Take Courage

Posted on March 13, 2018 by billtonnis

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There is an Eternal Love with you now and always.

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

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Psalm 46:2-3

God is our refuge and our strength, an ever-present help in distress. Thus we do not fear, though earth be shaken and mountains quake to the depths of the sea.

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“Ever-present.”

Is that how you experience God?

For many people, God was always viewed as far off –“watching us from a distance” as a popular song once said.

Or even worse…not even watching us…but somewhere far off in a distant heaven ignoring us.

However, the psalmist says God is not only “ever-present” but also “help in distress.”

God is actively present for our good.

When Moses asked for God’s name, God said: “I Am.”

God is “Always Here.”

Are you?

Are you focused on living in the now…or are you holding on to a past injury or worrying over something that is in the future?

God is present to you now and wants nothing more than to be with you now because you are God’s beloved child.

You are a reflection of the Divine Light.

And as St. Paul said, “For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor present things, nor future things, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39).

Jesus was the incarnation of God’s love poured out for us.

So be at peace.

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

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

Remember…God loves you!

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Death to Life

Posted on March 12, 2018 by billtonnis

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When we give ourselves in love…new life comes our way.

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

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Psalm 30:12-13

You changed my mourning into dancing; you took off my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness. O LORD, my God, forever will I give you thanks.

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God is in the redemption business.

The whole universe is participating in a great act of dying and rising.

All of it.

This is true for each of us on the large scale of our birth and death…and also on the smaller scale of each day as we go through little “dyings” and “risings” along the way.

There comes a time when we must let go of one thing so that another thing can begin.

When we resist change…we create suffering for ourselves by blocking the Spirit’s creative flow in our lives.

Dying and rising is part of the deal.

Love requires it.

Jesus showed us this quite clearly through how he lived and died.

As he stated, “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (John 15:13).

But he also showed us that death is not the end.

It’s the door to transformation and new life!

So allow this knowledge to settle in your heart.

Accept Love’s invitation to turn your mourning into dancing.

How magnificent, wondrous and glorious is God!

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

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

Remember…God loves you!

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Love Requires Action

Posted on March 9, 2018 by billtonnis

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May our lives be a participation in the Oneness of all.

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

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Mark 12:32-34

The scribe said to Jesus, “Well said, teacher. You are right in saying, ‘(God) is One and there is no other than he.’ And ‘to love him with all your heart, with all your understanding, with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself’ is worth more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.” And when Jesus saw that he answered with understanding, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.”

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The scribe had just asked Jesus to tell him what was the greatest commandment.

Jesus had answered that it was to love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength.

And then Jesus added that the second greatest commandment was to love your neighbor as yourself.

So in effect, Jesus said these two new commandments superseded the Ten Commandments.

Jesus is also quoted in Matthew 25 as saying, “whatever you did for the least of my brothers and sisters, you did for me.”

And what is it he asks us to do?

“For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me” (Matthew 25:35-36).

All those people…are our neighbors.

That means everyone.

Love is not just a concept. It requires action.

So when we love others as though they are us…we love Jesus.

That’s because we are all one in God.

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

The scribe told Jesus that loving God and others is more important than any sacrifice or offering you can make to God.

That’s because…when we join in the Trinitarian Flow of Love…an out-pouring of Love that has no end…we are truly “not far from the kingdom of God.”

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

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

Remember…God loves you!

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Wholeness

Posted on March 8, 2018 by billtonnis

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Contemplation and action leads to abundant life.

(Listen to my song “You’ll Lead Me” on YouTube by clicking HERE)

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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.

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The Prophet Jeremiah gives us great words to live by.

Listen to God’s voice…then you will be in relationship and connected.

Also…listen as a community so that you have unity with everyone as the people of God.

Then, being in relationship with our Source (who is Love), we are able to walk in the ways of Love that will be imparted to us in our hearts.

And then…we will truly prosper in love, mercy, compassion and grace.

It is then that the kingdom of God will be at hand.

God’s reign…in its glory and splendor…will break through in this very moment.

We can each play a part in the building the kingdom of God…using our gifts and talents to make a more compassionate and just world.

So let go of past hurts, stop worrying about the future, and listen for God’s voice.

Then…the adventure can begin!

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Listen to the song of the day “You’ll Lead Me” on the Listen to Your Heart album by clicking HERE.

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

Remember…God loves you!

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Be Changed

Posted on March 7, 2018 by billtonnis

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Love is a Creative Flow that beckons us to surrender and take part.

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

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Matthew 5:17-18

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. Amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter will pass from the law, until all things have taken place.”

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These words are not meant to be threatening but comforting.

It is only threatening if you falsely believe in a punishing God.

Remember: God is Love (1 John 4:8).

The law is meant to point us to love…but laws do not change hearts.

Love does.

And Love continues to fuel the Creative Process.

