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
01/03/15

My Secret Struggle with Atheism: Seeking Answers to the Wrong Questions

That’s what I mean when I say that I’ve struggled with atheism. And still do. The suffering me becomes the questioning me who becomes the doubting me who becoming the unbelieving me.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
11/26/14

Dumpster Diving for Good Deeds

One of the sad truths I realized about myself long ago is that I do nothing from completely spic-and-span motives. I mean nothing. When I hear someone say that they’re “utterly sincere” or they’re doing something “from pure motives,” I smell a lie.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
11/16/14

Taking the Road More Traveled By: The Benefit of Tradition in the Church

Ultimately, however, I fell in love with traditions—and specifically, traditional worship—for a single, overarching reason: its components, to varying degrees, are all in the service of the Gospel.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
11/06/14

The Death of the Sons of David

Yet as we mourn, but unlike those who have no hope, so also we repent, but unlike those who have no absolution. For we though we weep, there is a hand that dries all tears.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
11/03/14

Can God Count? A Children's Story for Sinners

The son asked, ''What else does God count?'' The father said, ''When we get sad, or hurt, and we cry, God counts our tears.'' ''Every tear?'' the son asked. ''Yes, every tear,'' the father answered.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
10/17/14

The Grateful Dead

Dead men don’t get taught. Dead men don’t get un-lost. Dead men don’t heal.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
10/08/14

A Letter from Demon to Demon on the Art of Temptation

Over time, any inclination the cupbearer might have to speak a good word to Pharaoh on Joseph’s behalf will seem less and less of a moral necessity.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
10/04/14

The Day God Wrapped Up Yom Kippur

From creator to priest, our God now moves, from forming animals to slaying them, all so that His Adam and His Eve might remain truly His.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
08/26/14

The Radical Path to Self-Discovery: Finding Your True Self in Death

I didn’t know it, in fact I consciously rejected it, but the truth is that throughout those years, both in times of success and failure, God was up to something.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
08/24/14

I Stab it With My Steely Knife but I Can't Kill the Beast Within

That all being said, come to think of it, I’ve never gone 24 seconds without sinning.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
07/24/14

Men, What Are We Trying to Prove?

We like to define ourselves, and to have others see us and talk about us, based upon our accomplishments.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
07/11/14

Please Don’t Say These Six Things at My Funeral

Because I do care now, and will care even after I’m with the Lord, here are some things I hope and pray are not said at my funeral. I care about those who will be there, about what they will hear.
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