But what is that energy-giving, life-breathing force that inspires and empowers us? How do we put the wind in our sails again, so we can get unstuck, reset our compass, and redirect our course? In "Fresh Air," "New York Times" bestselling author Chris Hodges reveals how breath--the breath of God--is the essence of life as it's meant to be. Fueled by the breath of God, we are not only refreshed in spirit ourselves; we have the power to create a life-giving environment of freedom and joyful purpose around us. Bold and encouraging, "Fresh Air" offers "breathing lessons" for those who long for a cool breeze to resuscitate their spirit, bring them closer to God, and make them enthusiastic, contagious life-breathers to those around them.

    Thomas wrote, then turn to The One-Minute Aquinas, the fast-paced book that provides busy readers with simple, readable explanations of the truths that, for 750 years now, have caused the works of St. Thomas to be sought out by kings and popes, scholars and saints, as well as by ordinary souls like you — hungry to know God and to love him more and more.In this book’s lucid pages, author Kevin Vost gives you small, digestible portions of St. Thomas’s life-giving wisdom that you can enjoy one minute at a time. Tables and graphics will help you grasp and remember St. Thomas’s key ideas with a minimum of time and effort.Best of all, in The One-Minute Aquinas you’ll find quick, sure refutations of the countless relativistic, secular, and pseudoscientific ideas that are so influential in our culture today — and so shallow, contradictory, and wrong!Pope John Paul II declared that “the Church has been justified in consistently proposing St. Thomas as a master of thought and a model of the right way to do theology.” Now The One-Minute Aquinas enables even those with limited time and only a modest education to benefit from the wisdom of this great saint.Here, with minimal effort and among scores of other things, you’ll finally come to know and understand:--Why God permits evil--Heaven: what it is (and is not)--Five simple proofs that God exists--Why God became man--Why Jesus let himself be tempted--How you can grow quickly in virtue--Why all souls need the sacraments--Why Jesus let himself be crucified--The causes of lust--The natural law and the Commandments--The soul, free will, sin, and damnation--The angels, their ranks, and their powers--How God governs (and refrains from governing)--God’s power and its limits--The Bible: why didn’t Jesus just write it himself?--The surprising qualities of our resurrected bodies

    Individual testimonies about how to overcome obstacles substantiate the healing power and loving-kindness of God toward all who seek to know Him and to develop a deeper intimacy with Christ.  You can: • Activate your seeing capacity.• Experience love in the third heaven realm.• Be touched and healed by the Lord.• Go beyond just knowing about Christ.• Know Him personally, intimately. You can be healed by the Lord—emotionally, mentally, and physically—after learning how to experience the heavenly realm.

    This beautiful new gift edition of a classic collection combines all three. In thirty compelling Christmas excerpts from his sermons, Luther vividly portrays the human realism of the Nativity: Mary's distress at giving birth with no midwife or water; Joseph's misgivings; the Wise Men's perplexity; and Herod's cunning. Throughout, Luther suggests the question: If we had lived in Bethlehem when Jesus was born, would we have believed that this newborn baby was God in human form? And he reminds us that keeping Christmas is a year-around mission of caring for those in need. Nine elegant illustrations by Luther's contemporaries-including four by noted engraver Albrecht Durer-capture timeless scenes from the Christmas story. And two of Luther's beautiful Christmas carols are included on the final pages of the book.

    How can we know anything about God apart from Scripture? In Nature's Case for God, distinguished theologian John Frame argues that Christians are not forbidden from seeking to learn about God from his creation. In fact, the Bible itself shows this to be possible.In nine short and lucid chapters that include questions for discussion, Frame shows us what we can learn about God and how we relate to him from the world outside the Bible. If the heavens really do declare the glory of God, as the psalmist claims, it makes a huge difference for how we understand God and how we introduce him to those who don't yet know Christ.

    As Teilhard de Chardin did in The Divine Milieu, Ilia Delio reveals the sacrament of God at work in the world. She also explores the spiritual evolution within each of us and suggests that it will change the cosmos as well as the church. She shows that we are at a stage in evolution where our choices will determine what happens next. "Love," she writes, "always seeks the best for the beloved but God is a beggar of love who waits at the soul's door without daring to force it open. The question of Christ emerging as the personal center of the universe is not a question of yes or no but a question of how that love will evolve." She makes one thing perfectly clear: it is happening and the evidence is astounding.The Emergent Christ is an antidote to the new atheism that says there is no place in evolution for God, let alone a God of love. It is also a spiritual tonic for Christians interested in understanding their place and purpose in this evolving universe.

