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The Power of God's Love and Truth

Tony Funderburk delivers your daily truth devotional

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Tony Funderburk Posted on September 13, 2015 by TonyMay 16, 2024
Charlie Chipmunk

Have you ever heard of Charlie Chipmunk? His songs were popular way back in the 1960’s. That’s a pretty long time ago…probably way before you were born. If you’ve ever heard of and laughed at Alvin and the Chipmunks, you might enjoy Charlie even more. He helps you learn things from the Bible. Here’s a video of his song to help you learn the books of the New Testament.

Do you think you can learn the books to the New Testament now? I’ll bet you can. There’s nothing like music to help you remember things. And maybe it’ll help if you use your best chipmunk voice.

You should jump on the The TRUTH and be part of the growing band of ne’er-do-wells who understand that life has Rhyme and Reason because God made us.

Stay tuned,

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Posted in music for kids, photos and videos, Rhymes
Tony Funderburk Posted on September 12, 2015 by TonyMarch 31, 2023

Have you ever wondered what you should pray about or pray for? When somebody says you should pray for others, do you have a hard time thinking of something to pray? Well, I have 12 things you can pray for others. You can look at this list anytime you can’t think of anything to pray. I’m gonna try it, too.

There’s a place in the Bible where Paul tells some people called the Colossians that he wouldn’t stop praying for them. When you read his words, it looks like there are 12 good things you can pray for others. There are plenty more, but these are very important ones.

Start praying for others to:

  1. Be filled with the knowledge of God’s will – not some silly ideas about what to wear today or what to eat but His will for eternal life
  2. Walk worthy of the Lord – praying and asking for His help is a good start
  3. Be pleasing the Lord – simply talk to Him about life’s problems, or how great the day went. He loves it when we talk to Him.
  4. Keep being fruitful in every good work – That happens by trusting in God to help make good choices.
  5. Keep increasing in the knowledge of God – Spend time listening to what His word says to your spirit.
  6. Be strengthened with all might – When God is on your side, it doesn’t matter who or how many are against you.
  7. Be equipped with patience and long-suffering with joy – It’s not much of a big deal to get through things complaining. But it’s a very big deal when you can get through things with a song in your heart and on your lips.
  8. Be partakers of the inheritance of the saints – That means you hope others come to know Jesus and accept Him as their Savior. And you want them to go to Heaven. Saints are people who believe and trust in Jesus.
  9. Be delivered from the power of darkness – The power of darkness is all around. It’s in TV’s, on CD’s, in the movies, and most of all in the air all around. Jesus delivers, or saves, people from the power of darkness. In fact, He’s the only one who can.
  10. Be conveyed into the kingdom of the Son of His love – That means a person becomes completely new when they trust in Jesus. They get a brand new spirit that will last forever. And they get to live with Jesus in a perfect place forever. His kingdom never ever ends.
  11. Be redeemed through His blood – It’s good to understand how big a price Jesus paid for us to live forever with Him. He shed His blood for us.
  12. Be forgiven of sins – And that’s what Jesus died and rose from dead to give us. He paid for all the bad things all of us do. And if we ask Him, He forgives us forever.

So there are 12 things you can pray for others today.

Start with one person and one thing. I bet, before long, you won’t run out of things to pray. Which one will you start with today? Here’s a rhyme to help you remember:

When you pray for others, you show love.
When you pray for others every day,
You’ll be doing something Jesus loves.
So, bow your head right now and pray.

Stay tuned,

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Posted in Colossians, Rhymes | Tagged don't stop praying
Tony Funderburk Posted on September 11, 2015 by TonyMarch 31, 2023
Thank God For You

You are proof that God is real. Inside every part of you there’s a secret code. And that code can only be found in you. And God made it and put it there. That secret code makes you look the way you do. It says if your eyes are green, or blue, or brown. And it says if your hair is black, or blond, or red. It says if you’ll be 5 feet tall or 7. It even says if you’ll be a dark-skinned or light-skinned person. So, I wanna say… Thank God for You! You’re a fine sample of God’s fancy work.

I hope you know there’s hope for you no matter what’s going on in your life. In fact, there’s a place in the Bible where it says there’s a hope “laid up for you in Heaven” It was put there by Jesus. I hope you’ll discover how much He loves you as you read this”or listen to it. And I hope you’ll put your faith in Him.

When you know the Bible is true and can be trusted, you get stronger” in your faith and in your mind. People will be able to see it in you. Jesus said when you trust in Him, you’ll be like a tree with good fruit. That’s because He gives you courage and brains.

So, thank God for YOU.

Use your courage and brains to talk about Jesus. Don’t be afraid of what others might say. Put your faith in Jesus to give you good words to say. Some people will actually like what you have to say. And they’ll like the way YOU say it.

