Month: January 2023

Bible Verse of The Day – 1-20-23

2 Corinthians 5:14-15 (NKJV) 14 For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died; 15 and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.

These two verses are sobering, to say the least.

Let’s take a look at them, so we’re sure to fully understand and apply them personally.

What does it mean in verse 14, when it says that the love of Christ compels us?

The love of Christ is what motivates us. It is (or should be) what causes us to do everything that we do.

Compel: to cause someone to do something.

Knowing Christ’s love for us should cause (compel) us to make choices that bring glory and honor to God. Our decisions should not be selfish or self-motivated.

Why should it compel us?

Because Christ died for us. And in return, we should all die to ourselves, leaving our old lives behind.

This is our reasonable service, as mentioned in Romans 12:1.

Romans 12:1 (NKJV) 12 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.

Verse 15 then goes on to tell us that Christ died for all. And because He died for all, those who live (in Him) should no longer live for themselves, but for Him, who rose again.

So, if we are His, if we have put our faith in Him, we no longer belong to ourselves. We are His.

And our lives should reflect this in everything we do.

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 – 1-19-23

Mark 4:39 (NKJV) 39 Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace, be still!” And the wind ceased and there was a great calm.

These 3 words changed the outcome of the storm.

What we say and do when we face a storm will determine our outcome.

Jesus rebuked the wind and spoke to the sea. The wind ceased and the sea was calm.

Jesus knew what to do and what to say in that moment. He spoke the words necessary for the moment, and the storm ceased.

Will we remain calm enough in the midst of a storm to hear God and apply His Words to our situation?

When we have faith in God and we trust Him no matter what rises up around us, it is powerful! There is no storm, no change in our situation, no problem too big for us to face with Him in the boat with us.

If we are facing a sudden, unexpected change in our situation, or if a heavy storm has hit, remember the 3 words Jesus spoke; Peace, be still!

Have faith and trust God to bring the calm. 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 – 1-18-23

Exodus 28:5-6 (NKJV) 5 “They shall take the gold, blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and the fine linen, 6 and they shall make the ephod of gold, blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and fine woven linen, artistically worked.

Over the years, I have gone through the Bible in its entirety many times. And no matter how many times I have done this, there are specific sections of some books that aren’t easy to read; they don’t hold my attention due to the subject matter being discussed.

But as I was making my way through Leviticus recently, which is one of those books with lots of things that haven’t held my attention in the past, I noticed something that changed my thinking.

If you look at the verse above, you will notice that there are many details being given to Moses regarding the clothing that was to be made for the priests to wear.

These verses are specific to the ephod, a sacred garment to be worn by the priests.

Verses 5-6, above, are just a small piece of the detailed instructions that God gave Moses regarding this one item. His instructions actually continued through verse 14.

So, what does this mean to us? After all, we don’t wear an ephod. And why did verses like this one change my thinking?

What caught my attention is the fact that God pays attention to even the littlest of details.

He is not random when He does something. It all matters.

Now, we may not always understand why He does something the way he does, or why He requires us to do something a certain way. But He has His reasons.

This should comfort us, knowing that God doesn’t operate randomly, but with a purpose in all He does.

His detailed nature can be seen in His creation.

Planets rotate on a specific axis. Orbits are specific in their timing. Distances between planets are for a purpose. Seasons last a specific amount of time, etc.

We may not know or understand all those purposes, but that doesn’t make them any less important.

So, if you’ve ever felt like nothing matters, that everything is just random and without purpose, let this be a reminder that God has a purpose for everything.

And in that purpose, there is stability and goodness.

He is faithful in everything. 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 – 1-17-23

Psalm 59:17 (NKJV) 17 To You, O my Strength, I will sing praises; For God is my defense, My God of mercy.

Reflecting back on this past year, we can see all the changes we’ve endured. We would have never been able to do it without God.

And you were a part of it, because God used you to help bring us through.

Thank you all; for your support and for your prayers.

He was there with us every step, and we wouldn’t want it any other way.

Time goes by so fast, and the older we get the faster it seems to go.

We admit that we enjoy the nice weather here in North Carolina, where God moved us to. We try to get out and do things to take advantage of it.

Hard work is good when you are doing it for the Lord. And if we keep our hearts right, we will stay balanced; time to work and time to enjoy our blessings.

God is faithful to help us each day.

Going into this new year, let us hold fast to His love He has shown us. Let us take in His beauty all around us and draw close to Him.

Let this be the year or the season we acknowledge Him and put Him before anyone or anything else.

Let us purpose in our hearts to spend more time in His word. Spend more time in prayer. Love on those He has brought onto our path. And be grateful for what we have right now.

