Category Archives: Bible study

Tony Funderburk Posted on by

Who knows the secrets of men?

Almost every day I see a video or movie, or read an article, or hear someone in person say something like, “I’m not judging you.” Or “Don’t judge me.” And of course, the ever popular, “You’re so judgmental.” The irony is, 99.99% of the people saying those things are judging somebody at the very moment they say the words. Most of the time, they’re basing their judgments on what a guy named Paul called the secrets of men. In other words, most people make judgments on things they can’t even see. And then they claim to be non-judgmental. There’s a word for that…

Secrets of men in a world of sin

Hypocrisy.

If you’re a fan of language, not just talking to hear yourself talk, then that word, hypocrisy, might have a seriously harsh tone to it. And rightfully so. It’s not a complimentary word. You don’t use it to praise someone. Quite the opposite. Hypocrisy is the perfect word to describe people who judge the “secrets of men” while they carry those same secrets around.

And just in case you think I’m being harsh and judgmental right now, I’ll let you in on something about me. I’ve played the hypocrite, too. But don’t get on your high horse because so have you. Yes, YOU.

Just about every person on the planet, at least those who’ve been able to grow into adults, has played the hypocrite at one time or another. And that’s why the apostle Paul, in the New Testament, wrote such a straightforward letter to the Romans of his day. In the second chapter of that letter (scribes divided it into chapters…not Paul) he talked about God’s righteous judgment. That’s because…

Only God truly knows the secrets of men.

So, only God can judge your heart. We humans have to judge according to what we see and hear. But the first five words of that previous sentence are vital to understand. “We Humans Have To Judge”

The only way you can get through life without judging others is if you have no contact with others. None. Every day you have to make judgment calls, if you’re gonna be around or deal with other human beings. Judgments like:

  • Should he be telling another one of “those jokes”?
  • Is she right to talk about her co-worker behind her back like that?
  • I saw him take that money. Should I tell on him?
  • Is it OK for a married person to do that?
  • That politician is lying. Is it important for others to know that?

 

Here’s the main point I want to make. When it comes to being judgmental, don’t be a jerk about it. Be wise. And in order to be wise, read God’s word. It’s the only way you’ll ever be able to judge rightly. You can leave the secrets of men to God and trust His righteous judgment. But, if you’re a member of the Body of Christ, you should be doing the work of judging while you’re here on planet Earth. And you should be willing to be judged. At least by others who are wise and trusting…

The One True Way To Peace

Judge me, I need to be judged.
Correct me, whenever I’m wrong.
Save me from thinking my thoughts.
I’ve been in them way too long.

(hear the rest of the words in the Podcast version)

Stay tuned,

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Tony Funderburk Posted on by

Guilty people go to hell

There. I said it. That’s what happens to guilty people. Not jail. Hell. Sounds kinda bleak, doesn’t it? And even if you count yourself among the non-judging people, you probably have a few choice words for me right about now. It’s Ok. I’ve heard “˜em before.

Guilty people go to hell

Guilty people tend to know they’re guilty.

When I was probably around 10 or 11, and my brother and I were staying with my mom for the summer in Kansas, I remember mom babysitting some neighbors’ kids. The little kids were pulling out toys from the toy box in the playroom, when suddenly one of the was wailing like a banshee.

One little boy had decided all the toys were meant to be in his possession. And since he was little bigger than the others, he managed to hoard the toys and keep all invaders away. Of course, one of the others knew a way around his defenses. Cry out as loud as possible until an adult came to the rescue.

My mom sent me to see what was wrong, and I reported back to her what I just shared with you. And I noticed a curious thing about the little boy when my mom came to confront him about taking all the toys to himself. His face. He looked downright guilty. In fact, I could tell he KNEW he was guilty. And yet that didn’t stop him from hoarding all the toys.

How do you know you’re wrong?

If you’re just a collection of carbon matter, then there’s really no such thing as guilty people. Without a source of absolute truth, absolute right and wrong, actions just become a matter of opinion. Like I’ve said many times, “if matter’s all there is, then nothing really matters.”

But you’re so much more than a carbon footprint. You and I were made in the image and likeness of God. We know right from wrong because He wrote the truth on the tablet of our hearts.

If you’re like me, and if you’re human, you are…then you sin. And your guilt will either take you to hell or to Jesus. I recommend Jesus. He loves you. He’s the source and symbol of love. But He’s also just, righteous, and true. And He doesn’t play favorites. If you don’t want to live with Him forever, you’ve just made a horrible decision. But He won’t force you to change your mind.

If you think you can get to Heaven (you know, that “better place”they’re always talking about in movies) on your own, then you’ve got a lot of work to do. And I can guarantee you’ll never be able to get the work done. But here’s something you might not know…

Guilty people also go to Heaven.

