Category Archives: Christian Articles

Tony Funderburk writes and sings about the rhyme and reason for life so believers and searchers can see some of the millions of reasons to trust Jesus.

Tony Funderburk Posted on by

What’s the one thing you need
to avoid failure in this life?

Are you one of those people looking for “the one thing”? The one thing to get your business up and successful? The one thing to make everything right again? Are you looking for that one special thing to take you from despair to delight? If so, do you have any idea what that thing is?

What's The One Thing You Need to Avoid Failure?

Is the one thing”

  • Love?
  • Money?
  • More time?
  • Creativity?
  • All of the above?
  • None of the above?

If your answer was “none of the above”, give yourself a gold star and go to the head of the class. All of those things are essential for some part of life, but you can have all those things and still fail for lack of one thing which is actually a person”

Jesus

If you want to convey or deliver an awesome message…
If you want an infinite source of wisdom”
If you want to nurture and expand your creativity”

Your best resource is your Creator.

And even if you’re the most loving, creative-outside-the-box thinker, and strategist…even if you know how to build a huge following…even if you have tons of money, power, and influence…if you don’t have Jesus in the mix”game over.

The one thing for ultimate success doesn’t exist. With all the hype on the internet and all the get rich plans and schemes available in the world, you’d think just about everybody would be a millionaire by now. Wouldn’t you? You probably already know why those plans don’t pan out. Because we don’t trust the sources”and that’s just good judgement. But you can’t exercise good judgment without the help of the Judge of all creation. You might think you can, but you can’t.

How to trust Jesus in this world of hype and flash…

The Bible is the only book written by Jesus. It’s the only infallible source of truth. It’s the one thing you can test and never find lacking. In it you’ll discover how much God cares about your health, well-being, and success. I challenge you to read it. Make it the one thing you vow to do before you give up on love or life. I promise…you won’t be disappointed. Go ahead, test the Bible. Compare it to all other books of antiquity…or any other books for that matter. Do your best to prove it wrong. Give it your all. I’m confident, when you do, you’ll be changed forever…for the good. Start today.

What do you have to lose…besides eternal happiness?

Stay tuned,

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Tony Funderburk Posted on by

How to Put the YOU in Unique
Lasting Motivation Part 3

Fingerprints. DNA. Brainwaves. Know what they have in common? You have all three, and so do I. But yours aren’t the same as mine or anyone else’s. And mine belong completely to me. Think about it. Something as tiny and seemingly insignificant as fingerprints help make you the one and only YOU. And these are only three ways of knowing how to put the YOU in unique.

There aren’t any carbon copies of YOU. And even if “they” could clone you, the clone wouldn’t have your brainwaves. So there YOU are. You’re so totally unique that even if all the scientists in the world got together and agreed to work on making another YOU, they couldn’t do it.

You’re that awesome and wonderfully made.

You’ve probably heard all the hogwash about being the sum total of all your life’s experiences. Bunk, I say. You’ve probably been told you won’t amount to anything because of your family history. Balderdash! And you might have even believed you couldn’t live up to the expectations of mommy and daddy because you didn’t finish “œhigher education” or some other nonsense. Stop believing that.

YOU are a marvelous creature whose brain processes trillions of bytes of information while simultaneously making a peanut butter sandwich. When you smile, muscles move and calories burn”all without the slightest twinge of strained thoughts. Word pictures dance around the imagination section of your mind just by listening to words. Close your eyes and see the images. Amazing. How did you get so magnificent?

So, are you still wondering how to put the YOU in unique?

If you’re spending any time at all on what you can’t do, you’re slowing yourself down from doing what you can. Why keep your eyes on a problem when the solution is within your ability to grasp? Keep your eyes on “œthe prize”. When you hear someone say “œyou can achieve what you focus on”, they don’t just mean the good stuff. If your focus is on the bad stuff, you can achieve that, too.

I’m asking you, as a personal favor to me, to remember the things that make you uniquely YOU. So if you can’t do it for yourself, do it for someone who cares about you. I want you to succeed. Don’t leave the success stories to someone else. Be one. YOU can because now you know how to put the YOU in unique. How will you use the information today?

Stay tuned,

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No-cost, low-cost, and premium ways you can help me spread the Word…

Tell everybody you know to subscribe to Tony’s Rhyme and Reason Daily Devotional
(emails with good stuff for Fa-Ree)

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Get digital Bible stuff from the same company I do.

My books are also on Amazon.com or Apple Books

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Tony Funderburk Posted on by

The first step to building a house is
laying the foundation

It’s only one of several steps in the whole process. If you stopped there, you wouldn’t have much of a house. So, what comes after the first step?

