God Is Greater Than __________

August 25, 2021 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

Feel free to finish that title with anything you want…God is greater. No matter what you can think of, our God is greater. This means whatever is on your mind, whatever is pulling on you or keeping you distracted, whatever burden you are carrying…God is greater than that issue, that problem, that worry, that concern, that guilt or shame. It doesn’t matter if we are are talking about the past, the present or the future…God is greater than all things and He is with you right now. Turn towards Him, talk to Him and trust in Him. Amen.

“The temple I am going to build will be great, because our God is greater than all other gods.”

2 Chronicles 2:5

“If our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.”

1 John 3:20

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“You will keep in perfect peace
all who trust in you,
all whose thoughts are fixed on you!”

Isaiah 26:3

(This photo was taken in April of 2016 at a lake in central Minnesota)

The Good News

August 24, 2021 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

“While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, ⁷and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.

⁸And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. ⁹An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. ¹⁰But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. ¹¹Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.”

Luke 2:6-11

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“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁷For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”

John 3:16-17

(This photo was taken in June of 2013 at the Corn Palace in Mitchell, South Dakota)

The Gift Of Grace

August 4, 2021 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— ⁹not by works, so that no one can boast.”

Ephesians 2:8-9

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“…the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, ¹³for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

Romans 10:12

(This photo was taken in October of 2020 at a lake near Plymouth, Minnesota)

Praise And Worship

July 31, 2021 / mcalcagno / 2 Comments

“Praise the Lord, all you nations;

extol him, all you peoples.
²For great is his love toward us,
and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever.

Praise the Lord.”

Psalm 117

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“Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. ²⁴God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”

John 4:23-24

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

God’s Grace

July 28, 2021 / mcalcagno / 1 Comment

“No longer will they teach their neighbor,
    or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’
because they will all know me,
    from the least of them to the greatest,”
declares the Lord.
“For I will forgive their wickedness
    and will remember their sins no more.”

Jeremiah 31:34

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“Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”

Hebrews 4:16

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

The Cross

July 27, 2021 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

“For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”

1 Corinthians 1:18

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“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. ³Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”

Hebrews 12:1-3

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

It Was Love

July 26, 2021 / mcalcagno / 1 Comment

John 3:16-17

¹³Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

¹⁴“Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

Luke 2:6-14

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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 yesterday in Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado)

Sacrifice

July 22, 2021 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

“This righteousness is given through faith in^[a] Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, ²³for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, ²⁴and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. ²⁵God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement,^[b] through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— ²⁶he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.”

Romans 3:22-26

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“Surely he took up our pain
    and bore our suffering,
yet we considered him punished by God,
    stricken by him, and afflicted.
⁵But 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 53:4-5

(This photo was taken yesterday at Pactola Lake in the Black Hills National Forest in South Dakota)

The Love Of God

July 20, 2021 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

“By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. ¹⁴And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. ¹⁵Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. ¹⁶So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.”

1 John 4:13-16

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“Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we^[a] have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, ²through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we^[b] boast in the hope of the glory of God. ³Not only so, but we^[c] also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; ⁴perseverance, character; and character, hope. ⁵And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.

⁶You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. ⁷Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. ⁸But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

Romans 5:1-8

(This photo was taken in December of 2018 on Paradise Island, Bahamas)

Put Your Faith In Jesus

July 11, 2021 / mcalcagno / 1 Comment

“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

Galatians 2:20

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John 3:16-17

(This photo was taken in June of 2013 at the Corn Palace in Mitchell, South Dakota)