Tag: What the Bible says about obeying God

Bible Verse of The Day – 7-23-20

1 John 3:22 (NKJV) 22 And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight.

As we continue discussing the way Jesus referred to commandments, here’s another good scripture to break down.

Jesus talked a lot about the importance of prayer, as did Paul and other apostles in their New Testament epistles. It’s a key part of our walk with God.

In this verse, John also refers specifically to getting what we ask for in prayer.

Unanswered prayers are a major stumbling block in the lives of many believers. People often question why they pray and those prayers go unanswered.

First off, we need to be sure to understand that we will never have answers for all of our questions about what God does or does not do. Some things we just need to accept and have the faith to know that it is all OK, even if we don’t understand or agree with God’s answer (or apparent lack of an answer).

But, understanding what John was referring to in this verse can be a very big eye opener for all of us.

Look at what He says; “we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight”.

That’s a big deal! We receive our answers because we “keep His commandments” and we do the things that are pleasing in His sight.

So, our motives can’t be selfish, and our walk with Him has to be in its proper place.

This doesn’t mean that we have to be perfect. Not at all. But it does mean that we have to have our priorities in order when it comes to where our relationship with God falls in the grand scheme of things.

James indicated the very same thing in this verse:

James 4:3 (NKJV) 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures.

So, let’s take what we’ve learned here and begin to apply it to our lives, especially in the area of prayer, and watch what God does with it.

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 – 7-22-20

John 15:10 (NKJV) 10 If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.

Commandments. They’re not something that we usually associate with the New Testament.

When we think of commandments, we almost always think of The Ten Commandments or other things associated with the Old Testament.

Despite that, though, commandments are discussed in the New Testament. And if you look closely at this, and seriously consider or ponder on the way Jesus presented them, you will begin to see not only the importance of it, but what that infers when it comes to our walk with God.

The commandments that Jesus spoke of were more than The Ten Commandments. Jesus didn’t necessarily give us a new list of things to do or not to do, but rather an indication about the ways we should do things and how that would impact and change the way we live.

So, let’s take a look at the various ways that Jesus spoke of commandments and break that all down to give us a better understanding of what it means to us.

Today we’ll start with the verse above.

Jesus stated that if we keep His commandments, we would abide in His love. What does that mean?

First, it means that our love for Him is deep enough, and that we take our relationship with Him seriously enough, to do what He says to do.

This is a huge statement that clearly tells us that our walk with Him is not to be taken lightly or to be treated as less than what it is; critically important to our eternal destiny. This relationship was, after all, built and established on the fact that He died for us to pay for our sins and give us direct access to the Father.

If we truly understand that, we will be so grateful that we will make this relationship our priority in our lives, putting Him above all else.

Let’s also talk about the word “abide”, since it’s crucial to the overall message of this verse.

Abide, in its most general form, means to accept or act in accordance with something.

In this verse, it means to “remain in”. Another good definition in this context would be to “act in accordance with”.

In other words, we remain in His love or we act in accordance with His love for us.

That would indicate that we would honor Him and His love for us by staying true to the things He expects of us.

This sets a good foundation for us as we dive a bit deeper into the topic of commandments in the New Testament.

Let’s take a look at more of these over the next few days.

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 – 7-2-20

Exodus 4:1 (NKJV) 1 Then Moses answered and said, “But suppose they will not believe me or listen to my voice; suppose they say, ‘The Lord has not appeared to you.’ ”

Don’t think we are the only ones, when God wants us to do something, who doubt ourselves.

Moses felt the same way many times. He doubted that he was able. God had to reassure him by doing just a few things to let Moses know it wasn’t going to be an issue.

If we read in Exodus 4:2 –17, we will learn how God first reassured Moses that it would all be OK by having him cast his rod onto the ground, where it became a serpent.

Whoa! If I saw that, I would have been like, “alright, I get what You’re saying”.

But then, secondly, He had Moses put his hand inside his robe, on his bosom. And when he did that and then pulled it out, it was leprous. Then he had him put it back in his bosom, and this time it came out normal.

Boy, that was something! But God still didn’t stop there.

