Month: November 2011

Your Daily Bible Verse – 11-30-11

(John 6:66 NKJV)  From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more.

I am always saddened when I see someone who once walked with Christ now walking away from Christ.

I often wonder what happened in that person’s life to cause them to walk away from God and act as if they had never known Him.

Sometimes people go through tough times and blame God for it, getting angry and turning their backs on Him for the trial they went through.

Other times people get caught up in the cares of the world and simply forget about God, slowly, a little at a time.

But then there are those that never really seem to have a reason, or at least a reason that is obvious. These are the ones that I wonder about the most, curious as to what it was that pulled them away from God.

One thing I have noticed is that, many times, it is the person who was the most outspoken about their faith… the one who would be the very first to shout praises in church or tell someone they’d just met about their faith. I’m not sure why this is, but many times it seems like this person’s faith is superficial for some reason. In the scripture above, the people who walked away from Jesus were actually some of His disciples.

Now I know that this isn’t always the case and that there are many people who are very vocal about their faith who really, truly love God, so please don’t take this wrong and be upset or angry if you are one of these people!

But I’d like to encourage everyone today who is reading this to stand firm in your faith. Hold tightly to God and learn to trust Him with everything in you. Trust Him with your life, your soul and everything else about your life.

If you’re going through hard times or trials, don’t give up. Keep pressing into God and seeking Him for the answers you need. His timing is not our timing, but He will come through for you and you will have victory.

Whatever you do, never, ever walk away from Him.

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

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Your Daily Bible Verse – 11-29-11

(John 4:42 NKJV)  Then they said to the woman, “Now we believe, not because of what you said, for we ourselves have heard Him and we know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world.”

I got saved at an early age in my life. I remember the day I gave my life to Christ. I have 8 brothers and sisters and we all went up to the front of the church that day to receive Jesus. It was an exciting moment, but very serious indeed.

My parents paved the way for us. They gave us this opportunity to learn about Christ by sending us to church even if we didn’t want to go. They would pray for our salvation and believe that one day we too would have Christ as our Savior.

I did accept Christ that day as my own personal Savior, even though I was with all my brothers and sisters. It was years later that I began to learn more about Christ and He became even more personal to me.

At first, as a child, I would watch and learn how to be a good Christian by the way my Mom and Dad would do things. But as I grew and matured, Jesus taught me more as an individual and led me in a way that I could understand Him.

He taught me how to trust in Him and believe Him for the things He would advise me to do. He walked me through personal situations that no one else knew of but me and I saw His love and faithfulness in answering my prayers.

He became my very own personal Savior and today our relationship is so dear and special to me. I made Him my own.

Make Him your own today. Let Him take you on a journey you won’t forget and you won’t sell out on Him, because His love is so real!

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

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Your Daily Bible Verse – 11-28-11

(Mat 21:21-22 NKJV)  So Jesus answered and said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but also if you say to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ it will be done. {22} “And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.”

We all ask a lot of God. We ask for little things and we ask for big things.

Some of us want our marriages healed. Some of us want a loved one saved or healed. Some of us ask for more finances. The list of what we ask for is probably endless.

Many times it seems like we ask and ask, yet we fail to receive, at least based on what we see in the natural. So after a while, we give up and move on.

Now let me tell you, first of all, that it is not wrong to ask things of God. He expects and wants us to ask. The questions is; “Are we believing for what we’re asking for or are we simply asking because we think it’s a good idea?”

We need to believe that God will give us what we’re asking for. If we are lining up with His word, we have no reason to believe otherwise! Jesus said we are to ask in prayer, believing! He didn’t say to ask and hope. He said to ask and believe!!

Believing will make all the difference in the world. Ask God and believe and you will see a change in the way your prayers get answered.

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

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Your Daily Bible Verse – 11-26-11

(Luke 12:48 NKJV)  “… to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more.

What we are required to give is based on what we have been given.

This applies to our finances, our lives, our time, our talents and so much more. We have all been blessed by God with some kind of gift, whether it’s a material blessing or a natural talent or something else that we have or can do.

God tells us that if we have been blessed with much, we are to give much. If we would all live by this, there would be so many less problems in the world!

As we get closer to Christmas, try not to get caught up in the hype and commercialism that we have shoved down our throats by greedy merchandisers, but ask God what He would have you to give and who to give it to.

Sometimes, the smallest gift can change a person’s life when it’s given to the right person.

