Irrational Love

Posted on July 26, 2012 by billtonnis

Psalm 36:6
Lord, your love reaches to heaven; your fidelity, to the clouds.

Laws and rules are needed…but when it comes to Jesus…love always had the final say. God’s extreme, extravagant love is so immense…so amazing…so beyond what we can fathom…it boggles the logical, left-brain. It’s beyond reason. It’s unconditional. That means “no conditions”! Just accept it. Jesus repeatedly forgave sinners even when they didn’t ask for forgiveness. A legalistic mind cannot handle that. You are loved just because you are God’s beloved. It has nothing to do with what you do…but who God is. Allow that to settle in your heart. It will transform you…which is exactly what God wants!

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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Life Through Death

Posted on July 25, 2012 by billtonnis

2 Corinthians 4:11
For we who live are constantly being given up to death for the sake of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may be manifested in our mortal flesh.

Jesus showed us that the way to life…is through death. It is a constant process of dying to our egocentric desires for power, prestige and possessions so that God’s desires for us can be manifested instead. When I let go of my desires…there is an open space for God to fill. The risen Christ has a place to reside in my body…so that I can become the hands and feet of Christ to the world. Giving up our egocentric pursuits will feel like dying because we are letting go…but new life will always come as God gives us what we truly need…as any loving parent would do!

Suggested song of the day—“God Is the Goal” 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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God Is On Your Side

Posted on July 24, 2012 by billtonnis

Micah 7:19
You will cast into the depths of the sea all our sins.

God has a goal for each of us and will never give up on achieving it. The goal is for each of us to become whole. Each of us is flawed. Each of us is imperfect. It is in our imperfection that we need God. It is not the place where God wants to punish us…it is the place where God yearns to be with us and transform us with unconditional love and acceptance. In the words of Richard Rohr, “God loves you and you cannot change God’s mind!” Why would God make us imperfect and then punish us for being imperfect? God wants our imperfections to lead us to the love, mercy, forgiveness and compassion of God! Jesus showed us that God always responds with love and forgiveness (“Father, forgive them, they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34)). It is the only way to transformation and wholeness…or in a word, “salvation.”

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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Words To Live By

Posted on July 23, 2012 by billtonnis

Micah 6:8
You have been told, O mortal, what is good, and what the Lord requires of you: Only to do justice and to love goodness, and to walk humbly with your God.

What if we kept these words with us as a gut-check for everything we did? When it comes to my next action or next decision…what if I asked whether the option I was about to choose was “just“? What if I examined whether it would be a way of showing that I “love goodness“? Am I bringing this decision before God and admitting that I don’t know the clear-cut answer all the time but am humbly asking God to show me the way? One person who demonstrated for us how to do this is Jesus. Read His words…allow them to sink in and then act in a like manner. We just might find that we are “not far from the kingdom of God” (Mark 12:34).

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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More Mercy Needed

Posted on July 20, 2012 by billtonnis

Matthew 12:7
“If you knew what this meant, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned these innocent men.”

A legalistic mind has a hard time with ‘mercy.’ The religious leaders (Pharisees) had just criticized Jesus’ disciples for picking the heads of grain in a field and eating them during the Sabbath which was against the religious law. But Jesus quoted the prophet Hosea in telling them that “mercy” was more important than “sacrifice” or any religious rule. After all…his disciples were hungry! The rules are a great foundation…but in the real world it’s not so black and white. Love always trumps the law. In God’s kingdom…the rain falls on the just and the unjust. God can somehow hold the good and the bad together without throwing anyone out. This is what God calls us to do as well. When have you experienced God’s love despite your sinfulness? Perhaps others need to experience the same love and forgiveness of God…through you.

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

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Relax

Posted on July 19, 2012 by billtonnis

Matthew 11:28
“Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest.”

When you come to the end of your rope…God is waiting there to catch you. What if we stopped the merit game…the constant attempt to earn God’s love…and simply accepted the invitation from Jesus to bring our burdens to Him? There is no condemnation but only acceptance and forgiveness in Christ. Believe it. This is Good News!

Suggested song of the day—“I Will Give You Rest” 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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Sacred Wound

Posted on July 18, 2012 by billtonnis

Psalm 94:14
You, Lord, will not forsake your people, nor abandon your very own.

Perhaps you are struggling with something. Perhaps it’s a health issue or relationship issue. Perhaps it’s that proverbial thorn in your side that you can’t seem to shake. Know that God is there in the midst of it…not against you…but with you…not judging or condemning you…but accepting and comforting you. It is the place where you need God…the place where God wants to commune with you and lift you…to heal you and bring you to wholeness. But it will happen in God’s way and God’s time. Jesus showed us that new life and wholeness will happen in the way God wills it. I cling to this hope because what would I do…where would I turn…without it? Loving God, I trust in You!

Suggested song of the day—“I Will Give You Rest” 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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Turn Around

Posted on July 17, 2012 by billtonnis

Matthew 11:20
Then he began to reproach the towns where most of his mighty deeds had been done, since they had not repented.

To repent is to change the direction in which you are seeking happiness or fulfillment. Jesus went about curing people not to get rave reviews of His miracles and become a celebrity but so people could see that God wants everyone to be “whole.” Most of the people were looking for wholeness and completion in the wrong places. They were trying to find something that was missing…trying to satisfy an inner yearning for wholeness with material gain or physical pleasure. But only God could fill the hole in their hearts…could satisfy that deep, spiritual yearning for wholeness. Nearly 2000 years later…the same situation persists. A deeper connection with God is the answer. A stronger relationship with Jesus is a great way to strengthen your bond with God. All it takes is a decision that can be made again and again with each moment…to turn from the things that cannot provide our wholeness and to turn toward the only One who can. Why not now?

Suggested song of the day—“Singing My Song” 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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Lose to Find

Posted on July 16, 2012 by billtonnis

Matthew 10:39
“Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”

Many people embark on a path in life to accomplish certain things. These things might be in the realm of possessions, power and prestige. These would tend to spring from the desires of our egos. But many times there is another voice (always a gentle and loving one) that springs from our hearts…that may ask us to embark on a completely different path to accomplish something completely different…like making the world a more loving, merciful, forgiving and compassionate place. This is the realm of the kingdom of God. To go in this direction will require that I let go of the desires of my ego (to build my kingdom). It will feel like you are losing your life. But paradoxically…when you take the road less traveled (the one your heart is calling you to) you will find an abundance that you did not know was possible. It will not be easy. As Jesus said…it will require taking up your cross and following Him. The result will be finding your true self…and God in the process.

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.
CD’s available by clicking on “home” and then the “store” tab.
Have a blessed day!

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Renewal

Posted on July 13, 2012 by billtonnis

Psalm 51:12
A clean heart create for me, God; renew in me a steadfast spirit.

No matter how many times we screw up…no matter how many times we come up short…God is always embracing us in love. Our Loving Source only wants to heal us, restore us and renew us. Forgiveness is always given. Any pain, suffering or death will eventually lead to new life and resurrection. Jesus demonstrated this pattern for us. The pattern is all around us. The darkness of night is followed by the light of dawn. The dead of winter is followed by the new life of spring. God is constantly but patiently working to heal us, renew us and make us whole. There is some helpful advice on cooperating with God’s grace in creating a clean heart. It comes from Ira Byock in his book The Four Things That Matter Most. The four things are:
1. Please forgive me
2. I forgive you
3. Thank you
4. I love you
If there is someone who needs to hear these four things from you…why not do it today? May your heart and spirit be renewed!

Suggested song of the day—“Heal 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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