This article is the first part of a two-part series. The second part will take a look at when pastors abuse their congregations.
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
Why did the church dedicate a day to St. Michael anyway? Who is he, and what does he do?

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The following is an excerpt adapted from “Let the Bird Fly” written by Wade Johnston (1517 Publishing, 2019).
Perhaps the most poisonous venom to afflict the gospel is the notion of "balancing" grace.
I had been taught and believed in a God who is love, but as I walked outside that night I did not see him. I saw the stars and I felt their indifference.
Jesus does not say to us, “Try really hard, and you will be better.”
We walk to the cross by the faith that God bestows on us, not by our own power, reason, or might.
After the glory of our flesh has gone the way of wilted grass and faded flowers, and we’ve long forgotten all our efforts at self-justification, the word of the Lord remains.
The distinction between Christ-for-you and Christ-in-you can present a misleading dichotomy.
Here’s a little “devotional” for you; some thoughts on Law and Gospel from Gerhard Forde. Drink deep, drink full. These are rich streams of thought.
The simul makes several affirmations and rejections on the doctrines of sin/original sin, justification, and sanctification, to name a few.
The Holy Spirit is not ours to hunt down; rather, we are the ones relentlessly pursued by the word of Christ.
A person, not a nation, can be a Christian because only a person can be saved by grace through faith in the work of Christ.
Preaching is simply the verbal bestowal of what Scripture has already given us in written form