Tag: What the Bible says about loving God

Bible Verse of The Day – 4-8-24

Isaiah 55:9 (NKJV) 9 “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts.

I love my God with my whole heart.

The love that I have for Him transcends what can be expressed with human thoughts or mere words.

Why do I love Him this way?

There are far too many reasons. But let me try to put some of them on paper so He will receive the glory and honor due Him.

He is a God of mercy. He forgave me and adopted me as His child when I deserved punishment for my sins.

He is a God of compassion. He drew me to Himself to offer me His redemption through Christ while I was still a vile sinner.

He is the God who heals me. He delivered and healed me from asthma, setting me completely free after battling the “incurable” disease for over 30 years.

He is the God who provides for my every need. He has kept me and sustained me through many seasons of famine, even during times when I had almost nothing left and was about to lose even those things.

And He is a God who never gives up on me. He embraced me when I was lost and wandering, having no understanding of my sinful condition, and He made me a new creation in Christ.

His creation is rich in breathtaking beauty.

His ways blow my mind. They are more than anyone can comprehend.

His sovereignty is more powerful than anyone can conceive, working and moving in ways that are a mystery to even the most intelligent minds.

This is not about me. I am not special.

God will do all these things for you. All it takes is a humble heart and a willingness to surrender to Him.

Will you do that today? He is waiting.

Jeremiah 29:13 (NKJV) 13 And 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!

To have the Bible Verse of The Day delivered to your inbox each day, please Click Here and then enter your email address in the box near the upper left corner of the page. 

Please consider making a Donation.

Get our mobile app here: 

Android: http://goo.gl/oQ6qa7 

Apple: http://apple.co/2lZdgYy

Tagged with: , , , , , ,

Bible Verse of The Day – 12-23-23

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

What “all” things can we do? The things that God asks us to do.

This is how we show God that we are sincere in our commitment to Him. Our hearts obey His word.

John 14:15 (NKJV) 15 “If you love Me, keep My commandments.

We get rid of those nasty habits, and we begin to live, walk and breathe in making righteous decisions. It is when we walk by faith in obedience to His word that we will become strong.

Yes, there will be sacrifices to be made. Yes, there will be new things to learn. Yes, there will be a feeling of discomfort at times.

But, in and through it all, there will be His peace, His presence and His rewards. It will be worth every bit of effort we put forth.

Can we do this on our own?

Honestly, fighting our own desires can be the hardest thing to accomplish. But, we are not alone in this fight.

God has sent us a Helper. This Helper knows all about the fleshly battle that we war against as a believer. He knows how to defeat it. He knows what we need to do. And yes, He will willingly abide with us forever!

John 14:16 (NKJV) 16 And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever—

Have a blessed day. And remember, it’s through Christ we are made strong. WE need Him!

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!

To have the Bible Verse of The Day delivered to your inbox each day, please Click Here and then enter your email address in the box near the upper left corner of the page. 

Please consider making a Donation.

Get our mobile app here: 

Android: http://goo.gl/oQ6qa7 

Apple: http://apple.co/2lZdgYy

Tagged with: , , , ,

Bible Verse of The Day – 10-23-23

Matthew 22:37 (NKJV) 37 Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’

As I was pondering on the things of God yesterday evening, this question came to me:

How much do you love God?

It came to me not only as a direct question for me to respond to, but a question that I should also ask others.

The intensity with which we love God will impact every single aspect of our lives.

Furthermore, the depth of our love for God shows our level of understanding when it comes to who He is, what He has done for us, and where He falls in our life’s priorities.

I know that may cause some to flinch, and it may even cause others to feel like that is a little on the legalistic side.

But let’s look a bit closer so we can better understand this.

These words were originally spoken in Deuteronomy 6:5, as God spoke to Israel and laid out His commandments and rules for their lives.

Jesus quoted it when a Sadducee tried to trick Him, asking Him, “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?”.

Jesus called this the “first and great commandment”, giving it the ultimate priority in the life of a believer.

As we begin to understand the importance of this more completely on a personal level, we will begin to see ourselves change.

We will no longer think of ourselves first. Instead, we will put God first, taking Him into consideration in everything that we do; every choice we make, every word that we speak, every action that we take.

Our love for God will overrule our love for other things; our habits, our tendencies, our hobbies, our lusts, our desires, etc.

For some, this change happens slowly over time. For others, it happens very quickly. Either way, it is a transformation that is undeniable.

The speed at which this happens in our lives is, without a doubt, dependent upon the depth of understanding we have when it comes to the seriousness of loving “the Lord Your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind”.

And regardless of the speed, the most important thing is that it does happen.

