An Invitation

November 19, 2019 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

Jesus invites us to follow Him. God’s love gives us the opportunity to choose to follow Christ and to live eternally in heaven and God’s gift of free will means we have a responsibility to own our choices. God wants a relationship with each one of us and a relationship is a two-way connection. He wants to be in relationship so much that He sacrificed His one and only Son to provide The Way. Take a look at Luke 5:27-28, Mark 10:17-31 as examples of Jesus extending an invitation to follow Him. No matter where you are or what your life circumstances are, you are invited to follow Jesus Christ. How will you choose to respond to His invitation? Amen.

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“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.”

Matthew 7:13-14

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

He Will Come Back

November 17, 2019 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

Jesus Christ will come again. We read about this is several places in the bible. It is His final promise and He has kept every single promise He ever made. Trust in God and trust in His Son, Jesus Christ who died to save you…who is the risen Lord and who is coming back to take us to be with Him, forever. Amen.

Give Me Jesus by Jeremy Camp

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“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.”

John 14:1-3

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

This Is Love

November 14, 2019 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

Sacrifice…Savior…Salvation. The actions of God through Jesus Christ were done to save us. We don’t deserve it, we can’t earn it by doing good things, it is given to us. We can accept it; we can stay close to Him by meeting with Him daily and we can do good things to help others to learn and know about Him. May the love of God comfort us today. Amen.

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“This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.”

1 John 4:10

(This photo was taken in March of 2013 at the Botanical Gardens in the Bellagio in Las Vegas, Nevada)

Peace

November 10, 2019 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

In the Gospel of John chapter 14, Jesus speaks of peace. If you have ever wondered ‘where is God in all of this?’ or ‘Where can I find peace?’ True peace requires a new perspective…the words of Jesus in John 14:27 “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” He comes right out and tells us ‘not as the world gives’…if we are looking for peace according to the world’s values, we will not find peace only heartache and suffering. The one way the only way to find peace is through a committed relationship with Jesus Christ. Turn towards Jesus and away from sin and you will find peace. Amen.

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“Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.”

Colossians 3:15

(This photo was taken in August of 2016 in Glacier National Park in Montana)

Simple Yet Not Easy

November 6, 2019 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

The facts of faith are straightforward, written down in God’s word for all of us. In the Gospels there is a story of the calling of Levi…in Mark 2 starting at verse 13 and in Luke 5 starting at verse 27. It is short and straight to the point, Jesus says two words, “Follow me” and Levi gets up and follows Him, leaving everything behind. It immediately has us asking for more information about the situation, ‘how is this possible?’, ‘they must have known each other before that moment.’ Yet no additional information is provided. Jesus extends the invitation as He does to all of us…“Follow me”…the response to His words is up to each one of us, every day. Do your best and let God take care of the rest. Amen.

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“Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self?”

Luke 9:23-25

(This photo was taken in August of 2016 in Glacier National Park in Montana)

Believe In Your Heart

October 29, 2019 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

Are we fully committed to putting Christ first in life? Our actions will always speak louder than our words. We know we can never be good enough on our own, yet we seem to keep trying to go our own way. Thank you, God, for your mercy and your grace…because of His great love for us we can return to Him and confess our sins because we believe in our hearts that Jesus Christ is the Son of God who was crucified, died and has risen. I know I struggle often when I reflect on my own actions…the things I have done and the things I have left undone. It is at these moments that I imagine with my mind’s eye, kneeling at the foot of the Cross, laying down my sins and thanking Jesus Christ for His sacrifice. God is with you and me, He loves us and only He can see us through the event in our lives. Amen.

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“If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.”

Romans 10:9-10

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

Humility

October 28, 2019 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

One popular quote of the well-known professor and author C.S. Lewis states, “Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it’s thinking of yourself less.” It is not about changing your perception of you, rather it is the intentional act of thinking about and considering the interests and needs of others. The life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ was completed in order to reconcile us to God…Jesus Christ had to humble Himself to become like one of us and lay down His life to save us. You may be thinking, ‘that’s pretty extreme humility’ and it is, yet that is how much God loves you and wants to have a relationship with you. Turn towards the Lord and seek humility in your daily life. Amen.

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“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.”

Philippians 2:3-4

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

Our Source For Light

October 23, 2019 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

When we admit we are broken and sinful and turn to Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord we will begin to learn about the Light of the world. The world is filled with darkness and sin. The thoughts, words and actions of worldly values is centered on the self and a selfish attitude. A life centered on Christ can be a Light in the world when we are willing to surrender our plans for God’s plan. The one true source of Light is God through His Son, Jesus Christ. Trust in Him and you will have joy and peace. Amen.

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“For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ.”

2 Corinthians 4:6

(This photo was taken in July of 2018 on Lake Superior near the Apostle Islands)

He Is Worthy

October 20, 2019 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

Hello and welcome to another day to worship and sing praise to God. As we travel on the journey of faith, we will encounter questions and doubts along the way…that is natural and it is ok. We need to remember that the one simple truth of faith is that Jesus Christ sacrificed Himself to save us and reconcile us to God because He loves us. His love for us will conquer every battle in our lives. He is worthy of our thanks and praise. Thank you God, for your Son Jesus Christ…Amen.

Is He Worthy? by Chris Tomlin

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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. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”

John 3:16-17

(This photo was taken in July of 2019 at a lake near Plymouth, Minnesota)

Give Thanks

October 14, 2019 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

What is on your mind? What thoughts are you stewing on? We easily slip into worries and fears even when things around us are calm and ok. Choose to change your focus…what are you thankful for? Think about yesterday and find what you are thankful for from yesterday. Look at your current surroundings…what type of device are you reading this post on? There are many things to be thankful for each and every day of your life…stop focusing so much time on what you can’t control; like what other people think, say and do. Finally, give thanks to God for His Son, Jesus Christ and the sacrifice that He made to save us. Amen.

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