Category Archives: Truth Bombs

Tony Funderburk Posted on by

If you’re a Christian, you know accidents happen. Right? Especially when Jesus, Himself, said they happen. And, by definition, miracles are rare. So, a baby isn’t a miracle. And things DO happen by chance. Again, Jesus, Himself, said they do.

If you disagree that accidents happen, this might flip your lid.

Here’s a tough one, even for Christians. God does NOT hold this world in His hands. Not currently. And again, Jesus tells us that. Three times! He WILL rule this world one day. But He currently does NOT rule this world. And the evidence should be as clear as the daily news.

Your righteous, loving Creator did NOT plan THE course of all human history.

Yes, he does have an ultimate PLAN. And He will not allow you and me and everybody else to mess up His ultimate plan for eternity. But not infinite plans for the infinite potential directions billions of lives could go each and every day. God is infinitely more brilliant than that. He’d never design men and women, in His image and likeness, only to have to plot out their every move. That would be what marketers call “make work.”

No, God designed us to be able to think. And work. And build things. On our own. Because He’s like the ultimate, dazzling, loving father. It brings Him joy to see what you come up with. At least until you come up with ways to ignore and even remove Him from your life.

If you currently find yourself with that attitude, my suggestion is to change your mind. Because you CAN change your mind. And you CAN change the course you’ll take for eternity. Where you’ll end up, forever, hasn’t already been planned.

Yes, there IS such a thing as unplanned. Heaven or hell, for you, is unplanned. Until you choose. And don’t just make a plan to choose.

Choose now.

Because, as Elvis sang all those years ago, “Tomorrow may be too late. It’s now or never…”

I wrote…a sad life story…
Just words one could soon forget.
Learn from…this allegory
“Too late” hasn’t happened yet.

© 2014

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Tony Funderburk Posted on by

There’s nothing you can do about it. It’s a fact of life. And death. Yeah, you’ll be a short time here on Earth but a long time gone, somewhere else.

Or, maybe you think that a short time here repeats itself.

Hollywood and India buy into that silliness. Reincarnation. Time travel. Fractured space/time continuums. Silliness. Kinda fun to make believe. But silly to actually believe.

Here’s the cold, hard truth. And it’s actually the warm, life-filled Truth.

Have you ever noticed how you never again see your family and friends once they die? They don’t come back as a bug, a bird, or even a dog. And even if they did, how would you know? Well, unless they spoke to you. But, again, talking bugs, birds, and dogs fall into that aforementioned silliness category.

“Well, what’s your point, Tony?” you ask.

I remember an article, I read a few years ago, about how life on Earth is a short time when you put it in actual visual numbers. For example, the article said adults have about 25,000 mornings to wake up to, on average. And that’s not a gigantic number by anyone’s standard. Well, maybe a little kid would think so. But not adults all growed up and stuff.

Especially when you divide 25,000 by 365 days in one year.

So, let’s compare this relatively short time here to, let’s say forever. Time without end once you die. That’s the part I already described as a long time gone.

Consider this.

Your body finally gives out. And you breathe your last breath. Then, you go from this finite life to some sort of infinite existence. Sure, you might be one of those who subscribes to the blackness theory. But I’ll save that issue for later.

OK, place 25,000 days up next to forever. And those 25,000 days are gonna look like our beautiful sun up next to UY Scuti. According to those who measure and track such things, it’s a “variable hypergiant star with a radius around 1,700 times larger than the sun.”

That’s a HUGE difference. But still doesn’t even begin to skim the surface of forever.

Nope, there’s really no comparison. Now, if I’m wrong about where we go when we die, this is all a moot point. And one day (for a short time) I’ll either look like a dork or none of us will exist anymore and it won’t matter to me or anyone else.

But, let’s say, just for the sake of discussion, that I’m right when I say there’s a Heaven and a hell. And let’s just say, for the sake of discussion about your soul, that getting to Heaven is a pretty easy thing to do. All you gotta do is trust in the One who built it for you.

I, for one, don’t wanna even remotely miss out on such an awesome, free gift. But, for most people on the planet, MY worldview is silliness. So, here’s the thing. Both views can’t be right. I stake my life and my soul on being right about this.

What If I’m Right?

You think it’s wrong to talk of only one Way.
Live and let live is something you always say.
How could there be a God who no one can see?
When bad things happen, you say “Where can He be?”

You want some proof; maybe a word or a sign
That our existence could be all by design.
I say the proof is in the feel of a song.
But it’s invisible so you say I’m wrong.