Thirdly, He said, if they still don’t listen, take water from the river, pour it on dry land and it will turn to blood.

So, with the three examples that God laid out before Moses, you’d think “OK, he’s good and he’s ready to approach Pharaoh”.

But Moses wasn’t OK with it. He was trying everything he could to get out of it. He even tried using his speech situation, saying he was slow to speak and slow in tongue.

He tried saying he’s not eloquent in his speech, etc.

Now, this one made God angry. But God took care of even that little concern that Moses had by just saying, “I will give you a spokesperson, Aaron. He will do your talking”.

God did not relieve Moses of his responsibility, but he did provide for him to be able to do what He asked of him in a way that would help him.

You can’t say Moses didn’t try just about everything.

Some of us may feel this way at times when God is asking us to do something. We say, “just skip over me, Lord, and go to the next one. They will be better at it than I”.

I know I’m talking to someone today who is reading this.

Nevertheless, Moses followed through and did what God asked of him.

Obedience is the key.

We may not be perfect, or we may think someone else would be better at what God asks of us. But the important thing is, if God chooses us first, He wants us first and foremost, not someone else!

He will supply us with all that we need, right down to the littlest detail.

Be brave. Don’t let doubt take over. God will provide what we need! 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 – 6-9-20

Genesis 22:2 (NKJV) 2 Then He said, “Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.”

The promises of God and answered prayers can be oh so awesome. There is no doubt.

But it’s important for us to remember that they are not for us to hold onto with a tight fist.

When God gives us something that He said He would, we need to know that it is still His, and at any point He may switch it up and ask us to surrender it or let someone else hold it or keep it permanently.

Sometimes this is a test to see if we are willing to let it go.

Now, we are not necessarily talking about God asking us to do the same thing that He asked Abraham. That was for Abraham, and him alone.

We will have our own things that will be dear to us. It could be our finances, our addiction, our home, car, business or career title, etc. Everyone has their thing that means a great deal to them.

Do not hold on to God’s blessing so tightly that if the time comes, we won’t let go, not even for Him.

I remember one person in particular who was going through a financial struggle. They were praying and praying that God would save them from having to sell their home.

One day I felt impressed to ask them a specific question; “are you willing to let go of it if God wants you to?”

I could tell right away by their reaction that they may have been saying yes with their mouth, but their heart told a different story.

It’s our willingness and obedience that takes us on a walk of greatness with God. But if we can’t get there because things mean more to us than He does, it will be very hard for Him to use us to the full extent that He wants to.

We have got to understand that there may come a time when God asks for something that may mean everything to us. But, will it mean more to us than God?

Abraham went all the way, showing God that, as hard as it may have been to give up His promised son, Isaac, He would trust God.

God saw that he did not hold back even his most precious possession, and thus, he was able to keep Isaac. God knew from Abraham’s willingness that he would be trustworthy with all that God had for him.

Our question for everyone today is; is our heart in that place where if God asked for something meaningful, would we be willing to give Him whatever it might be?

Genesis 22:17 (NKJV) 17 blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies.

May we all get to a place in our hearts where our heavenly Father can say to us, “you were willing and obedient, therefore keep what I have asked for and I will bless you with even more.”

Amen.

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 – 3-3-20

Jonah 2:1 (NKJV) 1 Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the fish’s belly.

Have we ever really stopped and pondered on this verse?

I remember in Sunday School as a child, learning about Jonah and coloring in the picture, and the teacher having us do a craft related to the story. But as a grown up, when I think about it, I am completely blown away by it.

Jonah was in the belly of a fish… Alive! If it were me, I would have been scared to death. But what did he do? He prayed!

How many of us pray when we are in trouble? I think we all do. At this point I’d say Jonah was feeling pretty bad about what he had done. Maybe he was wishing he didn’t run, but instead that he had obeyed.

Anything would be better than being in the place he was in at that particular time. He needed something to happen quickly and hugely!

Maybe we feel like we are trapped in an unfamiliar place, and we are scared. Having never been here before, everything looks and feels different. We are completely out of our comfort zone. What do we do?

