Tommy Mann

  Do you find yourself constantly wishing you had more? You wish you had more or better clothes, more money in the bank, a newer car, or a larger house. When we look around at other people, especially pictures we see posted to social media, it is easy to fall into the trap of wishing we had what other people have.   In Christianity we try to walk a delicate balance as it relates to our material possessions. We must learn to avoid the two extremes. On the one hand some say that the best way to demonstrate humility is to give up everything and live in poverty. On the other extreme are those who say that if you are really living the Christian life then God would be showering you with every blessing imaginable. Some people in poverty think that is proof that they love God more, while some in prosperity think that is proof that God loves them more. The truth is there are godly people that are both haves and have nots.   The goal of the Christian should be to learn contentment....

  Anger can spread like wildfire. Hurt the wrong person’s feelings and wars can break out. This was perfectly illustrated in 1894 when the Boston Red Sox hosted the Baltimore Orioles. During the course of the baseball game one player lost his temper and started a fight with someone from the other team. Within seconds both dugouts cleared as the athletes and staffs engaged in a brawl out on the field. The violence carried over into the stands when one fan punched another, and soon the entire ballpark was one big riot. During the mayhem someone set fire to the bleachers, which were wooden in those days, and the entire venue was burned. The fire was not quickly contained, and when the smoke cleared, 107 buildings in Boston were impacted by the blaze.     Anger can poison our minds and cause us to believe that we need to react in kind. This way of thinking can lead us to misery as we make wrong decisions in the heat of the moment. That is why Laydon Milton, in his book...

  Before he became the sixteenth President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln was a lawyer in Illinois. On one occasion a man came to see Lincoln about hiring him for a lawsuit. This gentleman felt as if he had been wronged by another man, and he was determined to take him to court and seek $2.50 in damages.    Lincoln felt that this man was being petty and even tried to talk him out of the suit. But the man could not be dissuaded. He wanted more than a few bucks; he wanted revenge. After thinking about it, Lincoln decided to take the case, but he raised his usual rate. For his services Lincoln was going to charge ten dollars. The client agreed and paid the money.    The future President took $2.50 from his fee, gave it to the defendant, and told him to plead guilty. The plaintiff literally paid himself the money he was owed, and to Lincoln’s amazement, he was proud of himself at the trial’s conclusion. It was never about justice or getting what was rightfull...

I John 4:8 says, “Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.” The love of God is a frequent theme in the Bible. Perhaps the most famous verse in all of Scripture begins with the words, “For God so loved the world…” We even see God’s love back in the Old Testament. Jeremiah 31:2-3 says, “Thus says the Lord…‘I have loved you with an everlasting love.’”     Not only do these verses teach us the succinct truth that God is love, but they highlight the fact that God’s love is outside of time. In fact, God’s love is eternal. Love is part of God’s nature; it is not just something that He chooses to do, it is who God is. God is love.    Philosophers have used this great doctrine as an attack against God. The critique goes like this: God claims to be a God of love, but before He created mankind, there was no one for Him to love. Thus, God’s love relies on humanity. God cannot be loving unless we exist, so God becomes dependent upon His creation....

In his book  Spiritual Depression  Martin Lloyd-Jones said that many people in the church that feel like they are not close to God are in that condition because they “are people who decide to take up Christianity instead of being taken up by Christianity.” I like that way of describing it. Christianity cannot be something we just “take up.”   Have you ever used that phrase—take up? Maybe you decided to take up guitar; you strummed it for a few weeks, but the callouses on your fingers got to be too much. You decided to take up painting, but you realized you are no Bob Ross. Many of us have remnants from the things we took up but never mastered. Following Jesus cannot be like a new hobby we decide to give a try.    Before taking up a hobby we need to decide if we are willing to make the commitment. Do I have room in my house to set up an art studio or a grand piano? Am I willing to spend the money on the new camera or the boat with all its accessories? Some people...

  On a nice spring day a man decided to take his lunch break and go for a walk. As he was doing so he noticed a new construction project taking place, and being the curious sort, he stopped to find out what was being built. He approached the first construction worker he saw and asked, “What are you making?” “Fifteen dollars and hour,” the man said without even looking up.    Not satisfied, he approached the next worker and asked the same question. “I’m making a building.” The man was beginning to get frustrated but he asked one more person his question, “What are you making?” The third worker said, “I’m making a building, a grand sanctuary to house the glory of God. It will be the envy of all who pass it.”   That man was fired because he was supposed to be building a Dunkin’ Donuts, but I like his enthusiasm. We should view everything we do as an opportunity to make something grand for God. Each of the three construction workers answered the same question a different...

  In 1881 Charles Fry wrote a hymn with this familiar refrain: “He’s the Lily of the Valley, the Bright and Morning Star, He’s the fairest of ten thousand to my soul.” The line, which also forms the title to the hymn, comes from the Song of Solomon. 2:1 says, “I am a rose of Sharon, a lily of the valleys.” Lilly of the valley and rose of Sharon have become titles for Christ because of this verse.    Many Christians take an allegorical approach to interpreting the Song of Songs. They say the poems contained therein exist only as a picture of the love God has for His people. Indeed, the Bible frequently uses the analogy of a marriage, with Jesus being the perfect groom, and the church collectively being the bride. I happen to believe the book is meant to be taken at face value—as a beautiful, at times erotic, expression of love between two real people, King Solomon and his first true love, the Shulamite.   With that said, I believe we also have latitude to take the lov...