Unlocked: Daily Devotions for Teens

I’m hoping for a good explanation of what happened out there today, Kali. Captain Vesper crossed his arms as I joined him on the bridge of the Goshawk, the largest ship in the Maldi exploration fleet. Because from what I’ve heard, you abandoned your squad down on Maldi to find the missing explorer. I shrugged, gazing out the window into space and the glowing orb of the planet below us. As the youn...

When you think about memorizing Scripture, what’s the first thing that comes to your mind? Maybe you think about an elementary Sunday school class where you memorized a verse for a piece of candy. Perhaps you’ve never tried to memorize a Bible verse. Scripture memory is a powerful tool for better understanding the Bible, speaking truth into other people’s lives, and fighting the enemy’s attacks. W...

When we get down, we want a hand to help us up. We want someone to be kind to us. We want people to understand what we are going through and give us grace. That’s not always what happens, though. Sometimes when we really need a person to be kind to us, they aren’t. But Jesus always extends His kindess to us. There is never a day when He doesn’t feel like being kind. Just like we need kindness on b...

READ: PSALM 116:1-9; LAMENTATIONS 3:21-23; ROMANS 12:9-15; GALATIANS 6:1-2 Editor’s Note: Today’s story discusses abortion. “Please help me.” My best friend Emma looks panicked. My heartbeat races as I catch a glimpse of her tearstained face. “I’m having an abortion tomorrow. I need your support.” Shock and anger boil inside me. No! I think. This is against everything I believe in—a life is being...

Have you ever seen someone get shamed in public? Scornfully pointing out people’s faults or putting down their differences is a sad part of our broken world. Whether on the news, on the Internet, or at school, we’ve all seen someone be shamed. It may be for their beliefs, or a perceived wrong choice, or even just because they seem different. But shaming others effectively denies the cross, because...

One of my favorite passages in the Bible is Hebrews 1. The words have been taught before, in earlier books, but in Hebrews they are drawn together in order to form a clear picture of Jesus: He is the exact representation of God, He makes a way for us as sinners to have a relationship with God, and He is both human and divine. This passage makes a point of explaining how Jesus is superior to angels...

A lot of us love the warm glow of helping someoneand the recognition it brings. Hearing praise and gratitude can make us feel our lives are meaningful and can even give us energy to do more good. But is it possible to crave adulation almost as if it were an addiction? As broken humans, it’s easy to crave attention, because when someone builds us up, it makes us feel good about ourselves. Helping o...

Gregory (Grigor Lusavorich), born in the third century AD in Armenia, was raised as a Christian in Caesarea in Cappadocia. After he returned to Armenia, while a loyal servant to Armenian King Tiridates III, Gregory refused to participate in pagan worship, declaring he would worship only the true Creator God. Furious, King Tiridates had Gregory brutally tortured and thrown into a deep pit. He spent...

Weariness can hit anyone. Weariness drives happiness and peace away. Here are some good ways to respond when you’re becoming weary. One, lean on God’s help. God gives you strength and endurance when you rely on Him. He knows your needs and what you’re going through. If you’ve put your trust in Jesus, the Holy Spirit empowers you for what God calls you to do (2 Peter 1:3). Remember, Jesus is with y...

Sin is deadly. No one knew that better than the priests who daily carried out God’s good laws. These laws are found in Leviticus, a book of the Bible that details regulations for holy living for the Israelites. This holy living marked the Israelites as the people of a holy God. Breaking any of these good laws was a sin, and all people sin against God. Sinwhich separates us from Godleads to death....

1 John 1 is about walking in the light. It talks about following Jesus and confessing our sins to Him. Today, I want us to think more about 1 John 1:9. It’s a verse that is so simple, yet so easily misunderstood. It says, If we confess our sins, He [Jesus] is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. But sometimes, what do we do instead of confessing ou...

Where do you find peace? How do you react when you’re faced with challenges and situations that are anything but peaceful? When Paul and Silas were in prison, they still praised God. They had an inner peace that was not defined by their circumstances. They knew that God was still good, despite their chains. When Stephen was being put to death by stoning, he had peace. He even prayed that those who...

Close your eyes, and imagine a dark night. You are standing in a field, and surrounding that field is a thick forest that stretches miles in every direction. It is long after sunset, and there are no lights from buildings to shine a way out. You can hardly see six feet in front of you, let alone see the bears, wolves, and other threats that lurk in the woods. Looking at your surroundings, it’s no...

