The Consuming Fire and the Holiness That Comes Down
By Bradley Gray
10/02/25
23mins

The Consuming Fire and the Holiness That Comes Down

He doesn’t consume us, even though that is what we deserve. Instead, Jesus comes down to us and consumes all our sin by taking it on himself.
When Pastors Are Abused by Their Congregations
Donavon Riley
Donavon Riley
10/01/25

When Pastors Are Abused by Their Congregations

This article is the first part of a two-part series. The second part will take a look at when pastors abuse their congregations.
An Excerpt from Untamed Prayers: Psalm 123 and Psalm 136
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
09/30/25

An Excerpt from Untamed Prayers: Psalm 123 and Psalm 136

The following entries are excerpts from Chad Bird’s new book, Untamed Prayers: 365 Daily Devotions on Christ in the Book of the Psalms (1517 Publishing, 2025), pgs. 311 and 335

All Articles

Jessica Thompson
Jessica Thompson
06/28/14

I'll Get the Tip

It was happening again. I sat across from my dear friend at one of our favorite restaurants. We were finishing our glass of wine and eating the end of the sushi when the waitress approached.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
06/21/14

The Suicide of a Friend

There is hope and healing for you in Jesus Christ, the God who immersed Himself so deeply in our sufferings that He, too, wept over the death of a dear friend.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
06/20/14

Go, Old Man, and Sin No More

My life will be unwritten, erased by the hand of mortality. And fool that I am, I stand here threatening to snuff out the life of a woman caught in the act which I have acted out in my heart with a thousand women.
Steve Byrnes
Steve Byrnes
06/19/14

Lazarus, Loss, and Regret

“Now, a certain man was sick...” Rick was kind. He knew my name before I knew his. The few times we talked, I felt like I should get to know this guy. I had actually planned to strike up a conversation the next time I saw him at church.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
06/13/14

How to Reach Your Full Human Potential

How will they reach this magical moment, this milestone on the journey of life? Perhaps by chasing their dreams, pursuing their passions with a heart wholly devoted to the attainment of whatever goals they set for themselves in life?
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
06/09/14

A Conversation with Jesus About Genesis 1

In the beginning I was the Word, and I as Word was the Beginning. By me all things were created, both in the heavens and in the earth, visible and invisible. All things have been created by me and for me (Colossians 1:16). Therefore, already in the opening word of the Hebrew Bible, Bereshith, I am.
Steve Byrnes
Steve Byrnes
06/04/14

Christless Christianity in Church

I’ve come to realize at the tender age of 47 that sometimes church doesn’t work.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
05/28/14

Stumbling Over David's Confession: How to Understand "Against You, You Only, I Have Sinned"

For it is His law I have broken, His office in which I have failed, His people against whom I have sinned. All is from Him, so all I have taken, I have taken from Him. All others against whom I have sinned, I have sinned because they are of Him.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
05/23/14

Call Me Lazarus...One Year Later

I was angry at heaven, at earth, and everything in between, for my life and my love and my hopes had all gone wrong, terribly, irreversibly, wrong.
Jeff Mallinson
Jeff Mallinson
05/19/14

What's Wrong with Apologetics (Part 1)

Apologetics (providing evidence for one’s faith) is a bad word in some circles. In others, apologetics is an entirely negative enterprise: that is, it only tangles up opponents and exposes their intellectual incoherence while refusing to provide positive reasons to believe in Christianity.
Steve Byrnes
Steve Byrnes
05/12/14

Religious Operating System

What does Steve Jobs have to do with Theology? Very little. But that won’t stop me from trying to make a connection.
Mark Pierson
Mark Pierson
05/09/14

Burial of Jesus and Bart Ehrman

If you haven't seen this video clip yet (and even if you have), it's worth watching (again) regardless of your taste for Colbert's style of humor. In it, he trounces the typically smug fundamentalist-turned-liberal Bible scholar Bart Ehrman, who is so used to being fawned over by members of the media that Colbert's defiance leaves him at a near loss for words.
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