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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | November 7th

📖 Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.  
—Psalm 118:1 NKJV 

God is a good God! He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son, and we ought to give him praise! We should show our appreciation to God for everything he has done for us. Lamentations 3:22 says: “Through the LORD’s mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not.” If it were not for the Lord’s mercies, we would be consumed, but because of his great love towards us, he sent his only begotten Son for us all. Satan may lie and make us think that there is nothing to praise God for. We, however, know better. It is clear we have a reason to praise Him because His mercy endures forever. 

#mercy #deliverance #compassion #vcccharlotte #devotional

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | November 6th

📖 The teaching of the wise is a fountain of life, that one may avoid the snares of death. 
—Proverbs 13:14 AMPC 

It is important which church you attend. It is also important who your teacher is. A teacher is someone you sit under and learn from. The teaching of the wise is a fountain of life. God wants us to experience life. It could be one of the reasons why he set the ministry gifts into the Body of Christ. He wanted the Body to experience more life, and life comes from hearing and doing what you hear, especially if it is from a man or woman of God. Jesus came so that we can have life and have it more abundantly (John 10:10). God expresses His will towards us all throughout the Word of God. III John 2 tells us that He desires that we prosper and be in good health, even as our soul prospers. The Word of God was also given to us to avoid the snares of death. The Bible tells us the type of people to avoid and the behaviors that bring shame and embarrassment into our lives. We must lay hold of and grasp the teaching of the wise. It is a fountain of life and a path to abundance. That is the life that God desires for all His children. 

#God’swill #vcccharlotte #fountainoflife #devotional #abundance 

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | November 5th

📖 As we were on our way to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who was possessed by a spirit of divination [claiming to foretell future events and to discover hidden knowledge], and she brought her owners much gain by her fortunetelling. 

She kept following Paul and [the rest of] us, shouting loudly, These men are the servants of the Most High God! They announce to you the way of salvation! 

And she did this for many days. Then Paul, being sorely annoyed and worn out, turned and said to the spirit within her, I charge you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her! And it came out that very moment. 
—Acts 16:16-18 AMPC 

Have you ever put up with something for too long? Whether it was a headache or some other attack on your health, you allowed it to last and last without exercising your authority. Paul could have dealt with that spirit sooner. We don’t have insight into why he tolerated that woman shouting at him day after day. We do know that eventually he got tired of it. Eventually he said, “Enough”! God will allow whatever we allow. If you tolerate lack, it will stay in your life. If you tolerate sickness, it will stay in your body. We have to get to a place where we say, “Enough is enough”! Don’t put up with anything that Satan tries to put on you. If God didn’t send it, you shouldn’t have it. Let’s not be passive when it comes to the subtle attacks of the enemy. Stand your ground. Don’t allow the devil any access into your life. He is a defeated foe. 

#noaccess #vcccharlotte #enoughisenough #devotional 

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | November 4th

📖 And I will live among you and not despise you. I will walk among you and be your God, and you shall be my people. For I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, so that you would be slaves no longer; I have broken your chains so that you can walk with dignity.
— Leviticus 26: 11-13 The Living Bible 

God has broken our chains. At one time, we were slaves to sin. We were slaves to our flesh. We were united with Satan. All that changed when we were born again. When we were born again, we became one spirit with the Lord. God separated our connection to the devil and came to live on the inside of us. God has taken us out of the land of poverty. He has taken us out of the land of sickness. He has taken us out of the domain of darkness and translated us into the kingdom of His dear Son. We can walk with dignity. We can walk with our heads high and our shoulders back. God has made us royalty. He has made us the head and not the tail. We are to be above only and not beneath. That is truly something to shout about! 

#shoutaboutit #vcccharlotte #Savior #devotional #royalty

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | November 3rd

📖 But the centurion replied to Him, Lord, I am not worthy or fit to have You come under my roof; but only speak the word, and my servant boy will be cured. 

When evening came, they brought to Him many who were under the power of demons, and He drove out the spirits with a word and restored to health all who were sick. 
—Matthew 8:8,16 AMPC 

The centurion recognized the authority of Jesus’ words, which drove out demons. Jesus would minister by the laying on of hands, but He would also minister healing through His words. There was power in Jesus’ words, and there is power in our words. Death and life are in the power of the tongue (Proverbs 18:21). Jesus spoke to a tree, and the fig tree died. He calmed the storm with His words. He spoke to fevers, and they left. There was power in what He said then, and there is power in what He says to us now. We were created in His image and in His likeness. If His words have power, then so do ours.  

