God’s Timing

January 5, 2024 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

“I remain confident of this:
    I will see the goodness of the Lord
    in the land of the living.
¹⁴Wait for the Lord;
    be strong and take heart
    and wait for the Lord.”

Psalm 27:13-14 NIV

While I’m Waiting by John Waller

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“But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. ⁹The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.“

2 Peter 3:8-9 NIV

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

Wait For The Lord

December 9, 2023 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

“Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed,
    for his compassions never fail.
²³They are new every morning;
    great is your faithfulness.
²⁴I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion;
    therefore I will wait for him.”

Lamentations 3:22-24 NIV

Our lives are usually so busy moving from one thing to the next, so much so that planning and preparing become dominant activities…the problem is if we are always planning and preparing for what’s next when are we living in the present moment?

A difficult part of surrender for all of us is letting go and not always trying to control what’s next. A life of faith doesn’t mean we always go and do what we want…Jesus said in Luke 9:23 “…If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” We all have a cross to bear in life, it is different for everyone…and bearing a cross is doing what needs to be done. It is sacrifice. It means being obedient to God and we do things because we love God and others.

Be in prayer and talk with the Lord about what He needs you to do then wait and listen. May each of us be surrounded by the love of God each day.

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“I remain confident of this:
    I will see the goodness of the Lord
    in the land of the living.
¹⁴Wait for the Lord;
    be strong and take heart
    and wait for the Lord.“

Psalm 27:13-14 NIV

(This photo was taken in July of 2021 at Bear Lake in Rocky Mountian National Park)

Listen…Be Transformed

September 5, 2023 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

“Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.”

Romans 10:17 NIV

Draw near to God…stay close to Him. Do not allow the world with its values and temptations entice you to drift away from Jesus. It is easy to start a new habit of connecting with God every day and it is also easy to let it slip away. Try to attach your new habit to something you are already doing every day. Start small and it will build naturally as you stick to it.

If you are a ‘I need coffee in the morning’ person…make it a point to spend your first cup reading or listening to scripture. If you are a ‘I like to read at night person’ give a few minutes to a daily devotional book each night. Maybe mid-day would work best for you…no matter when or what the important thing is to do it and trust that God will use that time to transform you.

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“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 NIV

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

Fruit Of The Spirit…Faithfulness

August 2, 2023 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.”

Galatians 5:22-23 NIV

“Know therefore that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations…”

Deuteronomy 7:9 NIV

God keeps His promises. We are responsible for how we live our lives and how we treat each other…God gave us free will. If we do our part and put our trust in Him and walk in the Light of Christ, He is faithful and will forgive us our sins and restore us.

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“This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. ⁶If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. ⁷But 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 cleanses us from all sin. ⁸If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. ⁹If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

1 John 1:5-9 NIV

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

Waiting…Walking With God

July 27, 2023 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

“I remain confident of this:
    I will see the goodness of the Lord
    in the land of the living.
¹⁴Wait for the Lord;
    be strong and take heart
    and wait for the Lord.”

Psalm 27:13-14 NIV

Oh, the waiting…our world is always sending out messages to hurry up…save time and literally “don’t wait” act now before…you get the point. Once again, the world pursues the exact opposite of what we hear from God’s Word. God wants us to walk with Him…not ahead of Him or on our own without Him. His timing is perfect because it is His plan. In Luke 2 we meet Simeon, who had been waiting his whole life to see God’s promise fulfilled in the Messiah…as he expected the promise was fulfilled just like every other promise God has made. The last promise to be fulfilled is when Christ returns…and so we are waiting for that day and while we wait let’s be like Simeon and be good, do-good things, be godly and be faithful to God’s Word. How are you doing while you wait?

While I’m Waiting by John Waller

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“It has given me great joy to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as the Father commanded us. ⁵And now, dear lady, I am not writing you a new command but one we have had from the beginning. I ask that we love one another. ⁶And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love.“

2 John 4-6

(This photo was taken in October of 2018 at a lake near Plymouth, Minnesota)

Faithfulness

July 19, 2023 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

“Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.”

Hebrews 10:23 NIV

“Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.
²³They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.”

Lamentations 3:22-23 NIV

God is with you…He cares for you…He is faithful in everything…nothing can separate you from His love.

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“Your faithfulness continues through all generations;
you established the earth, and it endures.”

Psalm 119:90 NIV

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

Be Faithful

July 10, 2023 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

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

2 Timothy 1:7 NIV

Draw near to God…stay close to Him. Do not allow the world with its values and temptations entice you to drift away from Jesus. Once you start a new habit of connecting with God every day, it is easy to let it slip away. Try to attach your new habit to something you are already doing every day. Start small and it will build naturally as you stick to it. If you are a ‘I need coffee in the morning’ person…make it a point to spend your first cup reading or listening to scripture. If you are a ‘I like to read at night person’ give a few minutes to a daily devotional book each night. Maybe mid-day would work best for you…no matter when or what or where, the important thing to remember is to do it and trust that God will use that time to transform you.

DSC_0061 publish

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.”

Galatians 5:22-23 ESV

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

God’s Faithfulness

June 29, 2023 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

“Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments.”

Deuteronomy 7:9 NIV

No matter what we have done or left undone…God is with us and God is for us. Even when we don’t see Him or the work He is doing in our lives…He is near. Every promise God made has been kept…He is faithful and His only promise yet to be fulfilled is when Christ returns. Trust in the Lord and His Word…He is trustworthy and faithful in everything.

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“The Lord himself will go ahead of you. He will be with you. He will never leave you. He’ll never desert you. So don’t be afraid. Don’t lose hope.”“

Deuteronomy 31:8 NIRV

(This photo was taken in August of 2021 at a field near Kimball, Minnesota)

Gratitude

May 9, 2023 / mcalcagno / 4 Comments

“Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.
²    Worship the Lord with gladness;
    come before him with joyful songs.
³Know that the Lord is God.
    It is he who made us, and we are his^[a];
    we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.”

Psalm 100:1-3 NIV

There is no one who loves you more than God…He sacrificed His Son in order to give you a way to be with Him. He is near, He is working out His way in your life. Surrender your ways and give thanks to Lord for all that He has done and is doing in your life. He is faithful and His love endures forever. Amen.

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“Enter his gates with thanksgiving
    and his courts with praise;
    give thanks to him and praise his name.
⁵For the Lord is good and his love endures forever;
    his faithfulness continues through all generations.”

Psalm 100:4-5 NIV

(This photo was taken in June of 2018 at a lake near Plymouth, Minnesota)

Life By The Spirit

April 17, 2023 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

“But the fruit the Holy Spirit produces is love, joy and peace. It is being patient, kind and good. It is being faithful ²³and gentle and having control of oneself. There is no law against things of that kind.”

Galatians 5:22-23 NIRV

Life by the Spirit is a life that is conscious of our impact on others. It is not always looking inward and seeking to satisfy the self. It is a balanced life, living present and not dwelling more on the regrets of the past or trying to control the future. It is a life that strives to put Christ in the center of everything…this is not easy to achieve in a dark and broken world full of distractions nor are we able to do this alone. We need to remember God’s grace and receive the Holy Spirit in our hearts…so that His love can flow through us into every aspect of our lives. Seek a balanced life that is led by the Spirit. Amen.

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“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”

³⁷Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’^[a] ³⁸This is the first and greatest commandment. ³⁹And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’^[b] ⁴⁰All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”