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
09/20/16

Discovering God in the Ugly

We see someone driving a fancy car, owning a big home, having healthy children and an attractive spouse. Instantly, almost without a second's thought, we assume they are successful. Life is good for them.
Paul Dunk
Paul Dunk
09/15/16

Tremors Of Grace

For those of you unfamiliar with the Richter scale, our friends over at Wikipedia define it as a 1930s invention that "is a base-10 logarithmic scale, which defines magnitude as the logarithm of the ratio of the amplitude of the seismic waves to an arbitrary, minor amplitude."
Bruce Hillman
Bruce Hillman
09/14/16

Why Did Jesus Scold Peter for Trying?

It is often the case that when dealing Divine, we find ourselves befuddled. For as relatable and surprisingly vulnerable God is as the man Jesus, he seems, at times, to retain a certain aloofness, a type of distance.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
08/23/16

The Wrinkling Clock: The Irony of Calendar Girls

The flower of youth, as lovely as it is, cannot withstand the hot winds of time. There is a beauty, however, that remains.
RJ Grunewald
RJ Grunewald
08/19/16

Calling "Bull" On Theology

It’s time to call bull on a theology the dominates Christianity.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
08/12/16

Don't Tell Hurting People That God's in Control

We want to know how God rules this world, how he is present in all things, how he exerts his control over the course of world events. We want to know why some get cancer and some don’t, why terrible things happen to the best of people, why volcanoes erupt and hurricanes strike and fires consume.
Larry D. Hughes
Larry D. Hughes
08/09/16

The Reality of Sin, Death, and Forgiveness

When we explain away God’s Word, we jettison the reality of our ominous diagnosis in the “Thou shall/shall nots” of the law, and with it the sweet cure in the, “This is My body/blood” of the Gospel.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
08/03/16

We Expect Too Little from God

We shrink away from God’s godness and almightiness, and so shrink down our prayers. Perhaps it is a lack of faith. We don’t trust God to give what He himself has promised to give.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
07/14/16

Your Own Personal Bible—And Other Insanities

We treat the Scriptures as if they’re our literary property to toy with as we please.
Scott Keith
Scott Keith
06/25/16

Celebrating the Anniversary of the Augsburg Confession

The time constrained authoring of the Augustana caused great angst, for the part of Melanchthon that was never satisfied with his own literary output.
Kathy Morales
Kathy Morales
06/07/16

Real Strength

God cannot love me unconditionally without prerequisites, especially after all I’ve done, can He?
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.
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