Are you willing to stand up for Jesus? I know you can do it. And to anyone who says “yes” I say:

Thank God for you and all you do,
When you do what God wants you to.

Stay tuned,

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Posted in Colossians, Rhymes | Tagged courage and brains
Tony Funderburk Posted on September 10, 2015 by TonySeptember 9, 2024
Full Armor Of God

Did you know God wants you to wear armor? It’s true. He wants you to wear a helmet, a chest guard, protection around your waist, and special boots. He also wants you to carry a shield and a sword. Wow! That’s a lot of armor, isn’t it? What do you think you’d look like wearing the full armor of God? Well, you can see the difference in the picture.

See how the girl, before she puts on the armor of God, looks almost exactly the same as she does after she puts on the armor of God? But there is a little difference. Can you see it?

In the before picture the girl doesn’t look too sure of herself. And her eyes aren’t even open. But in the after picture her eyes are wide open, and she’s smiling. Smiling like she knows she can win. That’s because she CAN win.

And here’s why her full armor of God is important:

There’s a place in the Bible where it talks about putting on the full armor of God. The helmet isn’t a helmet like you see in the movies or in a football game. It’s called the “helmet of salvation.” It means you know you’re saved.

The chest guard isn’t like shoulder pads or a police vest. It’s called the breastplate of righteousness. That just means you know the difference between right and wrong. The protection around your waist isn’t like a belt superheroes wear. The Bible calls it “truth.” That means you can depend on what you’re saying to always be true.

And those special boots aren’t like army boots or ski boots. They’re called the “preparation of the gospel of peace.” 

That means you can’t just talk the talk. You need to walk the walk. You need to be in God’s word and know what it says. And be ready to take it wherever people need to hear it.

Oh yeah, your shield isn’t like the one Captain America uses. Yours will be “the shield of faith.” Not faith in yourself. Faith in your living, loving Creator. And your sword will be “the word of God.” That’s better than any old metal sword that can rust and fall apart.

Do you see how your full armor of God is invisible?

Do you know why God gives you invisible protection? It’s because you need to be ready to fight invisible enemies. God wants you to be protected against the devil. You can’t see him, but he can see you. So, you need God’s armor to protect yourself. Here’s an easy way to think about it. God uses invisible things to fight invisible enemies. Isn’t that cool? Here’s a rhyme to help you remember:

When you wear the full armor of God,
You’ll be ready when the enemies attack.
You can’t see ’em, but beware
They are out there everywhere.
But with God’s help you can always fight them back.

Stay tuned,

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Posted in Ephesians, Rhymes, Tony Funderburk | Tagged invisible things
Tony Funderburk Posted on September 9, 2015 by TonySeptember 8, 2024
Be Good and Do Good

Sometimes being good isn’t so easy. Isn’t that true? Sometimes someone tells you to do something, and you wanna do something else. Then you have a choice to make. Either be good and do good. Or take the chance of getting in trouble. That’s when you really need some help remembering what’s right and what’s wrong. If you don’t know, you could be in big trouble. But there’s a way you can stay out of big trouble. Wanna know what it is?

The only way to avoid a lot of trouble in your life is to act like you work for Jesus.

It’s the only way you can be good and do good.

Maybe you’ve heard somebody say, “What would Jesus do?” Instead of wondering what Jesus would do, start reading His word. You’ll read what He DID. And you’ll know how He wants you to be. You won’t have to guess.

There’s a place in the Bible where it says to be good and do good with a true heart. It doesn’t matter if you’re giving orders or taking them. Jesus wants you to know when you’re good to others and you do good things, He’ll do that for you. Pretty cool, huh?

So, if your mom or dad tell you to do something, do it with a happy heart. Act like you’re doing it for Jesus. And mom”dad”when you tell your kids to do something, tell them with a happy heart. Act like Jesus would want you to act. When you do, don’t be surprises when you get better reactions. There’s no good reason to threat. And kids”there’s no good reason to whine or complain.

So, you see, it’s everybody’s job to be good and do good. If everybody would just remember how happy it makes Jesus, maybe we could all get along a lot better. Here’s a rhyme to help you remember.

Be good and do good
Just like Jesus would.
Make sure it’s understood.
Everybody really should
Be good and do good.

Stay tuned,

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Posted in Ephesians, Rhymes | Tagged better reactions
Tony Funderburk Posted on September 8, 2015 by TonySeptember 8, 2024
Don't be like everybody else

When I was a little boy, if there was something I really really wanted to do, I might tell my parents “but everybody else gets to do it.” And it didn’t take long to find out they wouldn’t fall for it. They’d just answer me with something like, “Well, if everybody else got to jump off a cliff, would you want to?”Or they might say, “If everybody else got to play in a fire, would you want to?” What they were showing me was, it’s usually not a good idea to be like everybody else.

