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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The power and the purpose of the Reformation was to bring the full force of the Law and the Gospel to the ears of sinners.
Samson knew what he wanted when he saw it, and most of the time, living by sight, he walked like a blind man straight into an ambush.
We all desperately need God’s only Son to take our place, to cleanse us by His blood, to wipe away our evil deeds.
The Christian who understands Gospel-based love recognizes the false promises and rewards of the Playboy Mansion.
For as long as I can remember, I’ve been anxious about something. I can still feel the weight of worry from my earliest fears - believing every night I would get sucked down the pipes along with dirty, draining bath water.
The Sixth Sense is a suspenseful and scary movie where a little boy is born with the strange gift of seeing dead people.
The wound on my hand would not let me forget what happened. The crackled and blistered strip of skin was a memento of the searing pain I felt that day. For the remainder of that year, I was constantly reminded of what I had done.
By focusing intently on what one wants to avoid, we often crash right into the moral hazard we are trying to evade.
We demand that our Creator defend His judgment and justification of sinners in a courtroom where we are judge, prosecuting attorney, and jury.
I hear voices in my head accusing me, telling me these sins will be there on the Day of Judgment unless I make atonement.
There’s something very attractive about both the cross-ladder and the cross-crutches. In fact, there’s something about both of them that the woodworker within us finds eminently more appealing than the simple cross of Jesus.
I spend a lot of time talking to people in coffee shops. Some share my Christian faith, some are exploring and questioning faith and others have left the church, having had a crisis of faith.