Nothing encourages me more than to think that I have been adopted into the family of God. And nothing challenges me more than to think that I have been adopted into the family of God.

We who have received the gift of the Holy Spirit are the children of God. No longer slaves, we have been adopted. By grace, we call God, “Daddy,” and Jesus, “Brother.” This means that we are co-heirs with Christ and God says to us, “Everything I have is yours.” But it also means that just as Christ suffered with us, we must suffer with Christ.

Living in this world is hard. Life is messy. Relationships are messy. We seek certainty and direction. We want to find something we can count on. We want things to be clear—right or wrong, good or bad. But if we are paying attention, we know that few things are certain, and few things are “all” or “nothing.”

Being part of a family requires wrestling through the uncertainty, complications, and messiness of life together. Families suffer together, and families celebrate together. And this is what it’s like to be part of God’s family, too. It means that we are accepted, and loved, and that we will always have a place to belong, but it doesn’t mean that life will be easy, or that we’ll always get along.

This scripture passage suggests to me that entering into all of the complicated mess of this world is the pathway to joy and peace. Jesus did not avoid life’s messiness or its complications or conflict. Jesus entered into suffering—not only the suffering of the cross, but the suffering of the world. And therein lies Christ’s glory. As this scripture says, we also share in Christ’s sufferings SO THAT we may also share in his glory. As the family of God, we share in one another’s, too.

God, thank you for adopting me into your family. Let me not forget your love for all of my brothers and sisters. Use me this day to be an encouragement to someone else, and allow me to be challenged to love more fully, even when it’s difficult. May I truly share in Christ’s sufferings that I may also share in his glory. Amen.

This 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/.

1 Peter 2:9 KJV

When I was in elementary school, it was a common practice to “choose” sides before playing softball, football, kickball, or whatever sport we were playing that day. Remember how that went? Everyone knew who the first player chosen would be – the star athlete, the one who could be depended upon to play well and help their team win. Everyone also knew who would be chosen last – the uncoordinated kid, the one most likely to strike out or drop the pass. There were definitely winners and losers.

In this verse, however, God calls an entire holy nation, all of whom are individuals that stand out, not for their athletic skill but because of their choice to follow Jesus into his “marvelous light.” We are united not because of what we can do but because of what we believe. On God’s team, we bring our individual gifts to enable us to work together to build His kingdom on earth. We do this in praise of Him, and there are only winners on this team.

The final part of the verse seems particularly relevant to our modern world. There is a great deal of darkness – wars, disease, poverty. . . man’s inhumanity to man shows itself in many different horrifying ways. Sometimes that darkness seems overwhelming; it is easy to feel we will never see full light. However, we are “called out of darkness into His marvelous light.” God’s word and our faith assure us that “His marvelous light” is there to guide us through whatever dark circumstances we are experiencing. The light is for all who believe. There are no losers in God’s Kingdom.

God, thank you for choosing us to be your people and for your promise of marvelous light. May we continue living in that light by not only growing and living out our own faith but also by sharing the Good News with others. We are your peculiar people, and we praise You! Amen.

This devotion was written by Pat Scruggs 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/.

Amos 5:24

This is a powerful demand from God for unstoppable fairness and care for the vulnerable, warning that empty religious rituals are meaningless without moral integrity. By definition, Justice is a fundamental and ethical principle based on equity, fairness and the rule of law. It ensures that individuals receive what they are due, whether it is appropriate rewards for good deeds or fair consequences for bad ones.

The prophet Amos delivered this message to the Northern Kingdom of Israel during a time of great economic prosperity, but also deep moral decay. The wealthy and powerful were exploiting the poor, taking bribes in court, and using false scales in business. Despite this widespread oppression, the people were still faithfully attending religious festivals and offering sacrifices. The prophet Amos is condemning the religious hypocrisy and demands that the society establish true justice and righteousness , rather than just offering the obligatory sacrifice.

God’s law for His people was always about loving God and loving others. In the time of Amos, it seems that His people had totally missed the point. The prophet Hosea reveals the heart of God in this matter: “I desire mercy, not sacrifice” (Hosea 6:6). God provided the sacrificial system for His people because He knew that they would sin, and He wanted to provide a way for their sin to be cleansed. In Amos’s day, the people used God’s sacrificial system like pagan religious systems. They didn’t follow God’s moral law, and they assumed perfunctory obedience to the letter of the law would suffice. They were stuck in a legalistic religion. But Amos emphasizes that God would rather have true justice rather than outward conformity to his laws.