As you grow up (and hopefully wiser) you find out the crowd usually isn’t going somewhere good. In fact, most people are usually going someplace God doesn’t want you to go. And they don’t care what God wants. But you SHOULD care because God knows what’s best for you.

And that’s NOT to be like everybody else.

Your Creator made you a certain way. He knows how to keep your mind and your body working smoothly. And if and when you decide to do things His way, you can avoid some bad mistakes everybody else makes.

But if you’d rather be like everybody else, God won’t yell at you. Or put you in time-out. Or even send you to bed without dinner. He’ll let you make your own mistakes. Then He’ll be there for you to turn to and talk to. But there’s a place in the Bible where it says God DOES get mad and punishes everybody who disobeys Him their who lives. Don’t be one of those.

God’s love is stronger than anything. He proved that with His Son, Jesus. So, get to know Jesus and be more like Him each day. And don’t be like everybody else who’d rather jump off a cliff. Here’s a rhyme to help you remember”

If you wanna be like everybody else
Who play with fire and never love the Lord,
You’ll find yourself, like everybody else,
Without His love in a place forever bored.

Stay tuned,

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Posted in Ephesians, Rhymes | Tagged time out
Tony Funderburk Posted on September 7, 2015 by TonySeptember 8, 2024
You can make God sad

You can make God sad

When you become a whole new person by trusting in Jesus, you have His Spirit living inside you. But you are still you”and you might still want to do things your own way. You might feel like telling a lie to protect yourself. You might feel like being mad or saying mean things to somebody. You might even feel like taking something that doesn’t belong to you. But these are all ways you can make God sad. Wanna know how you can make Him happy instead? Keep reading”

Do your best to always tell the truth.

It’s not always easy, but it’s almost always the best medicine. There’s a place in the Bible where it says it’s OK to be mad sometimes. But you should never let it get the best of you. If you’re mad all the time, other people won’t listen to anything you say”even if it’s true.

So, find good things to say to others. Show them you love them. Even if you have to tell them something they might not want to hear. When you say it with love, they might just listen”and change for the better.

Also”look for ways to use the special gifts God gave you to help others. Use your hands and your mind to work instead of thinking of ways to take things. That way you can help others, and they can see God’s love in you.

When you do your best to do good things for others, you make God happy. When you only want to do things for yourself, you can make God sad. Which way do you think is best? Good. I was hoping you’d say that.

And here’s a rhyme to help you remember:

You can make God sad by saying angry words.
You can make Him happy when you don’t.
You can make God sad if you’ll keep telling lies.
You can make Him happy when you won’t.
You can make God sad when you decide to steal.
You can make Him happy giving back.
You can make God sad until you trust Him to
Keep your heart and mind on the right track.

Before you go, jump on The TRUTH. And join the growing band of believers who enjoy my books, daily rhymes, songs, and videos about the Rhyme and Reason and power of God’s love.

Stay tuned,

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Posted in Ephesians, Rhymes | Tagged ok to be mad, you can make God sad
Tony Funderburk Posted on September 6, 2015 by TonySeptember 8, 2024
A Whole New Person

Imagine if you could look right through your skin and bones and see a shiny, glowing spirit. And what if you found out that shiny part of you could live forever. Wouldn’t that be cool? Well, you don’t have to imagine. It could be true. In fact, when you trust in Jesus, you can be a whole new person. And that person will live forever in a shiny, glowing body in a shiny, glowing Heaven. That’s a promise from God.

There’s a place in the Bible where it says God created a new person for you to be when you trust in Jesus. That new person will be perfect and will never die. That new person won’t do all the bad things you do now. And that new person will be living with God. Where God lives is called Heaven. And God doesn’t let any bad things in Heaven. He wants and needs everything to be perfect.

 A whole new person from what you are.

The good news is you will be perfect one day. You can start becoming perfect the second you trust Jesus. And what does it mean to trust Jesus? It means you believe He came to earth as a man to pay for your sins. He took your punishment. And He finished all the work that needed to be done to make everything right. All you have to do is believe in Him?

If you do you are a whole new person. You and I will be brothers and sisters forever in Heaven. If you’ve already decided to be a child of God, make sure you help someone else know about Him. When you do, would you write me and tell me? And here’s a rhyme to help you remember:

You’re a whole new person when you put your faith in God.
You’re a whole new creation, and it’s true
You were once so blind but Jesus gave you brand new eyes.
Only His love can make your life brand new.

