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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | September 21st

📖 But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also [utensils] of wood and earthenware, and some for honorable and noble [use] and some for menial and ignoble [use]. 

So whoever cleanses himself [from what is ignoble and unclean, who separates himself from contact with contaminating and corrupting influences] will [then himself] be a vessel set apart and useful for honorable and noble purposes, consecrated and profitable to the Master, fit and ready for any good work. 

—2 Timothy 2:20-21 AMPC 

What type of vessel would you like to be? A vessel of gold? What about silver? The good news is that it is not up to God to determine what type of vessels we will become. That responsibility is on us. We must cleanse ourselves from contaminating and corrupting influences. We must examine our lives and see what we need to remove to live a life that is pleasing unto God.  As we walk with God and fellowship with Him, He will show us the things that we need to get rid of. Sometimes being in His presence will burn up the things that need to be removed from our lives. God’s Word is another tool God uses to shape and mold us. His Word reveals what is displeasing to Him and shows us how we are supposed to live. God’s Word is like fire (Jeremiah 5:14). It will burn things out of us and purge us. If we hearken to His Word and spend time in His presence, we can become consecrated and profitable to the Master, fit and ready for any good work. 

#Godlyinfluences #vcccharlotte #cleanse #devotional #fellowshipwithGod

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | September 19th

📖 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 18th

📖 When the other ten heard of this conversation, they lost their tempers with James and John. Jesus got them together to settle things down. “You’ve observed how godless rulers throw their weight around,” he said, “and when people get a little power how quickly it goes to their heads. It’s not going to be that way with you. Whoever wants to be great must become a servant. Whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave. That is what the Son of Man has done: He came to serve, not to be served—and then to give away his life in exchange for many who are held hostage.” —Mark 10:41-45 The Message 

Two of Jesus’ disciples requested to sit on the right and left side of Jesus when He established His kingdom here on the earth. They wanted a position of greatness. Jesus eventually gave them a key to greatness. He told them that if they wanted to be great, they must first be willing to serve. Jesus even gave Himself as an example when He told the disciples that he did not come to be served, He came to serve. God has a purpose and a plan for all our lives. Regardless of how big the plan is, the plan is not self-serving. The plan is not to elevate you. You may be elevated in the eyes of the people, but the plan is ultimately to help people.  

God loved us so much that He gave us Jesus. Jesus was treated like a king (and rightfully so, He is the king of kings) and yet He came to serve the people. God sent His best, and His best came to serve. We should follow His example. We have been sent into this world, equipped with gifts and talents that will be a blessing to humanity. Don’t keep them to yourself. Don’t be selfish. The world is waiting on the manifestation of the sons of God. The world is waiting on you! 

#greatness #vcccharlotte #followHisexample #devotional 

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL | September 17th

📖 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 16th

📖 And the Lord said, Shall I hide from Abraham [My friend and servant] what I am going to do, 

Since Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed through him and shall bless themselves by him? 

For I have known (chosen, acknowledged) him [as My own], so that he may teach and command his children and the sons of his house after him to keep the way of the Lord and to do what is just and righteous, so that the Lord may bring Abraham what He has promised him. 
—Genesis 18:17-19 AMPC 

What an honor for Abraham. He was referred to as a servant and a friend of God. Imagine being called a friend of God. I believe that is what God would like to call all of us, both servant and friend. God wants us to have the attitude of a servant, but He also wants us to develop a friendship with Him. God wants obedience. God wants us to heed His commandments and to get into a rhythm of obedience. At the same time, He wants to fellowship with us. He desires to let us in on what He is doing on the earth. He wants to give us insight into His plans for our lives. Isaiah 1:19 NIV says “if you are willing and obedient, you will eat the good of the land”. Willingness shows trust. I am willing to do something because of who asked me. When God the Father asks us to do something, we should do it with joy and enthusiasm, because we know that He would not ask us to do something that is harmful. We are obedient because of reverence and respect. You put the two together and you can see why God would want to bestow His blessings upon us. God wants friendship and He wants obedience. Both are keys to experiencing His goodness and all the things that He has promised us. 

#friendship #vcccharlotte #servant #devotional #goodnessofGod 

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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

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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

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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 

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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 

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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 

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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  

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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

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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

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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 

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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 

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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  

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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  

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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

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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

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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

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