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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | July 17th

📖 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 3:13-14 AMPC

God doesn't want us stuck in the past. He wants us moving forward towards the things that he has preordained for us. Lets look at two words that Paul used. One word was straining. He was exerting as much energy as he could to accomplish the will of God. The second word is press. Once again, he used a word meaning to use a lot of energy. God doesn't want us using our energies to re-live the past. Take those energies to make progress. Let's strain and press into what God has for us. It pleases Him when we do.

#GodsWord #devotional #trustGod #vcccharlotte

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | July 16th

📖 God is not a human being, and he will not lie. He is not a human, and he does not change his mind. What he says he will do, he does [will he not do it?]. What he promises, he makes come true [ will he not fulfill it/make it come true?]. —Numbers 23:19 Expanded Bible

We cannot look at God the way that we look at other human beings. God is not a man, and He does not lie. God will not change His mind concerning His children. He promises to meet every need in our lives (Philippians 4:19). If He promised to do it, then we can definitely count on Him to do it. The Word of God says that we are redeemed, so that means we are. It tells us that we are healed, so that means that we are. Whatever the Word says we are, that is what we are. When we believe in His Word and stand on His promises, we experience the reality of those promises. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but God’s Word will never pass away (Matthew 24:35). God always comes through. He can be depended upon. 

#GodsWord #devotional #trustGod #vcccharlotte

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | July 15th

📖 The ants are not a strong people, Yet they prepare their food in the summer; 
—Proverbs 30:25 AMP

The strength of the ant is in their ability to prepare. They don’t have an overseer. They don’t have anyone standing over them telling them that winter is coming. They are diligently preparing in the summer. The ants know that it's too late to prepare when winter comes. We must learn from the ant. We must prepare for opportunities that don’t yet exist. We have to be like Noah. Noah prepared an ark out of obedience when there was no evidence that a flood was coming. It’s hard to build a ship in the rain. If Noah had waited until it started raining, he would have perished with everyone else. It has been said that success is when preparation meets opportunity. Failure takes place when opportunity presents itself to the unprepared. Let’s not allow ourselves to be caught off guard when opportunity does arrive. Let’s be like the ant and STAY ready. 

#theant #beprepared #wisdom #verseoftheday #message

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | July 14th

📖 Joshua, the man of God, died at the age of 110 and was buried at the edge of his property in Timnath-heres, in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash. The people had remained true to the Lord throughout Joshua’s lifetime, and as long afterward as the old men of his generation were still living—those who had seen the mighty miracles the Lord had done for Israel. 

But finally all that generation died; and the next generation did not worship Jehovah as their God and did not care about the mighty miracles he had done for Israel. 
—Judges 2:9-10 The Living Bible

What a sad story about a generation that did not know God or care about His mighty miracles. We can never allow this to happen. We must take the time to talk to our children about the things of God. It may not be your immediate family. It could be a niece or nephew. It may be a grandchild, but we all must do our part to sow our God into our children. We must take our children to church. We must take them to Bible class and create an environment where God is heard of everyday. We must be willing to lay hands on them when they aren’t feeling well. We must do our part and show them that there is a God in Heaven, and He is worthy of our service and our lives. We cannot allow what took place then to happen again. We must show passion to reach the next generation. 

#neverbeashamed #devotional #vcccharlotte #doyourpart

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | July 12th

📖 So then [God’s gift] is not a question of human will and human effort, but of God’s mercy. [It depends not on one’s own willingness nor on his strenuous exertion as in running a race, but on God’s having mercy on him.] —Romans 9:16 AMP

We are who we are by God’s grace. Every good gift and every perfect gift come from Him. He is the One who has blessed us with our individual talents and abilities. We cannot brag on ourselves; it is the mercy of God. We cannot boast of our abilities because they came from Him. God is the Source of everything good in our lives and we must walk with a spirit of meekness and humility. Where would we be without the grace of God? It is in Him that we live and move and have our being (Acts 17:28). We can be thankful of all the giftings bestowed on us by God, but we must also be certain to be grateful for His mercy. Where would we be without it? 

