Month: September 2012

Bible Verse of The Day – 9-17-12

(Mat 18:21-22 NKJV)  Then Peter came to Him and said, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?” {22} Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.

Forgiveness; it’s critical to us whether we’re receiving it or giving it. Many times we tend to look at forgiveness and think that being forgiven is the best thing that could ever happen to us. But being the one doing the forgiving is equally important, or maybe even more important!

When someone forgives us, we always feel better, knowing that they are not holding something we did wrong over our heads. This is good.

But when we forgive someone for something they have done against us, we are doing something more important for ourselves than we realize. Yes… we are not holding a wrong against another person. And that’s good!

But what’s even more important is that we are releasing ourselves from anger and bitterness that we could be holding onto against that other person.

Anger and bitterness can eat us alive from the inside out, if we let them. But Jesus has told us that we must forgive. In fact, He has told us in Matthew 6:14-15 that if we don’t forgive others, God will not forgive us!

So if you have ever wondered if it’s required for us to forgive others, there’s your answer! Forgive and move on, and let God take care of your situation.

Pastor Curt & Pastor Ellie

Seven Seas Ministries
P.O. Box 272
Bradford, RI 02808

401-377-5400

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Bible Verse of The Day – 9-15-12

(Mat 11:30 NKJV)  “For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

The world and the cares of it will weigh us down and drag us to the lowest of lows, if we let them.

It doesn’t take much for most of us to get caught up in the things around us and to let them steal or joy. Once our joy has been stolen, we become powerless for the kingdom of God.

Jesus came to take away those heavy burdens. He wants us to let go of the heavy burdens that we carry unnecessarily and exchange them for His peace and His joy.

Knowing Jesus won’t make all of our problems magically disappear overnight, but having His joy and peace, and learning to trust God for the answers to our problems will surely change our outlook on life.

Take on the yoke of Jesus and let Him lead you.

Pastor Curt & Pastor Ellie

Seven Seas Ministries
P.O. Box 272
Bradford, RI 02808

401-377-5400

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Bible Verse of The Day – 9-14-12

(Psa 119:162 NKJV)  I rejoice at Your word As one who finds great treasure.

Always get God’s word on your situation.

A lot of you prayed for my nephew, John, last year when he was in a horrendous car accident and because of your prayers God healed Him. Thank you all once again!

When John was in the hospital, the doctors were saying nothing. They couldn’t tell us if John would make it. They were doing everything they could, but had no answers for my family.

I did not know what would happen to him because he was so bad off. Chances of him making it looked completely impossible. But, during this time, as I sought God for His Word on this particular situation, he showed me my nephew John, sitting up in the hospital bed with a football under his arm. I knew that was God’s word to me that my nephew would live!

Today, John has one eye that he is blind in, but everything else is healed; his mind, his body, and all of his head injuries. And he no longer has a tracheotomy to breathe through. John has actually been playing football again!

God speaks in many ways so don’t be prejudice in the way it comes to you. Just let it come.

For me it was a vision. For you it may be some other way. God is God!!

Pastor Curt & Pastor Ellie

Seven Seas Ministries
P.O. Box 272
Bradford, RI 02808

401-377-5400

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Bible Verse of The Day – 9-13-12

(Mat 9:11-12 NKJV)  And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to His disciples, “Why does your Teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” {12} When Jesus heard that, He said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.

It’s so easy sometimes to fall into the same trap that the Pharisees did in this scripture, pointing our finger at someone because they were hanging out with the wrong people.

Jesus spent time with the people who needed Him the most; the sick, the weary and the sinner. He ate with them and talked with them. He showed them love and compassion and He gave them truth, even when it was difficult for them to hear it.

And most of the people he spoke the truth to listened to Him and accepted what He had to say. Why is that? Why did they listen to Him and not run away? Because He spoke to them with love and compassion, not with judgmental, harsh words while looking down His nose at them.

This is a valuable lesson for us all to learn. Sometimes our flesh can get pretty riled up when we see or hear certain things and we can say some pretty harsh things to people. Instead, we need to learn to do as Jesus did and LOVE these people with our actions and our words.

