Top Priority

Posted on July 1, 2013 by billtonnis

Matthew 8:19-22
A scribe approached and said to him, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” Jesus answered him, “Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head.” Another of (his) disciples said to him, “Lord, let me go first and bury my father.” But Jesus answered him, “Follow me, and let the dead bury their dead.”

Is Jesus serious? Leave your dead father behind for someone else to bury? Since Jesus also preaches to honor your father and mother…this comment is not to be taken literally. It’s an exaggeration to make a point. Jesus wants us to know that when we follow Him…we have to surrender our own agenda and go where He leads us. You can rest assured that God’s direction will be far better and lead to far more happiness and peace than any plan we could ever come up with. That doesn’t mean it will be easy…but it does mean letting go of our many attachments and taking the road less traveled. Where is Jesus asking you to go?

Suggested song of the day– “Take the Road Less Traveled” 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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Everything Belongs

Posted on June 28, 2013 by billtonnis

Matthew 8:1-3
When Jesus came down from the mountain, great crowds followed him. And then a leper approached, did him homage, and said, “Lord, if you wish, you can make me clean.” He stretched out his hand, touched him, and said, “I will do it. Be made clean.” His leprosy was cleansed immediately.

The leper is an outcast due to his disease. The religious community of the time would have expelled him as “unclean.” His disease would have been seen as a punishment from God for some kind of sinfulness. In reality…expelling the leper was the religious community’s sin. Jesus heals him so he would be included again. How do we expel others due to their differences or something we find “distasteful”? Jesus became the ultimate outcast on the cross so that through His forgiveness and His resurrection…all would know: Throw no one out. All are included in God’s kingdom…and that includes you…as well as the person who irritates you!

Suggested song of the day– “All Are Welcome” 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 “Home” and then the “Store” tab.
Have a blessed day!

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Kingdom of God

Posted on June 27, 2013 by billtonnis

Matthew 7:21
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.”

The “kingdom of heaven” is sometimes translated the “kingdom of God.” The kingdom of God is at hand when the unconditional love, mercy, forgiveness, compassion and grace of God are present. Did not Jesus tell another man (Mark 12:34) who answered rightly about the greatest commandment being to love God and his neighbor that he was “not far from the kingdom of God”? Saying, “Lord, Lord,” is just using words. Actions speak louder than words. In Luke 17:20-21 Jesus says about the kingdom that no one will be able to announce “here it is” or “there it is”…because “the kingdom of God is among you.” If the will of God is that we love God and neighbor as ourselves…then let us do it…and begin entering now into the kingdom of heaven!

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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Importance of Prayer

Posted on June 26, 2013 by billtonnis

Matthew 7:17
“Just so, every good tree bears good fruit, and a rotten tree bears bad fruit.”

A good tree that bears good fruit will have strong roots in fertile soil. A strong family life provides good soil for us to grow in. However, our parents are not perfect. Each mom and dad has been affected by the positive and negative influences of their parents and the environment in which they were raised. We do, however, have a perfect parent…in God. The closer we get to God through prayer…the deeper our roots grow in fertile soil and the more good fruit we will bear. Is your life bearing the fruits of love, mercy, forgiveness and compassion to the world? What kind of prayer life do you have?

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

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Do Not Judge

Posted on June 25, 2013 by billtonnis

Matthew 7:1-3
“Stop judging, that you may not be judged. For as you judge, so will you be judged, and the measure with which you measure will be measured out to you. Why do you notice the splinter in your brother’s eye, but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own eye?”

When Jesus tells us not to judge, He doesn’t mean we shouldn’t judge whether an act by another is right or wrong. His teaching is against passing judgment…as in passing judgment in arrogance without acknowledgement of our own faults. None of us is perfect. We are all made whole…only by God’s grace…God’s unconditional love and forgiveness. The challenge is to find the place in our own lives where we do not reflect the loving image of God and allow God’s grace to change us. Another challenge is to realize that the person who irritates me…is as beloved to God as I am. What is blocking me from being the unconditional lover like God?

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

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Born Again

Posted on June 24, 2013 by billtonnis

Luke 1:80
“The child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the desert until the day of his manifestation to Israel.”

Today’s passage comes from the account of the birth of John the Baptist. Many believed John was destined to do something great…but he spent years in the desert before realizing his “call.” Each moment was part of the “birthing process” of his true self. It’s easy to feel impatient because we, too, feel like we are in a “desert” sometime…wandering…not sure where it’s leading. It’s a struggle. Many succumb to numbing their yearnings with various addictions. But if we remain faithful…persevere…and keep returning to God after taking two steps forward and one step back…one day we will be able review what has transpired and see the mighty work God did with our lives. What will be your “manifestation” to the world? Letting go of your ego and entering the desert…is the only way for your true self to emerge. How is this happening in your life?

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

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Eternal Treasure

Posted on June 21, 2013 by billtonnis

Matthew 6:19-21
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and decay destroy, and thieves break in and steal. But store up treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor decay destroys, nor thieves break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be.”

What are your treasures? Are they material things of this world…or are they spiritual things like “love of God” and “love of your neighbor”? If your heart is in the grip of material things that will not last…Jesus says the momentary happiness that they bring is destined for “decay.” But if your heart is dedicated to love…you will find an everlasting joy even in troubled times. What do you need to let go of?

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 “Home” and then the “Store” tab.
Have a blessed day!

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Discerning God’s Will

Posted on June 20, 2013 by billtonnis

Matthew 6:10
“Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven.”

Jesus continues his lesson today on how to pray. Yesterday’s lesson was to “go to your inner room” and to refrain from using many words because God “knows what you need before you ask.” Today’s scripture comes from “The Lord’s Prayer.” Jesus says we should pray that God’s kingdom would come…be made real in the here and now on earth. We’re told to pray that God’s will would be done…not our will. May we have the grace to ask God to direct us in building God’s kingdom through the circumstances of each of our lives by using the time, talents and gifts we’ve been given. God wants to work with us in those circumstances. As author and retreat leader Paula D’Arcy says, “God comes to you disguised as your life.” What is your life saying to you?

Suggested song of the day– “You’ll Lead Me” 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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Let Go

Posted on June 19, 2013 by billtonnis

Matthew 6:6-8
“When you pray, go to your inner room, close the door, and pray to your Father in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you. In praying, do not babble like the pagans, who think that they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them. Your Father knows what you need before you ask him.”

Could Jesus have been any clearer in His instruction on how to pray? Prayer is a very intimate encounter with your Loving Creator where you spend time in the Presence of Love. God knows what you truly need…so why not go to the quiet place inside yourself, empty-out your ego’s wants and allow God to satisfy you. As the saying goes, “Let go…and let God.” Jesus taught us to pray that God’s will be done. What God wants for us is infinitely better than anything we could possibly imagine! What would it take to create a space for some quiet prayer or “letting-go-time” today?

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

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Love Is Inclusive

Posted on June 18, 2013 by billtonnis

Matthew 5:43-45
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your heavenly Father, for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust.”

This is one of the teachings of Jesus that most people simply ignore. We make many Church teachings non-negotiable but for some reason a direct teaching from Jesus like this one is hardly ever quoted. That’s because it’s difficult. But is this not the same thing that saves us…the unconditional love and forgiveness of God? Christ gladly comes to be with us in our failings to lift us so that we know it’s not about our own doing that saves us. It’s not our goodness…but God’s goodness. It’s about who God is. To love our enemy we must see that person as God does…as a beloved son or daughter. Who in your life needs to receive God’s grace…through you?

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 “home” and then the “store” tab.
Have a blessed day!

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