We do hope you’ll take a few minutes to watch this and get understanding in this area.
Enjoy your day and be sure to love on those you’re close to.
Sincerely in Christ,
Pastor Curt & Pastor Ellie
Seven Seas Ministries
P.O. Box 272
Bradford, RI 02808
401-315-0902
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Philippians 3:10 (NKJV) 10 that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death…
Many of us, or maybe even most of us, want to know God more intimately than we do now. Some of us only know Him a little. Some of us know Him very well. Either way, though, we long to know Him better.
Personally, I crave to know Him more deeply. It’s a yearning that I feel inside of me. It drives me. It pushes me to go deeper with Him. To work harder to obtain the knowledge and understanding that I need in order to walk more closely with my Father, my Creator, the Giver of life to us all.
And don’t make any mistakes regarding the words “work harder”. I’m not implying that works (good deeds) will draw us closer to God. I’m referring, instead, to making whatever effort is needed to push away the obstacles that would try and hinder me and interfere with me, in order to prevent me from reaching my goal of knowing Him more intimately.
As I write this, I feel the words of Paul resounding within me, as He shared his longing for the very same thing.
Philippians 3:8-11 (NKJV) 8 Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; 10 that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, 11 if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.
I may not have been through the same things as Paul when it comes to paying a price for my faith. But I still feel the same longing within me to “know Him and the power of His resurrection” in my life.
Many of you reading this are likely feeling the same thing. Are you longing to know Him more? Is He calling you to go deeper with Him? Do you feel like there are so very many things that try to hinder you and prevent you from pressing in to Him and building a deeper relationship with Him?
That’s the work I’m referring to! The work that’s required to meet Him in a quiet place and listen for His voice as He speaks to our hearts and nurtures us as only He can do.
He is there, church. He’s in the quiet places, beckoning us, calling us to come away from the noise and the distractions. Reminding us that it’s never too late to start. That today is a new day full of wonder that He wants to be able to share with us, one-on-one.
It’s time, children of God. It’s time to stop putting it off; the work that’s required to cast off those things that hold us down like a ball and chain, preventing us from meeting and communing with Him.
Only we can change it. We have to want it badly enough to do something about it. We have to desire it like nothing else. And we have to be willing to do what it takes to obtain it.
We work so hard for other things that are meaningless compared to eternity. We slave away our hours, days and weeks for material possessions. We trade our hours for dollars day after day.
Now it’s time for us to put that much effort into our walk with God.
Do it. We dare you. And we promise you’ll never, ever be the same again.
Pastor Curt & Pastor Ellie
Seven Seas Ministries
P.O. Box 272
Bradford, RI 02808
401-315-0902
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Proverbs 3:5-6 (NKJV) 5 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.
How close do we want to get to God? Do we want to be really close, so that we know when He is telling us something, and we hear Him clearly? Or do we just want Him around when we are stuck and there is no other choice but to call on Him?
Do we just want to remember Him on Sundays, Christmas and Easter, and have a nice fuzzy and warm feeling during those times?
This is a personal question, between us and God, because whatever we decide will determine how strong our walk and our relationship are with Him.
You see, the more we give up for Him, the more He gives back to us. The more we let Him be in our lives, the closer we will become to Him.
If we make Him a part of our daily walk, our faith in Him will grow. Our communication and sensitivity with Him will become much clearer.
Reading God’s word is what helps us to walk upright each day. And through His words He will lead us personally, as to what to do in whatever circumstances we run into.
Along with reading His word and praying these three steps will help us follow God closely.
Reaching a point where we no longer care about what people think of us. As long as God is pleased with us, that’s all that matters.
We make a decision within ourselves that we will do whatever it takes to do the right thing, even if we mess up while trying. We don’t give up. We repent and try again until we get it right.
Our desires need to change so that we want what God wants for us more than what we want for ourselves.
These steps will help us tremendously in our walk with God. We will notice a closeness and a friendship, and a trust like never before.
Pastor Curt & Pastor Ellie
Seven Seas Ministries
P.O. Box 272
Bradford, RI 02808
401-315-0902
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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.
Most of us want a better relationship with God. We want to know how to strengthen our walk with Him and have that closeness that our spirit longs for. And we want our lives to be fruitful.
So how do we make that happen?
Jesus laid it out for us in the verses above; We need to abide in Him. If we abide in Him, we will bear much fruit.
