Tommy Mann

Q. What is the ninth of the Ten Commandments? A. The ninth of the Ten Commandments is, “You shall not lie.” We all know deep down that lying is wrong. Even Friedrich Nietzsche, who famously noted “God is dead,” once quipped, “I’m not upset that you lied to me, I’m upset that from now on I can’t believe you.” No one wants to be around a liar because no one trusts a liar. God does not want His followers to be those dishonest, untrustworthy types that people do not want to associate with. Think about it: lying hurts our ability to share the good news with the unsaved world. The Bible speaks in no uncertain terms when it comes to our honesty: “Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord (Proverbs 12:22).” Many believers are quick to point out that homosexuality is an abomination to God, but that same indictment is leveled upon those who bear false witness. Furthermore, when we practice deceit we are acting more like Satan than God, for Satan, “is a liar, and is the fathe...

I had the opportunity to review two volumes of The Power Bible by Green Egg Media. There are ten volumes in all, and I got to check out one volume from each Testament. This Bible is a unique take on children’s Bibles, using comic book format and bright animation. As most children’s Bibles, it is not a verse-by-verse Bible, but more of a story format. The Power Bible reminded me of some of the comic books I read as a kid. It utilizes text boxes for narration, saying things like, “Meanwhile…” to keep the story moving. My five year old daughter has enjoyed looking through it and following along as we read it to her. This is a creative way to get children to read the Bible, and I tip my hat to The Power Bible’s creators. Visit Green Egg Media to learn more about The Power Bible or to purchase it for yourself. 

Q. What is the eighth of the Ten Commandments? A. The eighth of the Ten Commandments is, “You shall not steal.” For many people the command to not steal applies to big things, like cars, money, or jewelry. But the eighth commandment is not limited to home invasions or bank robberies; God did not define stealing with a dollar amount. Stealing is taking anything that doesn’t belong to you—regardless of value. Stealing is wrong even if the item stolen is an ink pen, piece of candy, or something intangible. We have probably all stolen at some point in our lives. What does Paul tell former thieves to do? “Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need.” Ephesians 4:28 Instead of taking from someone else what does not belong to us, let us give to someone else that which does not belong to them.

Yes, please do know your Bible. Only the King James Version uses the word unicorn. The last time the KJV was updated was 1769, and at that time the word unicorn did not mean what it means today. Newer translations use the words wild oxen, but no need to get hung up in those pesky facts.

Q. What is the seventh of the Ten Commandments? A. The seventh of the Ten Commandments is, “You shall not commit adultery.” When we first hear the seventh commandment some might feel off the hook— “I’m not even married. I can’t commit adultery.” Others might proudly say, “I would never cheat on my spouse!” But while adultery is defined as sexual misconduct inside of marriage (as opposed to fornication, which is misconduct outside of marriage), Jesus took this command a step further. Just as He equated hatred with murder, He also equated adultery with lust. "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall not commit adultery.' But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” (Matthew 5:27-28) Before we pat ourselves on the back because we have never cheated in marriage, we need to examine our own thought life. Jesus said that every intentional lustful thought is the same th...

There is a strange scene recorded in Acts 14. Paul and Barnabas are on their first missionary journey, in a city known as Lystra. Lystra is in modern day Turkey and was in close proximity to Phrygia. In Lystra the Holy Spirit allowed Paul to heal a man who was crippled. When the town’s people saw the miracle they cried out, “The gods have come down to us in the likeness of men (v.11)!” They called the missionary duo Zeus and Hermes (some translations say Mercury and Jupiter, which were their Roman counterparts), and began to worship them by offering sacrifices. Paul and Barnabas rushed to stop them, pleading, “Men, why are you doing these things? We also are men, of like nature with you, and we bring you good news, that you should turn from these vain things to a living God…” While this is a humorous scene, a little history can shine some light here. In 8 AD, approximately 40 years prior to this event, Ovid published The Metamorphoses, which is considered to be one o...