With all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.

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!

To have the Bible Verse of The Day delivered to your inbox each day, please Click Here and then enter your email address in the box near the upper left corner of the page. 

Please consider making a Donation.

Get our mobile app here: 

Android: http://goo.gl/oQ6qa7 

Apple: http://apple.co/2lZdgYy

Tagged with: , , , ,

Bible Verse of The Day – 6-12-23

Deuteronomy 6:5 (NKJV) 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.

I love my wife. I love her with all my heart.

I also love bass fishing, and I enjoy bike riding.

My love for Bass fishing and bike riding obviously isn’t nearly as strong as my love for Pastor Ellie. Not even close!

But none of these can begin to compare to my love for God.

And this is what God has commanded us to do; to put Him, and our love for Him, before everyone and everything else.

This isn’t something that just happens.

Just as we learn to love our spouse, we must learn to love God.

We don’t learn this overnight. We don’t learn accidentally. And we don’t always learn easily.

It takes time, and it takes effort on our part. It takes persistent, diligent, relentless effort.

No effort equals a bare-minimum relationship with God. A minimal relationship equals frail, feeble love.

Our love for God needs to be strong!

Loving God is something that we must decide in our hearts is our top priority. It’s when we do this that we see things change in our heart.

And when our heart changes, the rest of our life follows suit.

Before we know it, we are beginning to build our lives around God and our love for Him, instead of constantly battling just to find a few spare minutes to try to read His word.

The change comes a little at a time as we continue to relentlessly pursue Him and put Him first.

We encourage everyone reading this to give God your all. Pour yourself into your walk with Him.

Put Him first in everything. Give Him your whole heart.

Watch your love for Him grow and flourish.

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!

To have the Bible Verse of The Day delivered to your inbox each day, please Click Here and then enter your email address in the box near the upper left corner of the page. 

Please consider making a Donation.

Get our mobile app here: 

Android: http://goo.gl/oQ6qa7 

Apple: http://apple.co/2lZdgYy

Tagged with: , , , ,

Bible Verse of The Day – 5-10-23

1 Chronicles 18:6 (NLT) 6 Then he placed several army garrisons in Damascus, the Aramean capital, and the Arameans became David’s subjects and paid him tribute money. So the Lord made David victorious wherever he went.

“So the Lord made David victorious wherever he went”.

There is a lot we can learn from this short statement.

But in order to learn from it, we need to ask this one question; why was David victorious wherever he went?”.

The answer to that question is very simple and straight forward.

David loved God with all his heart and endeavored to honor God in all that he did.

David was not perfect. But he considered God in every decision he made. He despised false gods. He also abhorred people who stood against his God.

David was not afraid to stand against those who stood against his God. And he gave honor and credit to God for his victories.

His wife, Michal, even looked at him with contempt and she despised him in her heart because he danced and leapt with joy before the Lord in public.

2 Samuel 6:16 (NKJV) 16 Now as the ark of the Lord came into the City of David, Michal, Saul’s daughter, looked through a window and saw King David leaping and whirling before the Lord; and she despised him in her heart.

And when Michal confronted him about making a spectacle of himself in public, here’s what David told her.

2 Samuel 6:21-22 (NKJV) 21 …“It was before the Lord, who chose me instead of your father and all his house, to appoint me ruler over the people of the Lord, over Israel. Therefore I will play music before the Lord. 22 And I will be even more undignified than this, and will be humble in my own sight….

Let us all honor God the way David did. Let us all put Him first in our hearts and in the choices we make every day, that He might give us victory wherever we go.

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!

To have the Bible Verse of The Day delivered to your inbox each day, please Click Here and then enter your email address in the box near the upper left corner of the page. 

Please consider making a Donation.

Get our mobile app here: 

Android: http://goo.gl/oQ6qa7 

Apple: http://apple.co/2lZdgYy

Tagged with: , , , , , , , , , ,

Bible Verse of The Day – 8-29-22

Psalm 18:1 (NLT) 1 I love you, Lord; you are my strength.

This short, simple verse sums up so much while using so few words.

Sometimes we use so many words to try to express our thoughts and feelings. And there are times when that is necessary.

But sometimes we just need to be direct and say what we mean as succinctly as possible. And this verse is a perfect example of that.

I love you, Lord.

Those words say it all.

There will be times where we might feel the need to expound on that sentiment and pour our heart out to Him. And that’s good to do from time to time.

But simplicity can also be a good thing.

So, never be afraid to simply say, whether in your heart or out loud, I love you, Lord.

He is worthy of hearing this from us. He does, after all, love us beyond what words can express. This is evident in the mercy and the grace that He shows toward us.

