Category Archives: God is

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Imagine a journey into one of the trillions of cells inside your body. One of the first things you’d notice is how many chemicals there are. Lots of those chemicals are acidic. And many others are known as base or alkaline. But guess what happens if some of the wrong chemicals get mixed up! Dangerous chemical reactions. And you don’t want that to happen down deep in your cells. So, what keeps that from happening?

Your cells were designed to protect against chemical reactions.

If life just evolved, then all those barriers and buffers would have evolved, too. And how could they develop with all those chemical reactions destroying all the building materials? Plus, how could it all happen at just the right time in the right way? And for millions of different species? And enough times for a single cell to become something more complex? Short answer? It couldn’t happen that way. Accidents don’t create. But God does. And He did.

The Bible says you’re “fearfully and wonderfully made.” And that’s one of the great things about living in these times. Science and technology can see deeper inside us than ever. And what they discover is evidence for the Creator and how amazing He is to love us as He does.

Not evidence that a bunch of chemical reactions could create this complex life we enjoy.

If human life is just sown by chance, then
Nothing we know could be bad or be good.
If we’re just embryonic particulate matter,
Then we could know there is no personhood…
But we hope and we pray
And we live for the day,
When our love becomes broad
In the image of God.    (from my song, Personhood)

If you like this kind of Creator/creation connection, let’s stay connected, too. It’s super easy.

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. So, add your email to the form and let’s connect right away.

Daily Devotional

Stay tuned,

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Is the moon approximately 400 times smaller than the sun? Yes. And that’s not just cool. It’s also on purpose. Because the Son of God made it that way.

And not only is the moon smaller by that much…

It’s also about 400 times closer to the earth than the sun. And again that’s on purpose for the same reason I mentioned before.

Check out what the apostle John had this to say about how everything was made:

“All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.”

Lots of people, for some reason, get stuck on that “nothing was made that was made” part. They “feel” like it’s talking in a circle. But that’s not what’s going on.

It’s a description of what’s made and WHO isn’t.

God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, was not made.

And God, The Son, made everything else.

So, the sun, the moon, the stars, Earth, and all the creatures on the earth are all made. And not like some random act of creativity either. Our beautiful solar system, galaxy, and all the universe function more precisely and more dependably than any clock ever created by human beings.

And my guess is, it pleases God to surprise and delight us.

He could have designed the Earth and moon to simply work together efficiently and left it at that. But God loves to throw in the fireworks, add the concert, and raise the spectacle. Why? Well, maybe it’s because He’s the ultimate good and loving father. And maybe it just delights Him to see the looks on our faces.

And which direction do millions of faces point during the eclipse of the sun? Yeah, UP!

Why?

Why is the sky blue? Why is the grass green?
Why is the sun gold? What does it all mean?
Why is the air clear? Why is the ground brown?
Why does the earth float and never fall down?

Cause God made skies. He made them blue.
He made the world for me and you
And all because it pleased Him to.
God loves us through and through.

Why is a horse fast? Why is a snail slow?
Why does it get cold when Northern winds blow?
Why is the sea green? Why is the sand white?
Why is the day day? Why is the night night?

Cause God made creatures big and small,
And sand and seas; He made them all.
And even if we trip and fall
God helps us to stand tall.

God’s love is always there.
His love will never die.
And so you can trust in Him
For all your questions why.    © 2008 TF

If this landed somewhere good with you, 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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Tony Funderburk Posted on by

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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

Stay tuned,

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Tony Funderburk Posted on by

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Hey kids. Have you noticed, when you go to the grocery store, how you see the word enriched in just about everything? And did you know most of the time, if not all, that’s not a good thing?

But there is a time when it’s awesome to see enriched in everything.

And that is when we’re talking about, get this, YOU. And me. Or anyone who’s not ashamed to call himself or herself a Christian.

