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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | December 15th

📖 “And behold, some men were bringing on a stretcher a man who was paralyzed, and they tried to carry him in and lay him before [Jesus]. But finding no way to bring him in because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him with his stretcher through the tiles into the midst, in front of Jesus." -Luke 5:18-19 Amplified Classic

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

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

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | December 14th

📖 “O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever" -I Chronicles 16:34 King James Version

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 #thankfulthursday #devotional #verseoftheday #vcccharlotte

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | December 13th

📖 “A fool’s mouth is his devastation, and his lips are a trap for his life.” -Proverbs 18:7 Holman Christian Standard Bible

Many of us have not received a revelation of the power of our words. The writer of Proverbs is telling us that a fool’s mouth is his destruction. The fool doesn’t understand the power of his words. He just says what he feels and thinks, regardless of whether it is good or bad, positive or negative. When we are careless with our words, we are allowing ourselves to be trapped by the wicked one. He can use our words to hold us in bondage to bad habits. He can use our words to keep us sick, broke, and oppressed. We must be disciplined with our words, saying what God says. We must speak about the desired, end result. Don’t ‘shoot yourself in the foot’, as they say. Don’t allow yourself to be your worst enemy. Use your words wisely. A fool’s mouth is his destruction, don’t let it be yours.

#powerofwords #devotional #wednesdaywisdom #message #verseoftheday

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | December 12th

📖 “For whoever is ashamed [here and now] of Me and My words in this adulterous (unfaithful) and [preeminently] sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when He comes in the glory (splendor and majesty) of His Father with the holy angels." -Mark 8:38 Amplified Bible

Have you ever spoken to someone in public and they acted like they did not know who you were? They acted like they were ashamed to speak to you or acknowledge you. How did that make you feel? I am sure that did not make you feel good. Imagine how our Father feels when we are ashamed to acknowledge Him in public. We don’t openly thank Him when something good happens. We may not want to pray over our food in the workplace. No one knows that you are a Christian except your family and maybe the people who attend church with you. God does not want us to be ashamed of Him. We are the light of the world. We are the salt of the earth. We are a city set on a hill that cannot be hidden. God wants our light to shine. We are to be His representatives. We are to be His ambassadors. He paid a great price for us, so we should show our gratitude. We should show our appreciation. If Jesus wasn’t afraid to die for us openly, then we should live for Him openly. After all, our life is not our own, we belong to Him.

#unashamed #116 #verseoftheday #message #vcccharlotte #christian #crucifixtion

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | December 11th

📖 “Amaziah was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he ruled as king in Jerusalem for twenty-nine years. His mother’s name was Jehoaddan of Jerusalem. He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord but not with a completely committed heart.” -II Chronicles 25:1-2 Evangelical Heritage Version

God wants us to be obedient to His Word, but He also wants a committed heart. Many have a form of godliness but deny the power thereof. As believers, we must serve God with all our hearts. Isaiah 1:19 tells us that if we are “willing and obedient we will eat the good of the land.” God is fully committed to us. He demonstrated that commitment when He sent Jesus to the earth to die for humanity. God demonstrated His commitment to us then, and He continually demonstrates His faithfulness to us by staying committed to His Word. Amaziah obeyed God but was not committed to God in his heart. Man looks on the outward appearance, but God looks at the heart (1 Samuel 16:7). When God looks at our heart, let’s make sure He sees a committed heart, not just an outward demonstration of obedience. Obedience is great, but obedience with an obedient heart is even better.

#faithfulness #devotional #obedience #trustGod #vcccharlotte

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | December 10th

📖 “And when they knew (perceived, recognized, understood, and acknowledged) the grace (God’s unmerited favor and spiritual blessing) that had been bestowed upon me, James and Cephas (Peter) and John, who were reputed to be pillars of the Jerusalem church, gave to me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, with the understanding that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised (Jews)." -Galatians 2:9 Amplified Bible Classic Edition

God knows how to confirm the gifts and the callings that are on our lives. Here it was confirmed and recognized that Paul had been called to the Gentiles and that Peter and John were sent to the Jewish people. The Bible tells us that “in the multitude of counselors there is safety”. Paul knew that he was called to the Gentiles, but it was later confirmed by these “pillars” of the church. There are times when we know what we are called to do and where we are called to do it. There are also times when God will confirm these details through a man or woman of God. John the Baptist knew who he was, and he knew his purpose. When they asked him if he was the Messiah, he would reply, “No”. He would then follow up by letting them know that he was the voice of one crying in the wilderness, “Prepare ye the way of the Lord”. God will confirm the calling, and He will put His stamp on what He has called us to do.

