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The book of Hebrews is another New Testament writing that reminds us that following Christ is worth the effort. It reminds the Jewish people that the superiority of Jesus Christ, rather than their steadfast traditions, is sufficient for their salvation. Read on to better understand the dilemna for the Jews who read this letter. Judaism’s Beliefs about Jesus Judaism is the world’s oldest monotheistic and ethnic religion, dating back nearly 4,000 years. The Jewish people believe there’s only one God who established a covenant—or special agreement—with them. Their God communicates through prophets and rewards good deeds while also punishing evil.  Judaism was not easy. It required complete devotion to God, the 613 religious commandments referred to in the Torah, the rituals, and understanding the promises of the prophets. It requires strict adherence to Jewish law and customs such as circumcision. Judaism also does not accept Jesus as God, a Divine Being as an

My year-long journey through The MANual, an NIV Bible for Men, brings us to the short book of Philemon, the eighteenth book of the Christian New Testament. It’s a good example of a very private, personal letter and how to handle a disagreement with a friend. You may remember from my previous post on the lessons from Paul’s Letter to the Colossians, the Apostle Paul wrote four “prison letters” (Ephesians, Colossians, Philippians, and Philemon) while he was under house arrest in Rome from approximately A.D. 60–62. Who Was Philemon? Philemon was a first-century Christian and a minister (possibly the bishop of Gaza). He was a wealthy man who hosted a church in his home in Colosse (sometimes more properly written as Colossae). Philemon’s name means “affectionate,” or “one who kisses” in Greek.  The only mention of Philemon in the Bible is in the opening line of the book that bears

The Apostle Paul had a wonderful gift of providing encouragement and instructions to young leaders in the early church. In this next post during my year-long journey through The MANual, an NIV Bible for Men, I provide the lessons from Paul’s three pastoral letters with guidelines for Christ-centered living. Paul wrote two letters to Timothy and one to Titus that each became separate books in the New Testament known as the “pastoral letters.”  Who was Timothy  Timothy was a close associate of Paul and his young protege who became an overseer of the church in Ephesus.  Timothy was born in the region of Lystra and Iconium to a Gentile man and a Jewish woman so their marriage was likely disfavored by the community at large. From infancy though, Timothy was raised in Hebrew Scripture. His grandmother, Lois, probably converted from Judaism to Christianity and led his mother, Eunice, to the