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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The Church needs mystics again. Not fringe figures, but saints ablaze with love.
The women at the tomb were surprised by Easter. Amazed and filled with wonder at Jesus' Easter eucatastrophe. And so are we.
The Psalm now is this: as Christ suffered and then was exalted, so we are also in him.
Sometimes the old story is the one we need to hear again and again.
In the liturgy, Christ is present, self-giving, and ever-addressing his people.
The story being told in the film is not Bonhoeffer’s story. It’s not the Confession Church’s story. Nor is it the story of the German resistance against Hitler. It is a completely fictional story of Hollywood.
There is no one — not now, not ever — who cannot be included in the family of God through the efficacy of Christ’s saving power.
Jesus, the true Bridegroom, erases that mistake by his own compassionate, saving act. Isn’t this also a picture of the gospel?
By the end of this prayer of wrestling, David finally has the strength to claim victory over his lying enemies.
"When God has his say, have confidence that his Word and sacraments bestow precisely what he says."
The gospel gives us faith, hope, and love, all of which proceed from Christ’s death and resurrection.
The grain of God’s goodness and grace is made known by many trees throughout the Bible.