Total Love

Posted on February 13, 2014 by billtonnis

Genesis 2:24-25
That is why a man leaves his father and mother and clings to his wife, and the two of them become one body. The man and his wife were both naked, yet they felt no shame.

This picture of the Garden of Eden depicts for us how love unites two into one. This is love…that two would lay down their lives for the other; to stand before another with nothing to hide…nothing to prove…and accept everything about the other…the good, the bad and the ugly. This is total acceptance. This is unconditional love. This is how God views you.

Suggested song of the day– “God Is” on the Give Praise and Thanks album.
Hear free clips of Bill’s songs by clicking on Bill Tonnis’ Music on iTunes to the right.
CDs available by clicking “home” and then the “store” tab.
Remember…God loves you!

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Destined for Redemption

Posted on February 12, 2014 by billtonnis

Genesis 2:16-17
The Lord God gave man this order: “You are free to eat from any of the trees of the garden except the tree of knowledge of good and bad. From that tree you shall not eat; the moment you eat from it you are surely doomed to die.”

God is our source of life and happiness. God is the only determiner of what is “good” and what is “bad.” We are asked to love everyone…as God does. The moment we start dividing…separating…deciding who is “good” and who is “bad”…we have decided we know better than God. God can use all things for good. God accepts all things without dividing. It’s the kind of love that transformed Saul into St. Paul. Our darkest defeats and failures are the very places where we can experience God’s unconditional love. It’s a love that transforms us. Loving God, help me to love like You.

Suggested song of the day– “Changed” on the Give Praise and Thanks album.
Hear free clips of Bill’s songs by clicking on Bill Tonnis’ Music on iTunes to the right.
CDs available by clicking “home” and then the “store” tab.
Remember…God loves you!

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Love Over Law

Posted on February 11, 2014 by billtonnis

Mark 7:8-9
“You disregard God’s commandment but cling to human tradition.” Jesus went on to say, “How well you have set aside the commandment of God in order to uphold your tradition!”

The Pharisees were “either-or” type people. Either you followed the law or you didn’t. Jesus was a “both-and” person. He could both follow the law and break the law when situations called for love over law. The rules and rituals are good when they open the way for us to have a stronger relationship with God. They should point us to God. Father Thomas Keating writes: “Christian tradition is not merely a handing on of various doctrines and rituals. It is the handing on of the experience of the living Christ, revealed in Scripture, preserved in sacraments, renewed in every act of prayer, and present in a special way in the major events of our lives. If we are open and available to this presence, our lives will be transformed.” Rituals and traditions are meant to transform us and make us more loving of others. Love is the objective. Jesus said the greatest commandment is: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength” (Mark 12:30).

Suggested song of the day– “Love God” on the Live to Love album.
Hear free clip of Bill’s songs by clicking on Bill Tonnis’ Music on iTunes to the right.
CDs available by clicking “home” and then the “store” tab.
Remember…God Loves you!

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Everything Belongs

Posted on February 10, 2014 by billtonnis

Psalm 104:24
How varied are your works, Lord! In wisdom you have wrought them all.

God has made all things and deemed them “good.” Scripture says that we are all made in God’s image. That includes the person that most annoys you. Could it be that all things belong and are necessary for each of us to become “whole” and for God’s Kingdom to come into being? All things are sacred in God’s eyes. Loving Creator, help me to reach out to and pray for the people I would rather exclude. We are all necessary parts of the kingdom of God. May we all work in together in God’s service.

Suggested song of the day– “Shall We Sing” on the Listen to Your Heart album.
Hear free clips of Bill’s songs by clicking on Bill Tonnis’ Music on iTunes to the right.
CDs available by clicking “home” and then the “store” tab.
Remember…God loves you!

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Let Go and Live

Posted on February 7, 2014 by billtonnis

Hebrews 13:5
Let your life be free from love of money but be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never forsake you or abandon you.”

Are you striving to make more money and gain more material things…or are you striving to love more…and better. The ups and downs of the economy and death itself are good reminders that the stuff of this world will not last. And yet…something inside of us says, “There must be more than this!” A friend once told me that “doing the next loving thing” is what really matters. Jesus showed us the way to live…and as Hebrews 13:8 states: “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever.” Follow the One who will set you free…now and for eternity.

Suggested song of the day– “I Want to Follow You” on the Listen to Your Heart album.
Hear free clips of Bill’s songs by clicking on Bill Tonnis’ Music on iTunes to the right.
CDs available by clicking on “home” and then the “store” tab.
Remember…God loves you!

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In God We Trust

Posted on February 6, 2014 by billtonnis

Mark 6:8
He instructed them to take nothing for the journey but a walking stick–no food, no sack, no money in their belts.

