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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In that moment of greatest despair, we find the antidote for all our fears. We know we are beloved of God and there is salvation in Christ’s atoning death.
God comes to us through the flesh and blood and spirit of Christ precisely where he promised to be manifest to us and for us.
This is an excerpt from “Finding God in the Darkness: Hopeful Reflections from the Pits of Depression, Despair, and Disappointment” by Bradley Gray (1517 Publishing, 2023).
A pastor is sent to proclaim the unconditional grace of God, reminding us again and again that it is our Heavenly Father who reaches out to us in love through his Christ-won forgiveness, and not the other way around.
Only the resurrection of Jesus guarantees and facilitates divine presence and love to us as divine life for us.
The existence of aliens can not negate the promise given to us by God courtesy of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
The resurrection of Jesus encompasses the total and comprehensive glorification of a human being, not merely his restoration.
Christ Jesus brings his word and presence to where you are and he is even willing to do so through the likes of your personally present pastor.
One word from one God says it all to our tired hearts.
Caesar boasted: “I came. I saw. I conquered.” Christ can rightly say: “I came. I saved. I ascended.”
God's faithfulness is constant and consistent. It knows no season. His love for us doesn't fade with the summer sun.
God cares about our real life where we actually are. He is present in the everyday.