Abundant Life

Posted on June 6, 2017 by billtonnis

heart_lake_ripples

What if love was always the main motivator of our actions?

(Listen to my song “Pour Me Out” by clicking HERE)

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Mark 12:17

So Jesus said to them, “Repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.”

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So…what really belonged to Caesar?

What truly belongs to any of us that isn’t given by the Giver of all?

All material things will eventually disintegrate.

But Christians (and many spiritual people) believe that our souls…our spirits…will go on.

Death does not have the final say.

So in reality…everything belongs to God.

If it weren’t for the Creator…nothing would exist.

I’m sure Jesus would have been for contributing to earthly governments what they need to maintain the common good. But how can we repay God for all we’ve been given?

How can I repay God for my life and eternal life to come?

Our loving Creator has given us everything. Receive this gratuitous gift of grace.

What shall we give in return?

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Listen to the song of the day “Pour Me Out” by clicking HERE.

Sample and/or purchase my songs on iTunes by clicking HERE.

CD’s available for purchase at BillTonnisMusic.com by clicking HERE.

Remember…God loves you!

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Christ Light

Posted on June 5, 2017 by billtonnis

lighthouse_beams_night

Be a beacon of goodness.

(Listen to my song “May I Be Light” by clicking HERE)

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Psalm 112:4

They shine through the darkness, a light for the upright; they are gracious, merciful, and just.

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Those who love God and their neighbor as themselves (meaning “as though their neighbor is themselves”)…the Light of God inside them will shine.

They will be a beacon of love, mercy, grace, forgiveness, compassion and justice.

As they pour out this light to the world…more Light will be received from our Divine Source in an endless flow.

They will truly shine a light into the darkness of selfishness, greed, power, elitism and corruption.

This light will not be condemning, arrogant, self-righteous or brash…but accepting, humble, self-giving and confident.

Such a light does not destroy or eliminate anything…but includes all things.

Jesus was such a Light. May we follow his example.

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Listen to the song of the day “May I Be Light” by clicking HERE.

Sample and/or purchase my songs on iTunes by clicking HERE.

CD’s available for purchase at BillTonnisMusic.com by clicking HERE.

Remember…God loves you!

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Christian

Posted on June 2, 2017 by billtonnis

Gethsemani_path_pasture

Who is your main mentor in life?

(Listen to my song “I Want to Follow You” by clicking HERE)

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John 21:19

“Follow me.”

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The resurrected Jesus asked Peter three times if he loved him…and each time Peter told Jesus that he did.

And each time Jesus told Peter that if he loved him…then Peter would feed and tend his sheep.

Then Jesus simply said to Peter, “Follow me.”

We sometimes get caught up in all kinds of religious rules and regulations as if those were the only things that mattered.

Believing in rules is meaningless if it doesn’t lead you to compassionate and just action.

When you get down to the basics…Jesus simply asks each of us to follow him.

He is our mentor.

We are called to model his example…surrendering our egoic desires and reaching out to help those in need.

Allow this experience to transform you so that you can put on the mind of Christ.

As St. Paul put it, “Do not conform yourselves to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind” (Romans 12:2).

This is being a Christian.

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Listen to the song of the day “I Want to Follow You” by clicking HERE.

Sample and/or purchase my songs on iTunes by clicking HERE.

CD’s  available for purchase at BillTonnisMusic.com by clicking HERE.

Remember…God loves you!

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Glory Be

Posted on June 1, 2017 by billtonnis

grain_mountains_sky

Love has no divisions.

(Listen to my song “Glorify You with Me” by clicking HERE)

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John 17:22-23

“And I have given them the glory you gave me, so that they may be one, as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may be brought to perfection as one, that the world may know that you sent me, and that you loved them even as you loved me.”

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Jesus is attempting to put into words something that is beyond our ability to mentally grasp.

He wants us…ALL of us…including the people we don’t like…including the people we disagree with…including the people of every nation…to be ONE…as Jesus is ONE with God.

Jesus wants all of us to know we are included in him…as ONE body of Christ.

