What the Bible says about growing in God

Bible Verse of The Day – 9-2-26

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2 Peter 1:10 (NLT) 10 So, dear brothers and sisters, work hard to prove that you really are among those God has called and chosen. Do these things, and you will never fall away.

As we read through these two verses, it becomes very apparent that Peter was strongly urging the believers who were the recipients of his letter to grow spiritually, that they might become productive and fruitful to God’s kingdom.

Let’s break this down a bit so we can be sure to understand it clearly.

In verse 10, he urges the readers to “work hard” to prove that they are among those God has called and chosen

It’s important to note that he is not in any way at all referring to working for their salvation. He is simply implying that their salvation should be evident in their day-to-day lives by the things they do.

Things get a bit more interesting, though, in the next line, in which he says if you “do these things, you will never fall away”.

There is an important point here that we need to touch on.

We need to know what “things” he is telling them they must do.

For that, we must look at verses 5-7, where Peter urges believers to walk in moral excellence, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love.

And look at what he tells them will happen if they walk in these things.

They will be “neither useless nor unfruitful in the full knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ”.

These are words that can sting when we first hear them. But it’s important that we see and accept the truth that if we do not grow and obey God, we are not useful or fruitful (productive) to the kingdom of God.

We cannot walk in these attributes or characteristics without allowing the Spirit of God to transform us.

And this happens only when we choose to make it happen.

May we take this seriously and apply it to our lives daily 🙏🏻

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 – 8-26-26

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John 1:12 (LSB) 12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name,

This verse, and others like it, show us that we are not children of God simply because we are born.

It is when we receive Him, through faith in Christ, that we become His child.

It requires a conscious choice for this to happen.

Likewise, we don’t grow and mature as a believer accidentally.

Unlike the human body, which grows involuntarily as we age, we don’t grow spiritually by simply sitting back and allowing time to go by, hoping it will happen.

Growing and maturing is a choice we make!

We decide whether we will grow and mature as a follower of Christ. No one can make us grow involuntarily. No one can force us to grow.

We are taught throughout the word of God that if we wish to find Him and draw near to Him (grow and mature), we must seek Him and do so with our whole heart.

Jeremiah 29:13 (NKJV) 13 And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.

James tells us very plainly that we must draw near to Him if we desire Him to draw near to us.

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.

Interestingly, James also refers to those who expect to draw near to God without putting forth the necessary effort as “double-minded”, exposing the hypocrisy of this notion.

As followers of Christ, we must desire to grow. We must understand that effort is required. And we must do whatever is necessary to put forth that effort.

Casual Christianity is a myth; a lie from the enemy to lull believers to sleep and prevent us from producing fruit for the kingdom of God.

But casual Christianity is exactly what we practice if we fail to grow and mature as believers.

1 John 2:3-4 (LSB) 3 And by this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments. 4 The one who says, “I have come to know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him;

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 – 7-6-26

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Ephesians 4:14 (LSB) 14 so that we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming,

In our writings, we spend a fair amount of time teaching about growing and maturing in Christ.

This is a critically important topic that we must all understand and abide by.

Some may wonder why it is important.

The verse above explains exactly why!

When we are young in Christ, we can be easily fooled; tricked into believing many things that aren’t Biblically accurate or sound.

Paul described it as being “carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming”.

And this is a perfectly accurate statement.

When we are young, whether in the natural sense or in the spiritual sense, we can easily be fooled by people with ill intent; crafty men with schemes of deceitfulness.

And this is dangerous to our wellbeing. Naivety and ignorance can kill us, both spiritually and bodily.

And this is why it’s so critically important that we learn, grow, and mature in Christ.

It prevents us from becoming victims of our own ignorance, fooled by the trickery of men, believing anything we hear due to sheer ignorance of God’s truth.

With this we say to you, “Grow”!

Take the time and make the effort to learn of God. Get understanding in spiritual things. Draw near to Him, and He will draw near to you.

And seek Him. Seek Him with every ounce of strength you have, and with every fiber of your being.

And when you seek Him in this way, you will find Him 🙏🏻

Jeremiah 29:13 (LSB) 13 You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.

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 – 4-12-26 – What’s Stopping You from Growing in God?

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

We hope you’re growing in your walk with God each day. 