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

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Your Daily Bible Verse – 11-25-11

(Phil 4:11-12 NKJV)  Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: {12} I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.

One thing we have learned over the years is to be thankful, no matter what season of life we’re in.

The biggest lesson we’ve learned is that when we are in times of need, not to complain. God has taught us to be thankful and content even when things are tough.

If tough times and trials come our way, which they will, the worst thing any of us can do is to complain and whine. Falling into the trap of negativity only keeps us where we’re at for longer than we need to be.

If we’re thankful for what we do have and learn to make the best of it, we’ll be able to move on that much more quickly.

In everything that we go through, there is always something for us to learn, so the sooner we learn it, the better off we’ll be.

So express your gratitude to God for what you have and look forward to what He will do for you next and you’ll see a huge change in how you feel and how your life goes for you.

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

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Your Daily Bible Verse – 11-24-11

(Eph 5:31 NKJV)  “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.”

Marriage is not something to be taken lightly. Marriage is a vow, made between a man and a woman, promising to spend the rest of their lives together.

The vast majority of people who get married nowadays go into their marriage relationship with a “let’s try it and see” attitude. They believe they can try marriage out, like taking a car for a test drive.

This is a very sad thing to see, as people spend years of their lives giving their marriage only half of the effort it deserves and then giving up and walking away when it doesn’t turn out like the fairy tales in the books and movies.

Marriage is the most significant commitment that any of us will make, second only to our commitment to God himself. We need to take it seriously because it’s a serious thing.

Men and women need to work at their marriage equally. It needs to be a joint effort. There isn’t a greater burden or responsibility on the man or the woman. Both are responsible for making it work.

If you’re in a marriage that is having trouble, we urge you to make every effort to work it out. It takes two people to make a marriage work. This can’t be emphasized enough.

Both people need to respect each other and honor each other. This is not optional!

We have gotten a lot of emails the past couple of days with many, many questions and prayer requests. We will be replying to them during the next few days. If you have a question or prayer request regarding your marriage, please feel free to reply to this email
and we will be honored to try to help you.

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

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Your Daily Bible Verse – 11-23-11

(Eph 5:22 NKJV)  Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord.

Yesterday we touched base on a tiny little piece of how husbands should treat their wives. Today we’d like to take a look at a piece of how wives should handle their end of things.

Wives are instructed in this verse to submit to the husbands. This is a hard thing for some people to swallow and a lot of that arises from the fact that this verse has been used by ill-intentioned men to abuse their wives under the guise of “being the heads of their homes”.

This is very sad, because it has caused many women to live in fear of their husbands. This is a topic where much time could be spent, but for today we’d like to talk a little more about the submission part of being a wife, from a Biblical perspective, not from man’s warped ideas.

God’s word instructs women to submit to their husbands in a healthy, holy way, where the wife loves and respects her husband and gets love and respect in return.

God has placed the man as the head of the household for purposes of protection and security. In a proper, balanced relationship there will never be manipulation or control on the part of the husband or the wife. And the husband will be, in a symbolic way, the savior of the household. He should provide for and protect his home and his family.

This should never be taken to extremes or abused.

Women should respect their husbands and honor them, remembering that men have feelings and a need for love and compassion. Each man is different and may need different amounts of attention, based on his personality, but men should never be seen as rocks that have no emotional needs.

Ultimately, in a properly balanced relationship, the wife will have no problems submitting to and respecting her husband.

Regardless of how well or how poorly a husband handles his end of things, wives should never taunt, antagonize or provoke their husbands with their words or their actions. This includes flirting with other men, dressing provocatively around other men, etc. These types of behavior are wrong, whether the marriage is going well or not.

The subject of marriage and the building of a healthy marriage relationship is one that can be discussed at length and from so many different angles and points of view. It’s a topic that can get very heated because there are so many unbalanced relationships out there.

So we want to encourage the wives to be at their best, honoring God in your marriage, just as we encourage the men to love and respect their wives, honoring God.

Please feel free to contact us if you have questions, prayer needs or anything else related to marriage. We are more than happy to help.

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

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Your Daily Bible Verse – 11-21-11

(Eph 5:28-29 NKJV)  So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself. {29} For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church.

God cares how women are treated. He wants women to be cherished and nourished. He does not want women to be abused, hurt or degraded.

He wants men to care for their wives; to be concerned with her needs, her wants, and the things that make her healthy and happy.

