Category: Putting God First

Bible Verse of The Day – 6-18-16

Philippians 4:13 (NKJV) 13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

“God, please break me.”

How many times have we prayed that seemingly simple prayer or something like it? We know we need to change. We want to change. We want to break free of the sin or the complacency in our lives. So we tell God to do it for us. But it doesn’t happen.

Let’s talk about why it doesn’t happen.

God is not a puppeteer. We have no strings attached to us that allow Him to control or manipulate us. And He will never force us to do something.

Therefore, He will never break us or force us to stop sinning or doing those things that we know aren’t pleasing to Him. It’s up to us. Yes, that sounds a bit strange, but it really is up to us.

God hates sin and complacency. But He loves us. So, because He loves us, and He wants our affection for Him to be genuine, He allows us to choose the path for our lives.

We can choose to follow Him or reject Him. We can choose to get free from sin or stay entangled in it. We can choose to walk closely with Him or have a “casual”, weak relationship with Him and walk with Him at a distance.

It’s all up to us. We choose. So if it’s up to us, how can we make change happen in our lives if we seem and feel so powerless?

Through Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit.

Through Christ, we can do all things. We can overcome sin in our lives. We can defeat complacency in our lives. We can make choices and decisions that bring about change in our lives, not on our own strength, but through the strength of Christ in us!

So when temptation comes our way, either to sin or to remain complacent in our walk with God, we need to take the initiative to do the thing that pleases God. Once we make the first move, God will meet us where we’re at and help us follow through.

And he will give us whatever we need to bring about the change in our lives that we are in need of.

1 Corinthians 10:13 (NKJV) 13 No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.

This doesn’t mean it will always come easy. It may not. But as we make more right choices, and we press in to God and build our relationship with Him, it will get easier over time.

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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Bible Verse of The Day – 6-4-16

Matthew 6:19-21 (NKJV) 19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

We’re born. We live. We die.

Our lives are brief compared to eternity. So what do we do with our lives while we’re here on earth?

Modern culture tells us that we should work hard to climb the ladder of success. You know, own a home, drive a nice car and work a great job.

“Make a lot of money”, says the world. “The more money you make, the happier you will be”.

But what did Jesus say? “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth“.

That sounds quite the opposite of what most of us are taught!

No, it’s not wrong to be successful. No, it’s not wrong to have nice things.

But where is our heart? Are we spending more time and effort chasing after these things than we are chasing after God?

Something for us to think about.

Ecclesiastes 1:14 (NKJV) 14 I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and indeed, all is vanity and grasping for the wind.

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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Bible Verse of The Day – 4-26-16

John 21:17 (NKJV) 17 He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?” Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, “Do you love Me?” And he said to Him, “Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You.” Jesus said to him, “Feed My sheep.

Do you love me? That’s a pretty powerful question to ask someone. But the reply to Peter’s answer was even more powerful.

When Peter told Jesus that he loved Him (for the third time), Jesus responded simply, by saying “Feed My sheep”.

Some might look at that and scratch their head, wondering what He meant by those three words.

But if we look at it from a spiritual point of view, which is what Jesus intended, we see some pretty significant stuff.

If we love God, we will be concerned with the things He is concerned with.

So many times, we spend our days consumed by things with no spiritual significance. We tend to the natural things in our lives first, and then tend to the things of God “when we have time” to do so.

We live in a natural world, where we can see and touch things. But our lives are driven by spiritual things, in addition to what we can see and touch. And it’s those spiritual things that make our lives what they are.

It’s easy to get caught up in and focused on the things that we can see. Because they’re tangible and visible, they tend to catch our attention more easily than the things we can’t see.

But without spiritual growth through Christ, no amount of natural things will ever satisfy us or improve our lives. So it’s important that we put God first in everything we do. And then, tend to the things of the natural after we tend to our relationship with God.

For without God, all else is meaningless.

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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Bible Verse of The Day – 4-20-16

Matthew 6:33 (NKJV) 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

This is a verse we’ve taught on many times in the past. Today, however, we want to teach on it from a bit different point of view.

