God of Love

Posted on April 29, 2013 by billtonnis

John 14:7
“If you know me, then you will also know my Father.”

Jesus reaches out in unconditional love to all. He stands up to any injustice but while doing so never condemns! Jesus is always reaching out to include those who have been rejected and even when He is unjustly put to death He extends mercy, compassion and forgiveness. Jesus says that if we know Him…we know God. Why would we fear such a God?

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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Victory by Surrender

Posted on April 26, 2013 by billtonnis

John 14:5-6
Thomas said to him, “Master, we do not know where you are going; how can we know the way?” Jesus said to him, “I am the way and the truth and the life.”

Life is a process of letting go…letting go of all the stuff that you thought defined you…all the labels…the power, prestige and possessions…the things that our egos try desperately to hold on to. If you practice this process and follow the One who said He was “the way, the truth and the life”…then the final letting go will not be difficult…but just another experience leading to resurrection and new life. For when we surrender our attachments to things that will not last…God fills us with the Life we were meant to have! Why not begin now?

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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No Division

Posted on April 25, 2013 by billtonnis

John 13:16-17
“Amen, amen, I say to you, no slave is greater than his master nor any messenger greater than the one who sent him. If you understand this, blessed are you if you do it.”

In Christ all are equal. There is no distinction based on power and prestige. This is directly opposite of the world’s philosophy that attaining power and prestige is what it’s all about. Do you see any hint of Jesus aspiring for power or prestige? What if we only aspired to help those who were in need? Jesus said that if we did this…we would be “blessed”…which also means “happy!” Which philosophy will you follow?

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

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Saving Light

Posted on April 24, 2013 by billtonnis

John 12:46
I came into the world as light, so that everyone who believes in me might not remain in darkness.

It’s easy to become lost in the noise of the world. There are so many competing messages telling us this is the way to happiness. So why are so many people unfulfilled and unhappy? Jesus said that He was “the way, the truth and the life” (John 14:6). If you want to find new life…allow the Light to shine upon you. If you are yearning for light in your darkness…come to Jesus. Read and meditate on the gospels. You don’t have to have your life together. Worthiness is not a factor. The Light is a free gift. Jesus rejects no one!

Suggested song of the day– “Come to Jesus” on the Live to Love 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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Good Shepherd

Posted on April 23, 2013 by billtonnis

John 10:27-28
“My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish. No one can take them out of my hand.”

We are the sheep of the Good Shepherd who cares tenderly for each sheep. Jesus says He knows each of us. That means He knows your bright side…and He knows your dark side as well. We all have both. Jesus doesn’t say you have to get rid of the dark side before He will care for you! The love of God is total gift. It is not earned. It’s grace! Eternal life is a gift. Jesus promises that no one can take you out of his hand. Doesn’t that make you want to listen for His voice…and to follow Him?

Suggested song of the day– “You’ll Lead Me” on the Listen to Your Voice 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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True Life

Posted on April 22, 2013 by billtonnis

John 10:10
“I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly.”

Jesus did not become human to give us an evacuation plan to heaven. He came that we might have life now and have it more abundantly now! Jesus showed us how to be fully alive as human beings. It is through a daily practice of dying and rising…dying to our false self (ego) so that our true self can rise. We become givers instead of takers. In giving…we receive abundantly. If we follow Him and allow Him to shepherd us…we will have life to the full now. And when death comes…that moment will again be now…and new life will most assuredly follow.

Suggested song of the day– “I Want to Follow You” 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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Love Transforms

Posted on April 19, 2013 by billtonnis

Acts 9:17
“Saul, my brother, the Lord has sent me, Jesus who appeared to you on the way by which you came, that you may regain your sight and be filled with the holy Spirit.”

When Saul was blinded by a flash of light on the way to Damascus…he was heading there to persecute Christians (he was “breathing murderous threats”). This is the one the risen Christ chose as His “instrument” of love, mercy, grace, forgiveness and compassion. God’s way is clearly not our way! In a vision Jesus spoke to a man named Ananias to go to Saul and to lay hands on him so that he might regain his sight. Saul was transformed into the one who would be later known as St. Paul…not by way of punishment and retribution, but by Mercy and Compassion. God never gives up on anyone. How might Christ want to transform me? How might I be an instrument of God’s transformation for someone else?

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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Contemplative Prayer

Posted on April 18, 2013 by billtonnis

John 6:45
“Everyone who listens to my Father and learns from him comes to me.”

It’s not what we do that brings us closer to God but what we let be done to us by God. It is not an achievement contest or a life-long SAT test! It’s about becoming the fully human, unique creation and expression of God’s Love! Allow God to draw you closer. Hear that you are God’s beloved child and then allow God to channel Love and Compassion through you. Then the motivation for your actions will not be to merit or achieve anything…but will simply be your response to being loved. For that to happen…you’ll need to spend some quiet time…listening.

Suggested song of the day– “Turn Off the Noise” 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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Radical Acceptance

Posted on April 17, 2013 by billtonnis

John 6:37-39
“Everything that the Father gives me will come to me, and I will not reject anyone who comes to me, because I came down from heaven not to do my own will but the will of the one who sent me. And this is the will of the one who sent me that I should not lose anything of what he gave me, but that I should raise it on the last day.”

This is Good News! Read it and allow it to sink in. Jesus promises that He will not lose anything of what God gave Him. God has given all of creation to Jesus. That includes you, me…and everyone. Our salvation is not based on our merit. It is not based on my goodness…but God’s goodness. God is the relentless lover Who pursues us…Who shows us in Christ that Love wins. Dying is always followed by rising. New Life is promised. There is really nothing else to say…except “Alleluia!”

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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Love Overcomes Hate

Posted on April 16, 2013 by billtonnis

Acts 7:58
They threw him out of the city, and began to stone him. The witnesses laid down their cloaks at the feet of a young man named Saul.

Stephen, the first martyr, was wrongly accused…thrown-out and murdered by the people who thought they were following God! And the young man complicit in this crime, Saul, who became an infamous persecutor of Christians, was later transformed through an encounter with the risen Christ…and became one of His most famous followers…St. Paul! Whatever you have done in the past…God continues to love you. That love is unconditional. And the person who seems the most despicable to you now…is equally loved by God! Christ wants to transform that person. Perhaps you could be God’s agent for that transformation?

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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