Perseverance

September 17, 2018 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

Steadfastness…persistence…determination…purposefulness. The story of our lives is not about when or how often we will get knocked down. It will happen and sometimes it will happen with increased frequency. It is in how we choose to respond to these events that will shape and define our character and our relationships. We only need to look to the Cross and the Resurrection for the example of what sticking with God and His plan can be. From what was one of the greatest tragedies in history to an even greater story of new life, hope and joy. As it says in Romans 8:31 “What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us?” We are His creation, He loves us and no matter what may trip us up along the way He will be with us. May we all go out into the world today with the confidence that God is for us.

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“Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.”

Romans 5:3-5

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

Draw Near To God

July 28, 2018 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

It is so easy to get drawn into a worldly perspective. To judge others and have thoughts that justify ourselves in our own minds. Eventually we may find that things are beginning to draw us farther away from our relationship with Jesus and our faith life. This can be a very gradual process, during this time when you start to question something from a faith perspective be sure to draw close to God and His Word. In order to persevere in faith we must look to God and the Holy Spirit for guidance. I believe it is true that all people were made to be able to be good and do good things as we are all created by God. The hard part for us as humans is managing our free will. It is a gift from God and when it is used to pursue the sinful nature we are choosing to turn away from the Lord. May the grace and peace of the Lord be with you.

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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

(This photo was taken in June of 2018 near the border between Minnesota and South Dakota)

Don’t Give Up

February 12, 2018 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

Our lives are filled with moments and memories…some are good times and some are difficult. We all tend to embellish a bit in our memories, the memory of good times seem to be really good and the memory of bad times seem to be really bad. For many there seems to be more bad memories that start to take a person down a road where even the present moments are seen through their eyes with a negative perspective. This is a quick spiral downward and we can get stuck in the swirl of negativity. We have to have the courage to choose a new perspective, a more balanced view things and we are fed that perspective when we read the Word of God. When times are hard and it feels like you are making no progress on anything…don’t give up, keep pressing on, keep believing…that is your faith at work. Goodness will come to those who believe in the hope that God provides through Jesus Christ. May God’s peace be with you.

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“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.”

Colossians 3:12

(This photo was taken in June of 2013 in Badlands National Park in South Dakota)

Don’t Give Up

May 18, 2017 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

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“Blessed is the man who perseveres under trail, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.”

James 1:12

(This photo was taken in July of 2016 in Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming)

Perseverance

February 13, 2016 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

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So often in life we begin something with the best intentions…as time goes by we try to push ahead on our own…”I can do this”…”I know what I am doing”…it is based on ‘I’ and any of us can only do so much alone. We have to learn that our obsessive focus on ‘I’ eventually leads to sadness, helplessness and loneliness.

One of the hardest things I have ever done is admit that my life is not about ‘me’, ‘myself’ and ‘I’…we are not controlling every single aspect of our daily life. The loss of a young friend to suicide sealed it for me. That was the last event in a series of lessons that made it very clear to me there is so much more in life than what ‘I’ was focusing my attention on. The world and Satan are not encouraging us to surrender to Jesus and that makes it even harder to see and understand but when we commit to spending time with God and we surrender our belief that we our in charge…we begin to understand a whole new level and perspective of love, joy, peace, mercy and grace. This is not an easy commitment and like anything worth doing it takes perseverance but once you start God provides strength and best of all he gives all of us courage to over come our greatest fears…

“For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.”

2 Timothy 1:7

(This photo was taken in the summer of 2013 in Badlands National Park in South Dakota)

When We Fall

January 3, 2016January 3, 2016 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

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We will all encounter moments when we fall down while on our faith journey. This was true for the most familiar names in the bible…Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, Joseph etc.

We all fall down along the way…the key is not the fall or why we fall, what is most important is how we respond when we do fall down. Do not turn away from God in shame…turn towards God, pray, confess and get back up again. He knows our struggles and He will always be with us. Psalm 51:1-17 is a great place to begin to get back up, here is a sample from that passage.

“Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.”

Psalm 51:10-12

Patience and Persistence

August 22, 2013 / mcalcagno / 5 Comments

Sometimes we all wish God worked like a drive-thru…quick, cheap and efficient? We could just pull in and get whatever we needed whenever we needed it. Those thoughts come directly from the world we live in. Everything in this world seems focused on the quick, convenient, fast and easy…we want more we want more.

My toughest moments in my faith journey…times when I have felt a letdown or disappointment have occurred because I lacked Patience and Persistence.

Patience – defined as “bearing pain or trials without complaint”; “showing self-control”

Persistence – defined as “to go on resolutely or stubbornly in spite of difficulties”

These are two qualities that are not promoted in our world yet when we focus on them we usually are closer to living God’s plan for our life rather than our own plan. I have always been a better husband, father, son, brother or friend when I practice patience and persistence.

In my spiritual life I define Patience as waiting for the Lord. He is always there and he always working his plan in your life even when you think nothing is happening. Every interaction with another person is an opportunity and a blessing. When we are patient we can smile and make eye contact with the grocery store or convenience store clerk. When passing by someone we know we can say “Hi” with a smile instead of “Hey, How you doing?” as we speed past not waiting for a response because we didn’t really want to know how they were doing at that moment. When we are patient as a friend we really listen to what our friend is saying and not thinking about what we are going to say next in conversation. When we are patient we will be willing to sacrifice some of our own wants and needs to help others.

Persistence can be defined as never giving up of God. Things will not go the way you want or just the way you planned but maybe you ran ahead of God and it wasn’t time for you to get that job or start that adventure. Maybe he knows you have some more trials coming ahead. It is not punishment, that is not how God works. He has a plan for how he wants you to use the gifts he gave you and he knows the events you are going to encounter in life. Your job is to learn from trials and pray about them and listen for God to respond. For example, if you need the courage to ask someone for forgiveness or you need to forgive someone for something…pray about it daily and be watchful for that opportunity to be forgiven or to forgive…it will come. Just be persistent about your prayer.

In closing, one of my favorite Bible verses speaks to these qualities it is this:

“I am confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord”

Psalm 27:13-14

Peace.