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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | November 18th

📖 And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ. —Galatians 4:6-7 KJV

Sometimes we can take things for granted. According to the Scripture, we are not considered servants of God, but “children” of God. The Bible tells us that God “has pleasure in the prosperity of his servant” (Psalm 35:27). If God takes pleasure in the prosperity of His servant, how much more His children? Children have more privileges than servants. Many have called themselves servants of the most High, and they are not necessarily wrong. In God’s eyes, He sees us as His children. It was always His will for us to be His children. Sin separated us from God, and it was not until after the birth, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, that we were able to be called the children of God (after receiving Jesus as our Lord and Savior). Children have access to everything their parents have access to. As children of God, we have access to everything that God has. As we grow in the knowledge of God, we also grow in the knowledge of our inheritance, and as we act on the Word of God, we experience the reality of what has been promised to us.  

#childrenofGod #JesusChrist #devotional #inheritance #verseoftheday

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | November 16th

📖 The [uncompromisingly] righteous shall flourish like the palm tree [be long-lived, stately, upright, useful, and fruitful]; they shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon [majestic, stable, durable, and incorruptible]. 

Planted in the house of the Lord, they shall flourish in the courts of our God. 

[Growing in grace] they shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be full of sap [of spiritual vitality] and [rich in the] verdure [of trust, love, and contentment]. 

[They are living memorials] to show that the Lord is upright and faithful to His promises; He is my Rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him. 
—Psalm 92:12-15 AMPC

God expects us to flourish as we get older. We are to bring Him glory by standing on His Word and demonstrating that He is faithful to His promises. The world will try to paint a different picture. The world will have you seeing yourself as declining physically and becoming a burden on family members. God sees things differently. He sees you flourishing in every area of your life and becoming a living memorial of His goodness. Do not allow the world to tell you how you are supposed to age. God’s Word tells us that our lives are to get better and better as we age. Stand on the promises of God and watch Him honor His Word in your life. God is not a man that He should lie. 

#trust #Godspromises #psalm #dailydevotional

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | November 15th

📖 He will rescue you in six troubles; in seven nothing that is evil [for you] will touch you. In famine He will redeem you from death, and in war from the power of the sword. You shall be hidden from the scourge of the tongue, neither shall you be afraid of destruction when it comes. At destruction and famine you shall laugh, neither shall you be afraid of the living creatures of the earth. —Job 5:19-22 AMPC

This Scripture shows us that God desires to “keep” us regardless of what the enemy may try to bring against us. He will rescue us from all types of trouble. Our God will cause us to laugh at destruction and famine. He will keep us if we had to go to war, He will keep us from the power of the sword (or any weapon). God is our Deliverer and our Protector. As believers, we do not fear death, or destruction, or anything that is under the curse. Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, and He causes us to win in every situation and every circumstance when we stand on His Word. God took care of his people in the middle of famine, and He has protected His people in war. If He has done it in the past, He will do it now. He has not changed. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. 

#faithful #motivation #devotional #redeemer #vcccharlotte

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | November 14th

📖 Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created. —Revelation 4:11 KJV

We were created to give God pleasure. We were created to give Him joy. Is your life pleasing to Him? The Bible tells us that it is impossible to please God without faith (Hebrews 11:6) Are you living by faith today or are you walking by sight? Are you calling those things which be not as though they were? As believers, we live a lifestyle of walking in the unseen. We understand that the things that are seen are temporal (temporary). They are subject to change. The Israelites did not please God when they were in the wilderness because they complained every time they faced a challenge or an obstacle. They were moved by circumstances. Faith people aren’t moved by the negative circumstances of life. Faith people understand that faith will overcome everything that does not line up with the Word of God. Let’s live a life that is pleasing unto God. Let’s live a life of faith, a life of standing, believing, and acting on God’s Word. 

#walkbyfaith #devotional #faithlife #vcccharlotte #believe

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | November 13th

📖 Woe to my rebellious children, says the Lord; you ask advice from everyone but me and decide to do what I don’t want you to do. You yoke yourselves with unbelievers, thus piling up your sins. For without consulting me you have gone down to Egypt to find aid and have put your trust in Pharaoh for his protection. But in trusting Pharaoh, you will be disappointed, humiliated and disgraced, for he can’t deliver on his promises to save you. 
—Isaiah 30: 1-3 The Living Bible

Do you go to God when you must make a tough decision? Do you seek His counsel? Do you ask for His advice? Many times, when we must make decisions, we go to everyone but God. We go to our best friend. We go to a relative. We don’t seek the Lord and get His mind on the major decisions of our lives, at least not like we should. Do you know how much God loves you today? Are you aware of His concern for your overall well-being? He wants to help you in every circumstance, but when you don’t consult Him, how can He? God sent the Holy Spirit to be our Helper, and I am sure it saddens Him when we don’t allow Him to do what He has been sent to do: help us. Let’s not put our trust in the arm of flesh. Let’s put our trust in Almighty God. He can handle every obstacle, and He can handle whatever the enemy tries to place in our lives. God wants us to cast our cares on Him and allow Him to handle our burdens. Everything is easy to God. We will find that out the more we trust Him. Let’s not put our trust in Pharoah (the world), you will be disappointed, humiliated, and disgraced. Let’s keep our eyes on God, He will never let us down when we do. 

