God’s blessed us with a brand new week! Let’s be diligent about continuing (or starting) in choosing our words wisely today. They have power! Speak life and not death over yourself, your family, friends, and loved ones. Let your first words today be ones that express your gratefulness to God for the gift of life this morning (1 Chronicles 16:34); and make sure that before you think about the current circumstances of your life - good or bad, you examine what you say. Ask God to guard the door of your mouth (Psalm 141:3). You are a child of the Most High God and redeemed from the curse of the law. Remember: your words frame your world! Think on good things (Philippians 4:8), then speak life to your circumstance. Have a blessed day...and rest of your week (confess it now!)
#dailydevotional #powerofwords #MondayMotivation #wordsframeyourworld#bible #speaklife
In this Scripture, God is talking to the Israelites as they were about to enter the promised land. This verse is also significant to us as believers because when we ask Jesus to become the Lord of our lives, we become children of God sanctified or set apart. God tells us that when we come out from the world, He will be God to us, and we will be God’s people. He will manifest Himself to us and bring us into His promised land for us. It’s a promised land that He preordained for us to walk in. God has not changed. If He was faithful to bring His “set-apart” ones into the promised land under the old covenant, how much more His "set-apart ones" under the new covenant?
#covenant #dailydevotional #israel #holyGod
Naaman had sought the man of God because he wanted to be cleansed from his condition of leprosy. The prophet told him to dip seven times in the Jordan River. Naaman was disappointed because he thought the prophet would have given him a different set of instructions. He thought God was going to meet his need another way. Isn't that like us? We have a need, and we already know how we want God to meet our need. We cannot put God in a box. We must obey Him when we receive instructions from Him. We cannot think that we know how God is going to do it. We just have to be confident that He is going to do it. We don't have to know how, we just need to know that He will. He will do everything that His Word says He will do.
#devotional #trustGod #Naaman #bible #trustandobey
The Bible says a lot about associations. It’s been said that "Your associations determine your destiny". Lot became wealthy because of his association with Abraham. Laban became wealthy because of Jacob. If sinners entice you and try to get you to "run with them", run! The Bible tells us that the way of the transgressors is hard(Proverbs 13:15), and evil communication corrupts good manners ( 1 Corinthians 15:33). Can two walk together except they be agreed? (Amos 3:3) We must walk with wise men if we want to be wise. We must walk with believers if we want to stay believers. Choose your associations wisely, it could cost you your destiny.
#wisdom #associations #tgif #prayfirst #mentor
We should always endeavor to keep our spirits strong. When the enemy comes against us, it is our spirit that sustains us during the attack. We strengthen our spirits by reading and meditating on the Word of God and by praying in the spirit. When we pray in the spirit (or in other tongues) we are building ourselves up on our most holy faith. We are charging ourselves up similar to the way you charge a battery.
The Apostle Paul stayed charged up. If you look at all the things that he endured, you will see why he prayed in tongues more than anyone in the church of Corinth (I Corinthians 14:18). He was stoned, whipped, imprisoned, beaten with rods, shipwrecked, just to name a few things, yet despite all those things, he finished his course. The enemy may come against us, but that doesn’t mean that he can win. As we keep our spirits strong, we can overcome anything he may try to bring our way. Our spirits will sustain us.
#finishtherace #paul #dailydevotional #bible #vcccharlotte
We only have one enemy. It isn’t a co-worker. It isn’t a family member. It isn’t someone in government. Our enemy is the devil, Satan. He is our adversary, and he walks around as a roaring lion, seeking to steal, kill, and destroy. We are instructed to resist him. We must be determined that he is not going to steal, kill, or destroy anything in our lives. We have been given authority over the wicked one, and when we resist him, he has no choice but to flee. No matter what the devil is attempting to do in your life, he cannot succeed if you stand against him with the Word of God. We not only have the Word of God, but we also have the name of Jesus and the Spirit of God on the inside of us. The Word of God tells us that greater is He that is in us than he that is in the world (I John 4:4). We have the power and the ability to withstand and overcome any attack of the devil. Don’t allow him to convince you otherwise. He is not only a liar, but he is also defeated.
#resistthedevil #vcccharlotte #devotional #powerinthenameofJesus
God has a plan for our lives. He not only has the plan, but He orders our steps for us to arrive at the place where He has preordained for us to be. God knows how to arrange events. When Samuel was to anoint Saul to be king over Israel, God told Samuel the day before that He was sending a man out of the land of Benjamin to be anointed king. Saul was looking for his father’s donkeys and that is why he was in the same area as Samuel, but Saul did not know that his steps were ordered by the Lord.
God sent him that way so that he could be anointed king over Israel. God has a way of making things happen in our lives when we allow Him to. We can believe that when we surrender our lives to God, He will order our steps and put us in the right place at the right time, so that we can experience the good life that He has preordained for us to live.
#goodlife #trustGod #dailydevotional #vcccharlotte #destiny
No one can accomplish the will of God without help. Jesus had 12 disciples. Moses needed these men to help him judge the people's cases in the wilderness. He was attempting to listen to the people's cases by himself and Jethro was telling him that what he was doing wasn't good for his health. Moses was going to wear himself out if he didn't get some help.
