Way of the Cross

Posted on August 30, 2013 by billtonnis

1 Corinthians 1:17-18
For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with the wisdom of human eloquence, so that the cross of Christ might not be emptied of its meaning. The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

Paul was speaking to members of the early Church about the difficult message of Jesus’ death on the cross. While our egos seek personal gratification and are constantly seeking to “get” all the pleasures, power, prestige and possessions that they can…the cross has an opposite message: “Let go.” Jesus emptied Himself…giving everything He had to show us the way of God. It’s the way of love, mercy, forgiveness and compassion. Jesus’ way doesn’t jive with the world’s way. To love is to give of yourself for another’s benefit, to reach out in compassion to those rejected and cast out…to let go of yourself and to respond to persecution with love all the way to the end. For the message of the cross is that death is not the end…but the way to resurrection and new life. The process of ‘dying to self’ starts now so God can give you the life meant for you. It’s the path to your “true self.” Jesus showed us the way. Will you follow?

Suggested song of the day– “Pour Me Out” on the Give Praise and Thanks album. Listen to it by clicking on the “Bill Tonnis’ Music on iTunes” link under “Blogroll” to the right
All songs available on iTunes. CDs available by clicking on “home” and then the “store” tab.
Have a blessed day!

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Be Present

Posted on August 29, 2013 by billtonnis

Matthew 24:42
Stay awake! For you do not know on which day your Lord will come.

God is present in all of creation. God is present in this moment. Are you? Are you fully alive and experiencing this moment of your life and what is happening around you? Or are you completely distracted by your mind chattering away about this or that? As Richard Rohr is fond of saying, “Your mind isn’t you!” Is the real you fully present to the person next to you? Jesus wants to be with you now…in this moment. The Holy Spirit is ready to show up in your life. The question is…are you “awake” enough to notice? Or are you dwelling on something from the past or worried about something in the future? Who knows…God may want to be present to someone else today…through you. So wake up! Set aside 10 to 20 minutes to simply be present.

Suggested song of the day– “Turn Off the Noise” on the Listen to Your Heart album. Listen to it by clicking on the link “Bill Tonnis’ Music on iTunes” under “Blogroll” to the right.
All songs available on iTunes.
CDs available by clicking on “home” and then the “store” tab.
Have a blessed day!

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God Is With You

Posted on August 27, 2013 by billtonnis

Psalm 139:1-2
LORD, you have probed me, you know me: you know when I sit and stand; you understand my thoughts from afar.

There is no fooling God. Our Creator knows everything about each of us…our thoughts…our desires…our struggles…our failings…our joys and our sorrows. When God made you…God placed a stamp of approval on you. God loved you at that moment…loved you into existence…so that God could share love with you. You can turn from that love…but God can never turn from you. There is nothing you can do that can make God love you less…or more. You are God’s beloved…not because of anything you do or achieve…but simply for being you. Allow that knowledge to sink in…and fill you.

Suggested song of the day– “Changed” on the Give Praise and Thanks album.
All songs available on iTunes. Click on the link “Bill Tonnis’ Music on iTunes” under “blogroll” to the right.
CDs available by clicking on “home” and then the “store” tab.
Have a blessed day!

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No Strings Attached

Posted on August 26, 2013 by billtonnis

Listen to Bill’s song, “God Is”, on the album Give Praise and Thanks before or after reading this reflection.
You can hear a clip of the song by clicking on the link “Bill Tonnis’ Music on iTunes” under “Blogroll” below and to the right.

Matthew 23:13
Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You lock the kingdom of heaven before human beings. You do not enter yourselves, nor do you allow entrance to those trying to enter.

When the ego is in charge we always want to be in control. We are in a constant attempt to achieve and be perfect. We think any sign of weakness is a bad thing and so we wear masks of perfection. But God can only reach us in our imperfection. Otherwise…we have no need for God. It’s only when we acknowledge that we do have faults…we do have struggles…we don’t have control and we need help that we can experience what unconditional love is. The religious teachers of Jesus’ day held the people to a standard of perfection through the letter of the law without any regard to mercy, compassion and forgiveness. It’s only through receiving undeserved and unmerited love and forgiveness that we can experience grace and know who God Is…and thereby enter into the kingdom of heaven.

Suggested song of the day– “God Is” on the Give Praise and Thanks album.
All songs available on iTunes. Click on the link under blogroll to the right.
CDs available by clicking on “home” and then the “store” tab.
Have a blessed day!

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Love Is the Answer

Posted on August 23, 2013 by billtonnis

Matthew 22:36-39
“Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” He said to him, “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

What is the key to happiness? Everyone has this inborn desire to be happy. The trouble is…we get all kinds of mixed messages about how to “attain” happiness. There is an endless list of ways to “find happiness” that can satisfy us briefly…but each time we are left empty and yearning for something more. Jesus shows us the way in two simple commandments. But how hard it is to accomplish! Our egos are constantly telling us to put our desires first…while Jesus tells us to put God and others first. The first way leads you to becoming a “false self” and never at peace. The other leads you to becoming your “true self” with inner peace and happiness being a by-product of the process. Which choice will you make: your ego’s desires or God’s? To know God’s desires you will have to practice dying to yourself in the silence of contemplative prayer.

