Comment

DAILY DEVOTIONAL | October 30th

📖 But some Jews arrived there from Antioch and Iconium; and having persuaded the people and won them over, they stoned Paul and [afterward] dragged him out of the town, thinking that he was dead. 

But the disciples formed a circle about him, and he got up and went back into the town; and on the morrow he went on with Barnabas to Derbe. 

When they had preached the good news (Gospel) to that town and made disciples of many of the people, they went back to Lystra and Iconium and Antioch, 

Establishing and strengthening the souls and the hearts of the disciples, urging and warning and encouraging them to stand firm in the faith, and [telling them] that it is through many hardships and tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God. 
—Acts 14:19-22 AMPC

Paul was an excellent example of commitment. He was so committed to his calling that even after being stoned and left for dead, he got up and eventually went back to the same place where he was stoned. You would have thought that Paul was the one who needed encouragement. He was stoned for no reason. He was simply walking out his calling. He was fulfilling the call of God that was on his life. Paul didn’t complain. Paul didn’t walk away from the ministry. He kept on going. He kept on preaching. Paul did not allow anything to stop him from walking out the plan of God. We must have the same tenacity. We must continue to persevere. We should want to be like Paul. We should be able to say that we fought the good fight, and that we finished our course. This should be the desire of every believer. 

#commitment #vcccharlotte #perseverance #devotional #calling

Comment

Comment

DAILY DEVOTIONAL | October 29th

📖 He who walks with wise men will be wise, But the companion of fools will be destroyed. 
—Proverbs 13:20 NKJV

It has been said that “your future is in your associations.” It is important who our friends are. We must be mindful of who we are walking with. If we want to be wise, we must walk with wise people. If we want to be successful, we must be around people who succeeded the right way. We must endeavor to be around what we want to become. If you don’t want to be a fool, don’t hang around fools. If you don’t want to be poor, don’t hang around the poor. This is not to insinuate that we should be “snobby” or act like we are better than someone. It’s just imperative to keep in mind that if you hang around someone long enough, they will rub off on you. We want to make sure the right stuff is rubbing off us.  

#ironsharpensiron #wednesdaywisdom #friendshipgoals #devotional

Comment

Comment

DAILY DEVOTIONAL | October 28th

📖 Then Daniel said to the king, “O king, live forever! My God sent His angel and shut the lions’ mouths, so that they have not hurt me, because I was found innocent before Him; and also, O king, I have done no wrong before you.” —Daniel 6:21-22 NKJV

God will fight for you. When you stand up for Him, He will stand up for you. The king made a decree that violated Daniel’s beliefs. Daniel was a man of prayer, and prayer was a lifestyle for him. He would not allow the king’s decree to alter his lifestyle. He would not allow anything or anyone to come between his relationship with God. Not only was Daniel protected in the lion’s den, he was also promoted. The men who were behind the king’s decree were devoured by those same lions along with their families. We cannot be ashamed of the Gospel. We cannot be ashamed of who we are. When we stand up for God, He will stand up for us. When we honor Him, He will honor us.  

#standup #116 #Gospel #devotional

Comment

Comment

DAILY DEVOTIONAL | October 26th

📖 Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another; love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous; not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary blessing, knowing that you were called to this, that you may inherit a blessing. 
—I Peter 3:8-9 NKJV

God is love. Since we are His children, we should be ‘love children’. God desires for us to demonstrate His love towards others. When we are reviled, God wants us to bless. When we are mistreated, God wants us to love those who are mistreating us. God wants us to have His mind. He loves us no matter what we do. It does not matter how we may fall short; God still loves us. No matter what is done to us, we must be like God. We are to be tenderhearted and courteous. We are to treat people the way we want to be treated. No one said it would be easy—especially easy on our flesh, but we must be doers of the Word. We must be imitators of our Heavenly Father. 

