Category Archives: rightly dividing the word of truth

Tony Funderburk Posted on by

Yes, miracles are real. And I believe God can manifest one anytime He wants or desires. Are you with me so far? Well, get ready to jump off this train. Because I’m about to make a stop where many, if not most, Christians (and pretty much everybody else) don’t wanna go.

Miracles are real. But God isn’t using them right now.

And that’s mostly because He observed how miracles don’t tend to change hearts. And the most important example of that is the miracle of the resurrection of Jesus. He literally predicted He would rise from the dead in three days, then He did, and there were lots of eyewitnesses. But to this day, 2000 years later, most people in the world don’t wanna believe in a miracle, don’t wanna hear about it, and prefer to mock anyone who does. Jesus also predicted it would be that way:

He said,”If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.”

I found this definition of the word miracle in my digital dictionary: a surprising and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore considered to be the work of a divine agency: (the miracle of rising from the grave.) It’s interesting how they used the rising from the grave example.

Anyway…

The reason I bring it up is because of my current, and recent handicapped status. I’ve been dealing with it about five or six weeks now. And not once have I prayed for a healing miracle. As I’ve already said, it’s not because I don’t believe miracles are real. And it’s not because I don’t have enough faith that God could heal me.

I still pray the way I did before I had a stroke. Each prayer is a message of thanks for the multitude of blessings. I receive every day. Blessings I receive in spite of my human selfishness.

I do ask God to give me strength.

And I ask Him to help me to lean on His love through each and every step of my recovery process, however long it takes. That kind of prayer focuses on my relationship with Him instead of the wondrous things He can do. And the more I read Paul’s letters, the more I believe those are the kinds of prayers. God prefers from us. The prayers that show we want Him to be with us no matter what. The prayers that acknowledge, just as He told Paul, His grace is sufficient.

So, even if the left side of my body never fully recovers, I’m gonna bask in that grace, knowing that one day I’ll receive a flawless, new, glorified body that will never suffer this kind of stuff again.

And that reminds me of a song I wrote, seven years ago, for a young man who bravely fought a battle against cancer. He lost the battle, but he praised the Lord. So I know he’s in paradise forever. Here are the lyrics:

Jeremiah’s Prayer

I don’t deserve your healing Lord.
But you deserve my praise.
Your great name and your Word
Will lift me up and fill my days.
Oh Lord, please give me strength
So I can fight this battle well”
And courage even satan will
Remember down in hell.

You’re the breath in my lungs.
And you’re the song upon my tongue.
You’re the source of life no doubters can erase.
And through sickness and health,
Lord I consecrate myself
And I just can’t wait to see you face to face.

No one deserves your healing Lord.
But you deserve our praise.
Your great name and your Word
Will lift us up and fill our days,
If we will look to you for strength
And courage to declare
The love and Truth about You
Found in Jeremiah’s prayer.

© 2018 Tony Funderburk

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Tony Funderburk Posted on by

What if you were the first person on Earth that God ever created? First thing is, you’d be a man. Because God created a man, first. But then, what if He brought you a lot of animals and birds and asked you to name them? Can you even imagine what you might say?

Remember, you’d be the first person on Earth.

And you just arrived. And you wouldn’t even know what all the animals and birds could do. Much less know what to name them. Sounds more like a job for God. Right? Not the first person on Earth.

So, what would YOU do?

My guess (which isn’t a guess at all) is that you’d name all the animals and birds. And I bet you’d have a blast doing it. Because that’s EXACTLY what the first person on Earth, Adam, did. When God brought Adam all the animals and birds He created, to “see what he would call them,” Adam named them.

Period.

And I believe it pleased God, as any loving father would be pleased, to see what Adam could do. God made Adam in His image and likeness. So, that meant He also gave Adam a perfect brain, and He enjoyed watching him use it.

It wouldn’t make any sense at all for God to plan everything Adam could and would do. Because, then why would He need to put animals and birds in front of Adam to “see what he would call them?” If God had already planned it all, He’d already KNOW what Adam would call them.

So, God didn’t know, ahead of time, what Adam would come up with. But I bet He was a proud Father.

And I bet He still loves to see what you and I come up with.

Because I’m sure He loves wonderful surprises, too. And if He already knew everything we’ll do, what a boring, predictable eternity He’d have to sit through.

Thankfully, the living, loving Creator of the universe DID make a plan to save us from ourselves. And He made Himself accessible to anyone who’s willing to take responsibility for his or her own actions. To anyone with enough humility to ask Him for help and wisdom.

The Power of His love created you.

And the sovereignty of His life can sustain you forever.

