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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Now, resurrection can only follow upon death. The good news is, it will!
Jesus’ sacrificial death is the perfect sacrifice because He is sinless, the spotless Lamb, and it is for you.
God has given us a way out of our plight of “ashes to ashes, dust to dust.” It is the way of the cross.
Every day for the baptized is a good day to die."
In the world of martial arts, which I am the first to admit I am no expert in, there is a concept, particularly in Jujutsu and Judo, called seiryoku zen’yo or, “maximum efficiency, minimum effort.”
Only a god could be wise. We are seekers, lovers of divine wisdom, but it is forever beyond our grasp due to human limitation.
“Putting hope in the cross of Christ means putting hope outside of anything – mentally, physically or even spiritually – you do.”
We are all sojourners in a perilous cosmos, what is sometimes conceptualized as the theology of the pilgrim.
The folly of sinful man attempting to bridge such an infinite gap to God Who is holy becomes obvious.
In Christ, God is not angry, but is your tender Father Who loves you with an everlasting love.
History was one of dad’s favorite subjects and he shared his knowledge with infectious enthusiasm.
The Devil cultivates fear of God and promotes motivation and zeal for outward works and earthly virtue out of pure eternal self-concern.