#mercy #graceofGod #devotional #vcccharlotte

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | July 11th

📖 Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why then is not the health of the daughter of my people restored? [Because Zion no longer enjoyed the presence of the Great Physician!] —Jeremiah 8:11 AMPC

God is our Great Physician. He tells us in Exodus 15:26, I am the Lord that healeth thee.” He was Israel’s Healer then, and He is our Healer today. Jesus shed His Blood so that we can be free from sickness and disease (Isaiah 53:5, I Peter 2:24). When Jesus was on the earth, He went about teaching, preaching, and healing. Everywhere Jesus went, He went about healing the sick. He never turned anyone away who requested healing. He was simply doing what He saw His Father doing. Sickness came when sin entered the earth. God has broken the power of sin from over our lives and because of that, He has set us free from sickness (I Peter 2:24). God wants us well. Our health can be restored when we enjoy and receive from the presence of the Great Physician! 

#HeisourHealer #dailydevotional #GreatPhysician #vcccharlotte

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | July 10th

📖 When Jesus came down from the mountain, great throngs followed Him. 

And behold, a leper came up to Him and, prostrating himself, worshiped Him, saying, Lord, if You are willing, You are able to cleanse me by curing me. 

And He reached out His hand and touched him, saying, I am willing; be cleansed by being cured. And instantly his leprosy was cured and cleansed. 
—Matthew 8:1-3 AMPC  

God wants you well. He desires for you to be strong and healthy. Unfortunately, many people still aren't sure whether it is the will of God for them to be healed. They think the sickness is supposed to bring them closer to God. Some think the sickness will keep them humble. Nowhere in the Bible does it tell us that sickness will humble you. The Bible tells us that we are to humble ourselves and that God will exalt us in due time (I Peter 5:6). We accurately represent the kingdom when we are healthy and strong. We can pursue the will of God when we are totally strong and healthy. The leper was unsure about the will of God concerning his healing. Jesus made the will of God plain. God wanted the leper healed. God has not changed. He has always desired His people to be well. He demonstrated His desire by sending Jesus to the cross to redeem us from sickness and disease. The issue has been settled: God wants us well. 

#healing #vcccharlotte #willofGod #devotional  

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | July 9th

📖 Do not give that which is holy (the sacred thing) to the dogs, and do not throw your pearls before hogs, lest they trample upon them with their feet and turn and tear you in pieces. —Matthew 7:6 AMPC 

You cannot share your goals and dreams with everyone. Everyone doesn’t want to see you succeed. Everyone is not on your side. You can’t cast your pearls before hogs. They will not only trample on your dreams, but they will also trample on you. They may tell you that you aren’t smart enough. They may not think you are talented enough. It doesn't matter what they think. You have the greater One on the inside of you. You can do all things through Christ who strengthens you. Joseph made the mistake of casting his pearls before swine. He told his dreams to his family, and his brothers almost killed him and eventually sold him into slavery. Joseph had to overcome some hardships because he told the wrong people the vision that God shared with him. The dream eventually became a reality, but it is possible that he went through more than he should have. Be careful who you share your dreams with. Don’t cast your pearls before swine. 

#dreams #vcccharlotte #discernment #devotional #vision 

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | July 8th

📖 If we [freely] admit that we have sinned and confess our sins, He is faithful and just (true to His own nature and promises) and will forgive our sins [dismiss our lawlessness] and [continuously] cleanse us from all unrighteousness [everything not in conformity to His will in purpose, thought, and action]. —I John 1:9 AMPC

We have all missed the mark at some point. We all have said something we shouldn't have said and done things that we knew we should not have done. In short: we have all made mistakes and acted in ways in which we knew better. The good news is that God is a LOVING God. When we confess our sins, He is faithful to forgive us and to cleanse us from all wrongdoing. God promises to forget our sins and to act like the sin has never taken place when there is true repentance. God looks at the heart, and He knows our flaws. He is faithful to us! God is true to His compassionate nature. He will never condemn us for our past. As we walk with Him, we know that our latter end will be greater than our former. 

