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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | October 1st

📖 And it is a good thing to receive wealth from God and the good health to enjoy it. To enjoy your work and accept your lot in life—this is indeed a gift from God. 
—Ecclesiastes 5:19 The New Living Translation   

Did you notice in this Scripture what a gift from God looks like? It doesn’t say that poverty and lack is a gift from God. It doesn’t say that sickness is a gift from God. Wealth and health are the examples given of what a gift from God looks like. This Scripture sounds like James 1:17, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights”. God is a good God. All throughout the Word of God we see the Word of God portray God as a good Father who wants to bless His children with good things. He takes pleasure in the prosperity of His servants (Psalms 35:27). He gives us the power to get wealth (Deuteronomy 8:18). Jesus even told us that it was His Father’s good pleasure to give us the kingdom (Luke 12:32). Jesus also told us to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things (clothes, food, provision, etc.) will be added to us (Matthew 6:33). Let us never lose sight of this fact: God is a good God, and the devil is a bad devil.  

#giftfromGod #vcccharlotte #prosperity #devotional  

 

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | September 30th

📖 This is that Moses who said to the children of Israel, ‘The Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your brethren. Him you shall hear.’

“This is he who was in the congregation in the wilderness with the Angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai, and with our fathers, the one who received the living oracles to give to us,

whom our fathers would not obey, but rejected. And in their hearts they turned back to Egypt,

saying to Aaron, ‘Make us gods to go before us; as for this Moses who brought us out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.’
—Acts 7:37-40 NKJV

We must protect our hearts. We must guard our minds. Despite seeing the miracles of God, the Israelites allowed their hearts to be turned back to Egypt. They did not remember the bondage. They did not remember the turmoil or the mistreatment. Instead of waiting on God’s plan to develop, they went back to what was familiar, even when the familiar wasn’t good for them. When we make Jesus the Lord of our lives, we must turn our backs on the world. Satan will attempt to lure us back. Satan will try to bring up all the fun you had, and he will do everything he can to get a foothold back into your life. We cannot allow that. We must stay the course and continue to walk with God. We cannot allow ourselves to be contaminated by the world. If we will stay in the Word and fellowship with God, that won’t happen. We must remember that we are pilgrims that are just passing through. Our citizenship is in heaven.

#Heavenbound #protectyourheart #devotional #vcccharlotte

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | September 29th

📖 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 | September 27th

📖 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 | September 26th

📖 So then, dear family, stand firm with a masterful grip of the teachings we have you, either by word of mouth or by our letter. —2 Thessalonians 2:15 The Passion Translation  

When life gets hard, keep a masterful grip on the Word of God. When obstacles come our way, we must hold on to the Word of God. The Word of God is the source of our success. The devil wants to steal the Word from our hearts. He knows that the Word is what will overcome him. The Word is what will cause us to be victorious every time he comes against us. Many times, the enemy will try to cause havoc in our lives so that we will let go of the promises of God. The enemy will stir up so much trouble that if we aren’t careful; we may give up on the Word and mistakenly say “this stuff doesn’t work”. We cannot give up on the Word. We cannot get weary in well doing because we will reap if we don’t faint. No matter what you’re going through, stand firm on the Word. Hold on to the Word. God will always honor His Word in our lives. He is alert and active and watching over His Word to perform it. No matter what it looks like, keep a grip on the Word. If we will keep the Word in our hearts and not let it go, the Word will grow, and it will prevail. (Acts 19:20)  

#TheWord #vcccharlotte #OurSource #devotional  

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | September 25th

📖 Seek, inquire of and for the Lord, and crave Him and His strength (His might and inflexibility to temptation); seek and require His face and His presence [continually] evermore. 

[Earnestly] remember the marvelous deeds that He has done, His miracles and wonders, the judgments and sentences which He pronounced [upon His enemies, as in Egypt]. 