For just a second or two think about the grace of God, which was given to you by the one whose name you use to describe yourself as a Christian. There’s a place in 1 Corinthians that shows how  grace made sure you were enriched in everything by Him in all utterance and all knowledge, even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you so that you come short in no gift

Hey, who doesn’t like gifts? How much would you be willing to give for those gifts? But wait! There’s more! Because in that same section of 1 Corinthians it says Jesus will also confirm you to the end, that you may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Hang on. I don’t know about you, but that sounds glorious to me. Because I know if there’s one thing I’m not, in this life and in this world, it’s blameless.

And I’m gonna go out on a limb and say you probably aren’t blameless either. But Jesus made sure that we will appear that way when we stand before God one day. And He did that by taking our blame and covering us in…

The Glory

You got the glory in you,
The glory of God.
When people don’t understand,
You just smile and nod…

And trust the good things in you,
The Spirit, The Word.
And you can know that it’s true,
This good news you heard.

One day, when Jesus comes back,
To make things all right,
He’ll lift you high up because
You walked in His Light.    © 2013 TF

If you know you’re enriched in everything, 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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Tony Funderburk Posted on by

Guess what others might not have more of than you. Before you guess, you should also keep in mind in they might have much less than you. And they might not ever have as much as you. Looks can be deceiving. And what you see in this world doesn’t last forever. But grace lasts forever. And God gives grace to the humble.

Yeah, God gives grace to anyone who admits they need it.

And that takes more humility than most people on the planet are willing to show. I know you’re not one of those people. But you probably know someone who is. And this is what I shared with those kinds of people about 10 years ago…

Do you think more of yourself than you should? It’s OK to be confident, but it’s not OK to be arrogant or envy someone else who is. It won’t get you anywhere good in the long run. Here are some key things to remember about God’s perspective. He says that…

  • the “perverse person is an abomination”
  • He keeps a secret counsel with upright people
  • He curses the houses of the wicked and blesses the homes of the just
  • Also, He scorns the scornful

Knowing all that, it would be a wise choice to choose to love God and His ways. It would be a wise choice to humble yourself. Because, like I mentioned before, God gives grace to the humble. And it would be a wise choice to realize you’re not God and that you need a savior.

So be wise when it comes to your eternal fate. When you are, you’ll inherit glory. When you aren’t, you can only leave behind a legacy of shame.

Now, you humble yourself before God today. Or you can foolishly decide to face the eternal consequences. I recommend door number one. Because God gives grace to

The humble and the wise
And the ones who choose truth over lies.

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

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If there is no God, then I’ve spent most of my life hoping for something that doesn’t exist and it will never be a reality for me or anyone else.

Yeah, there’s no hope for the world, if there is no God.

Plain and simple.

Because without the hope of at least some sort of access to eternal life, there’s not even a good reason 41 to even exist. And if there is no God, hope for an eternal life is just a figment of your imagination. At best.

Here’s what I said about this idea a dozen years ago was a introduced my Christmas song, “I Believe In The God of Christmas.”

~ Most people don’t believe in the God of Christmas. And I can only imagine the inner sense of hopelessness and futility that stirs up.

The God of Christmas is THE one and only God.

He’s the God who created the heavens and the earth. He’s the God who created us and every living creature and inanimate thing on the earth. And He’s the God who knows every detail of what is best for us. And there is no absolute Truth without Him. Yeah, nothing you can depend on except yourself. And that’s a recipe for hopeless chaos, confusion.

Have you noticed chaos and confusion in this world? Even the short tweets/posts on X.com (formally known asTwitter) highlight the chaos and confusion in this world.

Most people are looking for an answer to their hopelessness. But most refuse to believe their hope could be found in Jesus. Some Jewish carpenter who “possibly” lived 2,000 years ago couldn’t possibly be the God of Christmas. So, how could He possibly be the hope of the world.

But He is.

You don’t have to believe that.

But one day you will. And if that day isn’t during your current time here on Earth, then it will be too late. You will have already chosen to be your own god. You will rule and reign in a universe of one for eternity.

But that terrible fate is so avoidable.

It appears the complicated blueprint for what you need to do to avoid it.

Believe.

