Author: Michael Becks

There are times when we must walk through a valley of sorrow and tears.

Until we are ready to “wear the yoke” we are only playing at being a true Christian.

Get ready to endure hardness as a good soldier of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Despite how humiliating a fall may be, restoration is always possible.

If we would pursue peace with all men, we must cherish humility.

Self-love is the pre-eminent sign that apostasy is around the corner.

Our liberation is not an entrance into being “who we are.”

We can cease from sin, but we cannot cease from temptation.

The business of our lives is to know and understand God, not men.

Be patient enough to see the “end of a thing” that God has in store for you.

Having a real heart to heart with God will do your heart good.

Keep going, and keep growing.

We can reach for a corruptible or incorruptible crown. The choice is ours.

The future God has for you depends on how well you are listening to Him today.

Jesus may not be all we want; but He is all we truly need.

Those who put their trust in the Lord will never be disappointed.

There is a right way and wrong way to go about things.

Don’t be the star of your story.

Let’s be done with experiencing those things which our God hates.

God is more interested in pardoning us than punishing us.

What would God have us do when we’re getting burnt out?

The best seed can only grow in earth that receives it.

Bless others and you will be blessed.

Do we believe God knows what is in our best interest better than we do?

Whatever humbles us is good.

We need to leave many things alone.

Our freedom from the power of darkness is not a freedom to run our own lives.

The beautiful thing about obedience is what you discover on the other side.

It’s so easy to become impatient with suffering, whether it be another’s or our own.

Disappoint the tempter.

Have you gotten your marching orders from the Lord or from men?

Now is not the time for anger, but to bear our Lord’s sorrow.

Those who are hard on others end up troubling themselves more than anyone else.

When you’d give up on others, remember God didn’t give up on you.

Stay planted until God uproots you.

There is no room for pride in the Christian life.

Look beyond the temporal to the eternal. Buy gold tried in the fire.

We can know so much and be entirely unknown in heaven.

Beware of an obsession with injustice.

Be in a hurry for nothing except to obey God. Knowledge will follow.

Where temperance is practiced inwardly, patience will be seen outwardly.

Let’s not pretend to be somewhere we are not.

The consequence of spurning God’s counsel is severe.

Let evil know that it is unwelcome in a holy house.

Being transparent before God is the first step toward letting Him heal us.

If we stay little in our own sight, we will stay big in God’s sight.

As man’s self-love increases so does his retaliatory and vengeful spirit.

The further we travel with God the deeper His work becomes to make our way perfect.

Focus less on your destination, and more on what He wants of you.

Is our pleasure and our pain all that matters to us?

Stop settling for less, and press toward the life God so much wants to give you.

Loss of life and blessing is the end which awaits the hasty in spirit.

God will raise up a company of “little” ones with a godly rebuke to a backslidden church.

Bridling our tongue starts with knowing how to rule our spirit.

God didn’t ask us what we wanted for Christmas; He gave us what we needed.

What does it profit us to have the whole world applaud us when God is unimpressed?

Don’t let your joy depend on a better tomorrow.

We can’t afford to let our heart be untended.

Simple exhortations to “let it go” or “get over it” don’t work.

When the god of this world comes knocking, we must put on a sober mind.

It is not enough that we believe IN Christ, we must believe UPON Him.

There is only one thing that we needed in this life.

True godliness is proven in a lawless day when evil is called good.

We need God far, far more than we need each other.

Stop trying to be so strong.

God knows the value of the wilderness more than we do.

Being faithful in the eyes of God matters so much more than being great is the eyes of men.

Tribulations are the indispensable means for God to work patience in our life.

What attracts men does not attract God.

Christ never intended for the church to point to the church.

You don’t have to be swept away by any out of control passion.

Life can make us sick; but joy is the medicine that keeps us going day after day.

May we discover the blessedness of getting outside the confines of our narrow inner world.

The gentle are those who have God’s strength to wait.

We cannot hate someone and have fellowship with God.

God runs toward us when we make any movement toward Him.

Serve notice on Satan that you will worship and serve your God no matter what life brings.

At times we can feel so weighed down in our spirit that we don’t want to go forward.

