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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | April 23rd

📖 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 outthat 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 | April 22nd

📖 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 21st

📖 And God saw everything that He had made, and behold, it was very good (suitable, pleasant) and He approved it completely. And there was evening and there was morning, a sixth day. —Genesis 1:31 AMPC 

After God finished his six days of creation, He looked at everything that He had made, and He approved it completely. One version says that He looked at “everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good (KJV)”. There was no sickness or disease in the earth when God originally created it. There was no sin, and there was no curse. Everything He made was good and He approved of it.  
 
God has not changed. The Bible even tells us that God “takes pleasure in the prosperity of His servant (Psalm 35:27).” God delights in our prosperity. He wishes above all things that we prosper and be in good health, even as our soul prospers (III John 2). Jesus even said that He came that we might have life and have it more abundantly (John 10:10). If there are things in your life that aren’t “good,” God has given you the ability to change it. He has given you authority, His Word, and faith to overcome. Don’t continue to settle for anything but God’s best for your life. God’s will is for you to flourish and to thrive. It always has been, and it always will be. 

#prosperity #creation #dailydevotional #Bible #vcccharlotte 

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | April 20th

📖 This is that Moses who said to the children of Israel, ‘The Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your brethren. Him you shall hear.’

“This is he who was in the congregation in the wilderness with the Angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai, and with our fathers, the one who received the living oracles to give to us,

whom our fathers would not obey, but rejected. And in their hearts they turned back to Egypt,

saying to Aaron, ‘Make us gods to go before us; as for this Moses who brought us out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.’
—Acts 7:37-40 NKJV

We must protect our hearts. We must guard our minds. Despite seeing the miracles of God, the Israelites allowed their hearts to be turned back to Egypt. They did not remember the bondage. They did not remember the turmoil or the mistreatment. Instead of waiting on God’s plan to develop, they went back to what was familiar, even when the familiar wasn’t good for them. When we make Jesus the Lord of our lives, we must turn our backs on the world. Satan will attempt to lure us back. Satan will try to bring up all the fun you had, and he will do everything he can to get a foothold back into your life. We cannot allow that. We must stay the course and continue to walk with God. We cannot allow ourselves to be contaminated by the world. If we will stay in the Word and fellowship with God, that won’t happen. We must remember that we are pilgrims that are just passing through. Our citizenship is in heaven.

#Heavenbound #protectyourheart #devotional #vcccharlotte

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | April 18th

📖 But if we hope for what is still unseen by us, we wait for it with patience and composure. —Romans 8:25 AMPC  

Are you playing the waiting game? Have you been believing God for something and it feels like it is taking forever? Well, if you are hoping for something that is still unseen, wait for it with patience and composure. Don’t allow the waiting phase to ruffle your feathers. Abraham had to wait twenty-five years for the promised child. God prophesied Jesus coming into the earth in the Garden of Eden. David was anointed king as a teenager but did not sit on the throne until he was thirty. Sometimes things in life take time. Our dreams and our goals aren’t accomplished overnight. Don’t allow yourself to get frustrated during this time. God will not let you down. He is always on time. Just take it one day at a time. Keep your eyes on God. God will always come through. He’s an on-time God, yes, He is! 

#patience #vcccharlotte #eyesonJesus #devotional  

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | April 17th

📖 As I was in the [prime] ripeness of my days, when the friendship and counsel of God were over my tent, —Job 29:4 AMPC    

Friendship with God should be a desire in all our lives. Rubbing shoulders with the King of the universe. Being able to reach out to the One who created the heavens and the earth when we want to. That is a privilege that all of us should enjoy. (Those of us who have made Jesus the Lord of our lives.) Unfortunately, many Christians don’t make time to develop friendship with Almighty God. Many are caught up in the hustle and bustle of life. We all can get caught up in the day-to-day grind of life. We cannot make excuses. We must take the time to fellowship with God daily. God wants to commune with us. He wants to talk to us about His plan for our lives. God wants to develop a relationship with all His children. The Bible tells us that He “is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him”. It is obvious that Job’s relationship with God influenced His life. He referred to this “as the prime of his days”. Job had become the greatest man in the East. He had wealth and influence. It was obvious that the friendship and counsel of God was over his tent. If we want to experience success in our lives, God’s friendship and counsel should be over our tent as well. 

#friendshipwithGod #vcccharlotte #God’scounsel #devotional

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | April 16th

📖 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 | April 15th

📖 Keep and guard your heart with all vigilance and above all that you guard, for out of it flow the springs of life. —Proverbs 4:23 AMPC 

In the world that we live in today, it is imperative that we guard our hearts. Notice that we are to protect it above all that you guard. Faith is of the heart. We believe with our hearts. The Word of God is planted in our hearts. When the Word of God is planted (or sown), we must believe it and speak it from the heart. That is when we experience results. The devil knows that faith is what will overcome him and everything he throws at you. He wants you to be distracted. He wants you to put social media in your heart. He tries to distract you so that you instead of feeding your heart the Word, you are feeding on entertainment. Entertainment has its place, but it won’t cause you to overcome. Social media has its place, but you don’t want that to take precedent over the Word. Guard your heart and be vigilant about what you allow in there. It could be the difference between winning and losing. Overcoming or succumbing. God’s best or mediocrity. 

#Guardyourheart #vcccharlotte #nodistractions #devotional #theWordofGod 

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | April 14th

📖 So Ahab sent to all the Israelites and assembled the prophets at Mount Carmel. 

Elijah came near to all the people and said, How long will you halt and limp between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him! But if Baal, then follow him. And the people did not answer him a word. 

