Author Archives: Tex Tonroy

Unknown's avatar

About Tex Tonroy

husband, dad, g-dad. love-Jesus youth prisoners strays orphans and widow-women. author teacher preacher counselor and coach about Life.

HOSPICE.121715

1 Reply

Kranke Seniorin wird von besuchtWhen I was a kid, we never heard of the word ‘hospice’; or if we did it was about some lodging facility somewhere in Europe.  Maybe I’m thinking of ‘hostel’.  Just now, when I looked it up in the dictionary, I was surprised to find that hospice IS (definition #1)  “a lodging for travelers, young persons, or the underprivileged especially when maintained by a religious order.”  Definition #2 is the ‘new’ definition, “a facility or program designed to provide a caring environment for meeting the physical and emotional needs of the terminally ill.”  If it weren’t such a serious topic, we could say that now, ‘hospice’ is ‘all the rage’.

Now, if you’re really sick; you’re not getting any better; there’s nothing else the doctors can do for you; and you’re fixin’ to die; they put you in hospice.  It may be a special facility or it may be at home, but the regimen of care is to keep you comfortable, as little pain as possible, with some emotional, psychological, maybe even spiritual support, to help you prepare for the inevitable.  ‘Course who knows (besides God) if you’re really fixin’ to die.  People rise from the ‘almost dead’ every day, for no apparent reason, just because God is not yet ready for them to go.  Continue reading →

WHAT CAN WE DO ABOUT FEAR? 121415

1 Reply

ANXIETY CLOUD.121415What do you fear? 355 terrorists killings in America alone this year. How can we keep calm and carry on?  Jesus overcomes our fears.  He warns against fear more than 100 times.

There are three types of fear. We fear for our safety. We fear God.  We suffer from emotional fear.  We let our emotions makes False Evidence Appear Real.

There’s all kinds of things to be afraid of.  We should trust God because He’ll take care of us. Says so in Hebrews 13:5.  Jesus transforms our fears when we release them to Him.  The wise men released their fears to God and came and worshiped Him.

But here’s the problem.  When we release our fears to God, we lose control, and some of us cherish control of our lives almost more than life itself.  But when we give up control, when we surrender control, we find Jesus, and Jesus is LIFE.

IN GOD WE TRUST

VICTORY IN JESUS 2.112415

Leave a reply

“If we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9;  We do need to honestly identify the source of our guilt and confess before God. That means we agree with His perspective on what we’ve done—in other words, we admit when we are wrong.

When we do confess, God (is faithful and just to) 1 forgives us, and 2 cleanses us from all unrighteousness.  Then we just need to recognize His forgiveness and cleansing, and accept it.  In Romans 8:1-2, Paul says, “There is therefore now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus, to them that walk not after the flesh [the sinful nature], but after the Spirit.”  When we accept the forgiveness and cleansing that come through Jesus, we are set free from the sin and from the guilt and shame that come with it.  Then we really CAN turn around and go the other way, what some call repent.  “Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free  indeed.”  John 8:36 Thank God Almighty, we’re free at last!   

Martin Luther King Monument surrounded by cherry blossoms in Washington DC, USA

VICTORY IN JESUS.112015

Leave a reply

FulmineHad a flash of light this morning when I was thinking about how to have “Victory in Jesus”.  You can write this down in your book.  The way to have victory in Jesus to is to do everything you do with, for or about God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit, WITH ALL YOUR HEART! You probably already know that I use six themes to organize my thoughts about the Bible; for instance:

1] LOVE: Deut 6:5 says, “You shall love the Lord your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind.” Jesus said, “This is the first and great commandment.”

2] HUMILITY: Being humble, not proud, is another key to developing your relationship with God; in Proverbs 3:34, Solomon says, “God scorns the scorners, but gives grace to the humble” (this is echoed (quoted) in James 4, and in 1 Peter 5); Jesus said, “Blessed are the meek, the humble, for they shall inherit the earth.”

3] GRATITUDE: In 1 Thessalonians 5:18, Paul says, “Give thanks in all things, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you!”  (‘In all things’ sounds like ‘with all you heart’)  In Romans 8:28, Paul says,  “God makes all things work together for good to those who love the Lord . . .”