#childrenofGod #Bible #loveofGod #devotional #vcccharlotte

Comment

Comment

DAILY DEVOTIONAL | October 25th

📖 For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: whose end is destruction, whose god is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame—who set their mind on earthly things. For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, 
—Philippians 3:8-10 NKJV

Our citizenship is in heaven. When we understand and hold on to that, it helps us to keep things in the proper perspective. When we set our minds on things above, it keeps us free from the love of the world. We don’t want to be like those who are ‘enemies of the cross’. Those people have their mind on earthly things. They are consumed with the things of this earth and rarely discuss heavenly things. We are to seek first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness and all the other things will be added to us. We have been given all things that pertain to life and godliness. When that is on our minds, there will be no destruction in our lives. Our god won’t be our bellies, and we won’t be so earthly minded that we are no heavenly good. We are ambassadors of Heaven, eagerly waiting for our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ! 

#kingdomofGod #devotional #verseoftheday #vcccharlotte

Comment

Comment

DAILY DEVOTIONAL | October 24th

📖 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 Lord knows how to take care of His people. He knows how to feed and clothe us. He is our shepherd, and we shall not lack (Psalm 23:1). We won't lack when we are obedient to the Word of God, and we make God our Source. The Scriptures tell us that “even strong young lions sometimes go hungry, but those of us who reverence the Lord will never lack any good thing”. (Psalm 34:10) We are not of the animal kingdom. We are citizens of heaven. We have a God. He is not only our God, but He is our Father. God knows how to feed us. He tells us to open our mouths wide and He will fill it (Psalm 81:10). If God can rain down manna from heaven in the wilderness, then He can feed us. God can do anything. Famine cannot stop the goodness of God. Inflation can’t stop it. A bad economy can’t stop it. Nothing can separate us from the love of God. 

#goodnessofGod #dailydevotional #loveofGod #vcccharlotte

Comment

1 Comment

DAILY DEVOTIONAL | October 23rd

📖 For this reason we also, from the day we heard of it, have not ceased to pray and make [special] request for you, [asking] that you may be filled with the full (deep and clear) knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom [in comprehensive insight into the ways and purposes of God] and in understanding and discernment of spiritual things— 

That you may walk (live and conduct yourselves) in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him and desiring to please Him in all things, bearing fruit in every good work and steadily growing and increasing in and by the knowledge of God [with fuller, deeper, and clearer insight, acquaintance, and recognition]. 
—Colossians 1:9-10 AMPC

God expects our lives to increase. Our lives are to go from one level of glory to another. We should be getting better and better, and that improvement of lifestyle should stem from an increase in the knowledge of God. As we walk with God, we will experience things we’ve never had before. As we stay consistent in our reading of the Word, we will get more insight about God and who He is. Sometimes, it is new, and sometimes, it is a reminder of what we've read in the past. Our growth in life runs parallel with our growth in the knowledge of God. If we want to become more, we must learn more. If our knowledge stays the same, so do our lives. Let’s please God with our lives. Let us never stay the same, in Jesus’ Name.  

#life #devotional #knowledge #vcccharlotte #growth

1 Comment

2 Comments

DAILY DEVOTIONAL | October 22nd

📖 Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. —Philippians 4:11-13 NKJV

It does not matter where we find ourselves in life, we are to be content. You may not be in the ideal house. You may not be driving your dream car on the way to your dream job, but God expects you to be content. Don’t confuse contentment with satisfaction. Wherever you may find yourself, realize that it is only for a season. God will take you from glory to glory. Paul learned the power of contentment. He knew how to be full and how to deal with hunger. He knew that through Christ, he can overcome every situation that was contrary to the Word of God. If he was in prison, he knew it was temporary. If he was shipwrecked, he knew it was temporary. He wrote to the Corinthian church that the things seen are temporary. (II Corinthians 4:18) No matter what we face in life, we face it knowing that we will win. We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. 

#wewin #glorytoglory #devotional #vcccharlotte

2 Comments

Comment

DAILY DEVOTIONAL | October 21st

📖 This is that Moses who said to the children of Israel, ‘The Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your brethren. Him you shall hear.’

