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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He represents our likeness, fulfills it, and so has the prerogative to reproduce his likeness in us.
The number forty calls to remembrance narratives of God’s great acts of redemption, but also our conformity to and participation in those narratives.
We are the fruit that grows from the branch, which extends from the trunk of the tree, which is rooted in the soil that it grows out of, which is all Christ.
Christ's resurrection does not merely negate the bitterness of sin; it changes it into a source of divine sweetness, embodying the promise of a new life for us and a restored existence overshadowed by heavenly hope.
In the Word, you find peace. It proclaims peace first between you and God because of Jesus. That empowers you to deal peacefully with others and brings you peace of mind.
My goal here isn’t to selfishly reflect on all the reasons I will miss Rod because I know that if you are reading this, you may miss this man, too.
God demonstrates his great love for us in the actions of Jesus, who came down into the flesh and soaked up all our sin.
When the Savior gets on our trail, nothing, not even the grave and hell, can stop him.
When we believe in Jesus as the true and better fulfillment of every promise made to Abraham, we, too, are counted as righteous in the same way that he was — by faith.
Ever Heard of Candlemas?
Epiphany—is for the Gentiles, those who were once not God’s people, but who now, by the grace of God in Christ have become the people of God
What’s the big deal about Jesus’ name?