#decisions #devotional #askGod #vcccharlotte #trustinGod

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | November 12th

📖 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 11th

📖 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 NIV

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 9th

📖 For we walk by faith, not by sight [living our lives in a manner consistent with our confident belief in God’s promises]. —II Corinthians 5:7 AMP

The Christian Walk is a walk of faith. We believe in a God that we cannot see with the physical eye. We believe that we are going to a Heaven we have never seen. We believe our names are written in the Book of Life even though we have not seen the book. We walk by faith and not by sight; it’s a faith life. We also believe and act on the Word of God, independent of what we see. We follow God’s commandments and endeavor to live a life that is pleasing unto Him. We stand on His promises, regardless of what we feel in our physical bodies, regardless of what is going on in our finances, or in any other situation in our lives. We believe God’s Word because His Word has the power to change whatever is going on in our bodies, finances, and any other area of our lives. God’s Word is truth, and He can be depended upon. We walk by faith, and not by sight.   

#faithwalk #dailydevotional #christianity #walkbyfaithnotbysight

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | November 8th

📖 But by the grace (the unmerited favor and blessing) of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not [found to be] for nothing (fruitless and without effect). In fact, I worked harder than all of them [the apostles], though it was not really I, but the grace (the unmerited favor and blessing) of God which was with me. —I Corinthians 15:10 AMPC

When there is an appreciation for where God brought you from, it should cause you to go all out for Him. Paul was saying that he did not want God’s grace to be in vain. He did not want what God did for him to be for nothing. God’s grace caused him to work even harder. It caused him to maximize every day. It caused him to press through every challenge and every difficulty. It didn’t really matter what happened in Paul’s life, he refused to frustrate the grace of God. Many of the epistles that are in the Bible were written while Paul was in prison. Prison could not stop Paul. Shipwrecks, stonings, beatings--nothing hindered Paul from finishing his course. If the grace of God could push Paul, how more should it push us? It should push us to finish our course, to stand before God and hear, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant.”  

#faithfulservant #Godsgrace #bible #push #apostlepaul #vcccharlotte

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | November 7th

📖 And there was a famine in the land, other than the former famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went to Gerar, to Abimelech king of the Philistines. 

And the Lord appeared to him and said, Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land of which I will tell you. 

Dwell temporarily in this land, and I will be with you and will favor you with blessings; for to you and to your descendants I will give all these lands, and I will perform the oath which I swore to Abraham your father. 
—Genesis 26:1-3 AMPC

Obeying God doesn’t cost, it pays. It is always in our best interest to obey God. When we get to a place where we die to ourselves and our desires, and choose to live for Him, that is when we will see things happen in our lives. Good things. Things that will blow your socks off. Isaiah 1:19 tells us that if we are willing and obedient, we will eat the good of the land. God desires for us to live good and to eat good. Obedience is the vehicle that will take us to the land of abundance, a land of overflow. God wants us to ride upon the high places of the earth. He wants us to experience His best. We must be like Isaac. We must be where He wants us to be, doing what He wants us to do. Living a life for God is living a life of obedience. Any other life would be displeasing to Him. 

#devotional #obedience #vcccharlotte #abundance #overflow

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | November 6th

📖 Where there is no vision [no redemptive revelation of God], the people perish; but he who keeps the law [of God, which includes that of man]—blessed (happy, fortunate, and enviable) is he. —Proverbs 29:18 AMPC

Do you have a redemptive revelation of God? God moves in our lives based on what we know and believe about Him. Jesus asked some blind men, “Believe ye that I am able to do this?” (Matthew 9:28) We all know that Jesus could have healed the men, but it was their believing that would determine what Jesus could do for them. Things have not changed. Our believing God gets Him in motion. Faith will always get God in motion. We must continue to study the Word of God and allow the Holy Spirit to give us revelation of who God is and what He can do in our lives. Faith begins where the will of God is known. The will of God is found in the Word of God. As we get the revelation of God, it will cause us to want to keep His laws. Keeping His commandments allows us to walk in the fullness of the Blessing. God wants us blessed, but it begins with seeing Him properly. We must have the proper perspective of God. He can do exceedingly, abundantly above all that we could ever ask or think. There is nothing too difficult for Him. 

#revelation #vcccharlotte #faith #devotional #motion

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | November 5th

📖 After Jesus had finished all that He had to say in the hearing of the people [on the mountain], He entered Capernaum.

Now a centurion had a bond servant who was held in honor and highly valued by him, who was sick and at the point of death. 