Before you go, jump on The TRUTH. And join the growing band of believers who enjoy my books, daily rhymes, songs, and videos about the Rhyme and Reason and power of God’s love.

Stay tuned,

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Posted in Ephesians, Rhymes, Tony Funderburk | Tagged good news
Tony Funderburk Posted on September 5, 2015 by TonySeptember 8, 2024
Very Special Gift

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You were born with a very special gift. You may not be the only person in the world with your gift. But nobody can use your gift the exact same way you can. Know why? Because you’re one-of-a-kind. God didn’t make any more you. You’re the only you there is. And you can use your very special gift to help others use theirs. Wanna know how? Keep reading.

There’s a place in the Bible where it tells you some things you can be when you’re an adult. You can be a cheerleader for God. A whiz for God. A fighter, or speaker or even a teacher. You could be someone who makes money to support others. You could be someone who nurses others back to health. Or someone who prays. Your gift is important. And your job is too.

Your main job will be to tell the truth about God.

You will need to share how His Son Jesus created everybody and that His love and His spirit give us forever life. When you’re young, you can spend most of your time discovering these things for yourself. You’ll find out how true the story of Jesus is. And most people won’t want to believe it. In fact, they’ll try to trick you into believing the Bible is just a bunch of fairy tales. But you’ll use your very special gift to show them that’s not true. And that’s why God gave it to you.

Maybe this doesn’t all make sense right now. But it will. Don’t ever give up. And don’t ever quit finding out more and more about Jesus. With Him you can’t lose. And here’s a rhyme to help you remember”

Life is a very special gift.
You have other special gifts inside.
There will be some who like your way.
Help them to hear and then decide
God isn’t just a fairy tale.
He is more real than everyone.
Help others see they need to choose
Before all their days on earth are gone.

Before you go, jump on The TRUTH. And join the growing band of believers who enjoy my books, daily rhymes, songs, and videos about the Rhyme and Reason and power of God’s love.

Stay tuned,

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Posted in Ephesians, Rhymes, Tony Funderburk, Tony's Daily Devotional | Tagged fairy tales, special gift
Tony Funderburk Posted on September 4, 2015 by TonySeptember 8, 2024
The Fullness of God

Doesn’t it feel nice to eat a good, tasty dinner and finish it off with a yummy dessert? You feel all warm and fuzzy inside. You’re full and completely happy. Then something happens, and before you know it, you’re hungry again. Then you have to do it all over again. Day after day. Week after week. Year after year. Your whole life. No matter how often you eat a good meal, you get hungry again. But there’s one thing that can fill you up and keep you full. It’s the fullness of God. Wanna know more? Keep reading.

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What do you think the fullness of God is.

His power? His wisdom? And His word? Those are all important, but they’re not what can fill you up and keep you full. Only one thing does that.

His love.

When you are filled with the fullness of God, you’re filled with His love. Do you know how to get that love? All you have to do is trust in Jesus. He is THE way, the one and only way, you be filled up with God’s love. There’s a place in the Bible where it says you can know “the love of Jesus.” It says that love is way beyond just knowing. God’s love can be a part of who you are. It can BE who you are.

When you trust in Jesus, you can understand God. You can start to understand how His love is higher, deeper, and better than anything else. And you start to understand how He can do way more than you can even imagine. And I bet you have a great imagination”don’t you?

Well, imagine this”Jesus is the one who created you, me, the whole world, the universe, and all the angels. Imagine Him talking out loud and making everything appear right out of nothing. Can you see Him doing that in your mind? And can you imagine why He did it? Again, it was for one reason.

Because the fullness of God is in His love.

Do you have the fullness of God living in you? If so, write to me and tell me how it makes you feel. If not, let me know, and I’ll do my best to help you find it. And here’s a rhyme to help you remember:

Jesus is the reason you can love.
He’s the only reason that you’re here.
If it weren’t for Jesus and His love,
All the universe would disappear.

Jesus is the one way you can live
For a while and then forever, too.
So, start smiling and get up and show
How the fullness of God lives in you.

Before you go, jump on The TRUTH. And join the growing band of believers who enjoy my books, daily rhymes, songs, and videos about the Rhyme and Reason and power of God’s love.

Stay tuned,

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Posted in Ephesians, Rhymes, Tony Funderburk, Tony's Daily Devotional | Tagged all the angels, fullness of god
Tony Funderburk Posted on September 3, 2015 by TonyMarch 18, 2025
Why God Does The Things He Does

Do you wonder why God kept the best secret ever a secret for so long? Since His secret was so full of good news”why did He wait so long to share it with us? Well, you might read Bible stories over and over and still not understand why does God the things He does. I’d like to show you how it’s because of His love for us.

