Peace From God

May 9, 2019 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

I saw a story about Mother’s Day and that the most popular request from Mom’s is to get a day away from their families. This is not true for all Mom’s, there was even an interview with one woman who was planning the whole day with her family and she spoke with a tone of…I know I am odd, but I just want to be with them. Wow, the human race is really messed up. We all, myself included, are so naive to look at life with ourselves in the center…we have allowed Satan to influence our perspectives so much that we have created a society in which “me time” is more important than anything else. We treat each other so poorly, that makes it hard to trust others. The only refuge, the one source of truth and peace is Jesus Christ. Seek Him and you will find true peace. Amen.

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

John 14:27

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

Prayer

May 4, 2019 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

When we want learn more about someone or grow our relationship with them…what do we do? We spend time with them, we talk with them often, we listen and we focus our energy on them. This has always been how friends become best friends, this is how people who have just met grow into a relationship of love and this is what God wants to have with you and me…more than anything else. A close personal relationship. Spend time with Jesus and invest in your relationship with the Lord. Amen.

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“pray without ceasing”

1 Thessalonians 5:17

(This photo was taken in August of 2012 while hiking along the north shore of Lake Superior)

God’s Word

May 2, 2019 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

When we have questions or when we need guidance or when we seek comfort, the Word of God can provide for us in all these situations as well as in every other situation we may encounter. There is a sense of peace not found in the world that can come over you when you make time to read God’s Word and pray each day. There is guidance in there that we will not find anywhere else. May the peace of the Lord be with you on your journey. Amen.

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“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.”

Psalm 119:105

(This photo was taken in July of 2018 on the shore of Lake Superior near Ashland, Wisconsin)

Our Redeemer

April 30, 2019 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

To redeem is to recover…reclaim…retrieve…return to…to get back…rescue. A price has been paid to return us to God. The way to find true peace is by inviting Jesus Christ into your heart. We all will encounter hardships in this world and in our lives, they may be different hardships for different reasons, yet we all have to endure something…even if it doesn’t look that way on social media. Through it all there is one who has suffered and endured the worst things in this world and He did it for you and for me…Jesus Christ is our Redeemer. Amen.

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“What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us?”

Romans 8:31

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

By Faith…Persevere

April 28, 2019 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

How do we grow in faith? How can our faith become the cornerstone of who we are? It depends on your perspective…if your faith is more about religion and performing for the approval and acceptance of others, you will find it a poor foundation that will easily crumble. Faith is a living part of who we are, we must feed our faith as often as we feed our physical body…faith is fed by reading the Word of God everyday, praying and seeking the will of God for our lives…we build and grow our faith by establishing and building our personal relationship with Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. That is the foundation that has stood the test of time and that is the foundation that God promises will sustain us. Turn towards Jesus and begin building a foundation of faith that will last. Amen.

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“For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God did not give you a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.”

2 Timothy 1:6-7

(This photo was taken in August of 2016 near Dillon, Colorado)

God’s Grace

April 27, 2019 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

We see it on display in His actions…He sent His Son Jesus Christ into the world to save us…He gives us an opportunity to learn from Him through His Word…even while we are still sinners He forgives us…He gives us the Holy Spirit as a guide through our daily life…He will never leave us or abandon us no matter what. That is truly amazing grace. Amen.

This Is Amazing Grace by Phil Wickham

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

Ephasians 2:8-9

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

Connection Through Prayer

April 22, 2019 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

The joy of the resurrection is more than a one day event or church service. It is the fulfillment of God’s promise to never leave us or abandon us. We can continue and grow our relationship with the Lord each day through prayer. Prayer that is from the heart, that involves raw emotion, not a list of wants or a moment that we recite words before a meal with no feeling or emotion other than let’s finish praying so we can eat. Our connection with God the Father exists through our personal relationship with Jesus Christ our risen Lord…start today…thank Jesus for what He did for you on the cross and ask Him to guide you and teach you through your prayers. Amen.

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“May the Lord direct your hearts into God’s love and Christ’s perseverance.”

2 Thessalonians 3:5

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

Holy Week

April 14, 2019 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

It is Palm Sunday…the day we celebrate Jesus entering the city…the moments and events of the coming week are in honor of the facts that changed everything in the world thousands of years ago. It is all very relevant today, and this week in history was not the End…it was the End of the Beginning…think about the events in the life and death of Jesus this week and all that He has done for you. Amen.

End Of The Beginning by David Phelps

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“Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what they have done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.”

Revelation 22:12-13

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

The One Who Is In You

April 13, 2019 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

Don’t forget the power of the Cross. The world is filled with violence, evil and darkness. The attempts to distract us and pull us into the things of this world are relentless. Read the Word of God and memorize some verses that speak to you…the verse you choose may change over time and different verses will come to mind as you plant the Word within you. The prince of darkness despises the Scriptures and it will defeat him. This is one of the foundational reasons I started to write this blog six years ago…so that we could learn how to take our faith with us…everywhere we go. The Word of God planted inside us is greater than anything in the world. May the peace found with Christ be with you. Amen.

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“You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.”

1 John 4:4

(This photo was taken in June of 2013 while traveling through northern Colorado)

A Strong Foundation

April 10, 2019 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

The best things are built by starting out with the development of a strong foundation. A solid foundation helps to support missteps, mistakes and accidents along the way. If we try to build something without developing the foundation the endeavor will eventually fail and end up as a pile of rubble. The foundation of our faith is our relationship and daily interaction with Jesus Christ and the Word of God. These are the elements that will help us build and grow our spiritual life and sustain us through the most difficult things the world will throw at us. May the peace of the Lord be with you. Amen.

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