Speaking of growing, we have a new video for you today in which we teach about doing what it takes to grow in Christ, strengthening our relationship with God, rather than just wishing we had a stronger relationship with Him. 

The video is called “What’s Stopping You (from Growing in God)?”

We hope this video will strengthen you and give you fuel for the fire that God has lit within you. 

Please click here to watch the video now.

We love you! 

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 – 6-23-25

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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;

This verse is a good reminder for all of us from time to time.

We are a child of God because we made a conscious choice to do so.

We have each chosen to walk with God. We have chosen to be saved.

And salvation comes to us through that choice.

But then what? What do we do with our lives after making the choice to become a follower of Christ?

Do we simply move on as though it never happened?

Absolutely not! That step that we took to be saved was just the beginning of what is meant to be a lifelong journey to our eternal dwelling place with our Father.

We should make the most of this sojourn to present ourselves before Him that He will say to us, “well done, my good and faithful child.”

Going forward, we must walk it out. We must take deliberate steps to learn and grow as a believer.

We must think of it like a student who is working toward a goal, or an athlete who is training for a trophy. Neither of these can reach their goals if they aren’t diligent and steadfast in their endeavors.

As it is with us.

No, salvation is never about works. But our relationship with God is only as strong as we make it.

So, let us understand the seriousness of this walk we call Christianity, and run the race as though we are running for the prize.

Because we are. And that prize is the crown of life.

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 – 2-6-24

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

Being a believer in Christ is not something to take lightly.

We begin a journey on a plan that He has for us. We are always learning and growing. We are in His school of training, so to speak.

As part of this training, we may be tested in areas we never thought we could walk through.

Sometimes it’s heavy and hard. Other times light and fulfilling like never before.

We will learn how to listen, how to surrender and how to obey!

We will also learn how to push through difficult situations that are going to help us get stronger and wiser.

It is all done through the leading of the Holy Spirit. It is so beautiful to be led by Him, and it can be very humbling at times.

All we need to do is focus on staying close to Him through prayer and studying God’s Word.

Press forward day by day, and allow what we learn in His Word to carry us when we are tired, strengthen us when we are weak, and fill us with wisdom and understanding so we can continue forward and not give up.

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 – 2-3-24

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Jeremiah 29:13 (NKJV) 13 And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.

With any relationship, we get out what we put in.

Our relationship with God is no different. It will grow on the same scale as the effort we put into it.

If we truly desire to know Him and serve Him wholeheartedly, we will intentionally make the time needed to grow and mature as a believer.

This isn’t something that we always think of or understand when we first become a child of God.

In fact, it is something that is not taught nearly enough.

While the forgiveness of our sins is monumental, if we do not feed our spirit with the word of God, it will be in danger of withering and dying.

Jesus taught about this when He shared the parable of the sower and the seeds.

Matthew 13:20-21 (NLT) 20 The seed on the rocky soil represents those who hear the message and immediately receive it with joy. 21 But since they don’t have deep roots, they don’t last long. They fall away as soon as they have problems or are persecuted for believing God’s word.

This is why we need to be sure to put forth the required effort to keep ourselves fed and growing.

It is something that no one can do for us. Yes, we can have people help us, lead us and guide us, especially in the beginning of our new walk with God. But in the end, we are the ones who are responsible for whether we grow or not.

Think of it like a newborn baby. When the baby is small, it requires constant help and nurturing. But as it grows older and older it must learn to take what it has been taught and use that knowledge to grow and mature on its own.

This is why it is paramount for each of us to do whatever is necessary to feed ourselves with the word of God.

God tells us that as we make the effort to seek Him, we will find Him if we seek Him with all our heart.

The key lies in the phrase, “with all your heart”, since God spells it out for us right there.

Suffice it to say that effort on our part is required. And that effort is something that we must be willing to put forth.

It may not always be easy or comfortable, but we need to keep in mind the incredible sacrifice that Christ made for us on the cross. This will usually put things into perspective and help motivate us to do what it takes to mature and grow as a believer.

And as we do this, let us liken ourselves to a runner in a race, disciplining ourselves, shaking off all that tries to hold us back, and doing all that is necessary to claim the prize at the finish line.

For the prize we race toward is eternal.

Hebrews 12:1-2 (NKJV) 1 Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

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 – 11-6-23

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Colossians 2:6-7 (NKJV) 6 As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, 7 rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving.

Many believers struggle to grow in their faith in God and their walk with Him.

