Comment

DAILY DEVOTIONAL | January 3rd

📖 But I will hope continually, and will praise You yet more and more. —Psalm 71:14 AMPC

Hope is important. The Bible tells us that “hope deferred makes the heart sick” (Proverbs 13:2). We should never deprive people of hope. Faith is the substance of things hoped for... (Hebrews 11:1). You could look at it like this: hope is the blueprint, and faith is the materials to make the blueprint a reality. We must not belittle hope. The Bible tells us that Abraham “against hope believed in hope” (Romans 4:18). Abraham had to hope when the circumstances told him that what he was believing for was impossible. He had to find hope in what God had told him. That is how we maintain our hope. We keep our faith in what God has told us, and we believe it because it is impossible for God to lie. Hope is to be the anchor to our soul. We must hope continually and continue to praise Him more. We must praise Him because He is the God of hope. He can turn every negative situation around.

#Hope #trustGod #dailydevotional #vcccharlotte

Comment

Comment

DAILY DEVOTIONAL | January 2nd

📖 Not that I have now attained [this ideal], or have already been made perfect, but I press on to lay hold of (grasp) and make my own, that for which Christ Jesus (the Messiah) has laid hold of me and made me His own. 

I do not consider, brethren, that I have captured and made it my own [yet]; but one thing I do [it is my one aspiration]: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 

I press on toward the goal to win the [supreme and heavenly] prize to which God in Christ Jesus is calling us upward. 
—Philippians 3:12-14 AMPC

As we begin this new year, we must forget what has happened in the past, and we must strain forward to what lies ahead. One of the biggest weapons that the enemy uses against us is regret. Because of bad decisions we may have made in the past, we may not have accomplished all that we thought we should have. Maybe we didn’t accomplish the goals that we set for ourselves. Whatever shortcomings may have happened, it is in the past. There is nothing we can do about the past. We can learn from it, but then we must move on. God wants us to move forward. God desires to take us from glory to glory. Our lives are to get better and better as we walk with God. We must press toward the goal to win the prize in which Christ Jesus is calling us upward. Let’s shift our focus. Let’s take our eyes off the missed opportunities of the past and look to the opportunities that are before us. One man said, “The greatest opportunity is the next one”. Notice it wasn’t the last one, it's the next one. We can be optimistic about our future because God has new opportunities on the horizon. Let’s press for all that He has for us. Let’s be all that He has called us to be and do all that He is calling us to do. Let’s move forward in God. 

#vcccharlotte #moveforward #devotional #focus #letthepastgo

Comment

1 Comment

DAILY DEVOTIONAL | January 1st

📖 No soldier, when in service gets entangled in the enterprises of [civilian] life; his aim is to satisfy and please the one who enlisted him. —2 Timothy 2:4 AMPC

As believers we have been enlisted in the army of the Lord. We are not only ambassadors of heaven, but we are also His soldiers. He has enlisted us and equipped us to carry out His orders and to fight the kingdom of darkness on His behalf. God has given us His armor and His weapons that will cause us to win every battle the enemy brings our way. As soldiers, we must make sure that we are not so caught up in the day-to-day affairs of this life that we forget to check in with headquarters. We live on the earth, and we function on the earth, but we must remember that our chief aim is to please the One who has enlisted us. Our chief aim should be to lead a life that is pleasing to God and not just to live a life to please ourselves. We should enjoy life but not lose sight of our mission. We must not forget the objectives set by our heavenly Father. We are to heal the sick. We are to cast out devils. We should be about our Father’s business. We should be about the great commission. Our objective should be to rescue as many souls out of the domain of darkness as we can. Let’s not get so entangled in this life, that we forget why we are here. We are here to make an impact. We are here to represent the kingdom of heaven. 

#ambassadors #vcccharlotte #KingdomofHeaven #devotional #armyofGod

1 Comment

Comment

DAILY DEVOTIONAL | December 31st

📖 “For the dream comes through much effort, and the voice of a fool through many words." -Ecclesiastes 5: 3 New American Standard Bible

It has been said that a dream, whether big or small, will have the same cost – your life. That simply means that your dreams will require a lot of your time and effort. It will mean getting up early and staying up late. It will mean sacrificing meals at time. It may mean sacrificing time with your friends because you are working towards your goals. It could mean some lonely times because the dream will require you to be away from others so that you can work. Dreams cost. The bigger the dream, the higher the cost. We must be willing to ‘pay in full’ before we can experience the dream. Everything we want in life must be paid for in advance. You must pay the price of admission before you are allowed to experience the show, the movie, or the performance. The same thing goes for our dreams. We must pay the price of admission before we see the realization of the goal.

