Month: October 2011

(Psa 147:5 KJV)  Great is our Lord, and of great power: his understanding is infinite.

Life is a beautiful thing! We have an AWESOME opportunity to serve Someone that is Worthy to be served!

There are so many things in this world that we could serve, and even though we say we don’t let things get in our way when it comes to God, we should check ourselves once in awhile. Things try to creep in when we’re not looking or when we get busy.

It’s great how God gives us His understanding and helps us each day. I can honestly say that the past couple of months for us have been difficult to deal with. We have had a lot of different things come our way.

What’s funny is that at times we found ourselves pretty puzzled as to how these things could be happening. But it wasn’t long before God would give us His understanding and we would slowly see what it was about.

God is so faithful. He will never leave us in the dark. He is so powerful, and so GREAT!

Pastor Curt & Pastor Ellie
Seven Seas Ministries
401-377-5400

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(Mat 21:14 NKJV)  Then the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and He healed them.

He healed them. He healed them all.

These phrases are used several times in the book of Matthew. There are also dozens of other verses in the New Testament that teach us about the scores of people that Jesus healed.

Did you know that Jesus is still in the healing business even today? God’s healing power didn’t end when Jesus ascended to heaven. God’s healing power didn’t end when the last apostle died. The healing power of Jesus is still alive today!

How do I know this? I know this because I have seen it and experienced it firsthand, in my own life.

I won’t tell the entire story here because it would be too lengthy. But let me tell you that at the age of 7 I was diagnosed with asthma, an incurable disease according to the doctors.

But at the age of 37 I was healed of asthma by the hand of God. I didn’t outgrow it. I didn’t take a special medication to get rid of it. I didn’t learn some new breathing method or some new fancy exercise, or anything like this.

God healed me of it, plain and simple.

During those 30+ years of having asthma, I experienced varying levels of asthma attacks, from mild to severe. It controlled my life.

But I am asthma-free to this day and I will be free of asthma for the rest of my life. I know this because God is faithful and He is still in the business of healing.

Don’t ever let anyone tell you that God no longer heals. He does. And he can heal you.

He can heal your body. He can heal your emotions. He can heal your broken spirit. Ask Him and believe that He will do it.

Pastor Curt & Pastor Ellie
Seven Seas Ministries
401-377-5400

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(Deu 31:6 NKJV) “Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the LORD your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you.”

What an encouraging verse to assure us that we are not alone.

No matter what happens in our lives, God, the Mighty One, the Holy One, the Savior of this world, Abba Father, Alpha and Omega is always with us and will never leave us, nor forsake us!!

Rejoice in this today…we are safe in Him!!

Pastor Curt & Pastor Ellie
Seven Seas Ministries
401-377-5400

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(John 8:36 NKJV)  “Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.

How many of us are free today? I don’t mean that in a cliché kind of way, either.

Have you been set free by the blood of Jesus? Have you given Him your sins and taken on freedom in exchange?

We can embrace Jesus and still not be free. We can even be washed by His blood and still not be totally free.

Just as we talked about yesterday, with regard to making a choice to have God’s peace, we also have a choice when it comes to being free. We can choose to hold onto things that weigh us down and keep us in bondage, or we can make a choice to let those things go and take up true freedom.

Are we worrying about all of the things in this life? We need to give them to Jesus, one thing at a time. Is it easy? Not always, but it’s absolutely possible to do. We just need to make a choice to do it and then follow through on a daily basis, hour by hour and minute by minute.

Let Jesus give you true freedom.

Pastor Curt & Pastor Ellie
Seven Seas Ministries
401-377-5400

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(Rom 5:1 NKJV)  Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ…

Peace with God. What does that mean to us?

It means that no matter what comes our way, we can have peace. We can have a peace that the ungodly will probably not understand. It means that even when our insides feel like they might tie themselves in knots, we can know that God is for us and with us.

Make no mistake. There will be times when we don’t feel peace, but that’s because we have chosen not to have God’s peace.

Take note that I mentioned above that we “can” have God’s peace. I didn’t say that we “will” have God’s peace. That’s because having the peace of God is a choice.

We can choose to have the peace of God or we can choose to have whatever the enemy sends our way; irritation, anger, stress, etc.

What will you choose today, God’s peace or the enemy’s strife? The choice is ours.

Pastor Curt & Pastor Ellie
Seven Seas Ministries
401-377-5400

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(Prov 12:22 NKJV) Lying lips are an abomination to the LORD, But those who deal truthfully are His delight.

It can be hard to share the truth with people you love, even though you know it will help them.

At times we can be afraid to share it because we don’t know how they will take it.
There have been times when I’ve shared the truth and for a while I got the cold shoulder. It was very hurtful to me because I only did it to help, but in return I got hurt.

It could have caused me to not want to share the truth again. But remember, sometimes sharing the truth means people might not want to hear it right then. It can be an uncomfortable situation and at times it may take the person a while to see it for what it is.

Always get God’s wisdom on when, how and if we are to share it. Sometimes God will show us the truth about a situation just so that we know how to pray. Other times it is to help that person out in seeing things they may not have seen otherwise.

God has called us to love one another. If we obey Him in this then when it comes to sharing or speaking the truth it won’t be hard for us to speak the truth in love, the very way He would do it for us.

Pastor Curt & Pastor Ellie
Seven Seas Ministries
401-377-5400

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(John 20:30-31 NKJV)  And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; {31} but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.

Jesus did many incredible things that are recorded in scripture. When I read through the 4 gospels and take in all the accounts of the people He healed and the demons He cast out of people and the words of compassion He spoke, I am truly in awe.

