DAILY DEVOTIONAL | April 18th

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📖 Also [Jesus] told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not to turn coward (faint, lose heart, and give up). ⎻Luke 18:1 AMPC

When you are a person of prayer and the Word, it’s hard to give up. It becomes difficult to throw in the towel. When you are constantly in fellowship with the Father, and you’re resting in His promises, it becomes hard to faint and lose heart. Things become easier because you are resting in your Heavenly Father. You know that He cannot lie and that He will give you victory. Having done all to stand, continue to stand. Don’t ever give up. Don’t give up on God. Don’t give up on yourself, your dreams, or your family. God always causes us to triumph. You are more than a conqueror. You were built to outlast the devil. You win!

#winner #nevergiveup #devotional

DAILY DEVOTIONAL | April 17th

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📖 And the Lord said to me, “Write my answer on a billboard, large and clear, so that anyone can read it at a glance and rush to tell the others. But these things I plan won’t happen right away. Slowly, steadily, surely, the time approaches when the vision will be fulfilled. If it seems slow, do not despair, for these things will surely come to pass. Just be patient! They will not be overdue a single day! 
—Habakkuk 2:2-3 The Living Bible 

God has a timing for all the things that He has preordained. We get in trouble when we rush the process. Many times, we want things done right now. We don’t want to wait on God, and we don’t want to wait on His timing. We must get to the place where we know that God knows best.  If we get it too quickly, we may not learn the lesson. God will do thinks slowly and steadily. He will do things in such a way that that it will not hurt us in the long run. We must trust that God is smarter than us. God knows what He is doing. Let’s not get in a hurry. Let’s enjoy the journey. The things He has planned will come to pass. They will not be overdue a single day. 

#God’stiming #vcccharlotte #journey #devotional 

DAILY DEVOTIONAL | April 16th

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📖 Blessed (happy, fortunate, prosperous, and enviable) is the man who walks and lives not in the counsel of the ungodly [following their advice, their plans and purposes], nor stands [submissive and inactive] in the path where sinners walk, nor sits down [to relax and rest] where the scornful [and the mockers] gather. 

But his delight and desire are in the law of the Lord, and on His law (the precepts, the instructions, the teachings of God) he habitually meditates (ponders and studies) by day and by night. 

And he shall be like a tree firmly planted [and tended] by the streams of water, ready to bring forth its fruit in its season; its leaf also shall not fade or wither; and everything he does shall prosper [and come to maturity].
—Psalms 1: 1-3 AMPC  

In this psalm, we are given some insight into what will cause success in our lives. We are to avoid the counsel of the ungodly. We are to refrain from hanging out with the ungodly. The ungodly don’t think or talk like God. Many times, the way that they live their lives contradict the way God wants His people to live. The psalmist tells us that we need to delight ourselves in the law of God. He goes on to tell us that we should ponder and study the Word of God both day and night. Studying God’s Word will teach us how we should live and conduct our lives. It tells us how to think and how we should talk. When our lives line up with His Word, we know that success is imminent. Acting on God’s Word will cause us to be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, eventually we will bear fruit. Eventually we will see prosperity in every area of our lives. The Word will cause us to live a victorious life. 

#vcccharlotte #prosperity #devotional 

DAILY DEVOTIONAL | April 15th

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📖 I don’t mean to say I am perfect. I haven’t learned all I should even yet, but I keep working toward that day when I will finally be all that Christ saved me for and wants me to be. —Philippians 3:12 The Living Bible 

One thing that Paul was working towards was that he would eventually become what God had preordained for him to be. He talked about forgetting things from the past and moving towards the things that were before him. Paul had made some pretty big mistakes in his past. He had persecuted the church and had people put in prison for their beliefs. None of that mattered once he became born again. His goal was now to be all that God had called him to be. He worked tirelessly toward that goal, and nothing prevented him from accomplishing it. In fact, several of the epistles that he wrote were written from a prison cell. He experienced shipwrecks, beatings, snake bites, and other things, yet he did not quit. We must do the same thing. Regardless of what the enemy throws our way, we must not stop until we have become all that God wants us to be. 

#dontquit #paul #motivation #destiny #verseoftheday #devotional

DAILY DEVOTIONAL | April 14th

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📖 O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever. 
—I Chronicles 16:34 KJV

Do you live a life of gratitude. Are you grateful for the little things in life? Are you grateful to be alive? Are you grateful that your name is written in Heaven? As believers, we understand that everything in our lives that is good came from God. Every good gift and every perfect gift come from Him. We ought not be like the Israelites when they were in the desert. They complained every time they faced an obstacle or experienced a hard time. They would constantly complain and tell Moses that they should have stayed slaves in Egypt. These were the same people that experienced freedom at the Hand of God. They saw His mighty works in Egypt, and yet they still questioned whether He would take care of them. They were ungrateful people. We must make sure that we do not behave like them. We must give thanks unto the Lord, because He is so good. 

#goodGod #gratitude #thankfulthursday #devotional #verseoftheday #vcccharlotte

DAILY DEVOTIONAL | April 12th

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📖 “The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed;”
—Luke 4:18 NKJV

Just like Jesus had a specific calling on His life. We as ambassadors of Christ have one as well. God has anointed us to minister salvation, deliverance, and healing to this broken world. There are people in the world that are hurting and yearning for a touch from God and we all have a calling to deliver that touch. God wants to show people how much he loves and cares for them and He wants to use us! In these last days we must lock down our calling and start to get into the positions and places where He wants us to be in so we can minister to whoever He brings our way. Let us continue to chase after the high calling God has for us like our Lord and Savior, ministering to those who need our God.

#ourcalling #minister #vcccharlotte #devotional #MostHigh

DAILY DEVOTIONAL | April 11th

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📖 A fool’s mouth is his devastation, and his lips are a trap for his life. 
—Proverbs 18:7 HCSB 

Many of us have not received a revelation of the power of our words. The writer of Proverbs is telling us that a fool’s mouth is his destruction. The fool doesn’t understand the power of his words. He just says what he feels and thinks, regardless of whether it is good or bad, positive or negative. When we are careless with our words, we are allowing ourselves to be trapped by the wicked one. He can use our words to hold us in bondage to bad habits. He can use our words to keep us sick, broke, and oppressed. We must be disciplined with our words, saying what God says. We must speak the desired, end result. Don’t ‘shoot yourself in the foot’, as they say. Don’t allow yourself to be your worst enemy. Use your words wisely. A fool’s mouth is his destruction, don’t let it be yours. 

#powerofwords #devotional #wednesdaywisdom #message #verseoftheday

DAILY DEVOTIONAL | April 10th

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📖 I will lift up my eyes to the hills [around Jerusalem, to sacred Mount Zion and Mount Moriah]—From whence shall my help come? My help comes from the Lord, Who made heaven and earth. He will not allow your foot to slip or to be moved; He Who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, He who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade on your right hand [the side not carrying a shield]. The sun shall not smite you by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord will keep you from all evil; He will keep your life. The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore. —Psalms 121 AMPC

Where does your help come from? Some look to man for help. Some look to false deities. Our help comes from the Lord. The Lord is our Keeper. The Lord keeps us from all evil. He keeps our going in and our going out. God is always watching. God is always protecting. The Bible tells us, “The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth to show Himself strong in behalf of those whose hearts are blameless toward Him”. Our faith gets His attention. Our trust in His Word gets His attention. When we are speaking His Word, it gets His attention. We must decide where our help comes from. Some trust in and boast of chariots and some of horses, but we will trust in and boast of the name of the Lord our God. (Psalm 20:7 Amp. Classic) 

#OurHelper #vcccharlotte #OurKeeper #devotional #OurProtector 

DAILY DEVOTIONAL | April 9th

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📖 The very day I call for help, the tide of battle turns. My enemies flee! This one thing I know: God is for me!  I am trusting God—oh, praise his promises! I am not afraid of anything mere man can do to me! Yes, praise his promises.  I will surely do what I have promised, Lord, and thank you for your help. For you have saved me from death and my feet from slipping, so that I can walk before the Lord in the land of the living. 
—Psalm 56:9-13 The Living Bible

When God steps in on the scene, your enemies are in trouble. The battle has turned. It doesn’t matter what it looks like, victory is inevitable. We serve a God who is undefeated. Your battle will not be His first loss! The devil will talk but let him talk. He may tell you that you are going under, remember he’s a liar. He will huff and puff, but he can’t blow your house down. You will have what God has promised, if you don’t get weary. God is not a man that He should lie. The Lord will help you so that you can walk before Him in the land of the living. Don’t give up, your breakthrough is on the way! 

#God’spromises #vcccharlotte #trustintheLord #devotional

DAILY DEVOTIONAL | April 8th

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📖 But you [Jeremiah], gird up your loins! Arise and tell them all that I command you. Do not be dismayed and break down at the sight of their faces, lest I confound you before them and permit you to be overcome. 

For I, behold, I have made you this day a fortified city and an iron pillar and bronze walls against the whole land—against the [successive] kings of Judah, against its princes, against its priests, and against the people of the land [giving you divine strength which no hostile power can overcome]. 

And they shall fight against you, but they shall not [finally] prevail against you, for I am with you, says the Lord, to deliver you. 
—Jeremiah 1:17-19 AMPC

Sometimes when we are walking out the will of God, we have to deal with fear. God was telling Jeremiah to say what He was commanding him to say and not to be moved by the people’s faces. God even told Jeremiah that even if they fight against Him, they couldn’t win because God was with Him. God is consistent. All throughout the Word of God, He tells His people not to be afraid of a man because He was with them. There is no one stronger than God. No one has ever defeated God, and no one ever will. God will make you a fortified city. God will give you divine strength. God will cause you to overcome every wile and strategy of the wicked one. We win every time. 

#Jeremiah #devotional #faithoverfear #overcomer #vcccharlotte

DAILY DEVOTIONAL | April 7th

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📖 “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. —Matthew 6:31-33 ESV 

Worry is such a major issue in many people’s lives today. They are worried about their finances, their jobs, providing for their family, etc. We have a God who has promised to take good care of us. There are no benefits to being anxious and worrying about tomorrow. We as Christians must put our trust in God by seeking His kingdom first. As we are pursuing the things of God, He will take care of our every need. We don’t have to fret like the world does. We have the God that owns the cattle on a thousand hills. Let us seek first the Kingdom and his righteousness and watch God show himself to us as Jehovah Jireh (the Lord our Provider). 

#Godcares #donotworry #devotional #vcccharlotte #trustGod

DAILY DEVOTIONAL | April 5th

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📖 Every child of God can defeat the world, and our faith is what gives us this victory. 
—I John 5:4 CEV 

Every child of God can overcome the world. Every born-again person has been given the measure of faith. That faith, when developed and exercised, will cause the believer to overcome all the enemy may throw his way. As your faith increases, your limitations decrease. As you grow in your faith walk, you learn to believe God for increase in your finances, healing in your body, and anything else that is out of sync. Faith will work on anything. When Jesus was on the earth, He spoke to fig trees, storms, fevers, and even the dead. They all obeyed Him because faith will work on anything. Jesus even said that if you spoke to a mountain, it would have to obey you (Mark 11:23). We must make the development of our faith a priority if we are going to continue to overcome in this life. Faith is what will cause us to win. Faith is what gives us this victory! 

#faith #victory #childofGod #vcccharlotte #verseoftheday

DAILY DEVOTIONAL | April 4th

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📖 Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise. 

For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness. 
—I Corinthians 3:18-19 KJV

The Word of God tells us to come out from among them (the world) and be separate. We are to be separate from the world because Satan is the god of this world (2 Corinthians 4:4). We do not want to embrace the values or wisdom of this world. That is one reason the Bible tells us to renew our minds. God wants our thinking to be in line with His Word. God’s Word is His Wisdom. The Wisdom of God is foolishness to the world because God’s way of doing things goes against the ideals of the world. The wisdom of this world is “earthly, sensual, and devilish” (James 3:15). We should seek the wisdom that is from above because it is pure, peaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreated, full of mercy, and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy (James 3:17). God’s ways are higher than our ways, but so is His Wisdom. Let’s stay away from the wisdom of this world, and let's embrace the wisdom that comes from God. We always come out on top when
we do. 

#wisdom #vcccharlotte #kingdomlife #devotional #trustGod

DAILY DEVOTIONAL | April 3rd

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📖 Oh yes, you shaped me first inside, then out; 
    you formed me in my mother’s womb. 
I thank you, High God—you’re breathtaking! 
    Body and soul, I am marvelously made! 
    I worship in adoration—what a creation! 
You know me inside and out, 
    you know every bone in my body; 
You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit, 
    how I was sculpted from nothing into something. 
Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth; 
    all the stages of my life were spread out before you, 
The days of my life all prepared 
    before I’d even lived one day. 
—Psalm 139:13-16 The Message 

You are something else. We are marvelously made. God put a lot of thought into us. He knows us inside and out. We were not made by accident. We are not products of evolution. We were sculpted from nothing into something. God watched us as we were being formed in our mother’s womb. The stages of our lives have already been prepared by him. All of us. None of us are exempt. God took the time not only to create our physical bodies, but also our lives. He knows the path before we take our first step. We must stay in sync with our Creator. He knows what is best for us. He always has our best interest in mind. God wants the best for us. We must want the same. We cannot walk in His best without Him. He is our sufficiency and our ability. Without Him we are nothing. 

#creation #vcccharlotte #Creator #devotional 

DAILY DEVOTIONAL | April 2nd

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📖 He (Jesus) said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a secluded place and rest a little while”—for there were many [people who were continually] coming and going, and they could not even find time to eat. —Mark 6:31 AMP 

Have you found yourself in the same position? Have you been so busy that you forgot to eat? The disciples were out doing the Lord’s work. They went out and preached that men should repent. They were casting out many demons, anointing with oil many who were sick, and healing them. They were doing what Jesus had sent them out to do. Even though they were doing those wonderful things, they still needed to get away and rest for a little while. They were still human. We have to realize and understand the same thing. We are human and we need rest. We need to take breaks periodically. Rest is good for the body, and it is good for the mind. We must endeavor to take the time to rest. If it was important for the disciples, it is no less important for us.  

#rest #vcccharlotte #God’sWord #devotional  

DAILY DEVOTIONAL | April 1st

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📖 “Whoever has knowledge controls his words, and a person who has understanding is even-tempered" -Proverbs 17:27 God’s Word Translation

A person who has knowledge and understanding will control both their tongue and their temper. Sometimes when people get upset, they lose their temper and say whatever is on their mind. When they do, they have a tendency to regret what was said in a moment of anger. We cannot allow our emotions to get the best of us. The Word of God tells us to be slow to wrath (James 1:19). We must control our words, because our words have power. We don’t want to curse people or say things that we really don’t want to come to pass. We must walk in the fruit of the spirit. We must maintain our joy. We must stay in control of our words and our temper. 

