Category: Trials and Tribulations

Bible Verse of The Day – 5-3-13

(2 Samuel 22:47 NKJV)  “The LORD lives! Blessed be my Rock! Let God be exalted, The Rock of my salvation!

It breaks my heart when I hear and see people put their trust in their pastor, their minister, etc. instead of putting it in God.

There is no man you can trust to do all the right things. It’s important that we put our trust in God, that we lean on God fully and learn from Him.

Pastors are human beings and they too can fall. So many people put them on a pedestal and then their faith is shaken when something goes wrong.

What happens often in a church setting is that when the man of God falls, if our trust is in him, we get disappointed and it can cause us to fall and backslide and literally turn away from God.

In our early years, we were going to a local church. It was a great church with wonderful pastors that God had blessed us with. They taught us a lot of good things, and we were growing close to God. However, these pastors had trials and tribulations hit them and when these things came upon them, they split and broke up. It was a very sad day.

The thing that was even more sad was that when this all happened, the congregation ended up scattered. Instead of looking to God and asking Him if they should stay in the church or go elsewhere, they decided to take on the Pastor’s problem as if it was their own and  very many ultimately left the church behind.

The man may leave, but God will never leave. He remained sound and strong there. He had a plan even in such devastation. He had the next step already figured out. But the people decided to take their own steps, leaving God behind.

Cling to God. He is our Rock and salvation; ask Him what to do when trouble comes. Wait for His direction!  Amen.

Pastor Curt & Pastor Ellie

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

401-377-5400

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

To have the Bible Verse of The Day delivered to your inbox each day, please enter your email address in the box near the upper right corner of this page!

Tagged with: , ,

Bible Verse of The Day – 4-13-13

(Psalm 103:1 NKJV)  Bless the LORD, O my soul; And all that is within me, bless His holy name!

With every breath that I take, I will bless the Lord.

In good times and in trials, I will bless the Lord.

Through every storm, I will bless the Lord and praise His holy name.

He is worthy of all glory, honor and praise.

I will bless the Lord with all that is within me.

Pastor Curt & Pastor Ellie

Seven Seas Ministries

P.O. Box 272
Bradford, RI 02808

401-377-5400

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

To have the Bible Verse of The Day delivered to your inbox each day, please enter your email address in the box near the upper right corner of this page!

Tagged with: , ,

Bible Verse of The Day – 3-29-13

(Psalm 86:3 NKJV)  Be merciful to me, O Lord, For I cry to You all day long.

Do we ever feel like David felt at times? Like all we do is cry out to God for we are in such need?

Are we in a desperate place and need help immediately?  I think we all have those moments; the moment of not knowing how it will all turn out and how long it will take.

It’s OK to have these moments and to cry out to God. He is there for us.

Let this be our prayer today, for all those that are in need and scared.

Dear God,

Be merciful to us, O Lord, For we cry to You all day long. Help us in our desperate situation, we ask, in Jesus Name, Amen!

We are not alone. Be blessed.

Pastor Curt & Pastor Ellie

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

401-377-5400

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

To have the Bible Verse of The Day delivered to your inbox each day, please enter your email address in the box near the upper right corner of this page!

Tagged with: , , ,

Bible Verse of The Day – 3-20-13

(Numbers 11:23 NKJV)  And the LORD said to Moses, “Has the Lord’s arm been shortened? Now you shall see whether what I say will happen to you or not.”

Are we asking God this same question today? Where are you, God? Has Your arm been shortened?

Have you been in your situation so long that you are beginning to wonder about this?

When we are having good times, of course everything is good. We are confident we are heading down the right road and we are doing the right things.

When trouble comes, and it takes a bit to figure things out…it’s different. It causes us to take a look at ourselves and make changes, if needed. We take the time and ask ourselves are we doing the right things or have we strayed in the wrong direction. Did we make a wrong turn somewhere? What?

This is all good; we should check ourselves. We should be accountable for our actions. If we went off track a bit, God wants us to get back on track. He will be more than happy to help us get back on.

