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

Wanna fulfill your ministry? Here’s how…

Maybe you saw the headline and thought to yourself, “Hmm…that’s not me. I don’t have a ministry. I don’t even work in a church.” Guess what? If you’re a Christian, it’s important to know how to fulfill your ministry because you DO have one. And you don’t have to be a preacher, a deacon, an elder, or even a daycare helper. In fact, even if you don’t attend church regularly or at all, you have a ministry. But don’t panic. I have 7 things you can do to fulfill it. They’re not easy, but they’re designed just for YOU. (and me)

I’ll get right to the point. Paul wrote a letter to his spiritual son, Timothy. In fact, in the Bible it’s known as the second letter (or Epistle) to Timothy. In chapter 4, Paul laid out 7 thing to do to fulfill your ministry. And they all lead to you doing the work of an evangelist. That’s just a 4 syllable word that means you’ll be talking about Jesus. Uh-oh…now I’ve done it. I “let the cat out of the bag”. I dared to mention the name of Jesus. But apart from Him, you don’t truly have a purpose in life…at least not one that leads to eternal life.

So, how to fulfill your ministry in 7 ways:

  1. Preach the word
  2. Be ready in season and out of season
  3. Convince
  4. Rebuke
  5. Exhort with patience and teaching
  6. Be watchful in all things
  7. Endure afflictions

Easy…right? Wrong! With each passing day the job of telling the world about Jesus becomes increasingly more difficult. But here’s the thing…you’re not alone. You will never be alone. You have the Creator of the universe as close as your next breath. And He will never leave you nor forsake you. He’ll help you do the work of an evangelist, and you’ll be well-equipped to share His promise with everyone who will listen.

What will you do to fulfill your ministry…starting 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.

Daily Devotional

Stay tuned,

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Tony Funderburk Posted on by

Would you say you’re
abounding in faith with thanksgiving?

If you’re a Christian, you’ve probably been taught that faith in Jesus is essential to attain eternal life. And that’s true. But do you have a faith that appears more like you’re barely clinging to your last shred of hope? Or do you wake up each day abounding in faith with thanksgiving? Are you thankful for every little blessing you have? And do you understand how this world can only give you morsels compared to the cornucopia that’s yet to come? Am I asking too many questions? OK…I’ll get to my point…

When you woke up this morning, you woke up to immediate blessings. Oxygen entered your lungs. Maybe light entered your room and your eyes. Maybe sounds entered your ears. And maybe aromas of coffee or breakfast entered your nostrils. Every single breath, sight, sound, and scent was…and is…a blessing.

Are you thankful and abounding in faith?

Do you have faith in the One who gave you a beating heart, functioning lungs, eyes, and ears? Or do you simply go through your day focused on your problems? Sorry…I’m asking too many questions again. Well, I’d just like to point out that without a Creator, there would be no creation. And there would be no YOU. Nothing to complain about or be thankful for. But you get to exist. You get to know you exist. You get to experience so much in this life. Sights, sounds, feelings, aromas…so many, many things. In fact, so many things it’s easy to take them all for granted. But instead, they should all keep you abounding in faith with thanksgiving.

Never let a day slip by without thanking God for the abundance of wonder you’re blessed to experience. Don’t merely have faith in Jesus. Have abounding faith. Grateful, glorious faith. He IS your life. Apart from Him you are hopeless. Just imagine…He created everything in the universe by speaking words. Yet, with all His sovereign power, He still considers you His friend. Think about that. His friend! He laid down His life for you in order that you could live forever.

So…walk in Him today. Stand tall. Stand strong. If you’re a Christian, you’re more than a conqueror. You’re a mighty, spirit-filled child of God. And no power on earth can ever take you from His love. Now…are you abounding in faith with thanksgiving?

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,

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Tony Funderburk Posted on by

My Phoenix Imagination

It arises from rainbow ashes.
It takes flight on crystal butterflies.
Once forgotten and then forsaken…
Now it glows above translucent skies.
And it’s all mine…imagination,
A Phoenix, a ruby lightning rod.
I’m transported up through the heavens,
With a blink, into the house of God.

I love wordplay. I love alliteration. And I love juxtaposed metaphors and impossible phraseology. I love working with words. And I love the one true, living, loving, creative God who gave me the language I can manipulate. Take a word like – Phoenix. In English, it’s not pronounced at all like it looks. How cool. And today that word popped up on my linguistic radar. And I decided to work it into a short poem, swirling with truth AND imagination.

Not wanting to simply “use” the word…I decided it would be an eight line metaphor. It would describe how my imagination has been prisoner to tasks. And it would show how it was only a temporary situation. And that’s somewhat metaphorical for how life is. Does that make sense?