#dreams #devotional #perseverance #vcccharlotte #goals

Comment

Comment

DAILY DEVOTIONAL | December 30th

📖 Jesus answered him, I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, that unless a person is born again (anew, from above), he cannot ever see (know, be acquainted with, and experience) the kingdom of God. —John 3:3 AMPC

If one wants to be a bonafide child of God, that person must be born again. They simply must ask Jesus Christ to come into their heart and confess Him as Lord (Romans 10:9-10). It is quite simple. Works will not get you born-again. You can never work your way to Heaven. You can never earn your salvation; but you can simply receive what has already been done. Jesus has already paid the price for sin. Our works do not produce righteousness. Righteousness produces good works. If you haven’t done so already, receive Jesus Christ today! Don’t you want to spend eternity with God? 

#salvation #devotional #vcccharlotte #childofGod

Comment

Comment

DAILY DEVOTIONAL | December 28th

“The Lord favors those who fear and worship Him [with awe-inspired reverence and obedience], Those who wait for His mercy and lovingkindness -Psalm 147:11 AMP

We serve a faithful God, and He holds all power in His hands. He is definitely worthy of our praise, and when we exalt God, we put Him in the proper perspective - above and greater than the circumstance. On top of all that, because He’s a Good Father, He also graces us with favor. Regardless of the circumstance - GOOD or BAD - there is power in our praise. So praise through it! He is MORE than able to bring you through. ⁣

#dailydevotional #worship #vcccharlotte

Comment

Comment

DAILY DEVOTIONAL | December 27th

“The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him sincerely and in truth. -Psalm 145:18 AMPC

Our Heavenly Father desires to be near us at all times. He wants to be “in our midst” and to work in and through us daily (John 14:12, Ephesians 2:10, Philippians 2:13). We only have to call His name and come to Him with a pure and humble heart. Regardless of where the paths of your feet tread today, commit your life to God and yield to Him for wisdom in your decision-making. When you do, you set the scene for Him to act on your behalf (Psalm 37:5, Proverbs 3:5-6). Trust in Him. He is ALL that you need. Have a blessed day.⁣⁣⁣⁣

⁣⁣#dailydevotional #callonHim #committed #vcccharlotte

Comment

Comment

DAILY DEVOTIONAL | December 26th

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

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

#powerofwords #devotional #wednesdaywisdom #message #verseoftheday

Comment

Comment

DAILY DEVOTIONAL | December 25th

📖 For God so greatly loved and dearly prized the world that He [even] gave up His only begotten (unique) Son, so that whoever believes in (trusts in, clings to, relies on) Him shall not perish (come to destruction, be lost) but have eternal (everlasting) life. 
—John 3:16 AMPC

As we celebrate what many call the “Christmas Holiday”, let us remember why Jesus came into the world. God sending His Son into the world was one of the greatest acts of love in the history of humanity. God could have left man in his sinful state. He did not have to redeem mankind, he chose to. Out of His intense love for us, He refused to allow us to stay in a position in which we would be dominated by Satan. God redeemed us into a place of royalty. He redeemed us into a place of sonship. He placed the results of the fall on Jesus, so that we could be free from poverty, lack, sickness, disease, and spiritual death. God sent His best. God so greatly loved and prized the world that He gave up something, He gave up His only begotten Son. Let us never take our salvation for granted. Let us always be grateful for Jesus. We must always be grateful that He came into the earth to set us free. We are no longer slaves, we are kings. We are heirs of God and joint heirs with Jesus Christ. The sin nature is gone, and now we are righteous. Jesus came so that we would not remain the same. 

#vcccharlotte #WeAreKings #devotional #Godslove

Comment

2 Comments

DAILY DEVOTIONAL | December 24th

📖 But the Lord shall remain and continue forever; He has prepared and established His throne for judgment. 

And He will judge the world in righteousness (rightness and equity); He will minister justice to the peoples in uprightness. 

The Lord also will be a refuge and a high tower for the oppressed, a refuge and a stronghold in times of trouble (high cost, destitution, and desperation). 

