Unlocked: Daily Devotions for Teens

READ: LUKE 15:1-3, 8-10; 19:10 Cadlyn’s hand froze as she reached up to push her hair back, hovering over the empty space where the coin should have been. Her heartbeat quickened, and her fingers fumbled in her haste to pull the headdress off. Elegant silk and silver coins shone up at her. Cadlyn’s heart sank. It was as she had feared: a coin was missing. Nine silver coins like full moons embroide...

READ: MATTHEW 28:6; LUKE 15:1-7; ROMANS 3:23-24; 1 PETER 2:24 We are all human and we all sin, so, until we see Jesus face to face, there will be times when we mess up. When we stumble, slip, and fall, sometimes it seems impossible to find our way back. We let our failures keep us from going back to our forgiving, loving God, giving them far too much influence in our lives. Have you ever thought a...

READ: READ: PSALM 91; JOHN 1:14; 14:1-6, 15-23; REVELATION 21:1-7 During my first Thanksgiving break in college, I spent the weekend at my roommate Jade’s house. Her mom made delicious food and drinks, including a Thanksgiving punch called “Jade’s Specialty.” Their warm welcome greeted me with love. They were the closest thing I could get to a home away from home. On Thanksgiving night, Jade hande...

READ: 1 THESSALONIANS 5:15-18, 23-24; HEBREWS 13:5 For as long as I can remember, my grandma has had a little hand-stitched sign in her home that reads: “There is always, always, always something to be thankful for.” As a child, I loved that sign. And as I grew into adulthood, I began to understand just how meaningful it was. My grandparents lived out true gratitude. Their lives were not easy, and...

READ: MATTHEW 1:22-23; ROMANS 15:4; HEBREWS 13:5-6; 2 PETER 1:3-4 Growing up, I was surrounded by God’s promises. In church, with friends, and at home, I heard people say things like “God will never leave you,” or “God has good plans for you.” I could even find these promises in the Bible, but I was still a bit skeptical. After all, God’s promises—especially in the Old Testament, like the ones men...

READ: LUKE 23:43; HEBREWS 3:3-6; 11:13-16 Home, sweet home, The volatile, the vile memories Of tears, and shrieks, and all the while The place meant to be safe is anything but, And the place meant to bring warmth… Freezing, we are exiles. Exiles battered by the pounding rain of Bruises and divorce, of foreclosures And, of course, the silence that wraps us In a home sweet homely hug. Home, sweet ho...

READ: MATTHEW 20:25-27; LUKE 10:1-9; PHILIPPIANS 2:3-8 Have you ever tried to be impressive to gain friends? Sometimes we operate under the mistaken belief that being stronger, smarter, or funnier than those around us will draw others to us. In reality, positioning ourselves above others often creates space between us and them—Jesus cautions His disciples against doing this. After all, healthy rel...

READ: 1 CORINTHIANS 10:31–11:2; EPHESIANS 5:1-2; PHILIPPIANS 3:17; 4:9 I recently had the opportunity to play cello with my old high school orchestra as an alumni. Before the concert, our director held multiple alumni rehearsals, and I went to all of them. But an old cellist friend of mine was only able to come to one, and on that day we shared a music stand. As we started the first song, somethin...

READ: 1 KINGS 3:5-12; ROMANS 12:2 God did an amazing job when He created humans. Our brains alone are made up of about 86 to 100 billion nerves that communicate in 100 trillion connections, controlling all of the systems in our bodies and allowing us to communicate, think, and reason. But, because our world has been broken by sin, sometimes our brains give us the farthest thing from wisdom. Especi...

READ: MICAH 7:18-20; ROMANS 8:31-39 Have you ever wondered if your sin is more than God could forgive? You’re not alone. We’ve all had moments when we’ve felt and seen the darkness in our own hearts and minds and wondered, How could God still love me? Sometimes we might feel as though God only forgives us because Jesus paid for our sin at the cross—so, you know, He kind of has to. But maybe He doe...

READ: DEUTERONOMY 10:18-19; 27:19; GALATIANS 3:28; REVELATION 7:9-10 At various times throughout US history, my nation has been shamelessly racist: enslaving African Americans, killing and relegating Native Americans to reservations, interning Asian Americans, etc. And while America has worked to put an end to these horrible practices, today we live in a time that continues those abuses with more...

READ: PROVERBS 17:1; PHILIPPIANS 4:10-13; 1 TIMOTHY 6:6-19; JAMES 3:13-18 Cheerful colored cloths hung from candlelit windowsills and plump pumpkins crouched like friendly gnomes near doorways. The courtly procession was traveling through a village on the way to the autumnal feast. Around Crispin were other people wearing fine silks walking along to the lilting music of minstrels. Yet he felt anyt...

