Sowing and Reaping

Bible Verse of The Day – 9-16-26

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Ecclesiastes 11:6 (LSB) 6 Sow your seed in the morning and do not put your hands down in the evening, for you do not know whether morning or evening sowing will succeed, or whether both of them alike will be good.

As we ended yesterday’s devotional, we had established that we must view our giving as a covenant between us and God; we sow out of love for God, not out of obligation or mechanical habit.

To live this way, we must trust that God will uphold His end of the covenant. And because He is God, and He cannot lie or vary (change His ways), there should be no doubt on our part that He will fail.

The question then becomes whether we will uphold our end or not. And that’s the biggest factor in this two-way covenant of sowing and reaping.

In Ecclesiastes 11:6, above, we are told that we should sow in the morning and the evening.

In other words, we sow at all times. We cannot be selective, choosing to sow only when there is abundance in our “barns”.

Let’s face it; it’s easy to give when no faith is required. It’s yet another thing to sow when things are lean, and famine is knocking hard on our door.

But it is these very times that will show us where our faith lies, and in whom we trust.

It is the poor widow giving her last two tiny coins in her temple offering (Luke 21:1–4).

It is the widow of Zarephath using her last measure of flour and oil to make a meal for the prophet Elijah based on his promise that God would sustain them through the famine if she would do so (1 Kings 17:8-16).

And it is us, trusting God to sustain us and carry us through the financial difficulties we may face as we obey Him and follow His instructions, continuing to sow despite what things may look like to our human logic.

This is not just a recurring Biblical theme from days of old. This is a spiritual principle; a truth that still stands today.

God is the same as He was 2,000, 3,000, or 4,000+ years ago. He has not changed.

Who will we believe?

Will we trust God, or will we surrender to human logic, trusting only what our minds can explain and comprehend?

God has given each of us seeds. Will we faithfully sow them?

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 – 9-15-26

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Proverbs 3:9-10 (AMP) 9 Honor the Lord with your wealth And with the first fruits of all your crops (income); 10 Then your barns will be abundantly filled And your vats will overflow with new wine.

Thank you for joining us again today!

Now that we’ve laid the groundwork and established that God views our finances as seeds to be sown, let’s dig deeper.

As we ended yesterday’s devotional, we were discussing what happens when we encounter a lean season, or a period of financial difficulty.

Our first instinct, which is based solely on human logic and understanding, is to look for areas where we can cut spending.

This can be good, provided we also view our situation with the discernment of the Holy Spirit, not just by human understanding.

But when we operate solely by human understanding, we will begin slashing anything that we view as unnecessary or optional. And, unfortunately, our giving is often viewed as optional.

What we frequently fail to recognize or understand is that our giving, when carried out with the right heart and proper understanding, is our lifeline to thriving, not just financially, but also in our relationship with God.

You see, we need to view our giving less as an obligation carried out mechanically and more as a sworn covenant between us and Him.

It is our understanding of this, and our faithfulness in upholding our end of the covenant, that will change the way we handle our giving and our finances as a whole.

And with that thought, let’s wrap this up for today. And we will talk more 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 – 9-14-26

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2 Corinthians 9:6-8 (LSB) 6 Now this I say, he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows with blessing will also reap with blessing. 7 Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to make every grace abound to you, so that in everything at every time having every sufficiency, you may have an abundance for every good deed;

The word of God frequently refers to sowing, planting, and reaping.

This is sometimes in reference to the sowing of material goods, or even our works (helping others, etc.).

But it is most often referring to sowing our finances; the fruits of our labor.

Yes, God is interested in what we do with our money.

Our finances are like seeds that God has blessed us with.

And we must choose what we will do with these seeds He has placed into our hands.

God’s word tells us to give (sow).

It is by giving (sowing) that these seeds are planted. Seeds that are planted then have the opportunity to grow and produce fruit.

Seeds that are not sown cannot grow. And this is where we need to pay close attention to God’s word!

The verses above tell us that how we give is important; sparingly, grudgingly, out of a sense of obligation, or cheerfully and with a blessing!

And here is why that matters.

If we give out of a sense of obligation, or grudgingly, we are more apt to use any excuse to stop our giving at the first opportunity or the first tough situation we encounter.

Financial difficulty is the number one reason that people stop giving (sowing). Things get tough or a bit tight, and the purse strings are tied shut.

And then our situation declines, making it worse.

Why? Because we have ceased sowing (planting seeds). And with no seeds, there is no crop (harvest).

Let’s look more closely at this 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 – 9-13-26 – Covenant Seeds

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Please click to watch the video

Greetings in the wonderful name of Jesus! 

God is faithful beyond what our minds can comprehend. 

We have a new video for you today.