There are no innocent people. So, it comes down to a choice. Life WITH God. Or death APART from God. You get to decide for yourself. Seems like a no-brainer to me. But most people don’t think like me. I know, on my own, I’m literally guilty as hell. And I know I’m not on my own. I chose to trust Jesus died for me, and that His innocence covers my guilt. Thank God.

Stay tuned,

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Tony Funderburk Posted on by

Be fruitful and multiply

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Even if you’re not a Christian or Jew, you’ve probably heard the story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. And you might remember how God told them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth. Well, the point I’m getting to is this. God didn’t merely TELL Adam and Eve to do those things. He designed them so they could absolutely do those things. And His design is so awesome, it works even when you freeze-frame some of the process. Wonder what I mean? Read or listen on, intrepid one…

Talk about frozen fruit!

Imagine you’re a 5 year old girl and a doctor tells your parents you have sickle-cell anemia. By age 11, you get so sick your parents move to another country just so you can get a bone transplant from your brother. Then, at 13, doctors decide you’ll need chemotherapy. They know kids endure this treatment much better than adults, but they also know you show signs of puberty. And they know chemo has a high risk of damaging your ovaries.

OK”now imagine doctors and/or parents who have so much foresight they remove part of your right ovary and freeze it”in hopes someone will be able to graft it back in when you mature.

Wow. That’s really thinking ahead. And it’s very optimistic.

Anyway…

Let’s say about 10 years later doctors DO graft four parts of that frozen ovarian tissue back into your remaining ovary. Do you think that ovary could begin growing eggs? Even if it did, could that lead to pregnancy? Would you believe me if I told you it happened?

Technology can help you be fruitful and multiply.

Yep, this is a true story, not simply an imaginary tale I dreamed up. And the young woman, in her middle twenties, became pregnant and gave birth to a baby boy who was healthy and almost 7 pounds. I’ve read a couple of articles about this event, and everyone is happy about how it turned out. But I’ve yet to read if anyone else thinks it’s an incredible display of God’s design. After all, this happened despite the fact that our human gene pool is so diluted and broken now.

So, I’ll say it. Taking parts of a 13 year old girl’s ovary, freezing them, then grafting them back in about 10 years later, and they start producing eggs, and the young woman gets pregnant? Now, that’s design!

And not just any design. That’s infinitely complex and wonderful design only a loving God could or would do. He created the very information found in each cell of our bodies, and from His Spirit, He poured life into that information. We humans have come a long way. So far, in fact, that we can now freeze embryos and body parts and put them back into use years later.

Even though we cannot create Life…

We need to be (we should be and I am) grateful to the one true, living, loving God who encoded my cells with information. Information that said I’d have blue eyes, blond hair (well, it used to be), be a male, and have fingers and toes. And information that said my heart would beat on its own, my brain would interpret sensory experiences, and my eyes would encode and decode images in nanoseconds.

God’s information in our cells and our souls means we not only have life, but we can also be aware of our own existence. And since He designed us to be fruitful and multiply, let’s pass on that information boldly and with all the love we can muster.

To your eternal security,

Be sure to jump on the one-of-a-kind The TRUTH today, and I’ll send you some free rhymes and reasons right away. Music, a book, and lots of good faith, hope, and love stuff.

And share with everyone you know. Don’t keep this good stuff all to yourself.

Stay tuned,

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Tony Funderburk Posted on by

Shut your mouth and tolerate

If you wanna make sure more bad things happen in the world, shut your mouth. And put down your pen and keep your hands off the keyboard. Just keep your narrow-minded, hard-hearted, and “religious” opinions to yourself. Otherwise, how in the world are you ever gonna learn to tolerate more and more anti God rhetoric and behavior? Huh?

Shut your mouth. Your opinion isn't welcome here, Christians.

There’s a huge amount of evidence that if you are a Christian…and if you have a tendency to stand up for what the Bible actually says…you’re gonna be censored. Not tolerated by those who shout “tolerance” and “diversity” in the public square. Your Christian opinions aren’t (and won’t be) welcome in the world of so-called “multi-culturism”. You’ll simply be ostracized with labels like bigot, racist, misogynist, homophobe, and the list goes on. So what are you to do? Simple…

Shut your mouth.

Yeah, it’s that simple. Just shut your mouth, put down your persnickety pen, and keep your hands off the computer keyboards. In other words, keep your thoughts about Jesus, God, and grace to yourself, and you’ll be an acceptable member of society. Ha!

