He doesn’t consume us, even though that is what we deserve. Instead, Jesus comes down to us and consumes all our sin by taking it on himself.
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

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The following is an excerpt adapted from “Let the Bird Fly” written by Wade Johnston (1517 Publishing, 2019).
Regardless of what our eyes, senses, and circumstances tell us, we belong to Christ, and He is with us.
When we read this chapter, we find that we are actually shaped by the word.
I just can’t seem to get rid of my skeletons. Nothing I do seems to work. Running and hiding doesn’t get rid of them
Every day, in everything we do and experience, we are busy hearing, seeing, and telling stories.
We don’t need to make forgiveness, life, and salvation a hard sell.
Far too many Christians read the Bible as if a dam has been built between the waters of the Old Testament and the New Testament.
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.
He calls us to suffer as Christ suffered. That is, we are to suffer in service to our neighbor even if they caused the injustice.
I wish I was better at seeing the bigger picture. Or maybe, I wish I was simply better at seeing the larger scope of its beauty.
Rather than validate our selfish, self-serving choices, he justifies us by giving us new life and baptizing us into his death and resurrection.
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.