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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | December 15th

📖 For if you love those who love you, what reward can you have? Do not even the tax collectors do that?

And if you greet only your brethren, what more than others are you doing? Do not even the Gentiles (the heathen) do that? 

You, therefore, must be perfect [growing into complete maturity of godliness in mind and character, having reached the proper height of virtue and integrity], as your heavenly Father is perfect. 
—Matthew 5:46-48 AMPC

Do you really want to be like the Father? Do you really want to imitate Him? One way we can do that is by loving people the way He loves people. We can’t just love the people who love us. We must love the ones who mistreat us just as much as the ones who love and respect us. We must greet people with love even if they roll their eyes and act like they don’t want to speak to us. In verse forty-five, the Bible tells us that God makes “the sun to rise on the wicked and the good”. God is good to all. God pours His goodness out on everyone. If God can do it, so can we. We can be a blessing to everyone, the saved and the unsaved. We can treat everyone right, the saved and the unsaved. We can love everyone, the saved and the unsaved. We can be just like our Father. We can demonstrate His love to humanity. We can reach the proper height of virtue and integrity just like our Heavenly Father. 

#Godislove #vcccharlotte #Godisgood #devotional

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | December 13th

📖 I have seen slaves on horses, and princes walking like slaves on the earth. 
—Ecclesiastes 10:7 AMPC

As kings, we are to take our rightful place on the earth. Many believers are living below the standards that God has established for them. God expects us to be the head and not the tail. We are to be above only and not beneath. God sees us as His ambassadors and as kings and priests. Many are walking like slaves when they should be riding on the high places of the earth. We are no longer in the kingdom of darkness. We have been delivered into the Kingdom of God’s dear Son. We are to walk like it and to talk like it. The Bible even tells us that the wealth of the sinner is laid up for the just (Proverbs 13:22). We are seated together with Christ in heavenly places. We have been given authority. So, let's not allow ourselves to be out of place. Let us seize what belongs to us. No matter how long it takes, we must be like Caleb and demand what has been promised to us. All things are ours! (I Corinthians 3:22). 

#kings #devotional #wisdom #iamvictory

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | December 12th

📖 I give you a new commandment: that you should love one another. Just as I have loved you, so you too should love one another. 

By this shall all [men] know that you are My disciples, if you love one another [if you keep on showing love among yourselves]. 
—John 13:34-35 AMP

How are we supposed to be identified? It won’t be by how often we carry our bibles. It won’t be by our church attendance. People will know us as His disciples by our love walk. When we are walking in love with everyone, it shows in our daily interactions. The love walk should cause us to be kind and to treat people the way we desire to be treated. Going to church is the right thing to do. We are instructed to do so by the Word of God. Carrying our Bibles with us is a good thing as well. It reveals that we are not ashamed of the Gospel. But the bonafide proof of true discipleship is in how we treat our fellow man. The proof is in how we love our neighbor. 

#loveyourneighbor #disciplesofChrist #devotional #vcccharlotte #lovewalk

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | December 11th

📖 Jesus left Judea and started for Galilee again. This time he had to go through Samaria. —John 4:3-4 CEV 

The Jewish people avoided going through Samaria because they disliked the Samaritans. The Samaritans were considered a “half-breed” because they had mixed Jewish and gentile blood. Jesus had to go through Samaria. God loves everyone and wanted the Samaritans to know the Messiah. Jesus encountered a woman at the well and after telling her all of her “business”, she went and told the town about the man she met at the well. Because of the woman’s encounter with Jesus, many in the village believed in Jesus. We must follow the leadership of the Holy Spirit, even when it seems uncomfortable. We must follow God when it goes against our thinking. God is smarter than us, and He knows the outcome if we will simply obey. Let’s get into a rhythm of obedience. Let’s hear and do. We must hear from God and do what He wants us to do. 

