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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | March 22nd

📖 “Let the thief steal no more, but rather let him be industrious, making an honest living with his own hands, so that he may be able to give to those in need." -Ephesians 4:28 Amplified Bible Classic Edition

Paul is giving insight into the purpose of our paychecks. Our paychecks are not primarily for paying bills (you should pay your bills). Our paychecks are not primarily for purchasing items for ourselves and our families (it's okay if you do). The Word of God tells us that we work so that we can have money to give. This is how the Kingdom of God operates. It functions through the principle of seedtime and harvest. When we give, it shall be given to us again, good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, shall men give unto our bosom (Luke 6:38). It is after we give that we can claim that God will meet our needs according to His riches and glory by Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:19). It is always better to give than to receive because giving puts us in a place of receiving. As we grow in faith, we should also grow in our giving. As we increase our giving, we can increase our receiving. It’s time for a shift in our thinking in the area of giving! When we change our standard of giving, we change our standard of living.

#seedtimeandharvest #devotional #giving #vcccharlotte #compassion

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | March 21st

📖 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 | March 20th

📖 Just after that, Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah and said, “Because you went for help to the king of Aram and didn’t ask God for help, you’ve lost a victory over the army of the king of Aram. Didn’t the Ethiopians and Libyans come against you with superior forces, completely outclassing you with their chariots and cavalry? But you asked God for help and he gave you the victory. God is always on the alert, constantly on the lookout for people who are totally committed to him. You were foolish to go for human help when you could have had God’s help. Now you’re in trouble—one round of war after another.” 
—II Chronicles 16:7-9 The Message 

When you find yourself in trouble, who do you run to? Do you go to man, or do you go to God? When you need help, do you seek God, or do you seek help from man? God’s help is the best help. His assistance is the best assistance. Man is limited but God is not. Man is limited in his thinking but not God. There is nothing too difficult for God. There is no problem that He cannot solve. We should always go to God when we need assistance. God is always on the alert, constantly on the lookout for those who are committed to Him. God had come through for Him and yet he sought help from someone else. Asa made the mistake that many of us have made in the past. Instead of looking to God, we looked to man, and we paid the price for it. When we go to God, He will always come through. If He did it before, He can do it again. 

#seekGod #vcccharlotte #ourHelper #devotional #gotoGod

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | March 19th

📖 Don’t panic. I’m with you. 
    There’s no need to fear for I’m your God. 
I’ll give you strength. I’ll help you. 
    I’ll hold you steady, keep a firm grip on you. 
—Isaiah 41:10 The Message

With so many negative things going on in the world, if we aren’t careful, we can find ourselves in fear.  There can be a fear of the unknown. One may be afraid to fly on an airplane. One could be afraid that they will run out of food. They may even be afraid that they will run out of money and won’t have enough to meet their basic needs. God is telling us not to panic. God is telling us not to be afraid. God will keep us steady, and He will take care of us. He promised to do so in His Word. His Word even tells us that if we seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, things will be added to us (Matthew 6:33). The things that everyone else is working hard to accumulate, God will give us. The Bible tells us that if He did not spare His Son, will He not with Him, freely give us all things? (Romans 8:32). God will take care of us. We must take our eyes off the circumstances and keep our eyes on God and His Word. His Word says that He will keep us in perfect peace when our minds are stayed on Him. (Isaiah 26: 3) You can either walk in fear or you can walk in peace, the decision is up to you. 

#peace #vcccharlotte #care #devotional

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | March 18th

📖 God also bound himself with an oath, so that those he promised to help would be perfectly sure and never need to wonder whether he might change his plans. 

He has given us both his promise and his oath, two things we can completely count on, for it is impossible for God to tell a lie. Now all those who flee to him to save them can take new courage when they hear such assurances from God; now they can know without doubt that he will give them the salvation he has promised them. 

This certain hope of being saved is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls, connecting us with God himself behind the sacred curtains of heaven, 
—Hebrews 6:17-19 The Living Bible 

God has not changed His plans concerning us. It is still His will for us to prosper. It is still His will that we walk in divine health. It is His will that we experience His goodness in every area of life. God not only gave us a promise, He gave us His oath. He wanted us to rest in His integrity. He wanted to assure us that He would keep His Word to us. Because of the promise and the oath that believers have with their Heavenly Father, we can have hope. We can know that no matter how impossible it looks, God will come through. How we feel has nothing to do with it. God will do what He said He will do. He is not a man that He should lie. If He said it, He will do it. If He spoke it, He will bring it to pass. We can put our trust in God, He will never let us down. 

