Author: Pastor Curt

Bible Verse of The Day – 9-6-23

Ephesians 2:10 (NKJV) 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

I don’t know about you, but I frequently marvel at the human body and the way God made us.

We truly are His workmanship, intricately and wonderfully made.

Every cell, every organ, every bone, every muscle, and every piece of our DNA all point to God, our Giver of life.

But let us take it one step further; look at why He made us.

The scripture above says it was for “good works which God prepared beforehand”!

So, He has something for each of us to do; a path or a plan for us.

And what are we supposed to do?

We “should walk in them”; do the good things that He has planned for us to do!

So many times, we tend to overcomplicate this concept of doing what God has for us to do.

We often get stuck and wonder what grand plan has been laid out for us to complete.

We try so hard to figure it all out. And then we end up doing nothing because we put too much thought into it and scare ourselves right out of it.

You see, God has made us each unique individuals. He created us to be us, not someone else.

He does not want us to walk someone else’s path, emulating what we have seen in the lives of others.

So, how do we walk on the path that God has created for us?

We press in to Him, we draw near to Him, and we learn of Him.

Those three things will cause us to want to learn to obey Him, thereby leading us down His path for us without us even knowing that we are doing so until we look back years later. And then it becomes clear that our obedience led us to the exact place that He wanted us to be.

Pastor Curt & Pastor Ellie

Seven Seas Ministries
49 N Lamplighters Walk
Hampstead, NC 28443

401-439-3780

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Bible Verse of The Day – 9-5-23

Matthew 6:25 (NKJV) 25 “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?

How much worrying do we do about things we have no control over?

Is it our children? The school they attend? The friends they choose? Their place of work as they get older? Their social life?

Is it our job/work? The boss’s attitude? Our work performance? Will we ever get a raise or move up the ladder?

Is it our finances? Will we ever have enough money to save? Will we ever be able to get the things we need or want? Will we ever be able to have enough to help others in need?

Is it our spouse we worry about? Are they happy? Are they in poor health? Are they lost? Are they ever going to take an interest in important things?

Do we spend time worrying about everyone else’s problems, trying to figure out how we might be able to help fix them?

Is it our country/government? Are we worrying about the state it is in and the current problems it may be experiencing?

Let’s be clear. Not worrying doesn’t mean we lack compassion or that we don’t care about things.

But there is a balance in it all.

For God to bring balance in this we must first recognize within ourselves what it is we spend time worrying about.

If we want to stop this obsessive worrying about the same things over and over, we must first see what it is doing to us and our relationship with God.

The biggest step we will need to take is learning to lay our worries down and not go back to pick them up.

1 Peter 5:7 (NKJV) 7 casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.

God can only work this out in us when we cast them over for good.

That means all of them. Not just the pieces that we think we can’t handle, but all the things that bring worry to us.

Give them to Him!

Everyone tends to worry about one thing or another. However, we serve a Lord who is the same, yesterday, today and forever!

He will guide us if we truly want to stop worrying.

Hebrews 13:8 (NKJV) 8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

When we learn to catch ourselves and turn off the worrying, our prayers and our focus will be in a more productive place.

We will be able to enjoy each day as we fully trust God with the things that would otherwise cause us stress. Amen.

Pastor Curt & Pastor Ellie

Seven Seas Ministries
49 N Lamplighters Walk
Hampstead, NC 28443

401-439-3780

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 – 9-4-23

Isaiah 29:13 (NLT) 13 And so the Lord says, “These people say they are mine. They honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. And their worship of me is nothing but man-made rules learned by rote.

As God spoke to Israel through the prophet Isaiah, He warned that, despite the Israelites saying they belonged to Him, their hearts were far from Him.

He (God) went on to say that though they honor Him with their lips, the reality of it was that everything they did, including their worship of Him, was little more than man-made rules and rituals learned by rote.

If we were to look at the Greek version of this text, it would state, “Their worship is a farce, for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God”.

It is important that we understand what all of this means to us as followers of Christ.

To do that thoroughly, we need to look more closely at the word, “rote”.

If something is done by rote, it is done mechanically, mindlessly, from memory, by heart, out of repetition. It means nothing to the person carrying out the act. It is empty and hollow.

When we serve God, He desires that it be from our heart; sincere and genuine.

Anything less than this is not true worship or true service at all.

And in reality, this type of service or worship does nothing for us. It only satisfies a fleshly desire to fulfill an obligation.

Everything we do in our walk with God should be led by the Holy Spirit.

Why?

Because God is Spirit. He will not interact with us or accept anything we do by our flesh.

Jesus stated this plainly when He spoke the following words.

John 4:24 (NKJV) 24 God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

Another scripture tells us further that true sons (and daughters) of God are led by the Spirit, not by the flesh.

Romans 8:14 (NKJV) 14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.

Our rituals and habits do not please Him. Even more, they do not give Him the honor and glory He deserves.

Let us live, move and serve God only by the Spirit.

Pastor Curt & Pastor Ellie

Seven Seas Ministries
49 N Lamplighters Walk
Hampstead, NC 28443

401-439-3780

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Bible Verse of The Day – 9-3-23 – Finding Hope in Dark Times

Please click to watch the video now.Greetings in the name of Jesus. 

