1 Comment

DAILY DEVOTIONAL | September 15th

📖 Cast your burden on the Lord [releasing the weight of it] and He will sustain you; He will never allow the [consistently] righteous to be moved (made to slip, fall, or fail). 
—Psalm 55:22 AMPC

We all have issues in life, and things that may trouble us. However, when we face these situations, we must cast our burdens on the Lord. We were not created to carry burdens and cares. When things seem like they are too much for us, it is not on us to try to figure out a solution. We are to give our problems to God and allow Him to take care of it. God is smarter than us. He is wiser than us. He has the solution to every problem. God wants us to live our lives care-free. It’s His desire to sustain us. When we release the weight of our problems to Him, we can expect Him to sustain us. We can never be moved when we look to God. When we release our issues to God, we know that He will not fail us. He told us that He would never leave us nor forsake us. That means we can expect victory every time. He will not let us fall. 

#iamvictory #dailydevotional #castyourburdens #vcccharlotte

1 Comment

2 Comments

DAILY DEVOTIONAL | September 14th

📖 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

2 Comments

Comment

DAILY DEVOTIONAL | September 12th

📖 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 AMPC 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 

Comment

1 Comment

DAILY DEVOTIONAL | September 11th

📖 Nor [was this gift of theirs merely the contribution] that we expected, but first they gave themselves to the Lord and to us [as His agents] by the will of God [entirely disregarding their personal interests, they gave as much as they possibly could, having put themselves at our disposal to be directed by the will of God] —2 Corinthians 8:5 AMPC 

Do you have the same attitude that these believers had? They gave themselves to the Lord, totally disregarding their personal interests. You know that can be difficult for a lot of believers. Many find it hard to disregard their personal interests. These believers were totally sold out to the Lord and His plan for their lives. The people gave of themselves and their resources. When you are totally sold out to the Lord, it becomes easy to give Him what you have. It is easy because you understand that everything belongs to Him anyway, and you are just a steward over what you have. It all belongs to Him. Even our bodies belong to God. The Bible tells us that we have been bought with a price (I Corinthians 6:20). Let’s examine our hearts today. Can you give it all away? Can you give more than what you have been giving? Can you do more for the Church? Are you willing to do more? The answer should be yes to all those questions. If you aren’t there yet, don’t worry. As you walk with God, you will eventually be able to say yes. God has been too good to us not to give it all. Didn’t He give it all for us? 

#Godisgood #vcccharlotte #soldout #devotional 

1 Comment

1 Comment

DAILY DEVOTIONAL | September 10th

📖 A [self-confident] fool’s mouth is his ruin, and his lips are a snare to himself. 
—Proverbs 18:7 AMPC  

A fool will destroy his own life with his own words. Think about that for a second. We can choose our words, but we must choose our words carefully. Proverbs 13:2 AMPC, tells us that, “A good man eats good from the fruit of his mouth”. We determine how we eat based on our words. We determine the quality of life we live by the words we speak. If you don’t like the life you’re living, change the words that you are speaking. Death and life are in the power of the tongue (Proverbs 18:21). It is in our best interest to speak words of life. Speak life over your children. Speak life over your health. Speak life over your finances. Don’t allow your lips to be a snare to yourself. Your words can bring ruin, or they can bring success; the choice is yours. 

#wordsoflife #vcccharlotte #speaklife #devotional 

1 Comment

Comment

DAILY DEVOTIONAL | September 9th

📖 He took Peter with him and Zebedee’s two sons James and John, and began to be filled with anguish and despair. 

Then he told them, “My soul is crushed with horror and sadness to the point of death . . . stay here . . . stay awake with me.” 

He went forward a little, and fell face downward on the ground, and prayed, “My Father! If it is possible, let this cup be taken away from me. But I want your will, not mine.” 
—Matthew 26:37-39 The Living Bible 

Jesus was committed to the will of God. Throughout His earthly ministry, He reminded people of His commitment. In John 4:34, “Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish His work”. Notice that Jesus wanted to finish the work that the Father had sent Him to do. Many believers get in trouble when they try to complete a work that God did not send them to do. In John 6:38, Jesus said, “For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of Him that sent me”. Once again, it was about God’s will for His life. There can be times when we don’t want to walk in God's will for our lives. He may send us to a city we may not want to stay in. He may send us to a job we aren't very fond of. Whatever the case may be, we must get our will in line with God's will. God knows best and there are benefits to walking in the path that He has preordained for us. You may have to cry. You may have to pray. You may have to do what you need to do but get your will in line with God's. His plans are better than ours. He always has our best interest at heart. We must stay committed to the will of God for our lives. Our Father knows best. 

