Category: Giving

Bible Verse of The Day – 5-21-18

Mark 12:41-43 (NKJV) 41 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…

The woman in the verses above gave out of her poverty. She gave out of her need, her lack. She could have used those coins to pay for something to sustain her in the natural.

Are we feeling poor and broke today? How many of us think that when things get tough we have to pull back, reduce or stop our giving?

Maybe we owe back taxes or we have debt up to our eyeballs. Maybe we are on the verge of losing everything. Our business may be in the red. Maybe our home is in need of repairs or our car is falling apart. It doesn’t matter what state we are in.

Mark 12:44 (NKJV) 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.”

If we have something to give, we need to sow that seed today!

It doesn’t matter how big or small it is. Get rid of it and put it in a place where it will grow, where it will come back to you good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over!

God has a place for your seed to be sown today. Ask Him where to put that seed and He will guide you. When you obey, just like this woman did, He will see your heart condition and your faith in Him and He will help you through your time of trial. He is our Provider.

Luke 6:38 (NKJV) 38 Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.”

Pastor Curt & Pastor Ellie

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

401-315-0902

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Bible Verse of The Day – 7-1-17

Mark 12:44 (NKJV) 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.”

The Lord takes our giving seriously. He pays attention to what we give and how we give it.

It may be hard at times to give. Maybe we are going through a trial or a very lean time in our life. Because of this we are afraid to take from what we feel needs to be used to pay for other things that are much needed.

The woman in the verse above was in poverty and yet she gave her livelihood. Jesus noticed it. He knows where we are at in our situation. And He knows that, just like this woman, if we step out and do what is right and give, He will take care of those things that we are concerned about as we follow His steps and His leading.

Luke 6:38 (NKJV) 38 Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.”

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.

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Bible Verse of The Day – 3-27-17

2 Corinthians 9:7 (NKJV) 7 So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.

What is the key in giving? That we give cheerfully.

We give of our time, we give of our money, we give love and we give encouragement, etc.

We share God’s truth through our words and mostly through our actions. This is all part of giving.

Giving is the right thing to do.

Christ gave His life for me and for you. He gave to us the most precious gift anyone could ever give to us. He gave us eternal life. That means we live forever.

Oh what a JOY!

Make giving a priority in our lives. Ask God to show us where, when and what to give. He is faithful to take care of us as we sow these seeds of cheerful giving!

Luke 6:38 (NKJV) 38 Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.”

God bless you!!

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.

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Bible Verse of The Day – 12-2-16

Luke 6:38 (NKJV) 38 Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.”

Is there someone that God has laid upon our hearts today to reach out to and give to? Maybe it’s just praying for them. Maybe it’s calling them up and checking on them. Maybe it’s buying them groceries, or sending them a card. There are all kinds of ways of giving.

One day our doorbell rang. We went to answer it and there was someone we knew standing there with a freshly baked, hot pizza. They said to us “we thought you might like this today”.

Oh boy, did we ever! We thanked them and brought it into the house. We sat down and gave God thanks. What a blessing it was. It was delicious!

When God gives us manna, TAKE it! When God gives us an opportunity to bless someone TAKE ii!

That person listened to God and blessed us. They will truly receive in the same measure that they blessed us with.

Are we being givers today? This is one of the questions we don’t like to ask ourselves sometimes because we may not like the answer. But we need to check ourselves.

We can get so caught up in busyness or taking care of ourselves that we miss out on an opportunity to be a blessing to someone.

Today, as we begin our day, we need to tell ourselves that we are going to be a giver. We are going to keep our eyes, ears and heart open to God and let Him lead us in this. Amen.

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.

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Bible Verse of The Day – 11-10-16

Matthew 19:21 (NKJV) 21 Jesus said to him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”

Why did Jesus bring this up to the man that had great possessions? Because the man asked Jesus, “what do I lack?” (Matthew 19:20) You ask Jesus a question, He will give you the answer. After Jesus gave him His answer, the man walked away sorrowful.

Why? Because he lacked in his faith in the area of giving. Even though he had so many possessions, he wasn’t willing to give or obey in this area.

This man could sit there and say with confidence, he didn’t murder, he didn’t commit adultery, he didn’t steal, he didn’t bear false witness, he honored his parents, and he loved his neighbor (Matthew 19:18-19).

But when Jesus brought to his attention the very thing that he lacked, that very thing that would help him as well, what did the man do?  It says he turned away sorrowful (Matthew 19:22).

Some people just simply struggle with giving. They are willing to do everything else, but when it comes down to giving their MONEY or possessions, they simply will not let go.