“This is he who was in the congregation in the wilderness with the Angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai, and with our fathers, the one who received the living oracles to give to us,

whom our fathers would not obey, but rejected. And in their hearts they turned back to Egypt,

saying to Aaron, ‘Make us gods to go before us; as for this Moses who brought us out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.’
—Acts 7:37-40 NKJV

We must protect our hearts. We must guard our minds. Despite seeing the miracles of God, the Israelites allowed their hearts to be turned back to Egypt. They did not remember the bondage. They did not remember the turmoil or the mistreatment. Instead of waiting on God’s plan to develop, they went back to what was familiar, even when the familiar wasn’t good for them. When we make Jesus the Lord of our lives, we must turn our backs on the world. Satan will attempt to lure us back. Satan will try to bring up all the fun you had, and he will do everything he can to get a foothold back into your life. We cannot allow that. We must stay the course and continue to walk with God. We cannot allow ourselves to be contaminated by the world. If we will stay in the Word and fellowship with God, that won’t happen. We must remember that we are pilgrims that are just passing through. Our citizenship is in heaven.

#Heavenbound #protectyourheart #devotional #vcccharlotte

Comment

Comment

DAILY DEVOTIONAL | October 19th

📖 And the patriarchs, becoming envious, sold Joseph into Egypt. But God was with him and delivered him out of all his troubles, and gave him favor and wisdom in the presence of Pharaoh, king of Egypt; and he made him governor over Egypt and all his house. 
—Acts 7:9-10 NKJV

When God is with you, no one can stop you. Joseph had all types of hardships come his way, and yet he did not quit. He did not lose his joy. He did not allow his circumstances to control him. He had a God that could change his circumstances. We must always keep the right perspective. It doesn’t matter what happens to us, it matters Who is with us. As long as God is with us, things are subject to change. God can turn any and every negative situation around. He gave Joseph wisdom and favor when he was going through his ordeal, and God is still giving wisdom to His people. He is STILL giving favor. God is no respecter of persons. He will bring you out if you stay with Him. 

#favorofGod #promotion #vcccharlotte #devotional

Comment

Comment

DAILY DEVOTIONAL | October 18th

📖 These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” —John 16:33 NKJV

With so much going on in our world, it can be hard to maintain peace. Rising food and gas prices could cause the average person to worry and have anxiety about the necessities of life. But we have a God! We don’t operate through the world’s economy; we operate through Heaven’s economy. The Bible tells us that God will meet our needs according to His riches and glory (Philippians 4:19). Jesus told us to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all the other things will be added unto us. Tribulation will come. Trials will come, but we must remember that Jesus has overcome the world. His victory is our victory. We can have peace in this world because we have a covenant with the Almighty God. He will never leave us nor forsake us. We can have peace in this world if we will keep our mind stayed on Him. 

#peaceofGod #vcccharlotte #stressfree #devotional

Comment

Comment

DAILY DEVOTIONAL | October 17th

📖 Jesus told them a story showing that it was necessary for them to pray consistently and never quit. He said, “There was once a judge in some city who never gave God a thought and cared nothing for people. A widow in that city kept after him: ‘My rights are being violated. Protect me!’ 

 “He never gave her the time of day. But after this went on and on he said to himself, ‘I care nothing what God thinks, even less what people think. But because this widow won’t quit badgering me, I’d better do something and see that she gets justice—otherwise I’m going to end up beaten black-and-blue by her pounding.’” 

Then the Master said, “Do you hear what that judge, corrupt as he is, is saying? So what makes you think God won’t step in and work justice for his chosen people, who continue to cry out for help? Won’t he stick up for them? I assure you, he will. He will not drag his feet. But how much of that kind of persistent faith will the Son of Man find on the earth when he returns?” 
—Luke 18:1-8 The Message Bible

Will God find persistent faith on the earth when He returns? Will He find faith that refuses to quit? Will He find a faith that won’t give up? There are too many believers that are throwing in the towel. They don’t persevere through tough times. If things aren’t going well, they complain. That is not what Jesus is coming back for. This is not faith at all. We are to stand on the promises of God until they become a reality in our lives. We are to walk by faith and not by sight. We don’t serve an unjust judge; we serve a great God. He is merciful, kind, and He honors His Word. We don’t have to beg and plead like servants, we can come boldly before His throne and obtain whatever it is that we need. If we are the generation that will usher in the return of Christ, we must see to it that He sees persistent faith when He comes. 