#lovingGod #compassion #devotional #vcccharlotte

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | July 7th

📖 Because the Lord God helps me, I will not be dismayed; therefore, I have set my face like flint to do his will, and I know that I will triumph. —Isaiah 50:7 The Living Bible

Our confidence should always be in God. When we know who is on our side and who has our back, it should be difficult for us to live in a state of worry or dismay. We can be like Jesus. We can set our faces like a flint, knowing that we will triumph. Paul even said, “now thanks be unto God who always causes us to triumph in Christ” (2 Corinthians 2:14). We can “set our faces”, regardless of the circumstances. We can gain confidence in the fact that God will never leave us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5). When God helps you, you can’t help but win. We are not only winners, but we are also more than conquerors through Him that loves us (Romans 8:37).

#winners #conquerors #devotional #Godfidence 

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | July 5th

📖 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 | July 4th

📖 Unless Your law had been my delight, I would have perished in my affliction. I will never forget Your precepts, [how can I?] for it is by them You have quickened me (granted me life). —Psalm 119:92-93 AMPC

We must never neglect the Word of God. When we feed on the Word, it strengthens, nourishes, and empowers us. It keeps our spirit strong so that we can overcome every weapon the enemy throws our way. The Word will bring life to a seemingly dead situation. Jesus said, “The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life (John 6:63)”. Jesus came that we might have life and have it more abundantly, and He was the Word Incarnate. Embrace the Word. Study the Word. Meditate the Word. An encounter with the Word is an encounter with life. His life will change yours.  

#strength #dailydevotional #vcccharlotte #theWord #life

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | July 3rd

📖 I wrote you in my [previous] letter not to associate [closely and habitually] with unchaste (impure) people—

Not [meaning of course that you must] altogether shun the immoral people of this world, or the greedy graspers and cheats and thieves or idolaters, since otherwise you would need to get out of the world and human society altogether! 

But now I write to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of [Christian] brother if he is known to be guilty of immorality or greed, or is an idolater [whose soul is devoted to any object that usurps the place of God], or is a person with a foul tongue [railing, abusing, reviling, slandering], or is a drunkard or a swindler or a robber. [No] you must not so much as eat with such a person. 
—I Corinthians 5:9-11 AMPC 

Your associations can determine your destiny. If you hang around losers, you might become one. If you hang around winners, you might become one as well. We don’t want to associate closely and habitually with immoral and impure people. Their ways may rub off on you. We know that no matter where we look, we will see the ungodly, but we don’t have to make them our best friends. Paul goes as far as to say don’t even eat with those types of people. Galatians 5:9 tells us that, “A little leaven (a slight inclination to error, or a few false teachers) leavens the whole lump [it perverts the whole conception of faith or misleads the whole church]”. The Bible also tells us that “evil communication corrupts good manners”. Let’s stay free from the influence of the world. Let’s do what the Word tells us to do: So, come out from among [unbelievers], and separate (sever) yourselves from them, says the Lord, and touch not [any] unclean thing; then I will receive you kindly and treat you with favor. (2 Corinthians 6:17) 

#Godlyinfluences #vcccharlotte #purity #devotional  

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | July 2nd

📖 Strip yourselves of your former nature [put off and discard your old unrenewed self] which characterized your previous manner of life and becomes corrupt through lusts and desires that spring from delusion; 

And be constantly renewed in the spirit of your mind [having a fresh mental and spiritual attitude], 

And put on the new nature (the regenerate self) created in God’s image, [Godlike] in true righteousness and holiness. 
—Ephesians 4:22-24 AMPC 

When God sets us free; He expects us to stay free. We are to strip ourselves of our former nature and walk in the new nature that is on the inside of us. Our mindset should change. We should no longer think like the world. Our thinking should be in line with the Word of God. We should walk in holiness and consecrate our lives to God because He paid the ultimate price for us through the Blood of His Son. The very least we can do is to live for Him. We owe Him our lives. We should endeavor to increase our knowledge of God so that we can be transformed by the renewing of our mind. We increase our knowledge of Him, so that we can be transformed into His image. With all that God has done for us, why shouldn’t we live for Him. 

