Category: Finances

Your Daily Bible Verse – 2-6-12

(Mark 12:41-44 NKJV)  Now Jesus sat opposite the treasury and saw how the people put money into the treasury. And many who were rich put in much. {42} Then one poor widow came and threw in two mites, which make a quadrans. {43} So He called His disciples to Himself and said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all those who have given to the treasury; {44} “for they all put in out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all that she had, her whole livelihood.”

We very often have people ask us how they can give of their finances when it seems that they don’t have anything to give.

Most times this is related to a situation where the person has very little because they have been through a hardship or tough financial situation. Most often, people say that they can’t afford to give.

Speaking from a Biblical perspective, we can’t afford not to give.

Giving is the key to receiving. This is a Biblical truth. Fruit can only come when seeds are sown. Whatever we sow, we will reap. If we don’t give, we can’t expect to receive. If we sow a little, we will reap a little.

How our giving is perceived is based on our abundance, or lack of it. If we have been financially blessed, we need to sow big seeds. If we are in a tough time, we will sow smaller seeds. But the key is that we still need to be sowing.

Giving out of our need is the biggest sacrifice we can make. Jesus drew attention to this when the widow gave a small amount because it’s a truth that needed to be made known. What she gave might have been small compared to what the rich men gave. But what she gave was huge for her in light of her situation.

So if you’re struggling with your finances today, don’t ask God how you can afford to give. Ask Him how much you need to give.

Trust Him in this.

Pastor Curt & Pastor Ellie

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

401-377-5400

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Your Daily Bible Verse – 1-18-12

(Mat 25:29 NKJV)  ‘For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away.

This is a hard teaching because at first glance it might seem like God’s word is saying that the rich will get richer and the poor will get poorer. The truth is quite different, though, so let’s take a look at this for a few minutes.

In this verse, Jesus is teaching in a parable. He tells about some people who were given money to take care of and told by the owner of it to handle it wisely.

Those who handled it correctly invested it wisely and the money increased, but the one who handled it poorly did nothing with it and there was no increase. In fact, he buried it in the ground!

When the owner of the money returned, he was happy with the results from those who handled it wisely, and understandably disappointed with the one who buried it in the ground. Those who were wise were rewarded with abundance, whereas the one who handled it foolishly was rejected and cast away from the others.

This can be taught from a spiritual point of view or a literal point of view, dealing specifically with finances. Today we’ll talk about finances.

Are we handling the finances, and the resources that God has blessed us with, correctly? Are we seeking God’s wisdom and counsel as to how to handle our money and other resources, or are we making all our own decisions and figuratively burying it in the ground?

What we have is not our own. It has been handed to us to be stewards of, to take care of and make it grow. How we handle it is 100% up to us and how we are rewarded (or not rewarded) is based on how well we handle these things.

We need to ask God if we’re handling His resources properly and wisely. He will be truthful to show us. We just need to be diligent and listen.

Pastor Curt & Pastor Ellie

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

401-377-5400

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Your Daily Bible Verse – 1-7-12

(1 Ki 17:14-16 NKJV)  “For thus says the LORD God of Israel: ‘The bin of flour shall not be used up, nor shall the jar of oil run dry, until the day the LORD sends rain on the earth.'” {15} So she went away and did according to the word of Elijah; and she and he and her household ate for many days. {16} The bin of flour was not used up, nor did the jar of oil run dry, according to the word of the LORD which He spoke by Elijah.

Elijah was told by God to find a specific woman; a widow with a son. She was gathering sticks to build a fire, cook a small meal for herself and her son and then die, as the meal she was preparing was all they had.

Elijah asked her for a drink of water and a meal to eat. The woman explained to him that she was about to eat her last meal and then die.

Elijah was a man of great faith and assured the woman that if she would do as he had asked, God would supply her needs and she would not die.

As Elijah had promised, she fed him and the oil in her jar never dried up. Her flour never ran out. They ate without lack until the famine was over.

Let this woman be an example to all of us. She didn’t give out of her abundance. She gave out of her lack and her need.

We get asked a lot of questions about giving and tithing. Let me state emphatically that tithing is a necessity. Giving to God before we give to anyone or anything else is critical to our financial well-being. We have many people tell us that they don’t know if they can afford to tithe. We always respond and tell people that they can’t afford not to tithe.

Giving is necessary if we ever expect to receive. If we don’t sow, we will never reap a harvest. If we’re lacking, we have probably not been giving.

As we shared previously, we have been in situations where we were lacking and our finances were falling apart. We got there because we were not putting God first in our finances. When we changed this, He brought changes to our lives and breathed new life into our financial situation.

Show God that you trust Him. Give Him what he asks for and stand firm on it, committing to do it no matter what comes your way. You will never regret it.

Pastor Curt & Pastor Ellie

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

401-377-5400

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Your Daily Bible Verse – 1-5-12

(Gen 39:23 NKJV)  The keeper of the prison did not look into anything that was under Joseph’s authority, because the LORD was with him; and whatever he did, the LORD made it prosper.

