Live Second: 365 Ways to Make Jesus First by Doug Bender is one of the most unique devotionals I have ever read. This isn’t your ordinary read-for-thirty-seconds-a-day type of book, neither is it a feel good, make you warm and fuzzy inside type of inspirational book. I’m not sure I’d even call it inspirational—but it is phenomenal.

I received this book before reading the I Am Second book or even understanding what the movement was about, however, after reading Live Second I am fairly convinced that the I Am Second movement is relevant and necessary in this modern, self-serving age.

Live Second is a challenge, 365 days of it, to put Jesus first. Every time I’d read a new day, I’d expect a cheesy predictable paragraph relating to the suggested reading passage. Instead, I was motivated and challenged to take action with what I’d learned. Nearly every day had a least one fabulous quote, and some days the entire text was rock solid awesomeness.

But wait, there’s more!

Not only is Live Second a 365 day devotional, it comes with a multi-faceted approach.  It includes a suggested Scripture passage (ok, nothing too exciting or different there) as well as a prayer and action steps to take what you’ve learned and apply it. Probably the coolest feature, though, is the video links included at the beginning of several of the devotionals. You can simply scan the code with your smart-device and pop up the correlating video. If you don’t have such technology, a link is included for you to type in. This book is very media-savvy.

I would say that the only downside (for some) is what I loved about it—the media features! For instance, I could not imagine my father ever reading such a book; all the hash-tags and scanning codes would drive him nuts. So, maybe not the best gift idea for grandma, but otherwise it is awesome in every way. Most importantly, it is loaded with transforming truth, something many current daily devotionals lack. I don’t know about you, but I’m tired of picking up devotionals that give me short, pat answers to big spiritual issues. I like the depth that comes in a book like Live Second. I hope and pray the multi-media additions will appeal to a younger crowd, the next generation of youth who desperately need to see what a sold out, Christ-first faith looks like.

This is a MUST have book, in my opinion. I love it.

(I received Live Second from BookSneeze for review purposes only and was not required to give a positive review. The opinions expressed here are strictly my own.)

For more info/resources on the I Am Second movement check out this website: www.iamsecond.com

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If you’d like a FREE hardcover copy of Live Second, I can help you out! Simply click HERE and “like” the page, then share the page with your friends (and if you’ve already “liked” the page, that’s fine, just share it with your friends and keep track of how many of them “like” the page because you shared it). For every “like” the page gets from you and your friends, you will be entered in a drawing to win the book. Let me know how many of your friends have liked the page and I will add that many entries for you in the drawing. Winner will be chosen on Friday, January 4th so there is plenty of time to share and get a bunch of entries! Any “like” received on the facebook page from the time this review is posted (now) will be entered.