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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | October 2nd

📖 Because you have made the Lord your refuge, and the Most High your dwelling place, 

There shall no evil befall you, nor any plague or calamity come near your tent. 

For He will give His angels [especial] charge over you to accompany and defend and preserve you in all your ways [of obedience and service]. 

They shall bear you up on their hands, lest you dash your foot against a stone. 

You shall tread upon the lion and adder; the young lion and the serpent shall you trample underfoot. 
—Psalm 91:9-13 AMPC

We are living in perilous times. We are living in very dangerous times. We cannot forget about our angels. When we make the Most High our dwelling place and our refuge, we can depend on Him to protect us. We can expect no evil to befall us or any plague or calamity to come near our dwelling. We know that God will give His angels charge over us and that they will defend and preserve us. We are in this world, but we are not of it. Since we are not of it, we don’t have to have the same experiences that the rest of the world has. We are of a different kingdom; therefore, we should have a different mindset. We should walk free of fear because of the One we serve. God is our refuge and our fortress. The Lord is our strong tower, we run into it, and we are safe. 

#refuge #wearesafe #vcccharlotte #devotional #MostHigh

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | October 1st

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

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

#representGod #AlmightyGod #vcccharlotte #power #devotional

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | September 30th

📖 But the centurion replied to Him, Lord, I am not worthy or fit to have You come under my roof; but only speak the word, and my servant boy will be cured. 

When evening came, they brought to Him many who were under the power of demons, and He drove out the spirits with a word and restored to health all who were sick. 
—Matthew 8:8,16 AMPC 

The centurion recognized the authority of Jesus’ words, which drove out demons. Jesus would minister by the laying on of hands, but He would also minister healing through His words. There was power in Jesus’ words, and there is power in our words. Death and life are in the power of the tongue (Proverbs 18:21). Jesus spoke to a tree and the fig tree died. He calmed the storm with His words. He spoke to fevers, and they left. There was power in what He said then and there is power in what He says to us now. We were created in His image and in His likeness. If His words have power, then so do ours.  

#wordshavepower #devotional #vcccharlotte #Jesus

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | September 28th

📖 Now when they saw the boldness and unfettered eloquence of Peter and John and perceived that they were unlearned and untrained in the schools [common men with no educational advantages], they marveled; and they recognized that they had been with Jesus. —Acts 4:13 AMPC

Peter and John had no formal education. They were unlearned and ignorant men. None of that mattered because of the informal training that they received from Jesus. The mentorship that they received propelled them for the ministry that they were entering. They had learned from the best. The training they received was more valuable and more extensive than anything they could have learned in any school. Education is very important. Training from God is even more important; it will prepare you for what He has for you. Formal education may require you to take classes you will never use in your life, but God’s training is never wasted time. He will take you to a place that will have people marveling. They will know that you have been with Jesus. 

#beenwithJesus #devotional #mentorship #vcccharlotte

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | September 27th

📖 Then he went down and dipped himself seven times in the Jordan, as the man of God had said, and his flesh was restored like that of a little child, and he was clean. 

Then Naaman returned to the man of God, he and all his company, and stood before him. He said, Behold, now I know that there is no God in all the earth but in Israel. So now accept a gift from your servant. 

Elisha said, As the Lord lives, before Whom I stand, I will accept none. He urged him to take it, but Elisha refused. 
—2 Kings 5:14-16 AMPC

Naaman almost missed out on his miracle. The man of God told him to dip seven times in the Jordan, but Naaman initially would not do it. He expected the prophet to give him a different set of instructions. Finally, one of his servants talked him into obeying the man of God, and he received a miracle. He was cleansed from leprosy, and his flesh was restored. When we obey whatever God has instructed us to do, there is always a blessing attached to it. God will never tell us to do something that would be harmful to us. The Bible tells us that if we are willing and obedient, we will eat the good of the land (Isaiah 1:19). God wants us to eat good, and He wants us to live good as well, but it all starts with obedience to His Word. 

#obedienceisbetterthansacrifice #trustGod #dailydevotional

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | September 26th

📖 Boys (lads), let no one deceive and lead you astray. He who practices righteousness [who is upright, conforming to the divine will in purpose, thought, and action, living a consistently conscientious life] is righteous, even as He is righteous. 

[But] he who commits sin [who practices evildoing] is of the devil [takes his character from the evil one], for the devil has sinned (violated the divine law) from the beginning. The reason the Son of God was made manifest (visible) was to undo (destroy, loosen, and dissolve) the works the devil [has done]. 

