Category Archives: historical 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.

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Tony Funderburk Posted on by

As I write this, it’s Saturday. But not an ordinary Saturday. Because this one marks the anniversary of what a lot of people call Holy Saturday. The day that Jesus, creator of the universe and you and me, lay in the tomb after a torturous crucifixion death.

But, as you probably know, His story definitely did not end in the tomb.

The apostle John wrote a very interesting account of how they laid Jesus in the tomb. He wrote: And Nicodemus, who at first came to Jesus by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds. Then they took the body of Jesus, and bound it in strips of linen with the spices, as the custom of the Jews is to bury. Now in the place where He was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid. So there they laid Jesus, because of the Jews’ Preparation Day, for the tomb was nearby.

I kinda look at it this way. Holy Saturday, the day Jesus lay in the tomb, was like a day of rest for Him. Resting from what he had done, so far, to prove who He was and is. And He is the Truth, the Life, and…

The Way

And it came to pass one day on a mountain far away
That a soul was taken and a life forsaken
Because someone had to pay
For the heart of all mankind.
There was no untarnished mind.
So one life was spent Who was innocent,
But He left His Word behind…

Forgive them for they know not what they do.
Redeem them and I give My Blood to You.

We can rise up
No matter how much the guilt might weigh.
He said…”I am the Way!”

Now so many years have gone.
And we love with blinders on.
How we tolerate is a form of hate.
Where’s the Rock He stood upon?
For the Truth is absolute and it’s foolish to dispute.
It confounds the wise but it opens eyes,
And it saves the destitute

Chorus

Now don’t turn to the left don’t turn to the right.
Just run straight to Him with all your might!

inst…chorus to end   © 1996 TF

If you’re a Christian, and you sure should be, then you’re celebrating the most glorious thing that ever happened in the history of the universe this weekend. Holy Saturday is a great part of that. But of course tomorrow is 1000 times better. Because that marks the day when Jesus was no longer in the tomb. And I’ll talk more about that tomorrow. Meantime, if you haven’t already, you should…

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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.

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Tony Funderburk Posted on by

Today I recall how much I enjoyed watching a movie, on TV, about the life of Harry Houdini. He was portrayed by another famous Tony. Tony Curtis. And Mr. Houdini’s wife was portrayed by Mr. Curtis’s real life wife Janet Leigh.

I remember how much I enjoyed Harry Houdini’s daring feats.

Apparently, he could escape from just about any set of handcuffs, most any jail cell, and even from containers of water where he was hung upside down inside.

I read a little blurb about Mr. Houdini that I didn’t know about him before. According to Wikipedia, the source of all absolute truth: Houdini made several movies but quit acting when it failed to bring in money. He was also a keen aviator and became the first man to fly a powered aircraft in Australia.

So, he certainly was an interesting character, and he lived a full life in about 52 years.

Unfortunately, Harry Houdini didn’t appear to be a Christian believer. In fact, he started delving into the paranormal and spiritualist realms. And according to what I’ve read, and what the Tony Curtis movie sort of portrayed, he believed he could communicate with certain dead people. Or he certainly hope he could. Because he wanted to communicate with his mom who died.

That sort of belief doesn’t lead to good things.

Certainly not eternal things. As Harry Houdini now knows and has known since his death in 1926, nearly 100 years ago.

But it sure seems like a lot of people want to be able to talk to dead people. And it seems like they like that idea much more than talking to their living, loving Creator. That is the epitome of futility.

Here’s what I recommend instead…

There will be trials…and tribulation,
In every life…in every nation.
You could give up…but bow your head
And thank your loving Lord instead.
from the poem, Instead  © 2010 TF

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.

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Tony Funderburk Posted on by

I want to share my Spotify stats, for 2025, with you. Because I want to thank you, if you tune into Rhyme and Reason Podcast. Because you helped my podcast, do these things:

  • 575% total audience increase
  • 7% increase in followers
  • 45% increase in listening time
  • Distraction dance while you’re in a trance was the number one podcast episode of 2025
  • The podcast reached 41 countries
  • The top five tuned in countries were the United States, the UK, the Philippines, South Africa, and Australia
  • My podcast is a top 10 show for 15 fans
  • A top five show for 11 fans
  • And the number one show for three fans

And of all the Spotify stats, I think this might be my favorite…

My podcast outpaced 96% of all the other shows on Spotify. And I have to add that. I don’t do anything at all to focus on Spotify. Because I’m actually not a fan of that platform. But Rhyme and Reason Podcast is syndicated to a whole lotta platforms, and that includes some I don’t even pay attention to.

