It’s hard to believe that this ends the third year of Tuesdays with Tony. This started as an appeal from an elder for me to share my writings online. I had gotten off of social media a few years before that because I got tired of people who claimed to be Christians biting and devouring one another online, saying things I doubt they would say face-to-face. But I prayed about it and decided that if I did share my writings online, it would be to confess Jesus before men.
With that decision, I granted the right for people to share any of these writings to anyone, in any format, as long as they do not change what I am saying. If there is anything you want to use, feel free to share it with or without attribution.
Honestly, this has been such an amazing journey for me. Even if no one read anything I wrote, just going through the process of reading God’s Word, reflecting on it, and putting my thoughts in writing has been a tremendous encouragement and growth for me.
So, if the Lord allows it, I will continue to write and work on putting together Volume Four, which I will release in 2025. And if He doesn’t allow it, then Tuesdays with Tony Volumes 1-3 will live on long after I go to be with the Lord as my continuous voice beyond the grave, still confessing Jesus before men.
Thank you for purchasing this book, for your encouragement, and for your prayers. I appreciate your grace as I struggle and share these snippets of encouragement.
If you want to explore something deeper, you may be interested in my book, The Sovereignty of God. In it, I force us to ask questions we may not be comfortable asking and challenge us to examine our presuppositions. In the end, I hope that each of us walks away with a deeper understanding of God’s sovereignty and how we relate to Him in His sovereignty.
Let me end by thanking a few people who have spent time with me on the phone or through IMs and emails. Many have even shared a meal or a cup of coffee with me. We have challenged and encouraged each other as we discussed the things of Kingdom living. Thanks to Bob and Beth Tabor, Kris Emerson, and Paul and Rene Bennett. There have been many more, but these people have listened to me as I struggled with tough things and have stood by me as friends who travel the Way with me. It’s a blessing to have people like this in your life. I love each of them more than they will ever know.
Well, here it is—Volume 3. I sincerely hope you will find something in these pages that lifts you up, teaches you something, and challenges you to be a better steward of Jesus. If even one page in this book does this, it will be worth the time I put into its creation. Even if we have never met, I love you. This kind of love is absolutely possible as a child of God.
May His richest blessings flow to you as we glorify Him in our allegiance to His Son, King Jesus.
In Him,
Tony Eldridge
May 2024
P.S. As a special thank you to those who purchased this book, I have convinced my friend, Kris Emerson, to contribute a post exclusive to this book. I approached him, chose the subject, and explained my vision for what I wanted him to write about. Ultimately, Kris did Kris and produced something I loved sitting at his feet to read. I’m sure you will, too. It’s the article entitled, “Oh, How Far God Has Gone To Save Us.”
June 1st, 2023
Just watched a news report that says AI can lead to man’s extinction.
Hmmm....
I’m now waiting for some big-name preacher to posit that AI, is indeed, the antichrist.
It’s easy to laugh when you know for certain that God reserves the end of the earth for Him to accomplish when He sends His Son back again.
“But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.
Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness,
waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn!” (2 Peter 3:10-12 ESV).
You remember the story of the rich young ruler, don’t you?
He came to Jesus, asking what he needed to do to inherit eternal life. Jesus gives him a list found in the Ten Commandments:
“You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.” (Mark 10:19 ESV).
Why did Jesus give him these five commandments? What ties these five together? Well, these are five commandments that focus on how to treat others.
The young man was thrilled at Jesus’ answer.
And he said to him, “Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.” (Mark 10:19-20 ESV).
Then, Jesus looked at him with love. Our Creator knows all things. For this young ruler, there was one thing he still lacked.
“And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” (Mark 10:21 ESV).
Perhaps we spend too much time trying to figure out the nature of Jesus’ commandment of selling all that the rich man had that we miss the real meaning that applies to each of us.
Jesus later tells us that all the laws hang upon two:
Love God
Love Neighbor
This rich young ruler did a good job loving his neighbor. The five commandments Jesus first gave him centered around his relationship with others, and the rich young ruler seemed to be a genuinely good person to others.
But the one thing he lacked focused on the greatest commandment: Love God with all your being. Jesus knew riches were the thing this man possessed that kept him from following the greatest command.
When faced with Jesus’ answer, the man still chose to hang on to what he loved more than God.
“Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.” (Mark 10:22 ESV).
Jesus tells us the same thing He told the rich young ruler. Love others. Love God.
He tells us to give up whatever keeps us from fulfilling the two commandments upon which the whole law hangs.
Will we give up what we hold dear to put King Jesus first in our hearts?
“And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.
This is the great and first commandment.
And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” (Matthew 22:37-40 ESV).
It’s okay to have a healthy respect for the power of Satan. But let’s not attribute to him things that belong to God alone.
Only God is all-knowing. Satan is not.
Only God is all-powerful. Satan is not.
Only God is everywhere, all at the same time. Satan is not.
Only God’s words are 100%, absolutely, and undeniably certain. Satan’s words are not.
Only God will always keep His promises. Satan will not deliver on the lies he promises.
Only God is supremely sovereign. Satan will ultimately yield to God’s sovereignty.
Only God had no beginning. Satan was created by God, Who creates all things.
Only God is the Creator. Satan can not speak anything into existence.
Only God will pass judgment on other beings. Satan will never judge another being and will stand before King Jesus, his Judge, the only Judge of all.
Only God has the power to save man and give him eternal life. Satan does not.
Only God has all authority. Satan does not.
Only God loves us with an unspeakable love we can never fully understand or appreciate. Satan does not.
Only God loves us enough to die for us. Satan does not.
Is there one reason we can think of that would cause of to reject God and follow the god of this world? Jesus gives the answer for us:
“For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?
For what can a man give in return for his soul?” (Mark 8:36-37 ESV).
I am reading Matthew in my daily Bible reading. He starts his Gospel with the genealogy of Jesus. Many of us quickly read through this to get to the story of Jesus. But to Jews, this is an important part of His story.
To me, it makes sense why Matthew is one of the writers who give this genealogy. I especially find it interesting how Matthew ends by saying:
“So all the generations from Abraham to David were fourteen generations, and from David to the deportation to Babylon fourteen generations, and from the deportation to Babylon to the Christ fourteen generations.” (Matthew 1:17 ESV).
Why do I find this interesting? Because of Matthew’s occupation. While the Jews hated publicans, or tax collectors, Jesus chose one and used his talents to the fullest extent. The genealogy is written by someone who is used to keeping a ledger, a record, and neatly ends by showing how 14 generations exist between major historical milestones.
Jesus took a rejected, hated man that people condemned and used him for His glory. No matter who we are, Jesus also knows how to use our talents for His glory. Where man may see nothing worthy in us, Jesus sees value and can complete amazing works in us for His glory.
“So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you,
leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.” (Matthew 5:23-24 ESV).
God models selflessness in this passage. God deserves our best gifts, but He tells us leave our gift to Him at the altar and reconcile with each other first.
God puts us first, and He tells us to put Him first in all things. Part of putting God first is learning to put each other before ourselves. The two great commandments are intertwined in God’s eyes so much that they must be fulfilled together.
Love God and love neighbor cannot be neatly, surgically separated as we often want to do. Our God so tightly knits them together that they reveal much about His character and Who He is.
To truly put God first, we must put each other before ourselves, and God demonstrates this by telling us to leave our gifts to Him at the altar and reconcile with each other before giving our gifts to Him.