Lead Me, O Lord

April 30, 2018 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

We are always looking for the the best way to go, looking for the right path, whether physically going from one place to another or mentally trying to make a decision. We analyze and assess multiple options and eventually proceed. We do this so often it is easy to forget to consult with our Creator and to consider what direction or path will keep leading us closer to Christ versus leading us farther away in from our relationship with Him. God knows you better than anyone, even if you haven’t spent much time with Him. You are His child and He loves you. Take time to meet with Him each day and bring your choices to Him. May God’s peace be with you.

IMG_20180427_publish

“Teach me your way, O Lord; lead me in a straight path because of my oppressors.”

Psalm 27:11

(This photo was taken in April of 2018 while walking the dog at a park near Plymouth, Minnesota)

The Power Of Faith

April 29, 2018 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

The blessings that come from our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ are so great it is hard to fully appreciate. We should be careful not to underestimate the gifts God has given us. Each and every one of us has been created and blessed with special talents and our role in life is to learn about those gifts and talents and then to use them to do good things in and around our community, to help others and to spread the Good News of Jesus. Our actions and the things we choose to do and say are a good indication of where we are in our personal faith journey. For myself, I did not understand or spend much time thinking about such things until about 8 years ago and in the last 8 years I have experienced events of all kinds in life, pain and suffering as well as joy and contentment…most importantly I have been learning to be more open to putting my relationship with God first…I have been learning gratitude and thankfulness…I also know I still have a lot of learning left to do as I still mess things up frequently. The best part of my journey so far…I know more about who God has made me to be and I know He is always with me no matter what…I know because He told me so in His instruction manual for life…the Bible. May God’s love, joy and peace be with you.

DSC01214 publish

“For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.”

2 Timothy 1:7

(This photo was taken in April of 2016 during the sunrise at a lake place in central Minnesota)

The Joy Of The Lord

April 28, 2018 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

We live and we work, we eat and we drink, we move from one activity to the next day by day. We face decisions and choices day after day, big decisions, little choices and through it all God calls to us to live life to the fullest. What does that mean for you? What is living to the fullest? It all depends on the perspective you choose to look from…if you choose to view life through the eyes of the world measuring success by possessions, material things and number of likes on social media then you will find much disappointment. If you choose to look at life through the spiritual perspective, with a daily connection with God, praying for and helping others, serving those in need and living life filled with the fruits of the spirit…you will find joy. True joy is found only in a relationship with Jesus Christ. May God’s love and joy be with you.

DSC_0730 publish

“I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.”

John 15:11

(This photo was taken in July of 2016 in Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming)

Do You Not Know? Have You Not Heard?

April 27, 2018 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

There are so many different verses in the bible that can become a connection point for us. God’s Word is filled with life application instructions and teachings. I have heard people say I son’t know what to do, or all I can do is pray…the power of scripture and prayer should not be underestimated. If you haven’t seen it or you are unsure if God is present in your life…give this a try. Pick up a bible and find words that may apply to your situation…not sure what part of the book to go to…go out onto the internet and type ‘bible verses about (insert your topic here).’ The world is filled with darkness, evil and suffering…choose to follow the light that has been given to us and see what God has planned for you. May God’s peace be with you.

DSC_0559 publish

“Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.

He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.

They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”

Isaiah 40:28-31

(This photo was taken in July of 2016 while driving along Beartooth Pass in Montana)

Anything Is Possible

April 26, 2018 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

Why do we doubt so much? Why is it so hard for us to believe what may be possible with God? When we are willing to surrender to His plan and His way in His time, there’s no telling what can happen. Look at the stories in the bible…Abraham and Sarah had a child they had so longed for when Sarah was 90…the 5000 were fed when all that was available to eat was a few fish and some bread…Lazarus is raised from the dead after being gone for a few days…and there are so many more examples. When God is involved in a situation anything is possible. We must turn to Him first with whatever we are facing and remember He is not a genie in a bottle who sometimes grants wishes…He is our creator, our savior and our guide who always has good things in store for us. Trust in the Lord and watch to see what He has in store for you. May the joy of the Lord be with you.

DSC_0699 publish

“For nothing is impossible with God.”

