God’s Will

Posted on January 24, 2019 by billtonnis

When my ego decreases…my true self increases.

(Listen to my song “Breathe On Me” on YouTube by clicking HERE)

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Psalm 40:7

Sacrifice or oblation you wished not, but ears open to obedience you gave me.

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This scripture is very similar to what the prophet Hosea said that God told him to preach: “For it is loyalty that I desire, not sacrifice, and knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings” (Hosea 6:6).

Jesus quoted it as well: “Go and learn the meaning of the words, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ I did not come to call the righteous but sinners” (Matthew 9:13).

It seems God doesn’t need our sacrifices.

That doesn’t mean that our sacrifices are bad…not if they are actually making us more loving, compassionate, and forgiving.

But the only sacrifice God seems to have any real interest in…is when we sacrifice our egos…when we sacrifice our way for God’s way.

And God’s way is always the loving, compassionate and forgiving way.

May it be ours as well.

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Listen to the song of the day “Breathe On Me” on the Listen to Your Heart album by clicking HERE.

Stream and/or purchase my songs on iTunes by clicking HERE.

Remember…God loves you!

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Law of Love

Posted on January 23, 2019 by billtonnis

Compassion is always a requirement in a Christian response.

(Listen to my song “I Want to Follow You” on YouTube by clicking HERE)

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Mark 3:1-4

Again Jesus entered the synagogue. There was a man there who had a withered hand. They watched Jesus closely to see if he would cure him on the sabbath so that they might accuse him. He said to the man with the withered hand, “Come up here before us.” Then he said to them, “Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath rather than to do evil, to save life rather than to destroy it?” But they remained silent.

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Jesus continues his lesson from yesterday.

When it comes to laws and rules…they must be broken if following them would lead you to violate the law of love.

Remember that Jesus said the two most important commandments of all are these: “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.”

And second: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:37-39).

Love overrules the rules for followers of Jesus.

Of course, it seems that many of today’s Christians don’t seem to understand that being Christian means actually following Jesus…as in doing what he did.

So before you say or do anything…make your determining factor be whether it reflects love.

What will your loving response be to today’s tough issues?

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Listen to the song of the day “I Want to Follow You” on the Listen to Your Heart album by clicking HERE.

Stream and/or purchase my songs on iTunes by clicking HERE.

Remember…God loves you!

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Christianity 101

Posted on January 22, 2019 by billtonnis

Jesus mandates compassion.

(Listen to my song “Radically Okay” on YouTube by clicking HERE)

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Mark 2:23-24

As he was passing through a field of grain on the sabbath, his disciples began to make a path while picking the heads of grain. At this the Pharisees said to him, “Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the sabbath?”

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This is another example of Jesus seeing with a “non-dual” mind.

It’s not either-or for Jesus…but both-and.

He can both follow laws and break them when compassion calls for it.

He doesn’t see answers to complex issues in black-and-white.

His disciples picking grains on the Sabbath broke the law that prohibits anyone from working on that day.

But Jesus told the Pharisees that his followers were hungry.

A compassionate response to a human need always overruled the rules for Jesus.

We should take note…especially in our response to the current crisis of migrants seeking asylum and the undocumented people who have come to this country out of desperation.

Complex issues involving human suffering and dignity call for outside-the-box, compassionate responses…at least if you’re going to be followers of Jesus.

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Listen to the song of the day “Radically Okay” on the Mercy Reigns album by clicking HERE.

Stream and/or purchase my songs on iTunes by clicking HERE.

Remember…God loves you!

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Open Minds and Hearts

Posted on January 21, 2019 by billtonnis

For something new to start…something old must end.

(Listen to my song “Take the Road Less Traveled” on YouTube by clicking HERE)

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Mark 2:22

“No one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the skins are ruined. Rather, new wine is poured into fresh wineskins.”

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Jesus was making the point that sometimes old containers and structures need to be replaced or at least revised.

Many prophets called on the current institutions of their day to change.

