Bill Tonnis Ministries

Jeremiah 7:23
This rather is what I commanded them: Listen to my voice; then I will be your God and you shall be my people. Walk in all the ways that I command you, so that you may prosper.

Whose voice are you listening to? Is it the voice of your ego (small-self, false-self, self-centered self) or is it the silent, gentle voice of God in the stillness of your heart? God is speaking…but are we taking the time to turn off the noise…the constant distractions, the sensory overload, the endless chatter of our minds…and sit in the sacred silence of God? Is your ego running your life…or is God? If you aren’t taking time for silent, sacred listening…you probably have no idea what I’m talking about! How can God lead you to true, personal growth and wholeness (read “prosperity”) if you aren’t 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.
Have a blessed day!

Deuteronomy 4:1
“Now, Israel, hear the statutes and decrees which I am teaching you to observe, that you may live, and may enter in and take possession of the land which the Lord, the God of your fathers, is giving you.”

God gives us laws and commandments to spiritually guide us as children. All children need rules and regulations to give them firm foundations and boundaries or their lives would become chaos. They would be enticed to indulge every whim and self-centered desire. God wants to lead us to the Promised Land…the place of fulfillment where we become whole…the unique expression of God that God intended. The rules and regulations give us a secure launching point for a deeper spiritual journey into discovery of our true selves in the following of Christ. Do not mistake the rules and regulations for the journey! What are the whims and self-centered desires enticing me…that are distracting me from the narrow path that Christ is calling me to?

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.
Have a blessed day!

Daniel 3:40
As though it were holocausts of rams and bullocks, or thousands of fat lambs, so let our sacrifice be in your presence today as we follow you unreservedly.

Before Jesus came along God’s people thought they needed to sacrifice animals to keep in favor with God. They were completely mistaken. Jesus quoted the Prophet Hosea when he said, “Go and learn the meaning of the words, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice'”(Matthew 9:13). A glimmer of that insight is revealed in today’s scripture from the Old Testament Book of Daniel. The sacrifice God is looking for is the sacrifice of your ego (your self-centered self) so that you can extend mercy to others. It isn’t a matter of earning points with God who already loves you infinitely. How do you respond to such a God? By loving God back! Set your ego (false self) aside…and allow the love of God to fill you. How will you share that love with the world?

Suggested song of the day—“Breathe On Me” on the Listen to Your Heart album.
All songs available on iTunes. Click on the link under blogroll to the right.
Have a blessed day!

Psalm 42:2-3
As the deer longs for streams of water, so my soul longs for you, O God. My being thirsts for God, the living God.

We are all thirsting…yearning inside for something to fill us…fulfill us. Pop culture tells us all kinds of stuff will satisfy that need. But all that stuff will only bring temporary satisfaction before the thirsting intensifies. That’s because the yearning is not physical but spiritual. God yearns to quench our thirst. Why not take inventory of all our activities and habits and see which ones improve our relationship with God and which ones block that relationship? God alone brings deep satisfaction. Jesus discovered this for Himself during His 40 days in the desert. Ask Him for help.

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.
Have a blessed day!

Matthew 21:43
Therefore, I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that will produce its fruit.

The kingdom of God…or the reign of God…is a state of being that we begin to enter into when we are in the will of God. When we are taking part in the flow of God’s Trinitarian love (an eternal flow of selfless giving and receiving) we are taking part in building the kingdom of God. But each of us has a choice of whether we want to build God’s kingdom or my kingdom. When my ego or false self is in charge…I am about building my kingdom…trying to satisfy my self-centered desires. When I am about building God’s kingdom…I am dying to my false self (ego) and am allowing Christ to live more fully in me. I am using my gifts and talents for God’s purposes in the service of others. When I do this…it’s not so much me doing it as God doing it through me. And when this happens…I will enjoy the fruits of my work…fruits that will truly satisfy my deepest yearning.

