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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | August 24th

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

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

#Thessalonians #devotional #Bibleknowledge #vcccharlotte 

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | August 22nd

📖 Then he said, “There was once a man who had two sons. The younger said to his father, ‘Father, I want right now what’s coming to me.’ 

“So the father divided the property between them. It wasn’t long before the younger son packed his bags and left for a distant country. There, undisciplined and dissipated, he wasted everything he had. After he had gone through all his money, there was a bad famine all through that country and he began to feel it. He signed on with a citizen there who assigned him to his fields to slop the pigs. He was so hungry he would have eaten the corn-cobs in the pig slop, but no one would give him any. 

—Luke 15: 11-16 The Message   

Are you a short-term thinker or a long-term thinker? This young man was only concerned about the present moment. He was ready to go and spend his money and have a good time. He did not consider his future. He did not think about the possibility of famine. He did not think about investing his money. He was only thinking about himself. He had the mindset of eating, drinking, and being merry. We cannot have that type of mindset. We must consider our ways. We must examine our spending habits. Are you a healthy eater? Do you exercise regularly? The things you do today will affect your tomorrow. Don’t be like this young man. Let’s be long-term thinkers, and not just short-term. Your future depends on it.  

#thinker #vcccharlotte #future #devotional 

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | August 21st

📖 I will not talk with you much more, for the prince (evil genius, ruler) of the world is coming. And he has no claim on Me. [He has nothing in common with Me; there is nothing in Me that belongs to him, and he has no power over Me.] —John 14:3 AMPC    

When we make Jesus Christ the lord of our lives, Satan no longer has any claim on us. He is the god (ruler) of this world, but he is no longer the ruler over our lives. There is nothing in us that belongs to him, and he has no power over us. When Satan continues to wreak havoc in our lives, many times it is because we are ignorant of God’s Word. We don’t realize that we are now his masters. He is subject to us because we have been given dominion over him. We are heirs of God and joint heirs with Jesus Christ. We have just as much dominion over the devil as Jesus. Let’s walk in a greater revelation of who we are and what belongs to us. We have been given the power to trample on serpents, scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt us. (Luke 10:19). 

#poweroverthedevil #vcccharlotte #devotional

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | August 20th

📖 Make a joyful shout to the Lord, all you lands! Serve the Lord with gladness; Come before His presence with singing. Know that the Lord, He is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture. Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting, And His truth endures to all generations. 
—Psalms 100:1-5 NKJV

We serve a good God! He is so good to us that there is only one way to serve Him: with gladness. We should come before His presence with singing because He has redeemed us. He has sent Jesus so that we can have life and have it more abundantly. He is our protector. He is our Healer. He is our Strength. Every good gift and every perfect gift comes from Him. His mercies are new every morning, and when He forgives us of our sins, He forgets them. He is not holding them against us; He has cleansed us from them. There should be joy in our hearts every day because of what God has done for us and for what He is doing in our lives. Even when things aren’t going our way, we know that God will turn it around. He is on our side, and we are the sheep of His pasture. God loves us. We have so much to be grateful for! The Lord is good, and His mercies endure forever. 

#newmercies #devotional #GodisGood #vcccharlotte

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | August 19th

📖 Don’t fool yourself into thinking that you are a listener when you are anything but, letting the Word go in one ear and out the other. Act on what you hear! Those who hear and don’t act are like those who glance in the mirror, walk away, and two minutes later have no idea who they are, what they look like. 

But whoever catches a glimpse of the revealed counsel of God—the free life!—even out of the corner of his eye, and sticks with it, is no distracted scatterbrain but a man or woman of action. That person will find delight and affirmation in the action. 
—James 1: 22-25 The Message  

If we are going to experience the life that God has preordained for us, we must be doers of His Word and not hearers only. To experience the free life, there must be an obedient life. A life where we are committed to obeying the Word of God. The Word must be a part of us. We must take the time to read and meditate it so that we can know how we are supposed to live. Our lives become better when our ways line up with God's ways. Things become better when our thoughts are in line with God's thoughts. God's ways and His thoughts are found in His Word. We must see ourselves the way He sees us. The Word of God is our mirror. The Word of God is our standard for our self-esteem. Our value is not based on the world's perspective; it is based on God's. Let's not forget who we are. Let's be doers of the Word and not hearers only. 

#doersoftheWord #vcccharlotte #God’sperspective #devotional

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | August 18th

📖 But you—you serve your God and he’ll bless your food and your water. I’ll get rid of the sickness among you; there won’t be any miscarriages nor barren women in your land. I’ll make sure you live full and complete lives. —Exodus 23:25-26 The Message 

God wants you well. He wants all of His people well. He told the Israelites while they were in the wilderness that He would get rid of sickness from among them. In verse seven of that chapter, God says that He will "make sure you live full and complete lives". It's difficult to live a full and complete life when you are sick all the time. When you are sick, you have a tendency to lie in bed. You may have to go see a doctor. You may not have the strength or energy to carry out daily tasks. That is not the will of God. God wants us whole, spirit, soul, and body (I Thessalonians 5:23). One man said, "Good health is the springboard for progress and achievement in life".  It is to our advantage to walk in what Jesus paid the price for. We have a right to walk in divine health. 

