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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | November 25th

📖 “Let the thief steal no more, but rather let him be industrious, making an honest living with his own hands, so that he may be able to give to those in need." -Ephesians 4:28 Amplified Bible Classic Edition

Paul is giving insight into the purpose of our paychecks. Our paychecks are not primarily for paying bills (you should pay your bills). Our paychecks are not primarily for purchasing items for ourselves and our families (it's okay if you do). The Word of God tells us that we work so that we can have money to give. This is how the Kingdom of God operates. It functions through the principle of seedtime and harvest. When we give, it shall be given to us again, good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, shall men give unto our bosom (Luke 6:38). It is after we give that we can claim that God will meet our needs according to His riches and glory by Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:19). It is always better to give than to receive because giving puts us in a place of receiving. As we grow in faith, we should also grow in our giving. As we increase our giving, we can increase our receiving. It’s time for a shift in our thinking in the area of giving! When we change our standard of giving, we change our standard of living.

#seedtimeandharvest #devotional #giving #vcccharlotte #compassion

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | November 24th

📖 “The Lord knows the days of the upright and blameless, and their heritage will abide forever. They shall not be put to shame in the time of evil; and in the days of famine they shall be satisfied." -Psalm 37:18-19 Amplified Classic

As believers we can always rest assured that we will be taken care of. It does not matter what is going on in the world, God knows how to take care of us. The state of the economy will not affect the blessing of the Lord. Food prices have no effect on the blessing of the Lord. When we place our faith in God and His Word, we can know that we will have more than enough while the rest of the world is in famine. We will prosper regardless of the interest rates and the state of the economy. Joseph and his family enjoyed plenty in the midst of famine. Elijah, the widow woman, and her son were sustained during the famine. Many all throughout the word of God were sustained during hard times because they put their faith and dependency on God. If we are going to experience His provision for our lives, we must be willing to do the same.

#prosperity #devotional #elijah #GoodFather #verseoftheday

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | November 23rd

📖 “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 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. He made havoc of the church. None of that mattered though 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 | November 22nd

📖 “So they said to him, “Who are you? We must take back an answer to those who sent us. What have you to say about yourself?” So John said, “I am, as Isaiah prophesied: a voice that cries in the wilderness: Make a straight way for the Lord.” -John 1:22-23 Jerusalem Bible

Initially the people thought that John the Baptist was the chosen one, the Messiah. He plainly told them that he was not the one. He knew who he was and without having to think about it, he quoted the prophecy from Isaiah. He did not let anyone put a label on him that did not belong to him. When people ask us, “What do you have to say about yourself?,” we should automatically know who we are. We should know that we are more than conquerors. We should know that the gates of hell cannot prevail against us. We should know that we are overcomers, and the Greater One lives on the inside of us. John the Baptist knew what the Word said about Him, and it should be no different with us. We must know what the Word says about us if we are going to continue to walk in victory.

#iamvictory #whoami #Jesus #devotional #verseofthemonth

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | November 21st

📖 “Day by day the Lord observes the good deeds done by godly men, and gives them eternal rewards. He cares for them when times are hard; even in famine, they will have enough.” -Psalm 37:18-19 The Living Bible

The eyes of the Lord run back and forth throughout the earth to show himself strong on behalf of those whose hearts are perfect towards Him (I Chronicles 16:9). He takes care of His people. He takes care of us when times are good and when times appear to be bad. God is always consistent. God told David that He was with him the whole time he was running from Saul. When it looked like David was not going to survive the ordeal, God made a way of escape for him.

If we are faith people, we are to walk by faith and not by sight. We must stand on God’s Word knowing that God is coming through, even when it appears like He isn’t. The things that are seen are temporary; they are subject to change. Our God is the same, and He does not change. There is ‘no shadow of turning’ with Him. He comes through every time, even in times of famine or lack. Trust Him.

#Provider #GodIsGood #devotional #vcccharlotte #GoodFather

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | November 20th

📖 “Therefore, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision” ⎼Acts 26:19 NKJV

In this verse, Paul is telling the story of his life to King Agrippa and the calling that God had for him. He ends his story by stating that he was not disobedient to the heavenly vision. In Proverbs 29:18a AMPC says, “Where there is no vision [no redemptive revelation of God], the people perish.” Without vision or direction when it comes to our lives, we are at risk of perishing. Paul was saying to King Agrippa, ‘I did not deviate from the vision that God had for me.’ Just like God had a vision for Paul, he also has a vision for our lives. When we receive God’s vision for our lives, it helps us to focus on what it is we need to focus on. If you knew that you were called to be a doctor, then you would have no need to go to Law School. Another benefit of having God’s vision for our lives is when adversity and circumstances come our way, we can fall back on that vision because we know it came from God. We know that God has our back and all the blessings and promises of God will be with us and for us. You may be asking the question now, “How can I get God’s vision for my life?” As we spend time communing with God through the Word, prayer and worship, God will reveal to us what His vision for our life is. So, let us seek the Lord and run with the vision He gives us!

