We often hear that God doesn’t wait for us to come to Him but meets us where we are. Throughout Jesus’ ministry, he didn’t wait for people to come to him; he met them where they were. He didn’t wait for them to come to the synagogue or temple. He met them at the lakeshore, on the road, on the mountain, in their homes, wherever they were. God continues to meet us today where we are, physically, mentally, emotionally, and in every other way. He will meet us in our chosen place of worship, but he doesn’t wait for us to come there.

But there is a but!

Isn’t there always!

In reading a daily devotional recently, I was reminded of the rest of the story. While God meets us where we are, He doesn’t leave us there. In our scripture today, Jesus met Zacchaeus on the road. Zacchaeus changed not only the way he saw himself and the things he had done, but he also made a change in his life. Matthew left the table where he was collecting taxes. Several of the apostles left their fishing nets. He met Saul on the road to Damascus. There are many more examples both in the Bible and in the world around us.

So, having met God, where is He leading each one of us today? What is He asking each of us to do today? No matter how big or small it seems, if God is asking, it is important. If we don’t respond, who will?

Dear God, help me today to take time to feel your presence and to listen to what you have to say and then to respond in the way that pleases you.

This devotion was written by Alvin Jenkins 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 https://1stchurch.org/.

There is a popular quote, and I hope you’ll forgive me if the way I report it is not exactly how you have heard it. And I hope you’ll forgive me, too, if you know it to be from a particular source. You see, it’s actually attributed to many people — a quick Google search revealed attribution to everyone from Buddha to Saint Augustine to Christian author Joanna Weaver to Irish actor Malachy McCourt. In any case, the quote goes something like this: “Holding on to hatred is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die.”

That seems to be closely akin to the message the author of Proverbs is trying to convey. When we are kind to others, we are in turn helping ourselves. And when we are hurtful toward others, we are actually hurting ourselves, or drinking the poison, as it may be.

But to be clear, I really don’t think the point the author of Proverbs is making is to be kind to others in order to be kind to one’s self. Helping ourselves should be a by-product, not a goal.

One of my favorite podcasts (after Grace for All, of course!) is Hidden Brain. This is an exploration of the world through the lens of the social sciences. Host Shankar Vedantam invites incredibly intelligent people to his show to discuss, well, being human in this complex world. I highly recommend that you check out this podcast.

In April 2023, Shankar hosted psychologist Amit Kumar on an episode discussing why we are reluctant to be kind to one another. While the whole episode is worth your time, a few of the takeaways include that people often worry about getting the details of their particular kindness just right, but recipients seem to care much more about the effort than the act.

Further, small acts of kindness that might be inconsequential to the giver can be monumental to the recipient. When we share a kind word or make a small expression of warmth, we often are actually helping others more than we realize. And this chasm between how the giver and the recipient perceive the act creates what Kumar refers to as the Prosociality Paradox.

In this paradox, even though the act of kindness is good for both us and others, we are reluctant to behave in this way since givers of kindness worry about the details and minimize the effect. But it even goes further: this phenomenon also causes us to be reluctant to ask others for kindness that they could provide, even though studies show that we are more than happy to help others when we are able to do so, and we want to feel helpful.

As followers of Christ who are trying to demonstrate the fruits of the Spirit, we must be ever more intentional about sharing that kindness, no matter how great or small it may be. We must not worry so much about getting every detail right, as much as getting our intentions right. In short, we must overcome any obstacles from our efforts to make the world kinder. The podcast goes on to describe the pay-it-forward effect, which documents examples of how one act of kindness spurs another. Friends, let us make this society kinder and kinder still, and may nothing, least of all ourselves, get in our way.

Holy Spirit of God, you are the source of kindness. Let us channel that in our lives to all who need it, no matter how great or small the need. Help us to not worry so much about how to do so, but help us feel strengthened in you to not be reluctant to do so. We pray this in Christ’s name, 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...

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/.

Sometimes I think if I were God, I would have given up on people a long time ago. Do you ever feel that way? As if the rest of the world has quit trying, and you might as well, too?

My walk with Jesus has led me through many seasons—seasons filled with hope and gratitude, seasons rich with promise and potential, seasons in which my spirit was so attuned to Christ I could see evidence of God’s presence everywhere I looked. There have been seasons of fear and uncertainty, seasons heavy with weariness, seasons of spiritual drought in which I could not seem to find God, no matter how hard I tried. And then there have been times when I was tempted to give up trying altogether, because the future seemed bleak, the world seemed to be moving backward in time rather than forward, and by comparison, my own efforts seemed so small.

In such seasons, I want to throw in the towel, throw up my hands, and just give up on doing my part to try to make the world a better place. The apostle Paul’s words to his protégé, Timothy, offer a lifeline in moments like these. Paul encourages Timothy to persevere, to keep running the race of faith despite every obstacle. Paul knows the mix of triumph and tribulation, delight and despair, energy and exhaustion of following in Jesus’ footsteps. And to steady Timothy—and us—he offers a trustworthy saying: Remember, even though you may give up, God never does. That’s not who God is. Or, as The Message translation puts it, “If we give up on him, he does not give up—for there’s no way he can be false to himself.”

Faith is the fruit of the Spirit because God is faithful, and God cannot be otherwise. Today, Paul is reminding us that when our faith wavers, we can find hope in God’s unwavering faithfulness. No matter what, God remains steadfast and true.