Don’t believe that for one minute. Let me use my own timeframe here on planet earth as an example of why I say that. I’ve lived long enough to see a gigantic shift in American ideology. When I was a little boy growing up in Oklahoma, Kansas, and Texas, I remember hearing and seeing Christian influence even in public schools. Yes. Public schools! Then, in 1962, the so-called “supreme court” ruled on a case that effectively banned prayer from public schools. My own school, in Texas, still allowed prayer at assemblies, during the morning announcements, and at all sports activities. I challenge you to find that happening at 99.999% of schools today.

When you read the article in the link I just provided to that court decision, you’ll notice that “not a single Christian organization filed a brief in support of school prayer“. So, that proves that keeping your mouth shut leads to keeping the peace. Right? Wrong. All you have to do is dig a little bit into the news and you’ll discover how far down the ragged rabbit hole this has taken us. And all we had to was…

Tolerate.

Interestingly enough, you won’t find the word “tolerate”, or any form of it, in the Bible. That doesn’t mean for one minute we should never tolerate others who don’t think or believe like us. That’s impossible to do anyway. Every day you’ll have to tolerate the growing hatred towards Jesus and His followers. But that doesn’t mean you should shut your mouth and never speak up for your Creator. Quite the contrary.

Now, more than ever, it’s important for Christians to come to the aid of their country…their world. God’s enduring promises, mercy, and love need to be common knowledge in every nook and cranny. And you have awesome tools at your disposal. Share your thoughts and God’s word in every way you can, and you can literally broadcast it to the world via the internet. But I suggest you do it now…before God haters make sure Christians are banned from the internet.

Do you believe that could never happen?

You wanna live the way you wanna live.
And you wanna be your own king.
You think you’re wise enough to rule your world
And handle everything.
But how much happiness is in your life?
How many friends do you know
Who would give up their lives to give you yours?
Do you think any would show?

(excerpt from “You Just Don’t Get It”…listen for it on the The Power of God’s Love Podcast)

Stay tuned,

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Tony Funderburk Posted on by

Sharing a few therapy notes today, and…

They’re not what you might imagine when you first read that headline. I wrote down some therapy notes back in 1989, and they became one of my songs no one would like but me. And even I didn’t like it all that much. The proof of that is I don’t remember the melody. But I remember WHY I wrote it, and I’ll share that with you.

Let me start off by asking a question. Have you ever gone to a psychiatrist for therapy? I haven’t, but I’ve known people who have, and I’ve certainly seen enough movies and TV shows with people seeking therapy that way. When you watch one of those movies or TV shows, you’ll notice a common theme. The “patient” lies on a couch while the psychiatrist sits in a high-back leather chair taking notes.

The psychiatrist’s therapy notes are supposed to help diagnose and treat a patient.

The problem I can see with telling a doctor your deep, dark secrets…especially a typical psychiatrist who has no healthy relationship with Jesus…falls under the heading of “a fool vents his whole feelings“. If you’re sharing all your feelings with someone who doesn’t love his Creator (and many times even with someone who does), you’re taking the chance of hanging yourself out to dry. That’s an old expression meaning you’re exposed to the consequences. And just like I mentioned, yesterday, how ideas have consequences…so does venting.

All those notes the doctor takes can be like witnesses against you. If the person taking them ever wanted to turn against you for some dire reason, they have a great reference tool. And if you believe none of that could ever happen because of that whole so-called “doctor-patient confidentiality” thing, you don’t know human nature.

OK, what does all that have to do with my therapy notes?

As it turns out, I had just watched an old movie where the main character was seeing a psychiatrist for some marital or other relationship problems. The star of the movie was only one of a collection of weird characters, and it seemed like each one was trying to be weirder than everyone else. And they were all successful in their efforts.

Shortly after watching the movie, I heard a story on the evening news about how many people were seeking psychiatric “counseling”. And not long after that I read an article in the local paper about the same topic. “Hmm,” I said to myself. “I see a pattern forming.” In all of the instances there was never even a tiny mention of God. Far from it. Do you know why you should seek God with your problems? Because He can help you rise above your selfishness. In fact, His words can make you healthy.

God should be your main counsellor. Yes, He does take notes on all of us. But, for those who love Him, He wipes the slate clean and remembers the notes no more. Why would you ever to tell your story to a note taker who doesn’t do that? Here are the therapy notes I wrote about therapy after seeing the goofy characters in a movie…

Therapy

I think I’m going crazy.
I’ve got all the signs.
My hair is wild and wooly.
I’m reciting Shakespeare lines.
My favorite food’s granola,
And I thrive on herbal tea.
I think I’m going crazy.
I could use some therapy.
And I think my mind is slippin’
In and out of space.
I had and out-of-body experience
In another place.
And some beings from Jupiter
Did experiments on me.
Yeah, I think my mind is slippin’.
I could use some therapy.