If we are to rule our spirit, we must let the Holy Spirit rule in our heart.

Living peaceably with others depends upon how much peace lies within us.

Forgiveness alone allows us to heal. Without it our spirit is forever wounded.

If you are going to endure hard things, God needs you to do one thing first.

When others step away from us, God steps toward us.

If we will not give Christ all, He will take nothing.

What matters most of all is where we are going with our heavy heart.

Being in a love relationship with God is the ultimate human experience.

When God’s mercifully given you a new lease on life, how should you appropriately respond?

We do not sin when we bless others with a proper word of recognition.

Does God ever have to wait?

A fear of rejection can keep us from making supplication to God.

Men are becoming indignant as never before. And this spirit is in the church.

Faith does not begin with our eyes, it begins with what God sees.

Only what God creates in us by His grace is everlastingly beautiful.

What should we want developed in our life?

Keep loving and keep believing that God will work through the love you show.

Beware of where your feet, and your mind, would want to wander.

We must be Spirit-led in our correction.

Don’t let Nabals get you all worked up. Fixing fools is God’s problem.

God knows how to exalt Himself.

The person who feels they are most above pride is most in danger of it.

Don’t be afraid of your weakness that leads to God’s strength.

We are not to glory in WHAT we know but in WHO we know.

While experiencing anger is inevitable, sinning as a result does not have to be.

Ministry to the sick should never be a ministry of condemnation.

Be where Jesus is in heart. Lay low with Him.

Whatever season is upon you, God would fulfill His own given purpose in you through it.

God wants to bring us to mercy. But not before we get real.

Those who are always looking up to God never look down on others.

What do we do when God appears to be running late?

“I didn’t realize how profoundly alone I was until the Lord revealed to me His love for me.”

God doesn’t forget anything that is done out of love to His Name.

Jesus advocated against the mentality which gives in order to get.

Make it the chief business of your life to love others with the very love of God.

What will it take for you to win honor from above?

Both ugliness and beauty can be revealed through painful trials.

Religion is an easy thing. But don’t think God will settle for it.

Being an overcomer in Christ is not the product of having a “faith formula.”

What is it that causes one to spiritually starve themselves to death?

If we would grow up into Christ in all things we cannot allow impatience to rule us.

Resist the temptation to set things right by your own power.

God knows what it feels like to be unwanted. But what is His response?

What God would do with us depends on our commitment to Him.

How is it that there are those who still resist Christ?

The world is barking up the wrong tree when they think to upbraid the Judge of the Whole Earth.

When God is our chief goal, He is glad to give us other goals to reach for.

We limit God when we tell Him what He can and cannot use for His glory.

God uses the most unsavory instruments to do His greatest work in us.

We can mistake abiding in God with being in His presence.

We should be the first in line to distrust ourselves.

Real love is expressed in commitment and consideration.

Pride truly causes the loss of one’s better judgment.

There will be no crown for us, except we bear our cross as Christ bore His.

The love of God that wins a man sees past his fault to his need.

The Word of God that centuries of saints adhered to is the same Word we must live by today.

There is a provision in God for the most disturbing of circumstances.

Jesus came to usher us into the same full experience He had with God.

God’s plans for us are often realized only after our dreams are dashed into pieces.

We can have a peace which passes all understanding, when we are willing for God to be the Lord of our mind.

A willingness to examine ourselves, before we inspect anyone else, is vital in escaping hypocrisy.

Grace does not give us a license to “safely” sin; it gives us the power not to sin.

Beware of a “made up mind” when you are not seeking God.

There is a difference between purpose and godly direction.

What people really need to see in us is a life of devotion that mirrors the life of Jesus

If we knew how highly God thought of us, we would not have to think so highly of ourselves.

If submission to God is not a good idea to us we are not fit for the kingdom to come.

There is One we can know, better than we know ourselves, or any other.

Though Satan could not dupe the Head, he still seeks to dupe His Body.

Every minister of God must overcome discouragement.

Don’t be afraid of God-ordained darkness.

There comes those times when we must declare: “I have decided to follow Jesus; no turning back!”

The backs of men can be endured when we are living before the face of God.

