Category Archives: current events

Tony Funderburk Posted on by

My mom was not an evangelist. She wasn’t an apologist. And she was never a missionary or even someone who stayed active in a local church. But if anyone ever asked how she could believe that Jesus is a risen savior, she would just quote Henry. I heard her say, more than once, “Because He lives within my heart.”

Yeah, Henry wrote a song in 1934 that’s still sung in churches.

Now this Henry isn’t to be confused with the Henry who was my mom’s brother-in-law for a while. I guess I should share his full name. Alfred Henry Ackley. He’s the one who wrote that famous hymn…

He Lives

I serve a risen Savior, He’s in the world today;
I know that He is living, Whatever men may say;
I see His hand of mercy, I hear His voice of cheer,
And just the time I need Him He’s always near.

He lives! He lives! Christ Jesus lives today!
He walks with me, and talks with me along life’s narrow way.
He lives! He lives, salvation to impart!
You ask me how I know He lives: He lives within my heart!

In all the world around me, I see His loving care,
And though my heart grows weary I never will despair;
I know that He is leading Through all the stormy blast,
The day of His appearing will come at last!  (chorus)

Rejoice, rejoice, oh Christian, Lift up your voice and sing
Eternal hallelujahs to Jesus Christ the King!
The hope of all who seek Him, The help of all who find,
None other is so loving, So good and kind!  (chorus)

I really like how Henry composed three strong verses.

And all three illustrate how he could see evidence, so he didn’t have to just rely on a feeling. But the evidence he saw gave him such a glorious feeling in his heart he had to sing about it. And my mom couldn’t recall all the lyrics, but she sure remembered, and quoted, the last line of the chorus a lot.

I read an article that talked about how and why Henry wrote the song. Here’s a snippet from that article:

While in California in 1932, Ackley began witnessing a Jewish man who attended some of the evangelistic meetings. This young student kept saying, “Why should I worship a dead Jew?”

This bothered Ackley and it stayed on his mind. After waking early to prepare his Easter Sunday message, he was amazed to hear on the radio a famous liberal preacher in New York say, “Good morning. It’s Easter! You know, folks, it really doesn’t make any difference to me if Christ be risen or not. As far as I am concerned, His body could be as dust in some Palestinian tomb. The main thing is, His truth goes marching on!”

What the liberal preacher said on the radio made Henry so mad that he threw the radio across the room. That’s my kind of songwriter right there. And he popped up on my radar because he died on this day, July 3, back in 1960. So, I’m honored to say that he and I shared some time here on planet Earth. And I’ve sung his song more than a few times.

If you enjoy a good hymn like this, 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, 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.

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Tony Funderburk Posted on by

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

But when the anger inside comes out, so does the ugliness of sin.

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

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

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

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

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

But again, the root cause is selfishness. And rebellion against God.

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

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

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

There are even studies that say anger encourages cancer.

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

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

If you’re angry, just don’t sin.
Open up your heart and let God in.
He can help you work it out.
And He’ll show you what it’s all about.
Life is better, when you trust
The One who is Holy, right, and just.
Give it up, and I know…
You’ll be glad where God will help you go.

If this didn’t make you mad, 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, 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.

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Tony Funderburk Posted on by

If only we could be sure that there will be global protection against certain destruction.

Well, when you listen to what scientists say, instead of politicians and activists, you discover that global warming is pseudoscience. And I’m not talking about scientists who do government sponsored experiments on lab rats, monkeys, and bacteria. But I am talking about physicists and astronomers and biologists.

They might help you see global protection differently.

For example, watch this video of Professor Ivar Giaever, the 1973 Nobel Prizewinner for Physics, tear down the global warming “religion.”

Did you catch the part where Professor Giaever mentioned how water is much conducts heat much better than CO2? And what covers 70% of planet earth? Some sort of liquid isn’t it? Oh yeah…water!

Global warming has only increased by .8 degrees in over one hundred years.

