God’s Presence

December 12, 2023 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

“You make known to me the path of life;
you will fill me with joy in your presence,
with eternal pleasures at your right hand.”

Psalm 16:11 NIV

Father God, You are the foundation upon which I build my life. You are my source of protection and strength. I know that you fight for me, You protect me, and You are leading me through difficult times. Because of Your presence, I am never alone or abandoned. Thank you Lord! Thank you for watching over me and for being my source of strength. Thank you for guiding me closer to You and never leaving me. Amen.

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“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. ¹²Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. ¹³You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”

Jeremiah 29:11-13 NIV

(This photo was taken in May of 2020 along the North Shore of Lake Superior in Minnesota)

Do What Is Good

December 11, 2023 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. ¹⁰Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.”

Galatians 6:9-10 NIV

Father God, when we are overwhelmed by the brokenness we see, help us to remember that You are in control. We cannot stop all the pain and suffering we witness, yet we can help overcome evil by doing good. Please help us to do that. Give us courage and humility to love other people well today. Amen.

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“Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. ³⁰And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. ³¹Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. ³²Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”

Ephesians 4:29-32 NIV

(This photo was taken in May of 2023 along the North Shore of Lake Superior in Minnesota)

A Prayer Of Declaration

December 10, 2023 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

“So do not fear, for I am with you;
do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you;
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

Isaiah 41:10 NIV

Lord Jesus, I believe You are alive. I believe You are ever-present and working in the world. I believe no matter what circumstances I face, You are good.

I believe You weep, mourn, and rejoice with us. I believe You are my God and my Redeemer. I believe You are making all things new and You are making me a new creation.

So come what may, Jesus, I place my faith, my hope and my trust in You. Amen.

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“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 NIV

(This photo was taken in July of 2018 on the shore of Lake Superior near Ashland, Wisconsin)

Faith Over Fear

December 8, 2023 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

“So do not fear, for I am with you;
do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you;
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

Isaiah 41:10 NIV

“For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.”

2 Timothy 1:7 NIV

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

1 Corinthians 16:13-14 NIV

(This photo was taken in September of 2022 in Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming)

Advent – Love

December 7, 2023 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.”

1 Corinthians 13:4-7 NIV

Jesus stated the most important commandments are to love God and love one another (Matthew 22:37-40). So, what is love? According to God’s Word Love is action…it is not what the world defines as a feeling…the apostle Paul describes it for us in 1 Corinthians 13 above.

It is about our character and what we do when it comes to relationships. So, when Jesus states it is the most important commandment…we should think about how do we love God? How do we love one another? Love is God’s to define and to give and He makes it available to all of us by how He has acted towards us. It is up to us to accept His love and to share it with others.

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“Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. ⁸Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. ⁹This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. ¹⁰This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. ¹¹Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. ¹²No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.”

1 John 4:7-12 NIV

(This photo was taken in October of 2014 at the Nakalele Blowhole on the island of Maui, Hawaii)

Humility

December 5, 2023 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

“He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.
And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly^[a] with your God.”.

Micah 6:8 NIV

Imagine if more people in the world were working for fairness for all people…instead of trying to push and pull others down to get a step up. People often can’t trust that other people will be honest and work for the best intentions of all due to selfishness…due to sin in a fallen world.

Think about what it felt like when someone did something kind and generous for you that had no benefit for them. That is where you see God at work. The only one who can overcome the rule of sin and self in the human race is God. He can be trusted, He has kept every promise He has ever made and He has one promise left to fulfill. Walk humbly with God and trust in Him.

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“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.”

Philippians 2:3-4 NIV

(This photo was taken in July of 2018 on the shore of Lake Superior in Ashland, Wisconsin)

Do Your Best, Wherever You Are

December 4, 2023 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. ¹³Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. ¹⁴And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.”

Colossians 3:12-14 NIV

Live out your day today…what is the next right thing to do? Live in the present day, right where you are. God is with you there…if we are always looking towards the past or the future or to when this or that happens we may miss what God is presenting to us right now…today. Do your best for God today, wherever you are and He will take care of the rest!

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“Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. ¹⁶Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. ¹⁷And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.“

Colossians 3:15-17 NIV

(This photo was taken in August of 2016 near Glacier National Park in Montana)

While I’m Waiting

December 3, 2023 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

“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 40:30-31 NIV

While I’m Waiting by John Waller

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“I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits,
and in his word I put my hope.”

Psalm 130:5 NIV

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

God’s Love For You

December 2, 2023 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

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

Romans 5:8 NIV

The Creator of the universe knows all about you and He loves you and wants a relationship with you. Look what He has done to ensure that you have the opportunity to believe in Him and spend time with Him. The Old Testament describes how God’s people would draw near to Him and then wander off and then come back to Him…then God put the new convenant in place to reconcile us to Him once and for all.

He put His plan into action at just the right time and now because of the sacrifice and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the penalty for our sin has been paid and we can be with God for eternity. He did it for you…He did it because He loves you and His love will never end.

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

Romans 8:37-39 NIV

(This photo was taken in June of 2020 at sunset at a lake in northwestern Wisconsin)

God Is Love

November 30, 2023 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

1 John 4:7-12 NIV

God’s love renews and restores us. Our relationship with God is an inside out relationship…we need to know and understand that everything in our life is the result of God’s love for us and there is nothing we can think, say or do that will change God’s unconditional love.

As we receive and understand God’s love in our hearts and minds, we are equipped to go out and give love to others in our daily life and interactions. May God’s love and peace be with you and flow through you.

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“For this reason I kneel before the Father, ¹⁵from whom every family^[a] in heaven and on earth derives its name. ¹⁶I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, ¹⁷so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, ¹⁸may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, ¹⁹and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.”