Unlocked: Daily Devotions for Teens

READ: LUKE 8:22-56 Who doesn’t love a good superhero movie? It’s fun to imagine someone “somewhere out there” who’s not bound by the laws of nature like we are—someone who comes to the rescue when weak earthlings find themselves in trouble they can’t escape. While many of us daydream of being a superhero, I think many of us also have a craving to be rescued by a superhero. And those dreams of a re...

READ: 1 SAMUEL 1:1-10; 2:1, 21 Recently, I had the opportunity to share with some friends about a woman from the Bible. As I started reading about Hannah in preparation to share her story, a few things stuck out to me. Hannah was seeking the Lord consistently as she prayed for a child. First Samuel 1:10 describes this prayer as marked by deep anguish and bitter crying. This was very relatable for...

READ: PSALMS 1:1-6; 3:3; ISAIAH 61:10; LUKE 15:11-32 I was probably in high school when I started continuously reading the psalms. Whenever I get to Psalm 150, I start over again. But I usually don’t look forward to Psalm 1. Maybe it’s because, when I read these verses, I’m confronted with the reality that I don’t measure up. But when I read Psalm 1 a few days ago, I noticed I felt shame, and then...

READ: PSALM 23; MATTHEW 19:16-30 The rich young man approaches Jesus with one question on his mind: “What good must I do to have eternal life?” (Matthew 19:16). When Jesus tells him to obey the law given to Moses for all of Israel, the man is confident he has kept all the law. Yet he knows he’s still missing something, so he asks, “What do I still lack?” (verse 20). We all ask ourselves this quest...

READ: PSALM 36:5-10; MATTHEW 11:25-30 “Oh God, where are you? I failed the audition. I feel so foolish. Please help me.” Ember prayed, gasping, tears falling. Trembling underneath the weeping willow tree, her quiet space, she shut her eyes tightly, blocking out the world, focusing on what her grandmother used to say. Pray, darling. Jesus meets us anywhere. A voice called, “Go inside the workshop.”...

READ: PSALMS 23; 139 As I pull up to one of my favorite hiking locations along the shores of Lake Michigan, I take a deep breath. Intentionally, I leave my phone in the car and head to the trail with only my car keys. Five minutes in, I feel the stress and demands of the week begin to lessen. Soft green leaves rustling in the breeze. Sunlight dappling the trees, cheery bird song beckoning. Scent o...

READ: ESTHER 4:5-17; ROMANS 8:18-39 You may have heard of the old TV show Father Knows Best. This 1950s American sitcom was about a father and his family. You may or may not enjoy old black and white sitcoms, but the title might stir up some questions. It would be naïve to say that earthly parents always know best—they’re flawed people. But it is true that our heavenly Father knows best. Yet, it d...

READ: GENESIS 3:1-11; 1 JOHN 1:9–2:2 “Well, that was a bad decision.” “I can’t believe we did that.” “So, now what? You know He’ll find out.” “Hmmm. I have an idea. See all those bushes and trees over there? Let’s hide.” “Good plan.” Perhaps this is how the conversation went between Adam and Eve. Genesis 3 doesn’t tell us their exact dialogue, but in their story, we witness one of the worst strate...

READ: ISAIAH 52:7-10; JOHN 3:16-17; ROMANS 10:5-15 In the United Arab Emirates, immigrants are not allowed to proselytize (attempt to convert) anyone from the local population. This makes it hard to share the good news that Jesus loves us so much that He died and rose again to make the way for us to be with Him forever. But that did not stop my parents. My parents were Overseas Filipino Workers (O...

READ: JOHN 14:15-31; 15:26; 16:5-15 What could be better than God with skin on, walking the planet, in the person of Jesus Christ? On the night before Jesus went to the cross, He told us. Jesus knew that He was going to die, be raised from the dead three days later, and after a short while, ascend into heaven. But first, He told His disciples, “When the Father sends the Advocate as my representati...

READ: HOSEA 1:1-11; 3:1-4; EPHESIANS 5:25-27 How much does God love you? The answer is: a lot! But sometimes “a lot” can be hard to picture. To show us how faithful His love is, God gave us an analogy in the Old Testament: the story of Hosea and Gomer. Hosea was a prophet, and God told him to marry a woman named Gomer. But Gomer was unfaithful and left him, causing Hosea deep hurt. When Gomer chea...

READ: ROMANS 7:15–8:6; GALATIANS 5:13-25 Lying on my dorm room floor, I wiped tears from my eyes. Why did I keep doing things I knew grieved the heart of God? Perhaps it was growing up in a strict home? The countless rules just fueled my desire to live a little outside the lines. For me, that looked like a struggle to honor God in my romantic relationships. While I didn’t go “all the way” with guy...

