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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | August 5th

📖 And God saw everything that He had made, and behold, it was very good (suitable, pleasant) and He approved it completely. And there was evening and there was morning, a sixth day. —Genesis 1:31 AMPC 

After God finished his six days of creation, He looked at everything that He had made, and He approved it completely. One version says that He looked at “everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good (KJV)”. There was no sickness or disease in the earth when God originally created it. There was no sin, and there was no curse. Everything He made was good and He approved of it.  
 
God has not changed. The Bible even tells us that God “takes pleasure in the prosperity of His servant (Psalm 35:27).” God delights in our prosperity. He wishes above all things that we prosper and be in good health, even as our soul prospers (III John 2). Jesus even said that He came that we might have life and have it more abundantly (John 10:10). If there are things in your life that aren’t “good,” God has given you the ability to change it. He has given you authority, His Word, and faith to overcome. Don’t continue to settle for anything but God’s best for your life. God’s will is for you to flourish and to thrive. It always has been, and it always will be. 

#prosperity #creation #dailydevotional #Bible #vcccharlotte 

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | August 4th

📖 Now when the time was approaching for Him to be taken up [to heaven], He was determined to go to Jerusalem [to fulfill His purpose]. —Luke 9:51 AMP

Just like Jesus, there comes times in our lives where we must be determined to fulfill whatever God has set before us. Jesus would not let anything distract him from fulfilling his purpose down here on earth. There are so many distractions in our day that would take our focus away from our mission. We must be like Jesus in our attitude and mindset when it comes to the high calling God has for us. We must fight to stay locked into that which God has placed before us. Let us continue to pursue the divine destiny God has for us. 

#Divinedestiny #devotional #Inpursuit #vcccharlotte 

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | August 2nd

📖 Jesus knew what the Pharisees were planning. So he left that place, and many people followed him. He healed all who were sick, —Matthew 12:15 ERV

Jesus was aware that the Pharisees were meeting to figure out how to destroy Him. He didn’t complain. He didn’t cry. He didn’t ask “Why me God”? He simply left that place and continued to do what He was sent to do. He didn’t allow the plot and schemes of the enemy to deter Him from His mission. He continued on his journey to heal all who were sick. Jesus was a man of focus. He was a man of discipline. It didn’t matter what went on in His life, He never deviated from His purpose. We must do the same. We must not deviate from our purpose. No matter what happens in our lives, we must stay focused! 

#Ourmission #devotional #Donotdeviate #vcccharlotte #Ourpurpose

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | August 1st

📖 But you, beloved, build yourselves up [founded] on your most holy faith [make progress, rise like an edifice higher and higher], praying in the Holy Spirit; —Jude 20 AMPC

God wants us to go higher and higher. He wants there to be progress in our lives. God not only desires for us to make progress, but He has provided the means by which we can go to another level in life. When we pray in the Holy Spirit, and when we pray using our prayer language, we are making progress in the Spirit. We are praying out mysteries (I Corinthians 14:2) and we know that all things are working together for our good because the Spirit of God is praying through us the perfect will of God (Romans 8:26-28). Praying with our intellect can be beneficial, but it is limited. When we pray in our heavenly language, the Spirit of God comes to our aid and assists us in our prayers, especially when we don’t know what to pray with our intellect. Jesus sent the Holy Spirit of God into the earth to be our Helper. When we allow Him to help, we can expect our lives to improve and get better. We can expect to make progress and rise like an edifice. We should be going higher and higher.

#HolySpirit #devotional #pray #prayerlanguage #verseoftheday #vcccharlotte

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | July 31st

📖 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 AMPC 

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 | July 30th

📖 For which of you, wishing to build a farm building, does not first sit down and calculate the cost [to see] whether he has sufficient means to finish it? 

Otherwise, when he has laid the foundation and is unable to complete [the building], all who see it will begin to mock and jeer at him, 

Saying, This man began to build and was not able (worth enough) to finish. 
—Luke 14:28-30 AMPC

Before we make any major decisions in life, we must count the cost. Before you build something, you must count the cost so that you can finish the project. Before you change jobs, you must count the cost. Before you get into a relationship, you must count the cost. We must be thorough thinkers. As we contemplate what decision to make, we must look at things from every angle and allow the Spirit of God to show us things that we may not have seen. When we yield to the leadership of the Spirit of God, we follow His lead knowing that He would not lead us astray. He would not lead us down the wrong path. We put our trust in Him, we will never be put to shame or disappointed in our expectations.  

#theLordismyshepherd #countthecost #devotional #vcccharlotte

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | July 29th

📖 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 tells 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 know 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

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | July 28th

📖 And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end, that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises. —Hebrews 6:11-12 NKJV

God desires for us to experience the manifestation of His promises in our lives. Which manifest through faith and patience. Faith gives substance to the things we are hoping for. Patience keeps the door open while faith does its work. One minister referred to them (faith and patience) as the power twins. Faith must be developed over time. This is where patience kicks in. The Bible tells us that “as long as the earth remains, there will be seed, time, and harvest” (Genesis 8:22). You don’t plant a seed today and reap the harvest tomorrow. It's the same with the promises of God. You sow the seed of the Word of God, protect it, and eventually you will see the reality (or harvest) of the promise. We can experience the fulfillment of the promise of God, we simply cannot be sluggish. Attaining the promises requires diligence and imitation. We are to imitate those who through faith and patience, inherited the promises. 