Love is the most powerful thing God has given us to use in teaching others about Him. Let’s walk it out every day, starting with today!

Pastor Curt & Pastor Ellie

Seven Seas Ministries
P.O. Box 272
Bradford, RI 02808

401-377-5400

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Bible Verse of The Day – 9-12-12

(1 Sam 15:28 NKJV)  So Samuel said to him, “The LORD has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today, and has given it to a neighbor of yours, who is better than you.

God watches us and how we handle things that He has given to us. Are we following His direction or trying to do things ourselves, in our own way?

Some may think that after they have entered into a position or have gotten what they wanted from God, they are all set and they leave God on the sidelines and do the rest themselves.

Well, that was not the case for Saul and it is not the case for us. If God opens a door for us and gets us into a place or raises us up into a position, or calls us to do something for Him, we should let Him lead even after we have received what it is that we were seeking.

We can’t let ourselves get prideful in thinking that we are the only one for that position. There are others who can do it. God may have preferred us for it but if we don’t follow directions, He may have to step in and change it up.

God knows our hearts, thoughts and motives. Let us keep them pure today and follow Him.

Together, in Him, we will get the job done!

Pastor Curt & Pastor Ellie

Seven Seas Ministries
P.O. Box 272
Bradford, RI 02808

401-377-5400

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Bible Verse of The Day – 9-11-12

(Mat 7:15 NKJV)  “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.

Sadly, there are very many self-proclaimed prophets in the world today who claim to bring you the words of God pertaining to your life. Be very careful who you choose to listen to and follow.

The words of so many of these “prophets” read like a biblical fortune teller, claiming to tell you what to expect in your life… what has happened and what is going to come your way.

Discern very carefully as they try to sell you their $25 books and $50 CD sets for you to hear “what God has to say to you in these end times”.

Weigh every single thing you hear, read and see against the true word of God. Let God show you who is legitimate and who is not.

The words of these wolves in sheep’s clothing are very dangerous and are spoken with only one goal in mind; to draw you into their den where you become their victim.

God is faithful to show us who is real and who is not, if we only ask Him to. Choose your spiritual food very carefully, people of God!

Pastor Curt & Pastor Ellie

Seven Seas Ministries
P.O. Box 272
Bradford, RI 02808

401-377-5400

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Bible Verse of The Day – 9-10-12

(Eccl 3:1 NKJV)  To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven:

We all understand seasons when it comes to the time of year. Natural seasons are easy to see as they come and they go.

Seasons in our lives are a little different. Sometimes they are harder to discern and understand. One thing is for sure, though, life is a continuing parade of changing seasons and the better we understand that, the easier it becomes to move from one season into another.

God is always faithful to give us signs when a new season is approaching. As we draw closer to Him we will begin to know what to look for.

Sometimes it’s something as simple as a feeling of discontent or an understanding that we no longer have grace for something that we have been doing for a time. Other times it’s not that easy and we need to be acutely aware of what the Spirit of God is telling us in more subtle ways.

We can always be sure, no matter what season of our life that we’re in, that trying to stay in an old season when we’re supposed to be transitioning into a new one can be very harmful to us and those around us.

So let’s learn to discern the seasons in our lives and then learn how to make those seasonal transitions as smoothly as we can, with God’s leading.

Pastor Curt & Pastor Ellie

Seven Seas Ministries
P.O. Box 272
Bradford, RI 02808

401-377-5400

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Bible Verse of The Day – 9-8-12

(James 4:10 NKJV)  Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.

Our prayer today is that each and every one of us will do just this.

Humble ourselves in the sight of the Lord; It simply means to give Him our lives. Give to Him what bothers us, what eats away at us, what pulls on us, what causes us to worry, etc.

Humbling ourselves means to let go of the ways we so want to do things and let God do whatever He wants in us and through us, by changing us and making us HIS!

So many times I pray “God, let Your will be done”. But let me say this, sometimes when it comes right down to it, I don’t always mean what I’m saying. I don’t always like His will and the way He wants to do things. That is where I must humble myself and do it His way in spite of what I think or feel.

Jesus said it Himself before being crucified, (Luke 22:42 NKJV)  saying, not My will, but Yours, be done.

