Category: God’s Sovereignty

1 Corinthians 13:6 (NKJV) 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.

It can be very hard some days to find enjoyment. Maybe it’s because we see and feel the pressure of the (spiritual) atmosphere around us.

Maybe we are struggling in our emotions, trying to stay happy while we see so much of what we know to be evil going on. This can make us feel hopeless.

Maybe we are so tired on some days that we cannot find an ounce of strength within us to rejoice.

Don’t beat ourselves up over it.

Some days the strength just isn’t there. This is normal.

We are not perfect. We don’t have to pretend we are. It won’t do any of us any good.

We have eyes and ears, and as God’s children we are sensitive to all the things around us. Some days, hearing and seeing certain things can be a lot. And it can take a toll on us.

Because we don’t delight in evil, when it is allowed to run freely we have to work much harder to keep the truth at the forefront of our hearts. It can get exhausting.

But don’t lose heart. The power of the wicked will one day be broken.

Psalm 37:17 (NKJV) 17 for the power of the wicked will be broken, but the Lord upholds the righteous.

Just a little reminder of the truth today. Evil will be broken and the righteous will have victory!! Rejoice.

Pastor Curt & Pastor Ellie

Seven Seas Ministries

49 N Lamplighters Walk
Hampstead, NC 28443

401-439-3780

Isaiah 46:8-10 (NKJV) 8 “Remember this, and show yourselves men; Recall to mind, O you transgressors. 9 Remember the former things of old, For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me, 10 Declaring the end from the beginning, And from ancient times things that are not yet done, Saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, And I will do all My pleasure,’

God’s sovereignty is above all else. There is nothing and nobody like Him, anywhere.

He rules and reigns over the earth and the galaxies that are even too far away to be seen by our eyes.

These verses were issued as a reminder of who God is.

In verse 10, the phrase, “show yourselves men”, literally means, “be men, take courage”.

This says a lot to us, reminiscent of the words in Joshua 1:9, where God said to “be strong and of good courage”.

God is speaking to us as we walk through this current season of incredible evil that we’re witnessing.

He is reminding us that we have nothing to fear. He is God. There is none like Him. He declares the end from the beginning, even those things that are not yet done.

His counsel will stand, and He will do all He has determined to do.

Tyranny will not win. Evil will not prevail, regardless of what we’re seeing with our natural eyes.

There is no one who can touch our God. His word stands true even in the midst of chaos, darkness and whatever else the enemy and his allies try to put together and throw at us.

The rest is up to us.

Will we trust Him in the face of adversity? Will we stand firm in our faith, not backing down when that same faith is tested, even under extreme duress?

This is not the season to run, nor to hide.

God is God. Trust 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!

Galatians 4:4-5 (NKJV) 4 But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.

We hope you had a chance to read yesterday’s devotional, where we dug into the first section of verse 4.

Today, let’s finish up verse 4 and move on to verse 5 as well.

In the very last part of verse 4, it says that Jesus was born under the law.

This means that He was born as a Jew who would be raised up learning and following the Mosaic law, understanding its traditions and rituals to their fullest extent, and obeying those same laws.

Unlike all other men, Jesus obeyed them all perfectly. This is something that was impossible for all other men.

His sinless nature demonstrated His perfection, making Him the only One who could possibly be a sacrifice (the prefect lamb) without blemish.

In doing this, He “redeemed those who were under the law”.

His fulfilling of the law made the law obsolete, setting the people free from it forever.

This is a big deal that is often overlooked, or at the very least, not fully comprehended.

The sacrifice that Jesus made (the price He paid) by giving His life, set all men (and women) free from the bondage of the law, once and for all.

And as part of the new freedom that He gave through His death, all men and women now had (and still have) the opportunity to be adopted by God as sons and daughters.

Additionally, when Jesus breathed His last breath and surrendered His spirit up to God, the veil of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom, giving us direct, unfettered access to God, so we can now approach Him directly, without fear of retribution of admonishment.

