“Finally, the biography that Rev. Davis deserves. Ian Zack takes ‘Blind Gary’ out of the footnotes and into the footlights of the history of American music.” —Steve Katz, cofounder of Blood, Sweat & Tears Bob Dylan called Gary Davis “one of the wizards of modern music.” Bob Weir of the Grateful Dead—who took lessons with Davis—claimed his musical ability “transcended any common notion of a bluesman.” And the folklorist Alan Lomax called him “one of the really great geniuses of American instrumental music.” But you won’t find Davis alongside blues legends Robert Johnson and Muddy Waters in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The first biography of Davis, Say No to the Devil restores “the Rev’s” remarkable story. Drawing on extensive research and interviews with many of Davis’s former students, Ian Zack takes readers through Davis’s difficult beginning as the blind son of sharecroppers in the Jim Crow South to his decision to become an ordained Baptist minister and his move to New York in the early 1940s, where he scraped out a living singing and preaching on street corners and in storefront churches in Harlem. There, he gained entry into a circle of musicians that included, among many others, Lead Belly, Woody Guthrie, and Dave Van Ronk. But in spite of his tremendous musical achievements, Davis never gained broad recognition from an American public that wasn’t sure what to make of his trademark blend of gospel, ragtime, street preaching, and the blues. His personal life was also fraught, troubled by struggles with alcohol, women, and deteriorating health. Zack chronicles this remarkable figure in American music, helping us to understand how he taught and influenced a generation of musicians.

Originally written in 1938 but never published due to its controversial nature, an insightful guide reveals the seven principles of good that will allow anyone to triumph over the obstacles that must be faced in reaching personal goals.

For the first twenty years of my Christian life, no one told me about Satan. I didn't dream that there was a personal devil, any more than I had previously believed Jesus was a personal Savior. How could I know there were spiritual mechanics for defeating him just as there are mechanics for receiving Christ? I didn't know there was anything I had to do about Satan to defeat him any more than I knew I had to do to something about Jesus to be saved. No pastor, no professor at seminary, no friend in Christ ventured to explain our greatest enemy-Satan. I have learned a wonderful, practical way to deal with him. You can't imagine what it is like when Satan flees! It is glorious! Yes, he comes back and there is no bottom to his bag of tricks, but what a fantastic moment when he flees from you as you send him on his way in the power of the Holy Spirit! If you haven't tasted this awesome privilege in Christ, you must! You need to learn this skill to be a conquering, successful Christian in this evil world! I don't want any Christian, God allows me to reach, to go through this life without knowing the thrill of that moment. I have found it to be the key to victory in the Christian life. My motive for writing this book is for you to know how to have victory over Satan. It is not a devotional manual. It is not Godward, but Satanward. If you find a point or two which appear to be upsetting, please believe I want only for you to regard Satan as your personal enemy and to equip you with a means for resisting and defeating him. After reading this book, you'll never be able to say, "no one ever told me about Satan!"

Framed around the author's experience of spiritual warfare, Silence Satan introduces readers to the two warring plans for their lives: Satan's (who kills, steals, and destroys) and God's (who gives abundant life). It then reveals the various ways Satan tries to silence and destroy this generation with wounds, accusations, lies, and deceit and how to stand strong against them.

What beliefs are core to the Christian faith? This book is here to help you understand the reason for your hope as a Christian so that you can see it with fresh sight and invite others into the conversation. A lot of Christians take their story—the narratives that give rise to their beliefs—for granted. They pray, go to church, perhaps even read their Bible. But they might be stuck if a stranger asked them to explain what they believe and why they believe it. Author, pastor, and theologian Mike Horton unpacks the essential and basic beliefs that all Christians share in a way that is easy to understand and applicable to our lives today. And in a way that will make you excited to be a Christian! Core Christianity covers topics like: Jesus as both fully God and fully man. The doctrine of the Trinity. The goodness of God despite a broken world. The ways God speaks. The meaning of salvation. What is the Christian calling? Includes discussion questions for individual or group use. This introduction to the basic doctrines of Christianity is perfect for those who are new to the faith, as well as those who have an interest in deepening their understanding of what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ.

With insight reminiscent of The Screwtape Letters, Rev. Louis J. Cameli challenges readers to reconsider what they've always believed about the devil. In some ways, it’s easy to believe in a devil who makes heads spin round and enables people to levitate. Many movies and books about possession and exorcism have trained spiritual seekers to identify evil by its expected Hollywood conventions. By contrast, in The Devil You Don't Know: Recognizing and Resisting Evil in Everyday Life, Cameli, nationally renowned pastoral leader and priest of the Archdiocese of Chicago, paints a challenging, unsettling portrait of the devil as a formidable adversary who works great harm, often in quiet, less-seen ways. While remaining a fixture of popular culture, the devil has—until now—been largely ignored in contemporary spiritual writing. Cameli exposes the devil’s tactics of deception, division, diversion, and discouragement, in individuals and also in institutions. This thoroughly biblical, deft exploration considers the personal and social dimensions of sin, and offers both enlightenment and hope in the power of Christ to overcome evil.

Most of us are regular people who have good days and bad days. Our lives are radically ordinary and unexciting. That means they're the kind of lives God gets excited about. While the world worships beauty and power and wealth, God hides his glory in the simple, the mundane, the foolish, working in unawesome people, things, and places.In our day of celebrity worship and online posturing, this is a refreshing, even transformative way of understanding God and our place in his creation. It urges us to treasure a life of simplicity, to love those whom the world passes by, to work for God's glory rather than our own. And it demonstrates that God has always been the Lord of the cross--a Savior who hides his grace in unattractive, inglorious places.Your God Is Too Glorious reminds readers that while a quiet life may look unimpressive to the world, it's the regular, everyday people that God tends to use to do his most important work.