Suggested song of the day—“Shall We Sing” on the Listen to Your Heart album.
All songs available on iTunes. Click on the link under blogroll to the right.
Have a blessed day!

Psalm 31:6
Into your hands I commend my spirit; you will redeem me, Lord, faithful God.

Sometimes there are no answers. There are times in life when we come to the jarring conclusion that we are clueless as to what to do…that we are clearly unable to handle the situation alone. Easy answers are very convenient…but rob us of the necessary tough journeys of living out the questions. These journeys are critical to deepening our spiritual development and are necessary in finding out who we are…and in discovering that there is a loving God always embracing us along the path of discovery…a God who wants you to become whole. Jesus seldom gave answers but mostly invited his followers into parables that led them into paradoxical situations. As I grow older I realize more and more that harder questions are far more enlightening than easy answers.

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.
Have a blessed day!

Psalm 50:23
Those who offer praise as a sacrifice honor me.

When a tree is being a tree…it is giving praise to God. When a dog is being a dog…it is giving praise to its Maker. But you and I have a choice whether we will be the unique people God made each of us to be or whether we will choose to be someone else and wear masks pretending to be what we aren’t. When each of us becomes the unique person God made us to be…we sacrifice all the yearnings of our ego to be something else and to bask in its own glory. When each of us becomes the unique masterpiece that God made us to be…we are praising God. As St. Irenaeus said, “The glory of God is the human fully alive.”

Suggested song of the day–“My Lord and My God” on the Live to Love album
All songs available on iTunes. Click on the link under blogroll to the right.
Have a blessed day!

Luke 6:36-37
“Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. Stop judging and you will not be judged. Stop condemning and you will not be condemned. Forgive and you will be forgiven.”

Jesus tells us that there is a kind of divine “what goes around comes around.” It’s a sacred pattern sewn into the fabric of life. A good act has eternal reverberations which will return to you. We are to mirror God’s mercy…since after all…we are made in God’s image. God is totally merciful…loving even when love is not returned. We are called to mirror that mercy to the world…to love and forgive instead of judging and condemning. This is impossible as long as our egos are in charge. Jesus spent 40 days in the desert to deal head-on with all the ego enticements of possessions, power & prestige. He instead chose to live His life mirroring the love, mercy, compassion and forgiveness of God to others. Lent is a good time for us to enter the desert as well.

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.
Have a blessed day!

Matthew 5:21-22
“You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, ‘You shall not murder’; and ‘whoever murders shall be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be liable to judgment.”

Jesus takes the commandments to another level…basically saying that even if you get angry with someone you are guilty of breaking the commandment against murder! In other words…it’s an impossible standard to keep. Did He say this so we’d all be afraid and feel horrible? No! It is so we understand that it’s not our goodness…but God’s goodness that saves us. You cannot merit or achieve your salvation. It is a gift from God! God knows you cannot keep such an impossible standard that demands perfection…because God wants to be with you in your struggles…embrace you in your imperfection…forgive you and thereby transform you so that you can be a more compassionate person! God does not want to punish you…but redeem you! As it says in Psalm 130:7, “For with the Lord is mercy, with him is full redemption.” So fall into the arms of God and open yourself to unconditional Love. Then…pass that same unconditional love on to someone else.

Suggested song of the day—“God’s Love Is All You Need” on the Listen to Your Heart album.
All songs available on iTunes. Click on the link under blogroll to the right.
Have a blessed day!

Matthew 7:7
“Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you.”

When we ask, seek and knock…we are in the process of receiving, finding and having the door opened. It is in the asking…seeking and knocking…that we are present to the Divine Presence. When we are truly present…we are in God’s Presence. It is only then that God’s will can be done…the now…where God is eternally Present and pouring out unconditional love. It is only in the now that God can give…and is giving to us. Now. Believe that you are receiving, finding and that the door is being opened. Stop for a moment…and look back on all the ways God had given you gifts beyond measure…even when at the time you were quite unaware of what was happening. Be thankful.

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.
Have a blessed day!