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When you first learn to tie your shoes, or make your bed, or read and write, you want to be able to do those things by yourself. Right? It’s a good feeling to know you can tie your shoes without any help. It’s a great feeling to know you can read a book by yourself. And because your mom or dad love you, they teach you how and then they let you do it yourself. If they kept doing it for you, before you know it, you wouldn’t like it anymore.

God works like that.

So, stop wondering WHY God does things like He does.

Instead, be glad He does. He’s smarter than we are, so He knows we need to learn things and to figure things out for ourselves”even when they’re not any fun at all.

That’s why He made some rules and gave them to the Jewish people a long time ago. He wanted them to see how hard it was to live a truly good life. Those people spent thousands of years trying to keep the rules. In fact, they made even more rules to go with God’s rules. And they didn’t do a good job of keeping those either.

God knew His people wouldn’t be able to keep the rules. But He also knew they needed to find out for themselves. They sure found out the hard way. Once God knew it was the right time, He sent His Son, Jesus, to offer the hope of peace on earth. And guess what?

A lot of the people didn’t believe Him. They just wouldn’t believe He was the Son of God. They didn’t believe He was the answer to their prayers. And they killed Him.

But Jesus rose from the dead just like He said He would. He proved He was God in the flesh. And He told a man named Paul to go and tell the world that everybody could be forgiven. There’s a place in the Bible where Jesus showed Paul how God kept this wonderful news a secret to let people learn how much they needed Him. And since God’s favorite people, the Jews, didn’t believe He made a new plan. He sent Jesus to take your punishment. And my punishment. And the punishment for the whole world. When Jesus did that, He made a way for us to be forgiven and live forever.

So, maybe sometimes you wonder why God does things like He does. Just remember this. It’s always out of love for those who love Him. And here’s a rhyme to help you remember:

What God does He does because He loves you.
He has reasons you can always trust.
So, don’t worry, He will never leave you,
And His gold will cover all your rust.

Before you go, jump on the The TRUTH. And join the growing band of believers who enjoy my books, daily rhymes, songs, and videos about the Rhyme and Reason and power of God’s love.

Stay tuned,

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Posted in Bible study, Ephesians, Rhymes, Tony's Daily Devotional | Tagged do it yourself, why God does what He does
Tony Funderburk Posted on September 2, 2015 by TonyJune 23, 2024
The Best Secret

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Did anybody ever tell you a secret and ask you not to tell anybody else? That’s how a secret is supposed to work. But, the trouble is, it seems like nobody can keep a secret. So, before you know it, lots of people know about it. Then it’s not such a secret anymore. Would you like to hear the best secret ever? Good. Here goes…

About 2000 years ago there was a man named Paul. He was traveling all around telling the very same secret I’m about to share with you. The big difference was that he was sharing a secret nobody had ever heard before. In fact, there’s a place in the Bible where he called it a mystery. But this wasn’t a mystery to be solved by some smart detective like Sherlock Holmes. And it wasn’t a mystery to be found by a spy like James Bond. No, Paul wanted everybody to know the answer to the mystery. You might wonder how Paul found out about it. Well…

…Jesus told him.

And that was when the best secret ever was told.

Yep, Paul heard all about this special secret from the Creator of the universe. So…don’t you think there’s a good chance what he discovered was true? Of course it was. Jesus isn’t like you and me. He never lies. And He wanted Paul to go and tell everyone the news. At first Paul wasn’t sure if he could believe his eyes and ears. But Jesus proved He was real and that Paul could trust Him. Once that happened Paul was filled with joy and courage. He began to tell anybody who would listen about Jesus.

But Paul wasn’t just telling everybody what kind of a person Jesus was. He told everybody why Jesus came to earth. And why He had to be killed and rise from the dead. And the secret was that Jesus did all that so we could all know Him like a personal friend. God had kept that secret for thousands of years. Before anybody knew about Jesus, the only way to get to Heaven was to live a good life and keep a lot of rules that Jewish people knew about. But…

…nobody was ever able to keep all those rules. Some people tried. But they just couldn’t do it. They were just like you and me. We want to be good all the time, but somehow we just can’t do it. I know I can’t.

Can you?

Well, thanks to the best secret ever told…you don’t have to be good all the time. And you don’t have to follow all those rules from the Jewish people from thousands of years ago. No, the good news…and the secret…is this: believe in Jesus. He lived here on earth in the same world as the rest of us. And He never did anything wrong. And He kept all the rules. He lived a perfect life. And He showed us perfect love by taking our punishment so we wouldn’t have to.

Do you believe this secret is true? I hope so. And here’s a rhyme to help you remember…

The best secret ever told was just for you
And everybody on the planet, too.
Share the secret, let it out. Jump into the air and shout…
Trust in Jesus and there’s nothing else to do.