Joseph was a prisoner in jail, but the keeper did not pay to much attention to what Joseph did because the things he put his hands to, prospered. Why? Because God was with him!

You say, God was with him even in prison? Oh yes! He goes with us, He stays with us, no matter where we go. You see we can be in a place that we dislike or a position that is not what we prefer and He can still bring good out of it. Why? Because God is with us even in an awful place, an awful situation, even in situations that we don’t even deserve.

As we trust in God and lean on Him, He will prosper those things we touch. It doesn’t matter where we are at as long as we remain in Him, close to Him, and obeying Him.
So be encouraged today! You may be in the worst place ever, just like Joseph. But God was with him and the things he touched prospered. You too will prosper.

Don’t give up, and be sure keep your attitude right. Keep working hard and don’t look at your neighbor to see what he or she is doing and getting away with; that’s not our concern. Our concern is to keep being positive and looking to God for the victory! It will come…

Keep our eyes on Christ, no matter what it looks like around us!!

Pastor Curt & Pastor Ellie

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

401-377-5400

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Your Daily Bible Verse – 1-2-12

(Mal 3:10-12 NKJV)  Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, That there may be food in My house, And try Me now in this,” Says the LORD of hosts, “If I will not open for you the windows of heaven And pour out for you such blessing That there will not be room enough to receive it. {11} “And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, So that he will not destroy the fruit of your ground, Nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit for you in the field,” Says the LORD of hosts; {12} “And all nations will call you blessed, For you will be a delightful land,” Says the LORD of hosts.

One Sunday morning about 13 years ago we were attending a church service. The pastor there was speaking about Abraham and how he had entered into a covenant with God, and how he was blessed because of that covenant.

It was very clear to both of us that day that God was speaking to us loud and clear about what we needed to do to get FREE from the situation we were in!

At that time in our life, my husband was laid off from a job he worked for 13yrs and was going to school. I was working a full week and all day Saturday and it still left bills unpaid. We had two children to feed and clothe. We were up to our eyeballs in debt and the bill collectors were calling our home constantly. Things were a mess! We were tired and stressed and didn’t know what to do. Can you relate?

After lunch that day, my husband and I got out every bill we had and laid them out on our bed. It was a mountain for sure! We prayed over this mountain of bills and repented to God for the wrong we had done, for this was our mess. We had made many bad decisions that had gotten us to where we were.

We made a covenant with God, that from that day forward we would give to Him first what was His. No matter how much we had, He would get His first and then we would use the rest for our needs.

The very next day my husband felt like he needed to make some phone calls to places where we had overdue balances. The first place we called was a doctor’s office, to see what kind of arrangements we could make to take care of what we owed them. To his surprise the receptionist  told him not to worry about it. They just wiped our bill clean; we had a ZERO balance! The next call,  same kind of response, no balance!

This went on to the third call that day… he couldn’t believe it!! But deep down we knew, God went before us and was cleaning house! It was the covenant we made with Him. From that day, forward, no matter what our situation looked like, we would give to Him first.

God took our situation and completely turned it around, over time. Not all of it was that easy. There still were some tough days ahead, and we had to stay disciplined, but we knew we were heading in the right direction. God was with us and fighting for us; we were no longer alone. The covenant that we made with God to faithfully give our tithe gave us protection.

You see, it was God’s knowledge that day that we listened to and acted upon! God honored that and He was right there to reward us for doing the right thing. If you are struggling in any area of your life,  break that curse that is over you today…get out from under it.

You say “how do I do that?” Take a step of obedience; give to God and get under God’s covering by being obedient to Him.

Take time to pray as to where to sow your tithe. Make sure it is in good Ground. I believe this year is going to be a BIG year as we are faithful to obey!!

God bless you.

Pastor Curt & Pastor Ellie

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

401-377-5400

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Your Daily Bible Verse – 12-21-11

(2 Cor 9:6-7 NKJV)  But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. {7} So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.

I believe that as we give back to God a tenth of what He gives us, we will be blessed! I believe if we go beyond that and give more and do it with a good heart, we will see the things change in our situation.

Sometimes it’s hard to start giving if you have never been taught that this is important and is a key to getting out of debt, getting a job, or just changing your situation wherever you need change. When you sow into God and the work He is doing, you will be blessed.

Some of us are struggling today, even though we might be making good money, because it just goes to bills and other things. It goes as quick as it comes in. Well, God has away of teaching us the importance of sowing and reaping in this verse. It is one of the key things to getting out from under that feeling of never having enough and never catching up.

It’s so important to know where to sow your seed. Take for instance when you invest money in stocks; you are not going to invest in something that is not good. You do a search and you check it out and if you see its fruit, or you see it’s doing well then you invest because you know that you will see a return.

When you invest your seed where God wants you to, get ready. You will see Victory over your situation!

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!

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