#gifts #devotional #vcccharlotte #trustGod #discernment #verseoftheday

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | December 9th

📖 “And if your hand puts a stumbling block before you and causes you to sin, cut it off! It is more profitable and wholesome for you to go into life that is really worthwhile] maimed than with two hands to go to hell (Gehenna), into the fire that cannot be put out. And if your foot is a cause of stumbling and sin to you, cut it off! It is more profitable and wholesome for you to enter into life [that is really worthwhile] crippled than, having two feet, to be cast into hell (Gehenna). And if your eye causes you to stumble and sin, pluck it out! It is more profitable and wholesome for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into hell (Gehenna)” -Mark 9:43,45, 47 Amplified Classic

We should not allow anything in our lives that will cause us to miss heaven. No individual is worth missing heaven over. No sin is worth missing heaven for. No vice, no shortcoming--nothing should cause us to be eternally separated from our Father in heaven. Jesus went as far as to say that it was better to go to heaven maimed than to go to hell whole. Heaven is better than anything we could ever imagine. On the other side of that, hell is worse than anything that we could ever imagine. Let us always examine ourselves. Let’s remove every hindrance and every obstacle. There is nothing in this world worth missing heaven over. Nothing!

#heaven #stumblingblock #Godisgood #verseofthday #vcccharlotte

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | December 8th

📖 “Your words have been strong and hard against Me, says the Lord. Yet you say, What have we spoken against You? You have said, It is useless to serve God, and what profit is it if we keep His ordinances and walk gloomily and as if in mourning apparel before the Lord of hosts? Then those who feared the Lord talked often one to another; and the Lord listened and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before Him of those who reverenced and worshipfully feared the Lord and who thought on His name.” -Malachi 3:14-15 &17 Amplified Classic

What have you been saying? Would the Lord be pleased with what He has been hearing from your house? In the passage, He not only heard the words that were spoken against Him, but He also kept a record of those who said and believed the right thing. God once told His people through Moses that He was going to do to them what they had spoken in His ears. They had constantly said they were going to die in the wilderness. That is what eventually took place: they died in the wilderness. We must watch our words. We must always keep in mind that Heaven is listening, but Heaven will act on God’s Word. If we speak His words, then He (God) will act. If we don’t, He won’t. Our words can bring life, or our words can bring death. Which one would you desire for your life?

#watchyourmouth #devotional #moses #verseoftheday #tgif

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | December 7th

📖 “At last the wall was completed to half its original height around the entire city—for the workers worked hard.” -Nehemiah 4:6 The Living Bible

There is no substitute for hard work. The Bible says in Ecclesiastes 5:3, “For a dream comes with much business and painful effort, and a fool’s voice with many words.” It takes diligence to accomplish a goal. It takes diligence to see the fulfillment of a dream. There is a time to pray, but then there is a time to work. It's been said that we should pray like it’s on God, but we should work like it's on us. Prayer has its place, but so does work. It may take late nights and early mornings, but it is all worth it in the end. The path to the prize is greater than the prize itself. The substance of the diligent is precious because the diligent knows what it took to get it. Laziness will get you nowhere. Diligence is the vehicle that will take you to success. Selah.

#diligence #hardwork #verseoftheday #vcccharlotte #dream

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | December 6th

📖 “The Lord will fight for you, and you won’t need to lift a finger!" -Exodus 14:14 Living Bible

Many of us are still learning to allow God to fight for us. When we are mistreated or misunderstood, we want to defend ourselves. We want to defend our reputation. We want people to know what really happened and to know our side of the story. We don’t want to be painted in a negative light. We don’t have to defend ourselves. God will fight for us. We won’t have to lift a finger. We won’t have to say a word. The angels will fight for us. Heaven will fight for us. Our job is to love our enemies. Our job is to keep our hearts clean: clean of animosity, clean of bitterness. We must act like ‘love children’ of a ‘love God’. We are to imitate God as dear children. We are to allow His love to flow from us to the world. We are to be His ambassadors. We are to be His representatives.

#letgodwork #motivation #verseoftheday #wednesdaywisdom #forgiveness

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | December 5th

📖 “Jesus was about thirty years old when he began his public ministry.” -Luke 3:23 The Living Bible

Jesus began His ministry at the age of thirty. He began His preparation at the age of twelve and that would mean He had eighteen years of preparation. Jesus' ministry lasted three and a half years, but it was three and a half years of maximum impact. We must be willing to prepare for whatever God has preordained for us, and we must be willing to prepare for as long as it takes. God knows how to prepare us for what He has called us to do. As a teenager, David was anointed king but did not become king until he was thirty years old. We are not born qualified; we must become qualified. We must be willing to allow God to qualify us through His training and preparation. God knows what it takes for us to succeed, and we must trust Him. He knows what He is doing.

