Bible study Archives - Tony Funderburk

Doubt and unbelief put you in a constant state of stress and worry.

I mean, I know you have flaws. Because everybody does. But flaws don’t define you. Unless you let them cause doubt and unbelief to grind into your mind and affect your daily life.

There’s a very reliable way to positively affect your decisions so you can effectively pursue your dreams. But it’s so simple that most people’s doubt and unbelief makes them run the other way. Are you ready for this? Stop putting all your faith in YOU. And put it in the One who made you.

I want you to know it’s not an unforgivable sin to have anxiety and worry in your life. But I think it’s important to know that God says “be anxious for nothing” and “do not worry.” Those are imperatives. Not wishy-washy suggestions. So, He must know they’re do-able.

Doubt is often referred to as fear, or a lack of courage, or unbelief. And whatever way it’s presented, the solution is always presented as faith. God wants you to have courage. He wants you to be powerful and loving. And He gives you the tool to get the job done. His word. His word is also called “the sword of the Spirit.” It’s not a visible sword made of brass, iron, or steel. It’s invisible. But it’s sharp enough to be used for the “division of soul and spirit.”

Here’s the thing.

I just want you to know that if you’re filled with doubt and unbelief instead of faith, you’re doing something wrong. Not evil, but wrong. You’re trusting in yourself. And leaning on your own limited understanding. And you’re not trusting in the Lord with all your heart.

There ARE successful people, in this life, who don’t trust in the Lord. But most of them will discover how their profits might’ve helped them gain the whole world. But the cost will be that they lose their soul?

Yeah, here’s an awful thing to think about.

Most millionaires and billionaires go to hell.

That’s not to pick on wealthy people. Because most poor people are going to hell, too. The point is…most PEOPLE are not going to Heaven. For one stupid reason. They choose not to go. If you have any doubt about where you’ll go if you die today, here’s what I suggest. Find a way to crush your unbelief and put your faith in Jesus. Without Him, the most you’ll ever be able to do is make a series of…

I seem to make so many false moves.

False moves, like shadows, fall behind.

I always seem to see the empty spots

I sit and dream of traveling so far,

Since I referenced Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, I’m gonna share a link to my own lyrical perspective on that book of the Bible. It’s called “Rhyme and Reason in Ephesians.” Get your copy today:

https://www.TonyFunderburk.com/retail

Stay tuned,

The post Doubt and unbelief will give you no relief appeared first on Tony Funderburk.

Seems like nobody can keep a secret. And when just one person lets the cat out of the bag, so to speak, it’s not long before everybody knows about it. Then, Katie, bar the door.

About 2000 years ago, a man named Paul traveled all around telling the very same secret I’m about to share with you. The big difference was that he shared a secret nobody had ever heard before. In fact, he called it a mystery.

But Paul wanted everybody to know the answer to the mystery. You might wonder how Paul found out about it. Well…Jesus told him.

Yep, Paul heard all about this special secret directly from the Creator of the universe.

So, of course, what he discovered was true? Jesus never lies. And He wanted Paul to go tell everyone the news. At first Paul wasn’t sure if he could believe his eyes and ears. But Jesus proved He was real and that Paul could trust Him. Once that happened Paul was filled with joy and courage. He began to tell anybody who would listen about Jesus.

But Paul didn’t just tell everybody what kind of a person Jesus was. He told everybody why Jesus came to earth. And why He had to be killed and rise from the dead. And the secret was that Jesus did all that so we could all know Him like a personal friend.

God had kept that secret for thousands of years. Before anybody knew about Jesus, the only way to get to Heaven was to keep ALL the rules that God gave Moses to present to His people.

But nobody was ever able to keep all those rules. The Jews tried. But they just couldn’t do it. They were just like you and me. We want to be good all the time, but somehow we just can’t do it.

Well, thanks to God choosing not to keep a secret hidden, you don’t have to be good all the time. And you don’t have to follow all those rules from the Jewish people from thousands of years ago.

No, the good news, the secret, is this: believe in Jesus. He lived here on earth in the same world as the rest of us. And He never did anything wrong. And He kept all the rules. He lived a perfect life. And He showed us perfect love by paying the price for sin so you and I wouldn’t have to.

Here’s a rhyme so simple even kids can remember…

The best secret ever told was just for you

If you can keep a secret, let’s stay connected. It’s super easy. Here’s how:

It’s good stuff based on the power of God’s love. And, I’ll send you download links to music and The Very First 6 Days (a rhyming book for kids about the creation week) right away. Kids from 3 to 103 can enjoy these fun goodies. Just add your email to the form and let’s connect right away.

Stay tuned,

The post Keep a secret or not? Is this what you thought/ appeared first on Tony Funderburk.

Because those traits are important, Paul wrote to Christians in Corinth and said: “For our boasting is this: the testimony of our conscience that we conducted ourselves in the world in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom but by the grace of God, and more abundantly toward you.”

I know those aren’t the buzzwords these days. Most people like to share the words “genuine” and “authenticity.” But I’ve noticed how often, even when they say you should keep it simple, it takes them anywhere from 15 to 30 minutes to describe that. But, then again, that’s just there idea of authenticity.

Seth Godin, a well-known marketing “guru” answered an interviewer’s question about authenticity in a way I really appreciated. He said something like, “Forget about authenticity. Instead, focus on consistency.” And then he explained how showing up consistently, by default, reveals your so-called authenticity.

I don’t recall if he ever addressed sincerity. But my guess is, if he did, that would also be included in showing up consistently. Because think of it this way, if you were there for your friends consistently, don’t you think they will take it for granted that you’re doing it with sincerity?

The apostle Paul was able to prove his sincerity with his letters to the different churches in his day. And his message, when you boil it down, was simple. Love your neighbor.

He certainly knew the cause and effect of simplicity and sincerity. That’s why, in His new message of grace, he said all the commandments could be boiled down to two. Love the Lord your God. And love your neighbor as yourself.

I dare you to find anyone, in all of history, who’s even remotely as sincere as Jesus. But don’t accept my dare. Because I’m sure your life is too busy to go chasing futility. Especially when you can keep it this simple…

Would you like to live forever

If you like it simple and sincere, let’s stay connected. It’s super easy. Here’s how:

It’s good stuff based on the power of God’s love. And, I’ll send you download links to music and The Very First 6 Days (a rhyming book for kids about the creation week) right away. Kids from 3 to 103 can enjoy these fun goodies. Just add your email to the form and let’s connect right away.

Stay tuned,

The post Simplicity and sincerity should never be a rarity appeared first on Tony Funderburk.

Did you know the month of August was named after Augustus Caesar (or Caesar Augustus if you prefer) and was lengthened to 31 days by Julius Caesar? And did you know that Caesar never ate a Caesar salad because it wasn’t invented until 1924?

Well…with that information and a smartphone, you can connect to the internet and even make long distance calls.  ha!

I wondered what a month would have to be called if it were named after me. Let’s see, using my nickname, Tony, we might have the month of Tonyary. Or Tonus. Or Tonember. Yeah, I think I like the sound of that last one. Because my birthday is in December. And we could maim two birds with one pickleball racquet with that month. What do you think? Sound good?

Here’s a rhyme about it, decreed by yours truly…

On August 1 2014

So, scientifically speaking, there’s no such thing as a sunrise. But, when you know you were created by the one, true, living, loving, artful God of all of creation, the sun does rise.

A sunrise is a metaphor, an allegory, or even a simile. It’s how your creative mind “sees” things. Either as you’d like them to be, or as they appear to be. In both cases you get a sense of the imagination forged into your spirit. God didn’t have to give you imagination. He could have just designed you to see whatever He wants you to see. And to perceive only things He says are necessary for survival.

Yeah, He could’ve created your mind to work just like animals and bugs.

But God loves to see what you come up with. Not that silly here-today-gone-tomorrow kind of Hollywood luv. His is a real and enduring love. And your imagination is an intangible proof of His love. You can think with logic and reason. But you can also imagine and create worlds of your own. You can soar into the skies, dive into the depths of the oceans, paint rainbows into the leaves of trees, and even rise above whatever physical limitations you have.

So, where will you go…

And it surely will,

If you prefer the God-given gift of imagination over Caesar Augustus, let’s stay connected.

It’s good stuff based on the power of God’s love. And, I’ll send you download links to music and The Very First 6 Days (a rhyming book for kids about the creation week) right away. Kids from 3 to 103 can enjoy these fun goodies. Just add your email to the form and let’s connect right away.

Stay tuned,

The post Caesar Augustus and imagination for just us appeared first on Tony Funderburk.

