Steps to a Better Walk with God

Or,

How to Have a Personal Devotions Copyright 2012 by Michael Valles This material may not be copied, or reproduced in any form without permission from the author. Cover photo is from Bigstockphoto.com Aglow_With_golden_Sunlight_79851-B.

For more information about this ministry, and for helps in salvation and Christian growth, Please visit our Website at: www.making-bible-truth-plain.org

All Scripture used in this eBook is from the King James Version.

A Note from the Author: It is my desire that every child of God may know Him in a closer, more personal and ever more powerful way. His presence and blessing on you will make all the difference in the world. May you know His peace, power and wonder as you seek to serve Him in ever fresh and zealous ways! God bless you as you continue serving Him! Until we meet in Glory,

Mike Valles

Table of Contents

Introduction
Down through the ages men and women that have known Christ have tremendously enjoyed having a quiet time in the Word. Through it, they met with God and knew it! At other times, even in difficult ones, it had proven to be a real source of strength and comfort. Best of all, those that meet with the Savior faithfully and have trusted Him have found that He is all He promised to be. One such man, David, who had seen many trials in his life, was able to say O how love I thy law! it is my meditation all the day, (Ps. 119:97). David found that it could comfort him even as he walked more than once through the valley of the shadow of death (Ps. 23:4). In another place, David said that the Word of God had become More desired than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb (Ps. 19:10). It was much more than just pretty words on paper to him. He had tested the promises of God to their limits and then concluded later that: Thou art near, O LORD; and all thy commandments are truth (Ps. 119:151). In this little pamphlet, I want to show you how by having your own daily time of personal devotions it can also prove to be one of the richest sources of blessing and joy in your life! What a difference it will make as you learn how to use this time as a means to obtain: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Purpose in life Praise in your heart and lips Prayer and answers to it Plans for the day Power to fight and serve.

Because of the many things that it can provide for you, this regular time of devotions will quickly be discovered to be indispensable to your being a faithful believer in Christ. It is virtually the life-blood of a walk with God! One day spent without them will make that day just not seem the same it may even have some obviously negative results. The godly man Job learned the great value of spending time alone with the Lord and declared: "...I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food" (Job 23:12b). May you also find that your love for the Word of God and for Him that wrote it becomes of similar value to you.

Chapter 1

The Principle Behind Devotions

It does not take very long after you have become a Christian to realize that it is going to be a battle to serve the Lord Jesus Christ. Even though you are willing, you have discovered by now that the flesh is strong. It fights against the will of God and you end up struggling against it possibly not winning at times. Personal devotions is the means that Christ has given to His children to be able to overcome the flesh, the world, and the devil. Each of them is stronger than we are especially since we had been friends with them for so long. Now that you have chosen to go against them and follow the Savior, you need some spiritual food to be able to feed your spirit and to have the strength you need to withstand the pull of those three things. By personal devotions, I am referring to the quiet time, that time when the child of God gets away from the busyness of the day and meets with God privately in the Word and in prayer. This booklet will provide you with tips and ideas on how to make that time with Him more meaningful, more enjoyable, and how to allow it to bring forth more godly fruit in your life and in the life of others around you.

The Example of Jesus

The Lord Jesus Christ lived and walked in the fullness of the power of the Spirit of God. His life was perfect, which meant that He was always in tune with the Father. It also meant that Satan had nothing in Him that could be a source of temptation He was the Son of God. In spite of Who He was, He did not do anything according to His own power, or will. He depended fully on the Spirit, in the same way that we must. Christ showed to us what the Spirit is capable of doing through a man. Although He was also God, everything He did was through the power of the Holy Spirit. He did not rely on His own power. At the same time, we see a pattern in the life of the son of God that reveals what He did to maintain His own close fellowship with the Father. In Mark 1:35 we read: "And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed in a solitary place, and there prayed." Jesus rose up before the sunrise and met with His Father. He

needed to get alone with God and pour out His heart to Him. He desired to get strength and guidance for the many demands of the day. At another time, He prayed all night to God. But let us think for a moment. If the perfect Son of God needed to do this, then how much more do we need it who are sinners by nature? Every day we face many things that could distract us from desiring and doing the perfect will of God are we not in an even greater need to pray and seek His help? We also must meet with our Father for strength and power on a daily, even hourly, basis whether we feel like it or not. In many places and times, the Lord Jesus spoke of prayer and its power in the believers life. In Lk. 18:1, we are told: And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint. Here is one of the promises of prayer and its value. Jesus said if we pray we will not faint or fail. The key idea behind this is that we will be able to do the will of God if we stay in tune with Him through prayer.

The Power of the Apostles

Sometime after Pentecost, the disciples were arrested for preaching in the Temple. As they stood before the Jewish council, these leaders "perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus" (Ac. 4:13). Even the unbelieving Jewish council noticed what a difference it made upon these men because they had been in the presence of the living Lord Jesus. Others took note of the resemblance between them and Christ. The disciples were greatly stirred and emboldened by spending time with Him, and so will you be! The Christian needs to spend as much time as possible in His presence it will make the difference between victory and defeat! Near the end of his life, the Apostle Peter told young believers, as newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby (I Peter 2:2). Peter had learned, after many rash mistakes, that it is the Word that makes the believer to grow in a solid way. It is not zeal, or good intentions, nor an Ill stand no matter what happens attitude (which Peter had just prior to his fall), that makes the child of God grow, but a simple hunger and willingness to feed on the things that make for growth. Young infants do not exert any mental energy spent on making themselves grow. No, growth is automatic if you will just feed enough on the things that will make you grow. ____________

This chapter is an excerpt from the ebook Steps to a Better Walk with God. It is available on Kindle, too. You can find this ebook and more materials for Discipleship and Christian Growth at my Website:

www.making-bible-truth-plain.org