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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | May 10th

📖 And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his own ability; and immediately he went on a journey. Then he who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and made another five talents. And likewise he who had received two gained two more also. But he who had received one went and dug in the ground, and hid his lord’s money. After a long time the lord of those servants came and settled accounts with them. 

“So he who had received five talents came and brought five other talents, saying, ‘Lord, you delivered to me five talents; look, I have gained five more talents besides them.’ His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord. —Matthew 25:15-21 NKJV

What are you doing with the talents that God has given you? Are you working to unleash your full potential? Are you working to become a valuable member of the Body of Christ? We must be about our Father’s business. Jesus, as a little boy, was in the temple learning and asking questions. He was diligent about His purpose at a young age. We must do the same. We must continue to be diligent and faithful. Once we have proven ourselves in doing this, God will reward us with greater responsibilities, which always come with even greater rewards. Many times, we want more without passing the faithfulness test. We must be like Paul—forgetting the things that are behind, we must press toward the mark. We can be all that God wants us to be if we are willing to pay the price. The faithfulness fee is what will grant us access to greater things. Are you willing to pay the price? 

#vcccharlotte #responsibilities #devotional #diligence #purpose

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | May 9th

📖 See what [an incredible] quality of love the Father has given (shown, bestowed on) us, that we should [be permitted to] be named and called and counted the children of God! And so we are! The reason that the world does not know (recognize, acknowledge) us is that it does not know (recognize, acknowledge) Him. —I John 3:1 AMPC

What a privilege it is to be called the children of God. We aren’t servants, even though we should serve God. We are His children. He loves us so much that He would call us His children. Despite our shortcomings, despite our struggles, despite our imperfections, God deemed it appropriate to call us His children. He doesn’t see us the way we often see ourselves; He sees us through the Blood of Jesus. God sees us as righteous. He sees us as kings and priests. When we make Jesus the Lord of our lives, it puts us in a different class. Because of this, the world does not know or recognize us. They did not know or recognize Jesus, so we should expect no different. We are not of this world; we are of God! We should embrace this and meditate on this truth until it becomes a reality to us. We are the children of the almighty God—the Creator of the universe. When you finally get a revelation of this, it will change your life. It will change your perspective and take you to another level. 

#childrenofGod #devotional #vcccharlotte #righteous

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | May 8th

📖 Be careful what you think [ Above all that you guard, protect your heart], because ·your thoughts run your life [life flows from it]. —Proverbs 4:23 The Expanded Bible  

Guard your mind and guard your heart. It has been said that “your life goes in the direction of your most dominate thoughts”. This is one reason why we must be careful what we think about. We don’t want negative thoughts to infiltrate our hearts. If we allow those negative thoughts to get into our hearts eventually, we will start to speak those thoughts and we will have what we say. (Mark 11:23) The mouth will speak whatever the heart is full of (Luke 6:45). As believers, we walk by faith and not by sight or appearance (II Corinthians 5:7). We keep our eyes on the Word and not on what we see in this natural world. God’s Word will change what we see. We must get His Word on our minds and in our hearts. Guard your mind and your heart. If it doesn’t line up with the Word don’t think about it. We should do what Philippians 4:8 says: For the rest, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is worthy of reverence and is honorable and seemly, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely and lovable, whatever is kind and winsome and gracious, if there is any virtue and excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think on and weigh and take account of these things [fix your minds on them]. 

#protectyourmind #vcccharlotte #protectyourheart #devotional  

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | May 7th

📖 When they arrived at the house of the ruler of the synagogue, He looked [carefully and with understanding] at [the] tumult and the people weeping and wailing loudly. 

And when He had gone in, He said to them, Why do you make an uproar and weep? The little girl is not dead but is sleeping. 

And they laughed and jeered at Him. But He put them all out, and, taking the child’s father and mother and those who were with Him, He went in where the little girl was lying. 

Gripping her [firmly] by the hand, He said to her, Talitha cumi—which translated is, Little girl, I say to you, arise [from the sleep of death]! 

And instantly the girl got up and started walking around—for she was twelve years old. And they were utterly astonished and overcome with amazement. 
—Mark 5:38-42 AMPC 

Protect your faith. When you are believing God for a miracle, you must create an atmosphere that is conducive to what you are believing for. Protect your environment. You don’t want people around you who don’t believe in miracles. You don’t want to hang around people who do not believe that God can do anything. You want to be around like-minded people. You want people that are going to encourage your faith and keep you built up. Jesus had to kick the unbelievers out of the house. He had to change the atmosphere. He had to create an environment that would allow Jairus to keep believing. Be mindful of your environment. Be mindful of your associations. Jairus got what he believed for. If you protect your environment and have the right people around, you can too. You can receive from God. 