It’s Saturday as I write this. And I hope you have better things to do today than just go shopping or watch TV. Because it’s important, especially with everything going on in the world, to guard your heart and mind.

In Philippians 4:8-9 Paul shows you that focus is so important.

And I know focus is a buzzword, these days. Because it’s used by motivational speakers, marketing gurus, and so-called influencers. But the focus they talk about almost never helps you to see how the God of peace will be with you.

But first, picture this in your mind’s eye. From the window in your kitchen you see a sunflower in your front yard. Standing there all alone in the middle of rocks and weeds. Bright and beautiful. So you open up your trusty camera app and snap a quick photo you can share with all your social media friends.

But the trouble is they don’t get the full effect. Because they see the rocks and weeds and whatever else shows up in the picture.

Now, imagine you take your camera outside, kneel down, and really focus in on the sunflower. And you capture the bright yellow petals with hues of sunset orange blended into interconnecting spirals.

Focused in like that you can clearly see the fruit and seeds of the flower. And it’ll help you appreciate that you have a camera with enough pixels to do it justice. Now, when you take this snapshot, you’ll have a picture that really shows off the beauty that caught your eyes. And most likely anyone who sees the picture will notice, even if it’s only subconsciously.

And, just like you focused in on the sunflower, you’ll get a much clearer picture of God’s peace when you focus in on better things.

Paul actually used a synonym for “focus” when he wrote a letter to the Philippians. He wrote the word “meditate.” And to meditate on something just means to think deeply and carefully. Then, he shared a focus list. One of the better things you can do today is go over whatever things are:

So, learn to do what you hear and see Paul doing. Because he learned by hearing and seeing what Jesus did. Then, the God of Peace will be with you. That sounds like something I’d like to work on today. How about you?

If you wanna focus more like this, let’s stay connected. It’s super easy. Here’s how:

It’s good stuff based on the power of God’s love. And, I’ll send you download links to music and The Very First 6 Days (a rhyming book for kids about the creation week) right away. Kids from 3 to 103 can enjoy these fun goodies. Just add your email to the form and let’s connect right away.

Stay tuned,

The post Better things to do today to help keep the blues away appeared first on Tony Funderburk.

When you were conceived, they called your mom an “expectant mother.” But what exactly was she expecting?

Yep, the answer is “none of the above.”

It’s been that way for all of human existence. So, you would think you wouldn’t have to explain that to anybody anywhere. But millions and millions of abortions all across the world prove that human beings are willfully ignorant on a massive scale. Especially in this age of high resolution ultrasound.

It’s gotten so bad that nowadays a lot of people can’t acknowledge that unexpected mother can only give birth to a boy or a girl. No, fools and weirdos like to pretend there are lots of genders. And they angrily demand that we participate in their delusion. Of course, anyone who has received even a small amount of wisdom from God will never join in with that.

You and I know that God wrote, in his best selling book of all time, that he made them male and female. And “them” refers to human beings. Plus, he made every one of us unique from everyone else. For example, think about how no one else in the world has the same fingerprints as you. No one else has the same DNA. And those are just two major ways to show how you are…

OK, look at your fingers, and what do you see?

Your fingertips make their very own prints

And something inside you too tiny to see

It controls if your eyes will be brown, green, or blue.

OK, never forget to remember this news

If you agree with why you’re unique, let’s stay connected. It’s super easy. Here’s how:

It’s good stuff based on the power of God’s love. And, I’ll send you download links to music and The Very First 6 Days (a rhyming book for kids about the creation week) right away. Kids from 3 to 103 can enjoy these fun goodies. Just add your email to the form and let’s connect right away.

The form can be filled in the actual website url.

Stay tuned,

The post Expectant mother expects no other appeared first on Tony Funderburk.

For about 20 years evolutionists and the media made the silly claim that human DNA and chimpanzee DNA were about 99% the same. Now keep in mind, no one had completed sequencing human DNA. And sequencing of chimpanzee DNA hadn’t even started. Sheesh. And evolutionists like to make fun of Christians for prophecy and predictions. But I guess you gotta expect such behavior from adults who believe in fairy tales and fables.

Ladies, you’re actually closer to call your man a “snake in the grass” instead of a big, dumb ape. According to evolution snakes should be more closely related to other reptiles. But a computer-based study found the genetic distance between a particular protein, cytochrome, from a snake was actually closer to the cytochrome protein from a man.