#willofGod #vcccharlotte #staycommitted #devotional  

Comment

2 Comments

DAILY DEVOTIONAL | September 8th

📖 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

2 Comments

1 Comment

DAILY DEVOTIONAL | September 7th

📖 So keep the words of this covenant and obey them, so that you may prosper and be successful in everything that you do. —Deuteronomy 29:9 AMP

The world has its ideas about what it takes to be successful. They have their ideologies, and they have their formulas. Some of their ideas have caused success, but it has not guaranteed success. When we operate by the Word of God, we can know that success is imminent. We can know that God is watching over His Word to perform it. We can know that God is not a man that He should lie. We follow the commandments of the Word of God out of our love and respect for God; and as we follow them, we know that God will honor our obedience. The Bible tells us that it is the doer of the Word that is blessed and not the hearer only (James 1:22). As we are doers of the Word, we can expect the Blessing of the Lord to come upon us and overtake us. It may take patience. It may take diligence, but eventually, we will walk in it if we don’t quit and give up. God’s Word works. 

#success #Godsword #devotional #vcccharlotte

1 Comment

2 Comments

DAILY DEVOTIONAL | September 5th

📖 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 

2 Comments

1 Comment

DAILY DEVOTIONAL | September 4th

📖 May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble! May the name of the God of Jacob set you up on high [and defend you]; 

Send you help from the sanctuary and support, refresh, and strengthen you from Zion; 

Remember all your offerings and accept your burnt sacrifice. Selah [pause, and think of that]! 

May He grant you according to your heart’s desire and fulfill all your plans. 

We will [shout in] triumph at your salvation and victory, and in the name of our God we will set up our banners. May the Lord fulfill all your petitions. 

Now I know that the Lord saves His anointed; He will answer him from His holy heaven with the saving strength of His right hand. 

Some trust in and boast of chariots and some of horses, but we will trust in and boast of the name of the Lord our God. 

They are bowed down and fallen, but we are risen and stand upright. 

O Lord, give victory; let the King answer us when we call.  
—Psalm 20 AMPC

Do you can see the benefit of serving God? God will answer you in the day of trouble. The Lord will defend you. The Lord will send you help, angelic help. God will grant your heart’s desire and fulfill your plans (when your plans line up with His will and plan). This is the testimony of David, but keep in mind David wasn’t a child of God. He was a man after God’s heart, but He did not have the standing of “son” the way that we do today. David functioned out of his relationship with God, and it worked in His favor. It will always work in our favor when we serve God, when we love Him with all our heart. Like David, we trust in Almighty God. We don’t put in our trust in horses and chariots. We don’t put our trust in the things of this world. Our trust is in God. Trusting God is the starting point to victory. We can expect to walk in victory when we seek trust in the Lord. God is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. (Hebrews 11:6) 

#serveGod #vcccharlotte #trustingGod #devotional #walkinvictory 

1 Comment

1 Comment

DAILY DEVOTIONAL | September 3rd

📖 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will imprint My laws upon their minds, even upon their innermost thoughts and understanding, and engrave them upon their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 

And it will nevermore be necessary for each one to teach his neighbor and his fellow citizen or each one his brother, saying, Know (perceive, have knowledge of, and get acquainted by experience with) the Lord, for all will know Me, from the smallest to the greatest of them. 

For I will be merciful and gracious toward their sins and I will remember their deeds of unrighteousness no more. 
—Hebrews 8:10-12 AMPC 

God is not keeping a record of your sins. When we confess them to Him, He doesn’t remember them anymore. Satan is the one keeping up with your sins. He is the one reminding you of them and endeavoring to bring condemnation to you. Don’t let him do it! God loves us. He wants us to remember His laws and His statutes. He wants His Word imprinted in our hearts so that He can be our God and a Father to us. God desires relationship. He wants us to know Him because He is good. He is good and His mercies endure forever. We serve a loving God. 

#Godislove #vcccharlotte #Helovesus #devotional  

1 Comment

1 Comment

DAILY DEVOTIONAL | September 2nd

📖 And Paul lived there for two full years [at his own expense] in his own rented lodging and welcomed all who came to him, preaching and proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all openness and boldness, unhindered and unrestrained. —Acts 28:30-31 AMP 

Look at the favor that Paul walked in. He was supposed to be in prison. Instead, he was living in a home and was able to receive visitors. He was preaching from this residence, and no one hindered him from doing it. God is no respecter of persons. We can walk in extravagant favor the way Paul did. God can open doors for us that will cause us to experience His favor in an extraordinary way. We don’t have to experience what the world experiences. We can excel and experience the best wherever we find ourselves. We are in the world, but we are not of the world. We can have heaven right here on earth. God’s favor will cause that to become a reality in our lives. 

#God’sfavor #vcccharlotte #thebest #devotional  

1 Comment

Comment

DAILY DEVOTIONAL | September 1st

📖 A faithful man shall abound with blessings: but he that maketh haste to be rich shall not be innocent. —Proverbs 28:20 KJV

There is a Scripture that asks, “a faithful man, who can find?” It’s hard to find faithful people, especially in today’s world. God says the faithful shall abound with blessings. The faithful ones are the committed ones, the ones you can always count on. The faithful are consistent. They are consistent in their attendance, their giving, and their effort. How can those types of people not be blessed? One should expect to flourish when they have a history of faithfulness to any organization. If man will take care of faithful, committed people, how much more would our Heavenly Father? 