#trustGod #verseotheday #jesuschrist #preparation #ministry #vcccharlotte

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | December 4th

📖 “It is because of the Lord’s mercy and loving-kindness that we are not consumed, because His [tender] compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great and abundant is Your stability and faithfulness.” -Lamentations 3:22-23 Amplified Bible Classic Edition

Thank God for His mercy. Thank God for His compassion. If it weren’t for His mercy, we would all be consumed. God’s mercies are new every morning. That is not a license to sin, it is another reminder of His goodness and love towards us. Later, the verse tells us that God’s faithfulness is great! God is faithful to His Word. He is watching over His Word to perform it. The Word of God tells us that He keeps covenant to a thousand generations. Because God is bound by His Word, He must continue to be merciful and faithful. We may be inconsistent at times in our walk with God, but God is always the same. There is no variable or shadow of turning in God (James 1:17). He is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8). You can always count on God, and you can always count on His Word.

#faithfulGod #mercy #vcccharlotte #dailydevotional #motivation

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | December 3rd

📖 “O my God, I trust, lean on, rely on, and am confident in You. Let me not be put to shame or [my hope in You] be disappointed; let not my enemies triumph over me. Yes, let none who trust and wait hopefully and look for You be put to shame or be disappointed; let them be ashamed who forsake the right or deal treacherously without cause.” -Psalm 25:2-3 Amplified Bible Classic Edition

We don’t ever have to worry about being put to shame when we put our trust in God. He will never fail or forsake us. He is a very present help in the time of trouble. We can lean on Him, and we can trust in Him. Furthermore, we can count on Him to do exactly what He said He would do. It is impossible for God to lie! If He said it, He will do it. If He spoke it, He will bring it to pass. It is a divine truth that God cannot lie. Therefore, we can trust Him. Therefore, we can put our hope in Him. God is faithful, and He keeps covenant to a thousand generations. We can never be disappointed when we truly put our trust and confidence in God.

#noworry #devotional #covenant #vcccharlotte #Godcannotlie #trust

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | December 2nd

📖 “A knowledgeable person controls his tongue; a discerning person controls his temper.” -Proverbs 17:27 Complete Jewish Bible

When you understand the power of the tongue, you become very meticulous about which words come out of your mouth. You understand the importance of your words, and you become selective about what you are going to say because you know that whatever is about to come out could change the situation or it could cause it to become worse. Knowledge should cause you to make better decisions. When you get knowledge of the importance of keeping your temper, it causes you to become slow to anger and slow to wrath. It causes you to think before you act. You will become more conscious of the fruit of the Spirit, and you will allow them to operate in your life. You will become more patient and kinder. There will be more joy. There will be more peace. You will be less likely to lose your temper and find yourself instead in control of your emotions. Knowledge not only brings us power, but it also brings us success.

#knowledgeispower #wisdom #devotional #vcccharlotte #temper

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | December 1st

📖 “The Pastor, to my good friend Gaius: How truly I love you! We’re the best of friends, and I pray for good fortune in everything you do, and for your good health—that your everyday affairs prosper, as well as your soul! I was most happy when some friends arrived and brought the news that you persist in following the way of Truth. Nothing could make me happier than getting reports that my children continue diligently in the way of Truth!" -3 John 1:1-4

God desires for His people to thrive. He wants us to prosper in every area of our lives, including our everyday affairs. One way that we get to that place is by diligently continuing in truth. God is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him and that is one way we diligently seek Him, through His Word. We are to walk in and obey the laws of God.  When we delight in the Word of God, we will be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, and everything we do shall prosper (Psalm 1: 2-3). We not only walk in Truth, but we persist in Truth. No matter what may come our way, we must continue to be doers of the Word of God. When we find out the will of God, we have a right to receive all that He desires for us. He desires for us to prosper and be in health, even as our soul prospers. 

#prosper #devotional #truth #Godisgood #bible #inspiration 

 

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | November 30th

📖 “The ants are not a strong people, Yet they prepare their food in the summer” -Proverbs 30:25 Amplified Bible

The strength of the ant is in their ability to prepare. They don’t have an overseer. They don’t have anyone standing over them telling them that winter is coming. They are diligently preparing in the summer. The ants know that it's too late to prepare when winter comes. If they wait until winter to prepare, it's too late; and more than likely they will starve. We must learn from the ant. We must prepare for opportunities that don’t yet exist. We have to be like Noah. Noah prepared an ark out of obedience when there was no evidence that a flood was coming. It’s hard to build a ship in the rain. If Noah had waited until it started raining, he would have perished with everyone else. It has been said that success is when preparation meets opportunity. Failure takes place when opportunity presents itself to the unprepared. Let’s not allow ourselves to be caught off guard when opportunity does arrive. Let’s be like the ant and STAY ready.

