Grace Upon Grace

Posted on January 9, 2019 by billtonnis

It may take time…but love will always win out.

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

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1 John 4:18

There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear because fear has to do with punishment, and so one who fears is not yet perfect in love.

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When you experience being loved unconditionally…you can’t help being transformed.

When you least deserve or merit it…you are loved.

This confounds the mind and the ego.

If you’ve ever experienced it…your heart melts.

For me…my life could never be the same.

I could no longer buy that God…who is Love itself…could ever do anything but love us.

There was no longer anything to fear about God because as the scripture says above, “perfect love drives out fear because fear has to do with punishment.”

Love does not punish.

God’s justice is not retributive…but restorative.

When we do something opposed to love…God wishes for us to see and feel what we’ve done but only in the gaze of Love.

This is exactly what moves a person to want to make amends so that restoration can begin.

We experience this kind of love when we look upon Jesus on the cross when he says, “Father, forgive them, they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34).

That, my friend, is grace.

It helps explain why Jesus would tell mystic Julian of Norwich, “All shall be well.”

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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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Top Priority

Posted on January 8, 2019 by billtonnis

May all we say and do be filtered by compassion.

(Listen to my song “Make Me a Channel” on YouTube by clicking HERE)

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1 John 4:8

Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love.

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God is everywhere.

As St. Paul said, “In him we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28).

But some people are unaware of God.

They are estranged from Love because of human circumstances.

Sometimes they are abused by other humans.

That doesn’t mean that God doesn’t love them…for God is Love.

But sometimes God needs humans to be channels of that Love to others.

God loves everyone and everything unconditionally.

We are called to do the same.

How will Love be known if it is not shared?

Be that channel of Love now…and always.

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Listen to my song “Make Me a Channel” 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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Be Here Now

Posted on January 7, 2019 by billtonnis

Happiness is found in the present moment.

(Listen to my song “Slow Me Down” on YouTube by clicking HERE)

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Matthew 4:17

From that time on, Jesus began to preach and say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

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It was only after forty days in the desert fasting and facing his inner temptations…that Jesus began his ministry.

He had to first empty himself, letting go of his bodily and egotistical desires.

It was only then that he could be totally present to the Divine Presence…and realize who he was.

Then…new life could begin.

And the first message of his ministry was the scripture verse above: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

Repent means to change your direction.

Turn around!

Stop looking for happiness in places that will lead to despair!

You actually don’t have to look anywhere…for the “kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

It’s here and now for those who are awake.

Be present.

The Love that made the universe…is with you.

You are the beloved.

Go and share this Love with everyone and everything.

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Listen to the song of the day “Slow Me Down” 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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Live in Love

Posted on January 3, 2019 by billtonnis

When you live as your true self…you are truly free.

(Listen to my song “Shall We Sing” on YouTube by clicking HERE)

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1 John 3:2

Beloved, we are God’s children now; what we shall be has not yet been revealed. We do know that when it is revealed we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.

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There is a beautiful plan unfolding.

Each of us is part of it.

God…or Unconditional Love itself…is still creating.

It is all evolving toward a grand climax.

Each of us is invited into the creative dance.

We have a choice of whether to take part in the Divine dance…or the human delusion created by arrogance and greed.

If we let go of our ego-driven false selves…we will realize more and more who we truly are: children of God.

It is only then that we will be able to open our hearts to receive this Love and freely share it.

Be co-creators in this grand love story in progress.

Share your gifts!

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Listen to the song of the day “Shall We Sing” 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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The Word Became Flesh

Posted on December 24, 2018 by billtonnis

“Into this world, this demented inn
in which there is absolutely no room for him at all,
Christ comes uninvited.

But because he cannot be at home in it,
because he is out of place in it,
and yet he must be in it,
His place is with the others for whom
there is no room.

His place is with those who do not belong,
who are rejected by power, because
they are regarded as weak,
those who are discredited,
who are denied status of persons,
who are tortured, bombed and exterminated.

With those for whom there is no room,
Christ is present in this world.”


– Thomas Merton “The Time of the End Is the Time of No Room”

in Raids on the Unspeakable, p 51-52

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Wondrous Journey

Posted on December 19, 2018 by billtonnis

We come from Love and will return to Love on the winding road to wholeness.

