Tommy Mann

“We pass over the silly remarks of the President; for the credit of the nation we are willing that the veil of oblivion shall be dropped over them.” Those words served as a poor prophecy. They were part of an editorial written in the  Harrisburg Patriot and Union,  and they were in regards to Abraham Lincoln delivering the Gettysburg Address.    Imagine: one of the most iconic speeches in American history—possibly world history—being dismissed as silly remarks, destined to be covered by the veil of oblivion. That newspaper is still in existence today, although under a different name. Their 1863 prediction was so egregious that in 2024 the paper actually issued a retraction…161 years after it was written!   The writer of that piece demonstrated an arrogance that adds humor to his grave miscalculation. As much as we might snicker at his words today, it makes me think of the people now who are just as arrogant—and just as wrong—in their assertion that Jesus will be...

  The anonymous writer of Psalm 119 asked and answered this question in v.9: “How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your Word.”   Guarding does not mean haphazardly. Think about a soldier on guard duty; he must be vigilant or else many people can suffer. The King James Version renders this verse as, “By taking heed” according to God’s Word. Guarding, or taking heed, is a thoughtful, intentional process.    It is kind of like following a map. These days I rely on my GPS, but there was a time when we had to unfold a paper map and plot out our course like we were Louis and Clark. I hate getting lost, so I used to make sure I had solid directions before I went somewhere for the first time. One time I had to go into Fort Worth, and I wrote down each step for the journey, but I had an old map. Roads had been updated, but the map didn’t reflect it. I learned that no matter how carefully I followed the map, the wrong map will not get me where I n...

  Over several chapters in the book of Genesis we see some ironic repetitions. There is an old saying that tells us, “What goes around comes around,” meaning that a person’s actions usually have consequences for that person. Consider how things “come full circle” for these people:   Abraham lies to Abimelech, telling him Sarah is his sister rather than his wife. Abraham’s son Isaac lies to (possibly the same) Abimelech, telling him Rebekah is his sister rather than his wife.    Jacob deceived his father Isaac in order to get a blessing. Jacob was deceived by his uncle Laban, who gave him Leah instead of Rachel.   Rachel sent Bilhah to Jacob to make Leah jealous. Leah sent Zilpah to Jacob to make Rachel jealous.    Jacob used a coat and a slaughtered animal to trick his father into believing he was Esau.  Jacob’s sons used a coat and a slaughtered animal to trick him into believing Joseph was dead.     There is so much childishness i...

The Old Testament, specifically in books like Exodus and Deuteronomy, contains numerous laws that might seem pointless to us today. What can we glean by reading these ancient commands given to the Jews? Please allow me to offer one important truth.  The Jews were not the only ancient people to have laws. For example, the Law Code of Hammurabi, established in 1726 BC, states that if a man commits murder, his daughter can be executed in his stead. The Laws of Eshunna (circa 1800 BC) says that if a man kills someone’s female slave, he must make restitution by giving the slave owner two new female slaves. These law codes make it quite clear that men were of far greater value than women, and slaves were property. When we compare those Babylonian and Akkadian law codes with the law of God in the Old Testament, we see a completely different picture. Far from the modern claims that the Bible is chauvinistic, the Scriptures stand in stark contrast to the nations around them. Consider Deuter...