I once heard a financial adviser talking about how people need to have a million dollars saved up in order to retire at age 65. We all crave some guarantee on being secure. In today’s scripture, Jesus counters that notion by preaching that we practice a radical faith in God’s protection. Jesus says many things that turn our ways of thinking upside down. Jesus sent his Apostles out to spread the good news with no money and no material guarantees of security. Is He not calling each of us to do the same? And what is the “good news“? Is it not that God loves all people unconditionally and that we should do the same? Jesus never instructs us about amassing material wealth…but cautions us that “you cannot serve God and material wealth” (Matthew 6:24). It’s not really the material wealth in and of itself that is bad…it’s our attachment to it. What attachments (whether they be possessions, relationships, prestige, power, etc.) are standing in the way of us living the good news?

Suggested song of the day– “God Is” on the Give Praise and Thanks album.
Hear free clips of Bill’s songs by clicking on Bill Tonnis’ Music on iTunes to the right.
CDs available by clicking on “home” and then the “store” tab.
Remember…God loves you!

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All Is One

Posted on February 5, 2014 by billtonnis

Hebrews 12:14
Strive for peace with everyone, and for that holiness without which no one will see the Lord.

It seems like there is so much cynicism and dissension in the world. Do we respond with more of the same? Loving God…help me to let go of myself…my ego…my need to be right…and allow You to live and grow in me. For that is the only way I become my true self…that I become whole (“holy”). Jesus showed us the way. May I follow that way…because when I do…You bring me peace. Then may I can extend that peace to others that they may come to know You as well.

Suggested song of the day– “Make Me a Channel” on the Listen to Your Heart album.
Hear free clips of Bill’s songs by clicking on Bill Tonnis’ Music on iTunes to the right.
CDs available by clicking on “home” and then the “store” tab.
Remember…God loves you!

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Always Accepted

Posted on February 4, 2014 by billtonnis

Hebrews 12:3-4
Consider how he endured such opposition from sinners, in order that you may not grow weary and lose heart. In your struggles against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood.

Sometimes life is hard. There seems to be so much opposition to leading a moral life. Sometimes life’s twists and turns knock us to the ground. Jesus gave us the ultimate example of living a life of love despite the most unfair persecution…and finally being crucified. Through it all He only expressed God’s love and compassion in return (“Father, forgive them, they know not what they do” Luke 23:34). But death does not have the final say. There is always resurrection and New Life ahead. Jesus will never abandon you in your struggles. Call on Him!

Suggested song of the day– “Come to Jesus” on the Live to Love album.
Hear free clips of Bill’s songs by clicking on Bill Tonnis’ Music on iTunes to the right.
CDs available by clicking on “home” and then the “store” tab.
Remember…God loves you!

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Death Leads to Life

Posted on February 3, 2014 by billtonnis

Hebrews 2:14-15
…through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and free those who through fear of death had been subject to slavery all their life.

By becoming human Jesus showed us the path to freedom. In the end…love wins…not death. Do you see how freeing this is? Following Jesus and loving God and our neighbor…frees us from the worldly attachments that we cling to due to our fear of death. Through Jesus’ life, death and resurrection…we see that there is nothing to fear in death. Nothing can separate us from the Oneness of all things. As St. Paul says, “For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor present things, nor future things, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39). By living a life of love of God and neighbor where we regard all as One (no separations)…we will simply move freely into the joy of God when this earthly life ends. May we live in the knowledge that all things are one in God.

Suggested song of the day– “Pour Me Out” on the Give Praise and Thanks album.
Hear free clips of Bill’s songs by clicking on Bill Tonnis’ Music on iTunes to the right.
CDs available by clicking “home” and then the “store” tab.
Remember…God loves you!

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Listen to Your Heart

Posted on January 31, 2014 by billtonnis

Psalm 37:4
Find your delight in the Lord who will give you your heart’s desire.

That deep yearning inside you is the groaning of “your heart’s desire.” The trouble is…our egos want to satisfy that yearning with physical or material things…when in fact it is a spiritual yearning that only God can fill. If you want to know who God is…get to know Jesus. He said that if you knew Him…then you would also know God (John 14:7). Get to know Jesus by reading the gospels. Follow Him…and see what happens. I promise you that you will find delight and in the process…your heart’s desire as well.

Suggested song of the day– “Listen to Your Heart” on the Listen to Your Heart album.
Hear free clips of Bill’s songs by clicking on Bill Tonnis’ Music on iTunes to the right.
CDs available by clicking “home” and then the “store” tab.
Remember…God loves you!

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