Sometimes we may even feel like He is nowhere around; it seems quiet. At times it can seem so quiet that we think nothing’s happening. We may feel that we have gone too far or done too much wrong to even expect Him to want to help us.

We may even feel He has left us alone to fix things ourselves. That is just not true! That is a lie and we all know where lying voices come from.

No matter how far away we have strayed from the right path, God’s arm has not been shortened. As we repent and truly want to receive His help, His arm will reach down and pick us up right where we are at.

Today, know this; that God’s arm is not too short to reach us.

Pastor Curt & Pastor Ellie

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

401-377-5400

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

To have the Bible Verse of The Day delivered to your inbox each day, please enter your email address in the box near the upper right corner of this page!

Tagged with: , ,

Bible Verse of The Day – 3-13-13

(Proverbs 3:5-6 NKJV)  Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; {6} In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.

Trust in the Lord. These are words that we are learning to live by more and more each day.

We have been going through some trials the past several months and they are causing us to really check ourselves and see where our trust really lies.

We have been in a period of waiting that seems endless. If we were not trusting in God, we just might lose all hope.

But I stand today and proclaim boldly that we will trust in the Lord with all of our heart, and we will seek His understanding in all things.

We will shout from the mountaintops and from the valley, “God, we praise you in the midst of this storm and we worship you no matter what comes our way”.

Amen!

Pastor Curt & Pastor Ellie

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

401-377-5400

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

To have the Bible Verse of The Day delivered to your inbox each day, please enter your email address in the box near the upper right corner of this page!

Tagged with: , , ,

Bible Verse of The Day – 1-24-13

(Isaiah 40:31 NKJV)  But those who wait on the LORD Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.

Are you waiting on the Lord for anything in particular? We are!

We are waiting for a huge breakthrough. We have seen signs of it and doors are opening up, but we are still waiting to see and hear of some things to complete it.

Whew…do we feel like hiding ourselves away somewhere so we don’t have to talk or deal with anyone at times? Yes. Do we feel like at times not getting up out of bed and facing what may come toward us that day? Yes!

This is normal when facing hard times and trying to make righteous decisions. Sometimes it may even cause nausea and exhaustion from spending time thinking and worrying and wanting to do the right thing. These are all symptoms of being in trials and tribulations.

Remember… we are all together; we are one body in Christ. While we are waiting on the Lord for our breakthrough, when we see someone going through trouble or hard times, let us take the initiative and pray for them as well.

Let us join in with them and wait together on the Lord for them to receive their victory too. As we wait on the Lord together, we shall renew our strength, we shall mount up with wings like eagles, we will run together and not be weary, we shall walk and not faint.

Together today, we need your prayers. As we pray for each one of you…please keep us in your prayers as well. We are ever so grateful for you all.

Pastor Curt & Pastor Ellie

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

401-377-5400

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

To have the Bible Verse of The Day delivered to your inbox each day, please enter your email address in the box near the upper right corner of this page!

Tagged with: , ,

Bible Verse of The Day – 1-5-13

(Phil 4:13 NKJV)  I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

We are not weak, useless or anything similar. We are the children of The Most High God!

We are all facing trials of one kind or another. Some of us are facing very tough financial trials. Some are facing very big relationship trials. Other people are fighting for their lives in a battle against some kind of sickness, disease of physical injury or ailment.

The number and types of trials that many of us are facing is very big. But our God is bigger!

We have not been told to take care of things by our own strength. We have been told to lean on Him and trust in Him, because in Him we can do all things!

As you face your trial, possibly even the biggest trial of your life, don’t back down and don’t give up hope. Know that in Christ Jesus you can do all things.

Pastor Curt & Pastor Ellie

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

401-377-5400

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

To have the Bible Verse of The Day delivered to your inbox each day, please enter your email address in the box near the upper right corner of this page!

Tagged with: , ,

Bible Verse of The Day – 11-30-12

(1 Cor 15:57 NKJV)  But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Victory is ours. God’s word says so.