#obedience #vcccharlotte #followGod #devotional  

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | December 10th

📖 Cast your burden on the Lord [releasing the weight of it] and He will sustain you; He will never allow the [consistently] righteous to be moved (made to slip, fall, or fail). 
—Psalm 55:22 AMPC

We all have issues in life, and things that may trouble us. However, when we face these situations, we must cast our burdens on the Lord. We were not created to carry burdens and cares. When things seem like they are too much for us, it is not on us to try to figure out a solution. We are to give our problems to God and allow Him to take care of it. God is smarter than us. He is wiser than us. He has the solution to every problem. God wants us to live our lives care-free. It’s His desire to sustain us. When we release the weight of our problems to Him, we can expect Him to sustain us. We can never be moved when we look to God. When we release our issues to God, we know that He will not fail us. He told us that He would never leave us nor forsake us. That means we can expect victory every time. He will not let us fall. 

#iamvictory #dailydevotional #castyourburdens #vcccharlotte

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | December 9th

📖 Strip yourselves of your former nature [put off and discard your old unrenewed self] which characterized your previous manner of life and becomes corrupt through lusts and desires that spring from delusion; 

And be constantly renewed in the spirit of your mind [having a fresh mental and spiritual attitude], 

And put on the new nature (the regenerate self) created in God’s image, [Godlike] in true righteousness and holiness. 
—Ephesians 4:22-24 AMPC 

When God sets us free; He expects us to stay free. We are to strip ourselves of our former nature and walk in the new nature that is on the inside of us. Our mindset should change. We should no longer think like the world. Our thinking should be in line with the Word of God. We should walk in holiness and consecrate our lives to God because He paid the ultimate price for us through the Blood of His Son. The very least we can do is to live for Him. We owe Him our lives. We should endeavor to increase our knowledge of God so that we can be transformed by the renewing of our mind. We increase our knowledge of Him, so that we can be transformed into His image. With all that God has done for us, why shouldn’t we live for Him. 

#liveforGod #renewyourmind #victory #devotional

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | December 8th

📖 If we [freely] admit that we have sinned and confess our sins, He is faithful and just (true to His own nature and promises) and will forgive our sins [dismiss our lawlessness] and [continuously] cleanse us from all unrighteousness [everything not in conformity to His will in purpose, thought, and action]. —I John 1:9 AMPC

We have all missed the mark at some point. We all have said something we shouldn't have said and done things that we knew we should not have done. In short: we have all made mistakes and acted in ways in which we knew better. The good news is that God is a LOVING God. When we confess our sins, He is faithful to forgive us and to cleanse us from all wrongdoing. God promises to forget our sins and to act like the sin has never taken place when there is true repentance. God looks at the heart, and He knows our flaws. He is faithful to us! God is true to His compassionate nature. He will never condemn us for our past. As we walk with Him, we know that our latter end will be greater than our former. 

#lovingGod #compassion #devotional #vcccharlotte

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | December 6th

📖 Understand [this], my beloved brethren. Let every man be quick to hear [a ready listener], slow to speak, slow to take offense and to get angry. —James 1:19 AMPC 

The Bible tells us to live peaceably with all men (Romans 12:18). One way we can walk that out is by being a ready listener; and one that is slow to speak and slow to get angry. We should endeavor to hear everyone out and then take the time to think about what has been said to us. Once we have thought things through, we should be willing to speak on the matter and not take offense and get angry. Many times, disagreements take place when we speak too hastily, not taking the time to think it through. We must also work on being too quick to take offense. Sometimes the person who offended us did not mean to intentionally upset us. Sometimes we misinterpreted what was said and instead of thinking things through, we were quick to take offense. We must be people who walk in love and think the best of everyone. If we were quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to take offense and get angry, we could be people who can walk that out. 

#vcccharlotte #peace #devotional #love

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | December 5th

📖 And so it was that he [Abraham], having waited long and endured patiently, realized and obtained [in the birth of Isaac as a pledge of what was to come] what God had promised him. —Hebrews 6:15 AMPC

God made a promise to Abraham when he was seventy-five years old. The “promised child” was born when Abraham was a hundred years old. Abraham waited twenty-five years until the promised child was born. Abraham could have been moved by time, but he wasn’t. Abraham believed God. Abraham believed that God was faithful to bring everything to pass. Abraham had experienced the Blessing of the Lord, and He knew that God would not lie to Him. Abraham reached the point where He believed that God would do what He said He would do. Many times, we are unwilling to wait on God. We may not know why things have taken a long time to manifest, but we know that God is faithful. We must endure patiently, knowing that God will come through. We must rest in the integrity of God. It is a divine truth that He cannot lie (John 3:33 Amplified Classic).   

