Bill Tonnis Ministries

Psalm 71:5
You are my hope, Lord; my trust, God, from my youth.

When things are going well…let’s face it…we aren’t relying on God or even thinking much about God. We pretty much think we can do it all on our own. It’s only when things go awry…not according to our plans…when we slip and fall…when we get hit with pain and suffering…that we turn to God. And when those times have come in my life…a Higher Power has always gotten me through. A Deeper Mystery has always held me and carried me. In this Advent time…why not open ourselves more to this Loving God? Why not empty ourselves of our endless egocentric desires…so that there is an open space for God to enter and fill by Christmas morning? More of God’s Presence in our hearts…would be the best Present we could possibly receive.

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!

John 5:36
“The works that the Father gave me to accomplish, these works that I perform testify on my behalf that the Father has sent me.”

When Jesus was born…God became one of us as a helpless, little baby. God experienced everything we experience in human flesh. God became one with us. And then what did Jesus do? He healed. He forgave. He reached out to the outcast, the forgotten, the lost. He worked to bring all together as one. If you are feeling like the outcast…the forgotten…the lost…God wants me to let you know…that you have not been forgotten. God could never forget a precious son or daughter.

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!

Psalm 30:12-13
You changed my mourning into dancing; you took off my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness. With my whole being I sing endless praise to you. O Lord, my God, forever will I give you thanks.

We are all struggling with something…because life does not always go the way we plan. So…why not let go of the struggle? I recently heard a great Christian teacher say that we don’t let go of it…because we don’t want to! The pain and struggle begin to define us…and without it…we don’t know who we are. Why not truly look at the pain or struggle…and tell it that it is no longer going to hold any power over you? Why not simply hand it to God? Jesus told us to hand over our burdens to Him. The same Christian teacher said that he knew a man who was dying of AIDS. The man said that his final few months were his happiest…because even amidst the suffering…he had finally let go of all the things that don’t matter…that had become “attachments” that he had allowed to dictate to him his “happiness.” You are a child of God and are loved eternally just the way you are. Nothing can change that. “With my whole being I sing endless praise to you. O Lord, my God, forever will I give you thanks.”

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 7:22
And Jesus said to them in reply, “Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind regain their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have the good news proclaimed to them.”

John the Baptist was confronted in his final days with a dilemma of uncertainty about Jesus. The One he had awaited…the One he was certain was the Messiah…he no longer was sure about. Jesus did not come in might and power…but in peace and compassion. The Living Christ wants to bring you into a deeper experience of love, mercy, grace, forgiveness and compassion. It is not about certainty…but faith…which is about believing and trusting even when it doesn’t make sense. Why believe and trust? Because Jesus opened the eyes of the blind and the ears of the deaf, healed the lame and sick and proclaimed Good News to those who had lost everything of this world. When struggles come and life does not make sense…trust in the One who promises to bring you to New Life.

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!

Psalm 34:19
The Lord is close to the broken-hearted, saves those whose spirit is crushed.

Sometimes life deals us a bad hand. Sometimes things don’t go the way we’d like them to go. Sometimes we have to go through horrible pain due to either our own actions or through no fault of our own. I know that in my life it has been the times of great suffering when I have experienced the greatest and most transforming love of God. It’s precisely when I’m least in control that God is able to do what God wants to do…rescue me! It’s then that I can see that the love of God has nothing to do with my earning it or my goodness. It has everything to do with God freely giving it and God’s goodness. It’s only when we reach the end of our rope that we have no choice but to let go…and fall into the arms of a God Who promises to never let us go no matter how bleak the situation may appear. It’s only in those times that we can experience the saving power of a love beyond our wildest imaginations.

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.
Have a blessed day!

Zechariah 2:17
Silence, all people, in the presence of the Lord! for he stirs forth from his holy dwelling.

The prophet’s advice from 500 years before Jesus remains a profound one today. How can we hear God speak to us if we continue to bombard ourselves with endless noise…constant audio and visual stimulation not to mention our addiction to chronic physical busy-ness? God speaks in silence. Only God can tell us who we are and why we are here. Why would we not create a space of silence so we could hear what God is saying? Our Creator is yearning to satisfy our inner craving for something more and fulfilling. Advent is the perfect time to stop…wait…let-go…and listen.

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!

Isaiah 48:17
Thus says the Lord, your redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: I, the Lord, your God, teach you what is for your good, and lead you on the way you should go.

As it was 700 years before Jesus was born when Isaiah was prophesying…as it was a thousand years before Isaiah…as it is now…God is our Redeemer. God is, was, and will be teaching us and leading us because God is Love. God is leading us to the fullness of Love and to the fullness of who we are as humans. Jesus gave us the model of living our lives and told us that He is the way, the truth and the life. Follow Him. Take time each day to sit in silence…allowing your thoughts to drift away. Empty yourself…so that a space opens for God to fill. Allow Christ to become flesh in you in a new way this Christmas. Follow where the Spirit leads 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.
Have a blessed day!

Luke 1:38
Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.”

Mary gives us the perfect example of how to live our lives with her statement to the angel Gabriel. What if each of us lived that pledge? “Dear God, I am your servant. I put aside my plans…and ask that you make known Your purposes for my life…so that I might live accordingly.” It is the exact opposite of our culture’s insistence that you go for all the gold…grab all you can…attain wealth, power and prestige. Mary emptied herself of those “ego aims” and pledged to live according to God’s wishes. Easier said than done…you might say! Listen to the prayer of the famous monk Thomas Merton: “My God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you. And I hope that I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road, though I may know nothing about it.”

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!

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

Sometimes we crumble under the struggles and stresses of life. Perhaps that is necessary for us to finally let go of trying to control everything and to simply surrender it into the hands of God. Jesus gives us a gentle invitation to simply come to Him and place ourselves into His care. Try it. Feel the comforting peace that will enfold and warm you. Sometimes our plans have to be thoroughly thwarted before we will be able to fall into the open arms and loving embrace of God…and then be able to hear the gentle whisper of “I love you” in our hearts. God went to great lengths to give us this message in Christ. Contemplate this for a moment and give thanks.

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 18:12-13
“What is your opinion? If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them goes astray, will he not leave the ninety-nine in the hills and go in search of the stray? And if he finds it, amen, I say to you, he rejoices more over it than over the ninety-nine that did not stray.”

Have you ever “strayed” from God? My guess is that since we are all human…we have all strayed! I think God knows this…since God is the One who made us! This being the case…I think there is something very important in the fact that Jesus isn’t saying that the owner of the sheep will chastise or punish the sheep who has run off. No! He says that the man (God) will relentlessly pursue the wayward sheep (you and me) until he finds that sheep. This is how we will experience the transforming love of our Creator. Redemption is not our doing…but God’s! Allow this to sink into your soul. This is very Good News!

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.
Have a blessed day!