READ: EZEKIEL 36:26; JOHN 6:60-69; 1 CORINTHIANS 15:1-11 The question is asked, “What do you believe?” I open my mouth to recite the familiar words: “I believe in God, the Father almighty.” But do I believe? Can I claim this testimony? I close my mouth and wonder, Can I honestly profess these ancient words? Then I remember The peace during the storms, The answers to big and seemingly small prayers...

READ: DEUTERONOMY 31:6-8; LUKE 15:1-7; 19:10; 1 PETER 1:3-9 When I was eleven, I marched with a school group in our town’s Christmas parade. We started near the football stadium and then marched through town. After two miles or so, we finished at the end of Main Street. As my friend Meredith watched the thinning crowd, her face drooped as much as her pom poms, and she began to cry. Feeling alone a...

READ: PSALM 119:105; ROMANS 8:33-39; 2 CORINTHIANS 5:17; 1 PETER 5:8-9 As an old story goes, in the Old West, thieves trying to escape law enforcement would sometimes turn their horses’ shoes backwards. These “bank robber horseshoes” supposedly tricked investigators into assuming the criminals traveled on horseback in the opposite direction. With tracks from the horseshoes pointing one way—but the...

READ: PROVERBS 15:31-33; HEBREWS 12:5-13 When we’ve done something wrong, and someone calls us out on it, what’s our response? Shrug it off? Refute their claims? Sink into shame or self-hatred? Or do we remind ourselves of our identity in Christ—as beloved, forgiven children of God—then take the time to think about what they’ve said and consider how to do better next time? Friends, we are—by natur...

READ: EPHESIANS 6:10-20; JAMES 1:2-18 I have been riding horses for a while, and at first, I thought I would never fall. It was so simple in the beginning—just walking around with an adult guiding me the whole time. Eventually, I decided I wanted to become a real rider. So my mom found some lessons for me to do once a week. I was so excited to canter, jump, and learn all sorts of things that I cou...

READ: PSALM 13; MARK 14:32-36 Have you ever read a psalm and thought, Wow, they’re really mad at God. Are you even allowed to say that to Him? The short answer is, yes, and it’s called lament. In fact, about a third of the psalms in the Bible are lament psalms or complaint psalms. A lament is when you bring your honest, unfiltered frustrations, angers, griefs, and disappointments to God in prayer....

READ: 2 SAMUEL 6:12-23 Did you know God commands His people to party? Just skim through Leviticus 23 and count how many times God tells His people to celebrate. In fact, Jesus’s first miracle took place at a wedding celebration (John 2:1-12). And, as we can see in today’s Bible passage, sometimes holy festivities can look pretty wild. Celebration is vital to the Christian life. A birthday, a holid...

READ: MATTHEW 7:24-27; EPHESIANS 4:11-32; COLOSSIANS 2:6-10 The space weather alarm buzzed on my cruiser, Nova. I was halfway back to Earth after gathering medical supplies on Triton. Sensors indicated a dense solar wind heading my way—usually bringing a geomagnetic storm. I routed extra power to shields, retracted stabilizers to prevent shearing, and strapped myself to the chair. One minute to im...

READ: PSALM 71:3; GALATIANS 6:1-10; 2 CORINTHIANS 1:8-11 Have you ever considered who you can count on when times get tough? For thirty years, I had an undetected brain tumor. While it wasn’t cancerous, it took over every part of my life and affected how I behaved and thought. Many people got scared of me and left me. However, my family and close friends did not…because they knew me the best. They...

READ: ROMANS 8:1-4, 38-39; COLOSSIANS 1:13 We waited outside the pole barn on a brisk winter morning to meet our new foster dog. Cheryl, the head of the animal shelter, brought the little terrier out to us. Nearly furless, the dog cowered at the end of his leash. “Poor thing,” Cheryl said. “He’s spent the last six years in a small pen outside with little human contact. He had so many mats, the gro...

READ: MATTHEW 6:25-34; PHILIPPIANS 1:4-6, 9-11; 4:4-13 As I was driving down a rural highway, I glanced in my rearview mirror and spotted a car very close behind me. Even though I was driving the speed limit, I worried this driver thought I was going too slow. So I stepped on the gas, then suddenly spotted a deer crossing the road, and slammed on the brakes. Thankfully, I didn’t hit the deer or ca...

READ: ROMANS 6:15-23; GALATIANS 6:7-8; COLOSSIANS 1:22 As the end of the semester loomed, I scrambled to improve my grade. But I’d waited too long to turn things around in this class, and I would simply receive the grade on my report card I had earned. My seventh grade English teacher, Ms. Tyson, taught our class with a stern focus on correct grammar and punctuation. Some of my test scores reflect...

READ: ROMANS 1:16-17; 10:1-15 Helen Cadbury was born in 1877 in Birmingham, England. Her father was Richard Cadbury—one of the founders of the Cadbury chocolate company. One night when she was 12 years old, Helen received Jesus Christ as her Savior at a church meeting. The next day, Helen told her best friend about it at school. This girl remarked she was already a Christian because she went to ch...