim Stovall 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/.

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 1stChurch.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

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/.

The book of Daniel also tells us the story of King Nebuchadnezzar II, an extremely powerful King of the Neo-Babylonian Empire, known for conquering Judah, destroying Jerusalem, and exiling many Israelites to Babylon. He was a powerful and ambitious ruler who built a great empire. He became proud and boastful, causing God to send a judgment upon him, causing him to lose his sanity and be driven away from people.

For seven years, Nebuchadnezzar lived alone in the wilderness, eating grass like the cattle and enduring a state of madness. His story serves as a cautionary tale about the dangers of pride and the importance of acknowledging God’s sovereignty.

My grandmother used to warn us kids of “getting too big for our britches” or “too big for our boots” or “getting a swelled head, too big for our hats.” All these idioms and sayings from my grandmother warned us that being swollen with pride and filled with arrogance would lead to no good end.

Both Daniel the prophet and my wonderful Christian grandmother were saying the same thing about pride.

We can all think of people who are swollen with pride and filled with arrogance. Let’s pray that we are not one of those swollen this way, and that those who are swollen with pride will have a change of heart before it is too late, and YOU, God, humble them “as You please by the powers of heaven.”

Dear God, keep me humble, keep my ego in check and help me to LOVE you, God, and to LOVE my neighbors – all of them on the whole earth. Forgive me when I judge others and lead me in the way I should go. We pray for those who are proud and boastful and who need your LOVE in their hearts. Help them, Lord, and forgive us for our feelings of resentment and judgment. Help us to leave the judgment up to you and to pray for our enemies and those we find hard to LOVE. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

This episode was written and record 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 community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.

So what else is necessary to convince anyone that Jesus was the messiah? Wrapped up in these verses are John the Baptist immediately recognizing Jesus as the Son of God, coupled with reference to prophecy of the coming messiah of the old testament.

A voice from heaven declaring Jesus as God’s son! The Spirit of God descending upon Jesus like a dove! How much evidence then or today does a person need to believe?

The people of Jesus’s time looked for a military leader to defeat all their enemies. It didn’t happen then, and the Romans eventually defeated their uprising. Jesus is not that kind of Messiah.

Jesus personified God the Father’s voice here on earth. He taught and performed miracles so that all people would believe. Many did believe, while there are those then and today who do not.

Jesus gathered his disciples around him, and from him they witnessed and learned. The disciples questioned him and wanted to know. As common people, the disciples must have been as astonished as anyone else then or today at the power of Jesus and his mastery of the Old Testament upon which they had been raised. Jesus was there from the beginning. He knew the prophets of the Old Testament and met with them on the mountain top in front of select disciples.

To be among the crowd on the banks of the river Jordan, to see the dove, to hear the declaration by the voice of God the Father! Wow!

God in heaven, we are your voice on earth today and tomorrow. Let our actions and words glorify you in our daily lives as we spread your love, near, far and wide. Amen.

This devotion 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: 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 prophet Isaiah lived in a period of Israel's history in which the nation was in rebellion toward God. A series of evil kings led the nation into idolatry, and the worship of God that was left was meaningless and perfunctory.

The book of Isaiah serves as a warning to the nation of Israel. Isaiah correctly predicts that God would use the mighty kingdoms of the day, first Assyria and then Babylon, to judge and condemn them for turning their backs on God.

Isaiah is also a book of hope. Against the dire predictions of the book's first half, in the second half, Isaiah vows that God will keep his promises to the nation and deliver them from their captivity.

Today's scripture is about that delivery. Just as God used the kingdoms of the day to punish the nation, he will use another great kingdom to deliver it. Chapter 45 says that Cyrus, a king who did not even know God, will deliver the nation of Israel. A century before Cyrus was born, God, speaking through Isaiah, called Cyrus by name as the deliverer of His nation.

Cyrus was a great and powerful king in a long line of great and powerful kings. Today's scripture, however, puts his greatness in perspective. Listen to the way The Message translation puts verse 13, the verse that follows today's verse:

Cyrus was powerful, but he was powerful because God made him so.

So what does this mean for us? It mostly means that God is alive and as sovereign now as He was then. He is more powerful than any king, president, or army, and He can use whomever or whatever He wants to achieve His purposes. Who is the most powerful person you can think of? God is greater than that person.

It means that God is the ruler over our times and events. What do you fear or dread the most? God is greater than that thing.

It means God created all the heavens and the earth. There is nothing you can touch, feel, or see that God did not make, no matter how big or small.

It means that God is greater than anyone or anything we might put on the thrones of our lives.

And God, through the gift of the death and resurrection of His son Jesus, not only allows us to be in a relationship with Him, but he desires it.

God is in control, greater than anyone or anything, and that is a source of hope.

Father, thank you for your might and your sovereignty. Thank you, for even though you are greater than anything we can know or imagine, you love and care for us. Thank you for the unsurpassed gift of life with you through Jesus Christ. 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 world. We are located on the web at

What an amazing gift is this! Psalm 115 reflects Genesis 1: 28-31 in which God reviews his Creation, finds it supremely good, and gives it to humanity, whom he had created in his divine image.

As with many other gifts, this one comes with a huge responsibility – to care for the Earth as God cares for us. What would God say to us today if we were having our work review on how we care for earth, including its human population?

I don’t think we would be getting an excellent review. Do you?

As far as “every kind of wildlife,” (Genesis 1:24), many species are now extinct or endangered, and we continue to encroach upon and eventually destroy their habitats. Not a high grade there.

Then there are “all the plants on earth, all the trees that yield fruit. . .all the green grasses for food.” (Verse 29) In some parts of the world, some people are doing okay with nutritious foods and plenty to eat, but in many other places there is famine, hunger, and death resulting from malnutrition. I can’t imagine that God meant for this to happen. I believe He intended for human beings to share the fruits of the earth so that all could flourish. Our use of all the fruits of the Earth is likely an F.

And then there is Earth itself, so altered by the “progress” of man. God did not create air pollution that sickens those who are forced to breathe in it. He did not create water pollution that poisons the waters of lakes, rivers, and oceans and kills all living things in those waters. He didn’t cut down great swaths of forests resulting in erosion and loss of fertile soil. We did that all on our own, and once again, I don’t think God approves. Some humans are working to clean things up and reverse the damage, but I don’t think our grade is yet higher than a D minus.

Overall, humanity has done a very poor job of managing the magnificent creation of God. I think where we get off the rails is in the phrase in verse 26 where God says “Let us make humanity in our image, his divine image, to resemble us.” Clearly the divine part has gotten overlooked along the way. God’s divine image includes the capacity for moral and spiritual development and embodies, love, justice, wisdom, and compassion. Oops! There certainly seems to be a lack of those qualities in many situations in our world today.

Yet, once again, all is not lost. There is hope for humanity and for the future of His creation if we once again strive for love, justice, wisdom, and compassion. Through the Holy Spirit, we can be transformed into the creation that God intended us to be and do as God would have us do. Our final grade does not have to be an F.

Heavenly Father,

Forgive us for our lack of care for all of creation, our fellow human beings as well as the bounty of Earth. Guide us and strengthen us as we work to correct our mistakes and live as you would have us live. Amen.

This devotion was written and read by Pat Scruggs.

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...