#vcccharlotte #manifestation #devotional #Hispromises #imitation

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | July 26th

📖 The very day I call for help, the tide of battle turns. My enemies flee! This one thing I know: God is for me!  I am trusting God—oh, praise his promises! I am not afraid of anything mere man can do to me! Yes, praise his promises.  I will surely do what I have promised, Lord, and thank you for your help. For you have saved me from death and my feet from slipping, so that I can walk before the Lord in the land of the living. 
—Psalm 56:9-13 The Living Bible

When God steps in on the scene, your enemies are in trouble. The battle has turned. It doesn’t matter what it looks like, victory is inevitable. We serve a God who is undefeated. Your battle will not be His first loss! The devil will talk but let him talk. He may tell you that you are going under, remember he’s a liar. He will huff and puff, but he can’t blow your house down. You will have what God has promised, if you don’t get weary. God is not a man that He should lie. The Lord will help you so that you can walk before Him in the land of the living. Don’t give up, your breakthrough is on the way! 

#God’spromises #vcccharlotte #trustintheLord #devotional

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | July 25th

📖 I said in my heart, God will judge the righteous and the wicked, for there is a time [appointed] for every matter and purpose and for every work. —Ecclesiastes 3:17 AMPC

“There is a time appointed for every matter and purpose and for every work.” Many times, we emphasize finding the will of God for our lives. It is important for us to know what we were put on this earth to do. Even though that is key, it is also important for us to get the right timing. When are we supposed to start that business? When do we pursue that degree? When do we get married? When do we purchase a home? God has a timing for the major events in our lives and we must stay in tune with Heaven so that we don’t miss God’s timing. God wants to lead and guide us in every area of our lives, including God’s timing. Our success is not only in finding the will of God but also knowing His timing. There was a timing to Jesus coming to the earth. There was a timing concerning Moses and the delivery of the Israelites. There was always a timing to the major events in the Bible and there is a timing to the major events for our lives. You want to walk in God’s best, walk in God’s timing.

#vcccharlotte #God’stiming #devotional #listen #intune

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | July 24th

📖 I will not talk with you much more, for the prince (evil genius, ruler) of the world is coming. And he has no claim on Me. [He has nothing in common with Me; there is nothing in Me that belongs to him, and he has no power over Me.] —John 14:3 AMPC    

When we make Jesus Christ the lord of our lives, Satan no longer has any claim on us. He is the god (ruler) of this world, but he is no longer the ruler over our lives. There is nothing in us that belongs to him, and he has no power over us. When Satan continues to wreak havoc in our lives, many times it is because we are ignorant of God’s Word. We don’t realize that we are now his masters. He is subject to us because we have been given dominion over him. We are heirs of God and joint heirs with Jesus Christ. We have just as much dominion over the devil as Jesus. Let’s walk in a greater revelation of who we are and what belongs to us. We have been given the power to trample on serpents, scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt us. (Luke 10:19). 

#poweroverthedevil #vcccharlotte #devotional

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | July 23rd

📖 But be doers of the Word [obey the message], and not merely listeners to it, betraying yourselves [into deception by reasoning contrary to the Truth]. 

For if anyone only listens to the Word without obeying it and being a doer of it, he is like a man who looks carefully at his [own] natural face in a mirror; 

For he thoughtfully observes himself, and then goes off and promptly forgets what he was like. 

But he who looks carefully into the faultless law, the [law] of liberty, and is faithful to it and perseveres in looking into it, being not a heedless listener who forgets but an active doer [who obeys], he shall be blessed in his doing (his life of obedience). 
—James 1:22-25 AMPC   

The Word of God is the key to our success. Success comes as we are doers of the Word and not hearers only. Many believers hear the Word of God. They hear it preached as they attend church services on Sundays and even during the week. There are benefits to hearing the Word. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. But hearing is not enough. We must be doers of the Word. We must put into practice what we hear week after week. In verse twenty-five, the Bible tells us that the active doer shall be blessed in his doing. That verse also tells us to be faithful and to persevere into looking at the Word of God. We must focus on the Word instead of our circumstances. The Word of God will change every negative circumstance in our lives. Circumstances may change, but the Word of God will always be the same. It is like Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today, and forever.  

