If God Is For Us…

July 31, 2019 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

What more could we possibly need? He is our Creator. The Old Testament tells us about the back and forth relationship between the people and God. Eventually God decides there is only One way to save us and because of His great love for us, it is finished. God tried many different ways to have relationships with people and Jesus Christ knows what it is like to be human in this world. God knows you; He knows more about you than you realize and He loves you. All that is good comes from God, He is with you and His plan is for good things in your life and even though things will go wrong because of sin in the world, He will still be with you to strengthen you and encourage you to keep going, keep trying and keep trusting in Him. Seek out God and His plan and you will find peace. Amen.

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“What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us,who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?”

Romans 8:31-32

(This photo was taken in August of 2016 in Mount Rainier National Park in Washington)

Put Your Trust In God

July 30, 2019 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

What do you put your trust in? Who do you believe is trustworthy? Take a moment and think about it. The dictionary states trust is – firm belief in the reliability, truth, ability, or strength of someone or something. So, who or what in your life do you trust? The world is filled with deception, selfishness, lying, cheating, etc… these things were brought into the world by the human race. There is still hope…there is One who is worthy of trust. There is One who is reliable, who is the truth, who has the ability and the strength and He is the One who sacrificed himself to save us…Jesus Christ. He is a Light in the darkness, turn to Jesus and put your trust in God. Amen.

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“Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I entrust my life.”

Psalm 143:8

(This photo was taken in July of 2016 while traveling through North Dakota)

Safe Pasture

July 29, 2019 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

What does it take to feel safe? To have shelter, food and water? These are the physical essentials for life. When traveling on mission trips, I have met some people who struggle for these things every day and yet they seem to have unique peace about them…for others they have all these things and much more and they are worried, scattered, scared. This isn’t true in all cases for either group of people, however, there was a noticeable difference sometimes. The one thing that stood out whenever I met a person who exuded a sense of peace, whether they had little or plenty of worldly things? It was their faith. Take inventory of people in your life…who constantly seems to have a sense of hope and who always seems eager to complain and worry? Now take time to reflect on yourself…how do you typically present yourself? To say we believe in God and know that He is with us is one thing…to live it out in our everyday life is the next step in spiritual growth. Trust in the Lord and you will find safe pasture. Amen.

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“Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.”

Psalm 37:3-4

(This photo was taken in August of 2016 near Arches National Park in Utah)

Here I Am To Worship

July 28, 2019 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

Wherever you are, whatever is going on in your life, take time for worship. God is with you and He is waiting to hear from you. Nothing that the world offers can compare with the blessings we receive from God. It is never too late to turn back to God, no matter how far off you have wandered, God still loves you and will forgive you…turn towards Jesus and renew your relationship with Him. May the peace of God be with you. Amen.

Here I Am To Worship by Michael W. Smith

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“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 that person, and they with me.”

Revelation 3:20

(This photo was taken in July of 2019 at a lake near Plymouth, Minnesota)

Strength For The Weary

July 27, 2019 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

One of the amazing things about faith is its power to give us the courage, the endurance, the patience and the perseverance to keep trying, to keep learning and to keep believing in hope. Out of the most tragic circumstances that happen because of sin…God can bring about the greatest good. Do you believe it? No matter where you are, no matter what the struggle is in your life, right now…turn towards Jesus in prayer, seek Him and believe in the Him. Do it every day and you will find courage, you will find patience, you will persevere and you will find peace. May we all be strengthened by our relationship with Jesus Christ. Amen.

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“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.”

Isaiah 40:28-29

(This photo was taken in June of 2013 near Garden of Gods Park in Colorado Springs, Colorado)

Gratitude

July 26, 2019 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

There was only one way for sin to be properly punished and for the human race to have the opportunity for salvation. When Jesus went to the Garden of Gethsemane with His disciples, He hit a very low point as a human…He knew what was about to happen worse yet He knew it was the only way to salvation for the world. Jesus knows what it is like to struggle and suffer in this world and He prayed that God would remove Him from the situation…yet then He prayed something very few of us have ever prayed…He said, …“My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.” (Matthew 26:42) He offered Himself to God and God’s plan, for that we can have nothing but gratitude for Jesus Christ and His willingness to die for us. Amen.

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“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

Romans 5:8

(This photo was taken in July of 2019 at a lake near Plymouth, Minnesota)

The Truth Is In God’s Word

July 25, 2019 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

We can search the whole world over and never find the happiness that the human race is searching to discover…what we seek in not of this world. True joy, love, peace and contentment can only be found with Jesus Christ. The Bible has stood the ultimate test…the test of time. It is based on truth and actual events in history…it is the unchanging Word of God. It is given to us so that we can learn and live our lives centered on Christ and not ourselves or our personal agendas. Read God’s Word daily and seek Him, for He is with you every step of the way. Amen.

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“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

2 Timothy 3:16-17

(This photo was taken last night at sunset at a lake near Plymouth, Minnesota)

It Was Love…

July 24, 2019 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

When we look around the world today and we look at how people treat each other, what do we see? Quite often we see selfishness, hatred, anger, a lack of respect for human life, an unrepentant and unforgiving society. As a human race we have free will and this is how we have chosen to live? This isn’t new, as you can read in the Old Testament the exact same behaviors were happening in a different time…so what could we possibly do to change this? What can we do to try to make things different? Better? We can look to the One who was tortured in every way possible and follow His example…the man who did no wrong and was sentenced to die on a Cross…and after He was flogged, beaten, He had thorns pushed into His head and after He was hung on that Cross to die in a horrible way…He asked God His Father to forgive them? How in the world could He do that? It was love…Amen.

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“Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”

Luke 23:34

(This photo was taken in March of 2013 at the Botanical Gardens at the Bellagio in Las Vegas, Nevada)

He Lives In You

July 23, 2019 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

Jesus Christ is the foundation of our faith. Not only because of what He did when He was human on earth and not only because He sacrificed Himself for us and died on a cross or because He rose…He is the foundation of our faith today because of all these things and the fact that He Lives in us. Before He ascended, He promised the Holy Spirit would come to those who love Him and do as He commands. In the Gospel of John 14, Jesus promises the Holy Spirit and explains our connection to Him through the Spirit. The love of God can be found in the hearts of people and can be shared with others…it is up to each of us to seek Him and trust in His way rather than our own. May you be encouraged by the Holy Spirit within you today. Amen.

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“On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father,and I too will love them and show myself to them.”

John 14:20-21

(This photo was taken last weekend at a lake place in northwestern Wisconsin)

How We Spend Time

July 22, 2019 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

None of us knows the time we have and yet we easily take it for granted. The people in our lives and our relationships with them will end up meaning more than anything else in this world. As each generation lives through the phases of life, we all have different experiences and opportunities to share with each other. We eventually will get the opportunity to share with the next generation and that is what we truly will leave behind when we go home to the Lord. If you are thinking about your time, turn towards Jesus in prayer and ask Him to guide you to living your life more closely aligned to God’s plan. May the peace and joy of the Lord be with you. Amen.

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“Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.”

Ephesians 5:15-17

(This photo was taken last weekend at a lake place in northwestern Wisconsin)