#faith #mercy #devotional #vcccharlotte #believe

Comment

Comment

DAILY DEVOTIONAL | October 16th

📖 Some, of course, are preaching the Good News because they are jealous of the way God has used me. They want reputations as fearless preachers! But others have purer motives, preaching because they love me, for they know that the Lord has brought me here to use me to defend the Truth. And some preach to make me jealous, thinking that their success will add to my sorrows here in jail! But whatever their motive for doing it, the fact remains that the Good News about Christ is being preached, and I am glad. 
—Philippians 1:15-18 The Living Bible 

Isn't it amazing how people could take such a high calling and use it for so many different reasons. The Gospel is preached to train, teach, equip, and edify the Body of Christ. Paul heard that men were preaching with the wrong motives. Some of their motives were good and some were questionable. Let us examine our motives today. Why do you do what you do? Why are you on that job? Why do you attend the church that you attend? God looks at the heart. God looks at and examines our motives. Let’s keep our motives pure. Let's aim to be what God wants us to be and to do what He wants us to do. We want to serve God with a pure heart. Everything we do for God; we want Him to be proud because we did it with the right motive. We want to stand before Him and hear, “Well done thou good and faithful servant”. 

#pureheart #devotional #motives #vcccharlotte #calling

Comment

Comment

DAILY DEVOTIONAL | October 15th

📖 The spirit of a man sustains him in sickness, But as for a broken spirit, who can bear it? —Proverbs 18:14 AMP 

In the world many people are consistent when it comes to feeding themselves. As Christians we are exhorted from the Word to feed our spirit man but many times we neglect to do so. The verse here says a man’s spirit will keep and sustain him in sickness. If we are not consistently feeding our spirit, it will not be able to sustain us during that time. Just like we constantly feed our natural body, we must give attention our spirit man. We can do this by reading and meditating the Word of God daily so that the word can come up in our spirits in our time of need. We also can commune with God in our heavenly language in prayer and worship. These practices will keep our spirits strong, and in turn, keep our bodies well. 

#prayer #devotional #feedyourspirit #vcccharlotte #worship

Comment

1 Comment

DAILY DEVOTIONAL | October 14th

📖 Be well balanced (temperate, sober of mind), be vigilant and cautious at all times; for that enemy of yours, the devil, roams around like a lion roaring [in fierce hunger], seeking someone to seize upon and devour. 

Withstand him; be firm in faith [against his onset—rooted, established, strong, immovable, and determined], knowing that the same (identical) sufferings are appointed to your brotherhood (the whole body of Christians) throughout the world. 
—I Peter 5:8-9 AMPC

The devil is doing what he does best. He is going about as a roaring lion looking to steal, kill, and destroy. The good news is that as believers, we have authority over the devil, and he cannot destroy us. Satan is the god of this world; the whole world is under his influence (2 Corinthians 4:4; Ephesians 2:2). We have been separated and consecrated unto our God. We are in this world, but we are not of this world. Satan is not our Lord, and we can say what Jesus said: “He has nothing in me” (John 14:30). The devil is going to do what he does. So as believers, let's do what we do as well. Let’s resist him and having done all to stand, let’s stand, knowing we have the victory. 

#victory #devotional #vcccharlotte #goodnews #letsstand

1 Comment

Comment

DAILY DEVOTIONAL | October 12th

📖 For not from the east nor from the west nor from the south come promotion and lifting up. But God is the Judge! He puts down one and lifts up another. —Psalm 75:6-7 AMPC

God is the source of our promotion. We do not look to man to promote us; we look to the Lord. The Bible even tells us that we are to work unto the Lord (Colossians 3:23). God promoted Joseph while he was a slave and a prisoner. Daniel was promoted while he and his people were taken into captivity. Nebuchadnezzar even commented that “the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will” (Daniel 4:25). Our job is to work unto the Lord and to walk in a spirit of excellence. As we do those things, we can rest assured that promotion is on the way. Promotion does not come from men; promotion comes from the Lord. Be encouraged. 