Sticking with the house-building analogy, let me put it like this… Let’s say John Q. Smith has a home-building company. He hires…

  • a concrete company to pour the foundation
  • some framers to build the main structure
  • electricians and plumbers
  • sheetrockers
  • trim carpenters and painters
  • and a final cleaning crew

 

Each one of those companies or service providers plays a key role in the completion of the house. But when it’s all said and done, John Q. Smith, alone, is acknowledged as the builder. And rightfully so. He made sure the whole project was started and completed. He paid for it all. And He is the reason all the others even have the work in the first place.

Let’s talk about the first step ever.

How about we apply what I’ve just shared to matters of eternal consequence. God created everything there is. He is the builder. When we choose to work for Him, we’re able to use the gifts and talents He gave us to either lay the foundation for salvation in someone’s life…or we get to help at some other stage in the process.

The apostle Paul wrote it like this in 1 Corinthians 3:6…”I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase”. Paul was acknowledging the fact that he was the first step, the planting of God’s love in the hearts and minds of the Corinthians. But he also gave credit to Apollos for expounding on that information. And the full credit he gave to God for any good that came of it.

Here’s another cool part to this. Paul also said “he who plants and he who waters are one…” They’re equal in value and importance, and together they accomplish the one goal. And sometimes we may think we’re laying a foundation or planting when, in fact, the foundation we’re laying is also helping someone further along in their knowledge of God’s love for them.

My desire is to keep sharing rhyme and reason for life. I want to find creative ways to plant golden seeds and saturate them with Living Water. And whether I’m the first step, or somewhere in between, I hope my work endures to the day of redemption.

Stay tuned,

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Your support is worth more than you know. So…

Tell everybody you know to subscribe to Tony’s Rhyme and Reason Daily Devotional
(emails with good stuff for Fa-Ree)

Get my Rhyme & Reason Podcast delivered right to your device. (also Fa-Ree)

My books are also on Amazon.com or Apple Books

Grab yourself an un-cool T-shirt

Or how about some music for believers, dreamers, and thinkers

Tony Funderburk Posted on by

Can you teach an old dog new tricks?

My Golden Lab, who’s about 13 1/2 years old, and his chocolate brother woke me up too early this morning. They sleep a lot in the daytime, now, so they don’t always sleep through the same night hours as my wife and me anymore. And once the morning coffee started to clear the fog in my head a bit, I started thinking about that old adage of how you can’t teach an old dog new tricks.

Do you do that? Do you find yourself applying your creative mind or your analytical mind or your marketing mind to everyday situations? And do you find yourself digging deeper into information to find a story you can apply to your life, or your business, or your creative endeavors?

If so, then you’ve probably discovered what I discovered. That you actually CAN teach an old dog new tricks. At least if that “old dog” has a mindset to turn “new tricks” into productive habits.

I’ve never truly bought into the idea that you can’t teach an old dog new tricks anyway. In the first place, most people who use that phrase are applying it to people. And people aren’t dogs. And in the second place, I’ve seen actual old dogs learn new tricks, and I’ll be darned if I’m gonna let an old dog outlearn me.

It really does come down to a mindset.

For example, do you have a computer? You know, those boxes with a built-in typewriter, TV screen, and scrolling device? Well, they’ve become pretty handy in these here modern times. So, I recommend you get one.

I’m kidding around to make a point. When the personal computer became commonplace, there were a lot of old dogs who either had to learn new tricks or get left in the digital dirt.

Many baby boomers were in their late thirties and early forties when this paradigm sprang up. It’s hard to believe now, but many thought it would be a trend at best, and they didn’t buy into it. But many of the ones who adopted the new technology and decided to use it for all it was worth reaped exponential rewards. The personal computer and the internet gave a lot of old dogs access to a lot of awesome new tricks.

So, keep this in mind. Everyone eventually grows old, if circumstances and health permit. When you do, will you embrace fear? Or will you look forward to the challenges? Remember, you’re not a dog. You’re a human being made in the image and likeness of God. So, no need to worry about teaching an old dog new tricks.

Get Tony’s Rhyme and Reason Daily Devotionaldelivered to your inbox for free.

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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Tony Funderburk Posted on by

It’s always important to
love your neighbor as yourself…

And it’s even more important 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, if you’re doing those things, you might not love your neighbor as yourself as much as you think you do.

The main thing to focus on, when it comes to loving someone 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…which is more important to your life? 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.

