Category Archives: Faith Hope and Love

Tony Funderburk writes and sings about the rhyme and reason for your life with faith, hope, and love.

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If there is no God, then the sum total of all life on Earth is basically meaningless. It will come to no good end. And even if it did, how would anyone know it was a “good” end? What difference would one person’s opinion be from another? Who would determine good versus bad?

Here’s something I wrote about life on Earth over 15 years ago.

And I believe this will remain true:

“But we are not the sum total of our dollars, beauty, or “stuff.” We’re not the sum total of our monikers we wear through this life. We’re not the sum total of the varied opinions about us. Those don’t make us. And they shouldn’t break us. Here’s what I recommend…

  • Work to produce…not for the money.
  • Play to relax…not to escape.
  • Laugh to enjoy…not to cover up.
  • Love to give…not to acquire.
  • And live to be thankful…not to compare.

You are the sum total of where you position yourself for eternity.”

And all life on Earth still doesn’t amount to much without love.

The Apostle Paul wrote the Corinthian believers a lesson about life without love (spoiler alert: it wasn’t good).

If you dare to care, then share love.
Day and night it’s right to share love.
You were given a heart that could love from the start.
So right now, somehow, go share love.

If you love this message (or at least like it), let’s stay connected. It’s super easy. Here’s how:

Get my Rhyme and Reason Daily Devotionaldelivered to your inbox for free.

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,

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I remember, as a young boy, I wished my own dad would give me grace for some things I did. And when he didn’t, I knew there was gonna be a high price to pay. And my own fanny would pay it. Because his rules were written in stone.

My dad was human. He made mistakes, as we all do.

I admit there were times I deserved punishment and certainly got it. But there were other times when dad would have done well to follow the word of God and show me grace and mercy. Especially if he used those times as a springboard of opportunity to share God’s word with me. But dad was human. And even if he had shown me grace, it wouldn’t have been enough to last forever. Only God’s grace can last forever.

By the way, God doesn’t have to give you grace. It wasn’t written in stone before the foundation of the world. And not on some hermetically God-sealed papyrus in an impenetrable safe where even He couldn’t change it.

And that’s part of what makes His grace so wonderful. He didn’t have to make it available. And yet He did. In fact, He sacrificed more than you and I will ever be able to imagine in order to provide grace to anyone who wants it.

Jesus took us from laws written in stone to grace written in His blood.

And, because He’s eternal, His grace is enough for the whole world.

Through the course of about 4000 years God watched His human creation mess up the world. Yeah, we did it over and over again. He made ways to patch things up and show us how much we need Him. But we just had to be our own kings and queens.

So, we make up our own laws. And we sorta try to keep those laws. Even though Jesus paid the ultimate price to free us from the burden of keeping laws that kill. Such sad and tragic irony.

That’s why the Grace found in the Christian life is so awesome.

God’s grace is enough to cover all the bad stuff you’ve ever done, are doing now, or will ever do. But there IS a catch. It’s not an automatic thing. His grace is available. But you gotta ask. It’s free, too. But you gotta ask. It will carry you through eternity and give you the forever life you can’t even imagine.

But you gotta ask.

So, if you haven’t already, put this at the top of your to-do list. Ask God to keep you alive forever. His Grace is enough to make it happen for you.

Gimme grace to last my lifetime…
Yes, the life that is with You.
I’m so thankful that you love me
And for what Your Grace can do.

If you also love the gift of grace, 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. Join the growing group of people who already enjoy these fun goodies. Just add your email to this form and let’s get going.

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My first true love lasted about four and a half years. Even though I thought it would be the rest of my life. But the relationship didn’t endure a separation that happened when I moved to Texas to be there for my dad who was suffering from terminal kidney failure.

So much for the first true love.

And after “getting over” it, I discovered I could actually love again. Another multiple year relationship developed, blossomed, went sour, and ended. So, that’s when I decided to “play the field.” And see what all the “lotsa fish in the ocean” notion was all about.

Because, in spite of my Christian background, I vowed that no other girl was gonna rope me in. Nope. Enough was enough. And I used my professional musician platform (a stage) to impress and woo the opposite sex. Yeah, I vowed that, if any heart was gonna get broken, it dang sure wasn’t gonna be mine.

That worked out great!

Not!

Because then came the pesky consequences.

Guilt. Shame. Conscience. A still, small voice would confront me each time I did what I shouldn’t do. I was able to ignore that voice for a few years. But it was there each time anyway.

Oh man. Why wouldn’t that voice let me have my fun?! Why did it have to be there? Every. Single. Time.