But He didn’t build you to be a robot or mindless machine to do His bidding.

Nope. He made you so you know you exist. And you can choose to love or even hate. He even gives you the choice of eternal life or death. He said, and I highly recommend you choose Life. Make love be…

The Last Word

Keep a bolt of lightning in your brain
And a jar of honey in your heart.
Let love be the last word from your lips
Whether you’re together or apart.

Lightning is your passion over pain.
Honey is your holy hope within.
Send those feelings through your fingertips
And remember, always let love win.  © 2020

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Tony Funderburk Posted on by

“Iron Sharpens Iron” is just about 99.99% always used as a positive expression. Christians, especially men, love to use it as though it’s a good thing to do to/for a friend or colleague to “help” them get closer to the true meaning of scripture. And I believe it’s a good thing to sharpen your understanding of God’s word. Even more important than how you might sharpen your skills for work or sports or hobbies.

But the emphasis should be on how you sharpen YOUR skills.

Not how you attempt to sharpen the wills and wits of your friends or colleagues by using the idiom, “iron sharpens iron,” from Proverbs 27:17.

I’ve always thought that when guys use that verse, they tend to use it mostly when they believe they have more insight into God’s word. And that whoever they say it to should acknowledge that. I know many would probably say they want that iron used on them, too, if and when needed.

But I believe they don’t truly mean that.

Anyway…

In the past couple of years I’ve come across information that reaffirms my take on this. So, naturally, if something is gonna prove me right, then I’ve just gotta gloat and share it. Right?

No, that’s not how I rock-n-roll.

A guy named Ronald Giese Jr. recently shared info that shows “when we look at the language of this verse in its Hebrew Bible/Old Testament context, it doesn’t have the kind of positive connotation that is now associated with it.”

He said that text actually talks in a way that’s more about “sharpening people’s faces.” And then he added:

“The problem starts with the idea of sharpening someone’s face. How does this happen? It’s certainly not literal. Because people don’t sharpen people’s faces. And if they do it’s a criminal offense. If it’s a metaphor, then, what then could it mean? There is no other mention of “sharp faces” in the OT, but there is mention of “sharp” features of the face. Like a sharp tongue (Psalm 57:4; Psalm 52:2) or sharp eyes (Job 16:9). In these instances, such sharp features do harm to others and can “devise destruction” (Ps 52:2). Tongues are sharpened like snakes ready to give a poisonous strike (Psalm 140:3).”

Yeah, that doesn’t sound like positive reinforcement.

And Mr. Giese said it’s more like this: “The idea of sharpening someone else’s face, then, is not about doing something positive for your friend, but aggravating them to the point where they become your enemy.”

And I agree. Because I see people attempting to use their “iron” to “sharpen” someone else’s “iron.” And then I see, most of time, how that goes over like an iron balloon.

I’m firm believer that Christians absolutely should judge others and rightly divide the Word in order to do that without hypocrisy. But I’m also a firm believer that too many go the route of wielding “iron” rather than the life-saving power of God’s love.

So, if you’re an ironer, I encourage you to sharpen your skills in sharing the power of God’s love you can find all through Paul’s letters. Sing a new song from that perspective and come down from…

Up on the mountains of self…
Looking inside of our hearts, we think we see.
Fallible searchers are we…
Without a standard to judge, how high we can be!

We’re riding our high horses.
We’re wearing our best leather and lace.
Yes, we’re riding our high horses…
Hoping to ride them away…
Ride them to favor and grace © 1989

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Tony Funderburk Posted on by

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A while back I shared some hillbilly ideology I found online. And it got some funny additional comments and feedback. Recently somebody asked if I would share it again. So, yeah, I’m glad to oblige.

And the picture that went along with the text is a big part of what made me read through. Because it was an old guy with long and gray hair. He sat on a tree stump and held a large, single-shot rifle. So, I figured if there was anyone who fit the bill, it was this guy.

He didn’t call it hillbilly ideology.

