Unlocked: Daily Devotions for Teens

From naan in India to tortillas in Mexico to baguettes in France, bread has been a staple food for thousands of years all around the world. Bread plays a central role in the food of almost every culture, and it’s even an important part of the Bible. In the Old Testament, God’s chosen people, the Israelites, were traveling in the desert after God rescued them from slavery in Egypt. They didn’t trus...

Have you ever baked bread before? It’s a long, time-consuming process of mixing, kneading, rising, and baking. One of the most important ingredients in breadmaking is leavening, often yeast. Though yeast is small, it makes a huge difference in bread. Without yeast, bread is flat and dense. Even a little yeast goes a long way, and when you mix it into the dough, it impacts the entire loaf and makes...

Blustery winds ferociously blew the trees. Sitting on the train, waiting for it to leave the station, I was mesmerized as bending branches were pulled by the wind. Powerless, they could not resist or move in any other direction. They had no choice but to bow with the wind, helpless. Sometimes our lives can feel the same way. We are propelled toward a path we do not wish to follow and find ourselve...

I have to admit, the last thing I wanted to do was teach Bible camp. Give up a week of my summer? For a bunch of little kids I didn’t even know? I attended church, sure, but it’s not like I was a Bible expert. Couldn’t they find someone more qualified? But my friend encouraged me to try it, so I thought, “Fine. It’s only a week. I’ll help.” When camp started, I was surprised. Some of these kids ha...

“This is madness, I sigh, trudging uphill through the snow, my face burning, the rucksack dragging me down. I’d hoped that going to Aunt Alana’s cabin would be a retreat from the worries churning inside, but regrets still plague my thoughts. Maya, a melodic voice cries out my name. Hello? I call. No one’s there. But then the snow starts melting rapidly. A gleaming light reveals a banquet on a picn...

Where do you find yourself on the introvert-extrovert spectrum? People who are more extroverted tend to value their time with other people because the interaction and conversations give them energy. People who are more introverted tend to value their time alone, away from other people, because that’s what fuels them. On which side do you tend to find yourself? In the stories of Jesus in the Bible,...

I didn’t use to think about God very often. But did you know that God is with us throughout our day, even if we’re not thinking about Him? When I was in high school, I really struggled with what people thought of me. Did people even want me around? As I read through the Scriptures, I read about the Creator of the Universe and how much He loves us and chases after us. The same God who breathed the...

On the night before Jesus went to the cross, He washed the feet of His disciples. This was a very unusual act that surprised them, especially Peter, because only servants were required to do this, and they would only wash the feet of those higher than them. Jesus soon after explained what He’d done. He said, You call me ââ¬ËTeacher’ and ââ¬ËLord,’ and you are right, because that’s what I am. And...

My Gran collected crystal animal ornaments. They would be on display in the living room looking ordinary most of the time, until the sun shone on them. Immediately the sun’s rays transformed the crystalsprisms of light would radiate across the room in dazzling displays of color. All the crystals had needed was the sun to show off their potential beauty. They changed from ordinary to extraordinary....

The teacher was at his wits’ end. His search for truth had led him to understand some of the gospel, but he could not escape the never-ceasing pull of a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions (1 John 2:16). He felt helpless and frustrated beyond measure. He sought solace in the garden behind his home, as a stroll in a verdant s...

READ: JOHN 10:1-30; 1 JOHN 3:19-24 Growing up in my village with my parents was a joyful and fulfilling experience. But I realize now that there are many things I did not bother to observe keenly during those years. My mum reared some local chickens at home, but I did not take an interest in observing their behavior. Years later, as an adult living on my own, I decided to rear local hens myself. A...

Sickness, accidents, conflict, persecution. Our world is broken, and hardship is inevitable in our lives. But how should we respond to hardship? Paul, the apostle, was familiar with suffering. After experiencing blindness and being shipwrecked, he was put in prison, deserted by friends, and had seen fellow Christians fall away from their faith. To top it off, he knew he was going to die soon. So,...

Have you ever been the target of a bully? In today’s passage, Daniel gets a dose of what a bully with clout can do. About two years have passed since Daniel and his friends were taken captive by King Nebuchadnezzar as teens. Now, something else occurs that places them in grave danger: Nebuchadnezzar has a distressing dream and demands that his wise men (magicians/sorcerers) explain it. The catch i...