#success #vcccharlotte #hearersanddoers #devotional #WordofGod  

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | July 22nd

📖 Be careful what you think [ Above all that you guard, protect your heart], because ·your thoughts run your life [life flows from it]. —Proverbs 4:23 The Expanded Bible  

Guard your mind and guard your heart. It has been said that “your life goes in the direction of your most dominate thoughts”. This is one reason why we must be careful what we think about. We don’t want negative thoughts to infiltrate our hearts. If we allow those negative thoughts to get into our hearts eventually, we will start to speak those thoughts and we will have what we say. (Mark 11:23) The mouth will speak whatever the heart is full of (Luke 6:45). As believers, we walk by faith and not by sight or appearance (II Corinthians 5:7). We keep our eyes on the Word and not on what we see in this natural world. God’s Word will change what we see. We must get His Word on our minds and in our hearts. Guard your mind and your heart. If it doesn’t line up with the Word don’t think about it. We should do what Philippians 4:8 says: For the rest, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is worthy of reverence and is honorable and seemly, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely and lovable, whatever is kind and winsome and gracious, if there is any virtue and excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think on and weigh and take account of these things [fix your minds on them]. 

#protectyourmind #vcccharlotte #protectyourheart #devotional  

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | July 21st

📖 Don’t be in any rush to become a teacher, my friends. Teaching is highly responsible work. Teachers are held to the strictest standards. And none of us is perfectly qualified. We get it wrong nearly every time we open our mouths. If you could find someone whose speech was perfectly true, you’d have a perfect person, in perfect control of life. 
—James 3:1-2 The Message

One area of our lives that we must constantly stay on top of are the words of our mouths. According to James, if you want to be a perfect person, you must have perfect speech. None of us have arrived in this area, but it is something that we can improve on at all times. We can improve our reactions when we receive a bad report. We can be like Jairus when he received a bad report in reference to his daughter. He said nothing. He had already said what he desired when he approached Jesus, and he said nothing else. His discipline with his words allowed him to see the miraculous. He saw Jesus raise his daughter from the dead. If you want to stay in control of your life, you must stay in control of your words. You show me a person whose life is out of control, and there is a strong possibility that their words helped them to get to that place. When the devil attacks, watch your mouth. When life gets tough, watch your words. God has given us a means in which we can maintain control of our lives, even through difficult times. If you can stay in control of your words, you can stay in control of your life. 

#control #vcccharlotte #watchyourwords #devotional

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | July 19th

📖 When the Woman saw that the tree looked like good eating and realized what she would get out of it—she’d know everything!—she took and ate the fruit and then gave some to her husband, and he ate.

Immediately the two of them did “see what’s really going on”—saw themselves naked! They sewed fig leaves together as makeshift clothes for themselves. 

When they heard the sound of God strolling in the garden in the evening breeze, the Man and his Wife hid in the trees of the garden, hid from God. 

—Genesis 3:6-8 The Message  

If you sin, don’t run from God, run to God. If you miss the mark, don’t hide from God, talk to God. God doesn’t want to beat you over the head because you messed up. He wants to restore you. He wants to re-establish you and place you in right standing with Him. The Bible tells us that when we sin, we should confess our sin. When we do, God is faithful and just to forgive us of our sin and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (I John 1:9). Satan is the accuser of the brethren (Revelation 12:10). He is the condemner. He wants to remind you of your sin. He wants you to develop a sin consciousness. That’s not God. God is a God of mercy and grace. He wants to cleanse you of that sin. He doesn’t even remember it once you have confessed it. Sin doesn’t have to separate you from God. Don’t make sin a lifestyle. Confess it and get rid of it. You are the righteousness of God. Don’t allow sin to have dominion over you. You overcome it. You overcome it by the Blood of the Lamb and the Word of your testimony.   

#runtoGod #vcccharlotte #talktoHim #devotional #overcomer 

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | July 18th

📖 Long ago when the Israelis escaped from Egypt, from that land of foreign tongue, then the lands of Judah and of Israel became God’s new home and kingdom.

The Red Sea saw them coming and quickly broke apart before them. The Jordan River opened up a path for them to cross. The mountains skipped like rams, the little hills like lambs! What’s wrong, Red Sea, that made you cut yourself in two? What happened, Jordan River, to your waters? Why were they held back? Why, mountains, did you skip like rams? Why, little hills, like lambs?

Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord, the God of Jacob. For he caused gushing streams to burst from flinty rock. —Psalm 114 The Living Bible

No obstacle can stand in the way of an individual who walks with God. The Red Sea, the mountains, and the Jordan River all fled from the Lord. We know that this Psalm is more figurative than literal, (except the Red Sea and the Jordan River), but the point remains the same. God will remove kings for our sakes. He will bring down the mighty, if needed. He will go before us and make the crooked places straight. There is nothing that can hinder us or stop us with almighty God beside us. A man of God once said that if “Godzilla, Rodan, and Mothra were walking down the street with us, we would have no fear because of who was walking with us”. Well, we have one mightier than a few Hollywood monsters walking with us. We have the Creator of the universe with us. Fear needs to be a thing of the past. If God be for us, who can be against us? 

#havenofear #LetGod #devotional #vcccharlotte #walkwithGod

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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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