Unlocked: Daily Devotions for Teens

Does silence ever make you uncomfortable? It makes me uncomfortable sometimes. Especially when I am trying to get to know a new friend. I often feel nervous when there is a lull in the conversation, leaving an awkward silence. And although it is not a sin, we probably all know someone who talks like silence is a sin. For some reason, it seems we like to avoid silence. Yet, I have found that silenc...

It was the event of the season! I eagerly awaited my invite but it never came. Before this event was even a possibility, I had poured into this person. God laid it on my heart to encourage, pray, and upliftand I did just that for well over a year. When a friend of mine was chattering excitedly about the event, I was happy for her, but my own ego was bruised. What was wrong with me? Why was I not i...

No one enjoys getting hurt, but because we live in a world that has been broken by sin, we get hurt often. Sometimes, this hurt comes from other people. The ones we trust the most, and are closest to, can really mess with our life. People can push us around and use us. They can break our heart and disappoint us. Daily life holds a lot of pain. Jesus experienced that pain while He was on earth, and...

In John 5:1-9, Jesus goes to Jerusalem, to a place called the pool of Bethesda. The author, John, who was probably with Jesus at the time, tells us there were a great number of disabled people (verse 3) at the pool of Bethesda. Some of these people were blind, some couldn’t walk, and some were sick. All, apparently, were looking for some kind of miraculous healing by the waterside. John records th...

“Praise the Lord! the man yelled. Here comes the authoress! The man was Pastor D. L. Moody, a well-known teacher an evangelist, and he was introducing one of the most prolific hymn writers in the United States of America, Fanny Crosby. Her hymns had touched and inspired millions who attended his church revival meetings. She only found herself on stage because there was no other seating available,...

Sleep hasn’t come easily to me lately. One of the most calming things I have found to do in the night, when my mind won’t shut down or I am dealing with anxiety, is to open the Bible app on my phone and read a chapter or two. In the night, when the world is quiet and I am all alone, I can feel a different kind of worry and a different kind of darkness. Yet, in the night, when the world is quiet an...

I live far from the ocean, but I loved each trip that I have been able to take to it. I love watching the waves come in and hearing them hit against the shore. I love the color of the water. I love walking in the sand. I also enjoy trips to local parks and the opportunity to just be out in the sun. I love the green leaves that show up on trees in the spring, and I appreciate the beauty of the oran...

I happen to live in a coastal area that is very windy. Oftentimes, the strong winds cause a lot of destruction by blowing away house roofs and destroying trees and crops in the gardens. At one time, the winds ravaged my maize garden, leaving the maize plants bent. So, I had to get sticks to support them so they would not fall flat and get completely uprooted. However, I have noticed one particular...

The New Testament talks about power in the gospel. We might be tempted to think the gospel just has to do with getting saved”I believe the story about Jesus, and then when I die I get to go to heaven.” This view almost makes the gospel seem irrelevant for life. Why do we need the gospel’s power? The gospel (the good news) is about so much more than what happens after we die. It’s about Jesus defea...

The chaos pressed around me, weighing down each step. The air was thick with ittendrils of black vapor darting this way and that. I trudged forward, barely able to see even a foot in front of me, following the voice. Somehow, the soft voice had cut through the ever-present shrieks of pain and evil that filled this world. I didn’t know what the voice was or where it came from. All I knew was how de...

When God created Adam and Eve, He gave them the gift of a peaceful home. He planted the garden in Eden, and Genesis describes the garden as lush and pleasant, filled with trees and watered by a river. And God saw that this place He had created was good. Adam and Eve could rest in the Garden of Eden, knowing the peace of God’s love surrounded them (Genesis 2:8-15). But when Adam and Eve disobeyed t...

Parents can promise anything to a child. And that child can believe that promise. Sometimes, parents do not, or cannot, keep their promises, but there is one who always keeps His promises, and that is God our Father. Here are some of His precious and treasured promises: God promised to send the Messiah to save His people and defeat the devil. Throughout the Old Testament, God gave prophesies about...

We all experience ups and downs, but sometimes, what we are experiencing seems so much harder than what we see others experiencing. Sometimes, we feel like our pain is greater, that our loss is worse. Other times, we might feel like our pain is small compared to others, and we hesitate to acknowledge that we are experiencing feelings of loss. Some will lose their parents when they are young, some...