4] TRUST: In Proverbs 3:5-6, Solomon says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart., and lean not to your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths.”

5] OBEDIENCE: In Philippians 2:5-8, Paul talks about Jesus.  He says, “Let Jesus’ attitude be in you.”  He says that even though Jesus is God, He gave up His heavenly position; He humbled himself and became a man; then He humbled Himself even more and surrendered Himself to be arrested, and beaten, and ridiculed, and spat upon; and He was obedient [to His purpose and to His calling] unto death, even death on a cross.  I don’t know about you, but for me, the degree and the depth of Jesus’ commitment qualifies as with all your heart.  And Paul says, “Let Jesus’ attitude be in (me and) you.”

6] SERVICE: Maybe it’s just me, but being a disciple of Jesus Christ is the best example of service you can do.  In Luke 9:23, Jesus says, “if anyone wants to be My disciple (My student, My follower), let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.” (‘Take up his cross’ means, as it says in Galatians 2:20, “I am crucified with Christ”, “I’m dead.”)  It means to “die to your sinful nature”. (daily).  ‘To die’ may not be with all your heart, but it’s plenty close.

With all your heart may not be the only way God wants us to do and be, but it’s certainly high on the list.  For me, with all your heart expresses the passion that comes with having the Spirit of Jesus, the Spirit of the Lord God Almighty, living in your own personal heart.

DON’T BE AFRAID, JUST BELIEVE.111715

Leave a reply

Toned Photo of Tired Young Man sleep with Tablet Computer on the BedIn Mark 5:22-43,  is the story of Jesus, walking through town, “And behold, one of the rulers of the synagogue came, Jairus by name. And when he saw Him, he fell at His feet and begged Him earnestly, saying, “My little daughter lies at the point of death. Come and lay Your hands on her, that she may be healed, and she will live.” So Jesus went with him, and a great multitude followed Him and thronged Him.   . . . [While they were going there] some came from the ruler of the synagogue’s house who said, “Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the Teacher any further?” As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, He said to the ruler of the synagogue, “Do not be afraid; only believe.”

How are you doing about this?  There is this lady in our community, a serious truster in Jesus, and her teenage son is in the depths of treatment for cancer.  Most faith-full lady I’ve seen in many a day.  She’s steadily sending progress reports on his treatment and condition; asking for continued prayer, praising God on the good days and on the bad.  Literally makes me cry when I think about what she’s going through.  We’re all still praying.  He’s struggling, but still hanging in there. In no small part because his Momma is following Jesus’ instruction to Jairus, “Don’t be afraid, only believe.”  She’s just not gonna stop trusting Jesus.

BOWING DOWN TO OTHER GODS.111615

Leave a reply

forno a legna con il fuoco accesoIn the third chapter of Daniel is the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego.

You know the story: Nebuchadnezzar, the king, built this 90 foot high monument, like the Washington Monument, and he sent out a decree that when the music played, everyone had to bow down and worship it.  Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego were ‘junior’ officials in the kingdom, Jews, and there were other officials who didn’t like them. They told the king that SMA didn’t bow down when they heard they music.  The king was hot.  He called them in and told them what he’d heard, and then he said, [When you hear the music], “if you do not worship, you shall be cast immediately into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. And who is the god who will deliver you from my hands?” then (this is the best line in the whole story)

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.” NKJV

Let’s see, in modern terms, they said, “We don’t have to worry about what you say.  Our God, Whom we serve, is ABLE to deliver us, and He WILL deliver us; BUT EVEN IF HE DOESN’T we still won’t bow down.”  Hallelujah!

The question is: how are we going to act?  Continue reading →

GOING ON WITH GOD.111515

Leave a reply

summer landscape. mountain path through the field turns uphill to the sky at sunsetBefore I start this post, I have to tell you it only took me about forty years to reach the point of actually ‘going on with God’.  I knew about God, I even ‘knew’ God, when I was about ten years old; but I didn’t really start to ‘go on with God’, to really follow Him with all my heart, till I was about fifty.  Oh, I had several ‘close encounters of a spiritual kind’ with God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit during that forty years, but I was living a divided life, trying to ‘make it in the world’, while maintaining a relationship with God.  Let me tell you, I’m living proof that you can’t serve  two masters.

