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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | August 16th

📖 Thus says the Lord God: In the day that I cleanse you from all your iniquities I will [also] cause [Israel’s] cities to be inhabited, and the waste places shall be rebuilt. 

And the desolate land shall be tilled, that which had lain desolate in the sight of all who passed by. 

And they shall say, This land that was desolate has become like the garden of Eden, and the waste and desolate and ruined cities are fortified and inhabited. 

Then the nations that are left round about you shall know that I the Lord have rebuilt the ruined places and replanted that which was desolate. I the Lord have spoken it, and I will do it. 
—Ezekiel 36:33-36 AMPC 

God is a God of restoration. He knows how to turn our lives around, regardless of how bad of shape that it may currently be in. God turned the captivity of Job and gave him twice as much. In the text, God was saying that He would rebuild Israel’s cities. He would also make the desolate land look like the Garden of Eden. Your life may be in shambles, but God can turn it around. God can turn your wilderness into the Garden of Eden. God can restore your health, your finances, your family, whatever might need to be restored, God can do it! Let’s not limit God in our believing. He is able to do exceedingly, abundantly above all that we ask or think. 

#trustGod #restoration #devotional #encouragement #vcccharlotte 

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | August 15th

📖 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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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | August 14th

📖 Dear friends, never avenge yourselves. Leave that to God, for he has said that he will repay those who deserve it. Don’t take the law into your own hands. Instead, feed your enemy if he is hungry. If he is thirsty give him something to drink and you will be “heaping coals of fire on his head.” In other words, he will feel ashamed of himself for what he has done to you.  Don’t let evil get the upper hand, but conquer evil by doing good. 
—Romans 12:19-21 The Living Bible 

We have all been mistreated at some point in our lives. Someone may have lied on you. Someone may have started a rumor about you. Maybe someone was gossiping about you, and they were giving out incorrect information. In times like those, you might want to lash out. You might want to “get them told”. You may want to simply defend yourself against slander. The best thing for us to do is to leave that into God’s hands. The Bible instructs us to never avenge ourselves. Many times, we want to do the opposite. We not only want to avenge ourselves, but we want others to know how we have been mistreated. We cannot allow evil to get the upper hand. We must conquer evil by doing good. We must forgive, and we must walk in love. If our enemy is hungry, we can feed them. If they are thirsty, we can give them something to drink. We don’t have to mistreat others because we have been mistreated. That is not a demonstration of the love of God. We must allow the love of God to be shed abroad in our hearts. We must be like our Father in heaven. We must love the unlovable. We must be kind to the unkind. We must overcome evil with good. 

#loveofGod #devotional #forgiveness #vengenceisminesaystheLord 

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | August 13th

📖 The fundamental fact of existence is that this trust in God, this faith, is the firm foundation under everything that makes life worth living. It’s our handle on what we can’t see. The act of faith is what distinguished our ancestors, set them above the crowd. —Hebrews 11:1-2 The Message 

Our faith in God is the foundation under everything that makes life worth living. God has given us the measure of faith, that when developed, will overcome everything that is negative in this world. Faith in God is simply faith in His Word. Our confidence in God’s Word and His integrity will cause us to be set above the crowd. It will cause us to be the head and not the tail, above only and not beneath. Faith will cause you to experience what others do not. Learning to trust God causes our lives to be worth living. Confidence in God’s Word will cause us to live a life that would not be possible in the natural. It is our faith in God that will always cause us to triumph. It is that type of confidence that allows God to do exceedingly, abundantly above all that we could ever ask or think. Now that is a life that is truly worth living. 

#faithinGodv#vccharlotte #foundation #devotional  

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | August 12th

📖 Now look at me: God has kept me alive, as he promised. It is now forty-five years since God spoke this word to Moses, years in which Israel wandered in the wilderness. And here I am today, eighty-five years old! I’m as strong as I was the day Moses sent me out. I’m as strong as ever in battle, whether coming or going. So give me this hill country that God promised me. You yourself heard the report, that the Anakim were there with their great fortress cities. If God goes with me, I will drive them out, just as God said.” 
⎯Joshua 14:10-12 Message

Caleb was one of the original twelve spies that were chosen to spy out the Promised Land. He and Joshua brought back a good report. They believed that the Israelites could take the Promised Land. The other ten spies did not believe that they were able to take the land. God told Joshua and Caleb that they would enter the Promised Land because of what they believed. Forty-five years had passed, and Caleb still believed the same thing. He wasn’t moved by how long it had been. He was still as strong as he was forty-five years earlier. He did not give up on what God had promised him. We must have the same determination. It doesn’t matter what it looks like, we must stand on God’s Word regardless of how long it takes. We know that it’s just a matter of time before God comes through. As one minister put it, “if you’re willing to stand forever, it won’t take that long”. 

#standtall #trustGod #devotional #vcccharlotte  

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | August 11th

📖 Be strong and courageous, be not afraid nor dismayed for the king of Assyria, nor for all the multitude that is with him: for there be more with us than 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 rested themselves upon the words of Hezekiah king of Judah. 
—2 Chronicles 32:7-8 KJV

Hezekiah was admonishing the people of Israel. Sennacherib was threatening to attack the nation of Israel, and he had been experiencing victory after victory. Hezekiah was not afraid. He knew that God would fight for them. He told the people not to be afraid because of who was for them. He knew that God would fight for them. The people rested on those promises.  

