How can we build a relationship of such intimacy that God and Christ know it is a relationship that will last for an eternity?

Job was able to endure the multiple trials and tragic events by seeing the hand of God in his life, realizing that God works in both good and bad times.

Eternal life is to live a quality life as God lives, having developed a close relationship with God, living by faith and accepting His sovereignty over all.

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.

We are not individually sovereign, but we are taught to give ourselves over completely to God's sovereignty. If we do, we will reap unfathomable blessings.

Faith in God and in the motivating power in God's Word have to be the driving force in everything we do each day.

Fully accepting God's sovereignty should drive us to seek Him so that we can come to know Him as completely as possible, which is vital to our salvation.

God turns His face away from those who have committed sin. Our entire spiritual pilgrimage is a quest to see God's face in full splendor (Revelation 22:1-5).

We all had somewhat carnal reasons for responding to God's calling, but we must lay those aside in favor of truly seeking Christ and His righteousness.

We can maintain spiritual contact using David's tactic of continually maintaining the Lord before him in his thoughts, prayers, and meditations.

Even though the way God exercises His sovereignty is inscrutable to us , calling the foolish to confound the wise, all He does fits perfectly into His plan.

The best human leaders are those who recognize that they are not the ones running things. Exceptional leaders submit to the reality of God's sovereignty.

We may be going through a period of hopelessness, but must believe that all things work together for those who believe and are called for His purpose.

Formality and decorum (in terms of dress and behavior) are part of godly standards and sanctity. We must always look for the spirit and intent of what God commands.

When Jesus was asked to acknowledge His physical family, He responded that those who yield to the Father's direction are His real family.

We must have established some relationship with God before we can rightly fear Him. A holy fear is the key to unlocking the treasuries of salvation and wisdom.

In answer to the question, 'How can a mere human being fulfill the difficult expectations of God?', Jesus instructs us to 'Ask, seek, and knock.'

After our calling, we must seek God and His way, for our conduct is motivated by our concept of God. Coming to know God is the church's biggest problem.

Genuine humility is one of the most elusive characteristics a person can attain. It consists of of self-respect accompanied by a genuine desire to serve.

By not revealing everything immediately, God has been employing teaching techniques that have taken the educational community thousands of years to discover.

What God puts us through is designed to reveal reality to us. Accepting His doctrine without looking for loopholes will keep us true.

To fulfill one's purpose, one must be singularly focused on what one wants to accomplish. Divided minds result in no productivity or even devastation.

Israel had every opportunity that the Gentiles did not have. God gave the Israelites gifts to live a better way, but they completely failed to reflect Him.

Even though the Gentiles will be punished, only Israelites had a special relationship with God, and consequently were more accountable for their failure.

Ephesians 2 says Christians were spiritually dead. Thankfully, God resurrected us from the grave through the substitutionary sacrifice of Christ.

The Great White Throne Judgment is a general resurrection to mortal life, allowing the majority of those who have ever lived an opportunity for salvation.

Abel's example of alignment with God precedes Enoch's example of walking with God, and they both precede Noah's example of faithfully witnessing for God.

Proverbs 25:2 says, 'It is the glory of God to conceal a matter.' God hides certain things to make us dig deep because the focused effort engraves the lessons.

God provides the gift before it is actually needed so that when it is needed, everything is prepared for the person to do as he has been commissioned to do.

In Carly Simon's song 'Anticipation,' she wonders whether the present moment of joy will last into the future or turn into disillusionment.

The most effective way to develop a relationship with God is by developing a continuous prayer dialogue, conversing with Him through Bible study and prayer.

The foolish virgins did not have enough oil because they did not pursue God's spiritual abundance, nor consistently seek the Source of the oil as a way of life.

Jesus' command to pray always contains the advice Christians need to strengthen their relationships with God as the return of Christ nears.

Only John records Jesus' healing of the man born blind, which shows Christ calling a people for Himself despite the efforts of the Jewish leaders to deter Him.

God is sovereign over time; nothing happens without His superintending. Birth and death are divine events which God alone controls.

How does 'praying always' work? Why is consistent, thoughtful prayer such a powerful tool in the process of overcoming?

After witnessing the Covid pandemic and several deaths, God's people have a fear of the possibility of an encore of these tragedies.

The old serpent that deluded Eve has bastardized the term love, flooding the world with over one billion books distorting love. This is not the love of God.

King Jehoshaphat, by totally surrendering to God, achieved a miraculous victory over three armies by standing still, waiting patiently for His intervention.

Happiness is the result of faithfully keeping God's Covenant, ensuring peace, prosperity, and an abundant life. The world's joy only disappoints in the end.

In Luke 21:36, our Savior gives us two essential keys to being accounted worthy and escaping the terrors of the close of the age: watching and praying always.

We must guard our time, not allowing busyness and involvement with activities of the world to prevent us from forming a deep intimacy with God.

Our relationship with God is often strengthened through hardship. We must choose to yield to God, living for a much higher goal than raw materialism.

As members of Christ's body, we must function for the good of the whole body, not competing with other parts. We must continually function as a son of God.

God personally handpicks individuals with whom He desires to form a reciprocal relationship. This relationship must be dressed, kept, tended, and maintained.

Praying according to God's will means overriding our own desire, using forethought in our petitions, realizing that God's direction is steadier than our own.

The Ephesians had a strong sense of duty and served as a vanguard in the battle against false doctrines. What was lacking was devotion to Christ.

Satan has deliberately designed this world to burn up our precious time, creating an artificial sense of urgency and a perpetual state of discontent.

We must seek God as ardently as we would a physical love relationship, spending quality time with Him. If we make no effort, the relationship cools.

Living faith has its roots in fervently, diligently seeking God and His righteousness with intense desire (like a passionate lover) through habitual prayer.

Ecclesiastes 12:1-14 emphasizes the brevity and the progressively harder difficulties of life and urges youth to seek God before the decline of old age.

Ecclesiastes 1-6 contains an indictment of materialism. The only lasting fulfillment comes from establishing and maintaining a relationship with God.

Solomon ruminates about life being seemingly futile and purposeless. A relationship with God is the only factor which prevents life from becoming useless.

Ecclesiastes is perhaps the most practical book in the Old Testament, providing overviews of life-guiding advice, essentially a roadmap through the maze.

Constant, earnest prayer keeps faith alive and makes certain the receiving of the qualities that make us in the image of God. God's purpose comes first.

Today, as in Solomon's time, we can become discouraged and weary about the corruption in government, especially the evil corruption of the courts.

Like geodes, hiding magnificent structural and aesthetic designs, the biblical types, emblems, or allegories are deceptively simple on the surface.

Abraham, the father of the faithful, did not have a blind faith; it was based upon observation of God's proven track record of faithfulness.

God reveals a grand secret through David: namely, that spiritual growth will come to people who set the Lord before oneself continuously.

God desires far more for us than mere satisfaction: He wants to give us real contentment, a state that comes only through a relationship with Him.