#dedication #faithfulness #GoodGod #vcccharlotte

Comment

1 Comment

DAILY DEVOTIONAL | August 31st

📖 Where are the ones who honor the Lord? God will teach them which path to take. They will live a good life, and their descendants will possess the land. The Lord counsels those who honor him; he makes his covenant known to them. —Psalm 25:12-14 CEB

It pays to honor the Lord. The psalmist tells us that when we honor God, He will show us which path to take. God will lead us and guide us. When we honor God, we can count on living a good life. Our lives are to get better and better and go from glory to glory. God will not only counsel us, but He will give us insight into His covenant. He will give us revelations that others don’t have. God doesn’t share His secrets with everyone, but He will for those who honor Him with their lives. When we honor God, He honors us.  

#honorGod #devotional #vcccharlotte #goodGod

1 Comment

1 Comment

DAILY DEVOTIONAL | August 29th

📖 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

1 Comment

1 Comment

DAILY DEVOTIONAL | August 28th

📖 Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. —Philippians 4:11-13 NKJV

It does not matter where we find ourselves in life, we are to be content. You may not be in the ideal house. You may not be driving your dream car on the way to your dream job, but God expects you to be content. Don’t confuse contentment with satisfaction. Wherever you may find yourself, realize that it is only for a season. God will take you from glory to glory. Paul learned the power of contentment. He knew how to be full and how to deal with hunger. He knew that through Christ, he can overcome every situation that was contrary to the Word of God. If he was in prison, he knew it was temporary. If he was shipwrecked, he knew it was temporary. He wrote to the Corinthian church that the things seen are temporary. (II Corinthians 4:18) No matter what we face in life, we face it knowing that we will win. We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. 

#wewin #glorytoglory #devotional #vcccharlotte

1 Comment

1 Comment

DAILY DEVOTIONAL | August 27th

📖 The sky and the earth (the universe, the world) will pass away, but My words will not pass away. 

But take heed to yourselves and be on your guard, lest your hearts be overburdened and depressed (weighed down) with the giddiness and headache and nausea of self-indulgence, drunkenness, and worldly worries and cares pertaining to [the business of] this life, and [lest] that day come upon you suddenly like a trap or a noose; 

For it will come upon all who live upon the face of the entire earth. 

Keep awake then and watch at all times [be discreet, attentive, and ready], praying that you may have the full strength and ability and be accounted worthy to escape all these things [taken together] that will take place, and to stand in the presence of the Son of Man. 
—Luke 21: 33-36 AMPC

Jesus is giving us a warning that should cause every believer to be sober about the times we are living in. All of us have the potential to allow our hearts to be overburdened with the cares of this life. If we aren’t careful, we can lose sight of the things that are important and find ourselves in a backslidden condition. We must stay prayed up, alert and attentive. We cannot allow the things of this world to weigh us down to the point that we miss Heaven. Prayer is fellowshipping with our Heavenly Father. As we are consistent in our fellowship with Him, it helps us to stay focused and keep the proper perspective on things. It allows us to continue to set our eyes on things that are above. We must continue to seek first the kingdom of God and be about our Father’s business. As we do those things, it will help to keep things in perspective. Let’s keep our eyes on God. 

#theireyeswerewatchingGod #trustGod #devotional #vcccharlotte

1 Comment

1 Comment

DAILY DEVOTIONAL | August 26th

📖 Check up on yourselves. Are you really Christians? Do you pass the test? Do you feel Christ’s presence and power more and more within you? Or are you just pretending to be Christians when actually you aren’t at all? —2 Corinthians 13:5 The Living Bible 

As believers, we must stay on top of ourselves. We must examine ourselves to make sure that our relationship with God stays strong. The world is constantly trying to influence us. Whether it is on social media, television, or radio, we are constantly being told what to think and how to think. The world is constantly trying to fit us into a mold. We must resist. We don’t have to yield to the influence of the world. We don’t have to look like the world or talk like the world. There are times when a believer has to ask questions. Am I spiritually-minded? Are my views in line with the Word of God or are they more in line with the world? Am I still a Christian? We must pass the test. We must contend for the faith. Do a spiritual checkup: Are you still a Christian?  

#believers #vcccharlotte #faith #devotional 

1 Comment

2 Comments

DAILY DEVOTIONAL | August 25th

📖 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

2 Comments

1 Comment

DAILY DEVOTIONAL | August 24th

📖 I pray that the sharing of your faith may become effective and powerful because of your accurate knowledge of every good thing which is ours in Christ. —Philemon 1:6 AMP

We should have accurate knowledge of the Word of God. We have to study to show ourselves approved unto God (2 Timothy 2:15). We should be like those who heard Paul and Silas preach in Berea. They were considered nobler than the church of Thessalonica, because they had a ready mind and searched the Scriptures daily to see if what was being taught was accurate. When you have a working knowledge of the Word, it is hard to be deceived by false teachers or those who may misinterpret Scripture. When Satan attacked Jesus, He tried to present the Word inaccurately, but Jesus countered that with Scripture. Jesus overcame the devil through His knowledge of the Word of God. If we want to experience the same type of victory, we must do the same.  

#Thessalonians #devotional #Bibleknowledge #vcccharlotte 

1 Comment