When we hear from God or when we are standing on a promise that is found in the Word of God, we must rest on what God has said. Faith without rest is unbelief. Fatih and fear cannot stay in the same house. When you're in fear, you can sometimes find yourself immersed in worry. When you're in faith, you rest. You know that God is going to take care of it, so there is no use in worrying about it. Rest and praise are indicators that you are in faith and that you are taking God at His Word. They are statements to the devil and to your circumstances that a change is on the horizon. 

#rest #noworries #vcccharlotte #GodAlmighty

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | August 9th

📖 But at the close of his life, Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, went into partnership with Ahaziah, king of Israel, who was a very wicked man.

They made ships in Ezion-geber to sail to Tarshish.

Then Eliezer, son of Dodavahu from Mareshah, prophesied against Jehoshaphat, telling him, “Because you have allied yourself with King Ahaziah, the Lord has destroyed your work.” So the ships met disaster and never arrived at Tarshish. 
—II Chronicles 20:35-37 The Living Bible

Our associations are important. The latter part of Proverbs 13:20 tells us, “A companion of fools shall be destroyed”. This is what took place in Jehoshaphat’s life. He got into a partnership with Ahaziah, a wicked king. God destroyed their work because he allied himself with this king. We must be aware of our associations. The Word of God tells us that evil communications corrupt good manners (I Corinthians 15:33). Paul tells us in II Corinthians 6:14, “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers”. We are to be the light of the world⎯we are not to be the world. We are to stand out! There is supposed to be a difference between the believer and the unbeliever. Let's take our place as ambassadors of the Lord Jesus Christ. We have to interact with the world, but we don’t have to become the world. Be careful of your associations, they can bring blessings, or they can bring disaster. The choice is yours. 

#blessings #associations #devotional #verseoftheday #wednesdaywisdom #trustGod

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | August 8th

📖 And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell; but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. —Joshua 24:15 AMPC 

Joshua is letting the people know that it doesn’t really matter who they choose to serve. He had already made up his mind that he and his household would serve the Lord. As believers, we must make that same commitment. God desires for our families to serve Him. The angel told Cornelius to ask for a man named Peter, who would explain how he and his household could be saved (Acts 11:13-15). We must have the same attitude. Not only will we serve God, but our children and their children should too. God is a generational God. He desires to walk with each generation. He was called the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. God put marriage in place so that He would have godly seed. God is always concerned about having a generation that will serve Him; we should be the same. Whatever concerns God should concern us. 

#Jehovah #Bible #devotional #family #vcccharlotte #familyfirst #Godfirst

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | August 7th

📖 And Moses answered, But behold, they will not believe me or listen to and obey my voice; for they will say, The Lord has not appeared to you. 

And the Lord said to him, What is that in your hand? And he said, A rod. 

And He said, Cast it on the ground. And he did so and it became a serpent [the symbol of royal and divine power worn on the crown of the Pharaohs]; and Moses fled from before it. 

And the Lord said to Moses, Put forth your hand and take it by the tail. And he stretched out his hand and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand, 

[This you shall do, said the Lord] that the elders may believe that the Lord, the God of their fathers, of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, has indeed appeared to you. 
—Exodus 4:1-5 AMPC 

We must learn to trust God in secret before He uses us publicly. Moses had to learn how to trust God in private before he could represent Him publicly. Before Moses could declare the next plague that would hit Egypt, he had to demonstrate obedience when no one was around. He had to trust that his rod would turn into a snake and then back into a rod again. He had to trust that the leprosy would leave his hand once he placed his hand back into his pocket. Moses had to learn obedience when no one was looking so that he would do what God told him to do when the whole world was watching. We cannot despise the day of small beginnings. We must learn to trust God in the smaller things before we are able to move on to bigger things. Faith is walking with God. The longer we walk with God, the bigger our faith should become. We go from faith to faith, glory to glory. 

#trustinGod #vcccharlotte #obedience #devotional #faith 

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | August 6th

📖 Now in the synagogue there was a man who was possessed by the foul spirit of a demon; and he cried out with a loud (deep, terrible) cry, 

Ah, let us alone! What have You to do with us [What have we in common], Jesus of Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us? I know Who You are—the Holy One of God! 

But Jesus rebuked him, saying, Be silent (muzzled, gagged), and come out of him! And when the demon had thrown the man down in their midst, he came out of him without injuring him in any possible way.

And they were all amazed and said to one another, What kind of talk is this? For with authority and power He commands the foul spirits and they come out! 
—Luke 4:33-36 AMPC

Jesus is our example. He never feared the devil. He never feared any demon. Jesus knew who He was and what belonged to Him. He walked in authority and spoke with authority. He knew that the devil was subject to Him. We have been delegated the same authority, and God expects us to walk in it. He does not expect us to run from the devil; the devil is supposed to run from us. He expects us to experience the same results that Jesus did when He was on the earth. We are in the same family as Jesus. We have the same Father. We have the same authority. We should expect the same victory, every time.  

#iamvictory #JesusChrist #devotional #familyofGod

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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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