The Gift

January 7, 2019 / mcalcagno / 1 Comment

We have been given the greatest gift ever…the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Nothing compares to it. He sacrificed His life in heaven to come down to earth and to be like one of us, He was beaten, tortured, spit on and crucified…then God did what only God can do…out of the worst of tragedies He brought about the most incredible joy. Jesus Christ is alive and He lives today. Don’t put off your relationship with Jesus, spend time with Him everyday, the Gift of Him is one that keeps on giving to you forever. Amen.

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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, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

John 1:14

(This photo was taken in May of 2014 at a lake place in central Minnesota)

His Sacrifice = Grace

January 4, 2019 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

We can have a personal relationship with our Creator. We are redeemed. We have been saved from wrath. The punishment we all deserve has been delivered onto Jesus Christ. We are forgiven. All of this has been completed because of the grace of God and His love for us. Jesus gave up everything and suffered the worst things this world can deliver…to save us. Let us give thanks to Jesus for His incredible sacrifice and let us live our lives in pursuit of the Fruits of the Spirit in our thoughts, our words and our actions. Amen.

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“For is 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.”

Ephesians 2:8-9

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

God Is Love

December 30, 2018 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

I am reminded this morning of this statement. When we fix our eyes on Jesus and not on the pain, struggle and our self-serving desires, we are able to rise above those things carried by the love of God. If we allow the hurt and pain of the past to rule our present day then we are missing out on so many opportunities to know joy and peace, to be thankful for what is good. If we desire forgiveness for our sins, we need to be just as willing to forgive others. The sacrifice has already been made for us, the race is already been won, death is defeated and Christ lives. Let us turn towards God in prayer and thanksgiving for His everlasting love. Amen.

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“If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God. And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him.”

1 John 4:15-16

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

God Came Down

December 29, 2018 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

The coming of Jesus Christ, to be born as a baby here on earth was miraculous for many reasons. The most difficult part to comprehend is that God, the Creator of the world, the beginning and the end of all things, loves us so much that He took the form of one of us, to save us from our sinful ways. When we read in the bible about the people of God in the Old Testament, it seems like the people and God go back and forth. The people are suffering, God does something to help them, win a battle, defeat an enemy, free them from slavery and the people are thankful and grow closer to God…and then time goes by and they wander off again. The cycle repeats itself several times…much like many of us in our faith journey. In the New Testament, God changes the cycle and does something that has changed the relationship we have with Him forever. God came down from heaven and became like us in order to reconcile us to Him…think about that for awhile…the Almighty God, Creator of all things came down from heaven to become one of us because He loves us. As we think about the past year and the year to come, I pray we reflect on God’s love and the amazing things He has done for us. Amen.

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“For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.”

Psalm 100:5

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

Forgiveness

December 28, 2018 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

To begin to seek a new nature, to desire to be different than we have been, to seek kindness and compassion and a servant attitude…first we must turn toward Jesus Christ on the Cross and confess our sins. Be humbled and speak the wrongs we have committed against others, in our thoughts, our actions and our words. We all have to go through this step on our faith journey and more than one time…we live in a fallen and broken world filled with sin and evil and none of us can stand up to it alone. God knows this and He sent His Son to take the judgement we all deserve so that we can be reconciled to Him when we are willing to admit our faults. Confess and be forgiven, this is part of God’s plan for you. Amen.

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“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”

1 John 1:9

(This photo was taken in August of 2016 in Mount Rainier National Park in Washington)

Why Did Jesus Come?

December 11, 2018 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

He came down from heaven and into this world. God had a plan and Jesus knew exactly what He was getting into…so why do it? He did because He loves you, He cares for you and He wants only the best for you. The answer to this question and so many others have been given to us in God’s Word. It’s not complicated, it is simple and yet the human race seems bent on making things much more difficult and complicated then they need to be. Jesus came to save us because He loves us and even though we don’t deserve it, He loves us anyways. Let us be thankful for Jesus Christ and His saving grace. Amen.

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

John 10:10

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

The Savior Of The World

December 6, 2018 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

Take time during this Advent season to reflect on what Jesus Christ has done for you and for me. He came into this world as a baby, born in a stable…He came in peace, to teach us, to help those who are suffering and to reconcile the lost souls of the world to God. He was rejected by many…He was beaten, crucified and just before He died He asked Father God to forgive us. He has done and is continuing to do everything He can for you and for me, for our good…because He loves us. This Christmas give thanks to Jesus Christ…Our Savior of the World. Amen.

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“But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.”

Luke 2:10-11

(This photo was taken in December of 2017 in a neighborhood near Plymouth, Minnesota)

Our Beautiful Savior

November 24, 2018 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

When you think about it…when you look around your life and the world and see the things that the most attention is focused on…you may begin to see something of a trend or common theme. We are all living in a lost and broken world, where anger, hate, suffering, hunger and homelessness are everywhere, the primary focus and attention of many people is on me, myself and I. On the journey of faith I realize the only times I get worried or upset or feel like chaos is everywhere is when I have put my expectations or my plans or my wants and desires ahead of everything else. The self is very powerful and very stubborn and will lead us to destructive thoughts and behaviors. This is when we need to be renewed, to put our focus back on Jesus Christ and the Word of God. Our beautiful Savior who came down from heaven to save us from self-destruction. Come to the Cross and be renewed by Jesus Christ our one and only beautiful Savior. Amen.

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“The Lord is my light and my salvation – whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life – of whom shall I be afraid?”

Psalm 27:1

(This photo was taken in August of 2016 in Mount Rainier National Park in Washington)

Freedom Found In Forgiveness

November 3, 2018 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

Learning to forgive someone for something that occurred in the past…this is a tough thing for many of us. It is not in our human nature to forgive. We usually struggle because we are waiting for the other person to earn our forgiveness, however, as we read in the Scriptures, our forgiveness for our sins was not nor will it ever be earned. If God was going to wait for us to show we deserved to be forgiven for our sinful ways…well just look around you at the world and the behavior of people…sin rules this world as much or more now than it ever has. We do not deserve to saved from our sins and yet God sent His Son to suffer and die for us, to pay the penalty for our sins so that we are forgiven and our relationship is reconciled. We can learn to forgive and break free from the anger, the hatred, the finger pointing that keeps us stuck in a cycle of violence and hurting each other. Forgiveness means we are not going to let the hurts of the past control our future behavior…that is exactly what God has done for you and for me. I pray we can each pick one relationship that we know needs our attention and seek to forgive, so that we can be free from the hurts of the past. Amen.

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“Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”

Ephesians 4:32

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

The Love Of Christ

November 1, 2018 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

We can search our entire life for something to comfort us, to depend on and to know that it is always watching over us…and yet there is only one thing that can be all of this and more for everyone…that is the love of Jesus Christ. Nothing in this world is as powerful as the love of Christ. No event or circumstances can compare with the death and resurrection of Jesus and the fact that He endured it all for you and for me because of love. It is the greatest gift we will ever receive and the most important thing we can share with others. I pray we all seek ways to shine a light on the love of Christ in our lives. Amen.

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