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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | December 11th

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

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

#spiritual #exercise #growth #devotional #verseoftheday

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | December 10th

📖 I have seen slaves on horses, and princes walking like slaves on the earth. 
—Ecclesiastes 10:7 AMPC

As kings, we are to take our rightful place on the earth. Many believers are living below the standards that God has established for them. God expects us to be the head and not the tail. We are to be above only and not beneath. God sees us as His ambassadors and as kings and priests. Many are walking like slaves when they should be riding on the high places of the earth. We are no longer in the kingdom of darkness. We have been delivered into the Kingdom of God’s dear Son. We are to walk like it and to talk like it. The Bible even tells us that the wealth of the sinner is laid up for the just (Proverbs 13:22). We are seated together with Christ in heavenly places. We have been given authority. So, let's not allow ourselves to be out of place. Let us seize what belongs to us. No matter how long it takes, we must be like Caleb and demand what has been promised to us. All things are ours! (I Corinthians 3:22). 

#kings #devotional #wisdom #iamvictory

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | December 9th

📖 And so it was that he [Abraham], having waited long and endured patiently, realized and obtained [in the birth of Isaac as a pledge of what was to come] what God had promised him. —Hebrews 6:15 AMPC

God made a promise to Abraham when he was seventy-five years old. The “promised child” was born when Abraham was a hundred years old. Abraham waited twenty-five years until the promised child was born. Abraham could have been moved by time, but he wasn’t. Abraham believed God. Abraham believed that God was faithful to bring everything to pass. Abraham had experienced the Blessing of the Lord, and He knew that God would not lie to Him. Abraham reached the point where He believed that God would do what He said He would do. Many times, we are unwilling to wait on God. We may not know why things have taken a long time to manifest, but we know that God is faithful. We must endure patiently, knowing that God will come through. We must rest in the integrity of God. It is a divine truth that He cannot lie (John 3:33 Amplified Classic).   

#Godcannotlie #covenantGod #vcccharlotte #devotional

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | December 7th

📖 “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 6th

📖 And I said, Who are You, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus, Whom you are persecuting. 

But arise and stand upon your feet; for I have appeared to you for this purpose, that I might appoint you to serve as [My] minister and to bear witness both to what you have seen of Me and to that in which I will appear to you, 

Choosing you out [selecting you for Myself] and delivering you from among this [Jewish] people and the Gentiles to whom I am sending you— 

To open their eyes that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may thus receive forgiveness and release from their sins and a place and portion among those who are consecrated and purified by faith in Me. 
—Acts 26:15-18 AMPC

As we walk with God, we don’t have to guess what His plan is for our lives. We don’t have to wonder what His plan is. God will reveal everything that He has preordained for us to walk in. When Paul had his encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus, Jesus shared with Him His plan and His assignment for Paul’s life. Paul knew whom he was sent to. He knew what he was called to do, and he found out in his initial encounter with Jesus. God is no respecter of persons. We don’t have to be in the dark. We don’t have to be clueless concerning the will of God. If we seek, we shall find. If we ask, it will be given to us. We can be “in the know” concerning the will of God. 

#WillofGod #trustGod #God’splan #walkwithHim #revelation

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | December 5th

📖 A faithful man shall abound with blessings: but he that maketh haste to be rich shall not be innocent. —Proverbs 28:20 KJV

There is a Scripture that asks, “a faithful man, who can find?” It’s hard to find faithful people, especially in today’s world. God says the faithful shall abound with blessings. The faithful ones are the committed ones, the ones you can always count on. The faithful are consistent. They are consistent in their attendance, their giving, and their effort. How can those types of people not be blessed? One should expect to flourish when they have a history of faithfulness to any organization. If man will take care of faithful, committed people, how much more would our Heavenly Father? 

#dedication #faithfulness #GoodGod #vcccharlotte

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | December 4th

📖 Do all things without grumbling and faultfinding and complaining [against God] and questioning and doubting [among yourselves], 

That you may show yourselves to be blameless and guileless, innocent and uncontaminated, children of God without blemish (faultless, unrebukable) in the midst of a crooked and wicked generation [spiritually perverted and perverse], among whom you are seen as bright lights (stars or beacons shining out clearly) in the [dark] world, 
—Philippians 2:14-15 AMPC

As believers, one of our desires should be to represent the Kingdom more accurately. We should want to look more like an ambassador of heaven. One way that we can accomplish this is by refraining from complaining. As believers, we should have praise and thanksgiving on our lips at all times. We are positive and optimistic because we are people of faith. We walk by the Word and not by our feelings. Circumstances do not control us, the Word does. We don’t complain because the Word gives us control of our circumstances. Our faith in God gives us control. We should always have a smile on our faces because we know that we always triumph, regardless of the obstacle or the hindrance. The world will think that we are strange and peculiar, but that is fine. They will think that we are weird but let them think what they want. We are of a different kingdom. We are children of God. We are the light of the world, and we are the salt of the earth. Let us look like it and act like it. No complaining! 