You might not feel victorious right now, but victory is coming. Don’t get me wrong… it doesn’t usually come when we think it should. But it will come if we hold fast to God and don’t give up!

Now that we have that out there, let’s talk for a minute about why we need victory. There’s only one reason for needing victory. A battle.

If we’re not in a battle, we don’t need victory. If we need victory it’s because we’re in a battle. So if we want victory, we have to go through a battle. Victory never, ever comes without a fight.

And we also need to understand that when we are in a fight, in a battle, there can be times when we get hurt and we sometimes end up with scars from our wounds.

But God is the great healer. Not only does He help us get victory, but He can also heal us from our wounds and help those scars to fade and disappear.

What is your battle today? Name it and then claim victory in the name of Jesus Christ. Seek God’s wisdom as to how to fight the battle and then move forward.

He gives us the victory through Jesus. Amen!

Pastor Curt & Pastor Ellie

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

401-377-5400

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

Tagged with: , , ,

Bible Verse of The Day – 11-15-12

(1 Thessalonians 5:16 NKJV)  Rejoice always…

Are you going through tough times right now? Are you fearful about the current state of the world? Do you wonder what tomorrow will bring?

What does God say we should do in the midst of all this? Rejoice always!

God wants us to rejoice in everything, both good times and tough times. In victory and in trials, He wants us to rejoice!

Further on, He says (1 Thessalonians 5:17-18 NKJV)  pray without ceasing, {18} in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

So we are to rejoice, pray and give thanks. This is so opposite what our flesh wants to do when we face struggles. In the natural, we want to cry, pout, ask God why this is happening to us and have a little pity party for ourselves.

But God wants us to press into Him and pull our strength from Him! He wants us to pick ourselves up and move forward, even when it feels like we can’t get up.

We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. (Philippians 4:13).

We have not been left alone or abandoned. We are not orphans. We have a heavenly Father who loves us and wants us to cross the finish line with victory.

Let’s learn how to rejoice, no matter what comes our way and watch how God works in our lives.

Pastor Curt & Pastor Ellie

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

401-377-5400

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

Tagged with: , , ,

Bible Verse of The Day – 10-11-12

(Phil 3:14 NKJV)  I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Life is not always easy. Even as believers and children of God, there are going to be trials and tribulations. It’s just a fact of life.

It doesn’t seem to matter what we do, these trials still come. What matters, though, is how we go through these trials.

Do we stay positive and honor God in the midst of the storm, or do we lose our faith quickly and begin to get negative, losing sight of the prize in front of us.

God has taught us that things will come our way that won’t always be pleasant. He has also taught us in scriptures, such as the one above, that our life is not just about short-term goals or victories.

We are in a race that is life-long. And while we will reap rewards even while we’re here on earth, our eye needs to be kept on the final prize, when we stand before our Creator.

As followers of Christ, our ultimate goal should be to hear these words:

(Mat 25:23 NKJV)  …’Well done, good and faithful servant…

So press through the tough times, the trials and the tests, no matter how hard it gets, and keep your eye on the prize. We might not be able to do it on our own, but with God’s help we can have victory.

Pastor Curt & Pastor Ellie

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

401-377-5400

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

Tagged with: ,

Bible Verse of The Day – 9-24-12

(Mat 10:36 NKJV)  “and ‘a man’s enemies will be those of his own household.’

Are we going through family turmoil in our homes, within our church family, or in our work place, etc.? Well, don’t let it take you by surprise. God’s Word shows us that we don’t have to look very far to find enemies; they can be right in our own backyard.

It’s very hard when we have family members, close friends or co-workers that cause trouble for us, simply because they don’t agree with who we have chosen to be in Christ or how we choose to handle things.

It’s possible they are just plain jealous because good things are happening in our lives and they can’t handle it. But we can’t let them stop us from doing what is right and being all that Christ calls us to be.

We have to be alert, stand our ground, be who God has called us to be, and keep moving forward with love!!

Pastor Curt & Pastor Ellie

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

401-377-5400

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

Tagged with: , ,