I thought about calling this post ‘Practicing Christian 4’, or maybe ‘Making Disciples 4’.  In any event, the question for the day is, “What do you do now? After 1 you’ve made a genuine commitment to Jesus; 2 you have a daily quiet time where you read a little Bible, read a little devotional, you talk to God, and you listen to Him; 3 you have a relationship with a Christian mentor; 4 and you’re involved in a small group.  It’s a good start.  So where do you go from here? Continue reading →

SMALL GROUPS FOR JESUS 3.111115

Leave a reply

drinks, communication, friendship and people concept - happy young women with cups sitting at table and talking in mall or cafeThis is my last post about “small groups for Jesus”, at least for the time being.  I just have a few more comments to make.

1] In my opinion, small groups are like family; they’re not about enforcing rules, and everybody being disciplined; they’re about letting God’s love flow through you into other people.  You may not believe this, but I’m convinced that almost every single person is acutely aware of their short-comings, and what they really need, on a regular basis, is encouragement and moral support.  (I find a lot of support for this attitude throughout the Bible; call it grace and mercy)  Small groups are, and should be, about sharing and expressing the fruits of the Spirit; and while self-control is one of the fruits and is therefore important to God and should be important to us; it is the very last thing on the list.  Wonder why that is?  (I don’t even know if there IS a hierarchy of the fruits, but I hear a lot more about love in the Bible than I do about self-control.)

2] One of the central, indispensible ingredients of a small group is trust.  Continue reading →

SMALL GROUPS FOR JESUS 2.111015

2 Replies

aerial view of family eating pizza at homeThere are a lot of “small” groups in the world, where people get together on a regular basis.  I’ve been a member of a number of them, such as a foursome for playing golf every week.  You get  to know the guys.  You enjoy their company.  You tell jokes.  You catch up on what’s happening in their world, how they’re getting along with their wives and their kids, their bosses and their employees.  In a lot of cases you are closer to them than some members of their own families. And you have the benefit of a little fresh air and a little exercise. (very little) Maybe you have a beer in the 19th hole.

My mother had a long-standing relationship with a bunch of girls she formerly taught school with.  They’d get together and play bridge every week.  None of them were championship bridge players, but that wasn’t the point.  The reason they got together was to share their lives with each other. When they were down they could call each other on the phone and get a little encouragement.  When they were up they could have a special meeting to celebrate.  You know it’s a great thing to have a husband and some kids to share your life with, but the girls in the bridge club are an indispensible part of a full life too.  There’s just some things you can’t, or don’t want to, share with your husband.  LOL Continue reading →

SMALL GROUPS FOR JESUS.110915

Leave a reply

Group Of College Students Sitting And Talking Together

Where I come from small groups (especially ones for Jesus) are a relatively new phenomenon.  I guess when I was younger, we had small groups, but nobody called them that, and most of us didn’t recognize the benefits that arise from being members of one.  My first introduction was when I went on a “Walk to Emmaus”, and they talked about being a member of a “Reunion Group”, which was defined as: 3-5 people who meet together once a week to review how they’re doing in their walk with Jesus; to answer one or more of seven questions about things like: 1] Closest moment to God; 2] Discipleship denied, 3] Discipleship confirmed, and a few others.  They called it an “accountability” group.  That always sounded like you had a list of things you were supposed to be doing, and the other members of the group were supposed to hold you accountable, if you fail to live up to your duties as a Christian.  I almost didn’t join a Reunion Group because of the crushing weight of being held accountable.  However, it turns out to be a lot more about love, and a lot less about accountability.

I’m a member of three “small groups” now.  Two of them would loosely fall under the umbrella of Emmaus Reunion Groups.  The other one I’ve been having with my daughter (and a few others) early on Saturday mornings for more than 10 years.  Now that group includes my favorite son-in-law. It’s the best of the lot, even though the others are truly a blessing as well.  Continue reading →