Have you ever moved? If so, was it sudden or was there time to prepare and say goodbye to friends? Moving can create a lot of mixed emotions. It may be exciting in one wayyet produce anxiety in other ways. Leaving familiar people and places is never easy. Today we are tracking Daniel, a teen who experienced a sudden moveso sudden, in fact, it’s more accurate to say that Daniel was kidnapped. As th...

A paradox is a phrase that seems to be self-contradictory, backward, and impossiblelike less is more or this sentence is false. Paradoxes might seem confusing, but they make you think and often reveal deep, important truths. The gospel, which is the good news of Jesus, is a story full of opposites, and the book of 2 Corinthians beautifully illustrates many of the paradoxes of following Jesus. Jesu...

My favorite verse in the Bible is Jeremiah 1:5. This is what God said to Jeremiah when He called him to be a prophet: I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb. Before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as my prophet to the nations. Just like with Jeremiah, God knew me before I was born, and He had a plan for my life while I was still in the womb. Life becomes meaningful wh...

READ: PSALM 23; GALATIANS 6:1-2; 1 JOHN 2:1-2 Ashley stopped in front of the school doors and took a deep breath. Over winter break, her stomach had grown considerably larger, and it was impossible to hide it anymore. But if she didn’t go in, she would be late for class. Who cares? She thought. She wished she could just leave, but where would she go? She pushed through the swarm of teenagers to he...

I worry, a lot. I worry about mistakes I’ve made in the past, and I worry about the future. I worry that my actions and insensitivities may have hurt people I care about. I worry that I have not handled my responsibilities well enough. I worry that I say the wrong things, or that I haven’t said enough. I worry about being a good friend, family member, and teammate. I even worry about things that I...

Silent. I cover up the darkness within. If I do not speak of what is hidden, I think that none shall know. But in my silence I inwardly groan and waste away. It is as if a heavy hand presses down upon me, sapping my strength like the blazing heat of summer. Naked. I am only deceiving myself. My guilt is already known and uncovered before the One who knows me better than I know myself. I rip away t...

Filling a basin with water in the upper room, our Lord Jesus Christ washed the feet of His disciples. He then tenderly dried each foot with a towel He had hung around His waist. This included the two feet belonging to Judas. Christ knew Judas would betray Him in a few hours. Still, He washed Judas’s feet, telling His disciples, And since I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you ought t...

There are many challenges people face every day. The world we live in is dysfunctional, torn apart by imperfection. Sin has twisted God’s good creation, but Jesus came to heal the brokenness we inhabit. Because of Jesus, we have hope, and we get to share this hope with each other. When one of my friends was facing some challenges and was desperately in need of cheering up, I decided to email her s...

People make promises but often fail to fulfill them. Sometimes people change their minds about the promises they’ve made, or lie about them, or even forget they made a promise at all. Other times, promises are broken because of human limitations or unforeseen circumstances. There are many reasons people cannot always be depended upon to keep their promises. But when God makes a promise, He always...

“Behold, I will do a new thing. Isaiah stood on a hill overlooking the once great city of Jerusalem. His shoulders were bent with age, his long beard a tangle of gray. It had been years since he first spoke the prophecy of Israel’s downfall and of the Messiah. The promised Rescuer had not yet come. Still, Isaiah clung to God’s words like a lifeline: Behold, I will do a new thing. Israel needed new...

When anyone becomes a Christian, it’s easy to become despondent when suddenly things go wrong. The dreams you had of walking in Jesus’s footsteps and showing others what He’s like can quickly turn sour when you lose your temper or do something you later regret. When this happens, don’t give up or despair. It’s easy to think, I’m not good enough. I’m supposed to be a Christian, and I’ve really mess...

Many of us have taken care of plants at some time, whether a little succulent, a pot of herbs, a flower bed, or a field of vegetables. Some of us are more successful gardeners than others, but whether we’re good at growing plants or not, there’s a lot we can learn about our lives from gardens. In John 15:1-9, Jesus describes Himself as a vine and His followers as branches growing from that vine, w...