We have hope! 

God’s incredible sovereignty gives us so many reasons to be hopeful no matter what we may be facing. 

Finding Hope in Dark Times is the title of our latest video, so we hope you will take a few minutes to watch it, and hopefully you’ll come away with renewed hope in your heart for whatever obstacles are in front of you right now. 

Please click here to watch the video now.

We love you all! 

Stay close to God and enjoy your day. 

Sincerely, 

Pastor Curt & Pastor Ellie 

Seven Seas Ministries
49 N Lamplighters Walk
Hampstead, NC 28443  

401-439-3780

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Bible Verse of The Day – 9-2-23

John 8:31-32 (NKJV) 31 Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. 32 And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”

As a believer growth is essential, and it comes by us abiding in the word of God.

His word will touch our hearts and change us deeply if we accept it and act in accordance with what it says.

Jesus said that we are His disciples if we abide in His word.

Do we want to be disciples of Jesus Christ today?

If so, then we need to do as the Jesus taught, and abide in His word.

His word will bring conviction, correction and deliverance to our lives, helping us overcome our fleshly desires.

There is strength and wisdom that comes from the word of God. And as we learn of His truth, He will free us in every area of our lives as we allow Him to do so.

There’s a sticking point in all of this. What is it? Our flesh!

The flesh cannot please God. It has to submit to Him.

Romans 8:8 (NKJV) 8 So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

We must teach our flesh to submit quickly to the word of God and heed His commandments. It must be in submission to Him at all times.

So, here is the question we all need to ponder on and give an answer to; Are we ready to be His disciples?

Pastor Curt & Pastor Ellie

Seven Seas Ministries
49 N Lamplighters Walk
Hampstead, NC 28443

401-439-3780

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Bible Verse of The Day – 9-1-23

Psalm 143:10 (NKJV) 10 Teach me to do Your will, For You are my God; Your Spirit is good. Lead me in the land of uprightness.

I like the first word; teach.

Teach who? Teach ME!

I also like what David asks God to teach him.

He doesn’t say, teach me to get rich, or teach me to be successful. He doesn’t even ask Him to teach him to be himself.

What does David ask God to teach him? To do God’s will.

Just ponder on that for a moment.

We can get so off track with the things we ask God for. So many times it’s all the things we need for ourselves, totally forgetting what our purpose here as a believer really is.

Opening up to Him and letting Him teach us to do His will like David did will change our lives; especially the way we look at things.

It will take our eyes off ourselves and we will spend more time listening, watching and paying attention to the promptings He will give us through the Holy Spirit.

Our prayer today be like David; teach us Lord to do YOUR will!

Amen.

Pastor Curt & Pastor Ellie

Seven Seas Ministries
49 N Lamplighters Walk
Hampstead, NC 28443

401-439-3780

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Bible Verse of The Day – 8-31-23

Philippians 2:12 (NKJV) 12 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling;

Yesterday we discussed our initial salvation and the fact that we cannot earn that. It is a gift of God given freely to those who accept it by putting their faith in Jesus Christ.

We also discussed our transformation as we submit ourselves under the hand of God and obey His Spirit as He leads us down His path.

Today, let us look at the long-term ramifications of our faith in Christ and our walk with God as a whole.

As we mentioned yesterday, part of growing in Christ is changing as God leads us.

This is something that we should not ignore or take lightly.

As a new Christian, growth is implied. It is meant to be part of our walk and our relationship with God. Growing in Christ should never be considered optional, even though we are not forced to do so.

God’s design for us is a lifetime of growing closer and closer to Him, solely because we want to, not because He forces us to do so.

We need to recognize, though, that God not forcing us is not an indication of Him not wanting us to grow.

It is His gift of allowing us to exercise our free will.

On our end, we need to recognize the need for us to grow and mature. Not doing so will leave us as spiritual infants struggling to keep our faith alive, living a life of spiritual mediocrity, and constantly wrestling with temptation and sin in our lives.

And this sin will drive a wedge between us and God, creating a gap that will only grow wider if we fail to overcome it. This is where our lack of growth becomes dangerous.

And it is why Paul said that we must work out our own salvation with fear and trembling.

Relationships that are one-sided or lopsided rarely succeed. Our relationship with God is no different.

We know that He is faithful to always hold up His end. The question is whether we will hold up ours.

So, let us be diligent to work out our salvation diligently, with sincerity of heart, making every effort to keep growing and moving closer to God, pushing aside mediocrity, and letting our faith be seen outwardly through the things we do and the words we speak.

Salvation is freely given, but we should never take it lightly.

Pastor Curt & Pastor Ellie

Seven Seas Ministries
49 N Lamplighters Walk
Hampstead, NC 28443

401-439-3780

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Bible Verse of The Day – 8-30-23

Ephesians 2:8-9 (NKJV) 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.

Salvation through Christ is a free gift of God, given to anyone who will accept it.

It is not something we can earn or work for. It is not something we can receive as a reward for good behavior.