And as the good professor pointed out, that shows an amazingly stable worldwide environment we inhabit. As a Christian (yes, that’s a religion) I also understand and trust God when he says “While the earth remains, Seedtime and harvest, Cold and heat, Winter and summer, And day and night Shall not cease.”

That’s just one more example, in a book of thousands of examples, of God’s love and promises for us.

Humans can do, and have done, amazing things. But we’ll never be able to destroy planet earth. God will take care of creating a new heaven and a new earth when He’s through with this one.

If you’re not a Christian, it might sound like a fairy tale. I get that. But if you ARE a Christian, His words should bring you comfort and wisdom. The wisdom to latch onto the Truth in the Bible and be able to see pseudoscience for what it is. Rebellion against God. And that’s too bad. Because that leads to another kind of “warming” where there’ll never be any global protection.

Worldview

Masterplans and incidents
Faster man…more accidents
What does this all mean? Could be soylent green.

Trolley cars to rocket ships
Honesty…insider tips
Do you catch my drift? The paradigm did shift.

It’s a worldview that’s not for me and you.
It’s a worldview and no empirical thoughts.
Yeah, it’s a worldview. What’s a humanist to do?
Don’t you see you could be in tougher spots?
You gotta be mindful where you cast your lots.
It’s a worldview.

CrackerJack and Disneyland
Scorin’ crack and lyrics banned
Gets better everyday…just cast those sins away.
Right and wrong? Who thought of that?
Some guys who thought the world was flat?
Now we’ve learned to see. “No one’s the boss of me.”   Chorus

Givin’ up, givin’ in…not a whimper, no shout.
Now the climate is warm, and the fools come out.
Get in touch with yourself and the innermost child…
And the “still small voice” is cast away; exiled.   repeat chorus   © 2002 TF

If this warmed you up a little, let’s stay connected. It’s super easy. Here’s how:

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

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

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Tony Funderburk Posted on by

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When I was a young boy, my mom saved S&H Green Stamps. They were like rewards you get on your apps these days. Stamps a shopper received at stores, gas stations, or just about anywhere housewives shopped. Yeah, I know. “Housewives” is a politically incorrect term. But it wasn’t back then. Ah…the good old days.

Especially the S&H Green Stamps good old days.

Because when a woman saved enough Green Stamps, she could redeem them for all sorts of household items she found in the S&H catalog. It was like free money. I remember my mom talking with her friends and family about some clock radio or dish set she just got with her stamps. It made for fun, and sometimes lively, conversation. And they’d share the news of double stamps days at the local grocery store. Then, bam! Time to storm the grocery store.

Speaking of time, how is time like Green Stamps? And that’s not actually a trick question.

Answer. They can both be redeemed. Well, I don’t think Green Stamps can anymore. Because I don’t think there’s that kind of rewards program around anymore. But time can still be redeemed.

Dan don’t believe me? Don’t think you could redeem time and get something “for free?”

Well, you can. And guess what you get? OK, I won’t make you guess.

The answer is more time.

Yeah, I don’t mean you can turn 24 hour days into 30 hour days. But you can buy more time by making good use of the time you have here on planet Earth. In fact, you can buy time that never runs out. How cool is that?!

But you can’t just sit on your time. You gotta redeem it. Here’s how you do that. First, become a Christian. And if you’re already a Christian, you gotta “Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one.” That’s getting a lot harder to do. Because more and more the world doesn’t wanna hear the name Jesus mentioned under any circumstances. So, it’s important to emphasize the “grace” and “salt” part.

I do that here on my blog. I’m redeeming the time I have left by sharing the power of God’s love and His enduring message of eternal life with anyone who cares to listen and/or read.

Now, are you paying attention to the clock? Because there’s a lot more than green stamps at stake.

“All I need is some time to hold in my hands.
All I want is some time to hold in my arms.”  ~Tony Funderburk

If this landed somewhere good with you, let’s stay connected. It’s super easy. Here’s how:

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

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.