Sometimes people can be stubborn when it comes to receiving help. It takes humility to admit that you need help, but it’s important to remember there is nothing wrong with receiving help. Every great leader has to have help in order for his company or his organization to experience success. There is no such thing as a self-made man. No one is self-made. Everyone who is successful has needed help at some point in their lives. Let's be a part of the solution in people's lives. Your pastor needs your help. Your company needs your help. When you help someone to achieve their goals, someone will come along and help you to achieve yours. It goes in line with the golden rule: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
#help #goldenrule #humiliity #dailydevotion #mondaymotivation
Many have to undergo an evaluation on their job. Their job will evaluate their overall performance and sometimes the results of the evaluation will cause them to receive a raise, a bonus, or some type of incentive. However, if the evaluation is bad, the person might get demoted or even lose their job. As believers, we must constantly evaluate where we are spiritually. Are we becoming more like Christ? Are we developing more in the fruits of the spirit? Are we becoming more like the world? Are we still on fire for God like we were ten years ago?
Sometimes when we examine ourselves, we must make adjustments because we may not like where we are. We may have to remove friends. We may have to stop watching television or spend less time on our smartphones. We must adjust so that we don’t remain in a state of spiritual decline. We must examine ourselves, and if necessary, ask God to reveal to us areas where we may need to improve. Sometimes, we must remove distractions. We must examine our belief system. Do we believe the way we once did, or has our perspective changed to the point that we are thinking like the world. We must remove anything from our lives that may cause us to miss Heaven. We want our lives to go from faith to faith, from glory to glory. Our desire should be to have a deeper walk with God. As we continue to evaluate ourselves, we can open the door for that to happen and to walk in the benefits of diligently seeking Him. Our desire should be to know Christ and the power of His resurrection.
#honorGod #dailydevotional #introspection #vcccharlotte
When God speaks to us, He expects us to move. Sometimes, depending on the instruction, we hesitate and sometimes question whether we should obey the instruction. We are all developing when it comes to hearing the voice of God and being led by the Spirit, but when we know that it’s God leading us, we must act. Sometimes it is for our own good, and sometimes it is in the best interest of someone else. When we know it’s God, we must run, like Philip did. We must always instantly obey when God is leading and guiding us. It never costs to obey God; it always pays to obey Him. When you do, you are always glad that you did.
#FollowGod #obedience #dailydevotional #Bible
God is our Source. It is His desire that He takes care of us. He takes pleasure in prospering us (Psalm 35:27). Every good gift and every perfect gift come from above (James 1:17). When we realize that God desires to take care of us and to bless us, it will take your mind off the negative circumstances.
God told the Israelites that they were to never to forget that it was the Lord their God who gave them the ability to get wealth (Deuteronomy 8:18). God is the one had a promised land for His people. The promised land wasn’t their idea, it was God’s. God can bless us when the economy is good or bad. Whether the stock market is doing well or not. God can feed us when there is scarcity in the land or when there is plenty. God knows where everything is. The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof.
#trustGod #dailydevotional #vcccharalotte #JehovahJireh
God has gifted us with talents and abilities. He has equipped us with these talents because there are things that He wants to accomplish through us. He anointed and equipped Bezaleel with all these talents so that he could assist with building the tabernacle and the furnishings within the tabernacle. What is interesting about this, is that God knew that he (Bezaleel) would be alive at this time so that he would be a part of erecting the tabernacle in the wilderness. God knew that the Israelites would be free from Egyptian bondage, and He knew what would need to be constructed while they were in the wilderness.
We serve an awesome God. God had the foresight to see what would take place in the future and then equipped people to be a part of what He was doing while He sent the people into the promised land. God has not changed. He still has knowledge of the future, and He is still equipping us. Once we recognize our talents and abilities, it is up to us to seek the Lord so that we can be where He has preordained for us to be. We can only experience fulfillment when we are where He wants us to be, doing what He has called us to do.
#purposedriven #followGod #talents #Godordained #dailydevotional
The enemy wants you discouraged. Satan, our enemy, would love for you to stay frustrated, agitated, and discouraged. He wants you in fear. He wants you in a state of anxiety because he knows the effect it has on the body. Stress causes all kinds of sickness. It has led to heart attacks, strokes, and other ailments. God tells us in His Word to cast our cares on Him (I Peter 5:7). He tells us to cast our burden on the Lord, and He will sustain us (Psalm 55:22). God tells us these things so that we can remain calm.
God wants us full of joy. The joy of the Lord is to be our strength (Nehemiah 8:10). God wants us to be carefree and full of joy not only because it is good for us emotionally, but because it is also good for us physically. Stay free from the cares and the worries of life and give them to the Lord. He wants you to be made whole: spirit, soul, and body.
#peaceofmind #calm #encouragement #bible #dailydevotional
God has given us His Word to teach, discipline, and instruct us. When we read, study, and meditate on the Word of God, it causes faith to rise in our hearts. So, when adversity comes (and it comes to all of us), we can have peace in the midst of the storm because of the promises of God. His Word stabilizes us in the midst of any tumultuous circumstance that may come to disrupt our lives.