Let us go into this new year with praises on our lips and lifting Him up. He deserves it. 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 – 1-16-23

2 Timothy 4:2 (NKJV) 2 Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching.

As followers of Christ, it should be fairly common that we pour out what’s in us to help others.

An example of this might be us sharing words of hope or encouragement with someone we meet. Many times, it will be with total strangers.

Or it might be knowing just what to say to someone who needs to hear from God, even if they don’t necessarily know God.

We are God’s light here on earth. And we are to shine that light on others as God gives the opportunity.

Matthew 5:14-16 (NKJV) 14 “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.

This requires a certain level of preparedness on our part. It can be likened to being a vessel that gets poured out as we walk the path that God has placed us on.

So, it’s important that we (the vessels) have what is needed in us so that we are able to pour it out when it’s required.

Empty vessels are not useful. We need to be sure we are full.

What are we to be full of? God’s word, And His wisdom, which comes by His Spirit.

We need to be studied up when it comes to His word. It needs to be in us, so we are full, just as a reservoir is full of water that can be drawn from upon demand.

We need to allow the Holy Spirit to lead us, to do what needs to be done and say what needs to be said at the right time.

This isn’t something that we learn to do overnight. It comes as we draw closer to Him and learn to follow His leading.

But He is faithful to teach us. We just need to be willing to do our part.

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 – 1-15-23 – The Words We Choose

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

We hope you’re moving forward into 2023 with your hand tightly in God’s hand, letting Him guide every step you take! 

We have another new video for you today, “The Words We Choose”. 

This video is a bit different than most. And it’s something we felt strongly that we needed to share. 

In this video, we teach about the words we choose to speak, and how God has called us to be holy in every aspect of our lives. 

We hope you’ll take a few minutes and watch it. 

Please click here to watch the video now.

We love you all. 

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 – 1-14-23

Matthew 6:33 (NKJV) 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness…

This verse is one that applies to so many areas of our walk with God. It states very plainly the most foundational principle for building a sound relationship with Him; put Him first.

With that said, there are many things that will vie for our time and attention, attempting to replace our love for God as our highest priority.

And I dare say that some of these are labeled as Christian ideals.

Sadly, a percentage of leaders and teachers in the body of Christ resort to sales-like tactics to promote their latest ideas in an effort to make them catchy or appealing.

This isn’t necessarily done to sell us a product, but to motivate people to jump onboard with them and ride the wave, so to speak, which helps make them more popular and allows them to reach more people.

And this is done in the name of building a bigger following.

While these things are wrapped in “Christianese”, it doesn’t make them God-derived.

On the contrary, they are typically figments of the person’s imagination.

We call these “shiny objects”.

We give them that name because they are presented in a way that tries to grab our attention and get us to follow along, thinking that we’re doing something that will build our walk with God.

More often than not, these are just fads that pass away rather quickly, leaving the believer looking for the next shiny object; the next wave to ride.

Beware of the shiny object syndrome. It has permeated much of the church.

It can be found in books. It can be found in “Christian” teaching videos. And it can be found in church services, all lurking amidst the flock under the guise of the newest “word from God” or the latest “thing that God is doing”.

Stick to God like glue. Immerse yourself in His word.

Look to Him for your inspiration. Let the Holy Spirit guide you. Test the spirits always! Your eternal destiny literally depends on it.

1 John 4:1 (NKJV) 1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.

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 – 1-13-23

Acts 9:1-2 (NKJV) 1 Then Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest 2 and asked letters from him to the synagogues of Damascus, so that if he found any who were of the Way, whether men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.

Saul was zealous for God.

His zeal, however, had gone terribly wrong. His anger toward “people of the Way” was driving him to have them rounded up and brutally persecuted, including the deaths of some believers.

But God had a plan for Saul, and He was about to begin the execution of that plan as Saul made his way to Damascus.

As most of you probably already know, Saul encountered a sudden light that “shone around him from heaven”.

Saul fell to the ground, and as he did so, he heard Jesus speaking to him, addressing his persecution of believers.

Saul asked who this was that he could hear but not see.

Jesus went on to answer him, and when Saul realized that this was the very person whose disciples and followers he was persecuting, he had a sudden change of heart.

His tone and his attitude suddenly changed. And Saul asked, “Lord, what do You want me to do?”.

In the span of a few moments, Saul had gone from an enraged persecutor of Christians to a broken man, asking Jesus what He wanted him to do.

This is one of the most amazing and most rapid transformations of a man’s heart in the entirety of God’s word.

And here’s the best part of this whole thing; what God did for and with Saul, He can do for anyone.

God’s transforming power can change the heart of any man or woman who submits to Him and seeks His forgiveness.

God has seen it all. He has heard it all. Your sin isn’t too big for Him to forgive.