In this new video, Covenant Seeds, we teach in depth on the Biblical principle of sowing seeds and how we should view this as a covenant with God. 

Please click here to watch the video now.

We love you all. 

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 – 5-2-26

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Luke 6:38 (NKJV) 38 Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.”

The measure of generosity and grace we show to others is the same measure that will be returned to us.

Good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over shows us that we will get more than we put out!

Whether we give material goods, love, forgiveness, patience, or we give of ourselves with our time and labor, we will reap an abundant return. Praise God, He is good!

Don’t think He isn’t paying attention to our giving; He is not only watching, but taking note of it, and measuring.

Knowing that it means a lot to Him that we give, let us make this a priority in our lives, that we will be gracious with our giving.

Let us the one to step up to the plate even if no one else will. That we will give from our hearts and know that God is with us every step.

We can’t out-give Him; He owns all the cattle on the hills.

Psalm 50:10 (NKJV) 10 For every beast of the forest is Mine, And the cattle on a thousand hills.

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 – 12-12-24

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Luke 6:38 (NKJV) 38 Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.”

Giving is hard for most people when times are tough.

It is the last thing we want to think about during hard seasons.

But the scripture does not say to wait until things are going well to give. It doesn’t say to wait until we are in the mood to give, or to wait until we reach a certain goal in our situation to start giving.

If we learn and understand that giving is the seed that opens the door for God to give to us, we wouldn’t hesitate when He asks us to sow a seed or to give of our tithes and offerings.

We sow that seed and God will water it; it will grow!

If things are hard for you today, don’t “give up”. Give OUT!

Make it a point to give, to sow as God prompts you to do so.

If you don’t have a seed, if you are broke and on your last leg, you be the seed. Open up your heart and let God use you in whatever way necessary.

Give of what you have to Him and He will multiple it as you are obedient to His word.

The verse says to give, and it will be given to you. Let Him give to us good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over into our lives!

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 – 11-2-24

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Psalm 128:2 (NKJV) 2 When you eat the labor of your hands, You shall be happy, and it shall be well with you.

I remember as a child my dad would go out every Spring and get the rototiller out of the shed and begin to plow the ground where our garden was going to be.

That ground would be hard and matted down; compressed from the hard, cold winter months.

I would see him working so hard to keep that rototiller going in a straight path. If he didn’t hold it in place, it would bounce back and forth, from side to side as it tried to break the ground.

Eventually it would begin to get a little easier for him as the tines broke ground and got a little deeper down into the soil.

For my Dad, this was hard work. It must have been tiring for him to do.

Maybe some of us are feeling tired.

The ground we have been plowing has been taking its toll on us.

It’s been hard ground to prepare and break up, having to push through each day. And sometimes it makes us feel like giving up and putting down the plow.

But God is saying, “well done! Stay steadfast. The winds of change are coming.”

After the rototilling is done, the next step is planting the seeds!

This doesn’t mean we can just kick back and relax. That would cause all our hard work to go to waste.

There’s still watering, weeding, and nurturing if we want it to grow and be fruitful.

But know that better days are coming.

We will receive the reward when we see that beautiful bud on that plant and watch it grow to its fullness!

We will eat and enjoy the fruits of our work and be happy when they produce a harvest!

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 – 3-12-22

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Mark 6:41 (NKJV) 41 And when He had taken the five loaves and the two fish, He looked up to heaven, blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to His disciples to set before them; and the two fish He divided among them all.

It was all the disciples had. But Jesus, being moved with compassion, took it and blessed it. Then He gave it out, and it fed them all!

The disciples sowed a seed; they gave all they had. And then the miracle took place!

What is it today that we need to sow, and in return see a miracle?

Notice that this particular miracle was done for others.

The disciples knew that 5 loaves and 2 fish would not get the job done. It wouldn’t even come close to taking care of the people. They were thinking more on the lines of sending the people away so they could go get food.

But Jesus taught them something to remember that day; give Me something I can bless and multiply. Give Me something I can work with.

He fed them all with 5 loaves and 2 fish. It was a miracle indeed!

But the miracle came when they gave up what they already had. This is a big step to take. And many will say no to this, not being willing to surrender what they have.

Someone’s waiting on a miracle today. Is there something that you may be holding back on giving to God? Is there something that you need to let go of?

I remember, years ago, we thought we’d have to leave our home. Hard times had hit, and we needed to do something.

Selling was the only answer we could see. And we were willing to give it up.

But God saw our heart, and He told us not to do it. He had another way.

He provided for us and got us on track. He saw our willing heart to do whatever we had to do. In return, He gave us a way out. He parted the red sea in our situation.

What miracle do we need today, not just for us, but maybe for someone else?

A miracle is when our need is greater than what we can do on our own. It is beyond our capability. We need God.