Tell Him today that you love Him. It’s good for us to share our hearts with 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!

To have the Bible Verse of The Day delivered to your inbox each day, please Click Here and then enter your email address in the box near the upper left corner of the page. 

Please consider making a Donation.

Get our mobile app here: 

Android: http://goo.gl/oQ6qa7 

Apple: http://apple.co/2lZdgYy

Tagged with: , , , ,

Bible Verse of The Day – 12-15-21

Psalm 18:1-2 (NLT) 1 I love you, Lord; you are my strength. 2 The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my savior; my God is my rock, in whom I find protection. He is my shield, the power that saves me, and my place of safety.

It’s not a secret that God called David a man after His own heart. And there is a very good reason for that; because it was true.

David never abandoned God or traded Him in for “other gods”.

Despite his shortcomings as a human being, David loved God deeply throughout his lifetime. That love for God never faltered.

One of the things I find interesting about verse 1 in the scriptures above is that the Hebrew word used for love isn’t the word that’s typically used in most other areas of the Bible.

Most times, the word used for love in the original Hebrew transcripts indicates the concept or idea of covenant.

The word that David used here, however, is a rare form of a word that expresses intimacy. In fact, it actually expresses tender intimacy.

David’s love for God was so intense that he used an uncommon word that more accurately expressed his true passion for his love for God.

This should be the goal of every believer; to love God so intensely that our love can’t be described using normal, everyday words.

If you’re not there right now, don’t feel bad. Don’t get down on yourself. But take the steps to do whatever it takes to make It happen.

Remember, we get out what we put in when it comes to our relationship with God.

So, if loving God intensely is our goal and our desire, let’s take the steps to make it happen.

We will never, ever be sorry.

Pastor Curt & Pastor Ellie

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

401-439-3780

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 Click Here and then enter your email address in the box near the upper left corner of the page. 

Please consider making a Donation.

Get our mobile app here: 

Android: http://goo.gl/oQ6qa7 

Apple: http://apple.co/2lZdgYy

Tagged with: , , , ,

Bible Verse of The Day – 9-29-21

1 Kings 14:7-8 (NKJV) 7 Go, tell Jeroboam, ‘Thus says the Lord God of Israel: “Because I exalted you from among the people, and made you ruler over My people Israel, 8 and tore the kingdom away from the house of David, and gave it to you; and yet you have not been as My servant David, who kept My commandments and who followed Me with all his heart, to do only what was right in My eyes;

There are many, many instances of us being told in God’s word how important it is to follow God’s laws, decrees and commands.

Let’s talk about that.

In its barest form, it would appear that God is simply asking us to strictly follow a set of rules and laws.

But if we look at the heart of this, it goes much deeper.

In reality, God is urging us (appealing to us) to give Him our hearts.

You see, God isn’t really concerned with a set of laws. Laws don’t change hearts or make us righteous. They just give us guidelines.

Simply following a set of guidelines will only create rituals and traditions. That is not what God wants.

If we look at the latter part of the verse above, God tells Jeroboam that David followed Him with all his heart.

That is what God wants; our whole heart.

Because David followed God with his whole heart, God honored him down through the generations.

There are powerful lessons for us to learn from this.

So, despite our faults & failures, let’s be sure to keep this at the forefront of everything we do; to follow God with all our heart.

And as we do this, God will also honor us, and our lives will be blessed because of it.

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!

To have the Bible Verse of The Day delivered to your inbox each day, please Click Here and then enter your email address in the box near the upper left corner of the page. 

Please consider making a Donation.

Get our mobile app here: 

Android: http://goo.gl/oQ6qa7 

Apple: http://apple.co/2lZdgYy

Tagged with: , , , ,

Bible Verse of The Day – 9-24-21

John 14:23 (NKJV) 23 Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.

We all long for God to love us.

Some of us try so hard to earn HIs love. Some wrestle with thinking we are never good enough for His love, and we feel like we are constantly failing Him.

I have learned over the years, though, that God is God!

His thoughts, His ways and His heart are much more than we could ever comprehend.

Do you know He loved us first? That’s right; first.

We didn’t do a single thing to make Him love us.

1 John 4:19 (NKJV) 19 We love Him because He first loved us.

Because of His love for us and what He did to save us, we love Him.

But we didn’t have to do anything for Him to love us.

He loved us right from the beginning; every one of us. Red, yellow, black and white, we are precious in His sight! Amen.

But if we want to show our love for Him, what does He say we will do? We will keep His word.

That simply means that, if we have put our faith and trust in Him, we live out His word in our daily lives. We walk it out for others to see.

