Category: Basic Training

The Apostle Paul wrote several letters to churches he visited during his three missionary journeys. My year-long journey through an NIV Bible for Men called The MANual, now brings us to another letter Paul wrote from prison; the letter to the Philippians.  As I previously explained in Paul’s Unity Letter to the Ephesians, modern copies of the New Testament generally order Paul’s epistles according to the number of lines of Greek in the original texts. Other scholars posit that Paul’s letters are grouped together to emphasize his imprisonment. Similar to Ephesians, Paul’s letter to the Philippians comes from a prison cell in Rome. While not written during the happiest of circumstances, scholars consider it Paul’s “joy letter” for the Christian life.  Joy > Happiness Everyone wants to be happy. We chase this elusive ideal: a life-long pursuit; spending money, collecting material things, and searching for new experiences. But happiness depends on

My year-long journey through The MANual, my NIV Bible for Men, continues with Paul’s letter to the church in Ephesus. While some of the Apostle’s “epistles” were dated earlier, Ephesians seems out of place since it follows Galatians in the New Testament. Why? Read on to find out. Paul’s Letters Not in Chronological Order According to a post titled Why is Ephesians after Galatians?, modern copies of the New Testament generally order Paul’s epistles according to length. Romans is the longest and first of Paul’s letters, while 2 Thessalonians is the shortest and last of his letters. For this reason, I wrote my previous posts on the Book of Romans, Paul’s Letters to the Corinthians (which combined 1 and 2 Corinthians), and an upcoming post on 1 and 2 Thessalonians (probably also will get combined), in sequential order as they appear in the New Testament before Paul’s “Harsh” Letter to

My year-long journey through The MANual, my NIV Bible for Men, brings us to the book of Acts, which is an accurate historical account of the birth and growth of the early church. Acts present a strong case for the validity of Christ’s claims and promises. It is a theological book with lessons and living examples of the work of the Holy Spirit, church relationships and organization, the implications of grace, and the law of love.  About Acts Also known as The Acts of The Apostles, this book was written by Luke (a Gentile physician) as a sequel to his Gospel, about 63 A.D.; just a few years after his Gospel. Like his Gospel, Luke also addresses Acts to Theophilus, which means “(be)loved by God” or “One Who Loves God” in the Greek language.  In 28 chapters, Luke tells the stories of men and women who spread the Good News