#vision #dreams #devotional #verseoftheday #vcccharlotte

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | November 19th

📖 “Commit your works to the Lord [submit and trust them to Him], And your plans will succeed [if you respond to His will and guidance].” -Proverbs 16:3 Amplified Bible

Some of the most common questions asked by Christians have been, “What am I supposed to do”? or “Why am I here”? When we submit our lives to God and place our lives in His Hands, we can trust that He will lead us and guide us in the way that we should go. God will direct our steps, and He will speak to us. God will tell us everything we need to know in reference to our future. Once we understand the will of God for our lives, we must submit to it. We must submit to His guidance. It is pointless to seek the face of God concerning our future if we are not going to do what He instructs us to do. God’s plan for our lives is a beautiful plan. If we trust and submit our lives to Him, we will experience the good life that He has preordained for us to live.

#purposedriven #trustGod #vcccharlotte #Godsplan #devotional

 

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | November 18th

📖 “And there was a woman who had had a discharge of blood for twelve years, and though she had spent all her living on physicians, she could not be healed by anyone. She came up behind him and touched the fringe of his garment, and immediately her discharge of blood ceased." ⎻Luke 8:43-44 English Standard Version

This woman was in a desperate situation. She had a medical condition that no one could treat.  She went from doctor to doctor, and they could not stop her flow of blood. She dealt with that condition for twelve years. When she heard of Jesus, she went and found where He was and touched the hem of His garments. She believed that if she could just get to Jesus, her situation would change. She got a revelation that Jesus could do what the doctors had been unable to do. Her believing got her just what she believed. She was made whole of her ailment. The blood stopped immediately! When we go to God in faith and on the basis on His Word, we can expect a change in our circumstances. We can expect God to turn it around. We can expect to hear, “Your faith has made you whole”. Our God is faithful.   

#faithwalk #trustGod #healing #vcccharlotte #devotional 

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | November 17th

📖 “Have nothing to do with godless and silly myths. Train yourself in godliness; for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come." -I Timothy 4:7-8 Revised Standard Version

Training is a good thing. We train our bodies so that we can be healthy and look good. Physical exercise is profitable, and it has some value, but it isn’t as profitable as spiritual training. You won’t be able to take your physical body with you into eternity, but you will take your spirit man. Training yourself in godliness is profitable both for this life and the next. Your spirit man will live forever. As matter of fact, the outward man is perishing, but the spirit man is being renewed day by day (2 Corinthians 4:16). Our desire should be to continue to grow spiritually. Our faith should be growing. Our love walk should be growing. Our ability to hear the voice of God should be improving. The fruit of the Spirit should become more visible as we continue to walk with and fellowship with God. Physical training is important, but spiritual training is vital.

#spiritual #exercise #growth #devotional #verseoftheday

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | November 16th

📖 “So ever since we first heard about you we have kept on praying and asking God to help you understand what he wants you to do; asking him to make you wise about spiritual things; and asking that the way you live will always please the Lord and honor him, so that you will always be doing good, kind things for others, while all the time you are learning to know God better and better.” -Colossians 1:9-10 The Living Bible

A key to our success is understanding what the Lord wants us to do. There are general things that He wants to do, and there are specific things that He wants us to accomplish. As we seek the Lord, He gives us insight and instructs us in the way that we should go. The Bible tells us that we are to be led by the Spirit of God (Romans 8:14). Spending time in the Word and prayer will cause us to become more sensitive to His leadership. As we are led by Him, that will enable us to know Him better and better. It will strengthen our walk with Him and our overall trust in Him. As we obey the leadership of the Holy Spirit, it will cause us to live a life that pleases and honors God. It will cause our lives to get better and better, and we will go from glory to glory.

#glorytoglory #devotional #understanding #verseoftheday #vcccharlotte

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | November 15th

📖 “A righteous person eats until his appetite is satisfied, but the stomach of the wicked is always empty." -Proverbs 13:25 Evangelical Heritage Version

The quality of food that we eat from day to day does not have to be associated with the type of job that we have. Eating well is a benefit of being a child of God. Jesus told us in Matthew 6 to NOT worry about what we are going to eat or what we are going to drink. He told us to seek first the kingdom of God, and these things will be added unto us. On several occasions when Jesus was teaching, He multiplied bread and fish to meet the needs of thousands of people. On another occasion, God rained down manna and caused water to come out of a rock in order to feed His people in the wilderness. Throughout the Old and New Testaments, we see that God took care of people. As we walk with God, we can be assured that He will also take care of us and will see to it that we are taken care of. It's not based primarily on what we do, it is based on how good our God is.

