Category: Trials and Tribulations

Bible Verse of The Day – 12-19-13

(Romans 5:3-4 NKJV)  And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; {4} and perseverance, character; and character, hope.

What is perseverance? It is the quality that allows someone to continue trying to do something even though it is difficult.

This is a good quality to have, seeing how life itself is very difficult at times.

This verse tells us that it is tribulation that produces this quality.

So be encouraged today, if we are going through a hard time, because as we go through it we will gain perseverance, character and hope and come out stronger than before.

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 – 11-14-13

1 Corinthians 2:9 (NKJV) But as it is written:”eye has not seen, nor ear heard,nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”

There are times when I get so frustrated with the things of this world.

Whether it’s corrupt government, ridiculous taxes, human ignorance, human wickedness, corruption and idolatry in the church or anything else that we could all think of. Some days just seem like the bad outweighs the good by such a huge margin. It makes it truly hard to keep our attitude right and keep our eyes on the good things.

But I always have a knowing deep down inside that none of what we do for God while we’re on this earth is in vain. And this is one of those verses that just drives that point home.

No matter what we have to battle here and no matter how hard it can sometimes seem or how frustrating it can get dealing with human bureaucracy, know-it-all spirits or outright miserable people, nobody can ever take away the promises of God.

And he has promised us that no eye has seen and no ear has heard, and no human mind has ever even imagined the things that God has prepared for those who love Him.

And for me, that’s enough.

Press into Him, people of God. And never stop looking upward or moving forward in His name.

Amen

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 – 8-17-13

2 Corinthians 4:17-18 (NKJV) 17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, 18 while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.

In keeping with yesterday’s teaching, let’s look just a little more at trials.

As mentioned yesterday, trials, in reality, are usually nothing more than an inconvenience… a problem that we have to overcome.

Today’s scripture backs this up by teaching us that our afflictions (trials) are indeed light and temporary when compared to eternity.

This is not to take away from anyone’s tough situations or circumstances, because there are some people reading this who may be going through some very tough times and things that you never, ever thought you would have to face.

But when we take our troubles and we hold them up and compare them to the BIG picture and the grand scheme of things, they are, in fact, very small and “but for a moment”.

As believers, children of The King, followers of Christ, we need to make sure our perspective is right; that we are looking at things through eternal eyes, not temporal eyes. This is something that takes a lot of practice and there is not a single one of us who will get it right 100% of the time.

But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try! We can all let God work in us and change our perspective. We just have to want to.

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 – 8-16-13

James 1:2-4 (NKJV) 2 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. 4 But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.

None of us likes trials. In fact, not only do we not like them, most of us detest them.

Whether we realize it or not, trials show us what we’re made of. Trials can put pressure on us and squeeze us. And when things get squeezed hard enough, what’s inside of them eventually comes out!

Trials can be a major inconvenience, but most of them never really hurt us or cause us harm. The problem is that there isn’t a single one of us who likes inconveniences.

But as we grow in our faith, we should start to see and understand that many trials can benefit us, if we let them! You’re probably wondering what I’m talking about, so let’s look a little more closely.

When we’re babes in Christ and our faith is young, tender and still very small, we only look at trials through human, natural eyes. We seldom see things beyond that. Trials are messy, a nuisance and an all-around bother to deal with.

But as we grow in Christ, we begin to look beyond the surface of things and start to see that there is usually more to many things than meets the eye. Then, as our understanding in this grows, we will start to see God’s hand at work in the trials that we face.

So if you’re going through a trial today, step back and try to look at it through spiritual eyes… the eyes of a believer, not through natural eyes. Because somewhere in all of the mess and confusion, God is offering you His peace and understanding. And whether we can see it right now or not, there is probably a blessing wrapped in that trial.

So count it all joy, not just those things that are pleasant and easy to take.

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 – 7-9-13

(Psalm 107:29 NKJV)  He calms the storm, So that its waves are still.

Are you in a storm today? Are you stuck in a place where you don’t want to be? Do you feel like you are in prison, and you are holding the key to get out but are afraid to make the move?

God’s Peace is amazing! When going through a trial or tribulation (a storm), remember that no matter how big of a wave it is, He will calm that thing down. How does this happen? As we follow His direction, we will feel His peace and that peace will help us to make the right moves.

Not long ago, we were in a trial. We were praying and seeking God and His answer came. It came, but we overlooked it, it was so plain and clear, but not what we were looking for.

Time went on and we tried doing everything we knew to do by our  own understanding…the storm was getting worse and worse, those big nasty waves kept beating on us, the pressure was getting heavier and we were getting weak and tired from the constant beating.

We finally sat back down and asked God, “What are we missing?”, only to hear the same thing He had told us the first time we asked.

He showed us again and we began to take the steps, like He said to do, and His peace was there instantly and things began to work out. The storm was calmed!!

Sometimes we can miss what God is saying to us to do because we feel so strong that it should be done another way. But if we miss it the first time, just get back with Him and repent and ask Him if it’s too late or can we try again to get it right?

There are times we will miss the timing for something, and it doesn’t come back around again. But there are also those times we do get another chance.

We learned that no matter what storm we go through in life, we can still have peace in it as long as we follow God, because He is the “Calmer of the STORM!”

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 – 7-1-13

Hebrews 10:23 (NKJV) Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.

Hold fast. What does this mean… to hold fast?

Yesterday we took a walk on one of the local beaches. As we walked, we could hear the waves breaking to the left side of us and see them rolling in onto the beach.