What a GOOD Father! He will never leave or forsake His children. When we trust in the Lord with all our hearts, we can rest assured that His way is the best. When we commit to being doers of the Word and not hearers only, we will be blessed in our deeds, because it is the doer that is blessed, not just the hearer only (James 1:25). So, rest. You don’t have to worry about a thing. Your Heavenly Father is active and watching over His Word to perform it. He is taking care of everything that concerns you. Rest..in Him.
#rest #trustGod #psalm #dailydevotional #goodgoodfather
God is not just a healer of the physical body; He is a healer of the soulish man as well. We are a tripartite being. We are a spirit. We have a soul. We live in a physical body. When you are born again, God doesn’t heal the spirit, your spirit is reborn. You become a new creature in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17). Our soul which is composed of our mind, will, and emotions, did not become new, but the mind can be renewed to the Word of God. Because our emotions are connected to our soul, sometimes healing is needed in our souls. When a loved one passes, we may need healing in our emotions. Regardless of why we may need healing in our emotional arena, God is more than capable and more than willing to heal us. He is the healer of the body and the soul.
#healerofthebrokenhearted #Godlovesyou #healer #emotions #vcccharlotte
Notice what distinguishes us as a disciple of Christ. It is our decision to love people the way Jesus loves us. Jesus loves us, regardless of our issues. Regardless of our mistakes, Jesus loves us no matter what. Now He doesn’t approve of what we do, when its wrong, but He still loves us. The Father still loves us. We must get to a point in our lives where we love everyone and treat everyone with dignity and respect. The Bible tells us that the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost (Romans 5:5). We can love our enemies. We can love our relatives. We can love our co-workers. We can love everyone we encounter because God’s love is on the inside of us, and He would not ask us to do something we were not capable of doing. Let’s represent the kingdom of God, let’s love people with the love of God all day every day. It may not be easy, but we can do it. We can do all things through Christ who gives us strength (Philippians 4:13).
#disciple #devotional #Jesus #vccchaarlotte #lovewalk
There are many people in the world without hope. They have been challenged financially, mentally, and physically, and they have no hope. They don’t see how their lives can get any better because of the difficulties that they face daily. As believers, we have hope. Even when it looks like we don’t have any hope, we can go to the Word of God and get some hope. Abraham did not consider his circumstances when it came to believing God, he was convinced that God was able to keep His Word to Him. We can be the same way. We can ignore the circumstances and simply believe God’s Word because He cannot fail us. When we put our trust in the Word of God, we can have hope. It doesn’t matter what’s going on in the world, we can stay positive and have a cheerful countenance because we know that God is faithful to His promise. If He said it, He will do it. If He spoke it, He will bring it to pass.
#hope #devotional #encouragement #trustGod
Sometimes we can take things for granted. According to Scripture, we are not considered servants of God, but we are called children of God. The Bible tells us that God “has pleasure in the prosperity of his servant” (Psalm 35:27). If God takes pleasure in the prosperity of His servant, how much more His children? Children have more privileges than servants. Many have called themselves servants of the most High, and they are not necessarily wrong. In God’s eyes, God sees us as His children. It was always His will for us to be His children. Sin separated us from God, and it was not until after the birth, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, that we were able to be called the children of God (after receiving Jesus as our Lord and Savior. Children have access to everything their parents have access to.
As children of God, we have access to everything that God has. As we grow in the knowledge of God, we also grow in our knowledge of our inheritance, and as we act on the Word of God, we experience the reality of what has been promised to us as children of God. We do not have to go without, we only must look to the Greater One within.
#childrenofGod #JesusChrist #devotional #inheritance
We serve a covenant-keeping God. Regardless of what it may look like, God is obligated to His Word or His Covenant. Jeremiah 1:12 AMPC tells us that He is alert and active, watching over His Word to perform it. Because it is impossible for Him to lie, we can stand on the covenant, knowing that God has to come through. He hasn't broken the covenant yet and there will never be a situation that will cause Him to do so. God has kept it this many generations, and He is not going to start breaking it now. He never has, and He never will.
#covenant #goodGod #devotional #yourreminder #inspiration
God wants our lives to bring Him glory. It is His desire for us to walk in the Blessing so that it will attract people to Him. When you give God the glory for all that is being accomplished in your life, it will cause people to want to know more about the God you are giving glory to. That is one reason it is important to do everything to the glory of God. You cannot sin to the glory of God. It is hard to listen to the wrong kind of music to the glory of God. It is hard to watch the wrong type of movie to the glory of God. It is hard to do wrong and attribute it to God. That just simply isn’t going to happen.
Living a life that glorifies God will cause you to be more aware of your actions and the consequences of your actions. When your desire is to bring God glory, you will not want to do anything that will cause embarrassment to the kingdom of God. God desires our lives to bring Him glory, let’s not let Him down. He is counting on us to do so.
#forthegloryofGod #dailydevotional #motivation #ambassadorsofChrist