Are you doing your neighbor a favor to forgive him of something, when he doesn’t even show remorse or ask for forgiveness? Absolutely not. Are you loving your neighbor, when you watch him drink himself to death? Do you care about your neighbor and never say anything about Jesus to him?

If you truly want to do what God asks you to do, you have to truly love your neighbor as yourself. And would you want your self to go to hell? If not, speak up. Stand up. Get up right now and do something that shows the full love of Jesus…justice and mercy…to your neighbor. Even if you start with someone in your family…start. Who will you love today?

Get Tony’s Rhyme and Reason Daily Devotionaldelivered to your inbox for free.

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,

Tony Funderburk signature logo

Tony Funderburk Posted on by

Where Do Good Ideas Come From?

Yeah, I know. “Where do good ideas come from” ends with a preposition. So who made up that rule anyway? And let me ask you something. Have you ever stared at a blank white screen or page, and it seems to stare back at you? Taunting you? Daring you? You could almost hear a voice saying “Na, na, na, na, na.”

And it doesn’t matter that your project deadline is tomorrow at noon. You just don’t have that idea you thought you would. Has this ever happened to you?

If it hasn’t, great. If it has, stop working and start reading the Bible. An online version or Bible app would be a great idea. Using those you could access all the great stories, chapters, and verses, AND you’d discover a wide variety of resources that could get your brainstorm started. Besides the concordance, you’ll find a handy search tool, commentaries, glossaries, language tools, historical reference guides, and even audio and video.

But using all those great tools in the greatest book ever written still doesn’t answer the question:

Where do good ideas come from?

Ideas aren’t some random results of random processing of random information. Ideas are thoughts formulated into an intelligent mental picture as a result of processing logical, reasonable information. But how did all that information get from one source…say your Bible app…into your brain? The answer is simple, but it befuddles (and even angers) most of the so-called “thinkers” of the world.

Your ideas get into your brain by processing and pondering the information you discover using a system designed by…

God.

That system is called logic and reason. Your brain is the user interface. You might call it the the most powerful UI ever designed. And make no mistake…it IS design…not random chance.

It’s uncanny and ironic, to me, how many times I hear the same information bandied around saying the world, and everything in it, came from nothing. At best, that’s a scientific theory. An idea. Yet, that idea can’t explain how ideas are stored. That idea can’t explain logic and reason. That so-called “scientific theory” leads to mankind believing mankind is either the pinnacle of evolution or just another insignificant segment of it.

So, the next time you hear somebody ask, “Where do good ideas come from?”…I hope you’ll smile and answer…

“Good ideas are gifts from God.”

Get Tony’s Rhyme and Reason Daily Devotionaldelivered to your inbox for free.

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,

Tony Funderburk signature logo

Tony Funderburk Posted on by

Get This Limited Time Offer While You Can

Remember…This Is A Limited Time Offer
Hurry, While Supplies Last
Sale Ends Tonight at Midnight

Any of those lines look or sound familiar? In marketing, whether it’s online or off, they say one of the best techniques for selling is the tried-and-true limited time offer”.

I’d have to agree. If you think this deal you’re looking over might not be around tomorrow, you’re much more likely to buy it today. Or if you think the price may go up after today, you might just buy today.

The limited time offer applies to you, too

You’re a little bit like real estate. There’s a very limited supply of you. And you’re only offered for a very short time. On average, a man’s offer may only be into his middle to late seventies, and a woman into her eighties. So how do you position yourself knowing that your supply AND time are limited? My suggestion is position yourself for the now…AND…forever.

Now is the time you live and breathe in, work in, thrive or dive in.

And now is the time you can give of yourself, not just exist.

Now is the time you can jump for joy or fall for lies.

You Won’t Be Around Here Forever

If you concern yourself with conserving resources like water, air, and food, shouldn’t you be even more concerned with your mortality? Market yourself as the valuable commodity you are. Use all the tools at your disposal to create the USP that is uniquely YOU. Then state it with authority, boldness, and courage. Know which part of you is the real person and which is the shadow”and never walk in your own shadow.

Now, go make it a great day, and thank God for life. Remember, your life here on earth is a limited time offer.

Stay tuned,

Tony Funderburk signature logo

Tell everybody you know to subscribe to Tony’s Rhyme and Reason Daily Devotional
(emails with good stuff for Fa-Ree)

Get my Rhyme & Reason Podcast delivered right to your device. (also Fa-Ree)

My books are also on Amazon.com or Apple Books

Grab yourself an un-cool T-shirt

Or how about some music for believers, dreamers, and thinkers