#wordshavepower #devotional #vcccharlotte #Jesus

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | November 2nd

📖 And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us commandment. —1 John 3:23 NKJV

How is your love walk today? Are you loving that co-worker that gets on your nerves? Do you love that family member that doesn’t think the best about you? It is easy to love the people who love us. The difficult part is loving your enemies, or the people who don’t think very highly of you. God has commanded us to love everyone. We are to demonstrate the love of God to everyone we encounter. We are to love the person who cuts us off on the highway. We are to love the person who is still in park when the streetlight turns green because they are distracted by their phone. Our love walk is what distinguishes us. It is what sets us apart. It is something we must continue to grow in so that we can look more and more like Jesus. No one said it would be easy, but it can be done. God would never ask you to do something you could not do. His love is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost. 

#lovewalk #vcccharlotte #God’slove #devotional

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | October 31st

📖 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 | October 30th

📖 And there was a famine in the land, other than the former famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went to Gerar, to Abimelech king of the Philistines. 

And the Lord appeared to him and said, Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land of which I will tell you. 

Dwell temporarily in this land, and I will be with you and will favor you with blessings; for to you and to your descendants I will give all these lands, and I will perform the oath which I swore to Abraham your father. 

Then Isaac sowed seed in that land and received in the same year a hundred times as much as he had planted, and the Lord favored him with blessings. 
—Genesis 12:1-3, 12 AMPC   

Obedience doesn’t cost; it pays. It is always in our best interest to obey God. We should endeavor to always be where He wants us to be and do what He wants us to do. It was common for people to go to Egypt whenever there was a famine in the land. Going to Egypt probably seemed like a good idea to Isaac, but God had a better plan. That is one reason why we should always consult God before making major decisions in our lives. There may be times when God has an alternative to whatever plans we may have. When that happens, we must humble ourselves and submit to God’s plan. When we obey God, things always work out for our best interest. Isaac could have questioned God about Gerar, but he didn’t. He stayed in Gerar, and God blessed him there. There is a place of blessing for all of us if we stay sensitive to the Spirit of God. He wants to see us prosper. He delights in the prosperity of His servants (Psalms 35:27). If we are to experience His best, we must get into the rhythm of obedience. If we are willing and obedient, we will eat the good of the land (Isaiah 1:19). 

#obediencetoGod #devotional #blessed #vcccharlotte #humility 

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | October 29th

📖 And when he heard of Jesus, he sent unto him the elders of the Jews, beseeching him that he would come and heal his servant. —Luke 7:3 KJV 

Have you heard of Jesus? Before we received Jesus, someone told us about Him. We have all heard about Him. Did you hear about Him accurately? Many know that He died on a cross for our sins and He was raised from the dead. Did you know that He wants you well? Matthew 8:17 tells us that "Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses." Jesus came that we might have life and have it more abundantly. (John 10:10) Jesus became poor so that we, through His poverty, might be made rich (2 Corinthians 8:9). God never wanted His children to be sick. God never wanted His children to be poor. Jesus came so that we can live the victorious life and then spend eternity with God. Oh, how He loves you and me. So, have you heard of Jesus? 

#Jesus #vcccharlotte #theWord #devotional 

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | October 28th

📖 The serpent was the craftiest of all the creatures the Lord God had made. So the serpent came to the woman. “Really?” he asked. “None of the fruit in the garden? God says you mustn’t eat any of it?” 

“Of course we may eat it,” the woman told him. “It’s only the fruit from the tree at the center of the garden that we are not to eat. God says we mustn’t eat it or even touch it, or we will die.” 

“That’s a lie!” the serpent hissed. “You’ll not die!  God knows very well that the instant you eat it you will become like him, for your eyes will be opened—you will be able to distinguish good from evil!” 

The woman was convinced. How lovely and fresh looking it was! And it would make her so wise! So she ate some of the fruit and gave some to her husband, and he ate it too. 

