Tag: going through trials and tribulations

Bible Verse of The Day – 5-24-14

Hebrews 12:1 (NKJV) Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us…

We are all running a race. It’s a very long race and there are so many things that can try to keep us from finishing it.

Things come at us from every direction. Sometimes they’re things that we never expect and it catches us off guard.

But we need to run this race with endurance. Endurance requires strength. We have to work to build and develop endurance. It doesn’t just happen because we want it to.

In this race called life, there is one way to build our endurance and one source for it. The way we build it up is by pressing into God and becoming one with Him in our spirit. And He is our source. He is where we get our strength from.

There are many of you reading this right now who are weary and tired. You’ve been in a long battle and you feel like you want to give up. But we’re here to tell you that victory will come if you don’t give up.

There are still others reading this who are just now beginning a battle. You’re afraid and worried what might happen to you. You don’t know how it will all turn out.

But we say to you, cling to God and keep your faith intact. This battle will not be your demise if you keep your faith strong and hold fast to God.

There are many things that come at us during our lives. How we fare during those tough times will always depend on our attitude and our ability to trust God.

Let’s make sure we keep our faith strong.

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 – 3-25-14

Matthew 7:24-25 (NKJV) 24 “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: 25 and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.

So many times we have people ask us “why did God do this to me?”. They tell us about how God has done good things for them and they felt like they were headed in the right direction, and then they encounter a trial or rough time.

And suddenly they are asking why God would “do this to them”. “Why did God pick me up and make me think everything was going to be OK, just to do this to me and crush me again?”

Well, we can’t speak for every single situation, but we can say this. God has never, ever promised us that we won’t go through stuff. He never told us “follow me and I will make your path trouble-free and full of miracles for the rest of your life”.

On the contrary, God has told us that we will go through trials and storms. And there will be times in our life when we feel like everything is crashing down around us. And there will be days when we wonder how we can go on.

But it’s in these times when God has promised to hold us up. It’s in these times when He has promised to be that rock that we need in order to be able to weather the storm and come through it still standing.

Facing adverse times doesn’t mean that God has abandoned us or picked us up only to crush us again. Adversity comes. It’s just part of life, and we need to accept that fact.

But what God does offer us is strength to endure the storm. He offers us hope to see past the storm. And He becomes our rock, our foundation, if we let Him.

“the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.”

Are our lives founded on the Rock? They should be! And if they’re not, it’s never too late to do the right thing and start fresh, building our new life on that Rock.

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 – 2-27-14

(Matthew 7:25 NKJV)  “and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.

I was speaking to a person the other day and they were having quite the situation going on at their work, between themselves and upper management.

When the conversation was coming to a close the person said, “I know I’ll be fine because I have God on my side.”

The confidence the person had in their Savior, the knowing that she had, was all she needed. She had confidence in God that it would all be OK, no matter how it turned out.

As she stuck to what she knew, that Jesus was with her, her storm would pass and she would be fine.

The storm came, but as she kept her place on the rock, the battle was won!

She won that battle because she was founded on the rock!

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 – 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 – 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

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 – 8-16-13

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

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 – 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

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 – 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 – 6-29-13

Job 1:1 (NKJV) There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was blameless and upright, and one who feared God and shunned evil.

Job loved God. His ways were blameless.

In spite of this, Job went through some terrible trials. He literally lost everything he had including his family and all of his possessions, in less than 24 hours.

What’s truly remarkable about this is that when Job received word that he had lost absolutely everything he held dear, he didn’t pot, throw a tantrum or have a pity party. Job 1:21 (NKJV) And he said: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, And naked shall I return there. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; Blessed be the name of the Lord.”

Obviously, Job was sad and probably even distraught, but he refused to wallow in pity or ask God “why me?”.

So our question for everyone today is this: How would we handle something like this? Would we “lose it” and shake our fist at God, or would we trust God despite what we saw in front of us?

This is something that we will probably never know for sure until we’re in a seemingly-desperate situation. Only then will we truly be tested and see “what we’re made of”.

If we read the rest of the book of Job, we’ll see that Job went through even further trials as he was afflicted with great physical pain and suffering. Even so, Job stood fast in his faith and refused to curse God.

So how did this all turn out for Job? Ultimately, his body was healed and everything he had lost was restored to him and more. In fact, he was blessed with more than double what he originally lost, including sons and daughters.

So we ask again; “how would we handle ourselves in this kind of a situation?”. Food for thought…

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 – 4-26-13

(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.

During the last several months we have been reminded over and over again that we need to be trusting in Him with all our hearts and not trying to figure things out based solely on our own understanding.

Today that was confirmed to us in a very big way. We have been facing some very major trials in our lives and we received some news today that, if we looked at it solely from our own understanding, could be very, very negative and discouraging.

But we are trusting God and acknowledging Him in everything that we do. Things might not be going the way we would want them to, but it will all work for the good because we love God

For those of you who have prayed for us recently, thank you so much. We truly appreciate it.

If you’re going through a trial right now, trust God with it. Let Him lead you. It’s not always easy, but His ways are best, even when we don’t understand them.

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 – 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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