No one born (begotten) of God [deliberately, knowingly, and habitually] practices sin, for God’s nature abides in him [His principle of life, the divine sperm, remains permanently within him]; and he cannot practice sinning because he is born (begotten) of God. 
—I John 3: 7-9 AMPC

There is a saying that says, “You can tell a tree by its fruit”. When you are connected with righteousness, it produces righteous living. When you are connected to sin, it produces a life of sin. Jesus came to sever the connection with Satan, the author of sin and death. The whole world is under the power of the evil one (I John 5:19). Jesus came to destroy, loosen, and dissolve the works of the devil. We don’t have to be under the control of the evil one. Jesus has set us free! Sin no longer has dominion over us and we can walk free from a sin consciousness. We are new creatures in Christ. We are one Spirit with the Lord. We can live a righteous life because we are connected to the righteous One. We can live the way He lives because as He is, so are we in this world. (I John 4:17). 

#righteousness #devotional #freedom #vcccharlotte #newcreations

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | September 25th

📖 Bless the Lord, O you his angels, you mighty ones who do his word, obeying the voice of his word! —Psalm 103:20 ESV

Are you putting your angels to work? Are you giving them something to do? The angels of God act on the Word of God. When they hear a person speaking or confessing the Word of God, they go to work. They stand at attention, ready to defend and protect. When a person confesses that “God will supply their needs” (Philippians 4:19), they work to make that a reality in the person's life. The angels work to cause the manifestation of the Word of God in the life of the individual who will confess it. In Daniel 10:12, the angel said to Daniel, “Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words.” Notice the angel came because of Daniel’s words. The angels will do the same for us when we speak in line with God’s Word. 

#angels #speaktheWord #devotional #GodsWord #vcccharlotte

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | September 24th

📖 Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.  
—Psalm 118:1 NKJV 

God is a good God! He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and translated us into the kingdom of his dear son and we ought to give him praise! We should show our appreciation to God for everything he has done for us. Lamentations 3:22 says: “Through the LORD’s mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not.” If it were not for the Lord’s mercies, we would be consumed, but because of his great love towards us, he sent his only begotten Son for us all. Satan may lie and make us think that there is nothing to praise God for. We, however, know better. It is clear we have a reason to praise Him because His mercy endures forever. 

#mercy #deliverance #compassion #vcccharlotte #devotional

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | September 23rd

📖 God does not show favor to one man more than to another. 
—Romans 2:11 New Life Version

There are no favorites in the kingdom of God. God is no respecter of persons, but He is a respecter of faith. If you see one prospering more than someone else or that someone is walking in divine health while another is constantly having challenges in their health, it is not because God prefers one above another. It could be that one has been standing on the Word and the other is not. It is possible that one has been more diligent in the things of God than others. Habakkuk 2:4 tells us that, “the just shall live by his faith.” We are responsible for growing our faith. We are in control of what we receive from God. God is an “equal opportunity employer.” We can all prosper. We can all walk in health. We can all experience what God has preordained for us to walk in. We are not waiting on God; He is waiting on us. 

#thejustshalllivebyfaith #Godisjust #devotional #vcccharlotte

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | September 21st

📖 So keep the words of this covenant and obey them, so that you may prosper and be successful in everything that you do. —Deuteronomy 29:9 AMP

The world has its ideas about what it takes to be successful. They have their ideologies, and they have their formulas. Some of their ideas have caused success, but it has not guaranteed success. When we operate by the Word of God, we can know that success is imminent. We can know that God is watching over His Word to perform it. We can know that God is not a man that He should lie. We follow the commandments of the Word of God out of our love and respect for God; and as we follow them, we know that God will honor our obedience. The Bible tells us that it is the doer of the Word that is blessed and not the hearer only (James 1:22). As we are doers of the Word, we can expect the Blessing of the Lord to come upon us and overtake us. It may take patience. It may take diligence, but eventually, we will walk in it if we don’t quit and give up. God’s Word works. 

#success #Godsword #devotional #vcccharlotte

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | September 20th

📖 I will satisfy fully the life of the priests with abundance [of offerings shared with them], and My people will be satisfied with My goodness, says the Lord. —Jeremiah 31:14 AMPC

God desires for us to experience His goodness. Every good gift and every perfect gift comes from above. God is a good God, and He wants us to experience His goodness all the time. The Bible tells us that He daily loads us with benefits (Psalm 68:19). God is constantly trying to bestow His blessings upon us. The Bible tells us that the blessing of Abraham will come upon us and overtake us as we diligently hearken to the voice of the Lord our God and obey His commandments (Deuteronomy 28:1-2). God has done His part. He has redeemed us from the curse of the law (Galatians 3:13). He has given us the ability to get wealth (Deuteronomy 8:18). He has given us all things that pertain to life and godliness (2 Peter 1:4). It’s on us now. Let’s pursue all that God has given us, and let’s not give up until we have obtained the promises. 