READ: NUMBERS 12; MICAH 6:4; HEBREWS 2:10-18 If we’ve put our trust in Jesus, we can know that God is always at work in our lives, forming us to become more and more like Jesus through our relationships and experiences. This is not always an easy process, especially when it comes to family relationships. Your sister can feel like a best friend and ally on Monday, but by Friday you could be at odds...

READ: 2 CHRONICLES 32:1-22; MATTHEW 4:1-11 At one time in Israel’s history, the army of Assyria came to invade Jerusalem, and the Assyrian king, Sennacherib, was sure that this Israelite God would be as easy to defeat as the gods of the other nations surrounding it. He laid siege to Jerusalem, then used fear tactics. He sent threatening letters to King Hezekiah of Judah and sent officers to yell t...

READ: PSALM 25:1-5; ROMANS 8:35-39; REVELATION 6:9-11 I’ve been reading the book of Revelation recently, and Revelation 6:11 is one of the verses that’s really stuck with me. Though it describes John’s vision of events that haven’t yet taken place, it still feels very relevant. The martyrs described in this verse are waiting in heaven for the Lord to punish those who had killed them because of the...

READ: PSALM 46; JOHN 16:33; HEBREWS 4:14-16   I have heard that peace is like a river of serenity. I have heard that the Lord is the giver of tranquility. If peace can be revealed through the raindrops of a raging storm, Why does the thunder never stop? It leaves my heart feeling torn.   My friends are gone. I’m alone in the dark. No peace can I find. Fear holds me as a slave. I feel like I am los...

READ: ROMANS 3:21-26; EPHESIANS 2:1-10; 3:14-21 Have you ever sat and watched a pendulum clock? The rhythmic back and forth motion can be mesmerizing, even relaxing. Many things have been likened to the swing of a pendulum. Most of them are not relaxing but instead refer to constant change. Clothing, for example, is compared to a swinging pendulum. This year, women’s pants are wide, and in a few y...

READ: ISAIAH 49:15-16; ROMANS 8:35-39 Have you ever wondered, “Where is God now? Doesn’t He love me?” Isaiah 49:15-16 presents one of the most beautiful expressions of God’s everlasting love in all of Scripture. God contrasts His love with one of the closest of human bonds: that of a mother with her nursing child. As unlikely as it is, a woman could forget her child. Yet God says He will never for...

READ: 1 CORINTHIANS 13; 1 JOHN 4:19 Gunshots—they were distant, but the sound jolted through Kor’s body like bolts of lightning. He knew with every shot, another of his comrades could fall. CRACK! His friend Finn was going to be a doctor. CRACK! Mika dreamed of being a professional athlete. CRACK! Zade just wanted to get home. In the trenches, Kor always thought about how many were lost, praying t...

READ: PSALM 96:2-3; MATTHEW 28:19-20; ROMANS 10:9-15 When I was a young teen, I really wanted to go on a mission trip. And I mean really wanted—I read missionary biographies, researched unreached people groups (communities who have never even heard of Jesus) and was sure that when I grew up, I too would serve God in some far-off place. Spoiler alert: it didn’t work out that way. In my first few ye...

READ: MALACHI 3:1; 4:5; MARK 1:1-3; LUKE 1:11-17 The book of Malachi in the Bible contains an oracle, or a message from God. The name Malachi means “my messenger,” and it’s the last book in the Old Testament. It’s God’s final message to His people before 400 years of silence. By the time the prophet Malachi came on the scene, about a century had passed since the first Israelites returned from the...

READ: 2 CORINTHIANS 1:1-5; 6:3-10; 10:3-5 "God won’t give you more than you can handle,” many well-meaning people have said. However, when you’re going through that dark night of the soul—such as the death of a loved one, an unexpected diagnosis, or other deep pain—this saying does not ring true. Why does God allow these hard things we don’t, and may never, understand? Is He even still good? Whene...

READ: ROMANS 5:1-11; EPHESIANS 2:1-10; TITUS 2:11-14 God’s ability to rescue and transform is incredible. “I once was lost, but now am found,” wrote John Newton in his famous hymn “Amazing Grace,” and these striking words weren’t simply for dramatic effect. Newton had experienced God’s grace—His undeserved kindness— firsthand, and his story is a beautiful example of God’s power. Newton was born in...

READ: PSALM 119:10-16, 50-52, 103 I used to have crippling anxiety during violin recitals because I put too much pressure on myself to nail every note in front of an audience. No matter how well I knew the music, my fingers, arms, and legs would shake uncontrollably. Instead of playing the beautiful flowing melody I spent months learning and rehearsing, my performance would be choppy and somewhat...

READ: PSALMS 32:1-11; 139:7-10; JEREMIAH 17:7-8 Sometimes, when God seems silent, it’s easier to ask, “Where is God?” than to consider what the silence really means. There are so many stories in the Bible of God working through people in major ways. Moses led thousands out of slavery, Joseph saved entire nations from starvation, not to mention Jesus—God in human flesh—made the way to save the worl...