Life, very often, gets in the way of creativity and dreams. Do you experience that? Sure you do. I don’t think anyone is immune to the distractions and disturbances of life. But this earthly life is only a temporary existence…even though you (the true you) are an eternal creation. Where you’ll be forever comes down to who you choose to believe right now. Will you choose self over all else…and be emperor over a universe of one? Or will you choose Jesus, your Creator…and rise out of your own ashes, a glorious Phoenix spirit, soaring into the eternal presence of the One who created you?

Are those fair questions? Or do I sound biased? Yes…and…yes.

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

If you truly have love in you – serve one another

Healthy life. Peaceful life. Wealthy life. Joyful life. Do any (or all) of those describe you in your life? If not, my first question is “Do you love others as you love yourself?” If you answered “yes”, then the next question is…do you serve one another? After all, it’s only in serving one another that a healthy or peaceful or wealthy or joyful life can be had. Serving yourself leads away from those attributes. So does expecting others to serve you. That sort of expectation can only lead somewhere troublesome. Here are three things to focus on to help you serve others…particularly if you’re a Christian…

  1. Whatever things are true – it doesn’t matter that more and more people in the world attempt to prove that truth is relative and experiential. There are some things that are absolutely true. For example…the morning sun never “rises” or appears in the west. And it never “sets” or disappears in the east. Right? Some things are absolutely true, and dependable. Focus on them.
  2. Whatever things are pure – I know this can be a difficult area to focus on with so much grit and grime and despicable behavior in the world. But there are pure things. A newborn baby. A blue sky from a mountain top. A genuine love between a husband and his wife. I’m sure you can find other pure things if you look. Focus on them.
  3. Whatever things are praiseworthy – Look for some way to compliment others. It could be as simple as telling your barista how delightful your Americano is today. Or tell your mom how nice she looks in her new coat. How about telling your co-worker or employee what a great job they did yesterday? It’s difficult not to see praiseworthy things.

Focus on them.

There are several other areas of life you can focus on to improve your circle of influence. I’ve shared them here on my website. But I want you to know how your focus can change how well you serve one another. If you’re only focused on the mistakes other people make, you’ll never run out of them. And you’ll never be satisfied. Neither will they. That focus helps no one…serves no one. There’s a time for healthy critique. But never waste an opportunity to build someone up. Your soul will thank you for it.

Stay tuned,

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

A guy named David wrote a song saying
You Have Given Me Life
Who was he talking about?

What’s a precept? Have you ever heard of precepts? They’re general rules for life. And in the context of your relationship with your Creator, they’re the only rules that matter. When God says do something or don’t do something, it isn’t because He just enjoys making up rules to see if you can keep them. He knows you can…but mostly don’t. Still, He cares about your health and well-being and your life. And He knows, better than you or me, how to live the healthiest, strongest life. That’s why David wrote: “I will never forget your precepts, for by them You have given me life.

Think about professional sports. They all have rules. Right? But why? The rules aren’t designed to take all the fun out of the game. They’re necessary so each player knows what’s fair and acceptable. And the rules tend to keep players safer. Without rules for a game, it quickly becomes a free-for-all and nobody enjoys paying good money to watch that. (do they?)

Sports have rules. But you’ll probably never hear about a player writing a song to his coach.

And even if he did, it wouldn’t include lyrics like, you have given me life.

David understood that God created Him. He understood that his Creator knows more about us than we know about ourselves. And if your Creator says A,B,C and 1,2,3 are the healthiest, safest ways to live, it’s a good idea to pay attention. A world of no precepts, no general rules for life, quickly becomes that aforementioned free-for-all. In fact, you can see evidence of this downward slide in all parts of the world right now. Each passing day more and more people want nothing to do with the one, true, living, loving God of creation. And each passing day the world becomes more and more unpleasant dangerous to live in.

A guy named Mike has been taking issue with my Christian faith on my Facebook page. He’s an example of what I’m talking about. The very people who preach tolerance and diversity are almost always the ones who love to pick fights with (and attempt to ridicule) Christians. Why? Because we dare say there’s a God of creation. And we dare to pray to God and say things like – you have given me life. How dare we say that…especially in a public place where it can offend so many? Simple…

…it’s Truth.

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

Let Love Live – it will change your life

You can’t live without love. Oh sure, you can exist. But you can’t live. And your existence will be an exercise in futility at best…or a dark. lonely place at worst. Why go there, when it’s so easy to just let love live? So how do you let love live? You nurture it, watch it grow, and give it away as much as you possibly can.

