The Foundation Of Faith

June 18, 2018 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

We often hear that it states in the bible if you have faith as small as a mustard seed you can move mountains and nothing will be impossible for you (see Matthew 17:20). Well that doesn’t sound too hard. A mustard seed, that’s really small…oh but wait. If it only takes such a small amount of faith to do such big things why isn’t everybody full of faith? Take a look at your personal belief in Jesus Christ…when we face any issues, problems, concerns or difficult people are we able to approach all those situations with a belief and faith that Jesus Christ can do anything with that situation? God is still working on me for this level of spiritual maturity. This is a faith that points 100% to Jesus Christ and the belief in the saving grace that He provided at Calvary for every part of your life. It is a belief that every person no matter how the world has judged them and cast them aside can be redeemed, if we are willing to believe Jesus can change that. I am focusing my faith journey on more of this and less of me. May God’s grace and peace be with you.

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“For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly that you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.”

Romans 12:3

(This photo was taken in October of 2014 on the island of Maui, Hawaii)

The Lord Of My Everything?

June 16, 2018 / mcalcagno / 2 Comments

One of my struggles in faith is opening up to the Lord for everything. Not only the parts of my life and my heart I think He wants to be involved in…that would be God on my terms. It does not work like that. God is the God of everything and Jesus Christ is Lord of all. All of creation, all people in all nations since the beginning of time and His love for everything, His grace and His mercy will endure forever. It is so difficult for my finite mind to comprehend the totality of God and His love. He is more than the God of Sunday morning or Wednesday evening…He is more than the God of when I really need help or a crisis is happening…He is more than a beautiful sunrise or sunset when we feel more of His presence. He is the Lord of housework, the Lord of daily errands, the Lord of trips to Grandma and Grandpa’s house, He is the Lord of where you work and what you do…He is the Lord of everything. Period. The best part of all of this means He is right there waiting to hear from you about all of it. He is your Lord and Savior and even though that doesn’t mean everything will be easy and good He is with you through it all everyday. May God’s presence, His love, His joy and His forgiveness be present in your life everyday.

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“Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of the life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”

Psalm 23:6

(This photo was taken in August of 2016 at Sapphire Point near Dillon, Colorado)

Holy Living

June 9, 2018 / mcalcagno / 2 Comments

We are broken but we are saved. We are sinful but we are forgiven. We live in a dark world but Jesus Christ is the light of the world. For every statement about human life on earth God has provided an answer and hope for a future. There is no need to dwell in negativity and sadness for an extended period of time. Pick up the Bible and read God’s Word. Read the stories of those who came before us and the real struggles they went through even when Jesus Christ was here on earth. We will never be perfect but we will always have hope because of God’s love. Choose positive responses to life’s questions and live your best holy life according to God’s Word. May God’s peace and contentment 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. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.”

Colossians 3:12-14

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

His Love Endures Forever

June 7, 2018 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

Just when we think, ‘I am sure God is upset with me’ or ‘why do I feel so distant from God’ or any other self pity thoughts about our relationship with God…He shows us again that His love is all around us. Either through nature or through another person God shows up and reminds everyone He will never leave you or abandon you. When we make an effort to start with gratitude for what blessings we have been given, we learn to better understand how God is working in our life. God is love and His love is never-ending for us. He gave His one and only Son to be a sacrifice for us, out of love, and He continues to know you and to bless you because His love endures forever. May you see God’s love and peace present in your life.

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“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

Jeremiah 29:11

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

The Love Of God

June 3, 2018 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

It may be hard to believe sometimes…it seems unfathomable, an error in judgement or even misguided from our perspective. However, it is true…God loves you, unconditionally. There is nothing in all creation that can separate us from the love of God. It has all been tried over and over again throughout the Old Testament, so God took things up a notch and sent His one and only Son to triumph over all, forever. He had it written about before it occurred in the Old Testament and then again after it occurred in the New Testament. God loves you and He is right there with you, He knows the struggles and the victory you experience in your life every day. Talk with God, thank Him for His never-ending love and seek His will as you go forward in your faith and life journey. May God’s peace and joy be with you.