He just said it was plain ol’ hillbilly Wisdom:

  1. Your fences need to be horse-high, pig-tight, and bull-strong.
  2. Keep skunks, bankers, and politicians at a distance.
  3. Life is simpler when you plow around the stump.
  4. A bumble bee is considerably faster than a John Deere tractor.
  5. Words that soak into your ears are whispered, not yelled.
  6. The best sermons are lived, not preached.
  7. If you don’t take the time to do it right, you’ll find the time to do it twice.
  8. Don’t corner something that is meaner than you.
  9. Don’t pick a fight with an old man. If he is too old to fight, he’ll just kill you.
  10. It don’t take a very big person to carry a grudge.
  11. You cannot unsay a cruel word.
  12. Every path has a few puddles.
  13. When you wallow with pigs, expect to get dirty.
  14. Don’t be banging your shin on a stool that’s not in the way.
  15. Borrowing trouble from the future doesn’t deplete the supply.
  16. Most of the stuff people worry about ain’t never gonna happen anyway.
  17. Don’t judge folks by their relatives.
  18. Silence is sometimes the best answer.
  19. Don‘t interfere with somethin’ that ain’t botherin’ you none.
  20. Timing has a lot to do with the outcome of a rain dance.
  21. If you find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is stop diggin’.
  22. Sometimes you get, and sometimes you get got.
  23. The biggest troublemaker you’ll ever have to deal with watches you from the mirror every mornin’.
  24. Always drink upstream from the herd.
  25. Good judgment comes from experience, and most of that comes from bad judgment.
  26. Lettin’ the cat outta the bag is a whole lot easier than puttin’ it back in.
  27. If you get to thinkin’ you’re a person of some influence, try orderin’ somebody else’s dog around.
  28. Live a good, honorable life. Then when you get older and think back, you’ll enjoy it a second time.
  29. Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly. Leave the rest to God.
  30. Most times, it just gets down to common sense.

There you go. Which one(s) float(s) your boat? Or are you like me and you’re just gonna go for ALL the hillbilly ideology?

And, by the way, once you see the benefit, join the growing body of believers who’ve already signed up for the Tony’s Rhyme and Reason Daily Devotional. I’ll send you daily flashes of light so we can stay focused on faith, hope, and the power of God’s love.

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Tony Funderburk Posted on by

In some circles it’s a sort of miter-shaped chess piece that can move diagonally across any number of unoccupied spaces. And you might know this (I didn’t), but it can also be mulled port spiced with oranges, sugar, and cloves. And one well-known circle it’s the title for a high-ranking Christian cleric. You win this round if you hit the buzzer and said, “What is a bishop?”

(Side note: I remember how, when I first learned to play chess, as a kid, I thought it was cool how the bishop could move diagonally across the entire chessboard. That, and a smartphone will get you a text.)

Anyway…

So, let’s look at that Christian cleric definition for a second or two.

In the Christian world, what is a bishop supposed to do?

And is it a job anyone in a church can get? Well, there’s at least a couple of places where the Apostle Paul shared a fairly comprehensive list of requirements a potential bishop should meet. One of those places is in his letter to Titus. But I’m not gonna tell you where you can find his list.

Because this is another challenge. And if you rise to meet the challenge, you’ll have a chance to add your name to one of my upcoming books. Here are the simple “rules.”

All you gotta do, is read Paul’s letter to Titus. It’s a very short letter. So, it won’t take you much time to get through it. And somewhere in the letter is the answer you’ll need to fill in the final word that finishes the rhyme below. Think you can do it? Remember, it helps answer the question, “What is a bishop?”

If so, be sure to leave a comment, or send an email with your answer.

Here’s the rhyme:

It’s not about your selfish will.
Bad temper is not fine.
And neither are the side effects
That come with too much __________

There’ll be other challenges. So, there’ll be other chances to get your name in one of my upcoming books of Rhymes and Reasons. If you wanna get a jump on the competition and know when the next one is, jump on the The TRUTH.

That way they’ll come to you, and you won’t have to go lookin’ for ’em.

Stay tuned,

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Tony Funderburk Posted on by

Prepare yourself. Because you’re about to have your soul shaken. At least if you’ve bought into the notion that everything that happens is part of God’s plan. I wish that rumor would’ve never been started. But here’s some other shocking info that’s gonna sound like a rumor. In a sense, you’re in control of the destiny of your soul.

Oh no! I can hear the weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Please, calm down. Get your feelings back in control.

I fully realize and acknowledge God’s sovereignty. Ultimately, it will be His big picture plan(s) that come(s) to pass. But He gave you and me the freedom to choose. And the choice is clear. Life. Or death. And both choices come with eternal consequences.

But why do I, a poet and former professional singer, talk about this kind of stuff so much? What would compel me, a guy who played music in “questionable venues” for years, to write about Jesus and Biblical teaching?

Yeah, why should anybody listen to what I say?

Short answer? You shouldn’t. Not without checking my words against The Word. Because, on my own, I’m just another average, run-of-the-mill broken human being. And when I rely on me and my own knowledge, I can’t guarantee I’ll be right. But when I reference Truth, I can’t be wrong.

So, I’m not wrong when I say God is NOT in control of this world.

