Unlocked: Daily Devotions for Teens

“Safe place.” “Shelter.” “Haven.” “Refuge.” These are some words we use to describe a place we go to in the middle of a storm or something else that disrupts the safety we have around us. You’ve probably had a tornado drill at school where your whole class takes cover by crowding into a space with no windows. Or perhaps you’ve had a fire drill where you go outside and find safety by distancing you...

Have you ever wondered how you can ever reach That One Person with the gospel? The one with a different political affiliation, religion, or otherwise different worldview? I have. I know I can’t move my friend toward God. Only He can draw them. But sometimes I don’t even know where to start talking. Our differences are so great. Jesus faced a similar situation when He spoke to the Samaritan woman a...

Have you ever wondered if God is listening to your prayers? Or felt like everyone else has had their prayers answered but you? You are not alone. In Luke 1, we meet Elizabeth, a descendant of Aaron, who is married to Zechariah, a Jewish priEsther They were devout worshipers who had been married many years, praying and longing for a child. But now they were too old to have children. Elizabeth must...

Within hours of King Ahaziah’s death, Athaliah, the queen mother, had seized absolute power. No one in Ahaziah’s line was strong enough to oppose her; after all, she had the royal bodyguard on her side. Jehosheba, the king’s sister, sprinted through the palace, the terror of death in her eyes. She threw open the door of the royal nursery and stepped inside. She heard the ever-nearing sounds of sol...

Jesus enters my trial without stats or witnesses. His scars are the proof to defend me today. “Can’t you see I love her?” He asks Satan, the prosecutor. “Don’t you know I chose her? Don’t you know I’m for her?” “She’s Mine, stop accusing!” Jesus commands the devil. “She became Mine as a child; stop making her doubt.” “Attorney, why bother?” questions the prosecutor. “She must do more to be Yours;...

One day, Jesus was walking away from the temple in Jerusalem. The disciples stopped him. They were admiring the magnificent Jewish temple Herod had built. Peter was looking at the huge foundation stones. John was admiring the massive walls. James was looking at the high roof. The huge white stones were glistening in the noonday sun. One stone alone was the size of a bedroom or a kitchen! The giant...

Jesus enters my trial without stats or witnesses. His scars are the proof to defend me today. Can’t you see I love her? He asks Satan, the prosecutor. Don’t you know I chose her? Don’t you know I’m for her? She’s Mine, stop accusing! Jesus commands the devil. She became Mine as a child; stop making her doubt. Attorney, why bother? questions the prosecutor. She must do more to be Yours; she knows I...

I grit my teeth and hang on to the saddle horn with a stubbornness that matches that of the horse I am riding. She jerks the reins from my grip and bucks, threatening to send me flying. Again. By the time my horse has finished her tantrum, I’m done. I dismount and unsaddle, my face burning with smashed pride. I think of every dollar I scraped together to buy her, the stack of horse-training books...

What does it mean to bear someone’s burdens? Some people think it means to take everyone’s problems and put them all on your shoulders, trying to fix things. That mindset is a dangerous one because you don’t need to have everyone’s burdens on your shoulders. That is too much for anyone except Jesus Himself to take on. That is why He died on the cross, to save us from the burdens of sin and all the...

Racism is alive and well in our world, in our hearts, and in the church. Let me be very clear: racism, at any and every level, is sin. It’s an evil lie Satan has been spreading for millennia to turn image-bearers of God against each other, disrupting the perfect unity God designed for us to live in. This lie has resulted in hatred, pain, injustice, and death. But this was not part of God’s perfect...

God’s Word, the Bible, is the source of all tRuth No matter what we’re feeling or facing, we can run to Scripture to find answers. Feeling unloved? Remember God sent His Son to die to save you (John 3:16). Feeling down? Remember God’s people have faced hard things all throughout time and He has been with them through it allas seen in countless accounts in the Bible. Feeling stressed? Remember God...

Life is busy. We are busy. We are bombarded with school, emotions, family, church, and so many responsibilities. With our commitments and schedules, it’s very easy to blow through our lives without taking time to stop and appreciate the beauty that is all around us. Truly, God crafted an amazing world! God created this majestic earth for us to enjoy and appreciate, and sometimes we just plow throu...

Preparing for battle was an odious task, but, as a Christian, I had all the armor I needed. My Pull yourself up by your bootstraps shoes kept my feet safe from shrapnel on the ground. For I know the plans I have for you protected my right arm while Plans to prosper you shielded the right. I happily donned my helmet of Rejoice in all things and my breastplate of God loves a happy heart. My shield o...