In today’s scripture verses, Jesus wants us to know that God will accomplish all things through Love.

But that could take a long time.

It takes our cooperation…since each of us has free will.

It’ll take lots of mercy and forgiveness to transform this world.

The very place where we come up short is exactly where Love steps in and saves us.

While the world’s transformation could take a while, yours and mine could be just a moment away.

All it takes is consciously awakening to the truth: God is Love and that Love is with us and for us now.

Allow this experience to lift you.

Surrender to it…and then – be this experience to everyone and everything you encounter.

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

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

Remember…God loves you!

 

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Freedom

Posted on March 6, 2018 by billtonnis

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Forgiveness is the key that opens the lock to a life of joy.

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

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Matthew 18:21-22

Then Peter approaching asked him, “Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus answered, “I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times.”

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Peter thought he was being very noble in extending forgiveness to his brother as many as seven times.

Jesus countered by telling Peter that basically…you must forgive your brother an infinite number of times.

This is exactly what our Loving Creator does with each of us.

Forgiveness changes hearts and brings the kingdom of God to life in the present moment.

It also frees you from the bondage of the chains that grudges and resentments cast upon you.

So let go of any past transgressions against you.

Ask for forgiveness for any wrongdoings.

Forgive yourself.

God does.

Then…bask in the freedom of God’s unfolding and unending unconditional Love.

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

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

Remember…God loves you!

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Unconditional Love

Posted on March 5, 2018 by billtonnis

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Each of us has a thirst that can only be quenched spiritually.

(Listen to my song “The Way You Are” on YouTube by clicking HERE)

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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.

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We all long for connection…to know that we are loved.

We want to know that we are enough.

We belong.

It’s as primal as our thirst for water.

This is one of those most profound human truths…but unfortunately, we are told many times by the world that it is not acceptable to be vulnerable.

Therefore, we pretend that we are self-sufficient…that we have it all together.

And then we try to satisfy our deep longing for acceptance with material and physical things…like food, alcohol, drugs, sex, entertainment…and various other addictive false medications.

That may work for a short while…but then the profound emptiness will return sending us into a cycle of addiction and sadness.

The solution is spiritual.

Only God…only Love itself…can save you.

This Love is unconditional.

It accepts you and cherishes you as is.

You don’t have to achieve anything or become a better version of what you already are: God’s beloved child.

You can experience this Love right now.

Stop.

Let go.

Open your heart…and know the living God.

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

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

Remember…God loves you!

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Love Requires Presence

Posted on March 2, 2018 by billtonnis

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May we be channels of peace, compassion and restoration.

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

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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.”

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Have you ever got so caught up in doing something exactly right…trying to be so perfect…that you became quite uptight and filled with angst?

Following the rules is generally a good thing but when it becomes an obsession you can become quite harsh and unloving.

This was the case with the chief priests and the Pharisees in Jesus’ day.

In today’s scripture verse, Jesus was again criticizing the religious leaders for being so engrossed in following the letter of the law that their hearts were hardened.

There was no “fruit” being produced from their actions.

The presence of God’s kingdom produces the fruit of love, mercy, forgiveness, compassion and fairness to all.

In God’s kingdom…Love always takes precedence over the law.

Whenever we are focused on being compassionately present to others…God’s kingdom comes to life in the here and now. 

The Love that we are then naturally flows from that Compassionate Presence into action. 

May we surrender our egos and open our hearts…so that we might produce the fruit of God’s kingdom.

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

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

Remember…God loves you!

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Trust in Love

Posted on March 1, 2018 by billtonnis

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Go where your heart leads you.

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

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Jeremiah 17:5

Thus says the Lord: Cursed is the man who trusts in human beings, who seeks his strength in flesh, whose heart turns away from the Lord.

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So many times it seems we let other people define us.

We look to others to receive validation.

But it is only God who can name us.

And God…who is Love (1 John 4:8)…creates us in love to know love and to be love.

So we, too, are Love.

The delusion is that we don’t know it!

Instead of letting God name us…we look to others.

Instead of acting from what our hearts tell us to do…we act on what others, society and the “world” tells us to do.

What is your heart yearning to do?

To know…you must awaken from the illusion created by the stories your mind, your ego and others have been concocting about you.

You…the true you…is love. And God loves you eternally.

Believe that.

Stop trying to please your ego or others. That will only lead to emptiness.

Who or what is motivating your actions?

May you awaken to God’s constant Presence and Infinite Love for you…each moment.

Live there.

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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.

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

Remember…God loves you!

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Strands of My Life

Posted on March 1, 2018 by billtonnis

Those multiple, often struggling strands of my life, surrendered humbly at the sacred altar of the Divine Spirit, will be transformed into graced Oneness with the All of Creation’s movement and growing into Perfect Love. © 2018 Dennis Ference

via Strands of My Life — Merging Traffic

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