#promotioncomesfromtheLord #trustGod #humility #vcccharlotte #devotional

Comment

Comment

DAILY DEVOTIONAL | October 11th

📖 The Scripture passage came true. It says, “Abraham believed God, and that faith was regarded as the basis of Abraham’s approval by God.” So Abraham was called God’s friend. —James 2:23 GW

What a compliment it is to be called a “friend of God”. This should be the goal of every believer. The good news is that we have the characteristics of what made Abraham a friend of God. He simply believed God, which is commonly easier said than done. God’s Word says that we are healed, yet many are saying that they are sick. God’s Word tells us that we are righteous, and yet many Christians call themselves sinners ‘saved by grace’. You cannot be a sinner and a Christian at the same time. When we receive Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we are no longer sinners. The Blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin, and sin has no more dominion over us. God is not a man that He should lie. Because of that, we can believe His Word and act on it. As we do that on a consistent basis, we’ll see change in our lives and in our status with God. You won’t just be a child of God; you will be considered a “friend of God”. 

#friendofGod #devotional #inspiration #vcccharlotte #abraham

Comment

Comment

DAILY DEVOTIONAL | October 10th

📖 When He prepared the heavens, I [Wisdom] was there; when He drew a circle upon the face of the deep and stretched out the firmament over it, 

When He made firm the skies above, when He established the fountains of the deep, 

When He gave to the sea its limit and His decree that the waters should not transgress [across the boundaries set by] His command, when He appointed the foundations of the earth— 

When I [Wisdom] was beside Him as a master and director of the work; and I was daily His delight, rejoicing before Him always, 
—Proverbs 8:27-30 AMPC

There are so many benefits that are available to us through Christ Jesus. One benefit is the Wisdom of God. The Bible tells us that “Jesus is made unto us wisdom” (I Corinthians 1:30). Not only does Jesus live on the inside of us, but so does His Wisdom. I Corinthians 2:7 tells us that “we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory”. When you couple that with I Corinthians 14:2, “For he that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh not unto men, but unto God: for no man understandeth him; howbeit in the spirit he speaketh mysteries”. We now have an idea how to access that wisdom. When you are spirit-filled, you can pray out the Wisdom of God by praying in the Spirit. This will help you remember what to do in any situation. The Wisdom of God established this world, and His wisdom will establish ours, when we pursue it and seek it out. 

#wisdom #vcccharlotte #devotional #spiritfilled

Comment

Comment

DAILY DEVOTIONAL | October 9th

📖 Then Jesus said to His disciples, If anyone desires to be My disciple, let him deny himself [disregard, lose sight of, and forget himself and his own interests] and take up his cross and follow Me [cleave steadfastly to Me, conform wholly to My example in living and, if need be, in dying, also]. —Matthew 16:24 AMPC

If we are going to be followers of Jesus Christ, we must be willing to follow him and his program for our lives. God expects us to disregard, lose sight of, and forget ourselves and our own interests. We have to be willing to be what He wants us to be and to do what He wants us to do. We must renew our minds just like the Word of God tells us too. God has a place and a plan for us. Many times, it is difficult to see and to experience what God has in store for us because we are holding on to the plans that we have set for lives. There is no need for that. God’s ways are higher than our ways, and His thoughts are higher than thoughts. Our lives will go to another level when we embrace this truth. We must take up our cross and follow Him.  

#followersofChrist #vcccharlotte #Godsplan #truth #devotional

Comment

Comment

DAILY DEVOTIONAL | October 8th

📖 “The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed;”
—Luke 4:18 NKJV

Just like Jesus had a specific calling on His life. We as ambassadors of Christ have one as well. God has anointed us to minister salvation, deliverance, and healing to this broken world. There are people in the world that are hurting and yearning for a touch from God and we all have a calling to deliver that touch. God wants to show people how much he loves and cares for them and He wants to use us! In these last days we must lock down our calling and start to get into the positions and places where He wants us to be in so we can minister to whoever He brings our way. Let us continue to chase after the high calling God has for us like our Lord and Savior, ministering to those who need our God.

#ourcalling #minister #vcccharlotte #devotional #MostHigh

Comment