When was the last time you lost something? I’m always losing something and frantically looking for it. I usually find what I’m looking for in peculiar places. I once found my driver’s license next to my shampoo and my phone in the refrigerator! Whenever I find something I’m looking for, I feel a huge sense of relief and happiness. Today’s Scripture passage contains two stories Jesus told about peo...

READ: EXODUS 20:17; PSALM 13; MARK 7:20-23 "You shall not covet...anything that belongs to your neighbor” (Exodus 20:17) What does “covet” mean? Well, the Hebrew word used here literally means “desire” or “desirable.” Desire is not necessarily bad. God has created many good and desirable things in this world, and He wants us to enjoy them! But, because sin has broken God’s good world, desire can b...

READ: EXODUS 20:16; MATTHEW 23:23-24; JOHN 18:37-40 "You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor” (Exodus 20:16). When most of us hear the ninth commandment, we think, "Okay, God doesn’t want me to lie. So I should be good and tell the truth." And this is true! The ninth commandment does show that God calls His people to live honest lives. But it goes even deeper than that. At its hea...

READ: EXODUS 20:15; LEVITICUS 19:9-10; ACTS 4:32-35; EPHESIANS 4:28 At its heart, stealing is based in one question: “What if God is holding out on me?” This fear can make us stop trusting God to provide for us. And God provides for us in two main ways: work and generosity. It’s easy to forget that work is a good thing. Often, doing things like chores, homework, or going to a job feel more like mi...

READ: EXODUS 20:14; MATTHEW 5:27-30; EPHESIANS 5:21-33 Adultery (sex between a married person and someone other than their spouse) causes a world of hurt. It breaks hearts, rips apart relationships, and causes division in families. These are all very good reasons why God forbids adultery, but there’s even more to it than that. When God created sex, He designed it to be the act of marriage—the tota...

READ: EXODUS 20:13; MATTHEW 5:21-26 Death is a horrible thing. It entered into the world with sin, which invaded the goodness God created and broke the unity between humans and God. So it makes sense that God commands His people not to commit murder. Murder is so heinous because each human has measureless value as one of God’s image-bearers. To murder someone is to destroy one of God’s representat...

READ: DEUTERONOMY 5:16; EPHESIANS 6:1-4 What does it mean to “honor” your parents? Following this command looks different depending on your age, but a few things remain consistent. Much like our obedience to God, honoring our parents flows not out of guilt but out of gratitude and trust that they love us and have our best interests at heart. By the power of the Holy Spirit, we honor the work and c...

READ: EXODUS 20:8-11; DEUTERONOMY 5:12-15; MARK 2:23-27 I love that God commands us to rest. It shows His loving, tender care for His people. By commanding His people to rest, God sets apart Himself and His people from the surrounding nations. He gives two reasons for doing this. First, He gives a day of rest because that is the pattern He set when He created the world (Genesis 1–2). He spent six...

READ: EXODUS 20:7; MATTHEW 5:33-37; 2 CORINTHIANS 5:18-21 There is a lot of debate about what the third commandment actually means, but it all boils down to one thing: because God is so good and so holy and because He chose to reveal Himself to us through His personal name, we should use His name only in ways that reflect His character. There are many good ways to be careful with God’s name. The m...

READ: EXODUS 20:4-6; COLOSSIANS 1:15-20 In the second commandment, God instructs His people on how to worship Him. Here, He prohibits Israel both from worshiping idols of other gods and from making and worshiping idols of God Himself or His creation. But why does He specify that idols cannot be part of our worship? First, the surrounding nations all worshiped through idols, and God is setting apar...

READ: EXODUS 20:3; DEUTERONOMY 5:7; PSALM 46 "You must not have any other god but me” (Exodus 20:3; Deuteronomy 5:7). To the Israelites, this command was actually kind of crazy. In that time and place in history, it was common and expected to worship more than one god. Do you want your crops to grow? Go sacrifice to the rain god. Want your animals to have more babies? Head on over to the fertility...

READ: EXODUS 20:1-2; DEUTERONOMY 5:1-6; ROMANS 6:22-23 I always find it interesting that the Ten Commandments don’t start with “You shall not.” They start with “I am the Lord your God” (Exodus 20:2; Deuteronomy 5:6). But why is that important? The word translated "LORD" is God’s name, Yahweh, which means “I AM.” This name shows God is eternal, all-powerful, and the ultimate reality—which makes the...