This is an excerpt from the introduction of Stretched: A Study for Lent and the Entire Christian Life by Christopher Richmann (1517 Publishing, 2026).
We can bring our troubles, griefs, sorrows, and sins to Jesus, who meets us smack dab in the middle of our messy mob.
Confession isn’t a detour in the liturgy. It’s the doorway.

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Jesus did not come because we had our act together. He came because we couldn’t get our act together.
Ezekiel is not called/sent out to be “successful” in his prophetic ministry—he is sent out to be faithful!
The God whose power is made perfect in our weakness is the God who, in weakness, saved you from sin, death, and the Devil.
Jesus will bring good news, send His disciples to bring good news, and, in His death and resurrection, become good news for all.
In the overall context of Lamentations this text stands out as a breath of fresh air, or perhaps more accurately, words of relief after so much dismal lamenting!
If you truly love the brethren, you will not grudge to help them in their distress.
The people you serve are still hanging on by a thread, which is another way of saying they are living by faith.
It is not her sacrifices that define Jane's faith, but her belief in the one who sacrificed for her.
The fact that the LORD answers Job is a great gift of love and mercy, but He does not provide the answers Job seeks.
This faith bears fruit, but it may be fruit that turns upside down the world’s values.
The only one who is truly worthy of fear shows He cares for His disciples and desires to save them. Not only them, but all who are perishing.
That a celestial phenomenon should be appropriated worldwide for iconic value or to illustrate a mythological legend makes perfect sense. One cannot copyright the rainbow.