And trust.

Let me know if you need me to go back over all the steps with you.

But I believe it is so easy. Even though it’s so excruciatingly impossible for most. I pray that you’ll start to dig deeper than the physical, if you haven’t already. And certainly deeper than the so-called metaphysical. In fact, take a deep dive into your own soul today. Listen very very closely. And I pray that you’ll hear that “still, small voice” and begin to understand what I mean when I say…

I Believe In The God of Christmas

Some believe there’s just today.
And then we die and fade away…
Such a sad and hopeless life to lead.

Others say we never die.
We all live on above the sky…
Disregard the theft and hate and greed.

But I believe in the God of Christmas,
And I believe in His Gift to us all,
And I believe that He died to save us
And that He rose to recover our fall.
Yes I believe in the God who loves us,
And I believe in the God who lives,
Yes I believe in the God of Christmas.
He gave His love, and He still freely gives.

One day soon we just may find
So many millions left behind
In a world where truth is torn apart.

Then no lights, no Christmas trees,
No arts and no humanities,
Will bring peace to any broken heart.
(choruses)   © 2011 TF

Of course, if there is no God, the one you find when you open your eyes to the truth, then even my time spent writing that song was wasted. I don’t believe it was. How about you?

Get Tony’s Rhyme and Reason Daily Devotional delivered 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 enjoying the entertaining flashes of light instead of looking for them. And, to show my sincere appreciation for your time and attention, I’ll send you download links to books and music, 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 into The Power of God’s Love,

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Tony Funderburk Posted on by

Several, if not most or all, search engines use something they call “predictive search” as you type in something you wanna find. And it’s actually pretty handy. For example, I started typing “nature is…” and one of the first results that showed up in the dropdown of my browser was “nature is healing.”

And, in a way, nature is healing. So, that’s cool.

More about that in a sec.

First, it’s sorta noteworthy that using the same term, in the search tool on Google.com, I saw:

  • god is love verse
  • god is good
  • god is love
  • god is a bullet cast
  • God Is a Bullet 2023 film
  • god is within her
  • God Is Good All the Time
  • god is love bible verse
  • god is a woman perfume

Most of those predictive suggestions are innocuous enough. But I’m more than a bit curious as to why God is associated with the female gender, so often, in the Google realm. Probably just a colossal coincidence.

But let’s forget about googly stuff right now. Because I like how pretty much all of what can help you get and/or stay well can be found and accessed in nature. And pretty easily for the most part. Of course, our more “modern” and “enlightened” culture has managed to chemicalize it into compounds for huge profits.

Oops…rabbit trail.

Anyway…

Do a little research and you can discover how nature, all the around the world, is filled with things that are amazingly good for you. Yeah, it literally bubbles over in abundance. And it works so well, and with such timed precision, you might even be tempted to think somebody designed it that way.

But resist the temptation. Because that could lead you into another rabbit hole. One that winds it way down and around, back and forth, through and through, and over and up to the God of the Bible. And you certainly don’t want THAT to happen. Well, you and I DO. But not most people.

So, here’s why I brought this up. You know me (and if you don’t you should click or tap the link below) and how it doesn’t take much for me to break out in rhyme. Yep. And this one is about what is…

Nestled In Nature

Nestled in nature, in evergreen fire,
A small cabin sits in its Autumn attire.
Some leaves have fallen and many remain
For just a while longer, to sing a refrain
Whispering breezes have brought to this place.
It’s so solitary and so full of Grace.
A scene so serene you might wonder why
The world goes berserk in the blink of an eye.
Answers are simple, and life can be, too.
Your Creator wants to restore it in you.
Silence and music, in sync and in tune,
Reveal His love from this burnished doubloon.

© 2022

Do you agree that nature is healing because God created it? If so, join the growing body of believers who signed up to get my no-cost-no-strings-attached Tony’s Rhyme and Reason Daily Devotional, if you haven’t already. And I’ll send you good stuff, daily, so you can focus on faith, hope, and love with me.

Stay tuned…

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