Most times this happens due to misplaced emphasis in their efforts.

Let me explain.

It is critical for us to understand that God’s word is the foundation of everything that we need when it comes to growing as a believer.

If we spend our time studying and getting understanding of God’s word, led by the Holy Spirit, we can’t go wrong.

If, however, we spend some time in God’s word, some time reading “Christian books”, some time reading philosophical books, we will be receiving a mixture of information and impartations that can lead us down a rocky road in our faith walk.

Now, this is not to say that we cannot read books written by Christian authors. But it should be emphasized that we need to be balanced and careful in what we consume as part of our learning.

Some books can give us information that may not be Biblically accurate. And if we are not well versed in scripture, or we fail to take the time to research what we read in these books to confirm its validity, we can be led down paths that are not giving us deeper understanding of truth, but giving us opinions or philosophical tidbits that could be based on false information that we should not trust.

This can cause us to move away from God, instead of closer to Him, or create an unscriptural mixture in our understanding, without us realizing that it is even happening.

So, how do we prevent that from happening to us?

We “walk in Him” as stated in the verses above. We keep our focus on Him, not Him plus something, plus something else.

We use God’s word to build us up in Him, “establishing us” in the faith. We spend time in His word, absorbing it, gaining understanding of things that we never knew or understood before.

Then, we let that new knowledge and understanding shape and strengthen our walk with our Savior and Redeemer.

Finally, we use God’s word as a guide by which everything we see, hear, or read is verified as true or false.

This simple way of approaching our walk with God will help us grow greatly while fending off possible false teachings, thereby keeping us on the path that helps us grow and mature safely.

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 – 5-28-23 – Deeper

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Please click to watch the video nowGreetings, precious brothers and sisters in Christ. 

Jesus is alive and God is still on the throne. Amen! 

We have another new video for you today. This video is called, “Deeper”. 

In today’s video we teach about the importance of constantly working to grow our relationship with God, taking it deeper, and how we do that. 

There is a lot of “meat” in this video, so we hope you’ll take a few minutes to watch it. 

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 – 5-16-22

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Zechariah 1:3-4 (NKJV) 3 Therefore say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts: “Return to Me,” says the Lord of hosts, “and I will return to you,” says the Lord of hosts. 4 “Do not be like your fathers, to whom the former prophets preached, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts: “Turn now from your evil ways and your evil deeds.” ’ But they did not hear nor heed Me,” says the Lord.

Hearing the word of God is good. In fact, it’s a necessity if we wish to learn and grow as a believer.

Hearing the word of God also helps our faith to grow.

Romans 10:17 (NKJV) 17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

But, in addition to hearing the word of God, we need to heed the word of God.

If we hear the word of God and fail to obey it or learn from it, then hearing it is largely useless to us.

It’s critical that we hear the word of God and then follow what we hear, obeying God to the fullest.

The Old Testament is loaded with examples of God’s prophets speaking, telling the Israelites what God wanted form them.

And yet, they failed over and over again to listen and obey Him.

People of God, let’s not be like the Israelites, ignoring God to the point of wrath.

He deserves better than this.

As we follow His desires, our lives will bring glory and honor to Him.

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 – 11-15-21

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John 13:9 (NKJV) 9 Simon Peter said to Him, “Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head!”

As Jesus was spending His last hours with the disciples, He shocked them by washing their feet. This is something that only servants did during that time period.

The fact that their Master would lower Himself to wash their feet was beyond their comprehension.

What’s more, though, is that Peter flat out refused to let Jesus do so. He didn’t feel worthy to have Jesus perform such a seemingly menial task on his behalf.

When Peter refused, Jesus rebuked him, telling Peter that if he wouldn’t allow Jesus to wash his feet, then he couldn’t have any part with Him.

At that, Peter proclaimed, “Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head!”.

And so it should be with you and I.

Not that Jesus is standing in front of us offering to wash our feet, but that we would allow Jesus to “wash” our whole selves, cleansing us and making us vessels that are worthy of His name, by the power of His Spirit and through our complete submission to Him.

This is the only way we will ever fully develop our relationship with Him, allowing us to grow into mature believers who serve God wholeheartedly, shining His light brightly to bring glory and honor to Him.

Jesus, wash all of me.

Pastor Curt & Pastor Ellie

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

401-315-0902

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