#faith #vcccharlotte #believe #devotional #receive 

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | May 6th

📖 The ants are not a strong people, Yet they prepare their food in the summer; 
—Proverbs 30:25 AMP

The strength of the ant is in their ability to prepare. They don’t have an overseer. They don’t have anyone standing over them telling them that winter is coming. They are diligently preparing in the summer. The ants know that it's too late to prepare when winter comes. We must learn from the ant. We must prepare for opportunities that don’t yet exist. We have to be like Noah. Noah prepared an ark out of obedience when there was no evidence that a flood was coming. It’s hard to build a ship in the rain. If Noah had waited until it started raining, he would have perished with everyone else. It has been said that success is when preparation meets opportunity. Failure takes place when opportunity presents itself to the unprepared. Let’s not allow ourselves to be caught off guard when opportunity does arrive. Let’s be like the ant and STAY ready. 

#theant #beprepared #wisdom #verseoftheday #message

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | May 5th

📖 The Lord will not allow the righteous to hunger [God will meet all his needs], But He will reject and cast away the craving of the wicked. ⎯Proverbs 10:3 AMPC

The Lord knows how to meet our needs. He will not allow us to go hungry when we put our trust in Him. God fed Elijah by sending the ravens to bring him food in the morning and the evening. Jesus multiplied fish and bread and fed thousands of people. God fed the Israelites manna in the wilderness, and there were 2-3 million people. God is not moved by famine or our circumstances. God is moved by faith. He changes circumstances, and He will change yours if you believe Him to do so. His eyes are looking throughout the earth to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is perfect towards Him (II Chronicles 16:9). 

#perfectheart #israelites #Godprovides #devotional

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | May 3rd

📖 So then [God’s gift] is not a question of human will and human effort, but of God’s mercy. [It depends not on one’s own willingness nor on his strenuous exertion as in running a race, but on God’s having mercy on him.] —Romans 9:16 AMP

We are who we are by God’s grace. Every good gift and every perfect gift come from Him. He is the One who has blessed us with our individual talents and abilities. We cannot brag on ourselves; it is the mercy of God. We cannot boast of our abilities because they came from Him. God is the Source of everything good in our lives and we must walk with a spirit of meekness and humility. Where would we be without the grace of God? It is in Him that we live and move and have our being (Acts 17:28). We can be thankful of all the giftings bestowed on us by God, but we must also be certain to be grateful for His mercy. Where would we be without it? 

#mercy #graceofGod #devotional #vcccharlotte

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | May 2nd

📖 A fool vents all his emotions, but a wise person calmly restrains them. 
—Proverbs 29:11 EHV

Sometimes we can allow our emotions to get the best of us. At times, we want to tell everyone what we have been through and how we feel about it. We want people to feel how we feel, but that is not always a good thing. In the book of James, we are told to be quick to hear and slow to speak (James 1:19). We must be disciplined with our tongue. We cannot allow ourselves to get angry to the point where we fly off the handle and say things that we will later regret. We must be willing to stay quiet until we are ready to speak from a place that is not from anger. We must not allow our emotions to rule us. We must allow our spirit man to dominate us. He is to be in control, especially if our spirit man has been born again. Jesus was always in control of His emotions, and as we continue to mature spiritually, we can do the same thing. 

#spiritualgrowth #quicktohearslowtospeak #wisdom #vcccharlotte

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | May 1st

📖 I am the Lord; that is My name! And My glory I will not give to another, nor My praise to graven images. 

Behold, the former things have come to pass, and new things I now declare; before they spring forth I tell you of them. 
—Isaiah 42:8-9 AMPC  

God keeps His Word. There are no ifs, ands, or buts about it. God always keeps His Word. Once a promise has been fulfilled; once a goal has been met, that is not the time to stop. Once we have reached the goal, it's time to reach another goal. It’s time to go to another level. We have to seek the Lord and see what the next level looks like. We must start declaring new things and expecting them to come to pass.  We cannot be complacent. We cannot rest too long. God wants us to increase our faith. He wants our lives to go from glory to glory. There are new things in store, and before they spring forth, He will tell us all about it. We can get insight into the next phase of our lives. We can know all that God has in store for us. 

#insight #vcccharlotte #glorytoglory #devotional 

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | April 30th

📖 When God made his promise to Abraham, he backed it all the way, putting his own reputation on the line. He said, “I promise that I’ll bless you with everything I have—bless and bless and bless!” Abraham stuck it out and got everything that had been promised to him. When people make promises, they guarantee them by appeal to some authority above them so that if there is any question that they’ll make good on the promise, the authority will back them up. When God wanted to guarantee his promises, he gave his word, a rock-solid guarantee—God can’t break his word. And because his word cannot change, the promise is likewise unchangeable. 