Pray. Don’t stop praying. Prayer will bring deliverance in one way or another.

Jonah 2:10 (NKJV) 10 So the Lord spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.

God delivered Jonah out of the fish’s belly, and Jonah did eventually obey God after that.

Obedience may take some of us a little longer than others. And we may actually go through some hard and difficult situations before we get it and do it God’s way.

Our prayers are that, no matter what any of us might be facing, we will all get to where God wants us to be. Amen.

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 – 12-28-19

Colossians 2:6-7 (NKJV) 6 As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, 7 rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving.

Walking in Him.

Be good, be kind, be loving, be ready to suffer, be ready to give, be ready to forgive and be ready to praise Him even when we are hurting.

This part of life is about obedience. Jesus speaks, we obey.

It’s about how much we trust Him with our lives, learning to respond to Him accordingly, without giving it a second thought.

If we believe a chair will hold us up, we will sit in it. If we believe Jesus and what His word says, we will walk in it, no problem. We will practice it and we will study it. We will know it and we will carry it out.

Be rooted!

Keep His word close to our hearts at all times. Know what He says in any given situation. Don’t be shocked at things we may need to take a stand against.

Fear Him more than rejection from family, friends, people we look up to and give Him our all. Amen.

Deuteronomy 8:6 (NKJV) 6 “Therefore you shall keep the commandments of the Lord your God, to walk in His ways and to fear Him.

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 – 12-26-19

1 John 4:20 (NKJV) 20 If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?

While I was out running errands the other day, I was in my car and saw someone I knew, from a distance. They were walking toward their car in the parking lot I had pulled into.

Feeling annoyed just knowing that it was them, I put my head down so I wouldn’t make eye contact and I wouldn’t have to wave to them. Then I continued on with the rest of my day.

A few days later, I saw the same person again. And I immediately got all funny and weird in my attitude. I could tell something wasn’t right.

God began to speak to me, saying, “why don’t you want them to see you or you to see them?”.

I said, “Lord, I don’t really know, other than the fact that they irk me for some reason”.

He said to me, “I say to love your brother, and if you don’t love them then how can you love me?”.

My words were short, for once in my life.

I sat there for a moment and then said, “Yes Lord, You are right. I’m sorry. I will make things right the next time I see them”.

You know, sometimes we don’t even realize what we are doing until God shows us right when we are doing it.

I know I’m not perfect, and there are things I need to work on every day.

But, when God points something out, it’s time we make things right in that area. It’s those little things we need to pay attention to, because that is our moment and that little thing means a lot to God. There’s something we must see and learn.

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 – 12-5-19

Colossians 3:15 (NKJV) 15 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful.

Let the peace of God rule…

You see, we can sometimes fight the peace of God. We can be our own worst enemy.

I know, because there are times when God is saying to me, “stop, slow down, you need to rest”, and I question Him.

That’s right, the very ONE who knows me best, created me, loves me more than I know and Who wants the best for me. I question Him at times and say, “are YOU sure, Lord? I really think I need to do this. Who else will do it if I don’t?”.

What is wrong with this picture?

Is it pride? Because pride is not good.

Is it arrogance? Because that’s not good either.

Is it fear of some type, or maybe pressure from others? Because guess what, those are not good.

What is it that makes us keep going when we truly know something is wrong? We are so tired, but we keep going. Why?

Do I really think I know better than God? I get exhausted and worn out, and I even get sick from not listening. But I’ve always got to keep doing what I’m doing.

Who knows what I’m talking about today? How can we fix this?

We can start by learning that we are not the savior, the rescuer, or the only one who can do it. There are others that can do it. They just need to step up to the plate.

But, as long as we are in the way, they won’t step up.

Come on. We have done enough for now. Pull back. Rest as God has said to do. And let the peace of God rule!

His Peace comes in when we slow down and make room for it.

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 – 9-18-19

John 14:15 (NKJV) 15 “If you love Me, keep My commandments.

Jesus was never one to beat around the bush. He always made things very clear and very simple for people to understand when He spoke.

Many times, He used parables. This allowed Him to teach using examples that were relevant to the way people lived because those examples helped people relate to what He was saying.