#ambassadors #vcccharlotte #faith #devotional #childrenofGod

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | December 3rd

📖 Then the [Holy] Spirit said to Philip, Go forward and join yourself to this chariot. Accordingly Philip, running up to him, heard [the man] reading the prophet Isaiah and asked, Do you really understand what you are reading? —Acts 8:29-30 AMPC

We must never forget that we are co-laborers with God. We are God’s hands and feet in the earth. When God instructs us to do something, it is imperative that we listen and obey. Someone’s salvation could depend on our obedience. The Spirit of God spoke to Philip, and he ran. He did not try to process the instruction. He did not try to reason with God. When the Spirit of God told Philip to join himself to the chariot. He did exactly what God asked him to do. His obedience caused a man to get born again and to be baptized in water. This had to be a life changing experience for the Ethiopian. You can only imagine what this did for Philip and his relationship with God. Philip not only led the man to Christ, but he was translated to another city, supernaturally. His life had become an adventure in God. Our lives will become an adventure as well, when we are obedient to His instructions. All of us should have an adventure in God.

#vcccharlotte #devotional #listening #obedience

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | December 2nd

📖 [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. 

By this it is made clear who take their nature from God and are His children and who take their nature from the devil and are his children: no one who does not practice righteousness [who does not conform to God’s will in purpose, thought, and action] is of God; neither is anyone who does not love his brother (his fellow believer in Christ). 
—I John 3:8-10 AMPC

Has anyone ever said, “You look just like your mother.”? Or maybe: “Your father used to act the same way” or “He used to do something like that in his younger days”? We all tend to have character traits that are like our parents, from a natural perspective. We can have the same tendencies as our Father from a spiritual perspective. If we are born again, we have God's nature. We can have a love nature. We can be extraordinarily patient, or kind, or peaceful. Those are just some of the fruits of the spirit that are in us because of the new birth. If one isn’t born again, he/she has the devil's nature. It's easy to lie, steal, or cheat. As believers, we must allow our Father God's nature to cause us to be the world's light or the earth's salt. The world should be able to tell that we are different because of our Father. We can all miss the mark, but we should strive to be more like Jesus, the ultimate example. He said that if you have seen me, you have seen the Father. That should be our goal. 

#likefatherliveson #GodsChildren #dailydevotional #vcccharlotte

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | November 30th

📖 We know [positively] that we are of God, and the whole world [around us] is under the power of the evil one. —I John 5:19 AMPC

People of God are different. We are not to act like the world. We are not to talk like the world. We are not to imitate this world because the world is under the influence of the wicked one. The world is being run by God’s enemy. God tells us that if we are a friend of the world, then we are His enemy as well (James 4:4). God does expect there to be a separation between us and the world. He tells us to come out from among them (the world) and to be separate (II Corinthians 6:17). Once we do, God said that He would be a Father to us, and we would be legitimate children of God (II Corinthians 6:18). We have been delivered out of the kingdom of darkness and translated into the kingdom of God’s dear Son (Colossians 1:13). We ARE different: God expects us to look like and act like it.  

#childrenofGod #devotional #vcccharlotte #notofthisworld

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | November 29th

📖 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 | November 28th

📖 Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. —1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 NIV

This scripture serves as a wonderful reminder to let the spirit of gratitude from today carry over into our everyday lives moving forward! Allow joyfulness, frequent prayer, and thanksgiving to become a part of your “new normal”, as it is God’s will for us to live quiet and peaceful lives (1 Timothy 2:2). As you feast and celebrate today, may your actions be a catalyst for a new way of life - free from complaining, strife, selfishness, arrogance, ungratefulness, and every other evil work.

Remember that you can choose to give thanks at ANY time! You can put on joy at ANY time! And you can cast your cares on the Lord as often as you need to! Let today be the start of something new for you and your walk with the Lord. Happy ThanksGIVING!

