(our theme for November)

We live in a world that is constantly being shaken. World conditions and events seem to be shaking the core of our society and threaten to tear apart all the things we know and hold dear. It is easy in this world to be discouraged and disillusioned, and wonder where God is and why He doesn't do something.

The book of Hebrews was written to a group of early Christian believers of Jewish descent who felt much the same way. It was most likely written in the late first century, and these believers were a generation removed from Jesus' earthly ministry, Facing intense persecution, many of them were discouraged and disillusioned with their new faith and were thinking of returning to the Judaism off their forefathers.

Hebrews is not an argument against Judaism. The writer of the book uses history and logical argument to show that Jesus is the fulfillment of Judaism and is superior to anything they might go back to. Jesus is superior to angels, priests, and sacrifices. Jesus is the embodiment of God's word, he is our hope for new life, he is the perfect priest, and he is the perfect sacrifice.

Chapter 12 is sort of the author's closing argument. In it he urges his audience, and by extension, us, to persevere through hard times and not grow weak. God can and does use hard times to discipline us and bring us closer to Him.

Hard times shake out things, and leave things that cannot be shaken. Because of Jesus' perfect sacrifice, we are citizens of a kingdom that cannot be shaken, no matter how hard the times, because it is the kingdom of God. It is not something that is to come - we are in that kingdom now.

Our reaction to that is first to be grateful. We should receive God's gift with our greatest gratitude. We are also to offer to God "acceptable worship." The word "worship" in this verse is used in other places in the bible to mean "serve," or "minister." I take this to mean that our gratitude should overflow our hearts and compel us to serve God by serving those He loves. Finally we should do all this with a sense of reverence and awe, always conscious of God's presence and power.

Father, thank you for providing the perfect way to be restored to relationship with you. Thank you for a place in your kingdom. May we never forget that the love we feel for you and the gratefulness we have for your gift should compel us to serve all those we meet, with the love that comes to us from you, in your power, not ours. In the precious name of Jesus we pray, Amen.

This devotion 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/.

(our theme for November)

When I was younger, a lot of my prayers sounded like Christmas lists or even Amazon shopping lists. “Please give me good grades” or “Help me get that job” or “Deepen my relationship with [insert name of girl].” I included formulaic phrases of thanksgiving because I had been told I “should” do so, but most of the time such phrases were generic, like, ”Thank you for the many blessings you shower upon us.”

But lots of research and counseling testify to the wisdom of practicing gratitude, and the opening verses of Philippians demonstrate it. Different translations have a difference in emphasis in verses 3 and 4. The Common English Bible says, “I thank my God every time I mention you in my prayers. I’m thankful for all of you every time I pray, and it’s always a prayer full of joy.” The New Revised Standard Version renders it, “I thank my God for every remembrance of you, always in every one of my prayers for all of you, praying with joy”—every time I think of you, I thank God for you, and it fills me with joy.

Humans being what we are, I can’t imagine that every time someone thought of me, they would thank God for me, even my wife. I suspect this is something Paul cultivated. And while the Philippians no doubt benefited from it, Paul says that kind of gratitude filled him with joy.

Father, I started to ask you for something. And I know it would be OK if I did, but you have already given me these words of Paul. So, Father, I just want to say thank you for the preservation of this message I needed to hear today. Thank you for the Grace For All podcast that brought me to it and it to me. And thank you for the one hearing this right now. May each listener know the joy of praying in gratitude. In joy in the name of Jesus Christ, 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 November)

We often hear about staying on the “straight and narrow road” that leads to eternal life. In C.S. Lewis’ book “The Last Battle” (the last book in the Chronicles of Narnia series), if my memory is correct, the lion Aslan, who represents Christ, becomes the leader of people from all over Narnia. They unite together as they proceed toward the final goal. This started me thinking about the way of life, or the road, that leads to eternal life.

I began to picture a multilane highway with many signs along the sides and exits and entrances. The different lanes were occupied by people that looked different from me, were moving at different speeds, and of different traditions, but all trying their best to follow the example of Jesus. The signs along the side of the highway advertised things that looked inviting and enticing, and each exit would lead to a multitude of these distractions. However, every exit also had an entrance ramp by which one could get back on the highway.

We don’t think of highways as being narrow but in the scheme of all the different directions available to us, they are not wide. There are many people around us that look different, talk differently, act differently, and worship differently but like us (on our best days) they, too, are trying to live life as Jesus taught. Rather than trying to cut them off or scream at them for being in the “wrong” lane, shouldn’t we be looking to them for mutual support as we travel along this highway that leads us all to the destination that we desire?

God help me this day to see others as you see them and treat them as Jesus would. So that we can support each other as we strive to be the people that you created us to be.

Today’s devotional was written by Alvin Jenkins and read by Ryan 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/.