—Hebrews 6:13-18 The Message  

God wants us blessed! Isn’t that exciting? He desires that we prosper and be in health, even as our soul prospers. (III John 2) Many times we miss out on the Blessing because it seems like it is taking too long. Sometimes the devil may try to jump on our shoulders and whisper, “God won’t keep His Word this time”? The devil is a liar. God always keeps His Word. It is impossible for Him to lie. When you feel like giving up, think about Abraham. He stuck it out. He stuck it out and got everything that had been promised to him. We must be like Abraham. If we stick it out, we will get everything that we have been promised. Remember, God cannot break His Word.  

#blessings #vcccharlotte #Godspromises #devotional 

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | April 29th

📖 Then Jesus said to His disciples, If anyone desires to be My disciple, let him deny himself [disregard, lose sight of, and forget himself and his own interests] and take up his cross and follow Me [cleave steadfastly to Me, conform wholly to My example in living and, if need be, in dying, also]. 

For whoever is bent on saving his [temporal] life [his comfort and security here] shall lose it [eternal life]; and whoever loses his life [his comfort and security here] for My sake shall find it [life everlasting]. 

For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his life [his blessed life in the kingdom of God]? Or what would a man give as an exchange for his [blessed] life [in the kingdom of God]? 
—Matthew 16:24-26 AMPC 

Jesus makes it very plain. If we are going to follow Him, we will have to disregard ourselves and our own interests. We will have to be willing to die to selfish ambition and to our own dreams and desires that are outside of the will of God. Walking this Chrisitan walk will not always be easy. Jesus told us that if they persecuted Him, they would persecute us. The student is not above his teacher. We must not be in love with this world. We are strangers, pilgrims just passing through. It is okay to enjoy yourself, but our comfort and security cannot be in this natural world. The Bible tells us that we are citizens of heaven, and once we have lived our lives out here on this earth, that is where we will live for eternity. We cannot jeopardize our salvation for the things of this world. What would it benefit us to gain the entire world and lose our soul? If we must choose between the world and Jesus, let’s choose Jesus. We don’t have to chase after the things of this world. Jesus told us that if we would seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, all those things will be added unto us. 

#Kingdom #devotional #chooseJesus #vcccharlotte

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | April 28th

📖 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 | April 26th

📖 Let the thief steal no more, but rather let him be industrious, making an honest living with his own hands, so that he may be able to give to those in need. 
—Ephesians 4:28 AMPC 

Paul is giving insight into the purpose of our paychecks. Our paychecks are not primarily for paying bills (you should pay your bills). Our paychecks are not primarily for purchasing items for ourselves and our families (it's okay if you do). The Word of God tells us that we work so that we can have money to give. This is how the Kingdom of God operates. It functions through the principle of seedtime and harvest. When we give, it shall be given to us again, good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, shall men give unto our bosom (Luke 6:38). It is after we give that we can claim that God will meet our needs according to His riches and glory by Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:19). It is always better to give than to receive because giving puts us in a place of receiving. As we grow in faith, we should also grow in our giving. As we increase our giving, we can increase our receiving. It’s time for a shift in our thinking in the area of giving! When we change our standard of giving, we change our standard of living.  

#seedtimeandharvest #devotional #giving #vcccharlotte #compassion 

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | April 25th

📖 This is what the Lord says: Prisoners will be freed from mighty men. Loot will be taken away from tyrants. I will fight your enemies, and I will save your children.
—Isaiah 49:25 God’s Word

God will deal with those who come against us. He will fight for us. He will never leave us nor forsake us (Hebrews 13:5). He is our Helper and the strength of our lives. He wants to be a part of every area of our lives, even our children. Sometimes children that were raised in Christian homes can get off track. Sometimes they may backslide. The good news is that the Spirit of God can get a hold of them. The Spirit of God will save our children when we cast our cares about them over to the Lord. When the children are in the home, we have more control of what they can do for the most part. Once they are living on their own, we must trust God and commit them to Him. Things seem to work out better when they are in His hands than when they are in ours. God knows what to do even when we don’t. 

#trustGod #motivation #dailydevotional #vcccharlotte

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | April 24th

📖 So then, dear family, stand firm with a masterful grip of the teachings we have you, either by word of mouth or by our letter. —2 Thessalonians 2:15 The Passion Translation  

When life gets hard, keep a masterful grip on the Word of God. When obstacles come our way, we must hold on to the Word of God. The Word of God is the source of our success. The devil wants to steal the Word from our hearts. He knows that the Word is what will overcome him. The Word is what will cause us to be victorious every time he comes against us. Many times, the enemy will try to cause havoc in our lives so that we will let go of the promises of God. The enemy will stir up so much trouble that if we aren’t careful; we may give up on the Word and mistakenly say “this stuff doesn’t work”. We cannot give up on the Word. We cannot get weary in well doing because we will reap if we don’t faint. No matter what you’re going through, stand firm on the Word. Hold on to the Word. God will always honor His Word in our lives. He is alert and active and watching over His Word to perform it. No matter what it looks like, keep a grip on the Word. If we will keep the Word in our hearts and not let it go, the Word will grow, and it will prevail. (Acts 19:20)  

#TheWord #vcccharlotte #OurSource #devotional  

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | April 23rd

📖 Wherefore, O King Agrippa, I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision, 

But made known openly first of all to those at Damascus, then at Jerusalem and throughout the whole land of Judea, and also among the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works and live lives consistent with and worthy of their repentance. 