Before you go, jump on the The TRUTH. And join the growing band of believers who enjoy my books, daily rhymes, songs, and videos about the Rhyme and Reason and power of God’s love.

Stay tuned,

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Posted in Ephesians, Rhymes, Tony Funderburk, Tony's Daily Devotional | Tagged the mystery
Tony Funderburk Posted on September 1, 2015 by TonyJune 23, 2024
Chief Cornerstone

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Do you ever play with building blocks? It’s fun. You can stack ‘em up and make a house, or a fort, or a skyscraper. Some blocks even have letters and colors on them so you can make words and pictures. Did you know grownups play with building blocks, too? It’s true. The blocks they use are a lot bigger. And there’s always one block they call the cornerstone. It’s the block all the rest of the blocks depend on to stay in place. There’s a place in the Bible that says Jesus is your chief cornerstone. That’s because Jesus is the only solid rock you can trust to never fall or fail.

I bet your mom or dad or the person helping you read this will also help you look up cornerstone. Other words that mean the same thing are:

Backbone Center and Heart.

Imagine if you used Jesus’ name in sentences with those words. It would look like this:

Jesus is the backbone of our family.
Jesus is the center of attention in our house.
And Jesus is the heart of God’s love for the world.

That’s how you can think of Him when you think about Jesus being your chief cornerstone. That’s pretty easy, isn’t it? Can you think of other ways to show how important Jesus is to us? When you do, send them to me. And I’ll share them with others. Here’s a rhyme to help kids remember:

Jesus is the one true cornerstone,
The center of my love and my backbone.
He holds me up in grace. His light shines on my face.
He’s in my heart. I’ll never be alone.

Stay tuned,

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Posted in Ephesians, Rhymes, Tony Funderburk, Tony's Daily Devotional | Tagged center of attention
Tony Funderburk Posted on August 31, 2015 by TonyApril 4, 2025
Peace and Quiet

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Isn’t it nice when you can be calm and enjoy some peace and quiet? Sometimes you just wanna be still and think. And that’s hard to do when people are mad at each other. It seems like the world is like that a lot, doesn’t it. So many people mad and yelling and treating each other badly. There just doesn’t seem to be any peace in this ol’ world. Do you think there’s any way it can be better? Well, you can’t make it better for everybody, but you CAN make it better for you.

Here’s the best way to have peace and quiet.

There’s a place in the Bible where it says Jesus “is our peace.” It says He is the way for anybody in the whole world to have peace. Anybody who wants it. And anybody includes everybody. And that includes you and me. But Jesus isn’t going to wiggle His nose, or wave a wand, or snap His fingers and give you peace. He wants to know you trust Him. Guess what? You CAN trust Him. He went through a lot of painful stuff to prove you can trust Him. He made sure you could talk to God anytime you want. Before He came to earth as a man it wasn’t that way.

A long time ago, if you wanted to tell God something, you had to follow a bunch of rules. But Jesus lived, died, and rose from the dead to make a way to change that. Now, you can pray to God anytime and every time you want, and He’ll listen. He loves to hear from you. So, try this idea.

Talk to God today and ask Him for some peace and quiet. Tell Him you want to be still and hear His word. When you ask Him to help you, ask it the name of Jesus, and I promise you’ll start to feel peace in your heart. And here’s a rhyme to help you remember.

Peace and quiet in your heart can come from God,
When you ask Him for it in your Savior’s name.
Yes, He wants to give you peace and joy and love
And forever life and that’s why Jesus came.

Stay tuned,

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Share this link with everybody you know, so they can jump on the The TRUTH
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Posted in Ephesians, Rhymes, Tony Funderburk, Tony's Daily Devotional | Tagged be still
Tony Funderburk Posted on August 30, 2015 by TonyApril 5, 2023
Be Close To God

Have you ever turned binoculars around and looked through them backwards? They make everything look very far away. That’s how you look to God until you trust Jesus as your Savior. God made you, and He wants to be close to you and have you close to Him. But He’s very nice. He won’t make you be close to Him if you don’t wanna be. So, here’s a question”why do you think someone wouldn’t wanna be close to God?

Some people don’t wanna be close to God because they feel guilty for bad things they’ve done. Others don’t wanna be close to God because they just wanna be the boss of everything. And others just want to be left alone.

Those are all sad reasons because they don’t have any hope in them. But there’s a place in the Bible where it says you CAN have hope.

And that place is close to God.