We need to put God first in everything we do. And this is how this verse usually gets presented.

But there is another area where we may not be putting God first, so let’s talk about that for a minute.

Prayer. This is an area where we tend to spend time asking God for things we need, want or desire. And there’s nothing wrong with asking God for things. The Bible says in James 4:2 that we have not because we ask not.

But when and how we ask is just as important as the asking itself. Here’s what we mean.

When we talk with God, do we spend more time asking for stuff than we do praising, worshiping and thanking Him for who He is and what He has already done for us? Do we dive right in to all the things we want, and then utter a quick “thank you” before we quit praying and head on our way?

Putting God first in everything also includes in our prayer time. We need to be sure to spend time giving to God before we ask Him to give to us.

No, this isn’t bribery or sweet-talking God. It’s just a matter of giving Him what He deserves!

And as we learn to do this, we will be more likely to experience a more powerful prayer life because we will be focusing more on God and less on ourselves. This will help make us more sensitive to Him. And that’s always a good thing.

So before we start running down our list of wants and needs every time we talk with God, let’s be sure to spend some time giving God the honor and glory He deserves. And let Him do some of the talking too.

After all, what He says is well worth listening to!

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 – 2-8-16

Psalm 37:4 (NKJV) 4 Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart.

We all want things to happen in our lives. We have desires, hopes and dreams.

So many of us spend many years of our lives chasing those dreams, hoping they will come true. And so many times we hear it said that God wants our hopes and dreams to come true. And that He will give us the desires of our heart. He does. And He will.

But so often, years go by and we feel empty and unfulfilled. We keep chasing those dreams, but to no avail.

Why?

There’s a secret to making sure God gives us the desires of our heart. It isn’t some kind of magic prayer or a special type of fasting.

It isn’t about attending the right church or singing the right praise and worship songs. And it isn’t about giving the right amounts of money.

It’s all about our hearts.

As we seek God, truly seek Him, and build a relationship with Him, the desires of our hearts will begin to change. We will begin to long after the things that God wants in our lives, not just the worldly things that we used to chase after.

And as this happens, we will begin to see things fall into place for us. And we will have the desires of our hearts. We will have the things that please us. And those things will also please God.

Now, this doesn’t mean that God won’t give us other types of desires, but as we continue to keep Him first in our lives, some of those other things will also unfold for us.

The key is to remember that God is not the means to an end. He is the end. He is who we should be seeking after continually.

Matthew 6:33 (NKJV) 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added 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 – 1-23-16

Matthew 6:33 (NKJV) 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

So many times our lives seem hopeless and without direction.

We get up each morning, shower, eat and head off to work. We come home, eat dinner, get things done, try to spend some time with our family and then we go off to bed. The next day we repeat the process. And so the cycle goes.

It seems like an endless loop. Like a hamster on one of those wheels, where they run and run, but never get anywhere. But it doesn’t have to be that way!

As a child of God, a follower of Christ, our lives should be different. How? By putting God first in everything.

If we seek God first, so many other things in our lives will fall into place. No, our problems won’t magically disappear. But putting God first puts everything else in proper perspective. And it helps us keep our priorities straight.

When our priorities are straight, we tend to make wiser decisions and better choices. And, whether we’re happy or not doesn’t depend on how our day goes or how we happen to feel at the moment.

Instead, we draw our strength from God. And everything about our lives revolves around our walk with Him. We no longer rely on our jobs, our careers, our families, our friends or our financial situation for our happiness.

So, go ahead. Put God first. We dare 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 – 12-19-15

Matthew 6:33 (NKJV) 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

Jesus told us in pretty clear words how to please God and be successful in every area of our lives.

Want a strong, happy marriage? Seek God first.

Want a career that’s satisfying and rewarding? Seek God first.

Want a strong family that’s close knit? Seek God first.

Want to have strong faith? Seek God first!

Want a strong walk with God, where you learn how to hear Him more easily, discern things more readily and have a deeper understanding of His word? Seek Him first.

This may seem overly simple, but it’s absolute truth.

