Author: Pastor Curt

Bible Verse of The Day – 9-4-13

Philippians 4:8 (NKJV) Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy-meditate on these things.

Over the last several decades there has been a steady decline in the morals of people across the entire globe.

What used to be shocking is now acceptable. What used to be considered wrong is now believed to be right. What used to be called unethical is now just a way of taking care of yourself and “getting what’s rightly mine”.

Needless to say, that as this moral decay has crept across the world, it has also permeated the church… the body of Christ.

Many children of God now seem to have trouble distinguishing right from wrong, following in the footsteps of the world in so many areas of our lives. The words we speak, the things we look at, watch or listen to without feeling conviction, the clothes we wear that expose our bodies for the world to see.

These are all things that have slowly crept up on us and dimmed our vision when it comes to right and wrong. The lines are, seemingly, forever blurred.

Why has this happened? One word: desensitization

The church has become desensitized to the moral failures of the world, slowly but surely adopting the ways of everyone around them, pulling further and further from the black and white truths of God’s word and adopting a shade of gray that the world says is OK.

You see, the ways of evil can be introduced into society ever-so-slowly, in a way that is so subtle that most people barely notice. And before we know it, we have been duped into believing a lie, and what we used to stand strongly against becomes widely accepted.

It’s time for us to examine our lives and see where we stand. Better yet, we need to let God’s spirit examine us and show us where we have strayed… where we have lost sight of the truth. And then, we need to let Him show us how to get right again.

It’s time for us to get back to the moral standards that God set in place and gave us in His word. And no, this is not a stone being thrown at a particular group or ethnicity.

It is a call to the bride of Christ to get herself cleaned up and prepared for the greatest wedding feast that there will ever be.

Pastor Curt & Pastor Ellie

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

401-315-0902

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Bible Verse of The Day – 9-3-13

(1 John 2:16-17 NKJV)  For all that is in the world; the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life; is not of the Father but is of the world. {17} And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.

There are three things that we need to watch out for, 1. lust of the flesh, 2. lust of the eyes, and 3. pride of life. God’s word tells us that these three things are NOT of Him, but of the world. If we chase after these things of the world, the next verse (17) tells us that the world is passing away.

What happens if we are chasing after anything in general? It means that the thing we are chasing is leading us. It leads us to wherever it is going.

Passing away is another word for death. So where will these three things lead us to? To death; death in our relationship with Christ, death in our relationship with our spouse, death in our relationship with our family, etc. Death means, the END!

But thank God for the last part of verse (17) it explains to us that if we follow God and His Word, we will abide forever! Amen.

Today, let us choose His will over what the lust of the flesh says, over the lust of the eyes, and over our pride, that we may abide FOREVER!

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!

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Bible Verse of The Day – 9-2-13

(1 John 1:6 NKJV)  If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.

This scripture is very simple and to the point, isn’t it? But it makes a very strong point indeed!

If we want to know where we are at with Christ, or if we are even with Him, we just need to watch and listen to our actions throughout the day and we will know.

This verse tells it like it is, just very straight forward. It’s all in our walk, and how we move. We can tell if we are being deceived or not, by just paying attention to the details.

Let’s face it… no one wants to find out that they are walking out a lie. It takes courage to want to know the truth. It takes humility to really look and watch, knowing that there may possibly be a huge change they need to make.

Many years ago, I knew someone that was walking in a lie. It was very hard when the truth hit, for they thought they were doing everything right. Oh how painful it was to realize that all they were taught, all that they did, was not what they thought it was.

Thoughts of discouragement, disappointment, anger, and giving up all flooded their mind and heart when they found out the truth.

We are a funny people aren’t we? You’d think in finding the truth we would feel the opposite, but this is not always the case!!

They had to make a very big decision; would they pick themselves up and move forward? Or would they say “forget it, it’s too much and I don’t want to start over”?

I am happy to say today they chose the harder road, the road that followed the truth. They didn’t give up and they now live a life of Victory, walking in truth!

They made the right decision in spite of the work that would be involved in retraining and teaching and getting it right.

Today their fellowship is with HIM!! They walk in the Truth and it was all worth it!

Amen.

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!

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Bible Verse of The Day – 8-31-13

(John 8:29 NKJV)  “And He who sent Me is with Me. The Father has not left Me alone, for I always do those things that please Him.”

Jesus is our example; He did the very things that pleased His Father.

If we take what He tells us to do and we listen to the words He spoke, and we watch the way He was in all situations, and we put those things into action in our own lives, we too will please our Father.