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Tony Funderburk Posted on by

For the past 1213 years it’s been sort of a tradition of mine to share a list I came up with about the unsung deeds of mothers everywhere. And I think I’ll keep it going for this Mother’s Day 2026. My own mom has been in Heaven for all the Mother’s Days since 2021. But I include her in this list:

To all the women who “took one for the team” as you…

  • withstood the months of labor
  • withstood the pains of childbirth
  • fed your babies when they cried at 3 a.m.
  • fixed “boo boos”
  • kissed away pain
  • hugged away frowns
  • cooked breakfasts, made lunches, and prepared dinners
  • washed clothes even after laundry was all done
  • taught truth, hope, and love…and readin’, writin’, and ‘rithmetic
  • fought tangled hair, torn pants, and missing shoestrings
  • remembered birthdays with just the right proportion of chocolate icing to vanilla ice cream
  • listened to stories of triumph, tragedy, and utter despair (mostly from teenage girls)
  • made or bought costumes for every goofy event imaginable
  • went to plays, sporting events, and music presentations…cheering for that one child who was obviously the natural born talent
  • brought the “something borrowed” or “something blue” to the bride-to-be just at the right time
  • danced the mother/son dance with the groom who had been her dragonslayer only “weeks ago” it seems
  • made special homemade desserts for the kids and grandkids when they came over for Thanksgiving
  • brought an elegant grace to the process of aging
  • made us believe there’s a forever, a God who loves us, and a knowledge that we’ll have eternity in paradise

It’s Mothers Day 2026, but moms are timeless.

When tiny seeds take root in tiny eggs,
Then you get tiny eyes, ears, arms and legs.
Then tiny babies form inside their mother’s womb,
And then the human life begins to bloom.

I was an unborn child until the day I was born.
I lived inside my mom until the cord was torn.
Then I began to grow and grew up “big and strong”
And learned to cherish life…and so I sing this song.

(From my song, Right To Life)

I hope you remember to honor your mom this Sunday. And if you do, you should connect with me. It’s super easy. Here’s how:

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

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

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Tony Funderburk Posted on by

Just so you know, upfront, when I share the bad news of the day, I don’t want anybody to think that I think that’s all there is. Far from it. And I can say far from it because I trust Jesus. That being said…

Check out this bad news of the day:

  • Political figures charged with sex related crimes
  • Man charged with aggravated assault for pushing another man in front of a subway train
  • Celebrities caught with the spouse or significant other of other celebrities
  • Groups of young thugs forcing their way into convenience, stores to steal
  • Murder in numbers so large that no one can even keep up anymore
  • Gossip and dysfunctional relationship TV shows with large audiences
  • Street preachers and abortion clinic protesters violently attacked
  • Etc. etc. etc.

OK, now let’s compare that bullet list to what Paul wrote to the new Roman Christians a couple of thousand years ago. He talked about how the world would get to the point that it would be…

filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful

Wow, it sounds like Paul had a direct visual connection to present day America. His description sounds just like what’s going on all across this great nation.

But just because that’s the way of the world doesn’t mean all hope is lost.

Well, it doesn’t mean that as long as you believe in and trust Jesus. Because He is the only way out of the horrible mess this world has become. And, of course, that isn’t just my opinion. He actually said that’s the case. Yeah, Jesus said that He is THE Way, THE Truth, and THE Life. Then He said…

“No man comes to the Father except through me.”

Uh-oh. That sounds like some pretty narrow-minded thinking. Hmm… there is that line in the Bible that says something about a wide path and a narrow gate. Hmm… could it be…?

So, He is the only way to turn all the bad news of the day into eternal, good news.

But that’s way more than good enough for me. How ’bout you?

I hope you agree with me. And if you do, you should connect with me. It’s super easy. Here’s how:

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

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

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Tony Funderburk Posted on by

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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.

But I DO say their angst and aggression sure sounds stupid most of the time.

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.

I prefer to remain a hope-filled optimist.

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 know I’ll be fine.
Asking why is realistic;
Knowing why, divine.     © 1987 TF

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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