—Genesis 3:1-6 The Living Bible 

Man's fall took place in the Garden of Eden. Eve allowed Satan (through the serpent) to get her to question the veracity of God's Word. The fall could not have taken place without doubt and unbelief in God and His Word. The key to our success is absolute trust in God and His Word. Satan wants to remove that key from our lives. He wants you to focus on the sense realm. He wants you to depend on your senses. You can never walk in pure faith when you are questioning God and His integrity. The Word is the only thing that will defeat Satan. The sword of the Spirit is the Word of God. It is the weapon Jesus used when Satan tried to tempt Him in the wilderness. It is the shield of faith that quenches all the fiery darts of the wicked one, and faith comes by hearing the Word of God. Don't allow the enemy to cause you to question your answer. God's Word is our answer, and when we stand on and trust in it, we will always come out on top. The Word of God is what guarantees our victory. We will never be put to shame when we put our trust in God and His Word. 

#trustinGod #vcccharlotte #theWord #devotional 

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | October 27th

📖 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 who 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 | October 26th

📖 Thus says the Lord God: In the day that I cleanse you from all your iniquities I will [also] cause [Israel’s] cities to be inhabited, and the waste places shall be rebuilt. 

And the desolate land shall be tilled, that which had lain desolate in the sight of all who passed by. 

And they shall say, This land that was desolate has become like the garden of Eden, and the waste and desolate and ruined cities are fortified and inhabited. 

Then the nations that are left round about you shall know that I the Lord have rebuilt the ruined places and replanted that which was desolate. I the Lord have spoken it, and I will do it. 
—Ezekiel 36:33-36 AMPC 

God is a God of restoration. He knows how to turn our lives around, regardless of how bad of shape that it may currently be in. God turned the captivity of Job and gave him twice as much. In the text, God was saying that He would rebuild Israel’s cities. He would also make the desolate land look like the Garden of Eden. Your life may be in shambles, but God can turn it around. God can turn your wilderness into the Garden of Eden. God can restore your health, your finances, your family- whatever might need to be restored, God can do it! Let’s not limit God in our believing. He is able to do exceedingly, abundantly above all that we ask or think. 

#trustGod #restoration #devotional #encouragement #vcccharlotte 

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | October 24th

📖 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 | October 23rd

📖 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 who 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 | October 22nd

📖 We who are strong [in our convictions and of robust faith] ought to bear with the failings and the frailties and the tender scruples of the weak; [we ought to help carry the doubts and qualms of others] and not to please ourselves. 

Let each one of us make it a practice to please (make happy) his neighbor for his good and for his true welfare, to edify him [to strengthen him and build him up spiritually]. 

For Christ did not please Himself [gave no thought to His own interests]; but, as it is written, The reproaches and abuses of those who reproached and abused you fell on Me. 

For whatever was thus written in former days was written for our instruction, that by [our steadfast and patient] endurance and the encouragement [drawn] from the Scriptures we might hold fast to and cherish hope. 

—Romans 15:1-4 AMPC 

God does not expect us to live only for ourselves. We are to be a blessing to humanity. One of the responsibilities that we must embrace as believers is to help weaker believers get stronger. We build our brothers and our sisters up spiritually. We should embrace the challenge of turning doubt into faith or unbelief into belief. We are all endeavoring to go from glory to glory. We are all at different places in our faith walk. Many times, we don't excel on our own. There are times we need help from fellow believers. We all need encouragement at some point. It is always good to have a support system. There are times when we help carry the doubts and qualms of others, and there are times when someone may carry ours. The bottom line is that we shouldn’t just live for ourselves. We shouldn’t just live to enjoy our own interests. We are here to be a blessing. We are the light of the world. We are the salt of the earth. We are to be an example to the believer. 

#example #vcccharlotte #blessing #devotional #believers 

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | October 21st

📖 The good life begins in the fear of God-
Do that and you’ll know the blessing of God. 
—Psalms 111:10 The Message  

We all desire the good life (or at least we should). The good life is a life designed by God. The depth of our relationship with God will determine what we walk in. Jesus came so that we can experience the good life. That life is a life of abundance. It is a life of divine health. A life where we experience good in every area of life. The good life starts with the fear of God. We fear God by reverencing both Him and His Word. When we honor God’s Word in our life, we are honoring Him. When we are willing and obedient, we eat the good of the land. Deuteronomy 29:11 AMPC says: Therefore, keep the words of this covenant and do them, that you may deal wisely and prosper in all that you do. 