God loves us… there is no doubt about that. He gave His Son for us. He wants a good life for us. He wants us to know how much He loves us. He wants us to know that He is there for us and loves to help us in all of our situations.

If we are struggling today with knowing how to please God, we just need to follow in Jesus’ footsteps.

You know that saying, “what would Jesus do”? It’s something we may want to ask ourselves when making decisions or addressing certain situations, whether at work, at home, in school… even in the church.

It’s like taking a test with the answer sheet right beside us. Jesus is the answer to pleasing our Father. Look unto Him!

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!

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Bible Verse of The Day – 8-30-13

John 8:10-12 (NKJV) 10 When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, “Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?” 11 She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said to her, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.”

Leading up to the verses above, a woman had been caught in the act of adultery and dragged into the streets. A crowd had gathered and they were about to stone her to death.

At some point during this ruckus, Jesus happened upon the scene. He spoke some words that caused the woman’s accusers to drop their stones and walk away, one by one.

It was at this point that He asked the woman where her accusers were and if any of them had ended up condemning her.

As the woman answered Jesus, she realized that not a single one of them had condemned her, once Jesus had shown them their own sinfulness.

Now… this was the perfect opportunity for Jesus to go up one side of this woman and down the other about the terrible act that she had been caught in. So what did He do? Did he judge her, which He had every right to do?

No. He showed her mercy, compassion and LOVE! He held her attention and gained her trust by not condemning her, and instead, showed her what God’s love is. And by doing so, He taught her more than any judgmental look or harsh words could ever have done.

This is a lesson that the church, the body of Christ, needs to learn and get deep into our spirits. Yes… sin is sin and it destroys its victims. But it is love that makes people aware of their sinfulness and causes them to repent. Not judgmental glances, harsh words or scathing discourses on the consequences of sin.

“Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.”

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!

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Bible Verse of The Day – 8-29-13

(1 Samuel 9:3 NKJV)  Now the donkeys of Kish, Saul’s father, were lost. And Kish said to his son Saul, “Please, take one of the servants with you, and arise, go and look for the donkeys.”

Saul went out to find the donkeys as his father had asked him to do, but little did he know he was taking steps toward finding his destiny.

Saul searched and searched for the donkeys and realized if he didn’t get back home, his father would start to worry about him. Saul heard of a man that could help him. He was a man of God; his name was Samuel. So Saul inquired of this man and he found him there in the city.

God had plans for Saul; he was to become a king.

Oh how God has a plan, not just for Saul, but for all of us as well! We don’t always know the route to getting there, but as long as we are doing what we are supposed to be doing, we may just walk right into it.

Saul left, looking for the donkeys. He was doing what he was supposed to be doing. He had no other agenda, he had no other plans or motives. He just wanted to bring back the donkeys.

Now, Samuel had heard from God prior to this. God had told Samuel the day before that the same time tomorrow, Samuel would meet the next king. Well here comes the hour, here comes the day, and here comes Saul, right on time, in the right place, and doing the right thing.

(1 Samuel 9:17 NKJV)  And when Samuel saw Saul, the LORD said to him, “There he is, the man of whom I spoke to you. This one shall reign over My people.”

Now, Saul didn’t have a clue what was about to happen. He wanted to find his dad’s donkeys and get home. He simply wanted information from Samuel about the donkeys. That was it.

But Samuel would soon tell Saul something that would bring change to his life; that he was going to be king.

Quite the change?

God’s plan comes for us when we are doing the right thing, when we are in the right place, at the right time. Amen!

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!

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Bible Verse of The Day – 8-28-13

John 8:32 (NKJV) And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

The truth can be a tough pill to swallow sometimes. It very rarely tastes good and it can sometimes be very painful.

Because of this, many people want to avoid the truth, whether it is about something in their own life, or in the life of someone else. So the truth gets replaced with something sweet in an effort to make it easier to swallow.

Sweet things might taste better, but the problem is that they will never fix a problem or bring healing where there is something broken, sick or injured.

Most times, what we need the most is for someone to sit us down, look us in the eye and give us the truth, even when it hurts to hear it. And we need to be mature enough to listen and receive it, even if we don’t like what’s being said.

As we grow and mature, we can (and should) learn to receive the truth, if someone is presenting it to us, and ask God what we can learn from it and how we can grow from knowing the truth.

And on the other side of the coin, we should never hesitate to share the truth with others, in a kind, loving way, when it needs to be spoken. It can be hard to say things to others sometimes, for fear of offending them, but if the words you speak are truth and they are presented properly, they can bring new freedom to the person you’re speaking to.

So don’t let the the half-truths of political correctness overshadow what you know is right and prevent you from speaking truth when truth needs to be spoken.