One such prophet was Martin Luther King, Jr.

The “dream” he preached about so famously has yet to be realized.

Jesus is still calling us to listen to his words above.

The institutional Church should listen to Jesus as well.

Today we have vast new knowledge in the realms of medicine, science, psychology, astronomy, etc.

There have been many advances.

No one would dream of treating an illness with a first century treatment.

All this new information and understanding affects and informs our practices today…and that includes religion.

At least…it should.

New wine is being poured.

Theologians exploring new frontiers need to be listened to.

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Listen to the song of the day “Take the Road Less Traveled” on the Live to Love album by clicking HERE.

Stream and/or purchase my songs on iTunes by clicking HERE.

Remember…God loves you!

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Glorious

Posted on January 18, 2019 by billtonnis

Wondrous acts are unfolding in the midst of everything.

(Listen to my song “How Magnificent, Wondrous and Glorious” on YouTube by clicking HERE)

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Psalm 78:4

We do not keep them from our children; we recount them to the next generation, the praiseworthy deeds of the LORD and his strength, the wonders that he performed.

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It’s easy to miss the miracles happening all around us each moment.

It’s happening in nature, in our bodies, in the earth, in the skies, and in the grand expanses of the universe.

But many times we focus on the human-made delusions that spring from egomania.

Instead of love being our motivation, it’s greed and fear.

We must wake up!

We need to make it a regular practice to pass along to the next generation “the praiseworthy deeds” of God!

We need to tell them the wonders that God performed!

That means, of course, that we must pay attention to those wonders.

This takes a contemplative approach to life.

It takes being a mystic.

As Richard Rohr puts it, “Mysticism is about the experiential knowledge of God…not just textbook definitions.”

Or as the late Jesuit theologian Karl Rahner wrote, “The Christian of the future will be a mystic, or he will not exist at all (in Theological Investigations XX, 149).”

Mysticism, he wrote, is “a genuine experience of God emerging from the very heart of our existence.” 

Are you awake to the sacred in your midst?

A contemplative prayer practice will be very helpful if not essential.

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Listen to the song of the day “How Magnificent, Wondrous and Glorious” on the Mercy Reigns album by clicking HERE.

Stream and/or purchase my songs on iTunes by clicking HERE.

Remember…God loves you!

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Pour Me Out

Posted on January 17, 2019 by billtonnis

EGO stands for: Edge God Out

(Listen to my song “Pour Me Out” on YouTube by clicking HERE)

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Mark 1:45

The man went away and began to publicize the whole matter. He spread the report abroad so that it was impossible for Jesus to enter a town openly. He remained outside in deserted places, and people kept coming to him from everywhere.

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In today’s scripture, a man described as a “leper” approached Jesus and begged to be made “clean.”

Jesus healed him on the spot…no questions asked.

The man did not have to prove he was somehow worthy.

He didn’t have to say he’d do something in the future or adhere to any rules or regulations.

There was no test.

There was no judgment.

There was only a loving response to a need.

And there was no ego involved.

For Jesus, it was never about him.

He didn’t want notoriety or to be a celebrity.

It was all about healing and restoring others…bringing them wholeness. 

Jesus emptied himself.

We are called to do the same.

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Listen to the song of the day “Pour Me Out” on the Mercy Reigns album by clicking HERE.

Stream and/or purchase my songs on iTunes by clicking HERE.

Remember…God loves you!

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Be Still

Posted on January 16, 2019 by billtonnis

“Silence is God’s first language.” – St. John of the Cross

(Listen to my song “Turn Off the Noise” on YouTube by clicking HERE)

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Mark 1:35-38

Rising very early before dawn, he left and went off to a deserted place, where he prayed. Simon and those who were with him pursued him and on finding him said, “Everyone is looking for you.” He told them, “Let us go on to the nearby villages that I may preach there also. For this purpose have I come.”

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If you are a follower of Jesus…then it would seem that you must have some kind of prayer practice.