What does He promise us if we do this? He will make His home in us!

Wow.

What else could we ever want?

God living in us each day.

That right there is more than this world could ever measure up to.

Why would we even care to obtain anything else? Why would we have idols in our hearts or put things before Him?

His love has always been there for us. Now we must tear down anything that stands in the way of us loving Him back.

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!

To have the Bible Verse of The Day delivered to your inbox each day, please Click Here and then enter your email address in the box near the upper left corner of the page. 

Please consider making a Donation.

Get our mobile app here: 

Android: http://goo.gl/oQ6qa7 

Apple: http://apple.co/2lZdgYy

Tagged with: ,

Bible Verse of The Day – 5-25-21

2 Kings 10:28-31 (NKJV) 28 Thus Jehu destroyed Baal from Israel. 29 However Jehu did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who had made Israel sin, that is, from the golden calves that were at Bethel and Dan. 30 And the Lord said to Jehu, “Because you have done well in doing what is right in My sight, and have done to the house of Ahab all that was in My heart, your sons shall sit on the throne of Israel to the fourth generation.” 31 But Jehu took no heed to walk in the law of the Lord God of Israel with all his heart; for he did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam, who had made Israel sin.

You see, Jehu did a lot of good things as King. He destroyed Baal. That was huge!

And because of that, God gave his sons the throne for four (4) generations.

However, what Jehu did was not enough for God. He wanted Jehu’s whole heart.

You see, Jehu did what was right in God’s sight. But zeal with an undevoted heart is not equal to having a heart after God.

God wants us all to Himself.

Maybe we are saying “,well, I have dedicated my life to Him already, but I’m not as close to Him as I would like. And I feel Him tugging on me to come closer, to spend more time, and let go of even more things. But can I and will I do this? I don’t know if I have it in me.”

It can be hard for our minds to grasp that God, Who is omnipotent, omnipresent and omniscient, wants us closer.

We know we are sinners, saved only by grace. We are always messing up one way or another, constantly trying to just get through each day.

Why would He want all of us, with our faults and shortcomings, when He can have everything else?

If all of creation worships Him, why does He want all of me-too?

Well, the answer is given clearly in His word. He simply does! He wants all of you and all of me to love Him more than anything. Exodus 34:13 (NKJV) He is a jealous God.

Would we commit our whole heart to Him today and live out each day for Him the best we can?

That’s really all He asks, to keep trying and to win this race that is before us, loving Him with our whole heart.

Hebrews 12:1 (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…

Jehu, with all his zeal, got the throne for his sons for four (4) generations. But, wouldn’t we rather hear God say, “well done good and faithful servant.; you loved Me to the end with all of your heart.”?

Deuteronomy 6:5 (NKJV) 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.

What will it be?

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!

To have the Bible Verse of The Day delivered to your inbox each day, please Click Here and then enter your email address in the box near the upper left corner of the page. 

Please consider making a Donation.

Get our mobile app here: 

Android: http://goo.gl/oQ6qa7 

Apple: http://apple.co/2lZdgYy

Tagged with: , , ,

Bible Verse of The Day – 5-3-21

Matthew 15:8-9 (NKJV) 8 ‘These people draw near to Me with their mouth, And honor Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me. 9 And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ ”

Lip service, in any form, is a terrible thing.

Our mouth says one thing, but our heart and our actions do another.

It should be our desire to draw so close to God that we never have to worry about lip service in our walk with Him.

Our heart will know when we are serving God only with our words. Because, in reality, this is not serving God at all. It is merely going through the motions.

Let us push aside all distractions, all idols and all selfish ambition in our effort to know Him more intimately.

We need not depend on our heart to lead us in this. Instead, we need to look directly to Him, leaning solely on His precious Spirit for guidance, discernment and understanding.

We cannot count on our intellect. We can have volumes of knowledge, and yet still not know God.

We cannot rely on others. Yes, others can give us guidance. But this walk with God is ours to carry out and navigate, as we do so “with fear and trembling”.

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 is not meant to be scary or solemn. It is a heartfelt exhortation, written in love, to encourage you to give God 100% of who you are. We are, after all, His creations.

It is Him who breathed life into our lungs and gave our heart the beat that keeps us breathing.

Let us not serve Him only with our lips, but with every fiber of our being, making Him our number one priority until the moment that we take our very last breath.

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!

To have the Bible Verse of The Day delivered to your inbox each day, please Click Here and then enter your email address in the box near the upper left corner of the page. 

Please consider making a Donation.

Get our mobile app here: 

Android: http://goo.gl/oQ6qa7 

Apple: http://apple.co/2lZdgYy

Tagged with: , , ,