Martin Luther King Jr. famously invoked the phrase "let justice roll down" during the Civil Rights Movement to demand immediate equality and an end to systemic racism. The exact line, "...we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream," was a focal point of his 1963 "I Have a Dream" speech. It was a rallying call that true racial equality was a necessity.

This verse is as relevant today as they were in Amos’s time. The call to justice and righteousness is a timeless one, calling us to examine our own lives and the society we live in to ensure that we align with God’s standards of justice and mercy.

Let us pray: Heavenly Father, Be in our hearts so that we may be truly just and righteous people, not merely mouthing the words. Open our eyes to the injustice of the world and guide us to right the wrongs and continue to do Your will. Amen

This devotional was written by Virginia Hardwick Kerr 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/.

The prophet Zechariah is mentioned in passing in Ezra 5:1. Both he and the prophet Haggai were part of the generation that returned to the land of their ancestors after the King Cyrus of Persia released the exiles. They went to Jerusalem to settle and rebuild the city and the Temple of the Lord.

A small number of the people who traveled were part of the exiled generation. The majority, though, were the descendants of people who experienced the destruction of the city, the kingdoms of Israel and Judah, and the Temple. We may marvel at the courage involved in going to a place they have never seen and starting life anew. The nagging question on everyone’s mind had to be what will we do when we get there? They would rebuild, live, be the people of God again were among those answers. But what do we rebuild first? Do we build our own houses, the Temple, or the city walls? How should we live when we are settled? Haggai will argue that the people need to complete the Temple. Zechariah will say, “We need to do what God is doing.” What does God want?

Our text says God wants this new generation to do community life better than the previous one did. These verses in Zechariah 7 repeat the teaching of the prophets of those earlier generations. We should live honestly and never mistreat another person. While we may desire to leave the lesson there, Zechariah names the people whom he saw as the most vulnerable. He wants his readers to ask, “How are we treating orphans, widows, aliens, and the poor?” He suggests the key is to ask how are we treating another person? Are we devising evil against someone else? Are we excusing our attitudes by the unholy imagination that someone is planning to do us harm? Is our golden rule, do unto others before they do unto you?

The people of Zechariah’s day probably responded by saying their situation was more desperate than the times of their ancestors. They may have claimed that they would never act like their ancestors did. People living in our time would say, “This is not who we are.”

The fact is Zechariah knows his neighbors. He knows himself. And he knows everyone experiences the temptation to be dishonest in their actions and their relationships with others. This is who we are. Zechariah and the other people who returned know they did not release themselves. It was the grace of God working through the Persian emperor. The prophet seeks to remind his neighbors of that fact.

When we ask what the Lord requires, we acknowledge we are saved by grace and not works. This is the truth we rely on when we fail to do what is right. That truth also means we know better and should work to be examples as citizens of Heaven. People should acknowledge their need for grace. We should also know God gives grace to other people. We cannot mistreat someone without God knowing it.

This devotion was written by Don Jones 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/.

Deuteronomy 10:12 (NRSV)

Her name was Sam. At least, that's what she told people here, because her real name — Xiomara — made people uncomfortable. They'd try it once, mangle it, and look relieved when she smiled and said, "Sam is fine."

She arrived in 2004, with two suitcases, a worn-out dictionary, and the same dream every person who ever came here — including my ancestors and yours — carried with them: a better life.

What she hadn't expected was the grocery store. Not the size, but the variety. An older woman noticed her staring at forty-seven kinds of breakfast cereal with an expression somewhere between confusion and panic. The woman picked up a box of Cheerios, held it out, and said, "These are good," and walked away.

Sam ate Cheerios every morning for a month. After that, she discovered Raisin Bran. And Captain Crunch.

She learned English fast, out of necessity, and before long had a job at a hospital. There was still the apartment manager who told her she didn't 'sound right' for the building. Still, the coworker who spoke slowly and loudly at her, like more volume could fix the language gap. But there was also still the woman from the cereal aisle.

A few months later, Sam ran into the “cereal aisle” woman again. The woman remembered her. She asked how she was getting on, and actually listened to the answer. Before they parted, she said, "We have a church. Nothing fancy, just like the Cheerios. But the people are good. You're welcome if you want to come."