What’s even more incredible is that Jesus did much more than what’s recorded in the 4 gospels. John stated in the scripture above that these particular things were recorded so that we may believe in Jesus as the Messiah and know that He is the Son of God, receiving life in His name.

As His followers, we need to emulate Jesus. We need to follow His example, caring for people, praying for them, giving them help and compassion and showing them grace and mercy.

We are to carry His love and forgiveness to everyone we meet and everyone we know.

I want my life to reflect His life. Sometimes it’s like a burning in me that is hard to explain. I know that my life is very far from perfect and that I drop the ball many times, but my heart desires to do what God has for me to do.

I pray today that we will all have the heart of God and the mind of Christ, desiring to be vessels that He can fill and use for His glory. It’s what we’re here for.

Ask God today to open your heart and show you how to let more of Him in. We need Him more than we know.

Pastor Curt & Pastor Ellie
Seven Seas Ministries
401-377-5400

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(Prov 8:11 NKJV)  For wisdom is better than rubies, And all the things one may desire cannot be compared with her.

Today if you need wisdom, ask God for it. It is wisdom that will get us ahead of the game and wisdom that will keep us knowing how to handle things. It’s wisdom that will help us avoid things that will hurt us and wisdom to keep us moving forward!!

It is wise to go after it and claim the wisdom God has for us in every situation. We don’t have to wait to we get old to get it. Just have to ask God for it.

Let His wisdom guide us.

Pastor Curt & Pastor Ellie
Seven Seas Ministries
401-377-5400

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(Mark 13:5 NKJV)  And Jesus, answering them, began to say: “Take heed that no one deceives you.

Deception is a powerful thing, whether in ordinary, everyday life or in the church.

God’s word teaches us to be on our guard and not to let ourselves be deceived by anyone.

Life has a way of teaching us this the hard way sometimes, but God has given us His Spirit and His discernment to help us avoid deception.

Every single one of us has been deceived at one time or another, and to varying degrees, but the important thing is that we can learn from those times when it has happened to us and ask God to remind us when we’re in a situation where we might be deceived again.

God is faithful and He will protect us if we let Him. We just need to be sure to let Him!

Pastor Curt & Pastor Ellie
Seven Seas Ministries
401-377-5400

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(Luke 18:35-43 NKJV)  Then it happened, as He was coming near Jericho, that a certain blind man sat by the road begging. {36} And hearing a multitude passing by, he asked what it meant. {37} So they told him that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by. {38} And he cried out, saying, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” {39} Then those who went before warned him that he should be quiet; but he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” {40} So Jesus stood still and commanded him to be brought to Him. And when he had come near, He asked him, {41} saying, “What do you want Me to do for you?” He said, “Lord, that I may receive my sight.” {42} Then Jesus said to him, “Receive your sight; your faith has made you well.” {43} And immediately he received his sight, and followed Him, glorifying God. And all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God.

I absolutely love this group of verses!

As the blind man became aware that Jesus was approaching, he determined that he would call out to Jesus and seek to be healed. Those around him tried to hush him up and stop him from calling out to Jesus, but this made him even more determined, so he yelled even louder!

Ultimately, Jesus heard him and healed his eyes, restoring his sight.

What if we were that blind man? Would we have kept calling to Jesus until He heard us, or would we have given up and gone home, still blind and disappointed?

How much do you want Jesus? What do you need Him to do for you? Do you want it badly enough to truly go after it?

It’s easy to say you want something, but it’s another story to actually go after it.

I dare you to pursue Jesus with the determination that the blind man had.

Pastor Curt & Pastor Ellie
Seven Seas Ministries
401-377-5400

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(Deu 11:13-14 NKJV) ‘And it shall be that if you earnestly obey My commandments which I command you today, to love the LORD your God and serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul, {14} ‘then I will give you the rain for your land in its season, the early rain and the latter rain, that you may gather in your grain, your new wine, and your oil.

I love this! In this scripture God is showing us that if we listen to Him and do things the way that He shows us and teaches, His way, He will take care of us.

Isn’t it funny how things can be so simple, yet so complicated at times. Sometimes I say to myself, “Ellie, if you would just STOP for a moment and think about what you are getting ready to do or to say…you would most likely walk away, not saying or not doing what you’re about to say or do”.

Today, I had just left the hospital after visiting someone. On my way home, there was a shopping plaza calling my name. Now, for me this is a season to buckle down and not spend frivolously. I know it and my husband knows it. Knowing this, I found myself pulling into this shopping plaza anyway, ignoring that gnawing feeling inside of me. Can anyone relate?

I thought “well, I would like to get a little something for the person in the hospital  and maybe a little something for my house and who knows what other little something will be calling my name”.

How convenient… there was a great parking spot too, right in front of the store!! Oh boy, this must be a SIGN that it’s OK! So, I pulled into the spot and gave myself a few seconds to think about what I was about to do.

Very gently, I was reminded of the season I was in; the season that my husband and I together knew what we could do and what we couldn’t do, what we were allowed and what we were not allowed to do. As I sat there for a few moments, I realized I needed to leave. So starting up my car and backing out, I saw people going in to the store, all around me, but it was not for me… NOT TODAY anyway!

I was so happy that I could pull away and not feel yucky about it, but happy that it didn’t have control over me and I could listen and do what was right at that moment.

Let God bless you today!!

Pastor Curt & Pastor Ellie
Seven Seas Ministries
401-377-5400

If you know someone who will enjoy this or be encouraged by it, please feel free to share it with them!