Tag: drawing closer to God

Bible Verse of The Day – 9-1-14

Psalm 119:37 (NKJV) 37 Turn away my eyes from looking at worthless things, And revive me in Your way.

To be revived means: to make (someone or something) strong, healthy, or active again.

We need to be revived in the things of God.

We do this by reading, praying and digging deeper into His Word. By drawing closer to God and letting Him touch areas in our lives that we want control over, and give the control to Him.

He will help us turn our eyes from looking at worthless things; the things that keep us distracted, those things that take up all our time and do nothing for us.

He will revive our hearts and make us strong, healthy and active in the things that mean the most to Him; those things that He knows will be good for us.

Be revived!!

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 – 4-21-14

Matthew 16:13-16 (NKJV) 13 When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?” 14 So they said, “Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

But who do you say I am?

The way a person answers this question puts them on one side or the other, when it comes to where they stand with God. They either believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the living son of God, Immanuel, or they believe He was just a good man, a teacher or a prophet.

Jesus was all of those things, a prophet, a teacher and a good man, but He was so much more!

Jesus was God with us (Immanuel). He came to the earth with one purpose; to walk with us and then die for us, to save us from our wretched selves and our sinful ways.

Now, let me ask you, who do you say that Jesus is? Is He just someone that we hear about in church, or is He your Savior, your Lord and Redeemer? Do you have a living, vibrant relationship with Him, or is it just casual, where you seek Him or talk to Him once in a while or when things are going wrong with your life?

Kind of makes you think, doesn’t it? Because a vibrant relationship requires work and communication on a regular basis, or it’s not vibrant and living.

Ask yourself today where you’re really at with Jesus. Are you where you want to be? If not, you’re the only one who can change this! You’re the only one who can make a decision to make the relationship better and stronger.

We encourage you to take that step and draw closer to Him today.

James 4:8 (NKJV) Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

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 – 3-6-14

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

Put God First.

We often receive emails from people asking us how to know what God’s purpose is for their life. We also get emails asking us how to become closer to God.

Have you ever wondered about this in your own life?

The answer to this is actually in the two questions above.

You see, the key to knowing God’s purpose for your life is to draw closer to God. So as we spend time pondering on how to become closer to God, we’re also delaying finding our purpose in life.

So how do we know our purpose in life? Here’s the key.

We stop worrying about what our purpose is. We spend time drawing near to God and pressing in to Him, growing our relationship with Him.

As we do this, we become more in tune with His spirit and learn to hear His voice more clearly and as we build our relationship with Him, we also become more obedient. And this happens without us even thinking specifically about what our purpose is!

So today, if we are children of God, instead of worrying about “trying to find our purpose” in life, let’s just press in to Him and learn to love Him, being thankful and obedient.

In doing this, we will begin to walk out His calling and purpose for our lives without having to “work at it” so hard and spend so much time trying to figure out what it is that we’re “supposed to be doing”.

As we do this, we will develop a huge sense of peace in our lives that we’ve never known before and we will know that we are on the path God has set before 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!

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Bible Verse of The Day – 12-18-13

Colossians 3:2 (NKJV) Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.

Life can be stressful if we let it.

There are so many things that can cause our minds to be distracted from the things of God. And the more we get distracted, the more our emotions will try to take over and tell us what to do.

As we go through trials it can sometimes be so hard to hear God and know what choices we should be making. We listen and we either hear nothing at all, or we hear so many different things that it can be tough to know what is from God and what is not.

This is why we need to set our minds on things above and stay close to God. The closer we are to Him and the more our minds are focused on His things, the less room there is for the things of the world to get between us.

And the closer we are to Him, the more clearly we can hear Him and discern His voice when we’re going through tough times and need to make hard choices.

James 4:8 (NKJV) Draw near to God and He will draw near to you…

Press in and set your mind on things above.

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 – 8-20-13

Psalm 119:133 (NKJV) Direct my steps by Your word, And let no iniquity have dominion over me.

Direct my steps.

This should be the prayer of every believer. These are the words that we should be speaking to God each and every day.

When God is leading us, we will be taking the steps that He wants, not what we want.

As we learn to walk closely to Him, our fleshly wants and desires begin to melt away and His spirit begins to have dominion over us. When this happens, His desires become our desires too.

Following God’s steps for our lives doesn’t mean that everything will be trouble-free. But it does mean that when trouble comes, we will have peace in the midst of the storm and we will know that no matter how hard the wind and the waves beat against us, we will be safe with Him and we will have victory in His timing.

Are things not going well for us right now? Let’s check our steps and make sure they’re being ordered by God, and not just by our own will and desires.

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 – 6-13-13

(Hebrews 5:13-14 NKJV)  For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. {14} But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.

It is never a good thing to stay in one place too long with regard to spiritual growth.

As believers and followers of Christ, God wants us to constantly be learning and growing, getting a better understanding of who He is and what He wants for our lives.

Some of us have been Christians for a very long time, while others may have just recently recognized their lost condition and gotten saved. There may still be others reading this who are seeking God and trying to figure out how to reach Him.

One thing we have learned over the years is that the length of time that a person has been a believer doesn’t always correlate with their spiritual age or maturity. Some people grow quickly, while others might take some time. It all depends on the person, their personality and their circumstances.

Today, we’d like to challenge everyone!

We’d like to challenge you to take some new steps in your walk with God and make a choice to pursue Him more diligently. A strong relationship with anyone doesn’t just happen. It takes constant effort on the part of both people.

And so it is with God. If we desire to be close to Him and know Him well, we have to put forth the effort.

So, starting today, make an effort to set aside a little time each day to do a little something extra to build your relationship with God. Read His word. Talk to Him. Listen for His voice.