Suggested song of the day– “Listen to Your Heart” on the Listen to Your Heart album.
All songs available on iTunes. Click on the link under blogroll to the right.
CDs available by clicking on “home” and then the “store” tab.
Have a blessed day!

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God Redeems

Posted on August 22, 2013 by billtonnis

Ezekiel 36:25-26
I will sprinkle clean water upon you to cleanse you from all your impurities, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. I will give you a new heart and place a new spirit within you, taking from your bodies your stony hearts and giving you natural hearts.

Prophets like Ezekiel had some harsh predictions for God’s people after they had turned away from Him and instead turned to self-centered and non-life-giving pursuits. But he also had comforting words when they returned to God. In reality…it wasn’t God who made bad things happen to them. They were responsible since they had turned away from God. God had never left them. God is constantly reaching out in love to each of us. When the people repented (turned back to God)…God was immediately ready to begin the process of cleansing them from their impurities and to give them a new heart and spirit. Is there some area of your life where you have turned from God and have instead pursued some kind of idol…something that stands in the way of your relationship with God? Make a change. God is always ready to “sprinkle clean water upon you” and restore you…again and again and again…

Suggested song of the day– “Let the Joy Rise” on the Give Praise and Thanks album.
All songs available on iTunes. Click on the link under blogroll to the right.
CDs available by clicking on “home” and then the “store” tab.
Have a blessed day!

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Gratuitous Love

Posted on August 21, 2013 by billtonnis

Psalm 23:2
The LORD is my shepherd; there is nothing I lack.

If we are truly following Jesus and are in the care of the “Good Shepherd”…what more do we need? Is there anything else needed above God’s love and care? Today’s gospel reading is an example of God’s amazing love. It’s the parable of the landowner (Mt. 20:1-16) who goes out in the morning and hires laborers to work in his vineyard. He goes out again at noon and hires more and again near the end of the day. When it’s time to pay the laborers…the ones who started at the end of the day get the same amount of money as the ones who worked all day. The workers who worked the longest complained that the landowner wasn’t being fair. But the landowner asked if they were envious because he is generous? God is willing to pour out gratuitous love and blessings on us no matter how late we come to Him. All will be given what they need. “The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I lack.”

Suggested song of the day– “How Wonderful to Me” on the Live to Love album.
All songs available on iTunes. Click on the link under blogroll to the right.
CDs available by clicking on “home” and then the “store” tab.
Have a blessed day!

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Enter the Kingdom

Posted on August 20, 2013 by billtonnis

Matthew 19:23-24
Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Amen, I say to you, it will be hard for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”

In scripture the “kingdom of heaven” is sometimes translated the “kingdom of God.” We are called to help build that Kingdom…the place God desires for us…here and now. Whenever we reach out to others in love, mercy, forgiveness and compassion we are cooperating with God in bringing the kingdom into the present moment (“Thy kingdom come…on earth as it is in heaven”). Being rich is not a bad thing in itself. Rich people can do much good with their wealth. But wealth can entice people to immerse themselves in pleasures and ignore those in need…or perhaps to separate themselves from the poor and even be blind to their very existence. May you cultivate a servant’s heart so that if wealth comes your way…you will be generous to those in need.

Suggested song of the day– “Make Me a Channel” on the Listen to Your Heart album.
All songs available on iTunes. Click on the link under blogroll to the right.
CDs available by clicking on “home” and then the “store” tab.
Have a blessed day!

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Attachments

Posted on August 19, 2013 by billtonnis

Matthew 19:20-22
The young man said to him, “All of these (the Ten Commandments) I have observed. What do I still lack?” Jesus said to him, “If you wish to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to (the) poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” When the young man heard this statement, he went away sad, for he had many possessions.

So observing the Ten Commandments isn’t enough? The rich young man was very concerned about what he needed to do to “gain eternal life.” He didn’t understand that we are all imperfect and cannot possibly “earn” our way into heaven. What Jesus calls each of us to do is to love God with all our hearts and to love our neighbor. This is the path to becoming our true selves. There is nothing innately bad about possessions if we remain detached from them. They can many times become idols that stand in the way of our loving God and neighbor. Jesus could read the young man’s heart and see that his possessions were attachments and his top priority. What are you refusing to let go of that is preventing you from making God your top priority?

Suggested song of the day– “I Surrender” on the Live to Love album.
All songs available on iTunes. Click on the link under blogroll to the right.
CDs available by clicking on “home” and then the “store” tab.
Have a blessed day!

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Forgiveness Frees You

Posted on August 16, 2013 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.

By telling Peter that he must forgive “seventy-seven times” Jesus was telling him that he must forgive without limit. When we forgive we not only grant peace to the person who has hurt us…but we also end up with a sense of peace and harmony inside ourselves. This is what it feels like to experience God’s grace. It’s like turning toward the sun and feeling the wonderful warm rays. When we choose not to forgive…it’s like turning away from the sun and choosing coldness instead. Forgiveness is the key that unlocks the chains that bind us. Jesus showed us the ultimate example when hanging on the cross He said, “Father, forgive them, they know not what they do.” Now…you and I are called to do the same!

Suggested song of the day– “Salvation” on the Live to Love album.
All songs available on iTunes. Click on the link under blogroll to the right.
CDs available by clicking on “home” and then the “store” tab.
Have a blessed day!

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