And they who know Your name [who have experience and acquaintance with Your mercy] will lean on and confidently put their trust in You, for You, Lord, have not forsaken those who seek (inquire of and for) You [on the authority of God’s Word and the right of their necessity]. 
—Psalm 9:7-10 AMPC

Do you know the God of heaven and earth? The more we know Him, the more confident we will become. The more we stand on His Word, the more He will become a stronghold in times of trouble. Are you desperate? Run to God. Are you in despair? Run to God. When we put our trust in Him, we come to realize that He will never forsake us. When we come to Him on the authority of His Word, we see the strength of His integrity. We can put our trust and our confidence in God. He will come through for us every time. Those who put their trust in Him will never be put to shame. You can never go wrong when you put your trust in the God of our salvation. 

#vcccharlotte #trust #devotional #confidence #salvation

2 Comments

Comment

DAILY DEVOTIONAL | December 23rd

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

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

#heaven #stumblingblock #Godisgood #verseofthday #vcccharlotte

Comment

Comment

DAILY DEVOTIONAL | December 21st

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

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

#diligence #hardwork #verseoftheday #vcccharlotte #dream

Comment

Comment

DAILY DEVOTIONAL | December 20th

📖 We were buried therefore with Him by the baptism into death, so that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious [power] of the Father, so we too might [habitually] live and behave in newness of life. —Romans 6:4 AMPC

When we make Jesus the Lord of our lives, we become a new creation. Our past is buried; we have been raised and now have a new life with Christ. We can be like the apostle Paul and act as if we don’t have a past. Paul said that he had “wronged no man”, but he had. Before his encounter with Jesus, he was throwing Christians into prison and mistreating them. After his encounter with Jesus, all of that was buried with Christ. When he was raised in the newness of life, his past remained buried. We have had the same experience. We can now walk as if we have never sinned a day in our lives. 

#devotional #newcreation #liveforGod #vcccharlotte

Comment

Comment

DAILY DEVOTIONAL | December 19th

📖 When I view and consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have ordained and established, 

What is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of [earthborn] man that You care for him? 

Yet You have made him but a little lower than God [or heavenly beings], and You have crowned him with glory and honor. 
—Psalm 8:3-5 AMPC

Do you know how valuable you are to God? The psalmist, after considering the universe, asks, “What is man that you are mindful of him”? The God that created the universe. The same God that created the moon, and the stars, and the galaxy, takes the time to care for and to be mindful of us, His children. Not only is He mindful of us, but He has also crowned us with glory and honor. God has given us authority. God has given us His armor. God has promised to meet every need. He must think highly of us. He thinks so highly of us, He sent His only son to die on a cross so that we can be redeemed back into the family of God. He has made us heirs of God and joint heirs with Jesus Christ. If God has a healthy image of His children, then we, His children, should have a healthy image of ourselves. Oh, how He loves you and me. 

#valuable #vcccharlotte #mindfulness #devotional

Comment

Comment

DAILY DEVOTIONAL | December 18th

📖 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. 

Anyone who does not [really] love Me does not observe and obey My teaching. And the teaching which you hear and heed is not Mine, but [comes] from the Father Who sent Me. 
—John 14:21-24 AMPC

Would you like to experience more manifestations of the Father in your life? Jesus said that the person who has His commands and keeps them, that person will be loved by the Father and Jesus will make Himself real to that individual. God loves all His children, but Jesus says that the person who keeps His Word, He and the Father will make their home in that person. When Jesus and the Father make their home in you, your life will not remain the same. Hebrews 11:6 tells us that God is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. One way we seek the Lord is by meditating and reading His Word. As we are meditating and reading, it brings God on the scene. When God comes on the scene, everything gets better. James 1:25 tells us that “he who looks into the perfect law of liberty (the Word of God) and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does”. If one wants to experience more of God, one must be a doer of His Word. 

#devotional #manifestation #vcccharlotte #doeroftheWord

Comment

Comment

DAILY DEVOTIONAL | December 17th

📖 “Be strong and courageous. Be not afraid or dismayed before the king of Assyria and all the horde that is with him, for there is Another with us greater than [all those] with him. With him is an arm of flesh, but with us is the Lord our God to help us and to fight our battles. And the people relied on the words of Hezekiah king of Judah.” -II Chronicles 32:7-8 Amplified Classic

As believers we always have an advantage. The world always leans to the ‘arm of flesh’. They make decisions based on what they can see and based on their own understanding. We are not limited to what we can see. We are not limited to our own reasonings and deductions. We can tap into the Wisdom of God! We can hear the Voice of God. God can and will lead us and guide us in the way that we should go. God will fight for us AND help us. We don’t have to figure things out on our own. We don’t have to fight our own battles.  We don’t have to be afraid of a man. He who is with us is greater than he who is against us. At the end of the day, we must rely on His words if we are going to see Him fight our battles.  