Anyway…

Thank you so much, if you’re a listener. But also a great big 2025 year end thank you to all my readers. Because, according to numbers provided to me by Google, visits to and views of tonyfunderburk.com increased exponentially in the past year. I’d like to think it’s because people appreciate how I show that the power of God’s love isn’t just about a group hug or a superficial kumbaya.

Yeah, I’ve shown how the power of God’s love created the whole universe. And it provided a world we can live in that’s perfectly designed for an enjoyable existence. Fresh air, plenty of water, too many tasty foods to even name, and an ecosystem set up to function in a way we continue to learn from.

But above all the things we can be thankful for is how the power of God’s love made THE way for us to live with him forever in spite of the fact that we deserve infinitely worse. And that way is Jesus.

And it certainly took the power of God’s love to do what He did for us.

He’s the only one, the only way anyone on earth has any hope beyond this life.

Hopefully these most recent Spotify stats and Google Numbers reflect that I’ve connected with an audience who isn’t offended by this “exclusive” message.

Whatever the reason, I’m grateful and blessed to be a servant to the one true, living, loving Creator. The one described in this song that’s not a song…

All Of Creation

All of creation points to the Savior.
We are all here by design.
All the environment and complex behavior…
The Glory of God makes it shine.

All of creation holds information…
Encoded within every cell,
All of the best minds in each generation
Won’t banish what Christians know well.

That…

(Chorus)

All of creation is here by the Word of God.
And all of creation mirrors His mind.
All of creation is saved by the Love of God
All of creation…Jesus defined.   © 2016 TF

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. And, to show my sincere appreciation for your time and attention, I’ll send you download links to books and music, when you add your email to the form to connect right away.

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Tony Funderburk Posted on by

Here’s something I shared a few years ago. And today it’s fairly appropriate to share it again. Yeah, apparently the number 3 is a charm, full of all kinds of magical powers.

Just so you know, I’m not talking about the search for the secret keys to the universe. That’s something Nikola Tesla talked about. He figured those keys could be found by thinking “in terms of energy, frequency, and vibration.” And some say he was obsessed with the combination of 3, 6, and 9.

I’ve looked at some of the calculations and tabulations involved in the Golden Ration and Vortex Math. And it’s fascinating to ponder. But I’m not in awe of where scientists tend to want to go with the information. I’m not quite sure if Nikola went with the evolutionary side of science or not. But too many scientists do.

Oh, sorry, I just sidetracked down a rabbit hole there. Let’s get back to me and my focus on 3.

And maybe the number 3 IS a charm.

After all, 3 is the main number for a lot of the building blocks in life. Atoms are made up of protons, electrons, and neutrons. And time exists as past, present, and future. Math is built on positive, negative, and zero. And of course, there’s no greater example of the power of 3 than the Holy Trinity: God in three persons. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

So, that, once again, brings me back to the number 3 and my obsession…er…interest with it. First, my birth date is 3. And the numbers of my birth month equal 3 when added together. And the month and date added together equal 6, which is the number of man. Plus, when I lay out some tabulations, I reach the number 25. And if you subtract the 2 from the 5, you get 3. I could go on.

But I’m not obsessed.

And I don’t walk around a building three times before I enter. And I don’t have to stay in hotel rooms with numbers divisible by three. I’m not obsessed with it, like Nikola Tesla.

Even though, I noticed I used some key words 3 times each in this little brain dump of mine. So, maybe I should just say goodbye, farewell, auf wiedersehen for now.

And may the
God of Hope
Bless you today,
Tomorrow, and forever.
(see what I did there?)

Get Tony’s Rhyme and Reason Daily Devotional, my ongoing Devotional for believers who want to focus on the power of God’s love and rightly divide the word of truth. Enjoy the convenience of having these flashes of light delivered, for free, right to your inbox. Then, you can spend your valuable time reading and listening instead of searching. 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.

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Tony Funderburk Posted on by

I just scanned two or three dozen social media posts that all sounded almost identical. And they all said something similar to this: On June 14, 1777, the Continental Congress adopted the Stars and Stripes as America’s flag. So, as of Flag Day 2025, it’s been a symbol of freedom, patriotism, and strength for 248 years.

Wow, Flag Day 2025 marks nearly 2 1/2 centuries of the famous red, white, and blue.

I especially like this quote I found that’s attributed to George Washington. He said:

“We take the stars from heaven, the red from our mother country, separating it by white stripes, thus showing that we have separated from her & the white stripes shall go down to posterity, representing our liberty.”

American Patriots are using words like liberty, freedom, strength, values, and unity. As for me, I don’t see much of any of those anymore. And in some cases, I see a whole lot more of the opposites. America is definitely not a collection of united states. Lots of our freedoms have disappeared or have been literally taken from us. A quick scan through TV programming or online movie channels will show you how badly our values have tanked. And surely you can’t disagree that the strength of our fat population doesn’t even remotely compare with Americans from previous decades.