#theblessingofabraham #Godisgood #devotional #vcccharlotte

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | September 19th

📖 Now the mind of the flesh [which is sense and reason without the Holy Spirit] is death [death that comprises all the miseries arising from sin, both here and hereafter]. But the mind of the [Holy] Spirit is life and [soul] peace [both now and forever]. —Romans 8:6 AMPC

What type of mind do you have? Do you have a spiritual mind, or do you have a mind of the flesh? Do you make decisions only out of your intellect? Do you base your decision making on sense and reason without the Holy Spirit? That type of decision-making leads to death. God wants to be a part of every major decision that we make in our lives. He wants to lead and guide us. We can have peace when we know we are following the leadership of the Holy Spirit. We can have peace when we know we have heard the voice of God. When we have renewed our minds with the Word of God, and we act on the Word, we can have peace because we know that God is watching over His Word to perform it. We must continue to work on our minds. We must examine our way of thinking. We must make sure that our thinking is in line with the Word of God. 

#mindset #intellect #vcccharlotte #devotional #thinking

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | September 18th

📖 A happy heart is good medicine and a cheerful mind works healing, but a broken spirit dries up the bones. —Proverbs 17:22 AMPC

Two keys to walking in divine health are by having a happy heart and a cheerful mind, which will contribute to our overall well-being. We must fight for it. Because we live in a world full of bad news, we must guard our hearts and minds. We must discipline our minds to think of only good things. One way we can do this is by meditating on the Word of God both day and night. Meditation in the Word brings hope. It will cause you to have a positive outlook and positive expectations. It's hard to have a heavy heart when you walk by the Word and not by circumstances. It's hard to be down when you know that God is on your side. We have been redeemed from the curse. We are more than conquerors. We have so much to rejoice over, we don’t have to stay down. We can have a happy heart. We can have a cheerful mind. Just keep your mind on Him. 

#joy #divinehealth #devotional #vcccharlotte #redeemed

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | September 17th

📖 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. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. —James 1:5-8 NKJV

God wants us to believe in his love for us and his ability to provide our every need. Sometimes in life we ask God for things and then begin to doubt his ability or willingness to help us in our time of need. The Bible recounts a story of a man who was full of leprosy he fell on his face before Jesus and implored Him, saying, “Lord, if You are willing, you can make me clean.” Jesus then put out His hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed and the leprosy left him. The leper did not understand that Jesus was willing to heal him. The same is true in our situation. God is willing to help in any area we might need it. We can put our trust in him knowing he sacrificed his only begotten Son so that we would have a chance at a new and prosperous life. Whatever we need in life we should ask God in faith knowing that he loves and cares for each one of us. 

#God’slove #faith #vcccharlotte #dailydevotional #willingness

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | September 16th

📖 When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon (Peter), Put out into the deep [water], and lower your nets for a haul. 

And Simon (Peter) answered, Master, we toiled all night [exhaustingly] and caught nothing [in our nets]. But on the ground of Your word, I will lower the nets [again]. 

And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish; and as their nets were [at the point of] breaking, 

They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and take hold with them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. 

But when Simon Peter saw this, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord. 

For he was gripped with bewildering amazement [allied to terror], and all who were with him, at the haul of fish which they had made; 
—Luke 5:4-9 AMPC

It's amazing what happens when we obey God. Peter toiled all night long. Peter had done all that he knew to do. In his own efforts and in his own strength, he was unsuccessful. However, when he acted on the words of Jesus, the miraculous took place. When he ceased operating from his intellect and simply walked in obedience, abundance and increase took place. There is a time to use your intellect, but there is also a time when you must throw that out of the window. Sometimes God may ask you to do something that doesn’t make sense to your natural mind, but out of respect for God, we ought to obey. God will amaze us if we let Him. Our obedience to His Word will open the door to make the miraculous a normal occurrence in our lives.

#trustGod #notbypowernotbymight #byhisspirit #devotional

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | September 14th

📖 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a dedicated nation, [God's] own purchased, special people, that you may set forth the wonderful deeds and display the virtues and perfections of Him Who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. Once you were not a people [at all], but now you are God's people; once you were unpitied, but now you are pitied and have received mercy. 
—1 Peter 2:9-10 AMPC

God doesn't see us as insignificant. He does not see us as mediocre people. We are a chosen race and God's own special people. We are special because He purchased us by the blood of the Lamb. He sees us as royalty. He loves us. It is because of His mercy that we are not consumed. When Adam fell, all of mankind fell. God could have left us in a fallen state, but His love for us wouldn't allow it. Remember, you are special. You're not special because of what you have done. You are special because of what He has done. Oh, how He loves you and me. 

