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?
The Antichrist offers another continual presence. It is every whisper that tempts us toward autonomy, that tells us to carry it alone, that insists suffering is meaningless.

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What doesn’t kill you might actually be a cheapened law that leaves wiggle room and space in the door for your old man to stick his foot in and get in on the work of Christ.
This is an excerpt from “Crucifying Religion” written by Donavon Riley (1517 Publishing, 2019).
Jesus isn’t any ordinary leader. In spite of all the ways the leaders of our world may let us down, you can trust Jesus to always lead you well.
Predestination is a promising teaching as Paul teaches it in Romans 8. It’s promising when Christ and his work for us are held firmly in hand.
Our forefathers dedicated Holy Cross Day to jolt the Church into remembrance that Christianity is not principally about ethics.
Everything normal for the Church of Christ is abnormal for those who reject Jesus as Savior. We worship a God who creates new life... and who gives His blessing, declaring, "I am pleased with you."
Little do we know the ancient and everlasting healing powers of God’s beloved tender shoot.
We forget that Christians need the Gospel. Not as a side note, but as the front-page headline.
What greater friend could we have than Jesus?
The fact that baptism specifically unites me to Christ in his death means that I share in his sufferings in my identity, not in my activity.
In both Psalms, we hear the Messiah becoming sin for us, and thus he pleads on our behalf before the Father
God doesn’t give us second chances. No one earns another shot at forgiveness. We cannot earn forgiveness, it’s too costly.