Awaken to Joy

Posted on July 27, 2016 by billtonnis

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The American dream can sometimes be a nightmare in the kingdom of God.

(Listen to my song “You’ll Lead Me” by clicking HERE)

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Matthew 13:44

“The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in a field, which a person finds and hides again, and out of joy goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.”

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Jesus seldom spoke of some future reward in some distant heaven. He usually spoke about “the kingdom of heaven” or “the kingdom of God” in terms of the present.

This kingdom is SO valuable…SO worth experiencing…that it would be well worth selling all that we owned to attain it. And Jesus said that we would do so…with joy.

Perhaps if we could sever our attachments to our possessions…as well as to power and prestige…we would be free to find this spiritual treasure?

Once these attachments are no longer at the root of our motivations (as they often are in consumer cultures)…our eyes would be open to the treasure of God’s unconditional love and acceptance that is always available. Up to now…it just seemed hidden.

The kingdom of God might take you by surprise!

Your reward would be inner peace and joy…right now.

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Listen to the song of the day “You’ll Lead Me” by clicking HERE.

Sample and/or purchase my songs by clicking HERE.

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

Remember…God loves you!

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Showered by Love

Posted on July 26, 2016 by billtonnis

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All are one in God.

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

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Jeremiah 14:22

Among the nations’ idols is there any that gives rain? O can the mere heavens send showers? Is it not you alone, O Lord, our God, to whom we look? You alone have done all these things.

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God causes the rain to fall on all people…the just and the unjust alike.

Some say, “Unfair!” Our egos don’t like this unconditional love of God!

Have you heard that “ego” stands for “Edge-God-Out”?

God is generous beyond our understanding…even to those we dislike. 

Jesus told us that we must love our enemies. This is a hard saying when we are operating from a mind that is constantly dividing people into who are “in” and who are “out.”

What we need is a transformed mind.

In the words of St. Paul: “Do not conform yourself to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect” (Romans 12:2).

This is not by our own doing…but totally by the grace of God.

Our minds need to be changed by the unconditional love of God…who sends the rains on all people as one body of Christ.

And may we all respond as one, “Amen!”

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

Sample and/or purchase my songs by clicking HERE.

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

Remember…God loves you!

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Trust in Love

Posted on July 25, 2016 by billtonnis

earth_sprout_dirt

Struggles lead to new life if you’re open to change.

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

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2 Corinthians 4:11

For we who live are constantly being given up to death for the sake of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may be manifested in our mortal flesh.

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Something BIG is going on.

Our Creator’s plan is unfolding…and has been unfolding for millennia.

Dying and rising has been ongoing. It is happening all around us.

Life is being transformed through change. God is at work in the very fabric of  it all.

Jesus showed us that the way to life…is through death.

It is a constant process of letting-go…dying to our egocentric desires for power, prestige and possessions…so that God’s desires for us can rise and be manifested instead.

When I “die” to my desires…there is an opening for God’s desires to rise in me. The risen Christ…a transformed life in spirit and truth…can live in me so that I can become the hands and feet of Christ to the world.

Giving up our egocentric pursuits will feel like dying because we are letting go…but the payoff is in the becoming conscious of our true selves.

Dying always leads to new life as Love transforms us…and gives us what we truly need…as any loving parent would do!

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

Sample and/or purchase my songs by clicking HERE.

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

Remember…God loves you!

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Mary Magdalene

Posted on July 22, 2016 by billtonnis

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Let us honor the “Apostle of the Apostles.”

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

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John 20:18
Mary of Magdala went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord,” and what he told her.

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Mary Magdalene is finally getting the recognition due her.

Pope Francis recently upgraded the July 22 “memorial” in her honor…to a “feast” on the church’s liturgical calendar. A decree formalizing the decision was titled “Apostle of the Apostles.”

Her recognition is long…long…long overdue. (For years, Mary was falsely remembered as a prostitute based on no evidence to support such a claim.)