He is [earnestly] mindful of His covenant and forever it is imprinted on His heart, the word which He commanded and established to a thousand generations, 
—Psalm 105: 4-5; 8 AMPC 

We serve a covenant keeping God. He is a God of miracles. He is willing to do signs and wonders on our behalf in order to honor His covenant in our lives. That could be the reason the people were told to remember all the marvelous deeds that God had done on their behalf. He did it to honor His covenant. He did it out of His love for His people. We ought to seek the Lord. We should crave Him and His strength. Our relationship with God will enable us to believe and trust in God, especially when times get difficult. God is ever mindful of His covenant. He promised to never leave us nor forsake us. He even promised to reward those who diligently seek Him. Our expectations should go through the roof when we consider Who God is and what God can do. He is earnestly mindful of His covenant and ready to act on it on our behalf. What a privilege it is to be in the household of faith. 

#vcccharlotte #covenant #devotional #householdoffaith 

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | September 24th

📖 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 | September 23rd

📖 “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. —Matthew 6:31-33 ESV 

Worry is such a major issue in many people’s lives today. They are worried about their finances, their jobs, providing for their family, etc. We have a God who has promised to take good care of us. There are no benefits to being anxious and worrying about tomorrow. We as Christians must put our trust in God by seeking His kingdom first. As we are pursuing the things of God, He will take care of our every need. We don’t have to fret like the world does. We have the God that owns the cattle on a thousand hills. Let us seek first the Kingdom and his righteousness and watch God show himself to us as Jehovah Jireh (the Lord our Provider). 

#Godcares #donotworry #devotional #vcccharlotte #trustGod

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | September 22nd

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

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

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

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

#valuable #vcccharlotte #mindfulness #devotional

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | September 20th

📖 Beloved, do not imitate what is evil, but [imitate] what is good. The one who practices good [exhibiting godly character, moral courage and personal integrity] is of God; the one who practices [or permits or tolerates] evil has not seen God [he has no personal experience with Him and does not know Him at all]. 
—3 John 11 Amplified Bible 

As believers, we ought to demonstrate the characteristics of our Father. Our Father walks in integrity, we should walk in integrity. We should be known as people who keep our word. As Christians we should be people of godly character. We are not people who practice evil. One cannot help but assume that the person who practices evil has not had an experience with God. It is possible that they may not even know God. It is hard to be in His Presence and remain the same. When you are fellowshipping with God through prayer, on a regular basis, it changes you. When you are reading and studying His Word, that Word should be changing your mind and your conduct. We cannot imitate evil continually when we know Him. If we want to be changed, we must have the attitude that Paul had. We must want to know Him and the power of His resurrection. 

#godlycharacter #vcccharlotte #integrity #devotional

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | September 20th

📖 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 | September 19th

📖 It is true that we live in the world, but we do not fight from worldly motives. The weapons we use in our fight are not the world's weapons but God's powerful weapons, which we use to destroy strongholds. We destroy false arguments; we pull down every proud obstacle that is raised against the knowledge of God; we take every thought captive and make it obey Christ. —II Corinthians 10:3-5 GNT 

As believers, it is important for us to see things from a spiritual perspective. When we encounter situations and circumstances that are contrary, we must remind ourselves that our weapons are not carnal, but they are spiritual. We have the Name of Jesus, the Blood of Jesus, the Word of God, the Spirit of God, and the whole armor of God. These weapons are sufficient to combat the devil when he comes against us. We must fight the battle in the spiritual realm and in the mental realm. We must cast down imaginations and take every thought captive that goes against the Word of God. We do not want to give the enemy any place in our lives. Many times, he is granted access through our thoughts. Let's commit to KEEPING the devil out of our lives. We win in the spirit and the mental realm, and when we win in those areas, we win in the natural realm too.

#spiritualwarfare #devotional #resistthedevil #motivation #vcccharlotte 

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | September 18th

📖 Jesus left Judea and started for Galilee again. This time he had to go through Samaria.. —John 4:3-4 CEV 

The Jewish people avoided going through Samaria because they disliked the Samaritans. The Samaritans were considered a “half-breed” because they had mixed Jewish and gentile blood. Jesus had to go through Samaria. God loves everyone and wanted the Samaritans to know the Messiah. Jesus encountered a woman at the well and after telling her all of her “business”, she went and told the town about the man she met at the well. Because of the woman’s encounter with Jesus, many in the village believed in Jesus. We must follow the leadership of the Holy Spirit, even when it seems uncomfortable. We must follow God when it goes against our thinking. God is smarter than us, and He knows the outcome if we will simply obey. Let’s get into a rhythm of obedience. Let’s hear and do. We must hear from God and do what He wants us to do. 