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“No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Romans 8:37-39

(This photo was taken in July of 2016 while driving through North Dakota)

Giving

May 30, 2018 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

Be generous when you can, to whomever you can, wherever you are in your life. Look not only to your own needs. Look around you, there are others in need and you have the ability to help. Giving is not always a financial based event, the world tends to portray it that way. Giving can be in things more valuable than money, like giving your time, your attention, sitting and listening to someone, preparing a meal, etc. Don’t limit your gifts to what the world wants to tell you can offer, trust in God and your relationship with Him to fully understand what you are created to give. God loves you and knows the most about what you have to offer to others. May God’s love and peace be with you.

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“Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”

2 Corinthians 9:7

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

Grace And Mercy

May 29, 2018 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

God provides us both His grace and His mercy, even though we do not earn them. His love for us is so strong that even though we were still sinners He sent His one and only Son to save us. When we reflect on our daily lives there is so much we should be thankful for that gets taken for granted. We would be wise to take time to praise God and give thanks for all He has done for us. It is so easy to get distracted by a variety of things in the world and yet God is right here with us, waiting for us to turn to Him in faith. We are most encouraged when we spend time in relationship with the Lord. May God’s peace and joy be with you.

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“For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

Ephesians 2:10

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

Choose Love

May 27, 2018 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

Relationships can be hard if we strive to seek power or control. If our self is driving during our interactions with others things will often end poorly. There will be bitterness, anger, frustration and all the things we don’t want to be a part of our relationships. There is a better way. There is love. Unconditional, never-ending love. This does not mean just let the other person walk all over you and do whatever they want whenever they want. This means both people do things to make life better for both of them. It is important in any relationship to build your time together on a foundation of faith. There will be times when each of you will need to lean on the Lord in prayer as each of you will have your moments when self will try to take over. Be strong together and God will watch over your life. Today my wife and I are celebrating 23 years in marriage, we were joined in marriage by God and nothing will keep us apart. We have had to fight some battles and we continue to get stronger as we go because we both know that there is nobody who will love us like we do each other. I am thankful for every day God gives us together. May you find God’s love and joy in your relationships.

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“Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with God’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.”

Romans 12:9-13

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

Gratitude

May 26, 2018 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

One of the difficult challenges in life is adjusting your perspective. We receive so many messages through our senses from our daily life. Things we see, things we hear, things we read, etc. We get to choose what things get our time and attention. Whatever we focus on becomes embedded in our perspective. When we spend too much time on negativity, sadness, anger, selfishness and hatred we adopt that point of view to everything else. This is the way of living focused on self. We will always end up disappointed. We need to find ways to build in positive things, goodness, kindness, joy and love. These things will help us live with a balanced perspective. One easy way to start is to practice gratitude. What are you thankful for? It may not come easy at first if you haven’t done this very often. Think about the very basics in life like food, shelter and clothing…don’t take such things for granted as these are not in abundance for everyone in the world. Once you start practicing gratitude and you want to build on it, the next thing is giving…the joy, peace and contentment will continue to build in your life from there. Find your gratitude things and give thanks to God for all of it. May God’s joy and peace be with you.

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“Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, sheep of his pasture.

Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.”

Psalm 100

(This photo was taken in March of 2018 while traveling through southern New Mexico)

Choose How You Will Respond

May 24, 2018 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

With every situation in life we are given free will by God which means we choose how to respond to what other people do or say. This freedom also means we are accountable and responsible for our response even if the response is to do nothing. If we are focused on self more than anything else we will often choose a poor response as self is only responding to the impact on me without regard for others. God created us out of His love and we were made to choose the fruits of the Spirit in how we live our daily lives. Be aware not only of ‘what’ you do and say, but also ‘how’ you do and say things when you respond to others. Free will is a gift from God, how we respond with this gift makes all the difference in how we feel in our life. May God’s joy and peace be with you.

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