Faithful God, when we lose heart, when out of sadness or frustration or weariness we feel like giving up, help us, like Timothy, remember this “trustworthy saying.” Remind us of your faithfulness across all generations. May we draw near to you and receive the gift of faith, the fruit of your Holy Spirit. Amen.

Today’s devotion 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 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 say the least, the Pharisees had a very contentious relationship with Jesus. They lived at the pinnacle of society, and they saw Jesus as a direct threat to their status, which was highly vaunted in respect to the everyday person of that time.

They connected the dots immediately to Exodus 3:14 “I am that I am” as was revealed to Moses, and thus their virulent reaction. As Christians, we know and understand that Jesus was there with the Father from the beginning.

In my own Christian walk, the more I study, the more seamless is the link between the Old and New Testaments.

The verses in this podcast act as Christ’s segue to his other “I am” statements to make it so clear to the masses as to who he really was.

Here’s a sampling of some of those to present clear pictures to the people that they could relate to in their daily lives:

The way is not always easy. There can be gloom, fog, rain, and hidden obstacles! Jesus is there for us! We can take our prayers of worry, concern, and/or gratitude to Him. He and his love are there for us. He commands us to share that same love with our brothers and sisters here on this earth. In doing so He will know us and gather us into heaven with the greeting of “Welcome, good and faithful servant! Even when you did those kind things to the least of them, you did it upon me!” Isn’t that really what it’s all about?

Heavenly Father, thank you for loving us so much that you sent your only Son to teach to love and to carry away the burden of our sin with His death on the cross. Give us the compassion to love one and other as you love us. Amen.

This devotional was written and read 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/.

Bearing all things, believing all things, hoping all things, enduring all things- that is a lot to contemplate. Bearing and enduring don’t exactly have a positive tone. Hoping and believing do. When we really stop and examine these words in the context of God’s love, the verse only has universal meaning when they are applied to all things and all times. It is all too easy to love, believe, hope, and endure when things are pleasant and we think things are right. But do we remember that God’s love is at the center of these moments all the time? It is much harder to find God’s love in things we endure. Sometimes we lose awareness of our hope and belief as we endure the worst or think the worst of the world and others. Perhaps the important part of this verse is the seemingly neutral “all things.”

Love is not God’s love, agape, if it only applies to things we find pleasant and right. God’s love is not partial, and it is not easy. It does not ignore the parts of life and reality that humans want to deny. It does not waver. It endures. It holds. It supports. It is.

Some people find me to be cynical. I prefer to think of it as realistic. I prefer to think of it as not denying that life can be challenging. I think the difference is hope. If we seek to be Christ-like like then we must find hope in all things, the things we cannot explain, the things we cannot agree with. If we seek to be Christ-like like then we are required to endure the pain and suffering of the world even when we want to label it as wrong, or ignore it, or be angry about it. We are required to believe and seek the hope that God’s love will show us- all of us- a path forward because our example is a Man whose path led to a cross. When our love endures all things, then we respond in love to all things. The challenge of loving people, ideas, and situations that we think are wrong requires us to be realistic about the fact that we are not in charge and we are not all-knowing. The human capacity to understand all is only possible through the gift of the Holy Spirit and the sacrifice of Jesus. If my belief is that God makes all things, then I must give my doubts to God in prayer and seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Hope is born in these moments when we return God’s love in prayer and find the strength to accept our place in a world that we do not understand.

Let us pray together today that we have hope and belief in our hearts as we strive to understand all. God, help us to understand that Your love is ever present for us and in us to share with the world we live in, hope in, believe in, endure in, and we pray that we act as part of one church in the body of Christ. May the fruits of the Spirit that You have shared with us enrich the lives of everyone we encounter. Amen.

This devotional was written by Jill Pope and read by Susan Daves

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

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/.

In this scripture, Jesus is talking to his closest followers, teaching them the importance of staying close to Him; the importance of relying on Him for strength and direction. But they were very confused and concerned, because he had also just told them he was leaving and going where they could not follow.

How could they rely on Him if he was leaving?

Not long after this conversation, Jesus was arrested, tortured, crucified, died, was buried and rose up out of that grave! Centuries later we live in a very different world, where we are constantly hearing all the bad news of millions of people all over the world. A world where we are bombarded with troubles, both real and imagined, 24X7.

It can feel overwhelming, to say the least. We need Jesus’ promise to feel true for us today! “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart, I have overcome the world.”

How can these words feel true? How can they help us today? Where are you, Jesus?!

I recall asking Jesus just that very question one day a few years ago, when I was going through a particularly rough spot in my life. And he whispered His answer in my heart – “I’m right here.”

Friends, he is here. He is always with us, but are we always with Him? It is us who turn away – not Him. I can’t feel His presence and neither can you, if we don’t take the time to shut off the noise, put down the devices that talk to us 24x7, and find quiet time to pray and to listen for Him – time to seek Him.

He is with us and promises we will find him when we seek Him. He is actually closer than our breath. He has overcome the world, but we haven’t allowed him to overcome our hearts. Our hearts are too often weighed down with the myriad troubles of the world and we seem to hear them all. But take heart friends. Jesus has overcome the world!

Psalm 143:8-10 offers a great prayer for us today and every day. Please pray with me.

Dear God, forgive me for turning away from You, and help me to seek You always, to trust Your word, and to believe with all my heart that You have overcome the world. You, O God, are LOVE and I need Your help to live in LOVE and peace. Help me, I pray. AMEN.

Today’s podcast 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 community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.