As a believer, though, our actions speak loudly with regard to proving our faith.

James 2:18 (NKJV) 18 But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.

Some may say that works have nothing at all to do with salvation. And in a sense, they are right.

As shown in Ephesians 2:8-9, salvation is the gift of God, not a product of works.

But we need to understand that this applies to the application of one’s initial salvation experience.

We are offered salvation freely. We only need to see our need for salvation and then reach out and take it.

That may be a bit of an oversimplification in a sense, since recognizing ourselves as sinful and in need of forgiveness is also part of the equation. But acceptance is at the core of how it all begins.

It is after we are saved that we must begin allowing God to mold us and shape us, changing us from the inside, out.

And as He does that, we will see our heart begin to change. Sometimes the changes will be little. Other times, the changes that we see will be very major.

We may go through phases of not even recognizing ourselves as God applies His hand on our lives.

But as the Spirit of God works on us, and we change within, we will begin to walk out things in our lives that show our faith outwardly. These are the works James referred to in the verse above.

These are outward manifestations of our inward faith; physical signs of our spiritual rebirth and transformation in Christ.

Let’s talk more about this salvation transformation tomorrow.

Pastor Curt & Pastor Ellie

Seven Seas Ministries
49 N Lamplighters Walk
Hampstead, NC 28443

401-439-3780

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Bible Verse of The Day – 8-29-23

James 4:8 (NKJV) 8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

The nearer we are to God, the more convicted we will feel when we are being led into temptation. We will be quicker to pick up on the things we shouldn’t be doing.

Gossip can be a big thing sometimes.

We can be sharing something with someone, not having any intentions of talking about anyone specific, and then one thing leads to another and we find ourselves caught up in the wrong conversation, heading in the wrong direction.

Another big one is driving our cars.

Being in traffic can take us from being in the greatest mood to instantly being upset at someone for something they did to us on the road. Anger and frustration can rise within moments, setting our mood for the rest of the day if we’re not careful.

Being around someone with a big, bold personality, who is coarse and obnoxious can sometimes draw us into their realm, and we can catch ourselves laughing at their behavior and contributing to the conversation if we are not on guard.

We can be influenced in so many ways.

No one is perfect. But as we get close to God and He draws near to us, we will pick up on things more quickly. And this will help us resist being part of them.

How do we draw near?

We cleanse our hands and our hearts through the purification of His word.

We spend time in prayer, and we allow the Holy Spirit to guide us in removing ourselves from things that are going to hurt our walk and relationship with our Heavenly Father.

Psalm 143:10 (NKJV) 10 Teach me to do Your will, For You are my God; Your Spirit is good. Lead me in the land of uprightness.

Amen.

Pastor Curt & Pastor Ellie

Seven Seas Ministries
49 N Lamplighters Walk
Hampstead, NC 28443

401-439-3780

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Bible Verse of The Day – 8-28-23

1 Peter 5:8 (NKJV) 8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.

Most of us are familiar with this verse. It is often used to teach us about who our enemy (the devil) is and how he operates.

But it also teaches us how we should act if we hope to successfully counter his actions.

What does it say?

It says we are to be sober and vigilant.

Most uses of the word, “sober”, refer to not being under the influence of alcohol.

Although not being drunk or under the influence of alcohol is a good thing, in this case being sober means something a little different.

It actually means to be self-controlled, self-disciplined; not foolish or flippant with our actions.

Then, it instructs us to be vigilant. This is a particularly important word for us to remember.

To be vigilant means to be watchful, attentive, observant, alert, on guard, wide awake.

When we are in a state of vigilance, it is hard for anyone to sneak things by us.

We see everything. We discern everything. We are ready for whatever comes at us.

Conversely, many people fall into complacency.

Being complacent is the opposite of being vigilant. When we are complacent, we are lax, laid back, too relaxed.

Sometimes this is due to feeling like nothing can touch us. Other times it is simply that we don’t want to expend the energy or take the time to do what we should do. We just don’t think it is important enough to warrant our time and energy.

And that complacency will get us into trouble every time.

So, let us follow God’s word and be the sober, vigilant people He has called us to be. Let us not drop our guard or become lax in defending against the onslaught of the enemy.

Amen

Pastor Curt & Pastor Ellie

Seven Seas Ministries
49 N Lamplighters Walk
Hampstead, NC 28443

401-439-3780

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Bible Verse of The Day – 8-27-23 – New Beginnings

Please click to watch the video now.Greetings in Jesus’ name! 

There is an old saying that goes something like this; The only true constant in life is change”. 

This is true, even as Ecclesiastes tells us that to everything there is a season. Seasons come and go. And us learning to flow with those changes is an important part of our walk with God. 

Our newest video, “New Beginnings”, addresses this very thing, as we teach about the times in our lives when we face changing seasons and new situations that we need to adjust to. 

There is something in this video for everyone, so we hope you will take a few minutes to watch it. 

Please click here to watch the video now.

We love you all. 

Sincerely in Christ, 

Pastor Curt & Pastor Ellie 

Seven Seas Ministries
49 N Lamplighters Walk
Hampstead, NC 28443  

401-439-3780

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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