Let us come humbly today and let Him lift us up.

Pastor Curt & Pastor Ellie

Seven Seas Ministries
P.O. Box 272
Bradford, RI 02808

401-377-5400

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Bible Verse of The Day – 9-7-12

(Phil 2:8 NKJV)  And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.

Jesus was completely obedient, even unto death. He sacrificed His life for us.

You know when you’ve completed something and you look back and say, “That was so was hard, but it was well worth it.” Well, I cannot say that I was worth what Christ did for me.

What Jesus did for all of us was done from pure love.

If you are feeling unloved today, know that no matter what your up against, there is someone that loves you more than you think you’re worth.

You may not think you are worth much…but to Christ you are the love of His life!!

Pastor Curt & Pastor Ellie

Seven Seas Ministries
P.O. Box 272
Bradford, RI 02808

401-377-5400

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Bible Verse of The Day – 9-6-12

(Mal 3:10 NKJV)  Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, That there may be food in My house, And try Me now in this,” Says the LORD of hosts, “If I will not open for you the windows of heaven And pour out for you such blessing That there will not be room enough to receive it.

We had several people ask us questions about yesterday’s Bible Verse of The Day on tithing, so we wanted to address them here, just in case anyone else might have had the same questions but didn’t write to ask us.

Here are the questions that were asked:

1 – Who should we tithe to if we don’t have a church?

2 – Does the 10% have to be to the church only or can part be to other causes?

3 – Does your tithe need to be given in the church or anywhere? Maybe to someone on the street?

Below are our answers:

If you attend a local church regularly and consider it your “home church” your tithe should be given there. If, however, you don’t have a home church your tithe should be sown into whatever ministry “feeds” you on a regular basis.

For example, if there is a Christian ministry that gives you spiritual food and nourishment regularly and you look to their teaching as your source of godly inspiration, understanding and knowledge, you should sow into that ministry.

Giving your 10% to a non-Christian organization is not considered a tithe. God tells us specifically in Malachi to bring your tithes into the “storehouse”, which is God’s way of saying to “bring it into the place that feeds you”.

Regarding giving it to someone on the street; while this is honorable, it can also be dangerous. Not so much from a standpoint of physical harm to you, but that you never know where that money ends up. The person you give it to might very well need help, but then again they might be a regular panhandler who makes their living by collecting money from people on the streets. Or they could be a drug addict who will take your money and go buy their next fix.

There is a fine line between helping people and hurting people when we give to random people who are begging for money. Some of these people are more than able to work, but they “work” by spending their days on the street asking people to give them money. That might come across as harsh when you first read it, but we have learned a lot about this kind of thing over the years.

The important thing to remember in all of this is that God gives us His word and he gives us certain things that we are supposed to do. These are not optional, even though we sometimes treat them as though they are. Tithing is one of those things.

We know that this isn’t always a popular teaching, but that’s OK because we’re not in this to win any popularity contests. We’re in it to teach the word of God in an uncompromising way, with the love and compassion of God.

Don’t neglect your tithe. It’s very important.

Pastor Curt & Pastor Ellie

Seven Seas Ministries
P.O. Box 272
Bradford, RI 02808

401-377-5400

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Bible Verse of The Day – 9-5-12

(Mal 3:8 NKJV)  “Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me! But you say, ‘In what way have we robbed You?’ In tithes and offerings.

God is looking for our tithes and offerings.

Being a Christian isn’t just about going to church, sitting in the seat and learning how to live a Christian life.

God wants all Christians to give. He wants us to obey Him in every aspect of the Bible, not just part of it.

Does He need our money? Yes; He wants to take it and use it to help those that are in need. Whether they need to hear the Gospel or they need food. Maybe they need a doctor or they may need their bills paid because they have fallen on hard times. It takes money to reach these people and to meet their needs.

Every time we forget to give or we choose not to give our tithe, we just neglected to help someone or many that are in need.

Tithes and offerings are very important to God. We need to be faithful and diligent in our giving.

Pastor Curt & Pastor Ellie

Seven Seas Ministries
P.O. Box 272
Bradford, RI 02808

401-377-5400

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