The gospels say that Mary Magdalene was present at the crucifixion, present when Jesus’ body was taken from the cross and present when he was put in the tomb.

What strength and courage!

How eventful and noteworthy that Jesus selected her to be the first witness to his astounding resurrection and to be the first person instructed by Jesus himself to announce the most amazing news that had ever…or would ever…happen!

In a world dominated by men, where women were servants and had no rights, it was Mary of Magdala who was selected to inform the other disciples of the Good News!

I wonder how well that went over with the other disciples? In St. Luke’s account…the disciples did not believe.

It may be uncomfortable for each of us at times to be messengers of the Good News that God’s love is unconditional and triumphs over death.

On such occasions…take courage…and think of Mary of Magdala.

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Listen to the song of the day “Glorify You with Me” by clicking HERE.

Sample and/or purchase my songs by clicking HERE.

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

Remember…God loves you!

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Agape

Posted on July 21, 2016 by billtonnis

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God’s love is boundless and without borders. How about yours?

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

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Psalm 36:6

Lord, your love reaches to heaven; your fidelity, to the clouds.

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God’s extreme, extravagant love is so immense…so amazing…so beyond what we can fathom…it boggles our minds. It’s beyond reason.

Love with NO conditions!

Throw out rational logic. Just accept it.

Laws and rules are needed…but with Jesus…love always had the final say.

And so it is with our Creator.

Jesus repeatedly forgave sinners even when they didn’t ask for forgiveness. A legalistic mind cannot handle that. You are loved just because you are God’s beloved.

It has nothing to do with what you do…but who God is.

Allow that to settle in your heart.

It will transform you…which is exactly what God wants…so you can share it with others.

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

Sample and/or purchase my songs by clicking HERE.

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

Remember…God loves you!

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Listen to Your Heart

Posted on July 20, 2016 by billtonnis

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If your life seems empty…perhaps you are ignoring your Inner Voice?

(Listen to my song “Listen to Your Heart” by clicking HERE)

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Matthew 13:2
Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat down, and the whole crowd stood along the shore.

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Jesus was quite the attraction. But he did not want to be a celebrity.

While our culture flocks to worship celebrities who identify with their power, prestige and wealth…Jesus identified with no thing.

His identity was not attached to the stuff of this world. He spoke of equality, justice for the poor, compassion, humility and detachment from possessions…not renouncing them but just not identifying with them.

While our culture promotes and esteems competition as the pinnacle principle to success (as in climbing to the top)…Jesus promoted service and reaching out to help those who were left behind or cast out (as in joining those at the bottom).

Jesus never preached winning…but rather helping the one who is losing.

While our culture clamors to attain more…more and more…Jesus calls us to aspire to attain less. The less you have…the less opportunity for attachments.

Power, prestige and possessions will never satisfy on the soul level.

If you are looking for soul satisfaction…why not turn to the man who said he was “the way, the truth and the life” (John 14:6)? Crowds came to hear Jesus speak.

Do we make the same effort to listen to him speak through scripture and quiet meditation?

Set aside some time to simply sit and listen.

It just might change your life…and set you free.

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Listen to the song of the day “Listen to Your Heart” by clicking HERE.

Sample and/or purchase my songs by clicking HERE.

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

Remember…God loves you!

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Good News

Posted on July 19, 2016 by billtonnis

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You were loved into existence by a Love that has no end.

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

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Micah 7:19

You will cast into the depths of the sea all our sins.

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There is a grand plan for all of creation to reach its fullness. We are part of that plan.

All we need to do is awaken to who we are as a beloved son or daughter of God…to awaken to our wholeness in God.

Each of us is flawed in our humanness. Each of us is imperfect.

That is totally okay.

It is in our imperfection that we meet God.

It is not the place where God is unhappy with us or wants to punish us. It is the place where God yearns to be with us and transform us with unconditional love and acceptance.