If you’re sincere in doing this, you will begin to see a difference in your relationship with our Father, the Creator of all we see, in a very short time.

Go ahead. 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!

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Bible Verse of The Day – 11-3-12

(John 13:23 NKJV)  Now there was leaning on Jesus’ bosom one of His disciples, whom Jesus loved.

Could you just imagine laying your head on Jesus’ bosom?

When I was a child I would often sit on the couch and lay my head on my mom or dads chest. Sometimes I would just listen to the beat of their heart; it was so fascinating to me as a child to hear it beat.

Now that I am older, I lay my head on my husband’s chest and listen to his heart beat. It is an amazing thing and I still get fascinated by it.

One morning, as I was praying, I remembered this verse and I thought to myself that disciple that had his head on Jesus’ chest could have actually heard the heart beat of the Messiah if he wanted to. That’s how close he was; the heartbeat of God in the flesh! He was that close to Him. What an awesome relationship to be that close to His heart.

I prayed that morning, as I was pondering on this scripture, how I want my relationship with the Messiah to be that close. I may not be able to hear His heartbeat from laying my head on His chest. But, I want to know the sound of His heart by reading His Word and meditating on it day and night.

God’s heart is revealed through His Words

Let us all know the heart of God today, for our family, for our children, for our world and let us pray.

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 – 8-2-12

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

Love the Lord your God with all your heart. This is the foundation to living a life that honors God in every possible way.

After yesterday’s Bible Verse of The Day about “casual Christians”, we had some people write to us and ask how to go beyond being lukewarm, or what it means not to be a casual Christian.

The best way to explain it is this: “Being so in love with God that every aspect of your life exemplifies Christ and brings honor to His name.”

It’s not something that we do just by following rules or a set of laws. As we grow closer to God, our lives are transformed a little at a time, and before we know it, so much about us changes; the things we say, the way we treat others, the entertainment that we take in… it all changes. Why? Because we love God and want to please Him.

So how do we get so close to God that this happens? We make a conscious effort to know Him. We can’t just know about Him. We have to know Him. We get to know Him by spending time in His word, learning everything that we can about who He wants us to be and how He wants to interact in our lives. And we learn to listen for His voice and obey it!

It all boils down to the condition of our heart. As we allow God to change our heart, we will become closer to Him. A hard heart will always keep God at a distance. A heart that has been touched and softened by God will want to be as close as possible to Him.

We challenge you to let God change your heart and draw you close to Him!

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 – 8-1-12

(1 Cor 6:20 NKJV)  For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.

Jesus paid the ultimate price for our sins. He bought us with His very own blood and His life.

As I was out for a walk in the evening, God impressed upon my heart to share a message with you today about casual Christianity. There are hundreds of thousands… possibly even millions of “casual Christians” across the globe.

These would be the people who have made a confession of faith at some point in their life, accepting Christ as their savior. But for one reason or another, they have never gone beyond a casual relationship with Him, keeping Him at arm’s length.

I want to speak to you today if you are a casual Christian. This is not to condemn anyone in any way whatsoever. But it is to urge you to move beyond where you are at right now and give Jesus your WHOLE being. He is worthy of our entire life. After all, He bought it with His own life!

If there is something stopping you from surrendering, give it to God and let Him have it. Try to understand how much God paid for you and that He wants 100% of you. He deserves to have 100% of you.

Give yourself over to Him. Let Him sit on the throne of your heart. There is nothing in your life that’s too big for Him to handle.

You will never know true peace until He is your everything.

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 – 7-19-12

(Mat 15:18 KJV)  But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man.

What comes out of the heart is what defiles a man. That is where it all starts… in the heart.

You see, by the time it comes out of the mouth the damage was already done. It was the heart that passed it through. We shouldn’t just repent for the words we have spoken, but for our heart’s condition. That is the root of it.

Have you ever heard someone say, “we need to get right to the root of the problem”? The root is where something starts growing and grows deeper if it remains in place. No matter what changes you make, if those changes aren’t at the root, it will keep coming back.

This year I planted a garden and when I go out to weed it, the weeds look so little compared to the plants themselves. However, when I pull them up they are strong and they like to break off right at the ground. But, the root of them is beneath the ground and if I don’t rip it out, that same weed will come back.

Our heart is the root of a lot of our problems. It’s a hard thing to admit to some of the things that are in there. But once we see them, they’ve been exposed to us and there is no hiding it any longer.

The first thing we need to do is ask God to help us get it out of there. It won’t go away on its own. It takes work and, like anything else, it takes sacrifice. It takes giving some things up that mean a lot to us; letting go of things that make us feel comfortable and making adjustments.

It might not be comfortable or pleasant at first, but it’s a necessity if we want to grow as a believer.

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 – 6-22-12

(Mat 6:19-21 NKJV)  “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.

Where are our hearts? What do we treasure?

The answers to these two questions can tell us a lot about ourselves and where we are at in our walk with God.

What makes us happy and puts a smile on our faces will be dictated by what we value the most. Is it a shiny new car, a big house with lots of extra rooms, a new wardrobe, a new job or a raise on our current job?

Or is it seeing someone receive a breakthrough in their life, helping someone through a tough time, giving someone money when they’re in a tough financial situation or helping someone to have strength when they feel like they just can’t take another thing happening to them?

Don’t get me wrong. It’s not terrible to enjoy stuff. Believe me… I enjoy stuff too. But we need to make sure that God and His desires for us come before that stuff. We need to take pleasure in the things that give God pleasure.

When we press into God and begin to get His heart, then we will start to see the things that make us happy begin to change.

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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