#obedience #vcccharlotte #followGod #devotional  

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | September 17th

📖 Elijah said to her, “Don’t worry about a thing. Go ahead and do what you’ve said. But first make a small biscuit for me and bring it back here. Then go ahead and make a meal from what’s left for you and your son. This is the word of the God of Israel: ‘The jar of flour will not run out and the bottle of oil will not become empty before God sends rain on the land and ends this drought.’” 

And she went right off and did it, did just as Elijah asked. And it turned out as he said—daily food for her and her family. The jar of meal didn’t run out and the bottle of oil didn’t become empty: God’s promise fulfilled to the letter, exactly as Elijah had delivered it! 

—I Kings 17: 13-16 The Message Bible 

When we act on the Word of God, we can trust that God’s promise will be fulfilled to the letter. Jesus said that “heaven and earth will pass away but my words shall not pass away” (Matthew 24:35). God’s Word is dependable, and He can be trusted. Sometimes, it may look a little scary. There are times when our minds may give us a hard time, but God always comes through, always. I am sure the widow was hesitant to obey the word of the Lord. She already had a plan, eat the little meal and die. The man of God had a better plan. He had a Word from God and that Word is what sustained the widow and her son, along with the prophet. They ate good in the middle of the famine. God’s Word works in good times and in bad times. God’s Word creates good times. Don’t be moved by circumstances. It does not matter what it looks like, God’s Word works. We walk by faith and not by sight. 

#God’sWord #vcccharlotte #theWordworks #devotional 

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | September 16th

📖 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 | September 15th

📖 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 | September 13th

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

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

#vcccharlotte #WeAreKings #devotional #Godslove

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | September 12th

📖 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 | September 11th

📖 When God made his promise to Abraham, he backed it all the way, putting his own reputation on the line. He said, “I promise that I’ll bless you with everything I have—bless and bless and bless!” Abraham stuck it out and got everything that had been promised to him. When people make promises, they guarantee them by appeal to some authority above them so that if there is any question that they’ll make good on the promise, the authority will back them up. When God wanted to guarantee his promises, he gave his word, a rock-solid guarantee—God can’t break his word. And because his word cannot change, the promise is likewise unchangeable. —Hebrews 6:13-18 The Message  

God wants us blessed! Isn’t that exciting? He desires that we prosper and be in health, even as our soul prospers. (III John 2) Many times we miss out on the Blessing because it seems like it is taking too long. Sometimes the devil may try to jump on our shoulders and whisper, “God won’t keep His Word this time”? The devil is a liar. God always keeps His Word. It is impossible for Him to lie. When you feel like giving up, think about Abraham. He stuck it out. He stuck it out and got everything that had been promised to him. We must be like Abraham. If we stick it out, we will get everything that we have been promised. Remember, God cannot break His Word.  

#blessings #vcccharlotte #Godspromises #devotional 

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | September 10th

📖 So, convinced by him, they took his advice; and summoning the apostles, they flogged them and sternly forbade them to speak in or about the name of Jesus, and allowed them to go. 

So they went out from the presence of the council (Sanhedrin), rejoicing that they were being counted worthy [dignified by the indignity] to suffer shame and be exposed to disgrace for [the sake of] His name. 

Yet [in spite of the threats] they never ceased for a single day, both in the temple area and at home, to teach and to proclaim the good news (Gospel) of Jesus [as] the Christ (the Messiah). 
—Acts 5:40-42 AMPC 

What would you do in this situation? Would you have cried the blues? Would you have complained? The apostles were doing the Lord’s work. They were healing the people and setting them free from demonic oppression. These men were beaten and told not to preach anymore in the Name of Jesus. The apostles were not a bunch of cowards. They were not pushovers. They were not moved by what happened to them. These men rejoiced even after they were flogged. They continued to teach and preach the Word of God after they were told not to. The apostles were committed to carrying out the Great Commission. They were committed to the cause of Christ. God should expect nothing less from us. We rejoice when we are persecuted. We live the life of a Christian, regardless of the cost. We are not moved by the threats of men. If God be for us, who can be against us? 

#committed #vcccharlotte #wearenotmoved #devotionals 

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