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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Whoever your president is, you have a King. A King who elected you.
This new life is marked not by fear of death but hope in eternal life.
We subject ourselves to the governing authorities for the sake of our neighbor, that they might be protected from our sinful nature that seeks our advantage over theirs (and vice versa)
The parable is harsh. It judges. If you do not believe, you will not be saved. But let us pause for a moment and think about why Jesus is telling the parable.
Cast your vote with an air of bold and defiant levity. Don’t take yourself, or this election, so seriously. No string of unfortunate events can stop Christ's beating heart of mercy. No politician can un-Easter our Lord.
This is an excerpt from “Unveiling Mercy: 365 Daily Devotions Based on Insights from Old Testament Hebrew” written by Chad Bird (1517 Publishing, 2020). Used with permission.
We need a God who acts for us, each of us in particular. We need a God who sticks to His Word that He will never abandon or forsake us.
Jesus breaks through our barriers in His beatitudes. He shatters our conceptions of the blessed life and opens the Kingdom of God to all people.
God's city is beautiful because God has constructed it to offer eternal safety to all weary sinners.
We need to remember that we belong to God by Grace Alone. It’s not by our best works. Not by the sweat of our brow, it’s not even by our best attempts to repent.
Jesus will strengthen and encourage us because he is true life, and life has defeated death.
Satan and the old Adam don't want Jesus to bear our crosses for us because that means we can't claim that we've done anything to merit God's mercy and salvation.