Forgiveness And For Goodness

December 23, 2019 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

These are the presents we receive from God, not only at Christmas, we receive these every day of our lives. It is up to us to accept these gifts and to trust in the Lord. We are forgiven because of Jesus Christ and we receive goodness from God’s Holy Spirit within us. All throughout the bible the miracles performed included Jesus involving someone else in completing the miracle. An example would be the little boy who had the fish and bread, that was to be multiplied for all to eat. God wants us to accept the gift of forgiveness from Jesus and to open our hearts and minds to the goodness of the Holy Spirit and God wants each of us to participate in the story. God loves you; God forgives you and He is ready to lead you to good things. Accept these gifts from God. Amen.

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“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.”

James 1:17

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

Gifts And Abilities

August 5, 2019 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

When you are unsure how you can best contribute…ask God. How can I help? Learn about yourself and your abilities. What comes naturally to you? What seems easy for you that others struggle doing? What can you do that fulfills the need of another? It can be anything. God knows you and knows how He created you…don’t believe your value based on the world’s standards, let God be the judge. Seek Him and His will. Pray about it and pay attention for God’s answers in your everyday life. Amen.

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“Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.”

1 Peter 4:9-10

(This photo was taken in August of 2016 – the statue is called “Our Lady of the Rockies” and can be seen near Butte, Montana)

Gifts And Serving Others

March 25, 2019 / mcalcagno / 1 Comment

Each person is unique is some way. Everyone has a different combination of strengths and weaknesses. No individuals were made to stand alone or to be isolated from the community. We are designed to work together to use our blessings to help fulfill the needs of others and for others to help fulfill our needs. The things that get in the way are sin…pride and selfishness, judgement and favoritism…these exist in everyone on all sides of every issue. Each of us should assess ourselves and understand what are our strengths and gifts to offer…the important thing to remember is the value of our gifts in God’s eyes not value according to the world’s perspective…because even if what we can offer will change life for just 1 or a few other people, we are still changing the world for good in the eyes of God. Peace be with you on your journey. Amen.

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“Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in is various forms.”

1 Peter 4:9-10

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

Gifts For Your Faith Journey

October 21, 2018 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

Each one of us has been blessed with gifts, abilities, strengths. God created us out of His love and our love for God can be expressed best by using the gifts He has given us for good things. The hesitation or fear we sense when we are unsure about things can be very uncomfortable…we must be willing to take time and reflect on times when God has showed up and we were made aware of our gifts. We also need to be sure to be in prayer and not take all our cues about who we are or what we can do from the world as evil and darkness wants us to do very little in relation to what God intended for us. Our Faith is a journey and the best part is God packed our bag full of the right things for us to take on this journey…it is up to us to be sure we talk with Him about it often and use the things God has given us. I pray we all have courage, confidence and trust in the Lord until the day we go home to be with Him. Amen.

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“His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share in your master’s happiness!”

Matthew 25:21

(This photo was taken in October of 2018 while on a walk in northwestern Wisconsin)

Call To Serve

August 4, 2018 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

If you find yourself frustrated, anxious or worried more often than usual you may be spending too much time focused on things that are self-serving. Typically I have found on my journey that contentment and joy come from serving the needs of another. Providing help where it is needed most. This does not have to be a major undertaking or monumental tasks…it can be what is most needed, when it is most needed. Maybe someone needs a ride to get to work…holding a door open for someone who has their hands full with someone or something…preparing a meal…or just sitting and listening. We all have gifts and abilities to share and we are called by God to serve one another. May God bless you with wisdom and understanding.

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“You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love.”

Galatians 5:13

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

Use Your Gifts

July 29, 2018 / mcalcagno / 2 Comments

All of us have something that comes naturally for us to do. Things we do well that can help others and serve a useful purpose. Our gifts or strengths that God has blessed us with could help support the basics in life…food, shelter or clothing. They also could be gifts that help spread the Good News of the Lord. Whatever they are and whatever they help you to do…get to know them, understand how to use them best and if you are not sure about this…start by asking God in prayer to help you to see the goodness He has planted in you and where and when to use it. All that is good comes from God and He created you, don’t take your cues about your worth from the world. Learn from the Creator about your goodness and use your gifts from Him to help others. May God’s love and joy surround you each day.

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“Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms.”

1 Peter 4:10

(This photo was taken in June of 2016 at a lake place in northwestern Wisconsin)

Good Works

April 16, 2016 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

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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 the summer of 2013 near Pike’s Peak in Colorado)

It is not about you…

March 1, 2015 / mcalcagno / Leave a comment

It’s not about you…I have seen and read this message many times while reading a devotional or some other faith based writing. When I was reading this morning it struck me differently…it spoke to me about sowing a seed with the hope of changing a life. It made me think…how have I been blessed and how can I share that with others? I know that God created me…I know that God has given me certain gifts. My job is to discover my gifts and use them to help others…and it is the same for you.

Today as I was reading from a daily devotional written by John C Maxwell the words that struck me hard and fast were these…a quote from entertainer Danny Thomas…”All of us are born for a reason, but all of us don’t discover why. Success in life has nothing to do with what you gain in life or accomplish for yourself. It’s what you do for others.”

It doesn’t have to be as hard as we make it to be in our heads…start today…start focusing on your gifts and start using them to help others. If you are unsure of what your gifts are then ask God in prayer to help you identify those gifts so you can begin to sow seeds in your daily life.

It’s not about you…it’s about how you have been blessed and how you can use those blessings to help others.

Peace be with you.

What is your Spiritual Gift?

February 1, 2014 / mcalcagno / 1 Comment

We all get into routines in life and several days begin to look the same. Depending on what you choose to focus on in life, this repetition can become mundane and begin to feel like a rut you have created for yourself. God has created each of us with a purpose in mind and that purpose also came with a spiritual gift. This gift is something that comes naturally to us and sometimes it gets overlooked because it comes to us so easily. This doesn’t have to be something complicated to figure out…we typically make things much more complicated in the world than necessary (I speak from personal experience).

In the Bible, the gifts of the spirit are as follows…

“We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a person’s gift is prophesying, let them use it in proportion to their faith. If it is serving, let them serve; if it is teaching, let them teach; if it is encouraging, let them encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let them give generously; if it is leadership, let them govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let them do it cheerfully.”

Romans 12:6-8

Think about moments in your life where it was easy for you to provide for another…not financially, there are far greater needs in the world than money. The gifts described above are all related to our interactions with others…what have we been given that we can share with other people? Many of us go about the business of “our” lives first and wonder why we get discouraged so easily? One of the best ways to cure your discouragement or disappointment is change your perspective…

Begin by approaching your situation by thinking what can I do that helps others…don’t be so quick to think “nothing” it simply is not true. You are a valuable part of God’s world…you are his creation…and I have heard it said often “God don’t make no junk!”

Look at the list of Gifts…one of these does apply to you…you just need to spend time praying that God will guide you to opportunities to use it and then be very aware of invitations or things you may read or just hear about that are happening in your community…there is a place for you…do you believe it?

The Gifts given according to grace: