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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | May 30th

📖 “I, John, am your brother and your partner in suffering and in God’s Kingdom and in the patient endurance to which Jesus calls us. I was exiled to the island of Patmos for preaching the word of God and for my testimony about Jesus. It was the Lord’s Day, and I was worshiping in the Spirit. Suddenly, I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet blast.” —Revelation 1:9 NLT

From the above text, we see that the Apostle John was exiled to Patmos for preaching the Word of God and for his testimony about Jesus. 

The Bible says in II Timothy 3:12, “Yes, and everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.” 

Have you ever found yourself on an island for doing & standing up for what was right? You stood up for Godly principles and were rejected & ostracized. Don’t be dismayed. I’d like to encourage you to take a look at how John handled his island predicament. The scriptures say he was worshiping in the Spirit. He took his focus off what seemed to be an unfavorable situation and took heed to the 34th Psalm where David wrote, “I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth.” John turned his island of worry and weariness into an island of worship. When we do like John, God will turn our island of rejection into an island of reward & strength. So, always remember that it’s okay to be on an island, because it is part of our Christian journey & process. 

#dailydevotional #island #worship #vcccharlotte #favor

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | May 29th

📖 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

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | May 28th

📖 Day by day the Lord observes the good deeds done by godly men, and gives them eternal rewards. He cares for them when times are hard; even in famine, they will have enough. —Psalm 37:18-19 The Living Bible

The eyes of the Lord run back and forth throughout the earth to show himself strong on behalf of those whose hearts are perfect towards Him (I Chronicles 16:9). He takes care of His people. He takes care of us when times are good and when times appear to be bad. God is always consistent. God told David that He was with him the whole time he was running from Saul. When it looked like David was not going to survive the ordeal, God made a way of escape for him.   

We are faith people, and we are to walk by faith and not by sight. We must stand on God’s Word knowing that God is coming through, even when it appears like He isn’t. The things that are seen are temporary; they are subject to change. Our God is the same, and He does not change. There is ‘no shadow of turning’ with Him. He comes through every time, even in times of famine or lack.  

#Provider #GodIsGood #devotional #vcccharlotte #GoodFather 

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | May 27th

📖 Commit your works to the Lord [submit and trust them to Him], And your plans will succeed [if you respond to His will and guidance]. —Proverbs 16:3 AMP 

Some of the most common questions asked by Christians have been, “What am I supposed to do”? or “Why am I here”? When we submit our lives to God and place our lives in His Hands, we can trust that He will lead and guide us in the way that we should go. God will direct our steps, and He will speak to us. God will tell us everything we need to know in reference to our future. Once we understand the will of God for our lives, we must submit to it. We must submit to His guidance. It is pointless to seek the face of God concerning our future if we are not going to do what He instructs us to do. God’s plan for our lives is beautiful. If we trust and submit our lives to Him, we will experience the good life that He has preordained for us to live. 

#purposedriven #trustGod #vcccharlotte #Godsplan #devotional

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | May 25th

📖 "And there was a woman who had had a discharge of blood for twelve years, and though she had spent all her living on physicians, she could not be healed by anyone. She came up behind him and touched the fringe of his garment, and immediately her discharge of blood ceased." —Luke 8:43-44 ESV 

This woman was in a desperate situation. She had a medical condition that no one could treat. She went from doctor to doctor, and they could not stop her flow of blood. She dealt with that condition for twelve years. When she heard of Jesus, she went and found where He was and touched the hem of His garments. She believed that if she could just get to Jesus, her situation would change. She got a revelation that Jesus could do what the doctors had been unable to do. Her faith in Jesus got her just what she desired. She was completely healed. The blood stopped immediately! When we go to God in faith and on the basis on His Word, we can expect a change in our circumstances. We can expect God to turn it around. We can expect to hear, “Your faith has made you whole”. Our God is faithful.   

#faithwalk #trustGod #healing #vcccharlotte #devotional

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | May 24th

📖 Have nothing to do with godless and silly myths. Train yourself in godliness; for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. —I Timothy 4:7-8 RSV

Training is a good thing. We train our bodies so that we can be healthy and look good. Physical exercise is profitable, and it has some value, but it isn’t as profitable as spiritual training. You won’t be able to take your physical body with you into eternity, but you will take your spirit man. Training yourself in godliness is profitable both for this life and the next. Your spirit man will live forever. As matter of fact, the outward man is perishing, but the spirit man is being renewed day by day (2 Corinthians 4:16). Our desire should be to continue to grow spiritually. Our faith should be growing. Our love walk should be growing. Our ability to hear the voice of God should be improving. The fruit of the Spirit should become more visible as we continue to walk with and fellowship with God. Physical training is important, but spiritual training is vital. 

#spiritual #exercise #growth #devotional #verseoftheday 

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | May 23rd

📖 So ever since we first heard about you we have kept on praying and asking God to help you understand what he wants you to do; asking him to make you wise about spiritual things; and asking that the way you live will always please the Lord and honor him, so that you will always be doing good, kind things for others, while all the time you are learning to know God better and better. —Colossians 1:9-10 The Living Bible

The key to our success is understanding what the Lord wants us to do. As we seek the Lord, He gives us insight and instructs us in the way that we should go. The Bible tells us that we are to be led by the Spirit of God (Romans 8:14). Spending time in the Word and in prayer will cause us to become more sensitive to His leadership. As we are led by Him, that will enable us to know Him better and better. It will strengthen our walk with Him and our overall trust in Him. As we obey the leadership of the Holy Spirit, it will cause us to live a life that pleases and honors God. It will cause our lives to get better and better, and we will go from glory to glory. 

#glorytoglory #devotional #understanding #verseoftheday #vcccharlotte

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | May 22nd

📖 A righteous person eats until his appetite is satisfied, but the stomach of the wicked is always empty. —Proverbs 13:25 EHV 

Eating well is a benefit of being a child of God. Jesus told us in Matthew 6 to NOT worry about what we are going to eat or what we are going to drink. He told us to seek first the kingdom of God, and these things will be added unto us. On several occasions when Jesus was teaching, He multiplied bread and fish to meet the needs of thousands of people. On another occasion, God rained down manna and caused water to come out of a rock in order to feed His people in the wilderness. Throughout the Old and New Testaments, we see that God took care of people. As we walk with God, we can be assured that He will also take care of us and will see to it that we are taken care of. It's not based primarily on what we do, it is based on how good our God is. 

#faithfulGod #Provider #devotional #GodIsGood #trustGod 

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | May 21st

📖 Dear friends, never avenge yourselves. Leave that to God, for he has said that he will repay those who deserve it. Don’t take the law into your own hands. Instead, feed your enemy if he is hungry. If he is thirsty give him something to drink and you will be “heaping coals of fire on his head.” In other words, he will feel ashamed of himself for what he has done to you.  Don’t let evil get the upper hand, but conquer evil by doing good. 
—Romans 12:19-21 The Living Bible 

We have all been mistreated at some point in our lives. Someone may have lied on you. Someone may have started a rumor about you. Maybe someone was gossiping about you, and they were giving out incorrect information. In times like those, you might want to lash out. You might want to “get them told”. You may want to simply defend yourself against slander. The best thing for us to do is to leave that into God’s hands. The Bible instructs us to never avenge ourselves. Many times, we want to do the opposite. We not only want to avenge ourselves, but we want others to know how we have been mistreated. We cannot allow evil to get the upper hand. We must conquer evil by doing good. We must forgive, and we must walk in love. If our enemy is hungry, we can feed them. If they are thirsty, we can give them something to drink. We don’t have to mistreat others because we have been mistreated. That is not a demonstration of the love of God. We must allow the love of God to be shed abroad in our hearts. We must be like our Father in heaven. We must love the unlovable. We must be kind to the unkind. We must overcome evil with good. 

#loveofGod #devotional #forgiveness #vengenceisminesaystheLord 

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | May 20th

📖 Now the man Moses was very meek (gentle, kind, and humble) or above all the men on the face of the earth. —Numbers 12:3 AMP

Moses, at one time was considered to be the humblest man in the entire world. Can you imagine that being said about you? Many people struggle with humility. Many are caught up in and think only of themselves. Moses could have walked in some pride. He was God’s mouthpiece. He was the vessel that God used to free His people from slavery. He was the only one that God spoke to face to face (Numbers 12:8). He would spend days at a time talking to God, and yet he remained humble. He didn’t think more of himself because of his interaction with God. Moses understood that he was nothing without God. God was his sufficiency. We must stay little in our own eyes. We must understand that everything that we have, even our status, is because of God. Humility always precedes promotion, so let's stay little in our own eyes. Humility always brings honor. 