#wordshavepower #devotional #understanding #vcccharlotte 

DAILY DEVOTIONAL | March 31st

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📖 “But since you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in the love we have kindled in you —see that you also excel in this grace of giving." -2 Corinthians 8:7 New International Version

God desires for us to excel in every area of our lives. The church in Corinth was excelling in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness (or diligence), and in love. That is impressive. Despite their excelling in these areas, Paul admonished them to excel in giving. Giving not only bestows blessings to others, but it also causes blessings to come our way. When we give, it is given back to us again, good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over (Luke 6:38). Our giving causes others to give thanks to God because we were the channel that God used to be a blessing. God delights in our excelling in everything we do. If we haven’t started to excel in our giving, it's definitely time that we do. It is more blessed to give, than to receive (Acts 20:35). When we start to excel in that area, we will understand why.

#giver #generosity #Goodgod #verseoftheday #devotional

DAILY DEVOTIONAL | March 29th

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📖 “Therefore, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision”
⎼Acts 26:19 NKJV

In this verse, Paul is telling the story of his life to King Agrippa and the calling that God had for him. He ends his story by stating that he was not disobedient to the heavenly vision. In Proverbs 29:18a AMPC says, “Where there is no vision [no redemptive revelation of God], the people perish.” Without vision or direction when it comes to our lives, we are at risk of perishing. Paul was saying to King Agrippa, ‘I did not deviate from the vision that God had for me.’ Just like God had a vision for Paul, he also has a vision for our lives. When we receive God’s vision for our lives, it helps us to focus on what it is we need to focus on. If you knew that you were called to be a doctor, then you would have no need to go to Law School. Another benefit of having God’s vision for our lives is when adversity and circumstances come our way, we can fall back on that vision because we know it came from God. We know that God has our back and all the blessings and promises of God will be with us and for us. You may be asking the question now, “How can I get God’s vision for my life?” As we spend time communing with God through the Word, prayer and worship, God will reveal to us what His vision for our life is. So, let us seek the Lord and run with the vision He gives us!

#vision #dreams #devotional #verseoftheday #vcccharlotte

DAILY DEVOTIONAL | March 28th

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📖 It is true that we live in the world, but we do not fight from worldly motives. The weapons we use in our fight are not the world's weapons but God's powerful weapons, which we use to destroy strongholds. We destroy false arguments; we pull down every proud obstacle that is raised against the knowledge of God; we take every thought captive and make it obey Christ. —II Corinthians 10:3-5 GNT 

As believers, it is important for us to see things from a spiritual perspective. When we encounter situations and circumstances that are contrary, we must remind ourselves that our weapons are not carnal, but they are spiritual. We have the Name of Jesus, the Blood of Jesus, the Word of God, the Spirit of God, and the whole armor of God. These weapons are sufficient to combat the devil when he comes against us. We must fight the battle in the spiritual realm and in the mental realm. We must cast down imaginations and take every thought captive that goes against the Word of God. We do not want to give the enemy any place in our lives. Many times, he is granted access through our thoughts. Let's commit to KEEPING the devil out of our lives. We win in the spirit and the mental realm, and when we win in those areas, we win in the natural realm too.

#spiritualwarfare #devotional #resistthedevil #motivation #vcccharlotte 

DAILY DEVOTIONAL | March 27th

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📖 Beloved, do not imitate what is evil, but [imitate] what is good. The one who practices good [exhibiting godly character, moral courage and personal integrity] is of God; the one who practices [or permits or tolerates] evil has not seen God [he has no personal experience with Him and does not know Him at all]. 
—3 John 11 Amplified Bible 

As believers, we ought to demonstrate the characteristics of our Father. Our Father walks in integrity, we should walk in integrity. We should be known as people who keep our word. As Christians we should be people of godly character. We are not people who practice evil. One cannot help but assume that the person who practices evil has not had an experience with God. It is possible that they may not even know God. It is hard to be in His Presence and remain the same. When you are fellowshipping with God through prayer, on a regular basis, it changes you. When you are reading and studying His Word, that Word should be changing your mind and your conduct. We cannot imitate evil continually when we know Him. If we want to be changed, we must have the attitude that Paul had. We must want to know Him and the power of His resurrection. 

#godlycharacter #vcccharlotte #integrity #devotional