Our primary objective as a follower of Christ should be to walk as closely as possible with God and follow the footsteps of Jesus as closely as possible.

When we do this, it makes our lives much easier and makes our relationship with God so much stronger.

We need to put God first in everything we do and every decision we make.

Maybe you’re thinking that you’ve never really put God first, and now you have a big mess on your hands due to poor choices you’ve made. But that’s OK. It’s never too late to get it right!

Starting today, make a conscious effort to put God first. It might not come easily at first, but as you do this more and more, it will get easier and easier. And soon it will become second nature.

Seek first the kingdom of God.

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 – 11-2-15

Deuteronomy 6:5 (NKJV) 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.

God wants our whole heart. He wants to be our everything.

The great thing about God is that He is our everything. He is sufficient for every need that we have. Salvation, forgiveness, love, hope, joy, provision. You name it, He’s the one we need.

The world will try to tell us that God isn’t enough. Some will say we don’t need God at all, if He even exists.

Others will tell us that God is OK, but we also need other things, in addition to God.

They will try to sell us on things like astrology, the power of positive thinking, meditation, new age philosophies and so many other things that are contrary to God’s word.

But we don’t need any of those things. And, honestly, we should be running the opposite way when we see those things or if they try to pull us in. They will dilute the true gospel, if we let them.

God is sufficient. He doesn’t need anything else. And neither do we!

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 – 10-28-15

Jeremiah 29:11 (NKJV) 11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.

The Lord has good thoughts towards us and He wants the best for us.

Sometimes we can get caught up and pulled onto the wrong track. This can happen very easily when we are busy running here, going there, always planning, and always spending.

We can totally get off track, no matter how long we’ve been a Christian. It happens.

God has a future and hope for each one of us. Make sure we don’t push Him aside in all the busyness.

Pull back at times. Take a breath and see where we are at with Him. Make sure that if it’s not where we should be, we repent and ask for His help to get us back on track.

His thoughts toward us are of peace.

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 – 9-22-15

Matthew 6:33 (NKJV) 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

Most of us have heard this verse and have heard it taught on many times. And rightly so, since it’s very important.

Let’s take an even deeper look at it in today’s devotional, that will hopefully shed some new light on how important it really is to understand this one and apply it to our lives.

You see, putting God first should never be considered optional. In reality it is optional, because He gives us a free will and the ability to choose. But if we want to see our life change and be walking on the path that God has for us, we can no longer consider it to be such.

As we seek God, and I mean really pursue Him, it will ultimately change everything about our outlook on life. We will begin to see things differently. And the things that we used to think were so important will start to fade into the background as He shapes and molds us.

We will learn how to be content, no matter the situation. We will learn when to be silent when we always thought we had to speak and say our piece. We will learn that putting others first isn’t such a bad idea, as we learn to show others God through our actions. Having the last word won’t be as important as it used to be.

Our perspective will change.

And as our perspective changes, we will have a new understanding of things that once baffled or confounded us. Because now we are seeing them through the eyes of the Holy Spirit, and not our own natural eyes.

So let’s let God give us a new perspective. And see how quickly things begin to look different to us. And In this, all things will be added to us.

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 – 6-15-15

Revelation 2:4 (NKJV) 4 Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love.

Today we want to reach out to those who may have fallen away from God, or maybe aren’t walking as closely with God as you once were.

This doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re backslidden and buried in sin. But maybe you’ve gotten so busy with life, or even so busy with ministry work, that somehow God has gotten pushed to the background and you no longer have the same love for Him that you once did.

In our relationship with The Creator, we are never static. We are moving closer to Him or further away. There is no middle ground.

The cares of this world can quickly sneak in and drive a wedge between us and God if we don’t protect our relationship vehemently. We have to be like a vigilant watchdog on high alert, watching carefully for anything that might try to derail that relationship, even the slightest little bit.

And most importantly, don’t let the enemy whisper in your ear and condemn you for anything. His motive is to keep you as far from God as possible, and if he can convince you that you’re guilty and beyond hope, it just may accomplish what he wants it to.

So remember your first love and return to Him today. He’s waiting for you with His arms wide open.

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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