#moses #dailydevotional #humility #vcccharlotte #motivation 

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | May 18th

📖 For the dream comes through much effort, and the voice of a fool through many words. —Ecclesiastes 5:3 NASB 

It has been said that a dream, whether big or small, will have the same cost – your life. That simply means that your dreams will require a lot of your time and effort. It will mean getting up early and staying up late. It will mean sacrificing meals at times. It may mean sacrificing time with your friends because you are working towards your goals. It could mean some lonely times because that dream will require you to be away from others so that you can work. Dreams cost. The bigger the dream, the higher the cost. We must be willing to ‘pay in full’ before we can experience the dream. Everything we want in life must be paid for in advance. You must pay the price of admission before you are allowed to experience the show, the movie, or the performance. The same thing goes for our dreams. We must pay the price of admission before we see the manifestation of the goal.  

#dreams #devotional #perseverance #vcccharlotte #goals 

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | May 17th

📖 [For my determined purpose is] that I may know Him [that I may progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him, perceiving and recognizing and understanding the wonders of His Person more strongly and more clearly], and that I may in that same way come to know the power outflowing from His resurrection [which it exerts over believers], and that I may so share His sufferings as to be continually transformed [in spirit into His likeness even] to His death, [in the hope] —Philippians 3:10 AMPC

It appears that one of Paul’s main goals in life was to know God more intimately. Paul seemed to have a healthy obsession with God. He talked about how he prayed in tongues more than all of those in the church of Corinth. He talked about how he did not want to frustrate the grace of God, and that is why he worked so hard. He was willing to go through whatever he had to go through to fulfill the call of God that was on his life.  
 
Paul wanted to have a deeper, more intimate relationship with God. It meant more to him than anything else, and that should be our attitude. We should love God with all our heart, mind, body and soul. We should love Him with our entire being. There are times in our lives when we have to examine our walk with God. We have to search our hearts and make sure that there is nothing in our lives that is more important than God. It’s in Him that we live, and move, and have our being. So, let’s make Him a priority. 

#firstthingsfirst #devotional #prayer #paul #honorGod

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | May 16th

📖 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 

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | May 15th

📖 One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision and told him, “Don’t be afraid! Speak out! Don’t quit! For I am with you and no one can harm you. Many people here in this city belong to me.” —Acts 18:9-10 The Living Bible

When God sends you, He equips you. He not only equips you, but He assists you. He makes available His vast resources and His protection. It doesn’t matter where He sends you, He will take care of you. Like Paul, if God is with you, no one can harm you. If God is with you, no one can stop you. If God is with you, no obstacle can stand in your way. God has people everywhere. He has people that are ready to heed His every command. There are people ready to give their time, resources, and finances. God knows where they are, and He knows how to bring them across your path. No matter how rough it gets, don’t quit. God’s got you. 

#vcccharlotte #Godsgotus #devotional #motivation

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | May 14th

📖 However, the Lord, the God of Israel, chose me before all my father’s house to be king over Israel forever. For He chose Judah to be the ruler; and of the house of Judah he chose the house of my father; and among the sons of my father He was pleased to make me king over all Israel; 

And of all my sons, for the Lord has given me many sons, He has chosen Solomon my son to sit upon the throne of the kingdom of the Lord over Israel. 

And He said to me, Solomon your son shall build My house and My courts, for I have chosen him to be My son, and I will be his father. 
—I Chronicles 28:4-6 AMPC

God has a destiny for all of us. He wrote the story of our lives while we were being formed in our mother’s womb (Psalm 139:16 AMP). God chose David to be king over Israel. Then He chose Solomon, out of all his sons, to take over the throne from David. It is important that we walk out what God has chosen for us to do and not what we have chosen for ourselves. God is smarter than us, and He loves us more than we love ourselves. He has equipped us for what He has chosen us for. The gifts and talents that God has blessed us with are irrevocable. Many times, we want to carve out our own paths, but we must travel the path that God has preordained for us. When we do, we know that He will go before us and make the crooked places straight. God’s ways are always higher than ours. 

#destiny #purposedriven #Godswaysarehigher #vcccharlotte #giftsandtalents

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | May 13th

📖 Another said, “Yes, Lord, I will follow you, but first let me say good-bye to my family.” But Jesus told him, “Anyone who puts a hand to the plow and then looks back is not fit for the Kingdom of God.” —Luke 9:61-62 NLT 

God expects us to move forward in life. He does not want us living in what happened yesterday, whether it was good or bad. When it comes to our past, we must be like Paul. We must forget those things that are behind us and move toward the things that God has for us. The past can hinder us. It can hold us back. God does not want us living in the past. He wants to take us from glory to glory. He wants our lives to continue to get better and better. We cannot be like Lot’s wife: she looked back, and it cost her. Looking back can cost us as well. We must remove all hindrances from our lives and remember that looking back can actually be a hindrance in and of itself. So, let's keep moving forward! God will go before us and make the crooked places straight as we do.  