#liveforGod #renewyourmind #victory #devotional

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | July 1st

📖 The Lord will work out his plans for my life—for your loving-kindness, Lord, continues forever. —Psalms 138:8 The Living Bible

God knows where we are supposed to be, and when we are supposed to be there. He knows which doors to open and which doors to close. He can coordinate encounters with people that can help us as we navigate our path. As we walk with God, we can trust that He will remove barriers and obstacles. He will go before us and make the crooked places straight. The Lord will work out his plans for our lives. When we believe that, it will remove stress. It will take pressure off us. Depending on Him will cause us to enter a state of rest. Faith rests. Faith trusts. Are you in faith today? 

#walkwithGod #devotional #vcccharlotte #God’splan #restinHim

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | June 30th

📖 Grace and spiritual blessing be to you and [soul] peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah), Who gave (yielded) Himself up [to atone] for our sins [and to save and sanctify us], in order to rescue and deliver us from this present wicked age and world order, in accordance with the will and purpose and plan of our God and Father. —Galatians 1:3-4 AMPC

Jesus came to deliver and set us free from this wicked present age. Satan is the god of this world (2 Cor. 4:4) and the whole world is under his influence (Eph.2: 3-4). The world is subject to the effects of the curse that is in the earth. The curse is the direct cause of sickness, disease, poverty, and death. The curse is the direct result of all the calamities that mankind faces. Jesus came into the earth and went to the cross so that we can be delivered from the curse. Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law (Galatians 3:13). God expects us to walk in victory. He expects us to take His Word and overcome the effects of the curse. We can overcome all the obstacles and challenges in our lives because Greater is He that is in us than he that is in the world. What a mighty God we serve! 

#vcccharlotte #devotional #MightyGod #freefromthecurse

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | June 28th

📖 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

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | June 27th

📖 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

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | June 26th

📖 And they kept bringing young children to Him that He might touch them, and the disciples were reproving them [for it]. 

But when Jesus saw [it], He was indignant and pained and said to them, Allow the children to come to Me—do not forbid or prevent or hinder them—for to such belongs the kingdom of God. 

Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive and accept and welcome the kingdom of God like a little child [does] positively shall not enter it at all. 

And He took them [the children up one by one] in His arms and [fervently invoked a] blessing, placing His hands upon them. 
—Mark 10: 13-16 AMPC 

God cares about children. Children represent the next generation. God instructed His people to diligently teach the children His laws. God is a generational God. He knows and understands the importance of children. Judges 2:10 tells us, “And also all that generation were gathered to their fathers, and there arose another generation after them who did not know (recognize, understand) the Lord, or even the work which He had done for Israel.” Israel had failed to teach the children the precepts and the laws of God. That generation did not know God. We must not allow that to be said about the next generation in our lifetime. We must love our children the way God does. Let’s do what we can to give God another generation. Taking them to church, teaching them the Bible, taking them to Sunday School and getting them involved in ministry is a great way to expose our children to the anointing. We must do our part. Let’s continue to give God another generation. 

#generations #vcccharlotte #children #devotional 

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | June 25th

📖 One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision and told him, “Don’t be afraid! Speak out! Don’t quit! For I am with you and no one can harm you. Many people here in this city belong to me.” —Acts 18:9-10 The Living Bible

When God sends you, He equips you. He not only equips you, but He assists you. He makes available His vast resources and His protection. It doesn’t matter where He sends you, He will take care of you. Like Paul, if God is with you, no one can harm you. If God is with you, no one can stop you. If God is with you, no obstacle can stand in your way. God has people everywhere. He has people that are ready to heed His every command. There are people ready to give their time, resources, and finances. God knows where they are, and He knows how to bring them across your path. No matter how rough it gets, don’t quit. God’s got you. 

#vcccharlotte #Godsgotus #devotional #motivation

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