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Neil T. Anderson and Dave Park
Published by Bethany House Publishers 11400 Hampshire Avenue South Bloomington, Minnesota 55438 www.bethanyhouse.com
Bethany House Publishers is a division of Baker Publishing Group, Grand Rapids, Michigan. www.bakerpublishinggroup.com
Bethany House Publishers edition published 2014
ISBN 978-1-4412-6572-2
Previously published by Regal Books
Ebook edition originally created 2014
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means-for example, electronic, photocopy, recording-without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.
Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version ®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.
Other versions used are:
THE MESSAGE —Scripture taken from THE MESSAGE . Copyright © by Eugene H. Peterson, 1993, 1994, 1995. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.
NASB —Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE ®, Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
NKJV —Scripture taken from the New King James Version . Copyright © 1979, 1980, 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Edited by Alex Field
DEDICATION
This book is dedicated to the memory of Dan Roeloff, a man who found that place called surrender.
CONTENTS
Acknowledgments
The 24/7 Challenge
How to Use This Book
DAY
1. The Search
2. Stay Balanced!
3. Without Faith!
4. Hearts Filled with Truth
5. Meditation
6. Meditation and Actions
7. Truth, Jesus and You!
8. Meditation Methods
9. The Power of Our Actions
10. Changing the Heart
11. Our Actions Affect Our Thoughts
12. Actions and Knowledge
13. True Freedom Requires Balance
14. Making the Right Choice
15. What Is God’s Law?
16. Free from Bondage
17. We Are Responsible
18. He First Loved Us
19. Abiding in Christ
20. Where Changed Behavior Begins
21. God, Our Power Source
22. Abiding in Christ Daily
23. Filled with the Spirit
24. Inhibiting the Work of the Spirit
25. Being Filled with the Spirit
26. The Yearning to Be Filled
27. Growing in Holiness!
28. Fellowship Affirms Our Identity
29. Growing Up
30. Relationships and Bearing Fruit
31. Encouraging Growth
32. The Keys to Great Fellowship
33. The Struggle!
34. The Traitor Within
35. Resisting the Flesh
36. Opposition from Outside
37. Warfare!
38. Taking a Stand
39. When the Going Gets Tough!
40. God’s Great Reward!
Endnotes
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
We would like to thank Bill Greig III, Bill Denzel, Alex Field, Jessie Minassian, Patti Virtue and Pam Wiebe at Gospel Light. Thank you for sharing our vision to help today’s youth discover who they are in Christ and find their freedom in Him!
THE 24/7 CHALLENGE
24/7 means to live for Jesus 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. In other words—all the time! Living for Jesus in this sin-twisted world is tough, but we can do it! God has a special challenge for us, a 24/7 challenge. Free is about living our lives for Jesus. God made it possible through His Son for sinners to become saints. That’s quite a change. The theological term for this incredible change is “sanctification.” We are completely forgiven for every sin we have ever committed or will ever commit, but we have not been perfected. Paul says, “We proclaim him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ. To this end I labor, struggling with all his energy, which so powerfully works in me” (Colossians 1:28-29).
Are you ready for a 40-day journey that will help you become more like Jesus and live totally for Him? This adventure takes a small commitment on your part—about 10 minutes a day for the next 40 days. It takes about 40 days to develop a habit, so we want to encourage you to take the challenge to live for Jesus 24/7 by first giving Him 10 minutes of your day. Will you accept the challenge?
I know that without Christ I can do nothing, yet with Him I can do all things. I, _______________________ [your name], accept the 24/7 challenge to live for Jesus and experience life with Him. I choose to develop, through the leading of the Holy Spirit, a daily time to meet with God and spend time in His awesome presence. I will not fail because His grace has me covered and I’m totally acceptable to Him. I desire to hear His voice and to know and do His will 24/7.
Signature
Date
HOW TO USE THIS BOOK
1. Pray against any distractions. Tell Satan, the enemy, to leave you alone. Ask God for understanding and guidance as you set out on this journey.
