Break the Chains

Posted on March 10, 2015 by billtonnis

Matthew 18:21-22
Then Peter approaching asked him, “Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus answered, “I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times.”

What Jesus means here is that we must forgive always. By forgiving another…we free ourselves from the bondage of resentment. If there is just one person who we refuse to forgive…we are still in chains. That doesn’t mean we have to accept being treated unjustly or to accept others being treated unjustly. Jesus confronted all the unjust systems of government and religion and worked at changing them…but He did it with love, compassion and forgiveness…not with hate and violence. Jesus showed us the ultimate example of forgiveness when He looked down from the cross and said, “Father, forgive them, they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34). The people Jesus was forgiving…had not even asked to be forgiven! Jesus sets the bar very high…and commands us to follow. Just like Jesus, we will also encounter resistance, struggles and persecution…in other words…the cross. But Jesus showed us that we can do it…if we are present to God’s Presence walking with us. Such forgiveness is transforming! Many who witness our walk will then be open to God’s transformative Love as well. Jesus showed us that at the other side of all struggles and adversity…there will always be resurrection and new life.

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Be

Posted on March 9, 2015 by billtonnis

Psalm 42:2-3
As the deer longs for streams of water, so my soul longs for you, O God. My being thirsts for God, the living God.

We each have a deep yearning inside…a yearning that longs to be satisfied. Why is it that we either try to numb and cover-up that yearning…or try to satisfy it with material or physical things? The yearning is on the “soul” level. It’s a spiritual longing…a longing for the experience of God’s deep, unconditional love. In reality…it may be God’s longing to commune with you. Are you conscious of God’s Presence or are you too distracted? How are you experiencing God? What “frequency” is God “coming in” on? Is it through music, silence, art, nature…or something else? Maybe it is all of those? Immerse yourself in that Presence of God wherever you are. God is as close to you as your very breath. Breathe in deeply…and exhale. Allow God to nourish you. Be present this moment; Open your heart, mind and soul to the Loving Presence of God right now.

Listen to the song of the day “Breathe On Me” by clicking HERE
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Remember…God loves you!

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Building the Kingdom of God

Posted on March 6, 2015 by billtonnis

Matthew 21:43
Therefore, I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that will produce its fruit.

Are you producing more kindness, compassion, goodwill and generosity with your life? The Pharisees were definitely not. Jesus was again criticizing them for strictly enforcing religious rules with no regard to love. The kingdom of God…or the reign of God…is a state of being that we begin to enter into when we are consciously present to the flow of God’s unconditional love. This is “being in the will” of God. When we are taking part in the flow of God’s Trinitarian love (an eternal flow of selfless giving and receiving) we are taking part in building the kingdom of God. But each of us has a choice of whether we want to build God’s kingdom or my kingdom. When my ego or false self is in charge…I am about building my kingdom…trying to satisfy my self-centered desires. When I am about building God’s kingdom…I am dying to my false self (ego) and am allowing Christ to live more fully in me. Then I am using my gifts and talents for God’s purposes in the service of others. When I do this it’s not so much me doing it as God doing it through me. And when this happens…paradoxically…I am being my true self. Then I will enjoy the fruits of my work…fruits that will truly satisfy my deepest yearning.

Listen to the song of the day “Shall We Sing” by clicking HERE
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Listen To Your Heart

Posted on March 5, 2015 by billtonnis

Jeremiah 17:5
Thus says the Lord: Cursed is the man who trusts in human beings, who seeks his strength in flesh, whose heart turns away from the Lord.

We spend so much time trying to please other people or fit into some image that other people or our society says is acceptable or “successful.” But what does God say? Why do we put so much credence in what others think or say and not our Creator? Only God can name you. You have been given a purpose of sharing Unconditional Love to the world in a way that only you can do with your uniqueness. There is a great quote in a documentary titled The Human Experience in which a rabbi says something to the effect that life is a grand musical composition…and God is waiting for you to provide your note. Are you looking to God…listening to God in your heart…to discover that unique note that only your life can play…or are you looking to human beings?

Listen to the song of the day “Listen to Your Heart” by clicking HERE
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Remember…God loves you!

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Let Go and Believe

Posted on March 4, 2015 by billtonnis

Psalm 31:6
Into your hands I commend my spirit; you will redeem me, Lord, faithful God.

Sometimes there are no answers. There are times in life when we come to the jarring conclusion that we are clueless as to what to do…that we are clearly unable to handle the situation alone. Easy answers are very convenient…but rob us of the necessary tough journeys of living out the answers to the questions. These journeys are critical to deepening our spiritual development and are necessary in finding out who we are and in discovering that a loving God is always embracing us along the path of discovery…a God who wants each of us to be whole and happy. Sometimes when faced with a difficult situation I simply place it in the hands of a Loving Providence. Jesus seldom gave answers but mostly taught with parables that invited His followers into paradoxical situations. As I grow older I realize more and more that wrestling with harder questions is far more enlightening than being given easy answers.