The Exodus is my favorite Bible story. It’s an edge-of-your-seat narrative where an underdog hero defies the most powerful ruler in the world and rescues his people from slavery. Unfortunately, sometimes we look at the ten plagues as evidence that God is cruel. Was God spitefully tormenting the Egyptians? Or could He actually have been showing them an extraordinary kindness? Today, we have the ben...

A few summers ago, my husband and I were invited to an outdoor wedding. The reception was in a barn, and the summer humidity was at full strength, so we assumed attire would be casual. I wore a sundress, and my husband wore a polo shirt and khakis. We were wrong about the dress codeevening gowns and tuxedos surrounded us. Our outfits were the one sore spot at a black-tie wedding. It was humiliatin...

“Brenilia, meet me at the oak tree. Love, Emerald.” Shuddering, I read the words inscribed on a stone outside my cottage. Intrigue takes over. Who is Emerald? What could she want? How long I have lived alone here, I couldn’t say. Wrapping the warm and comforting cloak around me tightly, I trudge out. The wind blows around me, touching my skin. The cloak becomes heavier, so I tighten my grip, refus...

People tend to talk about peer pressure as if it only affects teenagers, but the truth is, it doesn’t magically go away once you turn twenty. And because peer pressure will always be a part of life, it’s important that we learn how to deal with it well. Why are we as humans so easily overcome by peer pressure? Well, because we’re hardwired for community. God, who lives in constant community as thr...

“Where do I go from here?” I wondered, looking at my story. I had just finished typing out another novelanother novel for the collection of manuscripts sitting on my computer. My head swirled with story ideas and dreams, but I had no idea how to get any of them published.” How long will it be till then? Years? Decades?” When I get overwhelmed thinking about how far I still have to go, I come back...

The corpse lay still and silent as maggots wriggled and writhed along its curves and crevices. If it could have tasted anything, it would have recoiled at the pungent mucus seeping into the pores of its tongue. If it could have heard anything, its ears would have strained for the slightest sound in the deep, earthen silence. But it couldn’t taste or hear anything, couldn’t feel the maggots’ coiled...

“What’s up with me?” The nagging thought attacks you at your most vulnerable. You’re in a room full of people, but you’re estranged. A part of you longs to join in, but you watch on, displaced and wondering, “What’s wrong with me?” Have you experienced this kind of situation before? If so, you’re not alone. Where does this discomfort come from? All of us experience insecurity on some level, but th...

I. was saddened this past week when I heard about someone who had been a strong Christian all their life but didn’t feel God for the past few months and now wasn’t sure about God or their faith anymore. Now, I want to clarify. Doubt is a normal part of faith, and everyone goes through cycles of doubt. What made me sad was the equation I don’t feel God = I’m not so sure God exists. God doesn’t disa...

Omniscience. Hard to say and even harder to spell, but it basically means all knowing and it’s often referred to as an attribute of God. It seems like a pretty simple concept: God knows everything. But why is that important? First, God’s knowledge is infinite. This may seem obvious, but the more you think about it, the more amazing it is. Psalm 147:4-5 says, He counts the number of the stars; he g...

Joshua was unable to cry out for help, but he could have burst for joy when he saw a man in priests’ garb walking towards him. The Road to Jericho was quite narrow, and Joshua lay exposed right beside it. There was no missing him. Joshua stretched out his hand and tried to speak, but the priest merely edged around him and went on with his business. “Oh, I’m invisible again,” Joshua thought. Hours...

Joshua finished packing up his caravan. He had fabrics of all types to sell: wool, linen, even silk, in a splendid array of colors. On his way to the market in Jericho, he decided to stop at an inn in Jerusalem. Joshua walked toward the innkeeper. A meal and drink, whatever this will buy me, please, he said, holding up a Tyrian silver shekel. But the innkeeper walked right past him as if he were a...

God is the author of peace who gives to those who seek Him. But the enemy hates peace and tries to steal it. The good news is, the enemy is a liar. God gives us truth in His word, and He helps us stand firm (Ephesians 6:14). An opponent of peace is fear. But if we’ve put our trust in Jesus, we don’t have to fear anything, because Jesus has risen from the dead! We can rest in knowing God is with us...