Funderbolts Archives - 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.

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.

Imagine a journey into one of the trillions of cells inside your body. One of the first things you’d notice is how many chemicals there are. Lots of those chemicals are acidic. And many others are known as base or alkaline. But guess what happens if some of the wrong chemicals get mixed up! Dangerous chemical reactions. And you don’t want that to happen down deep in your cells. So, what keeps that from happening?

If life just evolved, then all those barriers and buffers would have evolved, too. And how could they develop with all those chemical reactions destroying all the building materials? Plus, how could it all happen at just the right time in the right way? And for millions of different species? And enough times for a single cell to become something more complex? Short answer? It couldn’t happen that way. Accidents don’t create. But God does. And He did.

The Bible says you’re “fearfully and wonderfully made.” And that’s one of the great things about living in these times. Science and technology can see deeper inside us than ever. And what they discover is evidence for the Creator and how amazing He is to love us as He does.

Not evidence that a bunch of chemical reactions could create this complex life we enjoy.

If human life is just sown by chance, then

If you like this kind of Creator/creation connection, let’s stay connected, too. It’s super easy.

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. So, 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 Chemical reactions debunk certain distractions appeared first on Tony Funderburk.

Knowing God is real helps me make sense of the world, the solar system, the galaxy, and the universe. I can only imagine the sense of hopelessness inside the hearts and souls of atheists. The sense of time running down and out. Life coming to an end. A black hole of nothingness in the not-too-distant future. No. Thank. You.

And if Christians are like fingernails on a chalkboard to you, at least consider actual evidence. And when it gives “the appearance of having been designed for a purpose”, just ask this question:

“Hmm, I wonder if it was?”

And, as you wonder, you’ll use one of the strongest pieces of evidence for the complexity in life coming from an even more complex designer. Yeah, that’s your brain.

If you’ve never wondered how complex life could have come from nothing, plenty of people have. And that includes famous scientists, philosophers, and even atheists.

One noted (and boldly affirmed) atheist, Richard Dawkins said this about life: “Biology is the study of complicated things that give the appearance of having been designed for a purpose.” (The Blind Watchmaker, page 1) He’s not the only one who at least acknowledges “the appearance” of design.

Plenty of Darwinian scientists agree with that much. After all, they have powerful microscopes. And they can see a complex design doing amazing things inside a single cell.

So, instead of knowing God, they ignore where the evidence appears to lead. And they choose to go where they’d prefer the answer to be, based on false assumptions.

That’s not science, by the way. It’s a religion. It requires faith. And a blind adherence to that faith.

For example, to say even a single cell could have emerged from proteins, even if the whole world was full of proteins, ignores how each cell in your body is a “membrane-encased, self-reproducing, self-repairing, metabolizing” unit.

Every part in one single cell had to be there from the beginning in order for the cell to function. Every part! That means it had to be completely assembled at one time by a highly intelligent assembler. It couldn’t have worked any other way.

Scientists, who deny the existence of the Creator God, have been trying for hundreds of years to show how life could have come from non-life. Yet, they’ve never been able to demonstrate how even one cell could have formed from proteins without some outside help.

If you enjoy knowing God, or would like to, 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 Knowing God is real is a really good deal appeared first on Tony Funderburk.

God is everlasting and everywhere He wants to be. You and I are SO not like that. But if you could take a minute to try and see yourself from God’s perspective, you can get a better understanding of how much trouble He’s gone through to bridge that gap. And that’s true because of one thing, and one thing only.

OK, fair warning. This is gonna be a little bit of a Bible study. So if you’re not into it, drop out now.

In case you didn’t know, there was a guy named Paul who wrote a letter to the Romans, about 2000 years ago, telling them (the ones who were interested) about the Grace of God. And God’s grace is synonymous with His everlasting love. Paul wrote this in his letter: “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?”

You might look at that second question and answer, “Well, almost everyone is against us.” But the point Paul is making with that question is that even if everyone IS against us…none of it compares with God who is FOR us. And God is for you the moment you trust in His Son as your savior. That’s a crucial and key point.

Paul’s letter continues, “He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? See? There’s that love again. Jesus came to earth as a man to offer everlasting life to anyone who would trust Him. He put His life where His intentions were…and are. And He allowed Himself to be “conquered” by His captors so that we could be more than conquerors. Are you with me so far?

