The story of Job reveals a man whom God forced to see himself as he really was, and his true self-image paved the way to a leap forward in spiritual growth.

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

The lessons of the book of Job, which carry distinct New Covenant insights, applies to all. Job was complete, yet had spiritually stalled.

In our relationship with God, we must emphasize principle over pragmatism. If we are led into deception, it is because our carnal nature wanted it that way.

Jacob's Trouble, or the Great Tribulation, comes about because people are not meeting their God-given responsibilities: keeping His Commandments.

Our experiences prepare us to be a better judge or king. Though we may exercise righteous judgment, we dare not pass judgment nor justify sin in ourselves.

A vicious circle begins with elevating ourselves in relation to God, which leads to our failure to submit. Separated from God, we then lie to ourselves, neglecting any opportunity for repentance.

The two men who go to the Temple to pray contrast in character, belief, and self-examination. The contrast shows how to be justified before God.

To avoid taking the Passover in an unworthy manner, we are to put ourselves on trial, making an ardent effort to detect our shortcomings.

One of the deadliest afflictions we can develop is a self-righteous, vindictive 'Phineas' complex, seizing the sword of the Lord to correct a fellow member.

The tendency to point fingers at others is hard-wired into human nature. Mistakes are the portals of discovery if we admit them and learn from them.

Conspiracies are characterized by two or more people who fear loss of status or power, believing that they are justified to remove the perceived threat.

The Good Samaritan parable teaches that unless one practices doing good rather than just knowing good, his faith will be severely compromised.

God pays attention to the small things we may excuse in ourselves, sins we commit in weakness. God's patience does not constitute approval of our sin.

A terrible, corrupt enemy lurks within us, poised to bring disaster on us if we allow it. It is the human heart, which God calls 'desperately wicked.'

Psalm 73 describes someone seeing the wicked prosper while the righteous suffer, but it is not true that people in the world are leading superior lives.

We have all kinds of rights, but not all rights should be exercised if we have opportunities to demonstrate God's way of give to total strangers.

God the Father does not take the minimization of His Son's sacrifice lightly, as some Protestant theologians imply with their cheap grace doctrine.

Our carnal nature's desire to satisfy an addictive self-centeredness can eventually overrule the Christian's loyalty to God and His commandments.

With the Spirit of God—the light of God—we see the true shape and form of things, and reality appears as something we can see clearly. We find truth.

God chose both Saul and David, the first complying with the people's choice (judging by outward appearance and stature), the second by judging inwardly.

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.

Even the accuser of the brethren made no accusations against Job, the first of several curious absences—things left unsaid—in the book of Job.

Christians must deal with double-mindedness because the flesh and spirit contend for our hearts. We overcome it by being of one mind with Christ.

People can mentally 'legalize their iniquities,' in doing so attempting to make God the accomplice of their sins. But He will not overlook blatant faults.

The end time, Jesus warns, will be one of massive deception, enough to make the very elect stumble. We need to be sure of God's Word to spot Satan's lies.

We dare not yield to politically correct propaganda, brainwashing us into thinking that murder, sexual perversion, or any evil is acceptable in the eyes of God.

One of man's twisted thought patterns has two parts: (1) We seek to elevate ourselves above God, and (2) we lie to ourselves about the first pattern.

We need to avoid the trap of self-justification, allowing our hasty words to lure us into sin. We must be quick to listen, and slow to speak.

Self-righteous people tend to trust in their own heart, be wise in their own eyes, justify themselves, despise or disregard others, and judge or condemn others.

Most people think they are moral compared to their peers. Yet we will only begin to grow in character once we compare ourselves to the true standard.

We must establish an iron clad trust in God for spiritual matters, including healing, rather than having a misguided trust in self or other human beings.

A community can only be established upon a foundation of stability and truth. Our relationships must be based upon God's truth, producing faithfulness.