It says even though you may be “far off” from God you can be “brought near.” And the way you can be brought near to your Creator is to trust in Jesus who made it all possible. Jesus is God, the Son. He came to earth and became a human being. And He did that so He could take the real human punishment for all of the sins of everybody. I mean everybody”who ever lived or lives now or ever will live. Jesus could do that because He lead a perfect, sinless life. Then He allowed Himself to be put to death. But He rose again to show us how we can rise again, too.

If you don’t already trust Jesus, I hope you’ll learn more about Him. Wouldn’t you like to be close to God and live forever in His love? If not, write to me and tell me why. I know you’d be missing out on the best treasures you could ever imagine. But it’s your choice. Here’s a rhyme to help you remember”

Do you wanna be close to God and live forever?
It’s really not that hard a thing to do.
Just trust that Jesus made the way there easy,
And He is there right now waiting for you.

Stay tuned,

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Share this link with everybody you know, so they can jump on the The TRUTH
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Posted in Ephesians, Rhymes, Tony Funderburk | Tagged perfect person
Tony Funderburk Posted on August 29, 2015 by TonyApril 13, 2024
Free Riches

Most people will tell you it’s a good idea work hard for your money. And they’re right. Hard work is good for you. It helps you learn how to solve problems, build things, and serve others. And it’s the best way on earth to earn money and even get rich. But what if I told you there are free riches even better than riches you earn? Would you believe me? Well, keep reading.

There’s a place in the Bible that says God, in His mercy, makes you alive. The kind of alive that lasts forever. Because He loves you so much, and He wants you to live forever. And it will take forever to enjoy the free riches God wants to give you. The free riches of His grace. And God showed His grace to you”and me”and everyone by sending us His Son, Jesus.

And He brought us free riches.

Jesus is the one who made sure you would never have to earn your way into Heaven. In fact, He showed how you never could. So, God’s riches of grace are a free gift He gives to anyone who asks Him. Jesus already did all the work to pay for the gift. Isn’t that awesome?!

God made you. He knows you. And most of all He loves you. That’s why He wants you to be with Him forever. That’s why He’s made the way to get there so easy. All you gotta do is love Jesus. Do you love Jesus? Do you know Him? If not, wouldn’t you like to know such a good friend?

Here’s a rhyme to help you remember

When God gives you free riches of grace,
You will live in a Heavenly place.
And His love for you never will end.
He’s your life and your very best Friend.

 

Stay tuned,

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Share this link with everybody you know, so they can jump on the The TRUTH
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Posted in Ephesians, Rhymes, Tony Funderburk | Tagged grace and you
Tony Funderburk Posted on August 28, 2015 by TonyApril 5, 2023
Obey Your Parents

When you make a promise, do you keep it? Do you think people always keep their promises? It’s sad, but most people don’t keep all their promises. But guess who does? That’s right! God. When God makes a promise to you, it’s something you can trust. And God has a wonderful promise for you…if you obey your parents. Can you guess what it is? It’s not a new bike or video game or iPhone. It’s something that lasts way past everything else. Wanna know what it is? Keep reading.

Yes, God has a promise.

There’s a place in the Bible where it says if children will obey their parents God promises they can “live long on the earth“. That’s a great promise. It means you’ll have more time to get to know people and share God’s love. After all, if He didn’t love us first, we wouldn’t know how to love anybody else. In fact, if there was no such thing as God, loving someone else wouldn’t matter. Because who could really know what love is anyway. It would just be whatever you make up in your own head. And everybody would make up different things. Goofy things. Weird things.

But God shows us what love is. He sent Jesus to earth to become a man and take our punishments. People who didn’t know what true love was put Jesus on a cross and killed Him. And He’s the one who said that giving up your life for a friend is the best love there is. He showed us the best love. But Jesus wasn’t buried because He rose from the dead…just like He promised He would. And He told His friends to tell us we can rise up, too. Just like His promise of long life for you if you obey your parents, His promise of forever life is true, too. Do you believe it? Do you believe you can trust in Jesus and live forever? Here’s a rhyme to help you remember…

Obey your parents every day
‘Cause Jesus wants you to.
He’s made a promise, if you do.
Believe it when I say
That Jesus loves you and He made
A place where you can go…
A love where you can know
You’ll never be afraid.

Stay tuned,

Posted in Bible study, Ephesians, Rhymes, Tony Funderburk, Tony's Daily Devotional | Tagged live forever
Tony Funderburk Posted on August 27, 2015 by TonyJune 26, 2024
Perfect Peace

If something is perfect, that means there’s nothing wrong with it. Nothing at all. You can probably already guess there aren’t many things perfect in this world. In fact, there aren’t any. But there are some perfect things you can enjoy now…and forever. One of them is perfect peace. Wanna know how? Well, keep reading…

Perfect peace starts in your head. Yep, your brain is where your thinking starts. And when you start thinking about where you came from and how you got here, you begin to see something great. You begin to know about God. You start to learn how He made you. And He made sure you were able to be a person. He put you inside your mom, and she made sure you got food and water until you were big enough. Then, you were born. That all happened because God loved you enough to create you and give you a good, thinking brain. Now that your brain is getting bigger, you can start thinking more about God.