What does that mean? What do we have to do to abide in Him?
It means that we stay close to Him. It means that we do whatever is necessary to remove the barriers between ourselves and Him, allowing us to draw near to Him. It means that we put Him first in everything, even if it means giving up some things that we like or that mean a lot to us.
Just like raising plants that produce fruit, which takes hard work, so it is with our walk with God. It takes work.
We get out what we put in. If we put only a small effort into it, we will get only a little fruit out of it. But if we give it our all, we will get so much more out of it.
But the key isn’t to focus on what we will get out of it. The key is to build that relationship because we want a closer walk, because we love Him above all else.
And when we get that right, when we get our priorities in order, then we will see things fall into place. And our walk with God will become so strong that nothing can interfere with it. Ever.
Pastor Curt & Pastor Ellie
Seven Seas Ministries
P.O. Box 272
Bradford, RI 02808
401-315-0902
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Revelation 3:16 (NKJV) 16 So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth.
Making sure we are not lukewarm is very important.
Many times we can tell if we’re becoming lukewarm by paying attention to the things we are agreeing or not agreeing with. We need to pay attention to the things we are doing and participating in, whether it’s at work, after hours, maybe in school, or on the weekends.
We need to pay attention to the things we are listening to, watching, looking at, etc. This will show us where we are at in our hearts.
Are we cold, hot or lukewarm? No one else can answer this for us. We are accountable for the positions we take.
If we are walking in a lukewarm position daily or even if we catch ourselves heading in that direction once in awhile, we need to recognize it and see it for what it is. We need to know what God says about it and repent, changing our habits.
When we start making changes in the right direction, we’ll feel that pull from things and people around us. It’ll try to get us to keep on doing what we were doing.
It will make us feel like we are missing out on all the fun, all the so called hip stuff, the in crowd, etc. But don’t fall for it. Simply take a stand and stick to it.
Saying no and walking away is going to be the beginning of better days and a new and brighter future for us.
Pray and ask God to open our eyes and our heart to discern, and to make better choices. Amen.
Pastor Curt & Pastor Ellie
Seven Seas Ministries
P.O. Box 272
Bradford, RI 02808
401-315-0902
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John 10:14-15 (NKJV) 14 I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own. 15 As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep.
The love that Jesus Christ has for us is beyond our comprehension. He laid down His life for us. What a selfless, beautiful love He has for us.
He doesn’t want us to pull away from Him just because we are not perfect or because we can’t seem to get it right at times. He knows our struggles and the weaknesses we have in certain areas.
He doesn’t look at where we have been or the things we have been involved in. He wants our heart and for us to love Him back.
Are we in bondage today? Are we a slave to unrighteous living?
Take a step toward God. His arms are open to us and He wants us to come home to Him. He wants to set us free from the bondage that holds us back from the beautiful relationship He has for us.
He loved us first, just as we are!
1 John 4:19 (NKJV) 19 We love Him because He first loved us.
Come home. Papa loves us more than we could ever imagine.
Pastor Curt & Pastor Ellie
Seven Seas Ministries
P.O. Box 272
Bradford, RI 02808
401-315-0902
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Jeremiah 33:3 (NKJV) 3 ‘Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.’
God wants to show us things.
He doesn’t want to show us ordinary, everyday things. He wants to show us great and mighty things!!
Most of us would like to see great and mighty things, but most of us will also readily admit that we don’t see them. Most times we don’t even see little, common things.
Why?
Because most of us aren’t ready for great and mighty things. And this applies to people from pastors and church staff, right down to people who have just gotten saved a minute ago.
In order for us to see great and mighty things, God has to prepare us to be able to handle those things. We have to be spiritually ready for them… mature enough to grasp them and then do whatever it is God asks us to do with them.
The cool part is that every one of us can handle those things if we let God get ahold of us, touching and changing our hearts. Then we can handle whatever God sends our way and do whatever it is we’re supposed to do with it.
So if we’re asking God to show us great and mighty things, but we’re not seeing them, it’s not that God doesn’t want to show them to us. It’s more a matter of spending the time and doing the work necessary to prepare ourselves for them.
So we need to press in to Him and strengthen our walk with Him. If we do this, we can’t help but mature as a believer. And when we do, prepare to be amazed at what He begins showing us!
