Unlocked: Daily Devotions for Teens

READ: EZEKIEL 11:15-21; 39:21-29 “Where is God when there are wars and sicknesses? Where is God when my friends are hurting?” If you’ve asked these questions, you’re not alone. People have been wondering for thousands of years. One person who responded to these questions was Ezekiel, a messenger to God’s people, the Israelites. Ezekiel preached truths about God and the world, messages of warning a...

READ: 1 CORINTHIANS 12:20-27; EPHESIANS 2:10 Have you ever seen a patchwork quilt project? When leftover fabric is too small to make something on its own, it can be combined with other leftover fabrics in a patchwork design to create something unique, beautiful…and eco-friendly! Patchwork projects are incredibly versatile—you can make quilts, bags, clothes, and so much more. And each project is so...

READ: LUKE 15:11-32; JOHN 3:16-17 In the Old Testament, the coming of the Messiah was foretold by several prophets. Many Israelites thought the Messiah—the One who would save God’s people—would be a political leader who would restore their freedom and save them from their oppressor, Rome. But when Jesus came as the Messiah, He came to demonstrate God’s unconditional love for sinners, not to give H...

READ: PSALM 121; ISAIAH 41:10 Have you ever gotten discouraged about living the Christian life? If so, you’re not alone. In our broken world, we face many discouraging things, like temptation, loss, broken relationships, disaster, and tragedies of all kinds. Sometimes we as Christians can get a little weary on the journey of faith. There are times when we need encouragement and help to move us alo...

READ: MATTHEW 23:11-36; ROMANS 15:7; 2 CORINTHIANS 5:1-21 Jesus Christ had a lot to say about hypocrisy. In Matthew 23, He confronted a group of religious leaders, repeating the phrase, “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites!” not once, but six times. Jesus called out their self-righteousness. When we think of hypocrites we imagine people trying to appear better than they a...

READ: 1 CHRONICLES 16:8-27 I will write a letter to You, Lord A letter to say I thank You, for the people You provided me, for the opportunities You allowed me, I thank You, Lord. I will write You a letter, Lord A letter to say I praise You, when life is calm, when life is crazy, I praise You, Lord. I will write a letter to You, Lord A letter to say I need You, for the days my body is hurting, for...

READ: ISAIAH 62:5; HOSEA 2:19; JOHN 3:28-31; EPHESIANS 5:25-29 As someone who is married, I think the image of Jesus as a Bridegroom to the church is a beautiful comparison. The love, companionship, and union of marriage is designed to mirror the relationship of Jesus and His church. That’s why one name for Jesus in the Bible is the Bridegroom, and we—the church—are His bride. Jesus deeply loves u...

READ: LUKE 11:1-13; ROMANS 8:15-17, 26-30 God loves being in close relationship with us. That’s why He invites us to be in communication with Him and enjoy the closeness and unity we have with Him. The Trinity is the perfect example of unity. God is one, and God is also three persons: the Father, the Son (Jesus), and the Holy Spirit (Deuteronomy 6:4; 2 Corinthians 13:14). The Trinity is characteri...

READ: PSALM 37:1-7; PROVERBS 16:1-9; 19:20-22 As a young child, I dreamed of many variations of my future: a ballerina (which I was told I could never accomplish), or a nurse who flies in helicopters to help with medical emergencies, or an environmentalist who protects God’s creation. I also fantasized about opening a shop that sold used books, bouquets of flowers, and had a café. I had a vivid im...

READ: EXODUS 34:5-6; MATTHEW 22:35-40; EPHESIANS 4:31-5:2 Do you ever feel like you’re failing in your relationships? I do. I often find myself asking God to help me be a better friend, daughter, wife, mother, church member, coworker, and so on. And while these prayers have good intentions, I would often spend more time berating myself for my failures and thinking about human solutions than asking...

READ: LUKE 15; JOHN 15:13; ROMANS 5:5-11 Elle’s dragon, Thon, had run away many times. But never before had he been missing for more than one rotation of the two moons. Elle had hand fed him from his hatching, taught him to fly, nursed him through dragon pox. Loved him. Elle sat up on her bed. The annual dragon market was today at the junkyard for old time machines. Perhaps Thon would be there. Sh...

READ: ROMANS 12:1-2; PHILIPPIANS 2:13; COLOSSIANS 3:12-17 What do you think of when you hear the word “worship”? For me, I tend to think of worship music, my personal devotional time, or maybe a worship service at church. However, worship as the Bible describes it is much bigger than a song or something we participate in a few moments each week. As Paul writes to the church in Rome, as we consider...

