Enjoy and understand the rhyme and reason for your life

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.

Many times, in sports, you’ll hear an announcer say something like, “Man, he really gave his all.” Or you might hear “Wow, she gave all she had to get to this event.” Well, have you ever said “I give you all” to anyone?

And there’s a place in the New Testament where it says that.  But do you do it?

I don’t.

It brings me no pleasure, in fact, it pains me to say it. But I don’t give my all to God. And that’s in spite of the fact that I love my Creator. I’m blessed and thrilled to know that I have a Risen Savior. Jesus was totally innocent of all crimes. But He was still put to death in a horrible way. For me. And for you. But I know I don’t put all my heart, soul, strength, and mind into loving Him on a full-time basis. I bet you don’t either.

He made the ultimate sacrifice for us. And all He asks for in return is love. But all of us puny humans focus more on ourselves and the things of this world. Wouldn’t it be great to know why that is?

Well, Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles (that’s you unless you’re a Jew), gave us clear insight into this problem. He used himself as an example. He talked about how the right things he wanted to do, he didn’t do. And the wrong things he didn’t want to do…those he did. Then he explained that “…in my flesh, nothing good dwells“.

If something is truly good…not merely good according to the low standards of this world…then it should lead to eternal life. Your flesh doesn’t do that. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but there’s a 1:1 ratio of births to deaths in the world. No one escapes the “wages of sin“. But you can escape having to pay for them forever. That’s gonna require some humility. But if you want eternal life you can look forward to with complete assurance, just tell Him…

You gave my heart

You gave me words,

You gave me dawn,

I give you all…my worries and my fear.

You gave me nights…

That song is one of eleven original songs I recorded and produced when I was the praise and worship leader at a small Denver church. Download the whole collection with a link in the handy, useful songbook journal you’ll find here: https://www.TonyFunderburk.com/rtpsongbook (paperback available, too)

Stay tuned,

The post I give you all in these lyrics ya’ll appeared first on Tony Funderburk.

Why is there so much violence, destruction, and death in the world? And relatively so little peace and quiet time? Here’s the short answer. People.

But you probably wouldn’t believe the answer could be so simple. Maybe you’d rather have a highly complicated solution to this complex mess we earthlings find ourselves having to endure. And maybe you wouldn’t even like my answer.

Did you know that most of life’s seemingly unanswerable problems had simple solutions? Take the electric light for example. Maybe you’ve heard how many times Edison failed before he succeeded in getting a light bulb to work. Did you know the solution came down to finding what sort of tiny filament could last? Once he solved that problem, bingo! EMF’s everywhere. Uh, I mean, electric light everywhere.

Anyway…

So, what’s this simple solution to finding peace and quiet time in a world full of war and chaos?

Hey, don’t roll your eyes at me. I’ll roll ’em right back. Because I told you it might not be the answer you’d like. And I told you it might not be one you’d believe. And you can refuse to believe the truth. But that doesn’t make it wrong. And you can refuse to acknowledge a Creator God who came to earth to be one of us and take the punishment for our sins. But that doesn’t mean the story isn’t true.

Jesus said, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life” and He also said “the Truth shall make you free”. Why do so many prefer darkness, despair, and going it alone? If you…

…then test the Word of the Bible. It’s the #1 bestselling book of all time for a very good reason. It makes you FREE.

Judge me; I need to be judged.

Show me what I need to see.

And I have to trust that my God is just.

Search me for the deeper things.

Listen to my fervent prayer.

Make me to always understand

If you enjoy God’s joy and peace, 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 Peace and quiet time puts reason in the rhyme appeared first on Tony Funderburk.

The fullness of joy most people seek (whether they know it or not) can only be found in a relationship with your Creator. And God IS your Creator even if you don’t believe in Him.

But back to the reason I’m sharing this with you today.

First, a little backstory.

David, who was King of Israel, was a songwriter. Many of his lyrics, known as Psalms, are found in the Bible. And he talked and sang, a lot, about his relationship with God. He wrote, “You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.“

You won’t find a world of peace, tranquility, and wealth simply because you place your faith in Jesus. You won’t see the troubles of the world fade away when you look to God for answers. In fact, you might even see troubles increase. Well, at least from time to time.

Yeah, but the joy I’m talking about springs from Living Water. And it flows through your spirit. In other words, your joy won’t be based on the things and people of this world. Your joy will be focused on the only One who can (and will) give you eternal life. Your “three score and ten” here on planet earth is a tiny fraction of eternity. And that puts it in perspective.

I’m urging you, today, to consider your eternal potential. As a Christian, I know, without a doubt, there will be an eternity of existence for every human being. Where you’ll spend it depends on the choice you make in the here and now. Choose the Life your Creator wants to give you.

Because you can exist as a bodiless, spiritless, soul forever tormented by the knowledge of “what could have been.” Or you can live in the fullness God has prepared. In a body that won’t grow old and die since you’ll be tapped directly into life.

Please, choose Life and experience the eternal fullness of joy.

I’ll be swallowed up by life

If you prefer that  kind of Life, 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 Your Creator that you will see later appeared first on Tony Funderburk.

If you care about your kids and grandkids, pay attention to this. Way, way back in the twentieth century, I was able to go to college in the rural countryside of Kansas. Have you ever watched the episode of The Waltons about John boy’s first day in college? Well, watching him is practically like watching me show up for my first day. Because the halls of higher learning held that same mystique of hopeful anticipation for me, too.

Unfortunately for me, by the time I was in college, it was nothing like John boy’s experience. Universities had already become institutions for thought control. But thankfully it was happening slower at my college in the rural countryside of Kansas. Because that’s a part of the country where generations had grown up with a Christian conservative worldview.