#keepmovin #eyesonJesus #dailydevotional #vcccharlotte #Bible

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | May 11th

📖 I am the Lord, and I do not change. And so you, the descendants of Jacob, are not yet completely lost. —Malachi 3:6 GNT 

Aren't you glad that God doesn’t change. He is still a healer. He is still a deliverer. He is still a restorer. Everything that you read in the Word about God is still true today. He is still merciful. He is still a covenant keeping God, and there is nothing too difficult or too hard for Him. God’s Word is His résumé’. It allows you to see what He can do and what He is capable of. He cannot lie, and therefore, He can be trusted. Humans can say one thing and mean something else. Human beings can be untrustworthy, but not our God. He is always the same, yesterday, today, and forever. 

#faithfulGod #Hebrews13v8 #devotional #verseoftheday #vcccharlotte

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | May 10th

📖 I pray that the sharing of your faith may become effective and powerful because of your accurate knowledge of every good thing which is ours in Christ. —Philemon 1:6 AMP

We should have accurate knowledge of the Word of God. We have to study to show ourselves approved unto God (2 Timothy 2:15). We should be like those who heard Paul and Silas preach in Berea. They were considered nobler than the church of Thessalonica, because they had a ready mind and searched the Scriptures daily to see if what was being taught was accurate. When you have a working knowledge of the Word, it is hard to be deceived by false teachers or those who may misinterpret Scripture. When Satan attacked Jesus, He tried to present the Word inaccurately, but Jesus countered that with Scripture. Jesus overcame the devil through His knowledge of the Word of God. If we want to experience the same type of victory, we must do the same.  

#Thessalonians #devotional #Bibleknowledge #vcccharlotte 

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | May 9th

📖 When the brothers started emptying their sacks of grain, they found their moneybags in them. They were frightened, and so was their father Jacob, who said, “You have already taken my sons Joseph and Simeon from me. And now you want to take away Benjamin! Everything is against me.” —Genesis 42:35-36 CEV

Have you ever had this feeling? Have you ever felt like the whole world was against you? If we don’t stay on top of ourselves, we can allow ourselves to get to a point where we feel like everyone is against us, our family, our boss, the government, even the dog. The Bible tells us that God is for us, and if He is for us, who can be against us. We must remind ourselves that we are children of God, and He will intervene in our affairs when we ask Him to in faith. God can turn every negative situation around. There is nothing too hard or too difficult for Him. We must stay in the Word of God, and we must stay in the presence of God through prayer, praise and worship. As we do those things, our perspective will change. Instead of seeing ourselves as losing, we will see ourselves properly. We will see ourselves as being more than conquerors.  

#conquerors #devotional #motivation #Bible #trustGod 

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | May 8th

📖 Jacob was boiling pottage (lentil stew) one day, when Esau came from the field and was faint [with hunger]. 

And Esau said to Jacob, I beg of you, let me have some of that red lentil stew to eat, for I am faint and famished! That is why his name was called Edom [red]. 

Jacob answered, Then sell me today your birthright (the rights of a firstborn). 

Esau said, See here, I am at the point of death; what good can this birthright do me? 

Jacob said, Swear to me today [that you are selling it to me]; and he swore to [Jacob] and sold him his birthright. 

Then Jacob gave Esau bread and stew of lentils, and he ate and drank and rose up and went his way. Thus Esau scorned his birthright as beneath his notice. 
—Genesis 25:29-34 AMPC 

Esau sold his birthright for some soup. One’s birthright gave them authority, special blessings, the father’s blessing, and a great name, and many other things. Esau traded all of that for beans, peas, and lentils. We must learn a lesson from Esau. We cannot trade what we want the most for what we see in the moment. Esau traded his inheritance (which included wealth) for some soup. He made a decision in the flesh, and it cost him. We cannot afford to make the same type of mistakes in our own lives. Many times, people will entertain sin and that sin costs them something. It cost them their job, their marriage, their standard of living, even their good name, all because of what they saw at that moment. Let us make good decisions. Let's make decisions that bring rewards, not regret.  

#rewardsnotregrets #inheritance #devotional #lessons #vcccharlotte

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