When you do, you start to find out you can trust God.

You find out He never leaves you and He never gives up on you. All because He made you and He loves you.

There’s a place in the Bible where it says when you trust in God…and you keep thinking about Him…you can have perfect peace. And you can bet if God gives you something, it’s perfect. So, do you think you can start thinking more about Him today? Do you think you can trust Him a little more each day? I promise, if you do, you’ll start to see cool things happen to your wonderful brain. You’ll be able to know that you’re gonna be alright. And that’s a mighty peaceful feeling. And here’s a rhyme to help you remember…

Perfect peace that comes from God
Can take you through your days.
Trust in His forever love
And He will guide your ways.

Before you go, jump on the The TRUTH. And join the growing band of believers who enjoy my books, daily rhymes, songs, and videos about the Rhyme and Reason and power of God’s love.

Stay tuned,

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Posted in Isaiah, Rhymes, Tony's Daily Devotional | Tagged perfect peace
Tony Funderburk Posted on August 26, 2015 by TonyJune 26, 2024
Wide Open Eyes

Do you think wide open eyes can really make you wise? Go ahead and try it. Open your eyes as wide as you can. Is that it? Can you open ’em up anymore? Try real hard. OK, now relax. Do you feel wise? Maybe you don’t, and that’s because I sort of tricked you. Being a wise person isn’t as easy as just opening your eyes as wide as you can. But you CAN pray to be wise. And if you mean it, God will help you. He’ll light up what He calls “the eyes of your understanding.” Wanna know what that means? Good. Keep reading.

Here’s why wide open eyes are important.

When you ask God to help you know more and understand Him more, He loves that. And He can, and WILL, help you by giving you bigger and better thinking power. Isn’t that cool? You can find out more about getting bigger and better thinking power when you read God’s book. Or have your mom or dad read it to you. You’ll find out how God talks about Jesus a lot. And you’ll find out how Jesus IS God. You’ll discover how much He loves you. And you’ll see how Jesus is number 1. He’s stronger and more powerful than any superhero you’ll ever see in the movies.

And Jesus has some awesome presents to share with you. Presents nobody else could ever give you. All you or anybody else has to do is pray to Him and ask. When you do, don’t be surprised if you find yourself with wide open eyes and a big smile because God answers prayers. Here’s a rhyme to help you remember…

God makes wide open eyes appear on you,
When you pray to Him and you ask Him to
Come into your heart and make you wise.
Are you ready for your very own wide open eyes?

Before you go, jump on the The TRUTH. And join the growing band of believers who enjoy my books, daily rhymes, songs, and videos about the Rhyme and Reason and power of God’s love.

Stay tuned,

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Posted in Ephesians, Rhymes, Tony Funderburk | Tagged God answers prayers
Tony Funderburk Posted on August 25, 2015 by TonyJune 27, 2024
Good For Your Bones

Maybe your mom or dad has told you to drink the rest of your milk. And when you asked why, they said it’s good for your bones. Or maybe you take vitamins because they’re supposed to help, too. But did you ever hear anybody say sweet words are good for your bones? Well, somebody very important did say it. It wasn’t a doctor or nurse or anybody like that. In fact, it was God who said it. He used King Solomon to write it, and His words go like this…

“Pleasant words are like a honeycomb, Sweetness to the soul and health to the bones.”

So, you could say sweet words are good for your bones.

But you don’t need to say it. Because I just did.

Anyway…

Have you ever seen a honeycomb. They’re very cool. They have little boxes where honey is stored when bees take in nectar from flowers. A honeycomb is full of sweet, tasty honey. And honey is good for you. That’s probably why God wants you to use sweet words. They’re good for you. They can even be healthy for your bones. It may sound odd, but if God says it, you know it’s true. So, what do you think? Can you say something sweet to someone today? I bet you can. And I bet they smile when you do. And when they smile, you might see their teeth. And teeth are bones. So…what do you know? Maybe it really works. Here’s a rhyme to help you remember…

Sweet words are good for your bones
Much better than ice cream cones.
You can talk a healthier way
And say some sweet words today.

Before you go, jump on the The TRUTH. And join the growing band of believers who enjoy my books, daily rhymes, songs, and videos about the Rhyme and Reason and power of God’s love.

Stay tuned,

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Posted in Bible study, Proverbs, Rhymes | Tagged healthy bones

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