#faithfulGod #Provider #devotional #GodIsGood #trustGod

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | November 14th

📖 “Dear friends, never avenge yourselves. Leave that to God, for he has said that he will repay those who deserve it. Don’t take the law into your own hands. Instead, feed your enemy if he is hungry. If he is thirsty give him something to drink and you will be “heaping coals of fire on his head.” In other words, he will feel ashamed of himself for what he has done to you. Don’t let evil get the upper hand, but conquer evil by doing good." -Romans 12:19-21 The Living Bible

We have all been mistreated at some point in our lives. Someone may have lied on you. Someone may have started a rumor about you. Maybe someone was gossiping about you, and they were giving out incorrect information. In times like those, you might want to lash out. You might want to “get them told”. You may want to simply defend yourself against slander. The best thing for us to do is to leave that into God’s hands. The Bible instructs us to never avenge ourselves. Many times, we want to do the opposite. We not only want to avenge ourselves, but we want others to know how we have been mistreated. We cannot allow evil to get the upper hand. We must conquer evil by doing good. We must forgive, and we must walk in love. If our enemy is hungry, we can feed them. If they are thirsty, we can give them something to drink. We don’t have to mistreat others because we have been mistreated. That is not a demonstration of the love of God. We must allow the love of God to be shed abroad in our hearts. We must be like our Father in heaven. We must love the unlovable. We must be kind to the unkind. We must overcome evil with good.

#loveofGod #devotional #forgiveness #vengenceisminesaysthelord

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | November 13th

📖 “My son, if you will receive my words And treasure my commandments within you, So that your ear is attentive to [skillful and godly] wisdom, and apply your heart to understanding [seeking it conscientiously and striving for it eagerly]; Yes, if you cry out for insight, and lift up your voice for understanding; If you seek skillful and godly wisdom as you would silver and search for her as you would hidden treasures; then you will understand the [reverent] fear of the LORD [that is, worshiping Him and regarding Him as truly awesome] and discover the knowledge of God. For the LORD gives [skillful and godly] wisdom; From His mouth comes knowledge and understanding.” -Proverbs 2:1-6 AMP

Wisdom is a game changer. It can help us not to make bad decisions, and it can help us to excel in every area of our life. Our Scripture tells us that we must seek out wisdom conscientiously and strive for it eagerly. We are to chase after it as we would for hidden treasures. The Bible says in Proverbs 8:11 AMP, “For wisdom is better than rubies, and all the things one may desire cannot be compared with her.” Wisdom is the principal thing, and we should be searching for it fervently. In the sixth verse, the Bible talks about how the Lord gives skillful and Godly wisdom. The Bible says in James 1:5, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.” God is the source of skillful and Godly wisdom. So let us ask, seek and knock as the Bible talks about in Matthew 7:7-8. We are so willing sometimes to chase after entertainment, pleasure and other carnal, corruptible things but not the wisdom of GOD which can change our lives significantly. Let us open the Word of God and ponder the words of wisdom that are coming out of His mouth. As we continue to do this, the wisdom of God will begin to manifest itself in our lives. God wants you to have his wisdom in your everyday affairs, so we want to encourage you to chase after his wisdom wholeheartedly.

#wisdom #message #devotional #proverbs #vcccharlotte

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | November 12th

📖 “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 Amplified Bible Classic Edition

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. He knew that he was nothing without God. 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 | November 11th

📖 “For the dream comes through much effort, and the voice of a fool through many words." -Ecclesiastes 5: 3 New American Standard Bible

It has been said that a dream, whether big or small, will have the same cost – your life. That simply means that your dreams will require a lot of your time and effort. It will mean getting up early and staying up late. It will mean sacrificing meals at time. It may mean sacrificing time with your friends because you are working towards your goals. It could mean some lonely times because the dream will require you to be away from others so that you can work. Dreams cost. The bigger the dream, the higher the cost. We must be willing to ‘pay in full’ before we can experience the dream. Everything we want in life must be paid for in advance. You must pay the price of admission before you are allowed to experience the show, the movie, or the performance. The same thing goes for our dreams. We must pay the price of admission before we see the realization of the goal.