Jesus does not want anything to have a hold on us. If we struggle with this today we need to make a statement and do the opposite; we need to give!

You see faith and works go together. If we say we have faith but will not step out in it and take action, where is faith in that?

James 2:20 (NKJV) 20 But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead?

Today we believe God is speaking to some who struggle in this. You truly have a hard time in letting go and giving of your money or your possessions.

It doesn’t have to be this way. We don’t have to walk away sorrowful like this man did. That is just an example of what not to do.

We can do the right thing and obey, just as Jesus asked this man to do. Don’t make excuses. They won’t help us.

Follow Christ, the author and finisher of our faith, by stepping out and taking action.

Hebrews 12:2 (NKJV) 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.

Give.

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.

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Bible Verse of The Day – 5-9-16

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.

We’d like to share a little story with you that came from one of our longtime readers, friends and supporters..

So many times, when someone comes to us with financial trouble, our first instinct is to give to them, in order to get them through their trouble. But we have learned that this is not always the answer.

We’ve learned over the years that, many times, the best way to help them for the long term is to teach them to give out of their need. As they give, this teaches them how to trust God with their finances and sets them on a path of lifelong provision.

So, here is the AWESOME testimony from that couple who was in this very situation several years ago:

“Our first question my husband and I had was, “do we tithe on the gross income or what we take home?” And Pastor Curt’s reply to us was, it can be either, whatever we feel God wants us to do. We decided it will be whatever comes into the house.

So we started giving 10% of all money that came into our house to Seven Seas Ministries. It wasn’t much at first, but we stuck with it.

I remember that first end of the year statement we got. It may not have been much, but I felt so wonderful that we stuck to it and were able to help someone else.

We always seemed to have just enough money to tithe and get by. Slowly, my husband would get a raise or have a bunch of overtime, and I would get a raise or a better paying job. As we got more, we gave more.

A few years ago, Pastors Curt and Ellie directed my husband and me to make a “wish list”, a list of the things that we would like for God to do in our lives.

I remember a few things on that list. To have my A/C in my car fixed (or a new car), my husband added a flat screen TV and a new recliner (his recliner was a hand me down from his dad) and I put….”to be able to give abundantly”.

About 4 years ago we got our flat screen!! Last year I got a job 10 minutes from home that paid well; this enabled us to get a new (fuel efficient) car. Last Christmas I was able to buy a new recliner for my husband. And the best part is that when I did our taxes this year, I tallied up the tithing and all of our various donations throughout the year and it showed that we gave ABUNDANTLY!

I cannot put into words, the feeling that we get from not only being able to give out of obedience to God, but to know that we are helping so many others that are now where we once were. “In God We Trust!!””

If you are struggling with your finances, we encourage you, today, to take a step of faith and follow the example of this couple. As their testimony said, they started out small, and God helped them grow to be able to “give abundantly”!

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.

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Bible Verse of The Day – 1-25-16

Luke 21:4 (NKJV) 4 for all these out of their abundance have put in offerings for God, but she out of her poverty put in all the livelihood that she had.”

Looking back many, many years, to when we first started to tithe and give of our offerings, we were in a position just like this woman; Broke, and in debt.

We heard a message about “Entering into a Covenant with God” being taught that day, and we KNEW God was speaking to our hearts.

We really didn’t question the financial position we were in. We just knew we had to take this step if we ever were to get out of our situation.

On our ride home that day we were silent. It was a humbling kind of silence. We had made a decision in our hearts and decided that no matter what, we would make a covenant with God and give to Him first.

We gave out of our poverty and our need.

Things did start to change for us. We had to work hard and it didn’t happen overnight. But God was faithful to His word and His promises.

If God is speaking to your heart to give, don’t wait until everything is just so. Start when you feel the prompting. Be prayerful. He will guide your steps.

God takes note when we give to Him and trust that He will take care of our needs.

Luke 21:3 (NKJV) 3 So He said, “Truly I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all;

It was not the amount, but the commitment and sacrifice.

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.

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Bible Verse of The Day – 12-30-15

Luke 6:38 (NKJV) 38 Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.”

We had someone write in to us one day, asking us to pray that their financial situation would change, so that they would be able to give.

On another occasion, we had a person tell us that what they really wanted from God was to be able to give abundantly.

In our own lives, understanding the power that lies within giving was one of the major things that helped us to come out of a huge financial situation many years ago.

After listening to a teaching on giving one day, we realized we were in the mess we were in, not because of anyone else’s fault, but our own. We needed to obey God and His word, even in our giving.

