Any time we feel prompted to exalt ourselves, we demonstrate Satan's spirit of pride, thereby jeopardizing our entry into God's family.

Prayer is not a dictating to a reluctant God, but a demonstration of our attitude of dependence and need. It is a means to get into harmony with God's will.

Here are four qualities of character that our full acceptance of God's sovereignty will build and that will prepare us for whatever work God may choose for us.

Like Job, we must surrender to God's will and purpose for our lives, realizing that both pleasant and horrendous times work for our spiritual development.

When we compare ourselves with others instead of God's standards, we can justify any behavior. It is inexcusable to judge others for the same things we practice.

God's solution to mankind's separation was sending a second Adam, Jesus Christ, to make reconciliation possible. Fasting shows our dependence on God.

It can be encouraging to us that our patriarchs and the prophets had serious doubts, but God overrode all their fears in accomplishing His purpose.

James was not called during His ministry, but may have received his calling when Jesus entrusted the care of His mother to John, a non-family member.

Only after we have examined ourselves should we partake of the Passover symbols. Thoroughly examining ourselves should become a way of life.

While the sacrifice in life or limb is commendable and worthy of honor, to compare it with Christ's work on the stake trivializes Christ's sacrifice.

Several notable scientists marvel at the psalmist David's accurate scientific description in Psalm 8, millennia before technology verified these descriptions.

The Bible tells us that, far from being the unconcerned and inattentive Creator that the Deists envisioned, God is intimately involved in His universe.

To be like God, we need to work on purifying ourselves, purging out sin and uncleanness, reflecting our relationship with God in every aspect our behavior.

People resist God because of their pride, but pride can be neutralized by humility, a character trait that allows a person to submit to God.

Paradoxically, God stoops to us when we humble ourselves. Humility produces honor from God; if we humble ourselves, He will hear us.

God desires us to overcome our human nature and grow, but we tend to place major hurdles in the way of accomplishing this. Here are impediments to overcoming.

We recognize our need to change when we see, not necessarily how we are, but how we compare to and fall woefully short of the perfect righteousness of God.

We must have both perseverance and humility in prayer to keep our vision sharp and clear. Without humility, the doorway to acceptance by God is closed.

Once we accept God's sovereignty, it begins to produce certain virtues in us. Here are four of these byproducts of total submission to God.

Nothing that we could ever do could impress God, except for our contrition, acknowledgment of our infirmity, and remorse for our sins which displease God.

God spoke audibly to Moses and the people, intentionally testing their faithfulness, to instill the fear of the Lord in them, and to keep them from sin.

Psalm 8 declares that the Creator of the universe has our backs, keeping us under close observation and unfailing protection throughout our sanctification.

Sacrifices of thanksgiving, praise, and gratitude are required of God's called out priests. By meditating on the right things, we prepare ourselves for prayer.

Because of our lack of self-discipline and willingness to guard the truth, we have allowed our theological base to deteriorate under the persuasion of the world.

Without thanksgiving and praise, our prayers degenerate into the 'gimmes' with the emphasis on the self. We must give God thoughtful thanks in every circumstance.

Job had not achieved spiritual maturity, but had assumed the arrogant stance of attempting to debate the Creator on his own level.

God's children should never emulate the self-willed attitude Frank Sinatra's song "My Way" glorifies. Human nature and godly character are polar opposites.

The belief that America was or is a Christian nation cannot be supported by the facts. The world, governed by Satan, hates Christ's true followers.

We tend to think of being still just in terms of movement, but it also includes ceasing to talk as an excess of speech is both wearisome and stressful.

Being poor in spirit is a foundational spiritual state for qualifying for God's Kingdom. Poor in spirit describes being acutely aware of one's dependency.

The hallmark of Christian character is humility, which comes about only when one sees himself in comparison to God. Pride makes distorted comparisons.