Listen to the song of the day “I Surrender” on YouTube by clicking HERE
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Giving God Praise

Posted on March 3, 2015 by billtonnis

Psalm 50:23
Those who offer praise as a sacrifice honor me.

When a tree is being a tree…it is giving praise to God. When a dog is being a dog…it is giving praise to its Maker. They really have no choice in the matter. But you and I do have a choice. We can choose whether we will be the unique people God made each of us to be…or whether we will choose to be someone else and wear masks pretending to be what we aren’t. When we take off the masks and are simply our “true selves”…each of us being the unique person God made us to be…we sacrifice all the endless yearnings of our egos to be a “false self” catering to its own whims and glory. When each of us is simply the unique masterpiece that God made us to be…we are praising God. As St. Irenaeus said, “The glory of God is the human fully alive.” Be you. No one else can do it!

Listen to the song of the day “Glorify You with Me” on YouTube by clicking HERE
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Let Go of Ego

Posted on March 2, 2015 by billtonnis

Luke 6:36-37
“Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. Stop judging and you will not be judged. Stop condemning and you will not be condemned. Forgive and you will be forgiven.”

Jesus tells us that there is a kind of divine “what goes around comes around.” It’s a sacred pattern sewn into the fabric of life. A good act has eternal reverberations which will return to you. We are called to mirror that mercy to the world…to love and forgive instead of judging and condemning. First you must experience God’s unconditional love for you. At His baptism Jesus heard God’s voice proclaiming Him His “beloved son.” Each of us is God’s “beloved.” We are to mirror God’s unconditional love and mercy since after all…we are made in God’s image. God is totally merciful…loving even when love is not returned. This is impossible as long as our egos are in charge. Fueled with the experience of His belovedness…Jesus spent 40 days in the desert to deal head-on with all the ego enticements of possessions, power & prestige. Through this struggle Jesus emptied Himself (His ego) so to live as His true self…mirroring the love, mercy, compassion and forgiveness of God to others. Lent is a good time for us to enter the desert as well.

Listen to the song of the day “Pour Me Out” on YouTube by clicking HERE
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Remember…God loves you!

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Be Compassion

Posted on February 27, 2015 by billtonnis

Matthew 5:20
“I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter into the kingdom of heaven.”

The scribes and Pharisees believed they were doing everything right. They held people strictly to the letter of the law…and they believed as religious leaders they were beyond reproach. Everything was “white” and “black”…in or out. They, of course, were in. They didn’t need forgiveness. But everyone needs forgiveness because everyone messes up. We are all flawed and imperfect. The so-called “sinners”…like the tax collectors and prostitutes…allowed Jesus to reach out to them. They knew they needed forgiveness. Life is not about being right…but it is about being in right relationship with each other and with God. God wants to be with us in our brokenness. God wants to forgive us. Didn’t Jesus show this quite plainly? When we allow God to forgive us and when we freely pass on this forgiveness to others…the kingdom of God breaks into the present. You can start entering right now! Loving God, forgive us as we forgive others…and may Your kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven. Amen.

Listen to the song of the day “You’ll Lead Me” on YouTube by clicking HERE
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Trust the Divine Process

Posted on February 26, 2015 by billtonnis

Matthew 7:7
“Ask, and it will be given you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you.”

When we ask, seek and knock…we are in the process of receiving, finding and having the door opened. The inner desire prompting our “seeking” is the groaning of the Spirit in our very soul. It is in the asking…seeking and knocking…that we are present to the Divine Presence. When we are truly present…we are in God’s Presence. It is only then that God’s will can be done…in the now…where God is eternally Present and pouring out unconditional love. It is only in the now that God can give…and is giving to us. Believe that you are receiving, finding and that the door is being opened. For it is in that process that God is giving you what you truly need. Stop for a moment and look back on all the ways God has given you gifts beyond measure…even when at the time you were quite unaware of what was coming to you. Thanks be to God!

Listen to the song of the day “Give Praise and Thanks” on YouTube by clicking HERE
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Beautifully Broken

Posted on February 25, 2015 by billtonnis

Psalm 51:3
Have mercy on me, God, in your goodness; in your abundant compassion blot out my offense.

Who among us is without the need of forgiveness? No one. We were made with flaws and imperfections. We are all broken. If we were perfect…we wouldn’t need God. It’s only in our brokenness that we can truly experience the unconditional love of God. Jesus was always reaching out those who were abandoned, cast out or in need of healing. This is what God does! What else would Love do? Wherever you are struggling or in need of forgiveness…allow God to embrace you. That’s what God wants to do! God does not love you because you are good…but because God is good! Pass this message on to someone who needs to hear it. This is Good News!

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