If we don’t obey God’s word we cannot expect to receive His promises. So, that day we made a commitment to give to God, first and foremost, from that day forward.

We didn’t know how we were going to pay everything else. We just took a huge step of faith and gave to God first, every time our check came in. Things got paid and it worked! We saw His promise happen right before our eyes!

For others, it may be different. The way we did it may not be the way you should do it. The best thing to do is acknowledge where you are at and go from there.

Pray and ask God where and how you should start. He will guide your steps.

We want this coming year to be a wonderful year for you; the beginning of change in your financial situation. As we hold on to God’s promise, we must begin somewhere. Pray and ask God to bless you so that you may be able to give.

When He gives to you, or should we say when He opens the door for it to come in, don’t spend it on other things. Because that does happen a lot.

Take it, put it in a safe place and give it to where and whom He guides you to.

We are not saying that trials won’t come against you and that everything will always be smooth sailing. But we are saying that when they do come, you will have protection.

Malachi 3:11 (NKJV) “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;

There is NO doubt that it changes our situation as we obey God in our giving. Amen.

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.

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Bible Verse of The Day – 10-2-15

Mark 12:41-44 (NKJV) 41 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.”

Giving is not optional, based on our level of income.

Many, many years ago we were going through a severe financial struggle. Part of it was due to over-obligating ourselves. The other part was due to the fact that the factory where I worked for 13 years had closed its doors and left me jobless.

Needless to say, the bills piled up pretty quickly!

We were not tithing at the time. We “couldn’t afford to” tithe. That was our logic. Until God got ahold of us and showed us the truth.

We heard a message about covenant and God heavily impressed upon us that we needed to enter into a covenant with Him regarding our finances. That afternoon, we piled our bills on our bed, repented and prayed over our bills. We asked God for His help and entered into a covenant with Him, vowing that we would tithe first, from everything that came into our home.

God heard us. He immediately went to work on our behalf. Long past-due medical bills suddenly had zero balances. Other bills were suddenly paid off for no reason. And our faith increased!

It took us 5 long years to get completely out of our mess, but God was with us every, single step of the way. We never went without.

And today we have learned even more about living in His provision for our lives. He amazes us every day, every week and every month. Our needs are met at every turn in the path of life.

Why? Because we put God first in everything, including our finances. Whether we have much or we have little, we give to God first. And He stands by His promise to us.

The widow in the verses above didn’t withhold giving because she had little, she gave in spite of her situation and her circumstances, and so should we.

Luke 6:38 (NKJV) 38 Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.”

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.

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Bible Verse of The Day – 9-29-15

Luke 6:38 (NKJV) 38 Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.”

Giving is the answer to a lot of our problems today.

There are so many problems with finances in this world. People struggle every day.

We know from firsthand experience that as we give it comes back, just as God promises us it will.

We teach on giving, not so we can become rich, but so that you may receive all that God has for you.

So many people struggle with giving; there’s no doubt about this. We hear about the struggles and we see it all around us.

Why? Because it’s a normal instinct to want to keep what we work hard for. It’s normal to want to get ahead and put some away. But what we lack in knowing is that God’s word promises us that if we give to Him first, all these things will be taken care of.

What destroys people is a lack of knowing the important things that God wants to help us with; a lack of knowing God’s way of doing things, following them and then receiving His promises.

Hosea 4:6 (NKJV) 6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being priest for Me; Because you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children.

Let us not be destroyed by rejecting the simple truths of God’s word. Let us take action and do what is right.

Give today and watch it come back, pressed down, shaken together and running over! Amen.

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.

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Bible Verse of The Day – 7-11-15

Luke 6:38 (NKJV) 38 Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.”

As followers of Christ, He has told us that we need to give. It’s part of who we are as believers.

The importance of this has somehow been minimalized over the centuries, and in today’s world of high pressure and keeping up with the Joneses, giving has been pushed to the back burner and deemed something that we do only if “we can afford to”.

We want to remind everyone that giving is something that we can’t afford not to do.

Giving unlocks the doors to receiving. It’s a spiritual law set in place by God himself.

And no, we aren’t claiming that giving will result in overflowing bank accounts. God says to give and we will receive. It doesn’t always mean that we will get money.

Sometimes we receive time and care from others. Sometimes we receive help when we need it. Sometimes we receive comfort when we’re troubled. And sometimes we will receive finances.

God knows what we need and when we need it.

So we all need to remember, and make a conscious decision to give. We need to fight off the natural tendency to want to hold tightly to what we have, and learn to give some of it away.

After all, it all belongs to God anyway.

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.

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