#wellness #vcccharlotte #Goodhealth #devotional 

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | August 17th

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

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

#firstthingsfirst #devotional #prayer #paul #honorGod

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | August 15th

📖 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 | August 14th

📖 When the Woman saw that the tree looked like good eating and realized what she would get out of it—she’d know everything!—she took and ate the fruit and then gave some to her husband, and he ate.

Immediately the two of them did “see what’s really going on”—saw themselves naked! They sewed fig leaves together as makeshift clothes for themselves. 

When they heard the sound of God strolling in the garden in the evening breeze, the Man and his Wife hid in the trees of the garden, hid from God. 

—Genesis 3:6-8 The Message  

If you sin, don’t run from God, run to God. If you miss the mark, don’t hide from God, talk to God. God doesn’t want to beat you over the head because you messed up. He wants to restore you. He wants to re-establish you and place you in right standing with Him. The Bible tells us that when we sin, we should confess our sin. When we do, God is faithful and just to forgive us of our sin and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (I John 1:9). Satan is the accuser of the brethren (Revelation 12:10). He is the condemner. He wants to remind you of your sin. He wants you to develop a sin consciousness. That’s not God. God is a God of mercy and grace. He wants to cleanse you of that sin. He doesn’t even remember it once you have confessed it. Sin doesn’t have to separate you from God. Don’t make sin a lifestyle. Confess it and get rid of it. You are the righteousness of God. Don’t allow sin to have dominion over you. You overcome it. You overcome it by the Blood of the Lamb and the Word of your testimony.   

#runtoGod #vcccharlotte #talktoHim #devotional #overcomer 

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | August 13th

📖 Solomon answered, “You were extravagantly generous with David my father, and now you have made me king in his place. Establish, God, the words you spoke to my father, for you’ve given me a staggering task, ruling this mob of people. Yes, give me wisdom and knowledge as I come and go among this people—for who on his own is capable of leading these, your glorious people?” 

God answered Solomon, “This is what has come out of your heart: You didn’t grasp for money, wealth, fame, and the doom of your enemies; you didn’t even ask for a long life. You asked for wisdom and knowledge so you could govern well my people over whom I’ve made you king. Because of this, you get what you asked for—wisdom and knowledge. And I’m presenting you the rest as a bonus—money, wealth, and fame beyond anything the kings before or after you had or will have.” 
—II Chronicles 1: 9-12 The Message 

It's not enough to have an assignment. One must also have wisdom and knowledge to carry out that assignment. Solomon had been given a serious task. He was to take over the throne from his father David, and he was to lead Israel. This would be considered a monumental task, and Solomon understood the magnitude of it. When God asked him what he desired. Solomon asked for the wisdom and knowledge that it took to govern the people. God was so pleased with Solomon's answer that He gave him more than what he asked for. He gave him wisdom and knowledge plus wealth and rest from his enemies. We all need wisdom. The Bible tells us that Jesus "increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man" (Luke 2:52 KJV). Jesus Himself needed to operate in the Wisdom of God. According to the Word of God, Jesus has been made Wisdom to us (I Corinthians 1:30). The Bible also tells us that if we need wisdom, we can simply ask for it (James 1:5). We don't have to be without wisdom. God has made it available to us. God wants us to be a success; the question is how bad do you want to succeed?  

#success #vcccharlotte #wisdom #devotional #theWord 

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | August 12th

📖 Moses was 120 years old when he died, yet his eyesight was perfect and he was as strong as a young man. —Deuteronomy 34:7 The Living Bible  

Getting older doesn't have to be a bad thing. Many times, when we think of getting older, we see ourselves getting weaker. Many have the expectation that their sight will get worse as they get older. Many believe that their health will decline as they get into their seventies and eighties. That is not the image that God has for us. You don't have to be sick to die. Many believe that everyone has to die of something. That wasn't the case for Moses. That wasn't the case for Abraham either. The Bible tells us that "Abraham breathed his last and he died at a good old age, an old man who was satisfied [with life]; and he was gathered to his people [who had preceded him in death]"(Genesis 25:8 AMP). When it was time for Moses to die, he climbed a mountain and God buried him personally. Moses died at the age of one hundred and twenty. You don't have to waste away. You can live long and you can live strong. You can flourish in your old age. You don't have to age based on the world's standards. You have the life of God flowing in you. You have the Greater One living on the inside of you. The anointing abides on the inside. Live long and live strong! 

