Praise The Lord

October 13, 2021 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

“Praise the Lord.

Praise God in his holy temple.
    Praise him in his mighty heavens.
²Praise him for his powerful acts.
    Praise him because he is greater than anything else.
³Praise him by blowing trumpets.
    Praise him with harps and lyres.
⁴Praise him with tambourines and dancing.
    Praise him with stringed instruments and flutes.
⁵Praise him with clashing cymbals.
    Praise him with clanging cymbals.

⁶Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.

Praise the Lord.”

Psalm 150 NIRV

DSC_0452 publish

“Praise the Lord.

Give thanks to the Lord, because he is good.
His faithful love continues forever.”

Psalm 106:1 NIRV

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

Trust The Lord

October 11, 2021 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

“I will say about the Lord,
“He is my place of safety.
He is like a fort to me.
He is my God. I trust in him.”

Psalm 91:2 NIRV

“Suppose you say, “The Lord is the one who keeps me safe.”
    Suppose you let the Most High God be like a home to you.
¹⁰Then no harm will come to you.
    No terrible plague will come near your tent.
¹¹The Lord will command his angels
    to take good care of you.
¹²They will lift you up in their hands.
    Then you won’t trip over a stone.”

Psalm 91:9-12 NIRV

DSC07421 publish

“I look up to the mountains.
Where does my help come from?
²My help comes from the Lord.
He is the Maker of heaven and earth.”

Psalm 121:1-2 NIRV

(This photo was taken in June of 2013 in northern Colorado)

Our Hearts

September 25, 2021 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.”

Deuteronomy 6:5

“Let love and faithfulness never leave you;
bind them around your neck,
write them on the tablet of your heart.”

Proverbs 3:3

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
⁶in all your ways submit to him,
and he will make your paths straight.”^[a]

Proverbs 3:5-6

DSC_0005 (3) publish

“But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

1 Samuel 16:7

(This photo was taken in July of 2021 at a park near Sioux Falls, South Dakota)

Persistence…Perseverance

September 22, 2021 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, ²fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

Hebrews 12:1-2

“…being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”

Philippians 1:6

DSC_0009 (2) publish

“Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong. ¹⁴Do everything in love.”

1 Corinthians 16:13-14

(This photo was taken in March of 2021 while traveling in northwestern Wisconsin)

Nothing…

September 20, 2021 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

“What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be^[a] against us? ³²He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? ³³Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. ³⁴Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.^[b] ³⁵Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?”

Romans 8:31-35

Graves Into Gardens featuring Brandon Lake by Elevation Worship

DSC_0597 publish

“No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. ³⁸For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, ³⁹nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Romans 8:37-39

(This photo was taken in July of 2016 along Beartooth Pass near the Montana-Wyoming border)

His Ways…

September 16, 2021 / mcalcagno / 1 Comment

It’s not about you…the message is clear you should not be at the center of your life. This is not to say that you don’t need to properly care for your mind, body and spirit that is clearly outlined in the bible as well. However, everything that happens should not be viewed only from the perspective of self. Consider a different perspective and trust in the Lord. Amen.

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
    neither are your ways my ways,”
declares the Lord.
⁹“As the heavens are higher than the earth,
    so are my ways higher than your ways
    and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

Isaiah 55:8-9

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
⁶in all your ways submit to him,
and he will make your paths straight.”^[a]

Proverbs 3:5-6

DSC_1529 publish

“Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.”

Colossians 3:2

(This photo was taken in August of 2016 near Dillon, Colorado)

The Spirit Within You

September 3, 2021 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

Acts 1:8

“Do you not know that you^[a] are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?”

1 Corinthians 3:16

DSC_0021-1 publish

“You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ. ¹⁰But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life^[d] because of righteousness. ¹¹And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of^[e] his Spirit who lives in you.”

Romans 8:9-11

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

Gratitude

September 2, 2021 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

“But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
and by his wounds we are healed.”

Isaiah 53:5

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

Romans 5:8

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who^[i] have been called according to his purpose.”

Romans 8:28

DSC_0068 publish

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. ²Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

Romans 12:1-2

(This photo was taken in July of 2021 in Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado)