Live Second

This year the boys and I are doing a devotional that is a little less than traditional.  My sons are in the teen years (well, the youngest is almost there), and I wanted them to see real life stories and how God connects with us through our lives. In these last few years of teaching I want them to realize that life is messy even for a Christian, but that God is bigger than any mess we make or is made for us.  Here and there, I had watched a few of the personal testimonies on I am Second.  They were moving and inspirational. The aim of the site is to share testimonies from famous Christians and how God intervened in their lives so that they came to realize that they are second.  He is first!  Then one day I happened upon Live Second: 365 Ways to Make Jesus First (I Am Second Daily Readers) that uses the videos!

For each week of the devotional, one video is watched from the site.  The devotionals for the rest of the week then focus on the main topic from the personal testimony that was presented in the video.  For example, for week three we watched the testimony of Christian Hosoi, a prominent skate boarder who landed himself in prison for drug possession.  His story of failure shows the grace of God!  Then for the rest of the week we did Bible readings and the short devotionals on King David and his sin with Bathsheba ending with readings from Isaiah and Luke on Christ's role in saving us from our sin.

The testimonies are powerful (gripping) and from what we have read and viewed so far the Bible readings and devotionals tie into the testimony given. The testimonies because they touch on some tough subjects are appropriate for teens and older. The whole aim of the videos and readings are to lead us to the idea that we are second.  He is first ALWAYS! How will we live our lives so that we put Him first in everything? We are a part of a story, but it is HIS story.  We play second...He is always first whether we acknowledge Him or not.