#Livelong #vcccharlotte #Livestrong #devotional  

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | August 11th

📖 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 | August 10th

📖 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 | August 8th

📖 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 | August 7th

📖 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 AMPC 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 | August 6th

📖 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. —John 1:1-3 NKJV

God and His Word are one. You cannot separate the two. God's Word can do whatever God can do. God is a Healer and so is His Word. He sent His word and healed them, And delivered them from their destructions (Psalm 107:20). His Word not only heals, but it delivers and sets us free. The word of a person is what a person is. God is all-powerful, and so is His Word. Luke 1:37 AMPC tells us, “For with God nothing is ever impossible and no word from God shall be without power or impossible of fulfillment”. God's Word is never void of power. God tells us in Isaiah 55:11 AMPC, “So shall My word be that goes forth out of My mouth: it shall not return to Me void [without producing any effect, useless], but it shall accomplish that which I please and purpose, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it”. We can believe God’s Word. We can trust His Word. God’s Word will always produce when we believe and act on it. The problem is not with the Word; the problem is with our believing. Do you believe God today? If so, be it unto you, according to your faith. 

#believeinGod #vcccharlotte #God’sWord #devotional #faith 

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | August 5th

📖 Christ redeemed us from that self-defeating, cursed life by absorbing it completely into himself. Do you remember the Scripture that says, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”? That is what happened when Jesus was nailed to the cross: He became a curse, and at the same time dissolved the curse. And now, because of that, the air is cleared and we can see that Abraham’s blessing is present and available for non-Jews, too. We are all able to receive God’s life, his Spirit, in and with us by believing—just the way Abraham received it. —Galatians 3:13-14 The Message 

Christ has redeemed us from a self-defeating, cursed life. Isn't that good news. Jesus took on the curse so that we can experience the same Blessing that Abraham experienced. God also gave us the tools to assist us as we endeavor to walk in the good life that He has preordained for us. The blessed life is accompanied by God's life and His Spirit. God's Spirit will lead, guide, and enlighten us. He (the Holy Spirit) will enable us to get to a place where we experience the manifestation of the Blessing. The curse was the result of the fall. God's thoughts toward us are only good. God wants us blessed. God only desires the best for His children. When our thoughts get in line with His thoughts and as we get acquainted with His ways, our lives change. We start to reflect the life that God had in mind for us all along, a blessed life, nothing missing and nothing broken. 

#thegoodlife #vcccharlotte #blessed #devotional #blessedlife

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | August 4th

📖 Later war broke out with the Philistines at Gezer. That was the time Sibbecai the Hushathite killed Sippai of the clan of giants. The Philistines had to eat crow. In another war with the Philistines, Elhanan son of Jair killed Lahmi, the brother of Goliath the Gittite whose spear was like a ship’s boom. And then there was the war at Gath that featured a hulking giant who had twenty-four fingers and toes, six on each hand and foot—yet another from the clan of giants. When he mocked Israel, Jonathan son of Shimea, David’s brother, killed him. These came from the clan of giants and were killed by David and his men. 
—I Chronicles 20:4-8 The Message 

When the Israelites first saw the Philistine giant, Goliath, they fled from him. They were afraid of him because of his size and the size of his arsenal. He had men just to carry his weapons. When David killed Goliath, a shift took place. The fear of giants left. Instead of running from giants, the Israelites started killing more giants. It appears that the intimidation left, along with the fear. The more giants you kill, the less intimidating they are. That is how life is. When you face an overwhelmingly challenging situation, it can appear to be impossible. Once you experience victory and see God come through for you, you are not as intimidated the next time you face a “giant”. The more giants you conquer, the easier it gets. There may be some struggle, but it doesn’t take as long to get over it. There is nothing too difficult for God, and because you are His child, there is nothing too difficult for you. We can slay all the giants that come across our path. We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. 

#victory #vcccharlotte #conqueror #devotional  

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | August 3rd

📖 I don’t mean to say I am perfect. I haven’t learned all I should even yet, but I keep working toward that day when I will finally be all that Christ saved me for and wants me to be. —Philippians 3:12 The Living Bible 

One thing that Paul was working towards was that he would eventually become what God had preordained for him to be. He talked about forgetting things from the past and moving towards the things that were before him. Paul had made some pretty big mistakes in his past. He had persecuted the church and had people put in prison for their beliefs. None of that mattered once he became born again. His goal was now to be all that God had called him to be. He worked tirelessly toward that goal, and nothing prevented him from accomplishing it. In fact, several of the epistles that he wrote were written from a prison cell. He experienced shipwrecks, beatings, snake bites, and other things, yet he did not quit. We must do the same thing. Regardless of what the enemy throws our way, we must not stop until we have become all that God wants us to be. 

#dontquit #paul #motivation #destiny #verseoftheday #devotional

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | August 1st

📖 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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