Tommy Mann

 As followers of Jesus, we want to win the world. There is no question about that. But how do we go about doing it? There seems to be a growing trend to either minimize God's Word or set it aside altogether. Some have chosen to lower the bar in hopes that the unsaved will have an easier time jumping over it. But I disagree with that strategy. If we do not win the world with the Word, we aren't winning them at all. In his insightful book Joy for the World, Greg Forster wrote, "If Christianity is going to have a distinct impact, it needs to rely on what truly makes it distinct--the work of the Spirit in our hearts, minds, and lives."  Christianity isn't just one way among many that can change people; it is the only true way. When we reduce our faith down to merely being a social influence or a place where people come as they are and feel loved, we are joining a crowded space where a hundred other clubs and religions operate. We must remember we are offering life cha...

One of Aesop's Fables is titled The Frog and the Fox, or the Toad and the Fox in some editions. The short story is about a frog that declares he has the ability to heal any ailments within the animal kingdom. Upon hearing this audacious claim, the fox replies, "If you can heal any ailment, why do you look like that?" The fox pointed out the sickly complexion of the amphibian, and the fact that his mobility was limited to merely hopping.  Aesop wrote his fables around 620-564 BC, so they were in circulation and popular in the days that Jesus walked the earth. It is believed that the fox's clever insult to the frog gave birth to the Jewish proverb, "Physician, heal yourself." Jesus quoted those words in Luke 4:24, saying to the congregants in the synagogue, "Doubtless you will quote to me this proverb, 'Physician, heal yourself.' What we have heard you did at Capernaum, do here in your hometown as well." The proverb is one of skepticism, as i...

Matthew, Mark, and Luke each contain the account of Jesus being tempted in the wilderness by the devil. Satan told Jesus to turn stones into bread in order to feed Himself; he told Jesus to bow down to him; and he told Jesus to dive off of the temple and see if the angels would save Him. Jesus responded to each temptation by quoting Scripture, saying, "It is written...Again, it is written...for it is written..." (Matthew 4:4, 7, 10) The devil does not tempt us in those exact ways because we do not have the ability to turn stones to bread, and no guardian angels are waiting to catch us if we do a swan dive from a sky rise. He rarely tells people to bow down to him; there are very few devil worshippers.  And yet those are the basic temptations he uses because they follow the same framework. He tempts us to turn stones into bread when he tries to get us to doubt that God will provide for our needs. He tempts us to bow to him when he tries to get us to live life for ourselves rat...