And speaking of computer-based measuring of genetic distance, the number of organisms that have had their genes sequenced is doubling every year? So, that means our molecular information bank has increased exponentially. And on the molecular level, there’s no evidence to support the evolutionary fairy tales and fables of how life began. None.

Now, I realize Christians are just supposed to have blind faith in “a god” we “created in our own image as a crutch.” But the Christian Faith is based on so much more evidence. And that’s important because Christians place their faith and hope in someone they’ve never seen. I say He’s the one true, living, loving Creator of the universe. And the universe of evidence backs up that claim. By the way., the Bible (bestselling book of all time and only book supported by evidence almost daily) talks about evidence and how important it is.

Even though only about 4% of human DNA differs from that of chimpanzees, that 4% represents “thirty-five million single-nucleotide changes, five million insertions or deletions, and various chromosomal rearrangements.” And the differences between the males from each species is around 30%.

See what I mean, ladies? Guys are not apes. Nope. We’re just as fearfully and wonderfully made as you. Even if we aren’t the eye candy you are. Hey, too much candy isn’t healthy anyway.

Anyway…

For more information on genetic distance and the way it relates to how we all got here, click on most of the links I just shared. They’ll take you to Dr. Walt Brown’s online book, “In The Beginning“. While you’re there, be sure and check out so many other compelling reasons to believe in the Creator rather than evolution.

And save the fairytales and fables for reading to the kids at bedtime.

In awe of all creation and how it all could be,

If enjoyed this science-based shot of reality, let’s stay connected. It’s super easy. Here’s how:

It’s good stuff based on the power of God’s love. And, I’ll send you download links to music and The Very First 6 Days (a rhyming book for kids about the creation week) right away. Kids from 3 to 103 can enjoy these fun goodies. Just add your email to the form and let’s connect right away.

The form can be filled in the actual website url.

Stay tuned,

The post Fairy tales and fables and that book on coffee tables appeared first on Tony Funderburk.

As I write this, it’s Sunday. So, time for a Bible study. And, now, anyone who’s still here, I’ve got this question for you. Why is it so difficult for most people to admit the Creator of the universe is real?

It’s simple really. When you look at a building, you know automatically that someone built it. Or when you spot a painting on a canvas, immediately you know someone painted it. And when you’re driving somewhere, you have no question in your mind of how cars got here. Or roads. You simply know someone built it all.

So, why is it so difficult for so many people to look at the complexity and variety of life on our planet and agree there must be a Creator of the universe?

And let’s just talk about your eyes for a sec.

No, not YOURS personally. Eyes in general.

They’re WAY more complex than any building, painting, or car you’ll ever see. But so many people blindly believe (pun strongly intended) they just happened by chance. You know. Because, like, well, everything evolved, dude.

Oh yeah? Well, splain this to me, then.

Each of your eyes has a muscle, known as the Superior Oblique muscle. And it’s attached to the top of the eye AND threaded through a tiny sling. That tiny sling is known as the Trochlea. But why does that tiny muscle go through that sling instead of just attaching directly to the forward part of your eye?

Well, it solves space requirements and improves things like angle of torque. And those are design considerations. Evolution or natural selection would require at least a little bit of the design to already be working in order to “evolve” further. And, as they say in certain circles, that don’t make no sense.

Uh-oh. I just went and done it, didn’t I? Because most fools, uh folks, believe it’s a silly, outdated, and dogmatic notion to believe the whole world was created by a “science fiction” character named Jesus.

But, since this is a Bible study I’m sharin’, I’m here to say it’s a silly, outdated, and dogmatic notion to believe all the complexity in the universe evolved from nothing.

Because you can’t get everything from nothing. No matter how much you might want it to be true, it just isn’t possible. Even if you believe all you can know is what your five senses tell you, none of your five senses will detect something from nothing.

Logic and reason (which are not part of your five senses, by the way) should lead you to admit design requires a designer. And, in the case of the universe, that designer is Jesus.

Like I started out saying…it’s simple really. Unless you don’t want to answer to the Creator of the universe. That’s not you, is it?

All of creation points to the Savior.

All of creation holds information…

That all of creation is here by the Word of God.