Pastor Curt & Pastor Ellie
Seven Seas Ministries
P.O. Box 272
Bradford, RI 02808
401-315-0902
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Hebrews 11:6 (NKJV) 6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
God is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
Do we want God’s favor in our lives? Do we want His blessings? Do we want His approval? Do we want Him to be pleased with us?
I think every single one of us can say yes to all of those questions.
So how do we go about doing this?
We need to seek Him diligently!
Diligent: Done with steady, earnest, energetic effort.
So we need to seek God energetically. We can’t seek Him half-heartedly!
We need to seek Him steadily. We can’t just seek Him a day here and a day there!
We need to seek Him earnestly. We have to be intent and deliberate in seeking Him!
All of these things add up to a healthy pursuit of and relationship with God. If we will make this kind of effort, He will give the increase, and our relationship with Him will grow exponentially.
And as our relationship with Him grows, so will our faith.
So if we’re feeling like we’re lacking and we want God to reward us, we need to push those things aside that try to keep us from Him. And then we need to earnestly, diligently seek Him.
Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.
Pastor Curt & Pastor Ellie
Seven Seas Ministries
P.O. Box 272
Bradford, RI 02808
401-315-0902
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Romans 8:38-39 (NKJV) 38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
There are so many things that can try to keep us from our Creator.
Distractions, troubles, trials, other people and even our own stubbornness can pull us away from Him, if we let them.
The key to staying close to Him is to be adamant about not letting anyone or anything come between us. Ultimately, we decide what direction our relationship with Him goes.
That sounds like a pretty hefty order, to keep distractions out of our way and prevent them from separating us from God. But, if we take a stand and staunchly defend that relationship, there is nothing that can defeat us in our quest to press in and stay close to God.
So, today, whether you’re facing a trial in your life, you’ve got people pulling on you and trying to sway you, or if you’ve somehow let yourself grow cold, don’t give in!
Push forward, determine in your heart that nothing will come between you and God, and resist the devil in his attempts to derail your eternal destiny.
You Will Win This Battle!
Pastor Curt & Pastor Ellie
Seven Seas Ministries
P.O. Box 272
Bradford, RI 02808
401-315-0902
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Philippians 3:10 (NKJV) 10 that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection…
That I may know Him.
What an awesome way to live life, endeavoring to know Him more deeply, more closely, more intimately.
Because when everything is said and done and our life is over, this is all that will matter, whether we knew Him or not.
If we know Him, our heart’s desire should be to know Him as fully and completely as possible. He is our source of life and everything that is good in life.
And if we know Him well, so many other things in our lives will reflect that, so that when we have lived our life and we are gone, we will have left a legacy of so much more than just being a nice person.
We will have left “little pieces of Jesus” all along the way. And when people remember us or think of us, they will also think of God.
And don’t take this as only a “when you’re gone” message. This applies to us each and every day, even while we’re still here. As we walk through this life, people should see us and see God in us.
And if people think of us or happen to have a conversation about us, let’s give them something good to think about or talk about!
Pastor Curt & Pastor Ellie
Seven Seas Ministries
P.O. Box 272
Bradford, RI 02808
401-315-0902
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Jeremiah 29:12 (NKJV) 12 Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.
One of the questions we get asked a lot is “how do we grow our relationship with God. How do we get closer to Him?”.
The way we get close to God is by spending time with Him, through prayer.
How do we get closer to our children, our spouse, our friends or any relationship we want to have?
We spend time with them. We talk and we share things with each other. That’s the same way we grow our relationship with God.
I was talking the other day to a couple of kids ages 6 & 7. We got on the subject of prayer. I asked them if they’ve been talking to God lately? To my surprise they said, yes and one of the little boys began to elaborate.
He said “I talk to God when my Mommy, Daddy, and sister aren’t in the room”. I said “that’s great!”. I asked him, does God talk back to you? He said, “sometimes”.
I asked him “what do you talk about?”. He said “you know, boy stuff, like building things and stuff like that (he loves Legos).
It encouraged me to hear him talk like this, because he was very matter of fact about it. He says, “I don’t pray. I just talk like I’m talking to you”.
And that is what prayer is all about; two-way communication. We can all talk to God about anything that we want. And it doesn’t necessarily have to be done in any particular way.
Just talk to Him. He will listen. It’s when we don’t talk to Him or we stop talking to Him that we begin to have trouble with our relationship.
We have to keep the communication going. What happens in any relationship when there is no communication or very little? It grows apart.
If you want to grow your relationship with God, spend some time and talk with Him.
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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