Luke 1:37

(This photo was taken in July of 2016 in Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming)

Walking In The Light

April 25, 2018 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

Actions speak louder than words…words are an introduction, actions are the full story. In the life of Jesus we learn that He taught the people with His words and He showed the people the truth with His actions. Being true to our word is a characteristic that seems to be fading away in this ‘me’ first world. Living life by walking in the light is being very aware of what we say we will or won’t do and then following through with what we said…if we say, I will call you later, we need to be sure to do it…if we say I will pray for you, we need to offer an honest to goodness true prayer to God regarding that person. The concept in words is simple…the execution in daily life is the next step in our faith journey. May God’s peace be with you.

DSC09797 publish

“But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.”

1 John 1:7

(This photo was taken in September of 2014 while on a walk in a neighborhood near Plymouth, Minnesota)

Free Will

April 24, 2018 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

One of the most sacred aspects regarding the creation of humans is free will. We are given the gift of free will by God to decide and to choose our behavior and attitude each day. How we choose to live is our responsibility and no one else’s. We choose to do good or to do wrong or we choose to do nothing. Everybody in the world is fighting a battle of some kind, real life is not what people are posting on social media, that is merely the book cover that people want to present to the world. We should not take our free will for granted, use the power to choose how you will live to do good for others, just as Christ did to save you. May God’s peace be with you.

DSC_0230 publish

“You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. The entire law is summed up in a single command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.”

Galatians 5:13-15

(This photo was taken in March of 2018 while traveling through southern New Mexico)

Do Good Works

April 23, 2018 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

Go out into the world of your daily life knowing that God is with you and do good things. Do not measure your goodness by how people in this world do or do not react, do not measure your goodness by how many “likes” or “shares” you have on social media. Do good work that benefits, encourages and uplifts another person. It can be just one other person or it can be more depending on where God is leading you. Fulfill a need of another person without expectation of getting something in return. Everything you do, every single day, God knows about it and our relationship with Him is most important one of our lives. May God’s love and peace be with you.

DSC_0224 publish

“For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

Ephesians 2:10

(This photo was taken in March of 2018 while driving through southern New Mexico)

The Lord Is Knocking At The Door

April 22, 2018 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

As we venture down the road of a life of faith and spiritual growth we will come to decisions and choices in life and as we learn to listen for God in our conscious, the trust part of faith will need to be addressed. Similar to yesterday’s post about prayer…there is saying I believe in God and I believe Jesus Christ is the Son of God who came down from heaven, was crucified, died and was buried. I believe He has risen and He lives in me…and then there is actually living your life with trust in what you believe. Many of us get stuck at this point, myself included, we are searching to open the right door and to invite Jesus into every aspect of our life and yet we still end up going off the track and wonder what the heck happened here…one of the greatest gifts of God is that He loves us so much that He will never leave us nor forsake us. He will continue to be with us every slow learning step of the way…Jesus will continue to knock at the door waiting for us to open it and invite Him in to eat with us. Don’t stop opening new doors, listen closely to God and read the Word of God to know which knock is the Lord. May God’s peace be with you.

DSC_0374 publish

“Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.”

Revelation 3:20

(This photo was taken in March of 2018 of a Yucca plant near Carlsbad Caverns in southern New Mexico)

Change Happens When You Truly Pray

April 21, 2018 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

How many times have we said, I will pray for you or I am praying for you…and then we never do it. We never sit quietly with God and discuss the specific concern or topic with Him. I know I am guilty of that and I am working really hard on not saying I will pray for you with out doing so the next morning during my daily devotions. I am really working on praying for people in situations in my morning time and telling them afterwords, I have been praying for you when I know it is true. When the words, my thoughts and prayers are with you, become just that a bunch of nice words with no action, we have really disgraced and disrespected the true power of prayer. The recent protests and marches have shown me that we have turned the power and privilege of prayer into a trite saying that causes anger and does not bring peace. True and honest prayer between you and God is powerful and it is one of the strongest weapons we have against evil and darkness…even the people that made the movie “Bruce Almighty” understand that, watch the scene near the end when Bruce is offering his prayer. My last thought for you…every morning just before I hit publish on these posts I pray for you as I pray for anyone who reads my post each day…May God’s love, joy and peace be with you.

DSC_0233 publish