Some men have been raised in a home where women are looked upon as only being good for doing the cleaning, cooking, having children, making money, and fulfilling sexual desires.

There are women today that suffer emotionally because they know their husbands don’t treat them right. They try not to show it in front of people and are afraid that if anyone knows the way they are treated it will make things worse.

There is freedom in these scriptures for both men and women. Seek God if you are a man and have been mistreating your wife. Take time today to make things right with God. Ask God to help you learn how to treat your wife that you will be able to love her the way He says to.

If you’re a woman being mistreated today and you need help in your situation. We want to pray with you.

God is faithful.

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

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Your Daily Bible Verse – 11-21-11

(Rom 6:11-12 NKJV)  Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord. {12} Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts.

Alive in Christ, dead to sin; this is what God says we are to be if we follow Jesus and have accepted his sacrifice on the cross.

Sin is everywhere and we have opportunities to sin every minute of every day. Temptation comes our way in just about everything we do.

But we also have the opportunity to walk away from sin and live righteously every minute of every day! With every temptation that comes our way, God also gives us a way out… a door to walk through that will remove us from that situation that is tempting us.

When we first start walking with God, resisting sin can be tough. Some days it might seem like it’s easier to sin than it is to live righteously. But God has provided us with many weapons to help us battle temptation and sin in our lives.

We have His Word and we have the Holy Spirit. God’s Spirit guides us and warns us when we’re about to face temptation or make a bad decision. God’s word teaches us how to live by the Spirit and not fall into temptation.

We have been blessed with our very own defense mechanism that will help us to avoid dangers and pitfalls. We just need to learn how to hear and take action.

As we learn to walk more closely with God, we hear His voice and resist sin more and more easily. Before we know it, it’s actually harder to sin than to do the right thing, because we now feel the conviction of God more strongly.

This is one of God’s gifts to us to help us live holy, righteous lives in Him. I thank God for His leading and His guidance. It has truly changed my life. I pray that it has changed your life too. If it hasn’t, it’s never too late to start!

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

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Your Daily Bible Verse – 11-19-11

(John 8:7 NKJV)  So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.”

Every once in a while we need to have God give us a gentle nudge to remind us that we are not the one who walked on water or lived a sinless life.

A while back I was doing some research for a work-related project. While doing this, I found some websites that devote all of their time… every single minute of it, to denouncing well-known preachers and teachers of the Word of God.

Let me make it clear that these are not unbelievers, as you might suspect. These are Christians who have appointed themselves as someone to “watch over the word of God” and let us all know when a preacher has made a mistake.

In their hearts, I think that most of them believe they are doing us all a great service. But their words are hurtful, both to the people they are tearing down and to God’s kingdom, as they draw attention to what they believe to be false preaching and teaching, or to the faults and failures of these men and women of God.

I will admit that when I first started reading some of what they had written, I was a little bothered by what I read, almost falling into their line of thinking, ready to throw stones at people.

But God showed me in the past couple of days that none of His people are perfect and never will be perfect. David was a man after God’s heart and yet he fell many times. Peter was one of Christ’s disciples and he denied Jesus and cursed at the people when he was revealed as such. There is a long list of people in the Bible who fell. They were saved only by God’s mercy.

Maybe some of what these people write has some truth in it, but as I stated already, the tone in which it is written is harmful to the body of Christ and to God’s kingdom.

We all need to be careful before we “throw a stone” at anyone.

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

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Your Daily Bible Verse – 11-18-11

(John 3:17 KJV)  For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

I find it how Someone so perfect, so Holy, and Righteous would come to such a place as this world, with one thing on His mind and in His heart; that was to save Man!

The rest of the things that He saw did not keep Him from doing what He was purposed to do. He saw the ugly and He saw the good and He knew that as long as He did what the Father told Him to do it would all turn out good!!

Did you ever feel like you were supposed to help someone or some situation, but when you did, it didn’t go the way you thought it should? It can make you want to walk away, thinking “this isn’t what I thought it was going to be like”. Can you imagine if God thought like this when it came time to help us?

Things can try to distract us and take our eyes off of what we have been called to do, but in our hearts we have to continue to stay focused on what God wants us to do in every situation.

Be careful not to judge the situation that God has called us into. Instead, be confident in knowing that no matter what it LOOKS like, He can turn it around as we obey Him!!

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

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