The mystical truth is…we are already ONE.

To not see this…to create artificial divisions…is to live in a delusion.

God loves us unconditionally…such that Jesus was willing to lay down his life to show what that kind of love looks like. 

It’s a Love that would die for the beloved…even when the beloved has completely rejected that Love.

Jesus also showed us that such a Love totally poured out…does not end but is transformed into new life.

This is what “saves” you.

This is the glory given by God to Jesus and shared with each of us.

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Listen to the song of the day “Breathe On Me” by clicking HERE.

Sample and/or purchase my songs on iTunes by clicking HERE.

CD’s available for purchase at BillTonnisMusic.com by clicking HERE.

Remember…Jesus loves you!

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Calling

Posted on May 31, 2017 by billtonnis

Falls_lake_green

Self-emptying love is our life’s purpose.

(Listen to my song “Salvation” by clicking HERE)

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Romans 12:12-14

Rejoice in hope, endure in affliction, persevere in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the holy ones, exercise hospitality. Bless those who persecute [you], bless and do not curse them.

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When it comes to rejoicing in hope, enduring in affliction and persevering in prayer…well that’s a tall order but many are able to understand it and put it into practice.

But…when it comes to the rest of St. Paul’s statement above…I think you’ll find plenty of opposition.

Are the holy ones deserving of my contribution to their needs? What if they are slackers?

What’s with this exercise hospitality stuff? Yes but…not those people.

And when it comes to blessing those who persecute you…you’d be hard pressed to find examples of people who practice that.

Actually…this one doesn’t compute to our basic binary brain function which says: Being good gets you a reward; being bad gets you punished.

Period.

But not so with Jesus…and not so with St. Paul.

It took being transformed by forgiveness and grace for Paul to get to this place of radical love.

Make no mistake…this is what Christians are called to do…all of it.

If you need inspiration…gaze at Jesus hanging on the cross. Gaze at love poured out to demonstrate the extreme example of responding to evil with love.

His demonstration was done on behalf of those who were totally unworthy.

That includes you and me.

He calls us to do the same.

Allow this knowledge to marinate in your heart.

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Listen to the song of the day “Salvation” by clicking HERE

Sample and/or purchase my songs on iTunes by clicking HERE.

CD’s available for purchase at BillTonnisMusic.com by clicking HERE.

Remember…God loves you!

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Share

Posted on May 30, 2017 by billtonnis

rain_drops_sunset

God is showering Unconditional Love on everyone and everything.

(Listen to my song “Pour Me Out” by clicking HERE)

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Acts 20:24

I consider life of no importance to me, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to bear witness to the gospel of God’s grace.

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I truly believe each of us needs to read St. Paul’s words above as if we were saying them about ourselves.

What ministry did you receive from Jesus?

If you prefer…what ministry did you receive from God?

Or…if you prefer, how are you uniquely sharing the unconditional Love of the Maker of all creation in the way you are living your life?

We are all called to “bear witness to the gospel of God’s grace.”

How beautiful…to bear witness to the good news of the gratuitous and unmerited abundance of love that God pours out upon us!

All you need to do is to truly be present to the moment, receive this Love and then share it through your gifts, talents and passion.

That will require letting go of your egos’ insatiable desires so that your true self can emerge.

Take a few minutes to rest in the Presence of Infinite Grace.

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Listen to the song of the day “Pour Me Out” by clicking HERE.

Sample and/or purchase my songs on iTunes by clicking HERE.

CD’s available for purchase at BillTonnisMusic.com by clicking HERE.

Remember…God loves you!

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Cheers!

Posted on May 26, 2017 by billtonnis

starry_sky_canyon

We are created and sustained by an Eternal Love.

(Listen to my song “Give Praise and Thanks” by clicking HERE)

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Psalm 47:2

All you peoples, clap your hands; shout to God with joyful cries. For the Lord, the Most High, inspires awe…

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In the midst of struggles and hardships…there is much to be thankful for…to be in amazement over.

Look at the mind-boggling expanse of the universe (which is still expanding).