God help us to be willing to sow that seed if need be, that You may bless it and we may experience Your miracle today.

Amen.

Mark 6:44 (NKJV) 44 Now those who had eaten the loaves were about five thousand men.

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 – 12-4-21

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Matthew 25:29 (NKJV) 29 ‘For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away.

When we take what God has blessed us with and sow it where He wants us to, we will reap from our obedience, our sacrifice and our loyalty in blessing others.

In the parable leading up to the verse above, the man that hid his talent and didn’t do a thing with it was looked upon as a lazy and wicked man.

Why? Because he did not act responsibly with the gift that was given to him. He did with it what he thought he should do, instead of sowing it into other things. He was afraid to lose it.

A talent was worth $1000. The owner of the house gave to one servant 5 talents, to another 2, and then to another man 1 (Matthew 25:15).

The first two men did great. They used the talents wisely and doubled what they had received.

But the last man hid his in the ground and didn’t do a thing with what was given to him.

What gifts has God blessed us with? He has blessed us with so many wonderful gifts.

In this parable, Jesus is talking about finances. But there are other ways God has blessed our lives.

Some people have the gift to speak, some the gift to teach, some the gift to pray, some the gift to sing, some the gift to heal, some the gift to prophesy, and some the gift to help, etc.

The last man is the man we don’t want to be like. We don’t want to hide the gift that was given to us.

Take what we have been given and grow it by sowing it into the lives around us. Invest and pour out into the lives that God leads us to.

Let it go and watch it grow.

Someone today is struggling with the gift God has given you. You are afraid.

Your gift is strong. It needs to come out and you know you are holding back.

Let it go as the Holy Spirit guides you, and don’t be afraid to obey when the door opens.

Matthew 25:23 (NKJV) 23 His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’

We will be blessed as we give freely from the gifts God has blessed us with. Amen.

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 – 2-3-21

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Galatians 6:7-8 (NKJV) 7 Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. 8 For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.

As I’ve walked through the years of my life, I have seen the truth of this play out in so many ways, both in my own life and the lives of others.

I have seen the reaping of the flesh and the reaping of the spirit.

I have seen abundance reaped by those who have sown to the Spirit. And I have seen corruption and death come to those who had sown to the flesh.

Some reaping takes longer than others. It is never the same twice.

Sometimes the way people reap might not seem to make sense, or may not seem fair when viewed through our natural eyes. And while that can sometimes be hard for us to swallow, we have to trust that God knows what He’s doing.

Why? Because He does.

Most of us would quickly condemn a person we see “sowing to their flesh”. God gives them grace and the time to repent.

Oh, there will likely come a season where His grace runs out and they begin to pay the price for their choices. But that’s in His timing, not ours.

And how about those who sow to the Spirit?

Does reaping from this happen when and how we’d like it to?

Not always! In fact, probably not often enough for our liking.

Sometimes it may seem that it is taking a lifetime!

The thing we need to understand, though, is that God is always faithful. It is us who tends to give up and walk away disappointed when things don’t happen when we think they should.

But here’s your answer, right here.

Galatians 6:9 (NKJV) 9 And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.

So, if you’re sowing to the Spirit, you’re following God’s leading, and you’re living each day walking on the straight and narrow, trusting Him in everything, don’t grow weary.

In due season you will reap if you don’t lose heart.

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 – 1-3-20

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John 4:37-38 (NKJV) 37 For in this the saying is true: ‘One sows and another reaps.’ 38 I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored, and you have entered into their labors.”

As we walk this walk with Christ, one of the things that’s important to understand is that we work for Him, not for us or for anyone else.

But most importantly, all of the glory and honor for whatever we happen to accomplish while we’re here on earth belongs solely to Him.

If we’re not careful, it can be easy to let our pride and ego get in the way, and before we know it, we become puffed up and haughty.

One of the ways to avoid that is to understand that we are simply laborers for Christ. And we are only one of many!

No matter what we do, the labors we put forth are only a tiny little piece of a very giant picture.

We may be a groundbreaker. We may be a sower. We may be a waterer. Regardless, God is the One who reaps.

1 Corinthians 3:6-8 (NKJV) 6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. 7 So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase. 8 Now he who plants and he who waters are one, and each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor.

It’s all His. He created it all, including you and me. He owns it all.

Without Him we are nothing. Oh, we can exist without Him, but our lives are empty and aimless.

John 15:5 (NKJV) 5 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.

We need to be sure we understand why we labor, and Who we labor for. Once we get that understanding we will learn to set ourselves aside and not worry about getting credit for it or wanting notoriety.

So, let’s be sure to keep a right attitude and right motives as we labor for the kingdom, being sure to always keep God first and foremost.

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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