Continuing with his letter to the Romans, Paul wrote, “Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.” Wow. That’s amazing. You have an advocate whose everlasting love makes everlasting life a reality for you. And when you choose to believe and trust in Jesus, the deal is sealed…

Here’s a list of physical obstacles unable to separate you from God: “Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written: ‘For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.‘ Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.”

And here’s a list of non-physical obstacles unable to separate you from God: “For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.“

Are you starting to see how important it is to trust Jesus? When you do, your eternal life is sealed and secured. But, like I always say…it’s YOUR choice. No one can make the choice for you…not even God. He lets you freely choose. If you haven’t already, why would you let another day pass without choosing? You might not have tomorrow.

More than conquerors,

I want the Everlasting Work Of Art,

Everlasting and everywhere…

I look for Everlasting holy clues

You  seek the answers to the mysteries of life.

I look to the Everlasting Guiding Star

Chorus…inst…chorus…bridge…chorus…modulate up and repeat 

2 verses and choruses to end    © 1992  TF

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 Everlasting and everywhere and this love is nothing rare 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.

“If matter’s all there is, then nothing really matters.” I’ve said that many times over the years. And for a very good reason. Because you are the only you. And the enormous amount of information found in just one of your trillions of cells shows how true that is as it reveals your unique story.

But there’s something really interesting about truth. People either love the truth or hate it. And that’s because the truth either sets them free or convicts them. And freedom is great. But that whole conviction thing is a horse of a different color. And people don’t want that different color. Most of them prefer neutral tones.

I’m as fond of gray as the next guy, when it comes to painting things around the house. Because it goes with just about everything. But when it comes to truth, going with gray, or neutral tones, is a recipe for turning you into God puke. Take that off your to-do list.

But let’s get back to your unique story. The reason I write entertaining books for you (especially for kids) is because your story matters. (by the way, “reason” isn’t found in matter)

ThatAnd your story matters because you were created by the original, infinitely brilliant storyteller. You didn’t just happen. And the story of who you are and why you look and sound the way you do is written inside the cells of your body. It’s like a secret code.

Technology now gives us access to DNA where your code (your story) is written.

Your code is yours and no one else has the your code. That’s how and why you are the only you. And this is true of every person on the earth. Big or little. Fat or skinny. Blue or pink, so to speak.

If we took the code inside of you and used a special decoder ring, we could read the one book in the world written just about you.

It would tell us why your singing voice is so nice. Or why you can’t carry a tune in a bucket. It would tell us how you grew up to be a 7 foot basketball player in the NBA. Or a 5 foot jockey in the Kentucky Derby. Well, your code wouldn’t tell us how you won a place in the NBA or the Kentucky Derby. But it would show us why you’re tall or short.

Imagine how many other things we could learn about you by reading the teeny, tiny instructions in each of the trillions of cells in your body. But then there wouldn’t be time to read or do anything else. You can just be sure that…

Inside a trillion tiny cells

That energy is life itself

Be thankful for your source of life

Your email address matters, too. It’s what I need so I can send you Tony’s Rhyme and Reason Daily Devotional. Get lots of fun stuff delivered right to your inbox. Spend your valuable time reading instead of searching. And, to show my sincere appreciation for your time and attention, I’ll send you download links to The Very First 6 Days, a rhyming book for kids about God’s creation week and 2 songs, right away. Fun for kids AND not too cutesy. So grownups enjoy it, too. Your email address is all it takes to get it almost right away.

The form can be filled in the actual website url.

Stay tuned,

The post You are the only you and truth makes that true appeared first on Tony Funderburk.

So many so-called pro athletes, movie stars, musicians and other artsy fartsy freakazoids are full of angst and aggression these days.

And I’m not saying they don’t have a good reason.

And I’m talking about the ones who make millions of dollars for just playing with a ball, or memorizing lines, or looking good on a screen, or for recording some lunatic lyrics with a catchy beat. Yeah, ironically, those who make the most money seem to do the loudest complaining about the free enterprise system we have here in America.

Talk about biting the hand that feeds you. Sheesh.

Sorry, but they just don’t have a good reason for being so full of dark angst and aggression. And don’t try to tell me they’re just looking out for the little guy, you and me. Puhleez.

I know a lot of those pop icons would call me lame. Or a Bible-thumping-do-gooder. And I know a lot of them like to poke fun at Christians and say they have no grasp on reality. They love to attempt to condescend with statements, like, “Go ahead and pray to your little friend in the sky.“ But I really don’t care.