Look at the beauty of a tiny flower.

Look at the mountains or the sun setting on the ocean.

And each of us…each of us is part of this awesome creation.

Each of us is loved unconditionally by our Creator.

We are surrounded with and immersed in blessings.

Take a moment to give praise and thanks.

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Listen to the song of the day “Give Praise and Thanks” by clicking HERE.

Sample and/or purchase my songs on iTunes by clicking HERE.

CD’s available for purchase at BillTonnisMusic.com by clicking HERE.

Remember…God loves you!

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Grace Abounds

Posted on May 25, 2017 by billtonnis

sunrise_man_leaping

Letting go leads to life to the full.

(Listen to my song “God Is the Goal” by clicking HERE)

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Acts 1:3

He presented himself alive to them by many proofs after he had suffered, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.

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Jesus’ resurrection changed everything.

It validated his life’s mission…and that was to bring about the “kingdom of God.”

The “kingdom” of which Jesus speaks is one where love, mercy, forgiveness, compassion and sharing are the keys to living…not power, prestige, wealth and domination.

The “kingdom of God” is founded in the process of letting go…and is grounded in Grace.

Despite Jesus’ Gospel message…his followers asked if he was going to “restore the kingdom to Israel?”

They still didn’t get it…and 2000 years later…the world still doesn’t.

Each of us needs to ask ourselves whether we are living for the kingdom of God…or the kingdom of the world?

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Listen to the song of the day “God Is the Goal” by clicking HERE.

Sample and/or purchase my songs on iTunes by clicking HERE.

CD’s available for purchase at BillTonnisMusic.com by clicking HERE.

Remember…God loves you!

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Life Giver

Posted on May 24, 2017 by billtonnis

dandelion_field_breeze

God is as close to you as your breath.

(Listen to my song “Breathe On Me” by clicking HERE)

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Acts 17:26-28

“…he fixed the ordered seasons and the boundaries of their regions, so that people might seek God, even perhaps grope for him and find him, though indeed he is not far from any one of us. For ‘In him we live and move and have our being.’”

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The seasons remind us that the budding life of spring…flourishes in summer but wanes in autumn and then withers in winter.

How sad if that was the end.

But it’s not.

Life is revived again in the spring. God is Present throughout.

Sometimes God seems so far away. Other times, God’s Presence fills us as we experience a joyful smile…a beautiful sunset…a selfless act of kindness or a loving hug.

God is with us through each of our cycles of dying and rising. There is an emptying…and then a refilling and God is in the midst of it all.

“In him we live and move and have our being.”

God is a mystery…way beyond the grasp of our minds. But within each of us is an intense longing to know our Creator.

Could that be because God has first longed for us and we are simply responding?

Be present to this inner longing.

Rest in the peace and quiet of each moment…where God yearns to be with you.

Set aside ten or twenty minutes today to simply be.

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Listen to the song of the day “Breathe On Me” by clicking HERE.

Sample and/or purchase my songs on iTunes by clicking HERE.

CD’s available for purchase at BillTonnisMusic.com by clicking HERE.

Remember…God loves you!

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Big Picture

Posted on May 23, 2017 by billtonnis

space_stars

The Love that creates and sustains the universe…is Infinite.

(Listen to my song “God Is” by clicking HERE)

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Psalm 138:8

The Lord is with me to the end. Lord, your love endures forever.

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As we grow older it becomes more apparent how fragile life really is…and how precious.

We sooner or later realize that material things eventually lose their luster and crumble.

Some relationships change and wither.

How wonderful it is to know that God never changes.

Our Creator’s love for us is constant, deep and eternal.

It always was and always will be.

Love “bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things” (1 Corinthians 13:7).

It’s a Love that holds you now.

Put your faith in that. Be present to it.

And don’t worry…because this Love will never let you go.

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Listen to the song of the day “God Is” by clicking HERE.

Sample and/or purchase my songs on iTunes by clicking HERE.

CD’s available for purchase at BillTonnisMusic.com by clicking HERE.

Remember…God loves you!

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