#hope #giver #trustGod #verseoftheday #devotional #vcccharlotte

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | March 17th

📖 “I, John, am your brother and your partner in suffering and in God’s Kingdom and in the patient endurance to which Jesus calls us. I was exiled to the island of Patmos for preaching the word of God and for my testimony about Jesus. It was the Lord’s Day, and I was worshiping in the Spirit. Suddenly, I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet blast.” —Revelation 1:9 NLT

From the above text, we see that the Apostle John was exiled to Patmos for preaching the Word of God and for his testimony about Jesus. 

The Bible says in II Timothy 3:12, “Yes, and everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.” 

Have you ever found yourself on an island for doing & standing up for what was right? You stood up for Godly principles and were rejected & ostracized. Don’t be dismayed. I’d like to encourage you to take a look at how John handled his island predicament. The scriptures say he was worshiping in the Spirit. He took his focus off what seemed to be an unfavorable situation and took heed to the 34th Psalm where David wrote, “I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth.” John turned his island of worry and weariness into an island of worship. When we do like John, God will turn our island of rejection into an island of reward & strength. So, always remember that it’s okay to be on an island, because it is part of our Christian journey & process. 

#dailydevotional #island #worship #vcccharlotte #favor

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | March 15th

📖 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

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | March 14th

📖 The Lord hath heard my supplication; the Lord will receive my prayer. —Psalm 6:9 KJV

God answers prayer. Isn’t that comforting to know? When we find ourselves in a tough situation, we can pray and get His Wisdom. When we have a need, we can pray and know that He will meet that need. If we just need someone to talk to, we can go to God knowing that He hears us when we talk with Him. He is a very present help in the time of trouble. He is our shield and buckler. Whatever need we have in this life, we are only a prayer away from receiving from Him. We simply must go to Him in faith, knowing that we have the petitions that we requested of Him. God is always there for us, we simply must go to Him in prayer, knowing He wants to move on our behalf. 

#prayerworks #Godcares #devotional #vcccharlotte

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | March 13th

📖 Then they said to him, “Who are you, that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?” He said: “I am ‘The voice of one crying in the wilderness: “Make straight the way of the Lord,”’ —John 1:22-23 NKJV

What do you say about yourself? How do you see yourself? Do you see yourself as a winner? Do you see yourself overcoming every situation of life? As believers we must see ourselves the way God sees us. We must know who we are in Christ. We must know what belongs to us. We must also understand that how we see ourselves is in correlation with how we think. The Bible tells us that “as a man thinks in his heart, so is he”. (Proverbs 23:7) God gave us His Word so that we can think like Him. When we think the way He thinks, we will talk the way He talks. When we think and talk like God, we will live like Him and He lives in victory. His Word tells us that He always causes us to triumph. (2 Corinthians 2:14) If God says we are royalty, then that is what we are. If we are the light of the world and the salt of the earth, then that is what we are. If we are going to succeed in this life, it starts with how we see ourselves. We are who God says we are, and we can do what He says we can do. 

#success #vcccharlotte #wecan #devotional

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | March 12th

📖 If I were trying to glorify myself,” returned Jesus, “such glory would be worthless. But it is my Father who glorifies me, the very one whom you say is your God—though you have never known him. But I know him, and if I said I did not know him, I should be as much a liar as you are! But I do know him and I am faithful to what he says. As for your father, Abraham, his great joy was that he would see my coming. Now he has seen it and he is overjoyed.” 
—John 8:54-55 Phillips Translation

It has been said that “a man should never praise himself”. We should never make it our aim to elevate ourselves. God knows how to bring us honor. God knows how to elevate us. Our job is to walk in a spirit of excellence. We are to do our jobs with all our might. Jesus brings out two things that can cause promotion to take place in our lives. First Jesus said that He knew Him (God). The second thing is that He was faithful to what God said. When we have a relationship with God and as we stay faithful in reading and obeying His Word, our lives will not stay the same. God will begin to open doors for us. We will see a greater manifestation of favor. We will see our lives improve because we have made God a top priority. Jesus walked with God and He made the Word a priority in His life. When we do the same, we will see God move on our behalf. He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him (Hebrews 11:6). 

