Tommy Mann

  In 1 Kings 3 we read about King Solomon and his famous demonstration of wisdom. When two women came to him, both claiming to be the rightful mother of an infant, Solomon asked for a sword to be brought to him so he could divide the child in two and give each woman half.   The rightful mom said she would rather give the baby to the other woman than to see her son hurt, and thus revealed herself to be the true mother. But in that same chapter, before the king is threatening to divide a baby, he shows us that he was divided within himself. Here is what the third verse says: “Solomon loved the LORD, walking in the statutes of David his father, only he sacrificed and made offerings at the high places.” How is it possible to love the Lord and offer sacrifices at the high places? That means he brought offerings to other gods, the ones worshipped by his many wives. Solomon followed the practice of political polygamy, marrying the daughters of other heads of state to form alliances. ...

One of the great gifts God has given humanity is the ability to hear. Hearing and deciphering sound really is quite remarkable when you study the workings of our inner ear. If given the choice between being deaf or being able to hear, no person would opt for not hearing.   Except for David. In Psalm 38 that was the choice he made. In fact, he went even further, choosing also to not be able to speak. In verse 13-14 said, “But I am like a deaf man; I do not hear, like a mute man who does not open his mouth. I have become like a man who does not hear, and in whose mouth are no rebukes.” Why would he choose to be deaf and mute? It was in response to what his enemies were saying about him. The preceding verse says, “Those who seek my life lay their snares; those who seek my hurt speak of ruin and meditate treachery all day long.” The king’s adversaries were speaking of his ruin, plotting ways in which to remove him from power. So David chose not to listen. He acted as if he were deaf. H...

Falling in love with someone often feels out of our control, something that just happens to us. I’ll never forget the first time I met Alicia. It was like a scene from a Hallmark movie when she tripped over my foot and turned around to apologize. We hit it off right away as if we were struck by Cupid’s arrow.   Similarly, I’ll never forget the birth of our children, especially our firstborn. Reagan (who somehow turns 16 this week!) came via an emergency C-section, so we were in the OR when the nurses handed us this tiny baby that made us parents. I was instantly smitten with a kind of parental love I didn’t know before. Those things just happen to us. These were not choices we made. Loving my kids was not a wait and see thing where I chose to love them if they were well behaved or made good grades. It was almost out of my control.  When the New Testament speaks of Christians showing love, it uses that famous word  agape  that describes a choice we make to put the nee...

1 John 1:7 says, “But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.”     The blood of Jesus is that special ingredient that can make all the difference in our lives.   Without the blood, we are doomed to a joyless existence in life, and separation from the Father in the afterlife. With the blood, we are put on a path that leads to meaningful life now and eternal life with the Father.  John did not say it is religious effort, good deeds, trying hard, or behavior modification that cleanses us from sin. No, it is only because of the blood we can be made righteous.  I was walking in the darkness, but now I’m in the light;                                          ...

  In 1 Samuel 4 we are introduced to a child with the unfortunate name of Ichabod, which essentially means the glory of the Lord had left Israel. As his mother was dying in childbirth she bestowed the ominous name on her son: “And she named the child Ichabod, saying, ‘The glory has departed from Israel!’ because the ark of God had been captured and because of her father-in-law and her husband (v.21).” Her husband, one of the priests, had died during a battle in which Israel was defeated and the ark of the covenant was stolen by the Philistines. When news reached the prophet Eli, her father-in-law, he fell over died after suffering a broken neck. The glory of the Lord was gone, and not just because the ark was stolen. The ark was stolen because the glory of the Lord was already gone. The prophet and priests were corrupted, and the people were not walking with the Lord, so the Lord left. That is a dark chapter in Israel’s history, but it isn’t the final one. Describing the birth of J...