This is an excerpt from the third chapter of By Water and the Word: God’s Gift of Baptism for You by Brian Thomas (1517 Publishing, 2026), pgs 52-60.
Even when the bitter places sink down deep into our bones, the Restorer never relinquishes his grip on you.
To Live Well is therefore not a general advice book, but a message suffused with the gospel.

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Even when the bitter places sink down deep into our bones, the Restorer never relinquishes his grip on you.
Jesus didn’t enter the water because he was sinful; he entered the water because John was sinful, as are we all.
What Israel’s story makes painfully obvious is that following the Lord is a lifelong lesson in “I believe, but help my unbelief” (Mark 9:24).
There has never been an opportune moment to put all your trust, faith, and hope in God.
God wasn’t finished with Israel just yet. The wilderness wasn’t their home.
Living by faith has never been about what we bring to the table. It has always been, and always will be, about what God does for us when we can’t do anything for ourselves.
The Promised Land invites us to laugh at how relatable it is to be exhausted and exasperated by all the people, and the egos and opinions they bring with them, that come with living.
The Lord himself comes to us to lead us out of the land of sin and death with his strong, nail-pierced hands.
The Passover wasn’t just Israel’s story; it’s ours.
His provision always flows downward, furnishing and filling us with his grace and truth right where we are.
The ethos of the church’s worship is found in poor, needy, and desperate sinners finding solace and relief in the God of their salvation.
Christmas is not only about a cradle in Bethlehem, it’s also about a cross outside Jerusalem where salvation was won for us.