But what if I’m right? What if it’s true
All of these things I’ve been sayin’ to you?
What if you die and it’s not the end?
What if your life is nothing you can defend?
You think I’m wrong and that I don’t walk in the light,
But what if I’m right?

So many people living inside a dream
Making a choice that even God won’t redeem.
I say choose Jesus because this life’s not long.
You say it’s nonsense, and you tell me I’m wrong.

But what if I’m right?

© 2008

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Tony Funderburk Posted on by

As the “hallowed evening” fast approaches, I see souls scatter like startled roaches. Some parts of it are kinda funny. But most are like the “love of money.”

Yeah, Halloween (Neewollah, as its known in Independence, Kansas) sure brings out the people who love to live in the dark.

And I mean that mostly literally. After all, it IS “hallowed evening.”

Most of the “fun” doesn’t happen in bright, sunny daylight hours.

Even without the costumes, you can find an excessive amount of what I call street zombies. People who oftentimes resemble the walking dead. And more and more you’ll see them in the alleys and even front and back yards of regular citizens. Caught on security cameras. And Ring doorbell cameras.

Sadly, this time of year, they basically blend in with the dark side that appears to be growing, exponentially, all around.

But, then again, it’s actually not surprising. Because America, generally speaking, is in a downward spiral. Turning its back on God. And, in the process, it lost its blessed status.

And that’s because most would rather live in the dark and be their own kings (and queens) than  show humility to the one, true King. But here’s the thing.

When you prefer a hallowed evening over God’s light…

You Just Don’t Get It

You want to live the way you want to live
And you want to be your own king
You think you’re wise enough to rule your world
And handle everything
But how much happiness is in your life
How many friends do you know
Who would give up their lives to give you yours
Do you think any would show

Well you idolize with your idle eyes
Your body wants what it wants, and you let it
You identify what you deify
You’ll see the kingdom, but you just don’t get it

You can’t submit to any higher will
You’d rather live in the dark
Well, you can have exactly what you say
Look where you’re making your mark

Chorus

Don’t you think you should think about it
Do you know all there is to know
There’s a choice; you can’t live without it
You can be sure where you’re gonna go…

inst…chorus…repeat to end

© 1997 Tony Funderburk

(You can hear this song, when you subscribe to the The Power of God’s Love Podcast)

Join the growing body of believers who signed up for the Tony’s Rhyme and Reason Daily Devotional. And receive daily, delightful dashes of salt and flashes of light from the power of God’s love.

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Tony Funderburk Posted on by

The Hollies sang about the symbiotic relationship between humans and plants. What? You didn’t know that? Well, then you obviously never heard them sing, “All I need is the air that I breathe” in one of their hit songs. Sorry you missed it. Nice song with great harmonies.

“What’s that? You don’t understand how that’s symbiotic?”

OK, here’s the bare bones explanation of the symbiotic relationship between us and plants. You and I exhale carbon dioxide. And trees (and plant life in general) need carbon dioxide to thrive. At the same time, trees, and the rest of the plant kingdom, produce oxygen after taking in carbon dioxide. See? We need plants, and they need us.

So, I’m gonna go out on a limb (see what I did there?) and leap to the conclusion that we must have all been created at about the same time.

Still not convinced on how this symbiotic stuff works?

Want another example of these relationships?

OK. How about honeybees? I love honeybees. Because they’re cute little creatures who stay busy all day gathering pollen from flowers just to make the sweetener for my coffee.

How thoughtful.

So, pollen-bearing plants need honeybees. And honeybees need those plants and other bees. The queen bee, worker bees, and drones all need each other. Because if any one of them had evolved without the other, they wouldn’t have been able to survive.

Creation explains and clarifies their existence. Evolution doesn’t.

I’m gonna keep on sharing the story of how creation beautifully explains our existence and how everything makes so much sense. It’s all because all of creation had a common designer. Not a common ancestor.

Jesus made you. He’s logical, sensible, personal, reasonable, and loving. And it makes so much more sense to believe in being designed by someone like that than simply popping up out of slime. Because being designed inspires trust and hope. Mutating into existence doesn’t.

The Very First Day

Before there were created things, and darkness filled the air…
No world or human beings were existing anywhere.
Then God created earth and sea and all the heavens too.
There was no sun, no moon, no stars, & only God shone through.

He looked down at the waters and the dark face of the deep.
The earth was still and quiet just as we are when we sleep.
He said, “Let there be light” the way a perfect, true God could,
And then He saw the brand new light and knew that it was good.