She came. A Sunday school teacher named Harold learned her name on the first try. Over time, people cared for her and visited her, “just because.” Like a neighbor. Like a person. She was home.

Moses, near the end of his life, stood before the people he led through the wilderness and asked them a question: What does the Lord your God require of you? He doesn't leave it hanging. Fear God. Walk in his ways. Love him. Serve him with everything you have. And — almost as a natural consequence — love the stranger. Because you were strangers once. You know what that cost.

America turns 250 this summer. That's worth celebrating. Two hundred and fifty years ago, a group of men put their names to a document that said, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights." They didn’t make that up. They reached for something they believed was already true, written into the nature of things by God himself. Some of them would lose everything for signing it — their homes, their fortunes, their lives. It is right to honor that. It is right to celebrate it. But that creed is now ours to carry. Every person. Including the ones who show up with two suitcases and a worn-out dictionary and dreams of a better life.

Being a true American, in the purest sense, has always meant taking that creed seriously — living it. Jesus didn't leave much ambiguity about what that looks like either. Love God. Love your neighbor as yourself. Sam is a neighbor. Xiomara is a neighbor. The cereal lady understood that. The apartment manager hadn't gotten there yet.

Moses's question still hangs in the air. It was never aimed at strangers. It's aimed at the people who already claim the name.

What does the Lord require of you?

Father, remind us what it felt like to need someone to hand us a box of cereal. Give us the grace to go back down that aisle and invite someone in. 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 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.

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/.

When I was a teenager, my oldest brother was already married. I was the “last” child at home and I must admit I was drawn to my two brothers and what they thought and how they lived. My oldest brother was delighted one Christmas to receive a tee-shirt that said, “Whoever dies with the most toys wins.” I thought, at that time, it was so funny. As I reflect o nit now, I realize it was merely a symptom of the time – accumulation of material possessions in many forms. I will say that my brother didn’t have a lot of “stuff”, but he was very interested in building his assets and ego. Let’s be clear here, that was a long time ago and we have all grown and changed.

With that said, this reading reminded me of those days. There was not much time spent on self-reflection, especially on our flaws. We lacked the maturity to understand this verse. For us, the thought that “blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” seemed absurd and simply not to be believed. How could this be? Quite a paradox!

However, maturity guides us to clarity. We discover that spiritual poverty is not about possessions or financial situations. Spiritual poverty is a deep humble awareness of our need, our desperate need for God. Some would even say “spiritual bankruptcy”. We must depend, not on ourselves, but solely on God. We must be humble and ask for His help. It might feel hard to say, but we are accepting that we will need God for everything. Without God, we are spiritually empty. Perhaps the hardest part of being humble is letting go of worldly things – status, wealth, ego. We must make room to receive the gifts God has for us – grace, love, fulfillment, true blessings.

So today, I ask you, “Where is your heart? What fills your heart? In Matthew 6:21 we are challenged by these words, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Where or what is your treasure? What makes you feel blessed and rich? If things are a part of that equation for you, do these things make your proud and/or arrogant? Do they make you feel complete? Do you still feel vulnerable? Or, when you truly look at the “stuff” in your life, are you trying to conceal or hide behind your flaws?

Hopefully, you have grown to know spiritual poverty and reach out to God for a path that is quite different and leads us to the kingdom of heaven. Letting go of worldly attachments and recognizing our utter dependence on God requires profound humility and “letting go”.

Oh, and that tee-shirt I told you about earlier, there was a follow-up tee-shirt revealing the futility of gathering more and more; “He who dies with the most toys still dies.” It’s a sobering thought for sure.

I’m taking a long, hard look at my life and heart today. I believe that God requires me to be humble, to recognize the emptiness and the extreme need for Him. My heart’s desire is to be filled by God’s grace and to know that we all need God, not “stuff”. Suddenly, the kingdom of heaven belonging to the “poor in spirit” no longer seems absurd.

Lord, our God… grant us the grace, love and open hearts to understand the path you require us to travel. Help us to recognize that our hearts and treasure must align. Reveal our many over-looked blessings and remind us our true blessings are far more important than “stuff”. Remind us God what you require of us and of our lives. We ask these things in the name of your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen.

This devotion was written and read by Lisa Blackwood.

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/.