In the verse above, though, there was no parable needed. There was no story needed to make His point.

He spoke directly to the hearts of His disciples, whom He was addressing at that time.

It’s interesting to note that for the verse above, most manuscripts used the phrase “you will obey my commandments”, instead of just saying “obey my commandments”.

One simply says to obey, while the other says that we will obey.

Think about that. Jesus said that if we love Him, we will keep His commandments.

It’s a heart thing. If we love Him, we will have a desire and a strong conviction to do what He has told us we should do!

It doesn’t mean that we will get it right 100% of the time. It means that we will want to do our absolute best to get it right.

If our heart is in it, we will make every effort to do what pleases Him. If our heart isn’t in it, or if we are half-hearted about it, we will only try when we feel like it, or when it’s convenient for us.

When I was 18 years old, long before I had given my life to Christ, I was dating Pastor Ellie. I was not even close to being a Christian. My life was not a good example of anything Godly.

But Pastor Ellie had given me a gift for Christmas that year. It was a necklace with a cross hanging on it. I have to admit that I was a bit surprised, and I didn’t quite know what to think of it. I just knew that this gift was given out of love, so I appreciated it and treasured it.

As I started wearing it, I began to be convicted of certain things I did on an everyday basis. The first thing I remember was that I began to be convicted if I used God’s name improperly. And even though my language didn’t get cleaned up as a whole, using God’s name, and the name of Jesus improperly came to an end.

Why? Because I came to understand that it was wrong. My heart wanted to do right.

It took me two more years before I gave in to God’s promptings and put my faith in Jesus, but God had already been working on me.

The point in all of this, though, is this; if we love God, we will want to do what is right. It won’t be an afterthought. It will be at the top of our priorities.

It doesn’t mean we will instantly change and begin living a perfect life that pleases God every step of the way. We will be genuinely trying, not so we can be a good person, but because we want to please Him and honor Him in everything that we say and do.

If you love Me, keep My commandments.

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 – 8-10-19

Matthew 8:19-20 (NKJV) 19 Then a certain scribe came and said to Him, “Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go.” 20 And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.”

Jesus was on His Father’s watch. He had much to do while here on earth.

He had purpose. He had vision. He had a plan, and that was to obey all His Father asked of Him.

He did not put down His roots in one place, unless His Father told Him to.

His home was in His Father’s heart, doing His will. Obeying His Father is where Jesus resided, day and night.

That’s a place where we can’t let our flesh or emotions get the best of us. Only God gets all of us! It’s a place of rest within itself and brings such peace with it, knowing that we are right where we need to be with Him.

Amen.

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 – 4-10-19

2 Corinthians 8:15 (NKJV) 15 As it is written, “He who gathered much had nothing left over, and he who gathered little had no lack.”

When Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt, he was dealing with a massive multitude of people! Most estimates put that number at well over 2 million people. Feeding them would be no small feat.

But God had promised to take care of them, supplying their food for them each day. He did this by supplying them with manna. The manna would fall from the sky at night, while they were asleep. In the morning, they would go out and gather what they needed.

God had given them very specific instructions about how much to gather; only enough to feed their family.

This was a test for them. Would they trust God and gather only what they needed? Or would they disobey God’s instructions and hoard the manna, saving some just in case God didn’t come through?

The thing is that God was already prepared for them, no matter which path they chose to take in this. He’s God, so He knew what some of them would do before they ever did it.

The verse above says that those who gathered much had no surplus. And those who gathered little had no lack.

So, the people who thought maybe they could gather up extra and cover themselves, just in case God didn’t come through, ended up with no extra. But those who trusted God and gathered only a little never came up short!

You see, God is a great equalizer. When we trust Him, He will take care of us. It’s just the way He operates. If we are diligent in putting Him first and trusting Him with everything, He has these incredible ways of working things out for us.

If we fail to trust in Him, He isn’t sitting in heaven waiting to strike us down. But it’s safe to say that we may not end up as well off as we wanted to believe that we would.

Psalm 37:3 (NKJV) 3 Trust in the Lord, and do good; Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.

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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