However…

I noticed classes, like “Western Civilization” and “Sociology I & II, shared one-sided political views. Maybe I was surprised because I was raised with a Christian conservative worldview. And even my public high school had leaned heavily in that direction. No kidding.

But it didn’t take me years of college to figure out the so-called “enlightenment” in the halls of higher learning sounded like George Orwell wrote the script. And it wasn’t even 1984 yet.

The year I first attended college a crucial bill was put to the voters, in Kansas. It was about whether or not motorcyclists would be required to wear helmets. Gasp! Imagine the carnage and chaos of no motorcycle helmets.

My journalism professor gave us an assignment to present a pro or con view on a controversial topic. So, I chose the motorcycle helmet issue on the ballot.

I took the somewhat controversial “no helmets” side of the debate. And I wrote about how it would end up being another small step toward total government control of every corner of our lives. Boy, howdy, was I wrong! NOT!

Thankfully there were still plenty of others, back then, who agreed with my position on the topic. But I was surprised at how “passionate” others could be in their opposing opinions. They actually got mad about it.

Fast forward to now. Thank goodness you can go to college without a motorcycle helmet or big brother watching and/or listening to your every move. Right? Hello?

Uh…

Nowadays people don’t just present “passionate” opinions. Yeah, large groups of people have determined it’s perfectly fine to riot and loot and burn down businesses to “express their views.”

But here’s a key point.

And I predict we won’t vote our way out of it.

So I’ll leave this here for you to ponder…

Passion doesn’t make you right.

If you trust God more than college, 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 Go to college unless you care about knowledge appeared first on Tony Funderburk.

American kids, in the middle of the 20th century, used to love the sound of the ice cream man’s truck coming down the street. At least all the kids I knew did.

If you’re old enough to remember the 50’s, 60’s, or 70’s (and maybe 80’s), maybe that’s a nice memory for you, too. Yeah, we could hardly wait to flag down the ice cream man in front of our house and get him to open up the back of his truck where the tastebud treats were.

My favorite was the drumstick, a waffle cone filled with vanilla ice cream and frozen chocolate and nuts on top. And my second favorite was the frozen milkshake. It came with its own small wooden spoon. And the cup said, “spoon and dip or thaw and sip.” I never sipped.

You probably already guessed. Yeah, HOMEMADE! Woo-hoo!

Back then mom whisked up some sweet ingredients and gave the creamy, delicious mixture to dad to put in a metal container. Then dad would lower the metal container down into the wooden churning bucket. And he’d lock it in place, surround it with ice, add melting salt on the ice, and start rotating a metal crank. And the (naive) kids got to help.

Wow! Does that, or does that not sound like some magical fun?

But the real magic happened as the crank got harder and harder to turn. When it really wouldn’t turn much at all anymore, dad (and sometimes us kids) would stop and remove the container. We could hardly wait for the lid to be popped off so we could get some of ice cream in our bellies. Yuh-um!

The last week has been a scorcher here on the Emerald Coast (and probably in your area, too). So, I figured I’d just cool you off with some tasty memories and a little…

In the back of the freezer in mom’s refrigerator

Conjure up an ocean of chocolate and strawberries

Look, some rootbeer raindrops and a candy cane straw.

If you believe ice cream is one of God’s blessings, 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 Ice cream man was part of the plan 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.

Just about everywhere you look or go people seem to be mad about something. And a lot of them don’t seem to have any problem letting that anger, inside, out for everyone to see.

People are walking around with chips on their shoulders. That’s what we used to call it anyway. Or you could say they’re carrying grudges in their hearts. And that would be bad enough. But at least it would be invisible to just about everyone. Trouble is, they don’t stop the anger inside from coming out. And a lot of it even leads to escalated physical harm.

But I’ll let you in on a little secret about the root cause. Selfishness.

Yeah, selfishness is at the heart of almost all anger issues. It’s difficult to manage your anger, when all you care about is how he or she or the whole world wronged you.

And you find a way to justify your own anger, when you don’t take responsibility for your actions. I’ve been dealing with this with someone I’ve known for a very, very long time. He believes I’ve wronged him in the past (issues from 20 years ago and beyond). And he has told me I’ve never apologized or shown any remorse.

I’m not gonna share the whole sob story. But I can say with a clear conscience that this person has ripped me off multiple times, left me in the lurch multiple times, and F-bombed Jesus in my house. And, to this day, he’s never once apologized or shown any remorse for his actions. Some say this is narcissism. And I don’t disagree.

The person I’m talking about doesn’t care what God says about anger. But, to quote from Paul’s writing in Ephesians, “be angry and do not sin.” And when Paul wrote that, he was actually quoting from one of King David’s Psalms where it said, “Be angry, and do not sin, Meditate within your heart on your bed, and be still.”

But people obsess over problems, challenges, and obstacles in everyday life. That makes it easy to form a tunnel vision where the tunnel always leads to SELF.

And that leads to projecting those problems onto others. And that leads to self harm. Physical, mental, and emotional harm. You might not realize the full negative consequences of letting the anger inside out while you’re young and strong. But they’ll show up eventually. And the older you are, the more harmful the consequences.

I’m not saying those studies are absolutely true. But it might be more than coincidence that the rising rate of cancer in the world happens at the same time there are more angry people than ever.

So, what about you? What rules in your life? Anger? Or joy? I wrote this rhyme about it years ago…

If you’re angry, just don’t sin.

If this didn’t make you mad, 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 Anger inside out can take a harmful route 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.