Eventually I discovered that’s how my actual first true love works. Confrontation when I needed it. Instruction, deconstruction, accomplishments, and even failures. And most of all, a light on the darkest parts of my heart.

And that’s because my actual first true love was God’s enduring love.

I discovered His love is bigger than problems. It’s more valuable and dependable than “feelings.” His love has endured every stupid mistake I’ve made. And there have been more than I care to admit. Now, that’s amazing Grace.

Thankfully, the consequences of love from God include eternal life.

I’m so grateful and thankful God never left me. He never gave up on me. And He still works on me when I stumble back into my self. There’s a comfort and joy in His love that no human being can even remotely match.

All you gotta do is ask Him for it, and you’ll get it. It’ll last forever. And it’s more real than any heartbreak or loss you’ll you’ll ever experience. After studying evidence for decades, I’m more convinced than ever of the reality of our one, true, living, loving Creator. Nothing and no one else could explain love. Love didn’t evolve. It’s a gift from God.

Because I Can Love

What made You think
That I was worth the risk You took?
What made You take the time
To write Your Holy Book?
I don’t believe I’d give myself a second look,
But You did because You love.

You made a world
That was as perfect as could be,
But then I broke it
When You gave it all to me…
By going through the gate You made to set me free.
This You did because You love…me.

Because You love me so…in spite of all You know…
Because You did the most that You could ever do…
And because I clearly see…evidence of You in me…
Because I can love…I do love…You!

You put a life
And a will inside my soul.
You knew true love
Would be to give me full control.
But knowing You is all that ever makes me whole.
I trust You because You love…me.

I can live because You live!
I can love because You love!     © 2010 TF

Listen up for that song coming up in The Power of God’s Love Podcast.

And if you love (or even like) what I shared, 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

Stay tuned,

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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.

The power of God’s everlasting Love that’s available everywhere.

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.

Because His Son took your punishment.

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…

“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?

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,
Or even world-beaters.
More than warriors
Or non retreaters…
We are loved with an Everlasting Love.

Everlasting and Everywhere

I want the Everlasting Work Of Art,
Not just on canvas, but engraved in the heart.
I need the Everlasting Scale Of Worth.
That’s the only Way to perfect peace on earth…

Everlasting and everywhere…
He’s Everlasting and everywhere

I look for Everlasting holy clues
To steel myself through all this negative news.
I dream the Everlasting wide-eyed stuff,
But I’m still aware that dreaming’s never enough.   Chorus

You  seek the answers to the mysteries of life.
But how much truth can you handle.
And as for me, well, there is only One Fire
That lights the flame on my candle.   Chorus

I look to the Everlasting Guiding Star
To make my path straight as I travel so far.
I sing the Everlasting song of man;
Teach us to understand our place in the plan.

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:

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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Imagine you’re in a desert in the middle east. It’s a hot, terrible place with basically no way out. No food or water or shelter. And no idea which direction to take.

Then, out of the blue, a ghost appears and leads you to food. In fact, you walk into fields of juicy, tasty produce. Not only that, but the ghost shows you how to get honey and good fats from the ground. Now, that’s what I call hittin’ the jackpot.

Well, the ghost is a real person. And the scenario I just shared is based on a true story found in the Bible. It’s about how God took a man named Jacob and made him into a nation…Israel.

And his no way out story went like this:

“He found him in a desert land and in the wasteland, a howling wilderness; He encircled him, He instructed him, He kept him as the apple of His eye. As an eagle stirs up its nest, Hovers over its young, Spreading out its wings, taking them up, Carrying them on its wings, So the Lord alone led him, And there was no foreign god with him. He made him ride in the heights of the earth, That he might eat the produce of the fields; He made him draw honey from the rock, And oil from the flinty rock…”

Wow. From sand and rocks to honey and oil. Do you believe the Bible is just a “bunch of fairy tales” or “myths” or “made up stories by delusional men?” Those are all quotes from centuries of doubters.

If you’re a member of any of those categories, you’re walking alone in a desert land whether you know it or believe it or not. And I gotta tell ya, that’s unimaginably sad. Because the road to happiness isn’t a road you take alone.

Also, it’s a road paved with love and gold.

And it’s a road that leads out of the wasteland and into Heaven. No one will ever force you to go, if you don’t wanna go. But, just so you know, there’s no way out of the place where you’ll end up.

So, I encourage you to read the Bible. And discover why it’s the bestselling book of all time.

Read it with an open mind and heart. Because it can change your wilderness-roaming heart to one full of love, purpose, and focus. And I can tell you about the power you can feel, when you KNOW where you’re gonna live forever. But you need to experience it. And it ain’t some silly metaphysical “feeling” either.