Jesus often went off to some “deserted place” to pray.

When he taught his followers how to pray, he instructed them to “go to your inner room, close the door, and pray to your Father in secret.”

He also told them to not use many words (Matthew 6:6-7).

It would seem to be important to spend time in relative silence with God.

It would also seem that this time of surrender was exactly the foundation from which Jesus’ next actions in ministry would sprout.

Contemplation leads to action.

I recommend a regular meditation or centering prayer practice…and before dawn would be ideal but not mandatory.

This is not a time to think…but a time to not think; a time to let go…and listen.

As St. John of the Cross said, “Silence is God’s first language.” To which Thomas Keating added, “Everything else is a poor translation.”

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Listen to the song of the day “Listen to Your Heart” on the Listen to Your Heart album by clicking HERE.

Stream and/or purchase my songs on iTunes by clicking HERE.

Remember…God loves you!

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Compassion Commanded

Posted on January 15, 2019 by billtonnis

Love overrules the rules.

(Listen to my song “Mercy Reigns” on YouTube by clicking HERE)

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Mark 1:21-22

Then they came to Capernaum, and on the sabbath he entered the synagogue and taught. The people were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes.

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The scribes taught on the strict authority of the Torah.

It was all there in black and white.

The law was the law.

But Jesus came along and taught on his own authority.

He would pick and choose scripture to make his point.

Jesus only used the verses that pointed to the God that he knew…the One that was all loving, compassionate and forgiving.

And note that when Jesus was asked what the greatest commandment was (Matthew 22:37-39), of his own authority he picked from two different books of the Torah.

“You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind (Deuteronomy 6:5). This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Leviticus 19:18).

For Jesus, love ruled.

We are called to do the same.

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Listen to the song of the day “Mercy Reigns” on the Mercy Reigns album by clicking HERE.

Stream and/or purchase my songs on iTunes by clicking HERE.

Remember…God loves you!

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Wake Up

Posted on January 14, 2019 by billtonnis

Put your mind on pause. Stop. God is here.

(Listen to my song “I Stand in the Light” on YouTube by clicking HERE)

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Mark 1:14-15

Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the gospel of God: “This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand.”

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I think this is such a simple statement…and yet profound.

Jesus makes this enlightened message the first of his preaching ministry.

Now is the time of fulfillment.

Not some distant time in the future…but now.

This is the moment when “the kingdom of God” comes to being.

Be present to life!

Each moment is the only time that is real…when you can experience the wonder of all that is…when the sacred becomes one with the ordinary.

Awaken to the Divine Presence.

Let the endless commentary…the constant loop of repetitious thoughts in your mind…cease.

Stop.

Be.

Bask in the glory of God’s love.

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Listen to the song of the day “I Stand in the Light” on the Mercy Reigns album by clicking HERE.

Stream and/or purchase my songs on iTunes by clicking HERE.

Remember…God loves you!

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Unify

Posted on January 10, 2019 by billtonnis

Love is all that matters…all the time.

(Listen to my song “All Are One” on YouTube by clicking HERE)

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1 John 4:20

If anyone says, “I love God,” but hates his brother, he is a liar; for whoever does not love a brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.

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Of course, it’s not just our “brother” we need to love…but our enemies as well (Matthew 5:44).

That was one of those “non-negotiables” right from Jesus’ mouth.

It’s also roundly ignored and virtually never preached.

We must love everyone.

As a matter of fact…love is the most important thing of all: Love God and your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22:34-40).

Today’s scripture makes it clear that to love God you must love the other.

That includes the immigrant, the asylum-seeker, the gay person, the transgender person, the Muslim, the poor person, etc.

And it also includes terrorists and those people in that political party that you can’t stand.

Let us begin with the next person we meet.

It is the only way that the delusion of divisions will dissolve.

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Listen to the song of the day “All Are One” on the Mercy Reigns album by clicking HERE.

Stream and/or purchase my songs on iTunes by clicking HERE.

Remember…God loves you!

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