#spiritofexcellence #vcccharlotte #faithfulness #devotional

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | March 11th

📖 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.
—2 Timothy 4:7 NIV

Our goal in life should be to finish the race that God has set before us. Some Christians start off running well, and for various reasons, get off course. God wants us to finish the race he has already set up. There are lives God wants to touch through us no matter what stage of the race we may be in. We must keep our pace and not allow ourselves to get off course. Push through adversity as the Apostle Paul did in his life. Let’s endeavor to run the race that God has set before us, not what He set before someone else. In Acts 26:19 Paul said to King Agrippa “I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision” We all have our parts to play so, like Apostle Paul, let’s be obedient and content with the vision God has blessed us with.

#vision #devotional #runtherace #verseoftheday #vcccharlotte

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | March 10th

📖 And the Angel of the Lord appeared to him and said to him, The Lord is with you, you mighty man of [fearless] courage. —Judges 6:12 AMPC

Gideon had been chosen by God to deliver His people from the hand of the Midianites. When the Angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, he called him a mighty man of courage. Gideon was anything but courageous. He asked God for several fleeces and was still shaky about his assignment until he overheard a conversation by the enemy (Judges 7). God did not see Gideon as he was, God saw him as a deliverer. God saw him as a fearless man of courage. Many times, we may not appear to be what God has called us to be. God called us healed, prosperous, redeemed, etc. Many times, we don’t look like it or even feel like it from a natural perspective. That is when you walk by faith and not by sight. That is when you agree with God regardless of how you feel. Our job is to call it the way God calls it and to see it the way God sees it. As we continue to do that, our circumstances will fall in line. As we walk with God, His thinking will rub off on us, and we will eventually start to think the way He thinks. And as we do that, we will experience victory the way He planned it. Let’s agree with God today, and things will get better as we do. 

#devotional #vcccharlotte #believe #courage #thecalled

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | March 8th

📖 Then He told them a parable, saying, The land of a rich man was fertile and yielded plentifully. 

And he considered and debated within himself, What shall I do? I have no place [in which] to gather together my harvest. 

And he said, I will do this: I will pull down my storehouses and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain or produce and my goods. 

And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have many good things laid up, [enough] for many years. Take your ease; eat, drink, and enjoy yourself merrily. 

But God said to him, You fool! This very night they [the messengers of God] will demand your soul of you; and all the things that you have prepared, whose will they be? 

So it is with the one who continues to lay up and hoard possessions for himself and is not rich [in his relation] to God [this is how he fares]. 
—Luke 12:16-21 AMPC

There is a lot that we can learn from this rich man. One thing we see is that his dependency was on the wrong thing. He took comfort in the quantity of his possessions. His trust was in what He had. He was rich in goods, but not rich in God. God wants us to pursue Him and to keep our eyes on Him. Later in the chapter, Jesus told the people to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness (or His way of doing things) and the things that the Gentiles seek would be added to them. The rich man’s focus was on his possessions. God wants our focus to be on Him, and the goods will follow. There is nothing wrong with having plenty of goods; we must only make sure that what we have does not control us. 

#richinGod #vcccharlotte #devotional #eyesonGod #focus

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | March 7th

📖 The merciful, kind, and generous man benefits himself [for his deeds return to bless him], but he who is cruel and callous [to the wants of others] brings on himself retribution. 
—Proverbs 11:17 AMPC 

The Bible tells us that “as you would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise” (Luke 6:31). It is to our benefit to be merciful, kind, and generous to as many people as we can. We must not be cruel and callous to the wants of others, unless we want people to be callous and cruel to our needs. We must understand the importance of the law of sowing and reaping. We reap what we sow. If we sow love, we reap love. If we sow kind words, we reap kind words. If we sow finances, we reap finances. It is to our benefit to live a life of generosity. When we do, our deeds return to bless us, giving us an opportunity to be a greater blessing to humanity. 

#generosity #reap #devotional #sow #vcccharlotte #blessing

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | March 6th

📖 Then God said, “I’ve given you 
    every sort of seed-bearing plant on Earth 
And every kind of fruit-bearing tree, 
    given them to you for food. 
To all animals and all birds, 
    everything that moves and breathes, 
I give whatever grows out of the ground for food.” 
    And there it was. 