Because the Christian message is true (an overwhelming amount of evidence says it is). So, I’m already on the winning team. My so-called “little friend” just happens to be the Head Coach of all creation. And He will lead my team to victory over ALL other opposing teams.

The leader of my pack is not only the True Alpha male. He’s also the Omega Man! And that helps me sing and write angst and aggression free. I gotta tell ya, that’s a huge boost to my endorphins and a significant reduction to any potential cortisol issues. In other words, Jesus is the ultimate stress reducer. He’s the cure. And I’m just a supplement. But I’m blessed to even be that.

And here’s what I recommend for your health. Don’t watch the TV or cable news. Filter out the mainstream from all your social media and internet connections. Stick with me, of course. And, by all means, skip, the namby-pamby, ne’er-do-well, yada-yada rants made by privileged celebrities who think they’re all that plus the bag of chips.

Your body, soul, and spirit will thank you. And don’t be surprised if you start smiling more.

When I’m being optimistic

I share it with believers who want to focus on the power of God’s love and rightly divide the word of truth. Spend your time reading, listening, and watching good stuff based on the power of God’s love instead of looking for it. 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.

Stay tuned,

The post Angst and aggression from a privileged profession appeared first on Tony Funderburk.

“Gotta pay your dues if you wanna sing the blues. And you know it don’t come easy.” If you’re old enough, you might remember those lyrics from a song that Ringo Starr made famous. And another verse said,

Those lyrics popped up in my brain this week when I thought about how God tells us to “love your neighbor as yourself.” Because I see Islamist people doing despicable Islamist things. And I see illegal aliens, also known as illegal immigrants, doing other despicable illegal things. Then I see black Americans doing despicable things to white Americans. And white Americans doing despicable things to black Americans.

And I used the word despicable because it’s a very effective word to emphatically inflect audible disdain. Another great word is contemptible. So, I might use that as I continue. Because human beings seem hell-bent on making it impossible to love your neighbor these days.

So, it’s more important than ever to know how.

Love doesn’t mean you have to be a doormat, always turn the other cheek, or simply keep your mouth shut. In fact, most of the time, doing those things can show how you don’t love your neighbor as yourself as much as you think you do. Yeah, like I said, it don’t come easy.

The main thing to focus on, when it comes to loving someone you don’t feel like loving is how your words, deeds, and actions will affect them. And you do that by keeping an eternal perspective first. Everything else is secondary to that. After all, what’s more important? 80 years of living here on earth, with all its chaos and confusion? Or an eternity of perfection with the one true, living, loving Creator of Heaven and life? (here’s a hint…go with the second choice)

When you have an eternal perspective, you’ll understand how important it is to make sure your neighbor understands there IS a God, there IS a Heaven, and there IS a choice to be made here and now. If God wishes that “none should perish”, we should too. But to love your neighbor as yourself means you’re willing to share the whole Truth. Not just the peace, love, joy, and forgiveness.

Not when he doesn’t even show remorse or ask for forgiveness. Remember, if Jesus doesn’t do it that way, you and I shouldn’t either.

You don’t truly love your neighbor, when you watch him drink himself to death. don’t be selfish. Speak up when you get the opportunity.

And you don’t truly care about your neighbor if you never say anything to him (or her)about Jesus?

If you truly want to do what God asks you to do, you have to truly love your neighbor as yourself. You don’t want your self to go to hell. So you shouldn’t want that for them. But, as I said, it don’t come easy. Because there are so many, let’s call them people for now, who could not care less what the one true, living, loving God of creation says or requires.

So, you can fully expect to stir up the demon soup when you tell them there is only one way to live forever in paradise with God. Just say the name, Jesus, and it will be like you just dumped a box of hot coals on their head. But here’s the thing. When they stand before God one day, and they will, they will be fully aware that someone showed them compassionate love and they despised and rejected it.

And you might hear the words, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

The truth is worth the risk.

So go ahead and pay your dues. One day you won’t have to sing the blues.

Every time you see the morning news

I share it with believers who want to focus on the power of God’s love and rightly divide the word of truth. Spend your time reading, listening, and watching good stuff based on the power of God’s love instead of looking for it. 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.

Stay tuned,

The post It don’t come easy especially when your neighbor is sleazy appeared first on Tony Funderburk.