Therapy…let me tell you all about it.
Therapy…I need someone to relate to.
Therapy…I’ll sell my story to the paper.
Therapy…I know you’ll read it…you can hardly wait to.

I guess I’m not so crazy,
When I look all around.
It seems a lot of people
Have found what I have found.
And these days it’s so hectic
Trying to be first
To be the real bizarre one…
To be the one who’s cursed.

© 1989 Tony Funderburk

If you prefer the therapeutic value in God’s word, let’s stay connected. It’s super easy. Here’s how:

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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.

Daily Devotional

Stay tuned,

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Tony Funderburk Posted on by

God will call you through His grace.
Will you take the call?

Just about everybody I know has a smartphone. Or two or three. We have a couple of them in our house. And they’re awesome tools. You can use them to check your email, keep up with friends and family on social media, take some snapshots, watch videos, listen to podcasts, and even make or take phone calls. But as great as they are, smartphones can’t hold a candle to God’s communication methods. He makes trillions of calls, through His grace, to anyone who will answer, and just in case you don’t answer…He leaves messages.

I answered a call from God when I was only 13. And 13 was a very “lucky” number for me. Because when I answered that call…

God gave me eternal life through His grace.

It’s not some magical or mystical parlor trick. God is eternal, and He created you and me to be eternal. Trouble is…most people would rather figure out eternity for themselves. They’d rather skip that whole “Jesus thing”. After all, who wants some guy from 2000 years ago telling you what to do…right?

But here’s the thing…that guy from 2000 years ago is the only reason (and the only way) grace is available to you and me. Because He is eternal. He is, and was, God in the flesh. And He came to earth as a man to take the punishment for all the bad things you and I have ever done or ever will do. He was the only one who could because He was the only one who ever lived a sinless life. Can you imagine never doing anything to hurt anyone else or even yourself?

Grace is the most expensive free gift.

When you come to realize how much it cost Jesus to provide you with grace, you’ll understand it’s not about anything you can do or say. It’s not about some set of old-fashioned rules. All the “rules” were fulfilled by Jesus. You and I could never keep them all anyway. In fact, we’d die trying. And we’d exist in a universe of one forever. I hope you realize how brutal and bleak that would be.

If you’ve never considered eternity from that perspective, I hope you’ll consider it today. Since you’re able to read this, it’s not too late. You can still make the decision where you’ll be forever. Through His grace, God is calling you to eternal life. In fact, He’s already left you a message…the Bible. What are you waiting for? Will you take the call?

Stay tuned,

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Tony Funderburk Posted on by

The life which I now live is better than the one I lived before

Think about this for a bit…no one is the same person from birth to death. A tiny baby is the most innocent of all God’s creations. An old man is the least innocent. What happens between is a result of choices. Thousands and thousands of choices. Can you say you’ve made only good choices in your life. I certainly can’t. And I can’t even say that when I made good choices the results were always good. Life just doesn’t work out that way. But I CAN say the life which I now live is better than the one I lived before. And it’s better than billions of other people on the planet. And it’s all because of one choice.

I put my faith in the Son of God.

I discovered how much He loved me…how He gave Himself for me and what that meant to me AND Him. Jesus made a far greater sacrifice for the world than just His death on a cross. In fact, dying on a cross wasn’t unique to Him. He wasn’t the only person who ever lived who was tortured unjustly. Bear with me…I promise this isn’t disrespectful or blasphemous.

Jesus’ death on a cross was the manifestation of God’s undying love for us. Many unbelievers (some in my own family) take issue with the brutal and bloody scene of crucifixion. They say Christians are fixated on blood and gore. Of course, nothing could be further from the Truth. In fact, if you’re like me, you cringe at the thought of those merciless floggings Jesus endured. Those nails being driven through His hands and feet. That sword being stabbed into His side and fluids flowing out of His dead body. Horrible and hard to imagine.

Here’s the part I want to get to…

…what made Jesus’ death on a cross more significant than any other ever is what it meant to Jesus Himself. It meant that He would forever live as God the Son AND the Son of Man…in the flesh. Like I said…think about that. For eternity past, Jesus had always been spirit. But once He took on flesh and bone and died for your sins (and mine) He became a perfect man. The blueprint by which we can all measure ourselves and discover how much we need redemption.

That’s why I can say the live which I now live is better than the one I lived before. Because I know, beyond the shadow or whisper of a doubt, that I will live forever with my living, loving Creator.

Do you have that same assurance? Are you absolutely sure where and how you’ll spend eternity? If not, it’s not too late to change. But one millisecond after your last breath it will be too late. Don’t wait.

The life which I now live was bought for me,
And I’ll live this purchased life eternally,
And one day I know that everyone will see
Just how true these simple words turn out to be.

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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.

Daily Devotional

Stay tuned,

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