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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Jesus is a heroic warrior that not even hell can defeat.
Are people so different today? Is justification really irrelevant now? Is the preacher’s only point of contact with the life-giving Gospel a by-product of Microsoft’s word processor? I do not think so.
Our scars are a reminder that salvation is all gift.
This letter is not without controversy—not because of its content but due to questions concerning its authorship and canonicity.
It is true that no one ever grieves in the same way. We are all different in personality and chemical makeup. But what is the same, is that everyone, at some point, grieves.
For a long time, well-intentioned pastors and college evangelists have applied Jesus’ words from Revelation 3:20 to the unconverted.
When Jesus spoke about mustard-seed-sized-faith that moved mountains, He wasn't making a quantitative statement as much as a qualitative one.
You are in a fight, but the victory is guaranteed because it is in the hands of the risen Chief Shepherd.
The gospel is a one-way rescue by God, through Jesus, for sinners, courtesy of the Holy Spirit exploding faith into an individual who is hearing the good news.
Whatever theoretical or conceptual ideas to which we surrender in despair, the Christian faith offers something wholly different. It offers a person.
Squander. What a great word. It so perfectly captures the pitfalls of backsliding in all areas of life. It's the utter self-ruination of good things.
In the suffering of Jesus, we have an example of trusting in the promises of the Father.