It’s a promise from God. And it’s where you’ll find true Love and Gold…

Dig deep and find the treasures for your heart.
The Bible is the perfect place to start.
And as the words unfold, revealing love and gold,
The life God gave you never will depart.

If you prefer this kind of love and gold, 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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On their website, Planned Parenthood says: “Your health is our priority — no matter what. The Trump administration and Congress have “defunded” Planned Parenthood, but we’re still fighting for your care. We’re here to provide birth control, abortion, and more, in-person and online. And that makes it sound lovey dovey. Like they really care about you even as they provide their baby killing service.

Abortion does not, or at least should not sound lovey dovey.

Because every single abortion ends with a dead, innocent baby. And that sounds horrible to me even as I speak these words to be dictated into my computer. I hate the sound of them. And I wish all American women (and men for that matter) hated the sound of the words abortion and Planned Parenthood.

But the sad truth is way too many American women, and women all around the world, not only don’t hate the sound of those words, but they love the sound of their own voices in opposition to God. I regularly see women proudly shouting about their multiple abortions in public. And they shake their defiant fists in the air. Not very lovey dovey for people who claim to celebrate diversity, love, and tolerance.

Little do they know how God predicted it would get this way. But little do they care about the consequences of their actions when they meet him one day.

And God said something else they couldn’t care less about. He told us, in His bestselling book of all time, that He has put life and death in front of us. He gives us the choice. But He says…

Choose Life

Well you hid your heart in a so-called safe place,
And you locked your love in a big, black box,
And you had no hope,
But you built your brave face,
And you ran your rat race…through the tics and tocs.

Well, the bluebells bloomed in ideal intentions
As you tilled the truth into lifelong lies,
And you dug in deep making many mentions
Of your pretty pensions…always alibis.

You can’t run away from real truth.
And every word of truth is a knife.
A captivating voice might pigeonhole your choice,
Cut free…and choose life.

When your daydreams die and you feel half-hearted,
And your love is lost in a soulless sky,
Try to train your thoughts when your brain’s bombarded
By the stuff you started…learn to love the lie.

Choose life…choose life…choose life       © 2013 TF

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.

Daily Devotional

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Tony Funderburk Posted on by

Here’s something I’ve personally experienced. Have you ever done something you knew you shouldn’t do? And even as you did it, you could almost hear an audible voice in your head, telling you not to do it? After quite a few years of living this life, I’ve discovered that when you silence the voice you hear in your head, that’s where you go wrong.

Because that’s when you probably silence the voice of God.

No, not that deep echoed British voice you hear in the movies. By the way, there’s no evidence I’ve ever seen that God is British. But that’s a rabbit hole we won’t go down right now.

The voice you silence is directly connected to your conscience. And you only have a conscience because God made you that way. The problem is this world is like a branding iron that can sear your conscience and enables you to ignore the voice in your head.

Plus, the distractions all around you these days, I believe, are designed to keep you from listening to logic and reason. Your TV, smartphone, tablet, computer, radio, and even your automobile are all designed to keep you focused on them and upgrades to them.

It’s more than just a coincidence that all of those things in the list keep you looking down. Because down is where satan is. And he loves to keep you from looking up. And that’s where your hope is.

A few years ago, I wrote what I call a good ol’ boy song about the distractions of this world. Because I wanted to point out how they silence the one voice that will never lead you astray. I hope you don’t see yourself in this song…

Still Small Voice Inside

Gotta go make some noise
and go drinkin’ out with the boys.
And maybe I’ll watch TV.
It all really sounds good to me.
And where’d I put my guitar?
In the back of my muscle car.
I’m gonna rock some rock n roll…
Jam the music into my soul.

‘Cause I hear a voice all day, and it just won’t go away.
Ain’t no place I can hide from that still small voice inside

Cheerin’ for my football team on the high def satellite stream
Yellin’ when they mess up bad.
Got a runnin’ bet with my dad.
Saturdays in my yard, you can see I really do work hard.
And then I buzz to the video store
And get maybe two or three more.

‘Cause I hear a voice all day, and it just won’t go away.
Ain’t no place I can hide from that still small voice inside

Still small voice inside me sayin’…
Boy you know you’re only playin’.
Still small voice inside me askin’…
What’s with all the pain you’re maskin’?
Still small voice inside me killin’…
Everything that once was thrillin’…
No, there ain’t no place to hide
From that still small voice inside.     © 2009 TF

And if you agree, 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

Stay tuned,

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