#theant #thinkwinterallsummer #beprepared #wisdom #verseoftheday #message

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | November 29th

📖 “A faithful man shall abound with blessings: but he that maketh haste to be rich shall not be innocent." -Proverbs 28:20 King James Version

A faithful man is one who realizes that it comes over time. A faithful man is a consistent man. It is a person who is consistent in serving. That person is consistent in their giving. They are consistent in their church attendance. They are marked by their consistency. God is a faithful God. He is consistent in His love for us. He is consistent in His mercy and His kindness towards us. He is our example of faithfulness, and we should follow His example. He wouldn’t ask us to do something that He would not do. Many believers want to be blessed, but their lifestyle will not allow it. If we are going to experience the Blessings of God, we must be faithful. Faithful in obeying His Word. Faithful to what He has called us to do. Faithful in every area of life, just like our Father.

#faithful #proverbs #Wednesdaywisdom #consistency #devotional

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | November 28th

📖 “Uzziah was sixteen years old when he began his fifty-two-year reign in Jerusalem. His mother was Jecoliah of Jerusalem. He did right in the Lord’s sight, to the extent of all that his father Amaziah had done. He set himself to seek God in the days of Zechariah, who instructed him in the things of God; and as long as he sought (inquired of, yearned for) the Lord, God made him prosper." -II Chronicles 26:3-5 Amplified Classic

God is no respecter of persons. He is no respecter of age either. What He did for the sixteen-year-old, He will do for the forty-year-old. When we do what is right in His sight, seek the Lord and obey His Word, we can expect God to prosper us. God has not changed. He tells us in His Word that if we are willing and obedient, we will eat the good of the land (Isaiah 1:19). God is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him (Hebrews 11:6). He promised the Israelites that He would bless them if they kept His commandments (Deuteronomy 28: 1-13). We are under a better covenant with better promises, but the concept is still the same. When we seek the Lord with all our hearts and are doers of His Word, we can expect God to prosper us, He is no respecter of persons. If He did it for Uzziah and the Israelites, He will do it for us. 

#godislove #devotional #justGod #vcccharlotte #seekGod

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | November 27th

📖 “Then, the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, “Peace be with you.” -John 20:19 NKJV

In this passage of scripture, we see the disciples are hiding from the Jews because they were afraid of them. If the disciples had not gotten out of fear, they would not be able to impact the world for the kingdom of God. Fear would have kept them from launching out into the ministry that God had for them. The same is true in our own lives, if we don’t get out of fear, we will not fulfill the destiny that God has for us. Fear can cripple us. Fear can hinder us, and fear can keep us from obeying the Lord when he prompts us to do something.

When it comes to fear, Paul reminded Timothy in 2 Tim 1:7 “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. “Paul knew that fear would keep his son Timothy from fulfilling the assignment given by God. God wants us to be strong in his power and in his great love for us. Romans 8:31 says, “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us who can be against us?” Psalm 118:6 also says, “The Lord is on my side; I will not fear; what can man do to me?” These are scriptures that we should remind ourselves of whenever fear comes knocking at our door. In Joshua 1:9 God says to Joshua “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.” God is commanding not just Joshua to be strong and courageous, but us as well. We are called to be soldiers in the army of the Lord, and we cannot afford to be fearful of anything. We are called to destroy the works of darkness and touch and change lives by the power of God. To accomplish this, we must get out of fear. We want to encourage you to wage war on fear by being strong and courageous.

#courageous #vcccharlotte #nofear #bravery #motivation #verseoftheday

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | November 26th

📖 “And that about wraps it up. God is strong, and he wants you strong. So take everything the Master has set out for you, well-made weapons of the best materials. And put them to use so you will be able to stand up to everything the Devil throws your way. This is no weekend war that we’ll walk away from and forget about in a couple of hours. This is for keeps, a life-or-death fight to the finish against the Devil and all his angels." - Ephesians 6:10-12 Message Bible

It takes strength to make it in this world. The devil will challenge you in every area of your life. The Bible even tells us that if we faint in the day of adversity, our strength is small (Proverbs 24:10). God told Joshua to be strong and of good courage (Joshua 1:6). Strength is vital to the Christian walk. It took strength for Jesus to take on the sins of the world. It took strength to hang on the cross for three hours. It took strength to take a beating the way he did. He was punched in the face, whipped, and mocked. He never gave in to the temptation to call on the angels to rescue Him. He fulfilled His mission. It took strength to complete His mission, and it will take strength to complete yours. No matter what the devil throws your way, God’s grace and His strength is enough to put you over every time.

#Godsgraceissufficient #devotional #keeppushing #strength

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