The Consuming Fire and the Holiness That Comes Down
By Bradley Gray
10/02/25
23mins

The Consuming Fire and the Holiness That Comes Down

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.
When Pastors Are Abused by Their Congregations
Donavon Riley
Donavon Riley
10/01/25

When Pastors Are Abused by Their Congregations

This article is the first part of a two-part series. The second part will take a look at when pastors abuse their congregations.
An Excerpt from Untamed Prayers: Psalm 123 and Psalm 136
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
09/30/25

An Excerpt from Untamed Prayers: Psalm 123 and Psalm 136

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

All Articles

Chad Bird
Chad Bird
06/16/16

Unhappy Father's Day: When Dads Are Failures

There is no pain like the pain of being mistreated by those who, above all others, you expect to love you unconditionally.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
06/15/16

Let's Talk About Shame

What we see in the face of this God is not a loathing expression. We find the face of a compassionate man who knew all about shame himself.
Brian W. Thomas
Brian W. Thomas
06/14/16

What's The Big Deal About The Liturgy? (Part 3: The Syntax of Worship)

Like any language, the liturgy has syntax—a structure that provides order and intelligibly communicates meaning through all that is said.
Bruce Hillman
Bruce Hillman
06/13/16

God’s Fixed Courtroom

A crisis of faith always occurs when we begin to believe that God has betrayed us.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
06/10/16

We Need Less Goliath and More Bathsheba

I became like God’s child David, whom the Lord pardoned of his adultery and murder. I became like Noah, Abraham, Judah, Aaron, Gideon, and so many more wayward children.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
06/07/16

Five Failures I Hope to Achieve Before I Die

I have my list. It may seem strange to you, but, when I think about my own death, I often think in terms of positive failures.
Donavon Riley
Donavon Riley
06/06/16

Can You Be a Christian Without Your Rituals and Traditions?

Take away the water, words, bread and wine. Can you be a Christian without water, words, bread and wine?
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
06/05/16

Jesus Is Not a Life Coach

We're of little faith. Or rather, we have big faith, but it’s in something else. Our faith is in our ability to control situations, manipulate them to our advantage.
Donavon Riley
Donavon Riley
06/03/16

Isn't Thirteen Kind of a Big Number?

Can God forgive friends who abandoned Him in His hour of greatest need?
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
05/25/16

God Isn't Looking for Brown-Nosers

Faith does not require that we always Hoorah what the Lord does. God wants children, not brown-nosers.
Jeff Mallinson
Jeff Mallinson
05/24/16

When Church is Like Comedy Traffic School

At our churches must remain focused on the deep kick, the real deal, the thing itself. I’m not the first on this site to remind us that this is Christ himself.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
05/10/16

Heaven for Atheists

The reason that anyone would choose a heaven without Jesus, or happiness without Jesus, or healing without Jesus, is because he doesn’t mean that much to them to begin with.
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