Unlocked: Daily Devotions for Teens

READ: MATTHEW 22:35-40; JOHN 6:27-29; 1 JOHN 4:7-19 There’s so much pressure on me…I can’t do everything my parents want me to do. I can’t please all of my teachers. I can’t be someone others look up to. I can’t do it all. What does God require of me? How am I going to do that—how am I going to please Him, on top of everything else? Have you ever had thoughts like these? You’re not alone. Life get...

READ: MARK 13:11; 1 CORINTHIANS 3:5-9; 1 PETER 2:12; 3:13-18 Have you ever eaten sprouts—like bean sprouts with rice noodles or broccoli sprouts with salad? They’re crunchy, delicious, and nutrient-dense. And they’re pretty easy to grow! Recently, I started growing my own sprouts. I took a seed mix, sprinkled it onto a sprouting tray, put water in the tray, and drained and rinsed the seeds three t...

READ: PSALM 23; ISAIAH 49:16; 2 TIMOTHY 3:16 As far as I can remember, the first Bible verse I learned was Psalm 23:6, “Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.” I was probably about ten years old. At that time, my parents were not Christian, so we didn’t have any Bibles at home. So where did I learn the verse Psalm 23...

READ: JOHN 11:28-36, HEBREWS 4:14-16 Composed of just two little words, John 11:35 is recognized as the shortest verse in the entire Bible; John simply wrote, “Jesus wept.” Because of how short it is, this verse is quite well known among Christians, but have you ever given much thought to its implications? The verses surrounding John 11:35 tell us that Jesus’s friend, Lazarus, had died. Now, if yo...

READ: GENESIS 1:1-3; JOHN 1:1-18; COLOSSIANS 1:15-20; HEBREWS 1:8-12 Have you ever dreamed of being a paleontologist? There’s something awe-inspiring about fossils, whether you find a rock with an imprint of a leaf or a marine creature on it, or go to a museum where entire skeletons are constructed. It’s amazing what we can discover about the past through what we find in the ground. Do you know ho...

READ: PSALM 95:1-6 The ocean…the powerful water coming up to the beach and splashing against it. The beautiful color. The sparkling. The place for people to gather on the sand and spend hours swimming and just enjoying life. Who owns all of that? Who made it? I love the ocean and everything to do with it. I love the Great Lakes. I love small lakes, rushing rivers, and trickling creeks. When I hear...

READ: PSALM 91; JOHN 15:1-5; ACTS 16:22-25; COLOSSIANS 3:15-17 Today, while I was getting the hose and sprinkler sorted, I stood in the sunshine. It was nice, for a bit. But eventually the blaring sun was just too much. So, I moved my operation into the shade. Wow, was that better! Standing in the shadow of the house, I could keep on working and ultimately fix the problem with the hose. In life, w...

READ: PSALMS 23; 46; MATTHEW 10:29-31; EPHESIANS 1:3 Though I walk through darkest valleys In the shadows of my fear I can hold my head up high because I know You’re here The sparrows do not worry They’re not afraid, they do not stress Because the Lord cares for them So, His children are certainly blessed When mountains fall and earth gives way We can have peace of mind We have a fortress and refu...

READ: PSALM 119:105; PROVERBS 3:5-6; ROMANS 12:1-21 Umar and Krish waited in anticipation. Today was the day they would go through the Maze, an important final test in their training. After this, they and all the others in their year would disperse to their various apprenticeships. As they gathered at the entrance to the Maze, their Guide showed them the map, carved onto an elaborate but weathered...

READ: PSALMS 32:6-11; 91:15; 94:17-19; 2 CORINTHIANS 1:3-5 Help! Someone help! You’re falling and there is nothing to grab onto to catch yourself. You awake with a start, your heart pumping hard. It was only a dream. You try to catch your breath. The dreams where we are falling, where something gives out from under us and we have no way of saving ourselves, can be really scary. When things happen...

READ: PSALM 115:1-13; MATTHEW 6:7-8, 19-34; 1 CORINTHIANS 8:4-6 There is no one like God. There is nothing that could replace Him. Yet, all throughout history, people have been trying to make other gods. Even the Israelites, God’s chosen people, made idols for themselves to worship. We have tried to replace God. But nothing we make could ever compare to Him. In Psalm 115, we read that idols can’t...

READ: PSALMS 16:9-11; 94:17-19; JOHN 15:1-12 Rejoice, delight, jubilation, glee, ebullience, exhilaration…all of these words mean to have joy. Not only are there lists of words about joy, but there are also hundreds of Bible verses about joy. Yet, so often we overlook or even avoid the joy of the Lord. Instead, we should be asking, how can we receive this joy? How can we live in the blessing of jo...