Only what God creates in us by His grace is everlastingly beautiful.

Our calling is to love imperfect people.

Behold Him, and don’t run away. Run to Him, and be changed by His grace.

Self-denial is not optional for the follower of Jesus Christ.

Don’t let your righteousness be a figment of your own imagination. Get really right.

We need a finer ability to discern between what is of our spirit and what is of His Spirit.

Do yourself a favor: pray, before you speak.

Have you been dumped by a religious bunch? Jesus is looking for you.

What will you need to keep you from being “exalted above measure?”

Meekness is not weakness.

Who you choose to surround yourself with reveals who you are.

Show yourself only to God and He will surely show Himself to you.

If you would choose to be different in a godly way you must choose Christ.

Be glad for a day of obscurity that God has orchestrated.

We can bury anger, but sooner or later, we will have to face it.

Life at times becomes too much. Casting our cares upon the Lord is an act of self-preservation.

When we walk with the Lord, people will take issue with who we are.

God doesn’t help us become who we are; He saves us from who we are, and enables us to become as He is.

There is much that God is doing both in us and “behind the scenes” when it appears He is asleep.

We will always live in a gaping uncertainty as to who we are until we are known of God.

Guilt and shame are not enough to restore a broken relationship.

Learning to “love yourself” is not the key that will unlock the door to peace.

God makes all things beautiful in His time, but our own haste leads to waste.

We know where we would like to go; God knows where He is taking us.

God has designed certain seasons where He wishes to become nearer and dearer to us than ever before.

We grow to the degree that we can receive correction. We also demonstrate humility when we patiently receive a reproof.

A “merry heart” is a by-product of abiding in the Lord.

Our deep desire for intimacy can never be met outside of a friendship with God.

Be weary of all else, but don’t be weary of the One who can revive your heart and make your life worth living.

The worst kind of weariness is a spiritual weariness where we’re tired of God’s exhortations to us.

God calls us to be led of His Spirit, not driven by our emotions.

God wants the reality of His presence to be greater than any other reality in our life.

Often the wisest thing to do is to accept our ignorance. It is no sin to say, “I don’t know.”

No matter how much we are vexed by what we experience, we must take our heart to God and let Him calm us down.

Those who boast in themselves are left to eventually discover their inadequacy.

All the glory of man will fade away. But there is one thing which endures forever.

Those who preach any form of “believe in yourself” are not preaching the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ.

To walk in the fear of the Lord we must have an eye first and foremost toward Him.

There is a world around us that needs a demonstration of the goodness of God.

Patience is our stepping stone to God’s manifold blessing.

Make it the renewed business of your life to pursue and gain all that the Lord has for you.

If you plan on speaking for God don’t expect to be popular among men.

You don’t have to know now what you will know later. Answers are for another day; peace is for today.

God wants to hear our voice and lets us vent. Better we do so before Him than anyone else.

If we are to bear the burdens of the weak we must be strengthened by God.

Only as we are willing to address the bigger issues will God be able change us at the level we need changing.

If we have not been floored by the amazing love of God, it is doubtful that we have experienced it.

What witness are you leaving to heaven and to earth?

Give others their first dose of amazing grace.

God uses the deepest trials to deepen our abiding in Him.

There are times when God exposes to us how small-hearted we are.

Experience in God follows obedience to God.

What must God do to curb hastiness of spirit in even His choicest saints?

Here is the great tragedy of disobedience: it leaves us spiritually empty and barren.

Each of us is called to be “a workman that needeth not to be ashamed.”

The Lord can preserve us blameless in every evil day, even until His kingdom comes.

Apart from our Savior we have reason to be sad and discouraged. We can only fail. But through Him we shall do valiantly.

Faith always sees beyond where someone presently is to where they can be if only they receive God’s help.

Don’t be overcome by evil; overcome evil by the goodness you can gain as you rely on the keeping presence of God.

We have a limited time frame in which the Lord calls us to seek His face and get His help to deal with a situation His way.

Does God always have to give us a good reason for why things are as they are?

Only the Lord really knows the true condition of our heart.

Don’t take for granted the comfort and consolation that God would give you in every situation of life.