#leannotonyourownunderstanding #trustGod #vcccharlotte #devotional #verseoftheday 

Comment

Comment

DAILY DEVOTIONAL | December 16th

📖 “I have gained perfect freedom by following your teachings, and I trust them so much that I tell them to kings." -Psalms 119:45 Contemporary English Version

The Word of God was given to us to set us free from every wile and scheme of the wicked one. It was given to us so that we can know who we are and what belongs to us in Christ. The Word of God will set us free, and it will cause victory to manifest in every area of our lives. God told Joshua that if he meditated the Word of God both day and night, that he would become prosperous and have good success. The Word of God says something similar in Psalms 1. Our success comes from desiring and obeying the Word of God. In the book of Acts, it tells us that the Word of God grew mightily and prevailed. When the Word grows in our lives, it will do the same thing. It will prevail over everything the devil can throw our way. 

#success #dailydevotional #vcccharlotte #bible #verseoftheday #freedom 

Comment

1 Comment

DAILY DEVOTIONAL | December 14th

📖 My desire is to have you free from all anxiety and distressing care. 
—I Corinthians 7:32 AMPC

Paul, speaking to the Corinthian church, expressed that his desire was for them to be free from all anxiety and distressing care. His desire is what God desires. God desires to handle every worry and every care. He doesn’t want you distracted with the issues of life. Jesus said in Luke 12:29, not to have a mind that is, “anxious, troubled, unsettled, excited, worried, and in suspense”. God knows what's up the road. He tells us not to worry about tomorrow. God can handle every situation when we give it over to Him. The key is we must hand it over to Him. Cast your cares on the Lord and don’t allow the enemy to overwhelm you. God can handle anything, including your problems. 

#castyourcaresonHim #trustGod #noworries #dailydevotional

1 Comment

Comment

DAILY DEVOTIONAL | December 13th

📖 But now bring me a minstrel. And while the minstrel played, the hand and power of the Lord came upon [Elisha]. And he said, Thus says the Lord: Make this [dry] brook bed full of trenches. For thus says the Lord: You shall not see wind or rain, yet that ravine shall be filled with water, so you, your cattle, and your beasts [of burden] may drink. This is but a light thing in the sight of the Lord. He will deliver the Moabites also into your hands.” -II Kings 3:15-18 Amplified Classic

It doesn’t matter what you are facing in your life right now, it is a light thing for God. Your getting out of debt is a light thing for God. Getting your children out of the world is a light thing for God. Whatever it is in your life that is negative, it is a light thing for God to turn it around. Many times, we look at God through the wrong lenses. We think that if it is difficult for us, it will be difficult for God. Life is so much easier when we give our challenges to God. Life is easier when we give Him our burdens and our cares. God is smarter than all of us put together, and He knows how to handle the challenges and the difficulties of our lives. Let’s have the right perspective. Let’s have GOD’S perspective: regardless of what you are facing, it is a light thing for God.  

#trustGod #lifeisgood #devotional #vcccharlotte #inspiration #giveGodyourburdens 

Comment

Comment

DAILY DEVOTIONAL | December 12th

📖 Understand [this], my beloved brethren. Let every man be quick to hear [a ready listener], slow to speak, slow to take offense and to get angry. —James 1:19 AMPC 

The Bible tells us to live peaceably with all men (Romans 12:18). One way we can walk that out is by being a ready listener; and one that is slow to speak and slow to get angry. We should endeavor to hear everyone out and then take the time to think about what has been said to us. Once we have thought things through, we should be willing to speak on the matter and not take offense and get angry. Many times, disagreements take place when we speak too hastily, not taking the time to think it through. We must also work on being too quick to take offense. Sometimes the person who offended us did not mean to intentionally upset us. Sometimes we misinterpreted what was said and instead of thinking things through, we were quick to take offense. We must be people who walk in love and think the best of everyone. If we were quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to take offense and get angry, we could be people who can walk that out. 

#vcccharlotte #peace #devotional #love

Comment