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)

Quiet Time

May 3, 2019 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

Busyness is a distraction that keeps us away from spiritual growth. Living life at a frenetic pace not only wears down the body physically it also wears down and dulls your inner spirit. We were made to be more balanced in our daily lives. The example has been shown to us by Jesus…He often went off to be alone and pray, even when many people were clamoring to be with Him or near Him. If you reflect on your life over the past few days, weeks and months…how much time have you spent quietly, in solitude, just you and God? Seek balance in your daily life and you will find peace. Amen.

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“Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.”

Mark 1:35

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

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)

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)

Attitude

April 24, 2019 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

A way of thinking…a point of view…outlook…perspective…belief. How would you define your attitude toward God? What is His role? How much time during a typical week are we thinking about God? The Bible has many of examples of different people and their attitude towards God, it describes their beliefs and actions. There is a lot for us to learn from those people. From Genesis to Revelation, we read about those who put God at the center of their lives and those who did not. The best example of an appropriate attitude towards God is that of Jesus Christ…He took time daily to walk with God and this is what He seeks from us as well. Spend time with Jesus every day and define your attitude towards God. Amen.

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“He has showed you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”

Micah 6:8

(This photo was taken in July of 2012 on a walk in northwestern Wisconsin)

Free Will

April 23, 2019 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

God has given us the gift of free will. We are allowed to choose how we will respond to everything. When you think about it after everything that God has experienced with the human race…why did He do this? After all the things humans have chosen to do wrong starting with Adam and Eve, why allow us to choose? I believe it is because real love, joy and goodness offered voluntarily is the only kind worth having…the risk, of course, is we are filled with sinful hearts and minds and we often choose poorly and that is why bad things happen in the world. Use your free will to offer goodness, kindness, love and joy to others. Amen.

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“You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. The entire law is summed up in a single command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

Galatians 5:13-14

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

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)

Filling the Void

April 18, 2019 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

We all are born with a void in our spirit. We all have free will, it is a gift from God. As we go through this life we make choices about what is filling the void. We choose sinful behaviors and we choose spirit led behaviors. It is up to each and every one of us to invite Jesus Christ into our hearts and lives…He will not force His way in without an invitation from us. Say a prayer and ask Jesus Christ into the void in you and see what God has planned for you. Amen.

The Motions by Matthew West

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“O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where this is no water.”

Psalm 63:1

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

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)

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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