Come Near…Trust God

October 19, 2023 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

“Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. ⁸Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. ⁹Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. ¹⁰Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.”

James 4:7-10 NIV

Spend time reading God’s Word, take time to get to know Him. Believe in God…put your trust in Him. Turn away from self-centered living and begin to strive for God-centered living. He loves you…He is with you…He is for you. Come near to the Lord.

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“Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
⁶in all your ways submit to him,
and he will make your paths straight.^[a]“

Proverbs 3:5-6 NIV

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

The Past…Redeemed

September 23, 2023 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

“I know that my redeemer^[c] lives,
and that in the end he will stand on the earth.”^[d]

Job 19:25 NIV

What has happened in the past is done and can’t be changed…we can learn from it…we can change and impact what happens today. Don’t let what has happened in the past be chains that you drag around everywhere you go.

Jesus Christ has paid the price for our sins and He is our Redeemer…bring your past, your shame and your guilt to the Lord and He will set you free. Amen.

Redeemed by Big Daddy Weave

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John 3:16-17 NIV

(This photo was taken in October of 2018 at a park near Winterset, Iowa)

Give Me Jesus

August 31, 2023 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

John 3:16-17 NIV

There is One greater than anything we encounter in life. He knows you, He loves you and He is with you.

He is Immanuel…Light of the World…King of Kings…Lord of Lords…The Good Shepard…Bread of Life…Living Water…Prince of Peace…Wonderful Counselor…Lamb of God…The Truth…The Way…The Savior of the World. Amen.

Give Me Jesus by Jeremy Camp

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“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

John 1:14 NIV

(This photo was taken in June of 2016 at a lake near Plymouth, Minnesota)

The One Thing

July 26, 2023 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

“There 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 4:4-6 NIV

“…I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”

John 10:10 NIV

The most important thing we need, is a personal relationship with Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior more than anything else in this life. From that relationship all aspects of our lives will be impacted…that personal relationship with Jesus is the one thing everyone needs. Amen.

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“Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.”

Romans 12:12 NIV

(This photo was taken in October of 2018 at a park near Winterset, Iowa)

Jesus

July 17, 2023 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

“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

We are saved because of Him. We are forgiven. We can find joy, peace and contentment in life because of Him. Even when we have turned away from God, maybe for a long period of time because we are frustrated or mad or we have been overcome with doubt and fear. He calls to us, He cares for us and He is The Way back to a relationship with God. The things of this world will come and go…time, money, people and friendships. The one constant for us, the one thing we know we can rely upon no matter what is happening or where we are in life…we can always rely on the love of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Give Me Jesus by Jeremy Camp

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“…I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”

John 10:10 NIV

(This photo was taken in August of 2012 while hiking on the North Shore of Lake Superior)

Grace

June 24, 2023 / 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 NIV

“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.”

Isaiah 53:5 NIV

It is because of God’s grace that the battle has already been won…we are forgiven…we are healed…we are saved by Grace. Nothing can separate us from Him who loves us. Praise Him for Amazing Grace. Amen.

Amazing Grace by Chris Tomlin

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“But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.”

2 Corinthians 12:9 NIV

(This photo was taken in June of 2013 in Rocky Mountian National Park)

His Sacrifice For Our Salvation

April 2, 2023 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

John 1:14 NIV

^“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

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“He grew up before him like a tender shoot,
    and like a root out of dry ground.
He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,
    nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
³He was despised and rejected by mankind,
    a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.
Like one from whom people hide their faces
    he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.

⁴Surely 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.
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 53:2-6 NIV

(This photo was taken in July of 2012 on a walk near Plymouth, Minnesota)

His Sacrifice For You

March 18, 2023 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

“But he was pierced for our rebellion,
    crushed for our sins.
He was beaten so we could be whole.
    He was whipped so we could be healed.
⁶All of us, like sheep, have strayed away.
    We have left God’s paths to follow our own.
Yet the Lord laid on him
    the sins of us all.”

Isaiah 53:5-6 NLT

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

Romans 5:8 NIV

He came down from heaven and was born as a baby. He lived and taught…He was beaten, spit on and made to carry the Cross He would die on. He comitted no sin and took the punishment for all of our sins. He suffered, He was crucified, died and was buried and He did it all for you. Then God raised Him from the dead and He is alive! Thanks be to God for the sacrifice Jesus made for you and me so that we can be reconciled to God. Amen.

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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. ¹⁸Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.“

John 3:16-18 NIV

(This photo was taken in June of 2016 at a lake near Plymouth, Minnesota)

Our Source Of Hope

February 11, 2023 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who^[i] have been called according to his purpose.”

Romans 8:28 NIV

“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

Where does hope come from? It comes from the Creator of everything and everyone…only God who can take on all our sins and overcome this world. Only God can defeat death and evil that is so prevalent in this world. Put your hope in God for He is the only true source of Hope each day.

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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.”

Romans 5:1-5 NIV

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

Overcome Trouble And Sorrow

February 6, 2023 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

“Our days may come to seventy years,
or eighty, if our strength endures;
yet the best of them are but trouble and sorrow,
for they quickly pass, and we fly away.”

Psalm 90:10 NIV

The bible tells us in this life we will have trouble and sorrow…it states very clearly that life is hard. Yet we still have hope and can be encouraged because Jesus Christ came into this world and sacrificed Himself to assure that we can have a relationship with God. Do not be overcome by trouble and sorrow…overcome these things with faith. Amen.

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