Because I’m just repeating what He said. So, if you have a problem with my statement, my guess is you don’t know what God said about the ruler of this world.

But even if you don’t know what He said about the ruler of this world, the worldwide evidence should speak for itself. Because the whole world is in turmoil. Filled with chaos and confusion. Abortion, mass shootings, war. Surely you can’t tell me you believe those sound like concepts the one true, living, loving Creator would author.

If you believe that He does (and I know most people, who listen to and read what I share, don’t), let me know how you came to that conclusion. Because I believe you’re right where the ruler of this world wants you to be. And I bet that’s not what you’d prefer. Even if you believe…

Everything is for a reason.
God is in control.
Everything He turns to good
For His higher goal.
So do you want to thank Him for
Destruction and despair?
Is He the author of confusion?
You see it everywhere…
No, no…a thousand times no.

Before you go, share this link with everybody you know. Tell ’em to jump on the The TRUTH AND get some music and other fun stuff, for Fa-Ree.

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Tony Funderburk Posted on by

Imagine yourself deep in thought. And your thoughts seem to transport you out of your body and into the air. Then, in the blink of an eye, you realize you’re sitting in a wifi café, in the middle of a conversation with a gray-haired stranger. And the gray-haired stranger asks…

“Did you think you would get here in the blink of an eye?”

And you have no idea what the stranger is talking about. Because you’re unsure of the whole scene. Questions pop into your brain like champagne bubbles. Who IS this stranger? Where IS this place? And how DID I get here? And was it really in the blink of an eye?

Well, maybe you blinked while you were deep in thought.

Because one second you’re just peacefully pondering your life. And the next you’re confronted by someone you don’t recognize. In a place you’ve never seen before.

But, as your dazed and confused mind tries to sort things out, the stranger says, “Bet you never thought you’d be here did you? And I bet you’re probably wondering where here is and how you got here. Am I right?”

Before you can even form your lips to speak the first word of your reply, the stranger says, “Of course you’re wondering where you are and how you got here. Everybody wonders that when they first get here. And I suppose it’s only natural. Because you never pictured yourself in a place like this.”

And, with that last sentence, the stranger’s hand motions around the dark gray walls. That’s when you notice.

There’s no art on the walls.

And no music in the background.

In fact, except for the stranger and the black table between you, there’s nothing else in the room.

So, you turn back to the stranger to ask what’s going on.

But once again, before you can form the words, you hear these words,

“You should go back while you still can.”

Then, your words come gushing out without you even having to think them, “Go back while I still can?! What does that mean? Go back where? I was sitting at home, thinking, and not bothering anybody. Then, suddenly I was here, listening to you ask me senseless questions. In a room that doesn’t make any sense! And why did you say while I still can?”

The stranger nods, ever so slightly, and then you notice the eyes. There’s something about the eyes. Something terrifyingly familiar about the eyes.

And then it dawns on you.

The.

Stranger’s.

Eyes.

Are.

YOURS!

You realize you’re staring directly into your own eyes, into your own future.

And the future feels full of fear.

Then, the stranger (who starts to look more and more like an old version of YOU) says, “You should know. You don’t actually have to be here. In fact, you could leave this place just as fast as you got here. Yeah, you could be gone in the blink of an eye.”

And you answer, “Really? How?”

And you (uh, I mean the stranger…no, it IS you) answer back:

“Close your eyes, humble your heart, and pray.

Then, before you even have a chance to say anything else, you suddenly open your eyes. And you’re right back in your comfy chair. But with one nagging question in your head.

“Humble my heart and pray to who?” (even though you know it should be whom)

Well, my recommendation is you pray to the one, true, living, loving Creator of Heaven and Earth. Because all other prayers to all false gods are just whispers in the wind. Signifying nothin. Set aside a few minutes to get back deep into thought. And meditate on something like this:

Instead

Don’t try to pray away all the pain.
You could be disappointed, disillusioned, disenchanted.
Don’t ask God to save you from the hurt.
You could live to see that the prayer has not been granted.

Instead, give thanks for all His love.
Instead, be glad for all He’s done.
Our sin could torture us forever.
Instead, He gave His only Son.

Don’t be so quick to ask for an end
To the hard times, rocky roads, and fire and rain.
Don’t cry out for a wonderful sign
And when it doesn’t appear, throw your hands up in vain.

Instead, give thanks for all His love.
Instead, be glad for all He’s done.
Our sin could torture us forever.
Instead, He gave His only Son.

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.

© 2010

Then, get yourself a Bible and read Paul’s letters. They’re known as the Grace “books” of the Bible from Romans to Philemon. And that will get you pointed in the right direction.

Stay tuned,

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