Pastor Curt

Romans 1:16-17 (NKJV) 16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.”

As we wrap up this discussion, let’s focus on those last 6 words, above; the just shall live by faith.

Much of what we’ve talked about the last two days can seem pretty intimidating, especially to our minds. Some might even say it’s downright scary.

But we need to put it all into perspective. So, how do we do that?

We recognize and acknowledge God’s sovereignty.

You see, we don’t live by what we see. We live by faith. And what is faith?

It is living by and trusting in what we don’t see!

So, even though we see lots of scary stuff happening around us, we can’t live our lives in fear because of it.

Instead, we turn our eyes and our focus to Christ, the author and finisher of our faith. And we let God hold us up and strengthen us in these troubled times.

Hebrews 12:3 (NKJV) 3 For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls.

We know that what we see with our natural eyes is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg. And we also know that spiritual battles are nothing new. They have been happening since the enemy became prideful and was thrown out of heaven by God Himself.

This is why it’s so important that we stay spiritually strong. It’s also why it’s important for us to mature and grow as believers, learning how to stand on our own two feet in our walk with God.

This will give us all we need to fight these battles.

It will help us walk by faith and not stumble, cower or run away when things get tough. In fact, as we become strong in our faith, and our trust in God becomes stronger, not only will be more willing to face our battles, we may even run toward them, knowing that God is by our side, fighting with us and for us, and that facing them will bring victory more quickly than running away from them.

And finally, let’s make sure that we’re clear on the fact that being followers of Christ doesn’t mean that we sit back and stay silent. There may be times when we are silent, as we seek God and His direction.

Sometimes God tells us to hold our tongue, saying nothing at all.

And then there are times when He tells us to speak up, boldly proclaiming truth in His name.

It’s up to us to discern those times and then to take the steps we need to take, trusting God in it all.

In the words of Jesus, let’s be wise as serpents, but gentle as doves.

Pastor Curt & Pastor Ellie

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

401-315-0902

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

Romans 1:18 (NKJV) 18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness…

Let’s pick up where we left off yesterday.

Most (if not all) of the people carrying out what we’re witnessing are beyond being redeemable. And I say that very carefully, since there is no sin too big for the blood of Jesus to wash away.

But evil left unchecked in people’s lives will eventually rot their souls to the point of no return. Hence, God giving them over to their depravity, indicating that they are (more or less) beyond hope.

This does not mean that we stop praying. On the contrary, we pray all the more. We pray for God’s discernment. We pray for His wisdom. We pray for His protection and His provision in the face of persecution. And we pray for His peace, that our minds will not despair.

And, yes, we even pray for those who appear to be beyond hope.

That can be a difficult thing to do once our eyes are opened and we see people for who they are and what they are doing. Our flesh would like to do everything but pray for them.

God has, however, told us to pray for our enemies, so we must obey and do this with a sincere heart, even as our flesh fights us on it.

And as we watch depravity running wild, we trust that God is still in control of all things. He has, after all, told us these things would happen.

So, we trust Him through it all. We hold fast to Him and what He has taught us. We don’t let fear control us. And we do not lose hope based on what we see.

How do we do that? How do we hold onto hope when it looks like everything we’re familiar with and hold dear appears to be falling apart?

We trust Him.

Instead of wringing our hands, we raise them to Him in surrender.

Instead of falling to our knees in fear, we fall to our knees in worship.

Instead of clinging to what we know, we hold fast to Him.

Why? Because He is our source. He is the foundation upon which our lives should be built.

This world is not our home. It is a temporary stopover. It is not meant for us to put down permanent roots here and hold onto temporal things for dear life as though what we see is all there is to our existence.

Trust Him. He is our shield and our fortress.

Let’s wrap this up tomorrow.

Pastor Curt & Pastor Ellie

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

401-315-0902

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

Romans 1:28-31 (NKJV) 28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; 29 being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, 30 backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, 31 undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful;

Over my lifetime I have seen a lot of changes in the world we live in.

So much has changed, not only here in the USA, where we live, but on a global scale.

I have not traveled the world. In fact, I have only left the USA once, to visit Toronto, Canada for some business meetings somewhere around 2008 or 2009.

So, most of what I have observed globally has been from a distance, via the internet, TV, etc. That has not stopped me, however from seeing all that is happening in society as a whole. God has helped me to perceive and discern a lot by His Spirit.

And just to be clear, this is not about me. I am nobody special. This is about the workings of God, and how He shows us what we need to know during the various seasons of our lives.

Regarding the world in which we live, I have seen massive shifts in the spiritual realm that have resulted in mind-blowing changes in the natural realm, which is what we’re seeing all around us every day.

This is not a small matter. It is of epic and historic proportions. And I don’t say that lightly.

During all of this I have questioned God repeatedly about it. What is this? Who is behind it? What is really happening?

What He has shown me is too massive and incredibly sinister (truly evil beyond what most of us can even comprehend) to share in its entirety. It is incredibly deep in the nature of its roots and its foundations.

What I can share, though, is this one word; Depravity.

That is the word that God has spoken over and over again. The world has become largely depraved, and He has given the orchestrators of what we’re witnessing over to their depravity.

Let’s continue this tomorrow, as we dig a little deeper.

Pastor Curt & Pastor Ellie

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

401-315-0902

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