—Genesis 1:29-30 The Message Bible

God provided food for Adam, Eve, and every living animal that was on the earth at that time. God knew what it would take to feed the birds, the lions, the tigers, and every other creature. God has not changed. He still knows how to feed us and sustain us. He fed the Israelites while they wandered in the wilderness for forty years. He fed Elijah when there was a drought. God has always provided for His people. God will always take care of us. He told us to seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all the things would be added to us. We won't have to go after them, they will come to us. Let’s resist the spirit of fear and worry. Let us put our trust in God. He is our provider. He knows how to take care of us. If He provided back then, He will provide now. God has not changed. 

#provider #vcccharlotte #nofear #noworry #devotional

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | March 5th

📖 I gave them your word; 
The godless world hated them because of it, 
Because they didn’t join the world’s ways, 
Just as I didn’t join the world’s ways. 
I’m not asking that you take them out of the world 
But that you guard them from the Evil One. 
They are no more defined by the world 
Than I am defined by the world. 

—John 17:14-18 The Message Bible

As believers, we were never meant to embrace the ideals of this world. We are told in Romans 12: 2, “to renew our minds”. We are to be Kingdom minded believers because we are not of this world just as Jesus wasn’t. We don’t embrace the world’s ways just like he didn’t. Jesus operated from a different place. He operated from the Kingdom of God. He spoke and acted differently. John the Baptist said, “he that is of the earth is earthly, and speaketh of the earth” (John 3:31). We are not of the earth (world), we have been born again. We have been translated out of the realm of darkness and translated into the Kingdom of God’s dear Son. We must conduct ourselves like ambassadors of heaven. We think differently. We talk differently. We were born into the earth, but we are not of the earth. We are no longer defined by the world, just as our Savior wasn’t. We are being conformed to His image, the very image of Christ (Romans 8:29). 

#Kingdomminded #vcccharlotte #different #devotional

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | March 4th

📖 “A faithful man shall abound with blessings: but he that maketh haste to be rich shall not be innocent." -Proverbs 28:20 King James Version

A faithful man is one who realizes that it comes over time. A faithful man is a consistent man. It is a person who is consistent in serving. That person is consistent in their giving. They are consistent in their church attendance. They are marked by their consistency. God is a faithful God. He is consistent in His love for us. He is consistent in His mercy and His kindness towards us. He is our example of faithfulness, and we should follow His example. He wouldn’t ask us to do something that He would not do. Many believers want to be blessed, but their lifestyle will not allow it. If we are going to experience the Blessings of God, we must be faithful. Faithful in obeying His Word. Faithful to what He has called us to do. Faithful in every area of life, just like our Father.

#faithful #proverbs #Tuesdaywisdom #consistency #devotional

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | March 3rd

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

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

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

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

#obedienceisbetterthansacrifice #trustGod #dailydevotional

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | March 1st

📖 “Jesus was about thirty years old when he began his public ministry.”
-Luke 3:23 The Living Bible

Jesus began His ministry at the age of thirty. He began His preparation at the age of twelve and that would mean He had eighteen years of preparation. Jesus' ministry lasted three and a half years, but it was three and a half years of maximum impact. We must be willing to prepare for whatever God has preordained for us, and we must be willing to prepare for as long as it takes. God knows how to prepare us for what He has called us to do. As a teenager, David was anointed king but did not become king until he was thirty years old. We are not born qualified; we must become qualified. We must be willing to allow God to qualify us through His training and preparation. God knows what it takes for us to succeed, and we must trust Him. He knows what He is doing.

#trustGod #verseotheday #JesusChrist #preparation #ministry #vcccharlotte

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | February 28th

📖 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 

It doesn’t matter what is going on in the world, God’s got us. He cares for us. When there is chaos in the world, we can have peace because we know that God has our backs. Even in famine, God will see to it that we have enough. When you read the Word of God, you see God doing that repeatedly for His people. God doesn’t depend on the resources of this world, but He uses the resources of the world to bless His people. His coming through for us is not dependent on the state of our economy. God knows where all the money is. He knows where all of the food is. He knows how to get it to us when we need it. David said, “I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread”. If God did it for David, He will do it for you. He is no respecter of persons. 

#faithfulGod #provider #psalms #faith #Jesus

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