You might not “feel” love. I’ve heard a lot of people say they don’t. And I’ve read countless stories of people who “don’t believe in love” or “think it’s a crutch for wimps”. Can you believe people actually say those things about love? My guess is, they were never given love, or they were, and they rejected it for one reason or another. Regardless of WHY some people say negative things about love…it exists.

And it is an awesome thing.

You can’t see love, but you can see results from it. You can’t hear love, but you can hear someone express it to you. And you can’t experience love with any of your five senses, and yet all five come alive when love enters your heart.

Here’s my challenge for you today. Take 3 minutes and think about how wonderful it would be to let love live in your heart. Maybe your mind doesn’t want to believe it at first. But take the full 3 minutes and think about it. Believe, for those 3 minutes, that it can and will transform your life. See yourself with a smile on your face as you tell someone you love them. And imagine how it will feel to hear them say it back to you. Picture those smiles in your mind. Do you see ’em? If not, close your eyes and conjure up some smiling images. You can do it. And relax. I promise nothing bad is gonna happen to you.

After the 3 minutes are up, go on with your day. But if you did that exercise with an open mind, I’m guessing you’ll see smiling face images in your mind the rest of the day…at least anytime you allow yourself to think about it. And I’m betting, before you know it, you’ll be able to…

Let Love Live

Let Love Live.
It can turn your trials into sunny smiles.
Let Love Live.
It can beat the blues.
It demands no dues.
Take a chance and choose
To Let Love Live.

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

Why would anyone say something like ~ I Am Nothing

Am I not important? Does my life mean nothing? Do I serve no useful purpose in this world? The answer to all three of those questions is “no”. But just like King David, in Psalm 16 wrote: ~ O my soul, you have said to the Lord, “You are my Lord, My goodness is nothing apart from You.”

I freely acknowledge that I am nothing without God.

And God still says that I’m important enough to Him that He knows the number of hairs on my head…which has gotten easier to count in recent years.

I’m guessing, since you’re reading this or listening to it on  The Power of God’s Love podcast , that you’re a human being. And that means you’re made in the image and likeness of God. No other creature on the planet can make that claim…only humans. God clearly says that in the Bible. And He clearly demonstrates how important this distinction is over and over. You ARE important to God. You were created with eternity written on your heart. There IS at least a part of you that will last forever. And if you choose to believe and trust in Jesus as your eternal source of life, that forever will be with Him in paradise. But…

…if you choose to serve yourself, you will experience an eternity of knowing how you are nothing without God.

When I was 13, my Grandmother asked me if I’d like to be sure of where I’d spend eternity. She had been working on me since I was about 4 or 5. I remember sitting in the pew at church with her each Sunday and hearing the Baptist preacher ask if there was anybody there that day who wanted to give his or her life to Jesus. And I remember Grandmother nudging me to go on up and ask the preacher to pray with me. I never would. But on a certain day, when I was 13…and my Grandparents were visiting my Dad’s home…she asked me in private if I’d like to trust Jesus as my Savior.

I said I would.

She didn’t force me. She didn’t taunt me. And she didn’t twist my arm or in any way abuse me into it. She simply asked and hoped for my positive response. I CHOSE to accept Jesus. And I’ve never regretted, nor will I ever regret my choice. Until I was 13 I was on a path toward eternal bleakness. But with that one decision, I started walking on a path toward eternal life. And I can only say that with confidence because of what I know about the Giver of Life…Jesus. Clearly, without Him I am nothing.

What about you? Are you walking, or running, or zooming toward eternal bleakness? One easy choice can change your direction. And you won’t regret your decision one day for the next multillion years. Here are some lyrics I wrote showing how I am nothing without God and how I have a living, loving Creator…

Consequential Servitude

God looked down on me…He knew I was wrong…
Usurped my position I held for so long
Yeah, He just took over…where my brain left off
He knew it was risky…He knew they’d all scoff
Sometimes I’m so stupid, and so often blind…
Trade reason for feelings; mistakes underlined

And so again; I behold the outer man
Through God’s condescending attitude,
And I defer to the perfect Architect
And this consequential servitude

He spirals His thoughts…through my barricade
He knows I am feeble…yet hands me His blade
And He tells me to rise up…from my Phoenix blight
He builds me a fortress of conquering Light
When my clay is brittle…and crumbles to sand
I long to be putty…in my Master’s hand…

And then I can behold the inner man
Through God’s condescending attitude
Because He chose me as His dwelling place
I choose this consequential servitude

There were no incantations, no hallelujah chorus
He succumbed to His detractors; withstood an inquisition…
And then commended His spirit, relinquished His position,
And then He died a death that was for us!

©  2001 & 2008-09     1/21/2001

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