#dreams #devotional #perseverance #vcccharlotte #goals

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | November 10th

📖 “Afterward, the prophet came to the king of Israel and said, “Strengthen your position and see what must be done, because next spring the king of Aram will attack you again.” -1 Kings 20:22 NKJV

Ahab, with the help of the Lord, defeated the Syrian Army; and the prophet let him know that he must strengthen himself because the enemy was going to come back again. When we win battles against the enemy, we must always remember that he will try to come back again. We see this in the life of Jesus after Satan tempted him. Luke 4:13 talks about how after the temptations, Satan “departed from Him until an opportune time.” We know that the enemy is coming back again, so we must strengthen and fortify ourselves. How do we do that? One of the ways that we can strengthen ourselves is by studying and meditating upon the Word of God. As we continue to do this, the Word of God can get into our spirits and be used as a weapon against the enemy. We saw Jesus use the Word of God as a weapon against the devil for every temptation that Satan threw his way, and we can have that same victory over the devil. As we strengthen ourselves for the upcoming battles, let us not neglect the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

#WordofGod #devotional #victory #verseoftheday

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | November 9th

📖 “Though the fig tree does not blossom and there is no fruit on the vines, [though] the product of the olive fails and the fields yield no food, though the flock is cut off from the fold and there are no cattle in the stalls,Yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will exult in the [victorious] God of my salvation! The Lord God is my Strength, my personal bravery, and my invincible army; He makes my feet like hinds' feet and will make me to walk [not to stand still in terror, but to walk] and make [spiritual] progress upon my high places [of trouble, suffering, or responsibility]!” -Habakkuk 3:17-19 AMPC

The prophet here is taking a significant stance. He is taking a stance of Victory. He is saying that it doesn't matter what it looks like, I'm going to rejoice in the Lord. He was saying that he wasn't going to focus on his circumstances; instead, he was going to rejoice. He knew that God would cause him to prevail. He knew that God would cause him to make progress and excel in life. Let's be like the prophet. Let's keep our eyes on the right thing. Let’s set our gaze on the rock of our salvation. Let's keep our eyes on the One who always causes us to triumph in every situation. We look to the hills from where our help comes from, our help comes from the Lord. 

#devotional # vcccharlotte #iamvictory #Godhelpus #strength 

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | November 8th

📖 “But since you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in the love we have kindled in you —see that you also excel in this grace of giving." -2 Corinthians 8:7 New International Version

God desires for us to excel in every area of our lives. The church in Corinth was excelling in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness (or diligence), and in love. That is impressive. Despite their excelling in these areas, Paul admonished them to excel in giving. Giving not only bestows blessings to others, but it also causes blessings to come our way. When we give, it is given back to us again, good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over (Luke 6:38). Our giving causes others to give thanks to God because we were the channel that God used to be a blessing. God delights in our excelling in everything we do. If we haven’t started to excel in our giving, it's definitely time that we do. It is more blessed to give, than to receive (Acts 20:35). When we start to excel in that area, we will understand why.

#giver #generosity #Goodgod #verseoftheday #devotional

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | November 7th

📖 “When Jesus had finished saying all these things he looked up to heaven and said, “Father, the time has come. Reveal the glory of your Son so that he can give the glory back to you. I brought glory to you here on earth by doing everything you told me to." -John 17:1,4 The Living Bible

Jesus did not come to the earth to bring himself glory. Jesus came into the earth to do the will of His Father and to bring Him glory. Jesus wanted His glory revealed, just so that He could give it right back to His Father. We are here to bring God glory. We are not here so that we can be magnified. We are not here to bring attention to ourselves. We are here to honor God with our lives. We bring Him glory by carrying out His will for our lives. We honor Him by obeying His Word. If we humble ourselves, God will exalt us. When that takes place, we give Him the glory because if it weren’t for Him, there would be no exaltation. We are not our own, we have been bought with a price. Let’s bring God glory today. Let’s walk in obedience and follow His plans for our lives. It’s the least we can do. He is our sufficiency; He is our ability. We are who we are by His grace.

#devotional #allglorytoGod #verseoftheday #vcccharlotte

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | November 6th

📖 “When they arrived in Capernaum, the collectors of the half shekel [the temple tax] went up to Peter and said, Does not your Teacher pay the half shekel? He answered, Yes. And when he came home, Jesus spoke to him [about it] first, saying, What do you think, Simon? From whom do earthly rulers collect duties or tribute—from their own sons or from others not of their own family? And when Peter said, From other people not of their own family, Jesus said to him, Then the sons are exempt. However, in order not to give offense and cause them to stumble [that is, to cause them to judge unfavorably and unjustly] go down to the sea and throw in a hook. Take the first fish that comes up, and when you open its mouth you will find there a shekel. Take it and give it to them to pay the temple tax for Me and for yourself.” -Matthew 17:24-27 Amplified Bible Classic Edition

God knows how to meet your need. He knows how to get money to you. He knows how to feed you. He had the ravens feed Elijah. He multiplied fish and bread for the people who listened to Jesus preach for several days. He caused a fish to swallow money so that the money would be in his mouth when Peter went fishing. God will do whatever He needs to do to meet your needs. He caused water to come out of a rock when the Israelites needed water in the desert and caused manna to come from heaven to feed them as well. We can rest assured that God will come through for us when we put our complete dependence on Him. He knows how to make a way where there is no way.

#devotional #JehovahJireh #Provider #Godisgood #vcccharlotte

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