Then God divided light and dark, and darkness He called Night.
The light would be called Day, and it was pleasing in His sight.
That evening and that morning wouldn’t be the total sum…
No, that was just the very first day. Five were yet to come.

© 2013

Now, maybe you don’t know me well enough to buy something from me, yet. Ok, let’s change that. Get to know more about me and my worldview. Join the growing body of believers who’ve signed up for the Tony’s Rhyme and Reason Daily Devotional. And bask in daily, delightful flashes of light from the power of God’s love.

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Tony Funderburk Posted on by

You’re probably never gonna grab a needle and thread and sew anything. So, on the surface, maybe what I’m about to say won’t interest you at all. But bear with me.

Because I’m gonna connect a needle and thread to God.

“I call that mighty bold talk for a one-eyed fat man,” you say, quoting a line from True Grit.

OK, setting my fragile feelings aside, after that snide remark from the peanut gallery, I’ll continue for the sake of the mind that seeks wisdom and understanding.

Let’s say you get a crazy notion to grab some notions, needle, and thread and tackle an easy sewing project. But, as you look around your crafting area, you can’t find a needle. Fear not. Worry not. I have the solution for you, oh intrepid one.

D.I.Y.

Yep. Make your own needle. What’s that? You think that would be too difficult? And it’s too silly to even consider? Well, then you obviously haven’t researched the subject. Or else you’d see how easy it is. As in these instructions I found this morning.

“An essential tool for hand sewing is the humble sewing needle. While sewing needles can be purchased very cheaply, there is something deeply satisfying about crafting your own from scratch. If you’re short on time, here’s the quick answer to making your own sewing needle: Select a thin, straight piece of steel wire. File the tip to a sharp point on one end and insert into a needle blank (wood, plastic, or bone). Sand any rough edges. Make an eye hole on the blunt end and thread your needle!”

Voila! Presto! And Shazam! I told you it would be easy.

And that info came straight from the internet. So, they couldn’t say it if it wasn’t sew. Uh, I mean, so. Now, I could share the more complex, 11-step instructions on how to create your own sewing needles. Seriously. I could. But, as I mentioned earlier, I doubt you’re ever gonna sew anything from scratch. Especially if scratch includes making your own needles.

Anyway…

The reason I brought it up in the first place is because of how tiny those handy little devices are. Yeah, needles can be extremely tiny. So, the hole where you slip the thread through (aka: the eye) is even tinier. In fact, it’s so tiny that sewing machine manufacturers came up with a way for the machine to thread a needle for you. It’s ingenious. Elgielene sews. And I’ve watched the process in action. It’s fascinating. And fast.

If you’ve ever tried to thread a needle, you understand the value of that.

But I didn’t just bring up needles and thread to talk about how small they are. Or even to talk about sewing for that matter. Nope. I brought it up because God says it’s “easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”

And I thought about all this, earlier this morning, after I re-read four lines of poetry I wrote a while back. And I wrote the four lines in response to some social media discussion about Jeff Bezos and his yacht.

The little boat is named “Koru.”

It’s 417 feet long. If you like sports comparisons, that means it’s as long as a football field PLUS another 117 feet.

An article I read said that’s a “Māori phrase” for “new beginnings.” Which I think is a little bit ironic. Because I don’t think Mr. Bezos realizes how much he’ll need a new beginning one day in the not-too-distant future. I hope he changes his status before it’s too late. Because, even though his head is totally shaved, he ain’t ridin’ that yacht through the eye of a needle.

Coffee on a yacht is better than not
Having either a coffee or yacht.
And on second thought, if one must be not,
Give me coffee and not the yacht.

Now, maybe you don’t know me well enough to buy something from me, yet. Ok, let’s change that. Get to know more about me and my worldview. Join the growing body of believers who’ve signed up for the Tony’s Rhyme and Reason Daily Devotional. And bask in daily, delightful flashes of light from the power of God’s love.

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Tony Funderburk Posted on by

Humans sure are stupid things. If you’re not a human, then you’re probably giggling to yourself, “You can say that again.” Ok, I will.

Humans sure are stupid things.

Now, I’m pretty sure you’re a human. Because as far as my software has been able to detect, no aliens (from other worlds, not criminals from other countries) have signed up for my writings.

So, since it’s likely you ARE one of the earthly homo sapiens, do you agree with me? You know what? Don’t answer that. Because you ARE also of the stupidocitus humanicus strain. But if makes you feel any better (and I doubt it will), so am I.

