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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What did Christians do, both when they encountered a Rome in its glory, as when Christ was born, and in it decline, as when Constantine tried to pull stuff back together?
As a woman who has suffered years of abuse, there have been times in my new life when I have found myself living out Psalm 6:6.
Jesus, Who is truly God, became a regular Joe (or Joshua as the case may be) for us.
There is just something about the idea of not being ‘under Law’ that sets off all kinds of alarms in the minds of many Christians.
So much religion is all about us getting this or getting that. The God who comes to us in Jesus is all about giving us himself over and over.
Whenever preachers get up to speak about the topic of love, they very often go to passages like 1 Corinthians 13, and they are very apt to do so — for there, under the Spirit’s design and influence, the apostle Paul gives, perhaps, the most complete view of love we’ve ever been given.
Because of Jesus, we don’t have to pretty up anything ugly thing in life.
His consolation will accompany us in the midst of sickness and death. He will strengthen us, even strengthen us to carry the cross of old age.
Through this promise, God does not let us escape death because in and through Jesus He overcame death.
This is the first of seven words of Christ from the cross.
The disciples and Christ have just finished their last meal together. The disciples, of course, didn't know this, but Jesus did.
Perhaps you’ve had a pastor or “Bible teacher” ask you these questions. If not, consider yourself blessed.