    Most of us, however, seldom see the results we hope for. Why don't our prayers make more of a difference?Beginning with her own experiences of breakthrough, Jennifer Eivaz offers much-needed direction and the biblical context for prayer that does make a difference--explaining the intervention of angels and demons, prophetic manifestations, and much more. She helps believers take hold of their authority and spiritual giftings and use them in the battle for victory. The Kingdom principles and study questions will help every believer navigate the spiritual realm of prayer by using the tools that make it truly effective.

    R.C. Sproul shows that we don’t have to give up our intellect in order to believe. In fact, logic and reason clearly demonstrate that God exists, and no one has an excuse for their unbelief. Dr. Sproul rebuts common arguments from atheists, exposing the inconsistency and illogical nature of denying the existence of God.The Crucial Questions booklet series by Dr. R.C. Sproul offers succinct answers to important questions often asked by Christians and thoughtful inquirers.

    This arena beyond reason, Tozer states, is the terrain of faith. Based on the Gospel of John, these sermons explore how faith in God transforms the ordinary into something unimaginable -- into a realm where things are possible only with God.

    Some church music is dull. But here’s the thing: If Jesus had been boring, the disciples wouldn’t have followed him and the Pharisees wouldn’t have killed him. So if you’re bored, don’t waste another minute. If your church service feels like a failed pep rally that never leads to the actual game, then it’s time for you to follow Jesus onto the field where the opposition is real and the stakes are extraordinary. It will get messy. It won’t always be comfortable. But you’ll make a difference. And you’ll discover that nobody’s bored out there. Nobody.

    Why is it, asks Bishop Fulton Sheen, that one hears so often the expression "Go to hell!" and almost never the expression "Go to heaven!" Here, at his most penetrating, challenging, and illuminating best is Bishop Sheen with his answer, in a book that breathes new meaning into the truths about heaven and hell, and new life into the concepts of faith, tolerance, love, prayer, suffering, and death.Beginning with "The First Faint Summons to Heaven," Sheen shows how unpopular it is today to be a true Christian, and describes the struggle for living our faith amid the disorders of our times.  Keenly aware of evil in the myriad forms it takes in today's world, Bishop Sheen writes about the constant battle man faces with the "seven pallbearers of character" - pride, avarice, envy, lust, anger, gluttony and sloth - linking them with the corrosive forces that never cease in their attacks on the Church and those who earnestly desire to be serious Christians.In Go to Heaven, a great spiritual teacher and writer, deeply aware of the human and spiritual conflicts being waged in the world, shows us the way to heaven in a most eloquent book, encouraging the reader to choose heaven now, and to understand the "reality of hell."

    A much-needed rejoinder to those who dream of an easy alliance between the two faiths.

    He discusses the importance of prolegomena (assumptions and methods) and the vocation of Christian philosophers. Naugle also outlines the differences between the Hebrew and Greek mindsets and provides biblical perspectives through an Augustinian approach. Above all, Naugle teaches us how to philosophize in light of God and the gospel.

    Boyd adds another counterintuitive and provocative thesis to his corpus. While conservative scholars and pastors have struggled for years to show that the Bible is without errors, Boyd considers this a fool's errand. Instead, he says, we should embrace the mistakes and contradictions in Scripture, for they show that God chose to use fallible humans to communicate timeless truths. Just as God ultimately came to save humanity in the form of a human, God chose to impart truth through the imperfect medium of human writing. Instead of the Bible's imperfections being a reason to attack its veracity, these "problems" actually support the trustworthiness of Christian Scripture. Inspired Imperfection is required reading for anyone who's questioned the Bible because of its contradictions.

    Lewis, always “Jack” to family and friends, never shied from intellectual debate, and through his written works encouraged others to wrestle with the difficult questions of faith. A master of visual illustration and allegory, Lewis wrote with the intuitive understanding that his readers wrestled with the same questions about the Christian story, about pain, suffering, and notions of Heaven and Hell, as he himself had wrestled. He also understood that others found reason and imagination to be incompatible aspects of an understanding of God and the universe.