And never, ever push the truth aside when it is being spoken to you in an effort to show you where you might have gone wrong or you need to change.

And remember… words spoken in love are the key to making the truth work in your life and the lives of others.

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!

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Bible Verse of The Day – 8-27-13

Ephesians 5:28 (NKJV) So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself.

As today wore on, I pondered what to write about for the Bible Verse of The Day. We always want to be timely and relevant. And we always want to share what God leads us to say.

Today we want to reinforce the responsibility of husbands to their wives.

If you’re a husband and you’re reading this, can you honestly say that you love and care for your wife as you should be doing?

Do you follow God’s direction, given in this verse below?

Ephesians 5:25 (NKJV) Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her…

As husbands, men are responsible for loving and protecting their wives, all the time, no matter what kind of a mood you’re in, no matter how the day went at the office or how frustrated you might be with the family budget, or anything else.

As men, it is our duty and obligation to never let our guard down when it comes to how we treat our wives.

The world and the enemy will pull on us in an effort to get us to drop our guard and treat our wives in a less-than-Christ-like way. But we need to stand strong and never back down to the lies and the deception.

Men, stand strong for who you are meant to be and love your wife as Christ loved the church and gave His life for her.

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!

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Bible Verse of The Day – 8-26-13

(Luke 10:29 NKJV)  But he, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

Jesus explains the story about the Good Samaritan, and how he was moved with compassion for a man that others have just walked by and didn’t give him the time of the day. (Luke 10:33 NKJV)  “But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion.

The injured man that lay on the side of the road was a person in NEED. When we think of a neighbor we automatically think of someone that lives next door to us. But that’s not the case here.

The Samaritan was moved with compassion to help someone on the side of the road that he had never met before. God’s compassion that burned within him caused him to help this man and do what needed to be done.

His “neighbor” in this story was a man on the side of a road that had been beaten down, and was left half dead. (Luke 10:30 NKJV)  Then Jesus answered and said: “A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.

Symbolically speaking, this is exactly what the devil loves to do to people.

We may not know anyone like this today that needs help, but God does. Ask Him to help us find our neighbor that we can help. Having God’s compassion will lead us to those that are in need.

God’s discernment will bring direction as to how to help and what to do for them. We have to have discernment in this for there are people out there that will take for granted anything and everything we will do for them.

One thing we have learned about people is that in some cases the ones that need the help the most won’t ask for anything. Their reason is that they are afraid of taking from someone else that might be in need. So, we definitely need God’s direction and discernment in helping our neighbor.

Who is our neighbor? The ONE in need!

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!

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Bible Verse of The Day – 8-24-13

2 Corinthians 5:7 (NKJV) For we walk by faith, not by sight.

We do not walk our walk by what we see. We walk our walk by faith in the unseen.

Every step that we take in our walk as a child of God, the Most High King, we take in faith.

When we lift our foot and move it forward, we step believing that when we put our foot down, the ground will be held up by God, our Father.

It is a hard thing sometimes… this faith walk. Our mind can play games with us, trying to trick us into believing only what we can see. But it’s faith that pleases God. So let’s keep pushing forward, even when we can’t see what’s next!

There are many of us today who are pushing so hard… we’re fighting to keep our faith intact. We’ve been hit very hard this year and sometimes it feels like we can’t even catch our next breath.

But God is bigger than our problems. We are bigger than our problems, even if we don’t feel like we are.

We have Christ in us. And in Christ, we are overcomers… more than conquerors. So we should never, ever give up and walk away.

Rise up today, in the name of Jesus, and shake off your fear, your slumber and your doubts. And do whatever it takes to take a step forward. And don’t ever, ever look back.

For we walk by faith, not by sight.

Hold your head high and be blessed in all you do.

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!

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Bible Verse of The Day – 8-23-13

Ecclesiastes 3:11 (NKJV) He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end.

He made everything beautiful in its time. In its time.

Notice that the scripture doesn’t say that He makes everything beautiful in our time? Oh how we wish sometimes that it was the opposite. But I’m sure we would all get ourselves in massive trouble if everything went the way we want it, when we want it.

So many times we hear people talk and teach about how God will make us wait until He’s good and ready to do something, or give us something.

But in reality, it’s not so much about making us wait, as it is waiting until everything is in its place.

Timing is everything.

God has set an order to everything and it’s not up to us to try to change that order or alter something to make things happen the way we want them to happen.

And when push comes to shove, the timing that God has set in place for everything is so much better than ours.

So if you’re waiting for something today, whether it’s a breakthrough or anything else, remember that He makes everything beautiful… in its time.

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!

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