#HappyThanksgiving #vcccharlotte #devotional #givethanks #praiseGod

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | November 27th

📖 For God is not unrighteous to forget or overlook your labor and the love which you have shown for His name’s sake in ministering to the needs of the saints (His own consecrated people), as you still do. —Hebrews 6:10 AMPC

Have you ever felt unappreciated? Have you ever felt like you are giving everything and yet you feel overlooked? Well, here is some great news: God has not overlooked your labor. God sees everything that you do. God sees the love that you are walking in and expressing daily. God knows how to reward His people. God knows how to show His appreciation in tangible ways. As believers, we are to work as unto the Lord and no unto men (Colossians 3:23). Whatever we put our hands to we do it with all our might (Ecclesiastes 9:10).  When you live by these two principles (working as unto the Lord and with all your might) you won’t be concerned about being overlooked. You know that promotion comes from the Lord. You know that God honors faithfulness. The Bible tells us that a faithful man will abound with blessings (Proverbs 28:20). Stay faithful. Serving God doesn’t cost, it always pays. It always pays to serve God, and to serve Him faithfully! 

#promotion #devotional #rewards #vcccharlotte #faith

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | November 26th

📖 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

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | November 25th

📖 “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

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | November 23rd

📖 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

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | November 22nd

📖 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 | November 21st

📖 The apostles [sent out as missionaries] came back and gathered together to Jesus, and told Him all that they had done and taught. 

And He said to them, [As for you] come away by yourselves to a deserted place, and rest a while—for many were [continually] coming and going, and they had not even leisure enough to eat. 

And they went away in a boat to a solitary place by themselves. 
—Mark 6:30-32 AMPC 

The apostles had been sent out by Jesus to preach the Kingdom and to cast out devils and to heal the sick. They had come back excited, and they were constantly going out and coming back in. Even though the apostles were doing the work that Jesus had sent them out to do, Jesus still compelled them to get away and to rest. Jesus recognized that even though they were doing what they were asked to do, it was also important that they rest. Have you ever gotten so busy that you forgot to eat? Maybe you were so busy that you realized you haven’t eaten all day long. The devil wants us to wear ourselves out. He wants us to be so consumed with working that we don’t eat or sleep like we should. If we wear ourselves out, we are no good to our families, our jobs, or the Kingdom. We must recognize the wiles and the schemes of the enemy. If he can’t stop us, then he will convince us that we must work, work, work. God took the time to rest after creating the earth. Jesus took time to rest. Jesus made His disciples get away and rest. If God and Jesus took the time to rest, then we must do the same.   

#rest #vcccharlotte #devotional #JesusisLord

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | November 20th

📖 And let the peace (soul harmony which comes) from Christ rule (act as umpire continually) in your hearts [deciding and settling with finality all questions that arise in your minds, in that peaceful state] to which as [members of Christ’s] one body you were also called [to live]. And be thankful (appreciative), [giving praise to God always]. 
—Colossians 3:15 AMPC 

We all want to make the right decisions in our lives (at least we should). As believers we should have the desire to make decisions that line up with the will and plan of God. One way that we can do that is by following peace within our spirits. We may not always hear the voice of God when we are trying to discern the will of God in a matter. We can, however, always follow peace. There are times where one may receive a “check” in their spirit man or a “red light”. Sometimes it can be described as an uneasy feeling in your gut. Many times, that uneasiness can be an answer.  That uneasiness can be a no from God, or a “do not move forward”. God deals with us in our spirit man not necessarily our minds. God will either speak to us in our spirits (the inner man) or we can experience a peace on the inside, that can signal that we can move forward. Peace should always be an umpire in settling matters because it helps to bring finality. Even when God speaks to us, there should be a peace in our hearts because we know that we have heard from God. This should always bring praise to God, because He is the God of all comfort, and He is the God of peace.  

#vcccharlotte #devotional #decisions #peace

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | November 19th

📖 [For Abraham, human reason for] hope being gone, hoped in faith that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been promised, So [numberless] shall your descendants be. 

He did not weaken in faith when he considered the [utter] impotence of his own body, which was as good as dead because he was about a hundred years old, or [when he considered] the barrenness of Sarah’s [deadened] womb. 

No unbelief or distrust made him waver (doubtingly question) concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong and was empowered by faith as he gave praise and glory to God, 

Fully satisfied and assured that God was able and mighty to keep His word and to do what He had promised.
—Romans 4:18-21 AMPC 

There are many people in the world without hope. They have been challenged financially, mentally, and physically, and they have no hope. They don’t see how their lives can get any better because of the difficulties they face daily. As believers, we have hope. Even when it looks like we don’t have any hope, we can go to the Word of God and receive some. Abraham did not consider his circumstances when it came to believing God, he was convinced that God was able to keep His Word to Him. We can be the same way. We can ignore the circumstances and simply believe God’s Word because He cannot fail us. When we put our trust in the Word of God, we can have hope. It doesn’t matter what’s going on in the world, we can stay positive and have a cheerful countenance because we know that God is faithful to His promise. If He said it, He will do it. If He spoke it, He will bring it to pass.    

#hope #devotional #encouragement #trustGod #verseoftheday

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