Strength From The Lord

February 7, 2026 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

“I love you, Lord, my strength.

²The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer;
my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge,
my shield^[b] and the horn^[c] of my salvation, my stronghold.”

Psalm 18:1-2 NIV

Joy Of The Lord by Rend Collective

“Nehemiah said, “Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”

Nehemiah 8:10 NIV

(This photo was taken in while traveling through Wyoming)

To Know Him

January 31, 2026 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

“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 NIV

As it has been said, faith is a journey not a destination

So what does that mean?

It is about making progress, every day

We live, we learn, we pray, we give thanks, we cry for help, we forgive others and we learn some more

We are human, we live in a broken and fallen world

Nobody is perfect, even if their social media profiles try to project it

We are not made to do this life alone

We need to know Him, Jesus Christ our Savior and Lord

He gave His life to save us and to reconcile us to God

Give faith a chance, spend time learning about Jesus Christ and His birth, His life, His teachings, His death and His resurrection

Pickup God’s Word and seek Him daily, you have nothing to lose and everything to gain

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“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.”

Proverbs 9:10 NIV

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

Remain In Him

January 16, 2026 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

“Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.”

John 15:4 NIV

If we choose to do things our own way and wander off from the Word

Ignoring the things Jesus has taught us

Our faith and our spiritual life will wither and die

Remain In Him and His Words

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“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. ⁶If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. ⁷If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. ⁸This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.”

John 15:5-8 NIV

(This photo was taken in a neighborhood near Plymouth, Minnesota)

Follow Him

December 10, 2025 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

“Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. ²⁴For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it. ²⁵What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self?“

Luke 9:23-25 NIV

This is it…this is what we are told by Jesus in God’s Word

“Follow me” He says to the tax collector and Levi promptly gets up and begins to follow

We do have a choice in our lives…free will is very important to God

He wants us to choose to follow Him

In Matthew 19, a rich man is invited by Jesus to ‘follow me’ and rich man is sad because he has great financial wealth and does not want to give that up

There is nothing in this world worth more than a personal relationship with Jesus Christ

Look for yourself…read God’s Word…choose one of the Gospels

My persoanl recommendation is the Gospel according to John

Learn about Jesus and then choose whether or not you will follow Him

May peace be with you

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Jesus replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. ²⁴Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. ²⁵Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. ²⁶Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.”

John 12:23-26 NIV

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

Humility In Relationships

December 1, 2025December 1, 2025 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

“Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. ¹⁸If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.”

Romans 12:17-18 NIV

Father God, You invite us into a peaceful relationship with You where we can be fully known and loved

You also invite us to pursue peace with others around us

Please help each one of us to appraoch our relationships with humility, grace and wisdom

Grant us knowledge to recognize when we should speak and when we should listen as we pursue peace

In Jesus name, Amen

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“Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, ²then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. ³Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, ⁴not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.”

Philippians 2:1-4 NIV

(This photo was taken at the High Falls in Tettegouche State Park in northern Minnesota)

Call To Serve

November 5, 2025 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

“For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Mark 10:45 NIV

“Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.”

John 12:26 NIV

Jesus came to serve the needs of the people

He sacrificed to help others

We are called to do the same

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

Ephesians 2:10 NIV

(This photo was taken along the North Shore of Lake Superior)

His Invitation

September 25, 2025 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

“After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector by the name of Levi sitting at his tax booth. “Follow me,” Jesus said to him, ²⁸and Levi got up, left everything and followed him.”

Luke 5:27-28 NIV

Jesus invites us to follow Him

God’s love gives us the opportunity to choose to follow Christ and to live eternally in heaven and God’s gift of free will means we have a responsibility to own our choices

God wants a relationship with each one of us and a relationship is a two-way connection

He wants to be in relationship so much that He sacrificed His one and only Son to provide The Way

No matter where you are or what your life circumstances are, you are invited to follow Jesus Christ

How will you choose to respond to His invitation?

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“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.”

Matthew 7:13-14 NIV

(This photo was taken in Badlands National Park in South Dakota)

Call To Serve

May 14, 2025 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

“For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Mark 10:45 NIV

“Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.”

John 12:26 NIV

What would it look like to follow Jesus today?

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

Ephesians 2:10 NIV

(This photo was taken along the North Shore of Lake Superior)

Jesus Set The Example

March 4, 2025 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

For everything…His character…His goodness…His compassion…His response to questions…His attitude…His selflessness…His love

No matter what our struggle is, no matter where we are in life…Jesus has an example of how we should try to respond, react, proceed

For example, while hanging on the Cross, blood draining out of His body…taking the punishment we and those who put Him there deserve, He spoke these words:

“Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”^[a] And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.”

Luke 23:34 NIV

No matter what is happening in your life turn towards Jesus Christ

He has set the example for us to follow in this life

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“Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. ¹⁰Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. ¹¹Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. ¹²Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. ¹³Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.”

Romans 12:9-13 NIV

(This photo was taken by a lake in Plymouth, Minnesota)