Mark 15:37-38 (NKJV) 37 And Jesus cried out with a loud voice, and breathed His last. 38 Then the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.

So, we are no longer obligated to rely on another man or woman to go to God for us. We no longer need a priest to intercede for us.

We can approach God boldly and without fear, making our petitions known to Him, one on one in prayer.

Hebrews 4:16 (NKJV) 16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

We hope you’ve enjoyed this breakdown of these two verses, and that you’ve learned some new things about them that will help your walk with God grow stronger!

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!

Galatians 4:4 (NKJV) 4 But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law…

I’ve always found these verses (verses 4 & 5) fascinating. They say so much, in so very few words.

Even if we just look at them “on the surface” they can reveal a lot to us.

But if we dig into them and see “below the surface”, they say even more that helps us understand God even better.

The expression, “fullness of time”, is a great place to start. What does that mean?

In its most simple form, it means, “when God saw that it was the right time”.

In its deeper form, it means that God had worked to make sure everything necessary to make His plan for mankind happen was complete. Everything was in its place. And now the earth and its inhabitants were ready for Him.

There is so much more that could be said that we could write volumes about it. But that short statement should be a sufficient summary to make the point needed.

So, when God saw that the time was exactly right, He sent forth His son, born of a woman.

The phrase, “born of a woman”, could also be translated, “made of a woman”.

This emphasizes the humanity of Christ. He didn’t just suddenly appear from heaven in adult form to walk the earth.

He didn’t show up somewhere as a baby who had no parents. He was not an orphan with mysterious origins.

He was born by human means, just as you and I were born.

He experienced the trauma of childbirth, being taken from the safety of His mother’s womb, expelled into the world, no longer protected inside of the human body that bore Him.

He was God, born (made) of a woman, living and dwelling among us, experiencing everything that we experience; the wonder of new sights and sounds, the nurturing of His mother, and the experience of growing from an infant to an adult.

Let’s talk more about this tomorrow, so we’re careful not to just skim over some of the important pieces of this!

Tomorrow we will finish with verse 4 and move on to verse 5.

Stay tuned!

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!

Habakkuk 3:17-19 (NKJV)  17 Though the fig tree may not blossom, Nor fruit be on the vines; Though the labor of the olive may fail, And the fields yield no food; Though the flock may be cut off from the fold, And there be no herd in the stalls— 18 Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation. 19 The Lord God is my strength; He will make my feet like deer’s feet, And He will make me walk on my high hills. To the Chief Musician. With my stringed instruments.

As I was reading Habakkuk this week, this prayer caught my attention.

It was written to be sung, not just spoken, although that really isn’t what caused me to go back and read it a few more times.

It was simply the content of it, and the heart that it was written from that made it stick.

You see, Habakkuk was sent to prophesy over God’s people. In this particular chapter, he was referring specifically to Judah, warning of their imminent destruction.

Habakkuk had cried out to God for a change of heart, that He would not destroy them. He actually said, in verse 2, “In wrath remember mercy”.

Habakkuk didn’t want to see his prophecy come to pass.

As he made his petitions known to God, and as he pleaded for God’s mercy over Judah, he ultimately came to the understanding that God is sovereign, and that His way is the right way.

It was then, after all of his pleading, praying and crying out to God, that he penned this prayer.

What struck me most about it is that he looked beyond the wrath of God and acknowledged that even if everything he knew was destroyed, God is still his strength, and he would still rejoice in Him.

This is important for all of us to understand and apply to our own lives.

It’s the “valley seasons” that show us who we really are in our walk with God. It’s those times when we feel like we can’t see beyond the smoke and the rubble of our own personal trials and fires that we need to reach deep down inside of ourselves and ask the Holy Spirit to help us get past ourselves and worship God for who He is.

Why? Because He is worthy, no matter what our lives may look like at that moment in time.

Paul summed it up quite nicely when he spoke these words:

Philippians 4:11 (NKJV) 11 Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content:

Let God be God. Let Him exercise His providence and His plans. His ways are righteous and true.

And let us be content in knowing this.

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!