God’s faithfulness

Carry Your Cross

/ mcalcagno / Leave a comment

The bible does not say, if you follow Jesus, your life will be easy and worry free.  One of the most difficult elements of faith is commitment…no matter what is happening, no matter where we are, no matter how difficult life can become…we must remain committed to Jesus Christ and our faith.  The Good News is we don’t have to do any of this alone…

“The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”

Deuteronomy 31:8

“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

Jesus Christ knows what it is like to suffer in this world…He has carried His Cross and because He did, we are saved.  We cannot choose the things that will happen to us…yet we are 100% responsible for how we choose to respond.  Follow the example of Jesus our Savior…carry your cross.  Amen.

DSC_1443 publish

“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

(This photo was taken in August of 2016 near Arches National Park in Utah)

He Is Faithful

/ mcalcagno / Leave a comment

“We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9 persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. 10 We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.”

2 Corinthians 4:8-10

DSC_0025 publish

“Here is a trustworthy saying:

If we died with him,
    we will also live with him;
12 if we endure,
    we will also reign with him.
If we disown him,
    he will also disown us;
13 if we are faithless,
    he remains faithful,
    for he cannot disown himself.”

2 Timothy 2:11-13

(This photo was taken in December of 2018 while on a walk in northwestern Wisconsin)

Peace

/ mcalcagno / Leave a comment

If you are looking for peace in your life turn towards the One who brings peace to all who follow Him…Jesus Christ.  Amen.

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”

John 14:27

DSC_0135-1 publish

“For to us a child is born,
    to us a son is given,
    and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
    Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
    Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”

Isaiah 9:6

(This photo was taken in April of 2020 at a laek near Plymouth, Minnesota)

Remain In Him

/ 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

DSC06178 publish

“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. 6 If 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. 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.”

John 15:5-8

(This photo was taken in February of 2013 in a neighborhood near Plymouth, Minnesota)

God’s Grace

/ 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— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast.”

Ephesians 2:8-9

DSC_0044 publish

“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 September of 2020 at sunrise by a lake in northwestern Wisconsin)

Living Hope

/ mcalcagno / Leave a comment

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, 5 who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7 These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. 8 Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, 9 for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.”

1 Peter 1:3-9

DSC_0230 publish

“So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”

John 8:36

(This photo was taken in March of 2018 while traveling in southern New Mexico)

Prepare The Way For The Lord

/ mcalcagno / Leave a comment

God’s story and God’s plan is greater than our self-oriented desires…we are a part of His story, not the other way around.  We all have been given certain gifts to use while we are here…our job is to recognize the gifts we have been given and to use them to help others.  We are to do our part to Prepare the Way for the coming of the Lord when He returns.  Amen.

“…as it is written in Isaiah the prophet:

“I will send my messenger ahead of you,
    who will prepare your way”[a]—
3 “a voice of one calling in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way for the Lord,
    make straight paths for him.’”[b]

Mark 1:2-3

DSC09993 publish

“Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them.”

John 3:36

(This photo was taken in October 0f 2014 at sunrise on the island of Maui, Hawaii)

All Who Are Thirsty

/ mcalcagno / Leave a comment

“Come, all you who are thirsty,
    come to the waters;
and you who have no money,
    come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
    without money and without cost.
2 Why spend money on what is not bread,
    and your labor on what does not satisfy?
Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good,
    and you will delight in the richest of fare.”

Isaiah 55:1-2

“On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.”[a]

John 7:37-38

DSC_0559 publish

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
    for they will be filled.”

Matthew 5:6

(This photo was taken in July of 2016 along Beartooth Pass in Montana)

Recognize God’s Way

/ mcalcagno / Leave a comment

“For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.”

1 Corinthians 1:25

DSC_0933 publish

“Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 28 God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, 29 so that no one may boast before him. 30 It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. 31 Therefore, as it is written: “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.”[a]

1 Corinthians 1:26-31

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

All Things New

/ mcalcagno / Leave a comment

“So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come:[a] The old has gone, the new is here!”

2 Corinthians 5:16-17

All Things New by Steven Curtis Chapman

DSC_0176 publish

“You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 23 to be made new in the attitude of your minds; 24 and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.”

Ephesians 4:22-24

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