When the dark came, because it always does, I found that I had no light. Perhaps I lost it when I crossed the river. Still, I would trust in the name of the Lord and rely on my God. As I made my way through the blackest night, I felt His comfort surround me. I relied on His presence until the night gave way to the first light of day. Coming around the next bend, I found myself facing a crowd of pe...

The vast landscape stretched before me, unending. Mountain peaks jutted harshly against a darkening sky and rivers churned angrily. Taking a deep breath, I paused to tighten the laces of my shoes. I know You have created me and called me by nameI am Yours. The wind snatched my words away, but my heart felt a bit lighter as I carefully made my way down the rocky slope. At the roaring riverside, my...

My breath started to grow short, and I felt panic rising in my chEsther While my parents were taking a nap on a warm Sunday afternoon, I was playing dress-up in my bedroom. The jacket I’d shoved my arms into had fit just fine the year before, but now I had obviously outgrown it. I’d become thoroughly, completely stuck, andto a five-year-oldthis problem seemed insurmountable. “What would I do?” Tha...

READ: EPHESIANS 4:29-32 As the aerobics class finished, I grabbed my bag and stormed to the locker room. "Why, God?" I pleaded. "Why do I have to deal with this?" Near the end of the workout session, the instructor had made a rude remark about a member of a popular boy band. Over the microphone she had been using to call out exercises, the aerobics teacher had referred to this person by a homosexu...

A Pharisee (a Jewish religious leader) named Simon invited Jesus to supper. When Jesus arrived, Simon didn’t offer Him water to wash His feet or head. Dirty feet in sandals and itchy heads need water to wash off the dust. It was also customary for the host to offer their guest a kiss on the cheek, but Simon did not greet Jesus this way. As they sat for supper, a woman slipped into the dinner. Thou...

Do you have a best friend? A best friend is a precious gift from God. And do you know that God wants to be your very best friend? Jesus came so that we could be in close relationship with God. While a human best friend cannot always be with you, God can. He is with you every hour and every moment. And He is happy to be with you. Before Jesus ascended back to heaven, He told His followers, Remember...

There are times when I feel weak. Physically weak, because I haven’t slept well. Emotionally weak, because someone has been fighting me. Spiritually weak, because I haven’t felt as close to God as I would like to feel. When I am exhausted, tired, weak I don’t feel up for the projects in front of me. There is a beautiful picture in Psalm 18 of God saving us, giving us strength, and equipping us for...

All his life, Devon had been surrounded by walls. He had been born on the spaceship, just like countless generations before him. There were stories of a place humans had come from long ago called Earth, where there was open air and water that stretched as far as the eye could see. But that’s all they were. Stories. Tales told to children before they went to sleep. On the ship, air and water were c...

I remember before putting my trust in Christ, my speech was just unedifying. Insults and curses always rumbled out of my mouth. But after discovering these Scripture passages and through the help of the Holy Spirit, I began to pay attention to each time harmful words wanted to go out of my mouth. Sometimes, our words hurt people. But Jesus can bring healing. In James 3:8-12, we are admonished to d...

When we’re in a hard place, it feels like the darkness will last forever, but it won’t. The Bible tells us there is a time for everything in life. A time for joy and, unfortunately, a time for pain (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8). Because we live in a broken world, we all experience hurt and loss. But the pain won’t last forever. One day we will begin to see a light at the end of the tunnel. Yet, it can be h...

When I clean my house, I only use all-natural cleaners. Now, before you start thinking how earth-conscious I am (although that is a great reason to use natural cleaners), there’s a deeper reason. When I was about four years old, my baby sister got into a cabinet and put a cap of the skull-and-crossbones kind of cleaner into her mouth. Even though I was young, I clearly remember riding in my dad’s...

Easter is a divine mystery, a celebration that leaves us with questions we don’t understand. How could God love us so much He would send Jesus to die? How did His body change when He rose from the dead? Why didn’t He stay on earth a little longer to spend more time with His disciples? We might not be able to answer these questions fully until Jesus returns. Like Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 1:25, G...