2. Take your time. Don’t hurry to finish the day’s insights. Listen to God’s voice and try to spot the key verses used each day. Look them up in your Bible to catch the context.
3. Write out your feelings, personal comments and discoveries. By writing down your insights, you will remember what God is teaching you.
4. Answer each of the discussion questions from your own perspective—as they relate to your own personal needs and life.
5. State out loud “The Lie to Reject” and “The Truth to Accept” as well as other statements as recommended.
6. Monitor your progress and keep on track. If you miss a day, make a plan to catch up.
7. Find a quiet place and a special time to meet with God daily. Make sure there are no interruptions or distractions to bug you (like the TV or radio). Even if you are used to studying with the radio on, turn it off for your devotional time so that you can hear God’s voice. Find someone who will go through the devotional at the same time you do. Encourage each other and check in to make sure that you are both keeping up.
My accountability partner is ________________________________.
YOU CAN DO IT!
Our prayer is that this book will help you live like the person you really are in Jesus. You have a new identity and a personal guide—Jesus—to help you become more like Him, so you can do it! We also hope this book opens up many ministry opportunities for you to share these truths with others. We know God will bless your time with Him!
DAY 1
The Search

God sacrificed Jesus on the altar of the world to clear that world of sin. Having faith in him sets us in the clear. God decided on this course of action in full view of the public—to set the world in the clear with himself through the sacrifice of Jesus, finally taking care of the sins he had so patiently endured. This is not only clear, but it’s now—this is current history! God sets things right. He also makes it possible for us to live in his rightness . Romans 3:21-22, THE MESSAGE
Here’s an old story from the 1800s:
There came down one of the rough mountain roads of Mexico a few years ago a weary-looking, travel-stained man. As he walked along he examined every landmark on the way, and at last seemed to find the place he was looking for. It was a rough, uncultivated, hilly piece of land not much good for growing anything, but this did not appear to disappoint the traveler. On the contrary, he hurried to find out from the owners if the land could be bought and soon had obtained it for hardly anything. Then day after day, the Mexican man patiently toiled with plough, spade and pick, but (as he sowed no seed) for what reason no one knew. Months rolled away, and as means and strength began to fail, the man found two others to help in his work. To them he told a secret that made them toil as patiently and persistently as himself.
A dying man had confessed to him that a few years ago he had belonged to a band of robbers that had fallen upon and destroyed a troop of soldiers. The poor fellows were convoying over the mountains an immense quantity of silver dollars. And in defending their charge, they were all killed. When the slaughter was over, the robbers had been bitterly disappointed to find that during the fight the treasure had disappeared. They were certain that it was concealed, but in spite of a most diligent search they had to leave without it. Most of them were very shortly afterward surrounded and killed. The incident had almost been forgotten. The dying robber had described the scene of the encounter with the soldiers, and the one to whom he had confided the secret was now seeking the lost treasure.
Seven long years passed and still the search was being carried on. At last there came a day when, worn out with toil, the owner of the land lay at death’s door. Away among the hills his comrades were hard at work dislodging a great rock. And when they had succeeded there appeared to their eager eyes the entrance to a cave. At once the treasure seekers rushed in feeling sure that all of their labor was to be rewarded. But not a single dollar was to be found. The men were turning to leave the cave when they caught sight of an old piece of leather hanging from a dark cleft in the rock above. They gave it a pull and it came down in their hands—and with it came rolling down at their feet a few silver dollars for which they had so long searched in vain. Soon the whole treasure was discovered and the finders were rich men. The leather bags that contained the money had been hastily cast in some hole above and were quickly covered with stones and earth, thus escaping the searchers’ eyes.
Heaps of the silver dollars were carried into the hut where the sick man lay. He saw and handled them. But they profited him nothing. For either on the same day or the following day he died. The years of toil had only brought him weariness, broken health and death. 1
The old man spent his life in a vain search for silver. It sounds ridiculous, doe