If you agree with the evidence for the existence of God, let’s stay connected. It’s super easy. Here’s how:

It’s good stuff based on the power of God’s love. And, when you send me your email address, I’ll send you download links to music and The Very First 6 Days (a rhyming book for kids about the creation week) right away. Kids from 3 to 103 can enjoy these fun goodies. So, don’t wait another minute. Here’s the form.

The form can be filled in the actual website url.

Stay tuned,

The post Creator of the universe can save you from a fiery curse appeared first on Tony Funderburk.

When I was a young boy, my mom saved S&H Green Stamps. They were like rewards you get on your apps these days. Stamps a shopper received at stores, gas stations, or just about anywhere housewives shopped. Yeah, I know. “Housewives” is a politically incorrect term. But it wasn’t back then. Ah…the good old days.

Because when a woman saved enough Green Stamps, she could redeem them for all sorts of household items she found in the S&H catalog. It was like free money. I remember my mom talking with her friends and family about some clock radio or dish set she just got with her stamps. It made for fun, and sometimes lively, conversation. And they’d share the news of double stamps days at the local grocery store. Then, bam! Time to storm the grocery store.

Speaking of time, how is time like Green Stamps? And that’s not actually a trick question.

Answer. They can both be redeemed. Well, I don’t think Green Stamps can anymore. Because I don’t think there’s that kind of rewards program around anymore. But time can still be redeemed.

Dan don’t believe me? Don’t think you could redeem time and get something “for free?”

Well, you can. And guess what you get? OK, I won’t make you guess.

Yeah, I don’t mean you can turn 24 hour days into 30 hour days. But you can buy more time by making good use of the time you have here on planet Earth. In fact, you can buy time that never runs out. How cool is that?!

But you can’t just sit on your time. You gotta redeem it. Here’s how you do that. First, become a Christian. And if you’re already a Christian, you gotta “Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one.” That’s getting a lot harder to do. Because more and more the world doesn’t wanna hear the name Jesus mentioned under any circumstances. So, it’s important to emphasize the “grace” and “salt” part.

I do that here on my blog. I’m redeeming the time I have left by sharing the power of God’s love and His enduring message of eternal life with anyone who cares to listen and/or read.

Now, are you paying attention to the clock? Because there’s a lot more than green stamps at stake.

“All I need is some time to hold in my hands.

If this landed somewhere good with you, let’s stay connected. It’s super easy. Here’s how:

It’s good stuff based on the power of God’s love. And, to show my sincere appreciation for your time and attention, I’ll send you download links to music and The Very First 6 Days (a rhyming book for kids about the creation week) right away. Kids from 3 to 103 can enjoy these fun goodies. Just add your email to the form and let’s connect right away.

The form can be filled in the actual website url.

Stay tuned,

The post Green stamps, good stuff, and it was all good enough appeared first on Tony Funderburk.

Hey kids. Have you noticed, when you go to the grocery store, how you see the word enriched in just about everything? And did you know most of the time, if not all, that’s not a good thing?

And that is when we’re talking about, get this, YOU. And me. Or anyone who’s not ashamed to call himself or herself a Christian.

For just a second or two think about the grace of God, which was given to you by the one whose name you use to describe yourself as a Christian. There’s a place in 1 Corinthians that shows how  grace made sure you were enriched in everything by Him in all utterance and all knowledge, even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you so that you come short in no gift

Hey, who doesn’t like gifts? How much would you be willing to give for those gifts? But wait! There’s more! Because in that same section of 1 Corinthians it says Jesus will also confirm you to the end, that you may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Hang on. I don’t know about you, but that sounds glorious to me. Because I know if there’s one thing I’m not, in this life and in this world, it’s blameless.

And I’m gonna go out on a limb and say you probably aren’t blameless either. But Jesus made sure that we will appear that way when we stand before God one day. And He did that by taking our blame and covering us in…

You got the glory in you,

And trust the good things in you,

One day, when Jesus comes back,

If you know you’re enriched in everything, let’s stay connected. It’s super easy. Here’s how:

It’s good stuff based on the power of God’s love. And, to show my sincere appreciation for your time and attention, I’ll send you download links to music and The Very First 6 Days (a rhyming book for kids about the creation week) right away. Kids from 3 to 103 can enjoy these fun goodies. Just add your email to the form and let’s connect right away.

The form can be filled in the actual website url.

Stay tuned,

The post Enriched in everything is a good reason to sing appeared first on Tony Funderburk.