Go to Him. Repent; turn away from your sins. Ask Him to forgive you. Recognize and embrace Jesus as God’s son and your Savior. And let God show you the way forward.

And He will do for you what He did for Saul.

It’s never too late. And today is the day for you.

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 – 1-12-23

Acts 9:10 (NKJV) 10 Now there was a certain disciple at Damascus named Ananias; and to him the Lord said in a vision, “Ananias.” And he said, “Here I am, Lord.”

Ananias was chosen by God to go and see Saul of Tarsus.

Saul had brought much harm and suffering to God’s people in Jerusalem, and the word had spread about him. So, Ananias was very much aware of Saul.

He was reluctant about what God had asked him to do, but he knew he must go.

Wow! This says a lot about Ananias.

Sometimes God will ask us to do things and we may feel the same way Ananias did. We may even ask God, “are You sure about this?”.

Can you imagine Ananias and what he was going through?

If it was me, I’d be like, “You want me to go where and do what? But he has a bad reputation? Are You sure?”.

Well, God reassured Ananias that it was OK for him to go, that Saul was a chosen vessel of His and all would be fine.

He will do the same for us if we have any concerns about some things that we are chosen to do.

Because God had reassured him, Ananias obeyed God and followed through.

Acts 9:15 (NKJV) 15 But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel.

How about us?

Will we say, “here I am Lord,” and then follow through when He impresses on our hearts to do something a bit uncomfortable?

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 – 1-11-23

Micah 6:8 (NKJV) 8 He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God?

In the chapters and verses leading up to the verse above, Micah was issuing a long list of prophecies and warnings to Israel for their unfaithfulness to God.

He listed their transgressions. He spoke firmly to them as a means of chastising them and humbling them.

And then, in verses 6:1 through 6:7, he engaged in a series of rhetorical questions, as though speaking for the people of Israel.

The summation of the questions he asked revolved around how the Israelites could redeem themselves before God and make up for their unfaithfulness.

In those verses there were many things listed that might seem to make sense to someone looking at this from a natural or a carnal point of view.

Again, we need to remember that Micah knew the answer(s) to his rhetorical questions. But he wanted to spell this out so the Israelites could easily understand it and be convicted in their hearts.

And then, in verse 8, he laid it all out for them to see the truth about what was really required of them.

Let’s paraphrase it.

He said, People of Israel, He (God) has shown you what is right and what is good.

But let me remind you what the Lord requires of you!

He requires that you live justly (rightly, properly, righteously), doing what you know is right and true.

He wants you to love mercy (lovingkindness, compassion, grace, forgiveness), and walk in such things each day.

And, finally, walk humbly before your God.

You see, God just wanted them to walk these things out in a sincere way that showed that they did so because it was what was in their hearts, wanting to please Him, not because they rigidly tried to follow a set of rules simply by rote.

And the same applies to you and me. God wants our whole hearts. He wants us to live for Him because it’s what is in our hearts; something that we desire because we love Him, not simply because we feel guilty if we don’t do it.

You may ask, “how can I get there? How can I reach that point in my relationship and my walk with God?”.

And to that we simply answer with the words of Jeremiah.

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!

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Bible Verse of The Day – 1-10-23

2 Timothy 4:2 (NKJV) 2 Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching.

Few are willing to tell us that being a believer is not always an easy road.

As believers, it takes sincerity of heart for a person to really change when God begins putting His finger on things in our lives.

It takes trust. Trusting God to help us make the sacrifices needed and righteous choices in the most difficult times.

It takes being ready at all times.

Just a month ago, we went to a church event/gathering. It was an outreach for the community.

In this event, which was held by a well-established church, there was barely a mention of God. And the music that was played at this outdoor event through a DJ was all secular.

We are not judging them by any means. We are sure they do a lot of good things.

What kept going through my mind at the time was, what about the one? The one person who may need to hear about God’s love and His offer of forgiveness through Christ.

There was an open door to reach the lost, and yet there was little or no mention of God; no lifting Him up.

What if that one person was at that point of breaking, and they needed to hear about God’s love?

What is going on?

Jesus said, “if I am lifted up, I will draw all men unto Me”.

John 12:32 (NKJV) 32 And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself.”

My prayer today is that the church will get back to its foundation, the reason why we are here; so that as we lift Him up, and His presence is with us, those around us may be drawn to Him.

My prayer is that we don’t stop spreading the good news! That we keep reaching out, sharing God’s truth. And that at every opportunity, we will lift up the name of God and His beautiful Son, Jesus Christ!

God help us stay focused and not get distracted and miss the one.

Pastor Curt & Pastor Ellie

Seven Seas Ministries
49 N Lamplighters Walk
Hampstead, NC 28443

401-439-3780

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