#Godcannotlie #covenantGod #vcccharlotte #devotional

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | December 4th

📖 Whoever despises the word and counsel [of God] brings destruction upon himself, but he who [reverently] fears and respects the commandment [of God] is rewarded. —Proverbs 13:13 AMPC 

It is always in our best interest to develop a love and a respect for the Word of God. The Word of God has the solution to every potential problem that we may face. The Word of God is how we overcome. The Word of God is the Source of faith and faith is how we overcome the world. Jesus used the Word of God to overcome the wicked one. When he encountered the Satan in the wilderness, He said repeatedly, “It is written "and quoted from the Word of God. The devil wants you to despise the very weapon that will defeat him. He wants you to ignore the Word. He’s okay with you reading it every now and then, but he wants to keep you from being consistent. God’s Word is our weapon. We must embrace it and learn to delight in God’s Word. We cannot afford to neglect the Word of God. We cannot despise it. Doing those things will not only bring defeat, but it will also bring destruction to our lives. We cannot let that happen. God is depending on us. 

#WordofGod #vcccharlotte #Sourceoffaith #devotional 

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | December 3rd

📖 If we are faithless [do not believe and are untrue to Him], He remains true (faithful to His Word and His righteous character), for He cannot deny Himself. —2 Timothy 2:13 AMPC 

Thank God for His faithfulness. He is faithful to us when we aren’t. He stays faithful to His Word and His righteous character regardless of our actions. Now, that is not a license to sin (you’ll sin without a license). The Word of God tells us that wages of sin is death. If we miss the mark, He is still faithful to I John 1:9. When we confess our sins, He is still faithful and just to forgive us of our sin and cleanses us from all unrighteousness. His mercies are still new every morning. God is not ruled by His emotions. He has them, but He isn’t ruled by them. God will always have a righteous character because that is who He is. He is a righteous God. He is so faithful to His Word that He has exalted His Word above His Name. We should be grateful for His grace, but we should not abuse His grace. Let’s honor God with our lives by honoring His Word. He remains faithful to His Word and His righteous character because He cannot deny Himself. God is forever committed to us. 

#faithfulness #vcccharlotte #God’scharacter #devotional 

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | December 2nd

📖 A faithful man shall abound with blessings: but he that maketh haste to be rich shall not be innocent. —Proverbs 28:20 KJV

There is a Scripture that asks, “a faithful man, who can find?” It’s hard to find faithful people, especially in today’s world. God says the faithful shall abound with blessings. The faithful ones are the committed ones, the ones you can always count on. The faithful are consistent. They are consistent in their attendance, their giving, and their effort. How can those types of people not be blessed? One should expect to flourish when they have a history of faithfulness to any organization. If man will take care of faithful, committed people, how much more would our Heavenly Father? 

#dedication #faithfulness #GoodGod #vcccharlotte

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | December 1st

📖 Do all things without grumbling and faultfinding and complaining [against God] and questioning and doubting [among yourselves], 

That you may show yourselves to be blameless and guileless, innocent and uncontaminated, children of God without blemish (faultless, unrebukable) in the midst of a crooked and wicked generation [spiritually perverted and perverse], among whom you are seen as bright lights (stars or beacons shining out clearly) in the [dark] world, 
—Philippians 2:14-15 AMPC

As believers, one of our desires should be to represent the Kingdom more accurately. We should want to look more like an ambassador of heaven. One way that we can accomplish this is by refraining from complaining. As believers, we should have praise and thanksgiving on our lips at all times. We are positive and optimistic because we are people of faith. We walk by the Word and not by our feelings. Circumstances do not control us, the Word does. We don’t complain because the Word gives us control of our circumstances. Our faith in God gives us control. We should always have a smile on our faces because we know that we always triumph, regardless of the obstacle or the hindrance. The world will think that we are strange and peculiar, but that is fine. They will think that we are weird but let them think what they want. We are of a different kingdom. We are children of God. We are the light of the world, and we are the salt of the earth. Let us look like it and act like it. No complaining! 

