Welcome to the first day of 2025 and the Grace for All podcast, written and recorded by the members of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee.

My name is Owen Ragland, and I am so thankful you chose to listen to our devotion as one of the first things you do this year. Perhaps you made a resolution to spend more time with God either through the written or the spoken word, if so, I pray you will be successful in your endeavor.

Let’s begin the year with an instructive verse from Philippians 4:6 (the NIV translation);

This is a great verse to kick off our January theme:

Let Not Your Heart be Troubled.

For many people, even though it is a new year, it brings with it old problems. We have concerns about job security, food or housing security, reliable transportation, relationship issues with loved ones, and concerns about the state of our country and world. These can be very real issues and seemingly insurmountable problems. How is it then that the scripture instructs us not to be anxious about anything, but instead to lift up our prayers with thanksgiving? I can understand praying about these issues…I pray all the time for them to get better. The question is how do you pray with thanksgiving when you are praying for difficult issues to get better.

I believe the answer lies in the four words that precede this scripture. You see, before these words of instruction, you are told, “The Lord is near.” For me, everything changes when I know God is present with me. It reminds me of when I was a child and frightened; if my father or mother were close by, I knew that I did not have to be scared. They loved me and would protect me. God’s presence also gives me comfort and assurance, even when I am dealing with difficult situations. There is a great story in the Old Testament found in Deuteronomy chapter 31. Moses is commissioning Joshua to be the new leader of the Hebrew people and in verse 8 he says, “The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.” The issues we deal with in today’s world are real and many of them are difficult. In my marriage, my wife and I committed to deal with issues together, I am not alone. We also committed to acknowledge God’s presence in our lives, as the Bible confirms in both the Old and New Testaments, the Lord is near, we are not alone.

Would you pray with me: Father God, I know you love me and desire relationship with me. I pray that I feel your presence with me, especially when I am struggling with difficult issues. Thank you for being near me, to give me strength to deal with the problems. Amen.

John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, wrote nearly two centuries ago that God’s grace is free to all and free for all. We are glad to proclaim that message today. As we enter 2025, the Grace for All podcast completes its first year of production having posted a new episode every day. More than 50 people of our congregation have been involved in the writing and recording of the devotions, and the podcast has had listeners in all 50 states and more than 60 countries. If you have been blessed by one of the devotions, please consider sharing it with a friend or directing them to find it listed on the podcast websites. The first six months of the daily devotions have also been published in a book that is

As the Christmas season neared, the gift shop in the hospital where I worked at the time displayed three lovely little porcelain angels. These were unlike most Christmas angels. Each, about 6 inches high were dressed in a bulky coat and cap. One held a loaf of bread, one a Christmas tree, and the third held a lighted candle. They captured my heart, but were considerably outside my pocket book. Each day I would go by the gift shop and look in at these angels always fearful that someone would have purchased them. Then about a week before Christmas, the gift shop had a 50% off sale on all Christmas items. I hurried into the shop and to my joy what I had become to think of as my angels were still there and I bought them. I knew exactly where I would display them.

That evening when I got home I had several things to carry in – including my precious angels. As I placed the items on my kitchen counter, the package holding the angels slipped from my hand and hit our tile floor with a shattering sound. All were broken. I felt heartbroken as well. I gathered all the pieces, sorted them and over the next few days did my best to glue them together. When I was done I looked at these poor broken angels and loved them even more.

Since that incident over thirty plus years ago, I have left my three broken Christmas angels on display year round as a reminder that it is through our broken places that the love of Christ can most easily shine in. Over time I have also discovered that it is through our broken places – those places that Christ has lovingly mended – that we can most often become angels for others who are broken.

This was reinforced most recently when I saw a verse written by Leonard Cohen, a Canadian song writer, singer, and poet. He said, “There is a crack in everything, and that is where the light comes in.”

Where we are cracked, the light of Christ shines in. And where we are cracked the light and the love of Christ can shine back out to all we meet.

Dear God, help me to always be grateful for the cracks that have occurred in my life. Help me to accept your loving hand in mending me, and help me have the courage to shine your light back out through my cracks to others. In the loving name of Jesus the Christ, Amen.

This devotional was written and read by Barbara Sadler.

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/.

I have often thought of the many passages in the Bible that refer to a “Rod.” Some sound comforting and some sound almost harsh.

This entire chapter is full of guidance for individual and group living.

I’ve often thought of that rod as a tool for punishment, but a pastor friend of mine taught me that the rod is an instrument for guiding not abusing or punishing. The question then is How do I guide?

My wife was born in Scotland, so it was natural that we took a nice long vacation to the old country. On that trip we were in a lovely bed and breakfast overlooking Eilean Donan Castle. From our second-floor window I could see the castle and a fenced pasture of about two acres with a hundred or more sheep grazing.

Early in the morning, looking out that window, I was amazed to see the sheep lined up two or three abreast from corner to corned in that square field. Amazed at this behavior, I watched for an extended time. To my left was a hill overlooking the field. From over the crest of that hill came a lady shepherd and her dog. She even had the picturesque shepherd’s rod. She opened the gate where the sheep were lined up. She then proceeded, with her dog’s help, to escort the herd over the hill and out of my view.

Over the years, I’ve often thought of that scene as a message to me about doing my duty as a follower of our shepherd. As a retired member of the military, I understand the use of the rod. To be good shepherds we must use the rod to guide others. The Teddy Rosevelt quote “Speak softly and carry a big stick” brings us to another passage Luke 20: 25 “Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God (CEB).”

Puzzling as this might be, we must remember that the shepherd’s rod is to be used to guide ourselves and others. The sheep dog I observed in Scotland seemed to gently nudge and occasionally bark to guide his charges.

As we approach the end of one year and the beginning of the next, I think this lesson can be applied to us both individually and collectively. As a church, we guide one another and provide opportunity to show our discipline to the world. That same lesson can even be extended to each of us as we have leadership responsibilities as part of a family, a city, a state, a nation, or even the world. In Matthew, Jesus said, “…, let your light shine before people, so they can see the good things you do and praise your Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 5:16 CEB).

Let us pray:

Father God, please continue to guide each of us to be the example of how to follow you our shepherd and to gently yet firmly do our part in shepherding others with a loving rod. Amen.

This devotion was written by Ed Cherry and 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/.