I’d still rather be here in America than any other place on earth. Because there are still plenty of Americans who understand what true freedom and liberty are and how much it costs to maintain them. But my ultimate allegiance isn’t something I’ll be celebrating just on Flag Day 2025. No, I celebrate that allegiance every day. To my Creator. After all, without Him there would be no America, no stars and stripes, and definitely no freedom.

Talk Delight

Talk is not as cheap as it used to be.
It can cost so much when the world can see.
And I still gotta say what is right.
It might even bring kings delight.
Think before you speak is still good advice.
Keep in mind the ultimate sacrifice
Many others made for your right.
And speak up for one King’s delight.

© 2020

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Tony Funderburk Posted on by

1977. I remember that year like it was, well, day before yesterday. But it was almost 50 years ago. Wow. And that’s the year NASA launched Voyager 1 into space. And that little spaceship is still traveling through space. In fact, I just read a cool, short blurb about it. The headline said…

Voyager 1: A Time Capsule Still Exploring The Cosmos

They followed that up with…

Over 15 billion miles from Earth, Voyager 1 runs on 69 KB of memory, an 8-track tape recorder, and code written in FORTRAN. It’s controlled using 50-year-old blueprints and takes 22 hours to receive a single command.

Why it still works?

  • Rugged, radiation-hardened parts
  • Simple, reliable design
  • Backup systems
  • Engineers who think like it’s 1977

And they finished up the blurb with “A true marvel of human ingenuity.”

Then, they showed a rendered picture (because there aren’t photographers snapping shots of it) of Voyager 1 superimposed over a backdrop of the Milky Way.

And as I checked out the picture, I thought about what the “great minds” of aerospace, in their ongoing search for extraterrestrial intelligence, would say if something that simple wandered into Earth’s orbit.

No doubt, they’d be all a-flutter. And they’d rave on about finally finding proof of other intelligent life “out there.”

Because they’re goo goo gaga over a spaceship in the cosmos.

But the cosmos?

Not so much. Naw, it’s just a big bunch of space to explore. Oh sure, they love to bandy their big numbers around. This is 2 trillion light years away from that. And the speed of light is 299,792,458 meters per second. And how the largest black holes in the universe are more than 70-80 billion times bigger than the sun.

But those YUGE numbers are mostly to reinforce their big bang skewed idea that there MUST be other intelligent life “out there.”

And that’s ironic, since the cosmos, itself, is the evidence.

Yeesh.

Little Voyager 1 runs on a fraction of one megabyte of memory. That’s tiny. The whole spaceship wouldn’t even be a fraction of a dimple in God’s smile. But people are amazed at how it can still operate all those miles from Earth. And they’re so impressed with engineers who could design such an amazing thing.

And that awestruck amazement runs through brains that are exponentially more complex. Brains so complex they can run a system of systems, your body, even while you’re asleep and not even consciously aware of it.

But that’s just the start.

Because your body lives on a planet ideally suited for human life. And that planet is part of solar system that runs consistently and dependably through the galaxy.

And the galaxy moves consistently and dependably through the universe. A universe (aka: the cosmos) that is observably stable enough to contain everything in it. A universe that’s the ultimate sign of intelligent life. And design.

Design ALWAYS points to a designer.

I’m not foolish enough to look at the big, beautiful sky, day or night, and say there is no God and that it all happened by chance. Sadly, most people ARE that foolish.

I know just about all my listeners and readers aren’t that foolish. So, I urge you to not give up on those who are. Because their eternal souls depend on us sharing the hope of the power of God’s love. And the power of that love made eternal life available to all.

If you’re like a little Voyager 1, traveling through the vast space of non-believing or skeptical people, remember, you have WAY more than 69 kilobytes of memory to draw from. You can use your incredibly complex brain to tap into the infinite source of Life. So, ask God to help you increase your knowledge, understanding, and wisdom.

Then, remember, you are…

In This World But Not Of It

I’m in this world but not of it.
I like this life but don’t love it.
My Savior rises above it.
I’m in this world but not of it.

This world can beat me up.
But this world is not my home.
I have a finer place where I will forever roam.

This world’s no easy street.
This world is not so nice.
It costs a lot to leave, but my Father paid the price.

So: (Chorus)

This world has lots of love,
But this world is filled with hate.
One day it won’t be so, and so I can hardly wait.

This world has moans and groans.
This world has aches and pain,
But soon even this shall pass, Jesus the King will reign.

Chorus…inst…chorus 3 times

© 2008

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