#worthyisthelamb #chosenpeople #devotional #vcccharlotte

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | September 13th

📖 Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers [do not make mismated alliances with them or come under a different yoke with them, inconsistent with your faith]. For what partnership have right living and right standing with God with iniquity and lawlessness? Or how can light have fellowship with darkness? 

What harmony can there be between Christ and Belial [the devil]? Or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever? 

What agreement [can there be between] a temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God; even as God said, I will dwell in and with and among them and will walk in and with and among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 

So, come out from among [unbelievers], and separate (sever) yourselves from them, says the Lord, and touch not [any] unclean thing; then I will receive you kindly and treat you with favor, 

And I will be a Father to you, and you shall be My sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty. 
—2 Corinthians 6:14-18 AMPC

God wants there to be a separation between the world and His people. We are to be the light of the world. We are the salt of the earth. The Blessing of God manifesting in our lives is the calling card to the world. It should draw the world to us because we are experiencing the goodness of God, despite all the ills that are taking place in the world. God wants to pour out His goodness on His sons and daughters. One way to make that happen is to separate ourselves from the world. We can be in this world, but we don’t have to be of the world. We don’t have to talk like the world, and we don’t have to have the world’s mentality. When Jesus was on the earth, He did not associate with the devil or His works. He set the people free from the oppression of the enemy. We must be like Jesus. The devil had nothing in Him, and the enemy must not have anything in us. We are the temple of the living God. He is living in us and walking in us. We are His ambassadors, and we should look and act like it every day of our lives. 

#ambassadorsofChrist #devotional #separation #vcccharlotte

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | September 12th

📖 I give you a new commandment: that you should love one another. Just as I have loved you, so you too should love one another. 

By this shall all [men] know that you are My disciples, if you love one another [if you keep on showing love among yourselves]. 
—John 13:34-35 AMP

How are we supposed to be identified? It won’t be by how often we carry our bibles. It won’t be by our church attendance. People will know us as His disciples by our love walk. When we are walking in love with everyone, it shows in our daily interactions. The love walk should cause us to be kind and to treat people the way we desire to be treated. Going to church is the right thing to do. We are instructed to do so by the Word of God. Carrying our Bibles with us is a good thing as well. It reveals that we are not ashamed of the Gospel. But the bonafide proof of true discipleship is in how we treat our fellow man. The proof is in how we love our neighbor. 

#loveyourneighbor #disciplesofChrist #devotional #vcccharlotte #lovewalk

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | September 11th

📖 But Noah was a pleasure to the Lord. Here is the story of Noah:  He was the only truly righteous man living on the earth at that time. He tried always to conduct his affairs according to God’s will. And he had three sons—Shem, Ham, and Japheth. 
—Genesis 6:8-10 The Living Bible

This is what every believer should desire, to be a pleasure to the Lord. We know that God takes pleasure in our prosperity (Psalm 35:27), but we should also desire that He takes pleasure in our lives. Our desire should be that we live a life that is well-pleasing to God. We should not only be people of righteous living, but we should always conduct our affairs according to God’s will. One way that we do that is by doing what the Word of God tells us because God’s Word IS His will towards us. The Bible tells us that Noah walked with God. When we walk with God, eventually we get to a place where all we desire is to be a pleasure to the Lord. Our lives should always bring glory to Him. 

#devotional #glorytoGod #righteousness #vcccharlotte

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | September 10th

📖 For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for life; Weeping may endure for a night, But joy comes in the morning. —Psalm 30:5 NKJV

As a believer we must always remember that whatever tough situation we may find ourselves in, the Bible promises that joy will come in the morning. Jesus said in John 16:33 AMP “I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have [perfect] peace. In the world you have tribulation and distress and suffering, but be courageous [be confident, be undaunted, be filled with joy]; I have overcome the world.” [My conquest is accomplished, My victory abiding.]” This is why we can count on joy coming because of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ has already overcome the world. All we must do is remind our soul that our situation is not permanent but only temporary. As we stand on the Word of God, it is only a matter of time before our situations line up with the Word. When it feels like we are in the eye of the storm we should have perfect peace because of Christ’s victory on our behalf. We should count it all joy because we should look at our circumstances as another opportunity for God to show up strong in our life. 

#vcccharlotte #devotional #joy #God’spromises #peace

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