READ: ISAIAH 43:1-7; MATTHEW 10:29-31; JOHN 10:1-18; 1 CORINTHIANS 12:27 Have you ever felt invisible? Like no one knew who you were? Sometimes it seems like other people have really great relationships and a bunch of people to hang out with. There are some people who fit into groups with ease, and there are others who find themselves watching from a distance more than they’d like. It’s lonely. It...

READ: ROMANS 8:1; HEBREWS 4:14-16; 1 JOHN 1:8–2:2 I’d just arrived in a new-to-me country on the other side of the world. I had left a sweltering summer in Florida, where I lived…and landed in a blustery New Zealand winter to begin a year of ministry. A missionary couple offered their home for my first few days there. When I trudged into their house, I wanted nothing more than a cup of hot tea. Af...

READ: PSALMS 6; 42; JOHN 11:1-44 When was the last time you had a good cry? I’m not talking about letting a few tears go and moving on with your day, but an all-out, feels like your heart is breaking, flooding your couch with tears kind of cry. I recently allowed myself to weep like this, and afterward, it occurred to me that it had been months since I had such a cleansing cry. Before the deluge,...

READ: PSALM 34:18; ISAIAH 41:10; MATTHEW 5:4; 2 CORINTHIANS 1:3-4 Editor’s note: Today’s devotional reading discusses sexual abuse. As an eleven-year-old, I was shy and awkward. My father moved out that year. Everything felt embarrassing. One day, my father came to school unannounced. He took me on a weekend trip and molested me. Then he told me it was my fault. I felt damaged, dirty, and destroye...

READ: EPHESIANS 4:11-32; JAMES 3:2-10 Picture this. You’re on your favorite social media app, and you come across someone saying blatantly untrue things. You’re understandably frustrated. How could someone have this much disregard for the truth? You feel anger and fear. And just like that, it feels like a tornado has taken over your thumbs. You deposit a slew of harsh words and not-so-kind names i...

READ: PSALM 46:1-11; LUKE 19:10; JOHN 8:12; 2 CORINTHIANS 1:3-11 Feeling so down Laying on the ground Tears fall from my eyes Then I get a surprise A hand on my back Comforting, not an attack Someone to dry my tears Be with me in my fears Help me get up again Walk where I’ve never been Jesus, there for me In ways I never knew He could be When I was ready to give up He showed me His love was enough...

READ: ISAIAH 53; ROMANS 12:15; HEBREWS 4:14-16 Have you ever met someone who just gets what you’re going through? It can be so comforting. I experience this often with my friends who are parents. I have two young kids, and I really appreciate my friends who do have kids, as well as my friends who don’t. They both bring richness to my life. It takes some extra work for my non-parent friends to unde...

READ: MATTHEW 6:25-33; EPHESIANS 3:14-21; 1 PETER 5:7 Have you ever been walking or driving along and noticed a cluster of colorful flowers just off the road? No one planted them there, but they’re just as beautiful as any of the flowers planted on purpose. Wildflowers come up in the most random places, even between the cracks in the pavement. They come in all shapes and sizes and colors, and they...

READ: 1 CORINTHIANS 10:13; 2 TIMOTHY 2:22; JAMES 1:12-15; 4:7 What sins do you struggle with the most? In other words, in what situations do you find it’s harder to love God and your neighbors through your words, thoughts, and actions? In Matthew 22:37-40, we see that the life Jesus invites us into is one of love. But sin distorts love, so we end up loving the wrong things—or loving the right thin...

READ: ROMANS 12:1-13; JAMES 4:6-10 I genuinely wanted to figure this out on my own. But I couldn’t. It was time to ask for help. I’d been in Romania just a few weeks. Wanting to acclimate to my new city, I took a tram to shop for groceries one afternoon. I needed to return for a meeting with my ministry team later that night. As I left the store, I walked to the tram stop that looked familiar. Onl...

READ: MATTHEW 10:29-31; ROMANS 8:28-29; 1 CORINTHIANS 2:9; HEBREWS 13:5 Are you going through a stressful time? Is life really hard? In every hard time, we are seen. We are known, and we are loved. And the One doing all of this caring is God Himself. Jesus understands suffering. He suffered and died for you. In Matthew 10, Jesus says that God has His eye on every sparrow that falls from its branch...

READ: GENESIS 16:1-13; PSALM 139; HEBREWS 13:5 If there was a list of all the people in the Bible who had a reason to feel invisible, Hagar would no doubt be near the top. As Sarai’s Egyptian slave, Hagar likely had no choice but to cooperate when she was suddenly thrown into the middle of a messy plot for Abram to produce offspring through her. You see, God had promised that Abram and Sarai would...

READ: JOHN 13:31-38; 15:1-17; 1 JOHN 3:16-18; 4:19 Have you ever heard the expression, “They talk the talk, but don’t walk the walk”? It’s a way of saying that people’s actions don’t match their words. For example, if somebody talks all about how important recycling is but constantly throws their plastic water bottles into the trash, they are acting like a hypocrite: they talk the talk but don’t w...