—I Kings 18:20-21 AMPC  

At some point we must make a decision. We must decide whose side we are on. We must determine who we are going to follow. There are many who are still on the fence. These people are what the Bible calls double minded. They haven’t completely sold out on one side. They haven’t completely settled on doing things one way. The Bible calls this type of individual is a person of two minds. James 1:8 AMP, “For being as he is a man of two minds (hesitating dubious, irresolute), [he is] unstable and unreliable and uncertain about everything [he thinks, feels, decide]. We don’t want God to ask us the same question Elijah asked the people. We should know that the Lord God is God. He is the almighty God and the Creator of Heaven and Earth. He is the one true God. We must get to a place where we are single-minded. There is only one way, and that is God’s way. There is only one way to think,and those thoughts should come out of God’s Word. We are not of this world. We have not been given the spirit of the world, so we should not think like the world. The ways of this world are not our way. If you haven’t done so already, make up your mind today.  I will leave you with these words from Joshua 24:15:  And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell; but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. 

#AlmightyGod #vccharlotte #theCreator #devotional 

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | April 13th

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

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

#goodGod #gratitude #devotional #verseoftheday #vcccharlotte

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | April 11th

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

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

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

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

#Jeremiah #devotional #faithoverfear #overcomer #vcccharlotte

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | April 10th

📖 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 | April 9th

📖 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 | April 8th

📖 I have been crucified with Christ [in Him I have shared His crucifixion]; it is no longer I who live, but Christ (the Messiah) lives in me; and the life I now live in the body I live by faith in (by adherence to and reliance on and complete trust in) the Son of God, Who loved me and gave Himself up for me. —Galatians 2:20 AMPC 

Our old selves have been crucified with Christ. The old man that used to live a life of sin was crucified with Christ. We were not only crucified with Him; we were also raised with Him. We have been raised to a new life. Old things have passed away. We have a new life now. We are in right standing with God. We are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, and a dedicated nation (1 Peter 2:9). In that same verse it says that we are God’s own purchased, special people. We are not special in ourselves; we are special because we have been purchased with the Blood of Jesus Christ. He now lives in us, and we can be more like Him. We don’t have to be what we used to be and thank God, many of us aren’t. Let’s allow Christ to reign in our lives and in our bodies. We are to live this life by faith in the Son of God, Who loves us and gave Himself up for us all. 

#newlife #vcccharlotte #faith #devotional #Godlovesus 

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | April 7th

📖 If you will seek God diligently and make your supplication to the Almighty, 

Then, if you are pure and upright, surely He will bestir Himself for you and make your righteous dwelling prosperous again. 

And though your beginning was small, your latter end would greatly increase. 
—Job 8: 5-7 AMPC  

God knows all the details of our lives. The Bible tells us that the “steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord. (Psalm 37:23) When you are assured of this, you don’t mind starting at the bottom of the “corporate ladder”. You are willing to start off small. Zechariah 4:10 (The Message) asks a very good question: “Does anyone dare despise the day of small beginnings”? You learn a lot at the bottom. Starting at the bottom teaches you how to get to the top. One man said, “The path to the prize is greater than the prize itself”. Oh, how he was right. The lessons learned on the road to success are so valuable. They are lessons that you can pass on to the next generation. They are lessons that will help you next time you face a challenge in your life. God wants to take us from glory to glory, but it’s a process. Don’t run from the process, grow from the process. Embrace the journey, one step at a time. God’s way is always the best way. 

#thejourney #vcccharlotte #roadtosuccess #devotional  

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | April 7th

📖 Behold, the LORD’s hand is not shortened, That it cannot save; Nor His ear heavy, That it cannot hear. —Isaiah 59:1 NKJV

God is not new to saving His people, and matter of fact, He alone specializes in it. There has not been a situation or problem brought by His people that has given Him any ounce of trouble or difficulty. He is the Almighty and All-powerful God, and we, as His children, must start recognizing that. The Lord’s power has not been diminished, and the same power that raised Jesus from the dead, is still active and available to change whatever is wrong in our lives. As His representatives on earth let us remember that God hears our prayers, and He is still all powerful. 

#representGod #AlmightyGod #vcccharlotte #power #devotional

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | April 6th

📖 So stop evaluating Christians by what the world thinks about them or by what they seem to be like on the outside. Once I mistakenly thought of Christ that way, merely as a human being like myself. How differently I feel now! When someone becomes a Christian, he becomes a brand new person inside. He is not the same anymore. A new life has begun! 
—2 Corinthians 5:16-17 The Living Bible 

As Christians, we are not merely human beings. We became new on the inside when we made Jesus the lord of our lives. We have the Greater One on the inside of us. As believers, we are partakers of God’s Divine Nature (II Peter 1:4). This new nature on the inside of us allows us the privilege of being called the children of God (I John 3:10). God gave us a new nature so that we can have a new life! We must allow the new nature to dominate us. We must renew our minds to the Word of God so that the new life will dominate our thinking and our actions. When we understand who we are and walk it out, it allows us to walk the way Jesus walked when He was here on the earth. Jesus walked in victory while He was here on the earth, and we can to. We have been predestined to be conformed to His image (Romans 8:29). Jesus is a picture of victory. When we walk out what is inside of us, so are we. The Word of God tells us that “as He is, so are we in this world” (I John 4:17). 

#newcreations #vcccharlotte #newlife #devotional #victory 

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | April 4th

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

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

#Godcares #donotworry #devotional #vcccharlotte #trustGod

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | April 3rd

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

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

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

#wisdom #vcccharlotte #kingdomlife #devotional #trustGod

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | April 2nd

📖 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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