Yeah. The video replay of my life, that projects across the screen of my mind’s eye, shows plenty of, let’s say, an abundance of less than stellar choices and decisions.

And here’s something that’s even more disturbing. There’s almost a 100% chance I’ll add to those  sad stats. Because, darn it, I’m still one of those stupid things. At least as long as the air from this broken-down planet, spinning elliptically around the sun, flows through my compromised lungs.

(I should probably wear one of these t-shirts)

But don’t think for even a nano-infinitessimal-quantum second that I’ll give up my breathing habit. Not without a fight. Because as stupid as I’ve been in this life, I’m still saved from it. And knowing that motivates me to tell anyone, who’ll listen to or read my words, how that happened.

Maybe that’s why the most well-known Paul wrote this:

Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. 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.

Yeah, that helps persuade me, too. To look up even as I predict bad stuff. You do, too. Right?

I have seen the tides of freedom
Swept onto the shores of man.
I have seen the storm of greed
Take it all away again.

© 1977

Maybe you don’t know me well enough to buy something from me, yet. Ok, then get to know more about me and my worldview. Join the growing body of believers who’ve signed up for the Tony’s Rhyme and Reason Daily Devotional. And enjoy my daily flashes of light from the power of God’s love.

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Tony Funderburk Posted on by

Elgielene and I buy frozen blueberries. And we don’t thaw them out. Just thought I’d share that with you. Ha! No, I brought it up for a reason. And not because she says the frozen blueberries are like tiny, round popsicles. I mentioned them because they remind me of a frozen embryo story I wrote about.

You know a frozen embryo is a human being. Right?

Well, if it’s a frozen human embryo, it is. And the story I wanna share (again) is about the human kind. And I wanna share this story again because it’s so awesome for multiple reasons. Here you go:

Imagine you’re a 5 year old girl and a doctor tells your parents you have sickle-cell anemia. By the ripe ol’ age of 11 you get so sick your parents move to another country. Because they want to make sure you can get a bone transplant from your brother. Then, at 13, doctors decide you’ll need chemotherapy. They say kids endure this treatment much better than adults. But they also know you show signs of puberty. And they know chemo has a high risk of damaging your ovaries.

Are you with me so far? Great.

Now, imagine doctors and/or parents who have so much foresight they remove part of your right ovary and freeze it. Because they hope someone will be able to graft it back in when you mature.

Wow. That’s really thinking ahead. And it’s very optimistic (which I admire).

Anyway…

Let’s say about 10 years later doctors DO graft four parts of that frozen ovarian tissue back into your remaining ovary. Do you think that ovary could grow eggs? Even if it did, could that lead to pregnancy? Would you believe me if I told you it happened?

Yep, this is a true story.

It’s not some tale fresh out of my fruitful imagination. And the young woman, in her middle twenties, became pregnant and gave birth to a baby boy. A healthy baby boy who weighed in at almost 7 pounds. I’ve read a couple of articles about this event. And everyone is happy about how it turned out.

But I’ve yet to read if anyone else thinks it’s an incredible display of God’s design. Because the human gene pool is so diluted and broken now that it almost seems impossible to reuse a frozen ovary, much less a frozen embryo.

So, it’s like this. It’s one thing to remove and freeze a part of a 13 year old girl’s ovary. But it’s even more amazing to graft that part back in about 10 years later. And it’s even more amazing for the young woman to produce eggs. And, to top it off, the young woman gets pregnant?! Now, that’s design!

And not just any design. That’s infinitely complex and wonderful design only a loving God could or would do. He placed key information into each cell of your body. And from His Spirit, He poured life into that information. We humans have come a long way in our ability to understand that information. So far, in fact, that we can now freeze embryos and body parts and put them back into use years later.

We still can’t create Life.

We can only procreate.

So, it’s important to be grateful to the one true, living, loving God who designed you that way. Because He encoded your cells with information that determined the color of your eyes and hair. And whether you’d be a male or female (the only two choices) with human body parts.

And that information determined your heart would beat on its own, your brain would interpret sensory experiences, and your eyes would encode and decode images in nanoseconds.

God’s information is in your cells and your very soul. So, you have life. AND you can also be aware of your own existence. And He designed you to be fruitful and multiply. Even if you started out as a frozen embryo. So, pass on this information boldly. And with all the love you can muster.

Here’s a life-affirming rhyme to help you remember:

Intelligent design and DNA,
Scholars can’t explain it all away.
Get ready to be awed
By the handiwork of God.

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