Because of these things the Jews seized me in the temple [enclosure] and tried to do away with me. 

[But] to this day I have had the help which comes from God [as my ally], and so I stand here testifying to small and great alike, asserting nothing beyond what the prophets and Moses declared would come to pass—
—Acts 26:19-22 AMPC 

Isn’t it nice to have God as an ally? Many foreign leaders find security in who their allies are. They know that wherever they fall short, they can depend on their allies to make up the difference. If they find themselves in conflict with another nation, they can count on their allies for assistance. We have an ally in God. He knows how to make up for the difference when things fall short. He is there for us when we need assistance. When we are obedient to the heavenly vision, the vision that God has for our lives, we can trust that God will give us the help we need when we need it. When we are submissive to the will of God and the leadership of the Holy Spirit, we can depend on God and His resources. As we are pursuing the heavenly vision, we must come to realization that we cannot fulfill it without God. His assistance is non-negotiable. We need Him.  

#vision #vcccharlotte #ally #devotional 

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | April 22nd

📖 I have gained perfect freedom by following your teachings, and I trust them so much that I tell them to kings. —Psalms 119:45 CEV

The Word of God was given to us to set us free from every wile and scheme of the wicked one. It was given to us so that we can know who we are and what belongs to us in Christ. The Word of God will set us free, and it will cause victory to manifest in every area of our lives. God told Joshua that if he meditated on the Word of God both day and night, that he would become prosperous and have good success. The Word of God says something similar in Psalms 1. Our success comes from desiring and obeying the Word of God. In the book of Acts, it tells us that the Word of God grew mightily and prevailed. When the Word grows in our lives, it will do the same thing. It will prevail over everything the devil can throw our way. 

#success #dailydevotional #vcccharlotte #bible #verseoftheday #freedom

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | April 21st

📖 I’m the least important of the apostles. I don’t deserve to be called an apostle, because I harassed God’s church. I am what I am by God’s grace, and God’s grace hasn’t been for nothing. In fact, I have worked harder than all the others—that is, it wasn’t me but the grace of God that is with me. —I Corinthians 15:9-10 CEB

We are who we are by God’s grace. We are nothing apart from it. Paul had a revelation and a personal acquaintance with the grace of God. He acknowledged that he had severely persecuted the church. He felt that this made him the least of the apostles. He felt that he was not worthy of being called an apostle because of his past mistakes. We can all have a moment like this. If we don’t stay on top of ourselves, we can allow the past to lower our self-worth, but thank God for His grace! His grace makes us worthy. His grace is what allows us to move forward and to move on, free from condemnation. We must be like Paul; we cannot allow His grace to be in vain. We must press toward the mark. We must walk in the divine calling. We must strive to attain all that He has preordained for us to walk in. His grace cannot be for nothing. 

#God’sgrace #devotional #vcccharlotte #worthy #verseoftheday

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | April 19th

📖 The [uncompromisingly] righteous shall flourish like the palm tree [be long-lived, stately, upright, useful, and fruitful]; they shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon [majestic, stable, durable, and incorruptible]. 

Planted in the house of the Lord, they shall flourish in the courts of our God. 

[Growing in grace] they shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be full of sap [of spiritual vitality] and [rich in the] verdure [of trust, love, and contentment]. 

[They are living memorials] to show that the Lord is upright and faithful to His promises; He is my Rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him. 
—Psalm 92:12-15 AMPC

As Christians, we are to flourish and prosper. There should be growth in our lives. There should be increase in our lives. If it appears that you aren’t flourishing or that things appear to not be getting better, don’t be moved by what you see. As you continue to walk with God, you can expect Him to transform your life. If you look throughout the Word of God, you will see one example after the next of instances where God never left people the same when they encountered Him. Their lives improved, and they became people of significance. Prosperity comes out of relationship with God. It comes from constant fellowship through the reading of the Bible and prayer. God is our Rock, and He can be depended on. When we build our lives on the Rock (the Word), our house (our lives) will stand regardless of the storm. We will flourish because the Lord is upright and faithful to His promises. 

#faithful #devotional #vcccharlotte #flourish #God’spromises

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | April 18th

📖 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

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