And when the centurion heard of Jesus, he sent some Jewish elders to Him, requesting Him to come and make his bond servant well. 
—Luke 7:1-3 AMPC

The centurion was in a desperate situation. One of his servants, who was very dear to him, was about to die. The situation looked hopeless. It reminds you of the story of the woman with the issue of blood. She had been to several doctors and instead of getting better, she got worse. Just like the woman with the issue of blood, the centurion heard of Jesus. Something happens when you hear of Jesus. When you hear of Jesus properly, it is supposed to give you hope. When you hear the Word of God, it should give you hope as well. The centurion had so much confidence in who Jesus was (and is), he told Him that he didn’t have to come to his house. He only needed Jesus to speak the word only. He understood the authority that Jesus walked in. He understood the spoken word. We also must hear of Jesus properly. We must hear about God properly. Things change when we do. They will turn around for the better. 

#gamechanger #devotional #faithfulGod #vcccharlotte

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | November 4th

📖 This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it. 
—Psalm 118:24 KJV

Today is a special day. It is a day that you have never seen before. You have the opportunity to make the best of it. You can curate this day and make it what you want it to be. Every day that you wake up, you have the opportunity to make your life better. You have the chance to make your day count. You can receive benefits you haven’t received in the past because the Lord loads us with daily benefits. Today someone didn’t wake up, but you did! You have a chance to make an impact for the kingdom of God. Let’s not take life for granted. Let’s not take the day for granted. This is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it! 

#thisisthedaythattheLordhasmade #Godisgood #devotional #vcccharlotte

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | November 2nd

📖 It is better to trust and take refuge in the Lord than to put confidence in man. 
—Psalm 118:8 AMPC

Our confidence should always be in God and what His Word says. God has no limits. He is faithful. God will never let you down when you put your complete trust in Him. He loves us and wants to handle every difficulty and problem that we may encounter. A man may break his word, but God won’t. A man may change his mind, but God won’t. God’s Word is forever settled in heaven. His thoughts towards us will forever be good. His plan for our lives will always be good. Man may have ulterior motives. He may say one thing and mean something else, but God is always the same. There is no shadow of turning in Him. We can put our confidence in Him. 

#Godisfaithful #devotional #encouragement #dependable #vcccharlotte

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | November 1st

📖 The backslider in heart [from God and from fearing God] shall be filled with [the fruit of] his own ways, and a good man shall be satisfied with [the fruit of] his ways [with the holy thoughts and actions which his heart prompts and in which he delights]. 
—Proverbs 14:14 AMPC

It always pays to serve God. It is always in our best interest to live a consecrated, sanctified life before God. One minister said, “Serving God doesn’t cost, it pays.” As we serve God and obey His commandments, we can expect to be satisfied with the fruit of our ways. We don’t obey God out of obligation, we obey God out of respect. We obey God out of our reverence and appreciation for who He is and what He has done for us. We don’t want to be like the backslider. They will be filled with the fruit of their ways as well. Their outcome will be different from ours. The Bible tells us that the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23). The payment for a lifestyle of sin is death. We don’t want the consequences of death in any area of our lives. We must serve the Lord and walk with Him. It's important that we delight ourselves in the Lord. When we do, we can expect to receive the desires of our hearts. (Psalms 37:4) We can expect it, because God promised it, and God cannot lie. 

#Godcantlie #backslider #devotional #Godlovesus #vcccharlotte

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | October 31st

📖 The person who has My commands and keeps them is the one who [really] loves Me; and whoever [really] loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I [too] will love him and will show (reveal, manifest) Myself to him. [I will let Myself be clearly seen by him and make Myself real to him.] 

Judas, not Iscariot, asked Him, Lord, how is it that You will reveal Yourself [make Yourself real] to us and not to the world? 

Jesus answered, If a person [really] loves Me, he will keep My word [obey My teaching]; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home (abode, special dwelling place) with him. 
—John 14: 21-23 AMPC

One of the best experiences that we can have is for God to manifest Himself to us. For Him to make known to us His ability and His power. God wants to show Himself strong on our behalf, but it starts with our acting on the Word of God. God is watching over His Word to perform it, and He is looking to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is perfect towards Him. (Jeremiah 1:12; II Chronicles 16:9) Our believing and acting on God’s Word brings God on the scene. To love God is to obey God. Obedience to God’s Word shows that we respect God and one way we demonstrate love is by showing respect. When we love our parents, we respect them. We do what they ask us to do. It is the same way with God. We cannot say that we love God, and we don’t do what He asks us to do. Our desire should be for God to make His home in us. Wherever God stays, He takes over. And when He takes over and He upgrades. God wants to upgrade our lives. We can allow Him to by being a doer of the Word and not just a hearer only. It is the doer of the Word that is blessed. (James 1:25) 

#obedience #devotional #love #vcccharlotte #respect

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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

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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

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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

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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

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