READ: JOHN 13:34-35; GALATIANS 5:22-23; EPHESIANS 4:24-32 On the night before Jesus went to the cross, He told His followers, “As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:34-35). Have you ever had the opportunity to share your faith because people noticed Jesus’s love shining through you? Sometimes, befo...

READ: EPHESIANS 4:1-16; PHILIPPIANS 1:3-6, 9-11 Imagine for a moment you were caring for a newborn baby, and then, the day after their birth, you just expected them to be able to walk. That would be ridiculous, right? Babies can’t do everything right away when they’re born. They grow up gradually, learning a little at a time. It’s the same way with Christians. The Holy Spirit helps us grow in our...

READ: PSALM 108:1-5; JOHN 3:16-17 Your love is so great I can’t stop talking about it I want to sing it loud I want to share the news I want others to see what You have done Your love has touched the world I want those living everywhere to hear about it I want everyone to know they can receive it I want to share it with all You made the heavens and Your love goes higher than them It is bigger than...

READ: MATTHEW 22:34-40; ACTS 9:1-20 When I worked in Japan as a young international schoolteacher, I often spent weekends exploring Tokyo’s neighborhoods or other parts of Japan. Sometimes, I’d get lost and have to ask strangers the way in my simple Japanese: “Migi? Hidari? Massugu?” (Right? Left? Straight?) Their rapid, fluent answers often left me confused. Do you ever get lost or confused when...

READ: PSALM 13; 1 THESSALONIANS 5:16-18; HEBREWS 10:36-39 There are times when I get on my knees to pray, and I don’t feel like praying. There are times when I talk to God, and it doesn’t feel like He’s listening. There are times when I’m in a tough spot, and I feel like screaming, “God! Don’t You even care?” One thing I love about God is that He can handle my feelings, no matter how unruly they m...

READ: GENESIS 18:25; JOHN 3:16-18; ROMANS 8:1-11; 14:11-12 Do you know anyone who has been on a jury in the United States of America? In the USA, a person accused of a crime has the right to a trial by jury. That means other American citizens are randomly selected to hear the evidence and decide whether or not the person accused of a crime is guilty. Their final decision is to be based solely on t...

READ: MATTHEW 12:1-14 How do you deal with conflict? I may have an unpopular approach, but I tend to address conflict head on, right away. I don’t like using the silent treatment or leaving passive aggressive notes. But I think my approach can be a little intense sometimes, so I’m learning to give others time to process disagreement and conflict. When I’m practicing better conflict management, I t...

READ: ROMANS 12:4-10; 1 CORINTHIANS 12:1-27; 1 PETER 4:8-11 Not all Christians are potatoes. Let me explain. Let’s say you have a vegetable garden filled with carrots, potatoes, beans…and then you combine all those colorful and delicious veggies into a great vegetable soup. But what if the scenario changed? What if all you had in your garden were potatoes? In this new scenario, you couldn’t make t...

READ: JEREMIAH 29:11-13, 33:2-3; ROMANS 8:26-27 I have always prayed before bed; it’s something my parents started doing with me when I was little, and it stuck. But there’s one problem with this: I’ve lost count of the number of times when, by the time I go to bed, my brain is so scrambled that all the words I have left seem like utter nonsense. I feel guilty for this sometimes because I want to...

READ: MATTHEW 1:23; JOHN 1:1-18; ROMANS 5:6-11 Over two thousand years ago, Jesus was born. God became human and lived on earth with other humans. Stop for a moment and think about that. Isn’t that amazing? The One who was present at the beginning of time—the One who created all things, including humans—came down to His creation and experienced it as a human…because He loves us. Jesus grew up with...

A scorching sun beats down from a red sky, hot sand making my throat and nose raw. I cough wheezily, my chest tight and vision blurry. Hours have passed since I got separated from the caravan, and I am all but spent. My vision spins and I fall to my knees, panting. Slowly, I regain my balance only to stare in surprise at what’s in front of me. A man in a white robe and sandals stands there, smilin...

READ: PROVERBS 1:1-7; 1 CORINTHIANS 1:30; JAMES 1:5-8; 3:13-18 The ball was out, right? It all happened so fast that I couldn’t tell. Did it touch the line? I tried to replay it in my head, but the decision wasn’t becoming any clearer. This was the biggest tennis game of the season. If we won, we would advance, but if we lost, the season would be over. Worse yet, I was playing doubles—which meant...

READ: GALATIANS 5:16-26 SMASH! TWANG! I picked up my tennis racket off the sidewalk and moped toward the bus. Surprisingly, throwing my racket to the ground hadn’t broken it. I had lost another match. My mind raced. “How could I miss that backhand? It should’ve been so easy!” I reviewed every mistake over and over, thinking about how much better I should be by this point in the season. Coach came...