Did you see the correlation between the Word and Prosperity? God was saying to the people that if you keep the covenant (His Word), then you will prosper in all that you do. When we honor God, God will honor us. If we want to know the blessing, we must know God. Jesus put it this way in John 14:21 (Amplified Classic): The person who has My commands and keeps them is the one who [really] loves Me; and whoever [really] loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I [too] will love him and will show (reveal, manifest) Myself to him. [I will let Myself be clearly seen by him and make Myself real to him.]  

When Jesus and Father God manifest themselves in your life, your life won’t be the same. The results will only be good because God is good. There is only one life in God: the good life. 

#thegoodlife #devotional #honoringGod #vcccharlotte 

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | October 20th

📖 I will satisfy fully the life of the priests with abundance [of offerings shared with them], and My people will be satisfied with My goodness, says the Lord. —Jeremiah 31:14 AMPC

God desires for us to experience His goodness. Every good gift and every perfect gift comes from above. God is a good God, and He wants us to experience His goodness all the time. The Bible tells us that He daily loads us with benefits (Psalm 68:19). God is constantly trying to bestow His blessings upon us. The Bible tells us that the blessing of Abraham will come upon us and overtake us as we diligently hearken to the voice of the Lord our God and obey His commandments (Deuteronomy 28:1-2). God has done His part. He has redeemed us from the curse of the law (Galatians 3:13). He has given us the ability to get wealth (Deuteronomy 8:18). He has given us all things that pertain to life and godliness (2 Peter 1:4). It’s on us now. Let’s pursue all that God has given us, and let’s not give up until we have obtained the promises. 

#theblessingofabraham #Godisgood #devotional #vcccharlotte

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | October 19th

📖 How oft did they provoke him in the wilderness, and grieve him in the desert! Yea, they turned back and tempted God, and limited the Holy One of Israel. They remembered not his hand, nor the day when he delivered them from the enemy. —Psalm 78:40-42 KJV

Have you been limiting the Holy One of Israel in your life? Many times, God desires to do so much more than what we are currently experiencing because of unbelief. Jesus could only heal a few sick folks in His hometown because of their unbelief. Unbelief hindered them from receiving, and it will do the same thing in our lives if we allow it. God desires to do exceedingly, abundantly above all that we could ever ask or think. Let’s not hinder God in any area of our lives. Let’s allow Him to do more in our finances, our health, our relationships, and any other area of our lives. God wants to show Himself strong in our lives, let’s allow Him to do so. 

#abundance #LetGod #devotional #vcccharlotte #dontlimitGod

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | October 17th

📖 So Elijah left there and found Elisha son of Shaphat, whose plowing was being done with twelve yoke of oxen, and he drove the twelfth. Elijah crossed over to him and cast his mantle upon him. 

He left the oxen and ran after Elijah and said, Let me kiss my father and mother, and then I will follow you. And he [testing Elisha] said, Go on back. What have I done to you? [Settle it for yourself.] 

So Elisha went back from him. Then he took a yoke of oxen, slew them, boiled their flesh with the oxen’s yoke [as fuel], and gave to the people, and they ate. Then he arose, followed Elijah, and served him.  

—I Kings 19: 19-21 AMPC 

When God is doing a new thing in your life, don’t go back to the old. The new is always better. It was time for Elisha to enter a new phase of life. His old life of plowing with the oxen was over with. It was time for him to serve under Elijah in preparation for him to eventually succeed him as a prophet of God. Elisha would eventually kill the oxen and serve them to the people to eat. This was a symbolic gesture. This was Elisha’s way of turning his back on his old life and moving forward to this new phase that God had for him. Every one of us will have to do this at some point in our lives. Jesus told his disciples that “no man with his hand to the plow, looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God” (Luke 9:62). One cannot move forward looking back. We must all look in the direction that we are headed. If we are moving forward, we must look forward. Paul made an important decision in his life and wrote about it in Philippians 3: 13-14 AMPC. He wrote: 

I do not consider, brethren, that I have captured and made it my own [yet]; but one thing I do [it is my one aspiration]: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the [supreme and heavenly] prize to which God in Christ Jesus is calling us upward. 

If we are going to walk in all that God has for us, we must do the same. We must forget what is behind and look toward the goal. 

#new #vcccharlotte #outwiththeold #devotional #moveforward 

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | October 16th

📖 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 

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