On our right side, there were sand dunes and houses. Some of these houses had very huge embankments in front of them and covering these embankments were some very, very large boulders that had been used to cover the steep bank that led from the home, down onto the beach.

The people who built the houses put these large rocks there purposely, to prevent the waves from destroying the homes if there is a storm and the waves become huge. The rocks prevent the storm from washing away the sand dunes and demolishing the home.

As the waves beat against these rocks, so do the storms of life beat upon us at times. Things come our way that we might never imagine… sickness, disease, financial disasters and so much more. It’s just a fact of life.

Just as those rocks protect the home from the raging ocean waves, our profession of faith in Jesus, our Rock, keeps us from being destroyed by the raging storms of life.

Just as those rocks take the pounding and never move, so must we hold fast to our faith. This is what faith is about… trusting and believing even when things are not cheery and sunny. It’s easy to believe when things are going smoothly and we don’t have a care in the world.

But when the storms come and the waves beat upon us, will our faith be like those rocks on the shore, never moving even in the worst of storms? Or will our faith falter at the first sign of trouble, washing away with the surge of the storm?

Hold fast to your confession of hope, for He is faithful!

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 – 5-3-13

(2 Samuel 22:47 NKJV)  “The LORD lives! Blessed be my Rock! Let God be exalted, The Rock of my salvation!

It breaks my heart when I hear and see people put their trust in their pastor, their minister, etc. instead of putting it in God.

There is no man you can trust to do all the right things. It’s important that we put our trust in God, that we lean on God fully and learn from Him.

Pastors are human beings and they too can fall. So many people put them on a pedestal and then their faith is shaken when something goes wrong.

What happens often in a church setting is that when the man of God falls, if our trust is in him, we get disappointed and it can cause us to fall and backslide and literally turn away from God.

In our early years, we were going to a local church. It was a great church with wonderful pastors that God had blessed us with. They taught us a lot of good things, and we were growing close to God. However, these pastors had trials and tribulations hit them and when these things came upon them, they split and broke up. It was a very sad day.

The thing that was even more sad was that when this all happened, the congregation ended up scattered. Instead of looking to God and asking Him if they should stay in the church or go elsewhere, they decided to take on the Pastor’s problem as if it was their own and  very many ultimately left the church behind.

The man may leave, but God will never leave. He remained sound and strong there. He had a plan even in such devastation. He had the next step already figured out. But the people decided to take their own steps, leaving God behind.

Cling to God. He is our Rock and salvation; ask Him what to do when trouble comes. Wait for His direction!  Amen.

Pastor Curt & Pastor Ellie

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

401-377-5400

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Bible Verse of The Day – 4-13-13

(Psalm 103:1 NKJV)  Bless the LORD, O my soul; And all that is within me, bless His holy name!

With every breath that I take, I will bless the Lord.

In good times and in trials, I will bless the Lord.

Through every storm, I will bless the Lord and praise His holy name.

He is worthy of all glory, honor and praise.

I will bless the Lord with all that is within me.

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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Bible Verse of The Day – 3-29-13

(Psalm 86:3 NKJV)  Be merciful to me, O Lord, For I cry to You all day long.

Do we ever feel like David felt at times? Like all we do is cry out to God for we are in such need?

Are we in a desperate place and need help immediately?  I think we all have those moments; the moment of not knowing how it will all turn out and how long it will take.

It’s OK to have these moments and to cry out to God. He is there for us.

Let this be our prayer today, for all those that are in need and scared.

Dear God,

Be merciful to us, O Lord, For we cry to You all day long. Help us in our desperate situation, we ask, in Jesus Name, Amen!

We are not alone. Be blessed.

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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Bible Verse of The Day – 3-20-13

(Numbers 11:23 NKJV)  And the LORD said to Moses, “Has the Lord’s arm been shortened? Now you shall see whether what I say will happen to you or not.”

Are we asking God this same question today? Where are you, God? Has Your arm been shortened?

Have you been in your situation so long that you are beginning to wonder about this?

When we are having good times, of course everything is good. We are confident we are heading down the right road and we are doing the right things.

When trouble comes, and it takes a bit to figure things out…it’s different. It causes us to take a look at ourselves and make changes, if needed. We take the time and ask ourselves are we doing the right things or have we strayed in the wrong direction. Did we make a wrong turn somewhere? What?

This is all good; we should check ourselves. We should be accountable for our actions. If we went off track a bit, God wants us to get back on track. He will be more than happy to help us get back on.

Sometimes we may even feel like He is nowhere around; it seems quiet. At times it can seem so quiet that we think nothing’s happening. We may feel that we have gone too far or done too much wrong to even expect Him to want to help us.

We may even feel He has left us alone to fix things ourselves. That is just not true! That is a lie and we all know where lying voices come from.

No matter how far away we have strayed from the right path, God’s arm has not been shortened. As we repent and truly want to receive His help, His arm will reach down and pick us up right where we are at.

Today, know this; that God’s arm is not too short to reach us.

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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Bible Verse of The Day – 3-13-13

(Proverbs 3:5-6 NKJV)  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.

Trust in the Lord. These are words that we are learning to live by more and more each day.

We have been going through some trials the past several months and they are causing us to really check ourselves and see where our trust really lies.

We have been in a period of waiting that seems endless. If we were not trusting in God, we just might lose all hope.

But I stand today and proclaim boldly that we will trust in the Lord with all of our heart, and we will seek His understanding in all things.

We will shout from the mountaintops and from the valley, “God, we praise you in the midst of this storm and we worship you no matter what comes our way”.

Amen!

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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