Love That Can Change The World

January 30, 2025 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

“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

Jesus came down from heaven and sacrificed Himself on the Cross

He did it for you…He did it because He loves you and wants a relationship with you!

Give thanks to Him, chose to love God and love others

This is what God wants us to do.

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“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

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

One Hope

January 29, 2025 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

“As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. ²Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. ³Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. ⁴There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; ⁵one Lord, one faith, one baptism; ⁶one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.”

Ephesians 4:1-6 NIV

Even when we feel surrounded by darkness and evil

We can find hope when we turn towards God, His Word and His Son

We can find hope when we remember that after the brutal and tragic death of Jesus

God raised Him to life

We can have hope because of what God has done and is doing in our lives

It is up to us to seek Him

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“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

Romans 15:13 NIV

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

Confession…Forgiveness

January 28, 2025 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

“Blessed is the one
    whose transgressions are forgiven,
    whose sins are covered.
²Blessed is the one
    whose sin the Lord does not count against them
    and in whose spirit is no deceit.

³When I kept silent,
    my bones wasted away
    through my groaning all day long.
⁴For day and night
    your hand was heavy on me;
my strength was sapped
    as in the heat of summer.^[b]

⁵Then I acknowledged my sin to you
    and did not cover up my iniquity.
I said, “I will confess
    my transgressions to the Lord.”
And you forgave
    the guilt of my sin.”

Psalm 32:1-5 NIV

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“For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”

John 3:17 NIV

(This photo was taken at a park on the island of the Bahamas)

Faith Commitment

January 23, 2025 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

“Commit to the Lord whatever you do,
and he will establish your plans.”

Proverbs 16:3 NIV

Success in life is most often tied to commitment

When you learn the details of a success story there is always a moment or moments along the way that a person had to make a choice to stay committed to a vision or mission in order to see it through

It is a willingness to commit that leads to success in relationships and our everyday life

When we reflect on our lives, we all are committed to something right now…what is it for you?

Ask yourself this question, how do my commitment(s) tie into my faith and my relationship with God?

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“Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be people of courage; be strong. Do everything in love.”

1 Corinthians 16:13-14 NIV

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

He Knows

January 21, 2025 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

“You have searched me, Lord,
    and you know me.
²You know when I sit and when I rise;
    you perceive my thoughts from afar.
³You discern my going out and my lying down;
    you are familiar with all my ways.
⁴Before a word is on my tongue
    you, Lord, know it completely.”

Psalm 139:1-4 NIV

God knows all about you

He is your Creator

He made you to be who you are

You are enough for Him

Whatever you are worried about or struggling to overcome

Whatever ‘it’ is…He Knows

He Knows by Jeremy Camp

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“For you created my inmost being;
    you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
¹⁴I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
    your works are wonderful,
    I know that full well.”

Psalm 139:13-14 NIV

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

The Goodness Of God

January 16, 2025 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

“The Lord is gracious, kind and tender.
He is slow to get angry and full of love.
⁹The Lord is good to all.
He shows deep concern for everything he has made.”

Psalm 145:8-9 NIRV

All that is good is from God

The evil, the darkness and terrible things in this world are the result of sin

God’s plan was the Garden of Eden before Eve and then Adam were disobedient

God doesn’t tempt us or make bad things happen

God is good

He forgives, He Heals, He renews and He restores us

Even though we don’t deserve it

The Goodness Of God by Bethel Music & Jenn Johnson

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“Your kingdom is a kingdom that will last forever.
Your rule will continue for all time to come.

The Lord will keep all his promises.
    He is faithful in everything he does.
¹⁴The Lord takes good care of all those who fall.
    He lifts up all those who feel helpless.
¹⁵Every living thing looks to you for food.
    You give it to them exactly when they need it.
¹⁶You open your hand
    and satisfy the needs of every living creature.”

Psalm 145:13-16 NIRV

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

Savior…Sacrifice…Salvation

January 15, 2025 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

“But 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.
⁶We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
    each of us has turned to our own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
    the iniquity of us all.

Isaiah 53:5-6 NIV

“He committed no sin,
and no deceit was found in his mouth.”^[e]

²³When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. ²⁴“He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.” ²⁵For “you were like sheep going astray,”^[f] but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.“

1 Peter 2:22-25 NIV

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

Romans 5:8 NIV

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

How We Treat Each Other

January 13, 2025 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

“So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.”

Matthew 7:12 NIV

“My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. ¹³Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.“

John 15:12-13 NIV

You will get what you give in this life

God’s Word gives clear instructions and Jesus lived the example we can follow

Love and serve one another

“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 at St. Croix State Park in northern Minnesota)

Give Thanks To The Lord

January 11, 2025 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

“Praise the Lord.^[a]

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
his love endures forever.”

Psalm 106:1 NIV

We are saved by grace

We cannot earn it nor do we deserve it

It is a gift from God

Let us give thanks to the Lord for all He has done for us

He is with us, He loves us and He will never leave us

Forever by Chris Tomlin

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“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.

⁴Enter 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 100:1-5 NIV

(This photo was taken along Beartooth Pass in Montana)

God Is Our Rock

January 8, 2025 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

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

Psalm 18:2 NIV

Father God, thank You for being faithful

Thank You for making a way for us to know You

You are enough for us

Please show us where You are working in our lives

No matter what we face or what circumstances are before us, we will choose to wait patiently on You, our Rock

We know that You will protect us and that You will finish the work that You have started in us

In Jesus name, Amen

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