Why would God make us imperfect and then punish us for being imperfect?

God’s love for us does not change.

It is our very imperfections that lead us to discover the love, mercy, forgiveness and compassion of God.

Jesus showed us that God always responds with love and forgiveness (“Father, forgive them, they know not what they do” – Luke 23:34).

It is the only way to transformation and wholeness…or in a word, “salvation.”

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

Sample and/or purchase my songs by clicking HERE.

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

Remember…God loves you!

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Life Changing Formula

Posted on July 18, 2016 by billtonnis

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Do justice, love goodness and walk humbly with your Creator.

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

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Micah 6:8

You have been told, O mortal, what is good, and what the Lord requires of you: Only to do justice and to love goodness, and to walk humbly with your God.

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What if everyone lived by those words?

When it comes to my next action or next decision…what if I asked whether the option I was about to choose was “just”? And not only “just” to me…but to others?

Am I “just” in how my lifestyle affects others…not only those around me but even in other parts of the world?

How do my actions affect the poor?

Do I truly “love goodness” and demonstrate it by the way I speak, act and think?

Am I bringing my decisions before God and admitting that I don’t know the clear-cut answer all the time but am humbly asking God to show me the way?

One person who demonstrated for us how to live…is Jesus.

Spend some time reading and reflecting on his words in the Gospels. Allow them to sink into your soul…and then act in a like manner.

If you are a Christian…then you are called to follow him.

If we did this…we just might find that we are “not far from the kingdom of God” (Mark 12:34).

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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 by clicking HERE.

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

Remember…God loves you!

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Love Transforms Lives

Posted on July 15, 2016 by billtonnis

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When faced with difficult issues…weigh your decisions with mercy.

(Listen to my song “Mercy Reigns” by clicking HERE)

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Matthew 12:7
If you knew what this meant, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned these innocent men.

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Jesus continues his lesson today on mercy.

His followers were picking beads of grain and eating them on the Sabbath. Such “reaping” on the Sabbath was forbidden by religious law.

But the scripture says that his followers were “hungry.”

The religious leaders called Jesus to task for allowing them to break the law.

But for Jesus, love and mercy always overruled the law.

His followers were hungry…therefore the loving and merciful response was to allow them to eat.

Laws are necessary to provide stability and avoid chaos as well as to give us a good foundation…but rigidly following them can make you heartless and cruel.

Following laws does not win you favor with God. You already have favor by being God’s beloved daughter or son.

Notice how quickly Jesus disregarded the law in favor of mercy in regard to his hungry followers.

It was not an “either-or” decision for Jesus…but rather a “both-and”.

He could both respect the law…and break it when love demanded it.

Are you able to do the same?

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Listen to my song of the day “Mercy Reigns” by clicking HERE.

Sample and/or purchase my songs by clicking HERE.

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

Remember…God loves you!

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Trust in Eternal Love

Posted on July 14, 2016 by billtonnis

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Keep in mind…that God wants to comfort you.

(Listen to my song “Mercy Reigns” by clicking HERE)

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Matthew 11:28
“Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest.”

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Jesus was speaking to the people burdened by being held to the letter of the law by their religious leaders.

Sometimes life hands us situations that do not fit so easily into “black and white” categories. We must look at these situations…through the lens of love and compassion.

Jesus simply invited people to bring their struggles to him. There was no judgment…no condemnation…only acceptance and mercy.

Jesus invites us to follow his ways with the assurance that this path will bring us inner peace.

Are you struggling with issues in your life or your faith?

Let Jesus’ words be a comfort to you.

God looks at you through the lens of unconditional love.

Allow that gaze to settle upon you.

Share that gaze with others who struggle in the “gray” areas of life’s issues.

And while you’re at it…let your loving gaze…fall upon yourself…and find rest.

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Listen to the song of the day “Mercy Reigns” by clicking HERE.

Sample and/or purchase my songs by clicking HERE.

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

Remember…God loves you!

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