#ambassadors #vcccharlotte #faith #devotional #childrenofGod

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | November 29th

📖 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 | November 28th

📖 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 | November 27th

📖 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 | November 26th

📖 I said in my heart, God will judge the righteous and the wicked, for there is a time [appointed] for every matter and purpose and for every work. —Ecclesiastes 3:17 AMPC

God has a timing for every season of our lives. The key is to stay in tune with him and to not get ahead of God. It is so easy to do sometimes. We can get excited about the prospect of starting a business, buying a home, purchasing a car, going back to school, or even getting married. There is nothing wrong with those things, we just have to make sure that we are in God’s timing. Many times, we can have the right idea at the wrong time or in the wrong season. When pondering a major move in our lives we must check in with God to make sure we are on the same page with Him. He might want you to start the business, but maybe next year. He may want you to go back to school, but in the spring semester instead of the fall semester. When seeking the Lord about His plan, it is important to not only get the “what” of the plan, but the “when” also. You will always be “in the know” as you continue to walk closely with Him. 

#vcccharlotte #God’stiming #devotional #listen #intune

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | November 25th

📖 And behold, some men were bringing on a stretcher a man who was paralyzed, and they tried to carry him in and lay him before [Jesus]. 

But finding no way to bring him in because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him with his stretcher through the tiles into the midst, in front of Jesus. 
—Luke 5:18-19 AMPC

The paralyzed man had some good friends. They refused to allow him to stay in that condition. They carried him to the house where Jesus was preaching, but they could not get in because of the crowd. They could have just given up. They could have walked away with a moral victory, but that wasn’t enough. They persisted. They got creative. They took their friend up on the roof and lowered him down where Jesus was. This took great faith. They had to remove a roof tile to let their friend down. Then there was no guarantee that Jesus would heal the man. They acted anyway and Jesus honored their faith. The paralyzed man was healed that day and walked home with his four friends. We all need friends like that. Friends that won’t let you stay the same. Friends that will make you better.

#friendshipgoals #bible #jesuschrist #healer #devotional #vccharlotte #message

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | November 24th

📖 Do everything readily and cheerfully—no bickering, no second-guessing allowed! Go out into the world uncorrupted, a breath of fresh air in this squalid and polluted society. Provide people with a glimpse of good living and of the living God. Carry the light-giving Message into the night so I’ll have good cause to be proud of you on the day that Christ returns. You’ll be living proof that I didn’t go to all this work for nothing. 
—Philippians 2:14-16 The Message 

As believers, we should stand out. There should be a difference between the way we act and the way the world acts. Our responses to trials and tribulations should be different. Christians should be a breath of fresh air. We don’t complain like the world. We walk with a different spirit. As believers, there is a difference in our countenance. Our job is to provide people with a glimpse of good living and of the living God. As Christians, we are God’s ambassadors. We carry the light giving Message wherever we go. Not only do we carry the Message, but we must also live the Message. We are living proof that Jesus is alive and His Word is true.  

#standout #vcccharlotte #different #devotional  

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | November 22nd

📖 When Jesus came down from the mountain, great throngs followed Him. 

And behold, a leper came up to Him and, prostrating himself, worshiped Him, saying, Lord, if You are willing, You are able to cleanse me by curing me. 

And He reached out His hand and touched him, saying, I am willing; be cleansed by being cured. And instantly his leprosy was cured and cleansed. 
—Matthew 8:1-3 AMPC  

God wants you well. He desires for you to be strong and healthy. Unfortunately, many people still aren't sure whether it is the will of God for them to be healed. They think the sickness is supposed to bring them closer to God. Some think the sickness will keep them humble. Nowhere in the Bible does it tell us that sickness will humble you. The Bible tells us that we are to humble ourselves and that God will exalt us in due time (I Peter 5:6). We accurately represent the kingdom when we are healthy and strong. We can pursue the will of God when we are totally strong and healthy. The leper was unsure about the will of God concerning his healing. Jesus made the will of God plain. God wanted the leper healed. God has not changed. He has always desired His people to be well. He demonstrated His desire by sending Jesus to the cross to redeem us from sickness and disease. The issue has been settled: God wants us well. 

#healing #vcccharlotte #willofGod #devotional  

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