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

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Psalm 71:16-17

I will speak of the mighty works of the Lord; O GOD, I will tell of your singular justice. God, you have taught me from my youth; to this day I proclaim your wondrous deeds.

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When I look back over my lifetime, I am in awe of the way God has worked.

As author and retreat leader Paula D’Arcy said, “God comes to you disguised as your life.”

It is a wondrous, amazing adventure of joys and sorrows through which we are embraced in Love.

Sometimes this Love’s aim is to comfort us and sometimes to celebrate with us…but always with the goal of leading us to new life and wholeness.

God…or Love itself…is partnering with each of us in a grand plan of creation.

The key is to lean in…let go…and love.

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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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Keep Hope Alive

Posted on December 18, 2018 by billtonnis

How will the oppressed and those in need get help…if not for you and me?

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

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Psalm 72:12-13

For he rescues the poor when they cry out, the oppressed who have no one to help. He shows pity to the needy and the poor and saves the lives of the poor.

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If you read the bible it is impossible to miss that God seems to have a special affection for the poor and the oppressed.

Jesus reflects this same affection.

This is sometimes referred to as Jesus’ mission statement: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free” (Luke 4:18).

Then, of course, he also said: “Whatever you did for one of these least brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me” (Matthew 25:40).

If you identify as a Christian, then that means you are a follower of Jesus.

That means you look out for the interests of the poor and “the oppressed who have no one to help.”

God wants to “save the lives of the poor” but needs our cooperation.

Who are those in need of your attention?

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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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Eternally Safe

Posted on December 13, 2018 by billtonnis

Take refuge in the One who created everything in love.

(Listen to my song “God Is” on YouTube by clicking HERE)

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Isaiah 41:13

For I am the LORD, your God, who grasp your right hand; It is I who say to you, “Do not fear, I will help you.”

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Sometimes it feels like God is absent.

But feelings are deceptive.

Just as we are generally quite unaware of the air that we breathe…it is still there.

So it is with God who is animating all that is.

As Richard Rohr once pointed out, “Both Franciscan John Duns Scotus and Dominican Thomas Aquinas said Deus est Ens, God is Being itself.”

St. Paul put it this way when speaking of how near God is to us: “In him we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28).

It is impossible for God to abandon us…no matter what it may feel like.

So in your time of need…reach out…call out…to the Creator of all.

Then trust that the prophet Isaiah’s words above are indeed the words of God who says, “Do not fear, I will help you.”

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Listen to the song of the day “God Is” on the Give Praise and Thanks album by clicking HERE.

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

Remember…God loves you!

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Be You

Posted on December 12, 2018 by billtonnis

“When the ego weeps for what it has lost, the spirit rejoices in what it has found.” (Sufi Proverb)

(Listen to my song “Let It Be Done to Me” on YouTube by clicking HERE)

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Luke 1:38

“May it be done to me according to your word.”

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Letting go of our ego’s self-centered desires is the key to allowing your true self to come forth.

To make this happen…you almost have to have some contemplative practice…some method of literally letting go of the ego’s constant attempts to remain in control.

Some form of meditation is one way to practice being present…allowing your non-stop thoughts to slow to a trickle and then stop.

However, most of us are addicted to our thoughts and constant  commentaries.

It is from this place of the “now” where you can open your heart for a Divine message.

It is only then that you can get an inkling of your true self and begin living your purpose.

It is only then that you can echo Mary’s words above: “May it be done to me according to your word.”

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Listen to the song of the day “Let It Be Done to Me” 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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Channel Love

Posted on December 11, 2018 by billtonnis

We need more missionaries of compassion.

(Listen to my song “I Will Give You Rest” on YouTube by clicking HERE)

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Isaiah 40:1

Comfort, give comfort to my people, says your God.

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Jesus shows us the face of God.

He was always reaching out to those in need, the suffering, the outcasts.

His aim was always to heal, restore, and give comfort.

If you are in need of a good word, a loving embrace, God is always available…always ready to comfort you.

That’s what Unconditional Love does.

So receive this Love…be at peace…and then pass it on to someone else.

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Listen to my song “I Will Give You Rest” 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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