Unlocked: Daily Devotions for Teens

READ: MATTHEW 2:1-12 Three wise men, three kings, three magi—who were these people? The truth is, we don’t know a lot about them. But the Bible and history together do tell us a few things. To begin with, the Bible never says there were three. The only reason we say “three wise men” is because they gave three gifts, so historically, Christians have talked about three people. And what are they call...

READ: LUKE 2:1-7; HEBREWS 4:14-16 Did you know that Jesus probably wasn’t born in a stable? If you take a look at Luke 2:1-7, it doesn’t say “stable” anywhere. We usually hear about Jesus being born in a stable because it says He was laid in a manger, which is where animals eat, and in our current time and place, animals live in stables. Makes sense, right? The problem is, in the time and place th...

READ: MATTHEW 1:18–2:6 What a fairytale! Angels, a virgin birth, a manger, shepherds, magi…it’s a great story to make us feel all fuzzy and warm at Christmas. But can we seriously believe the story of Jesus’s birth is true? God knew the Christmas story was going to be wildly unique. In fact, He made it that way on purpose. Why? So we could know that it really is true. How? He told us about it befo...

READ: MATTHEW 2:10-11; LUKE 1:46-49; REVELATION 21:3 All the trappings of Christmas fill me with joyful expectation leading up to the day we celebrate Christ’s birth. However, last year sadness stole my joy. In mid-December, our granddaughter was diagnosed with a non-cancerous tumor on her fibula, requiring surgery and extensive physical therapy. Sad and worried, I began just going through the mot...

READ: ISAIAH 9:6-7; 53:3-12; MATTHEW 1:21-23; PHILIPPIANS 2:5-11 Every Christmas, when I read about the coming of Christ, I linger over the beautiful, contrasting descriptions of how Jesus draws near to us, even though He is holy. It’s truly a profound mystery—for Jesus IS a paradox. These contrasts led me to write today’s poem (which is also a song for me personally) because at Christmas, we cele...

READ: LEVITICUS 19:18; ROMANS 12:14-21; COLOSSIANS 3:12-15 A friend and I returned from Christmas shopping. I checked my jewelry box. Another pair of new earrings was missing! I had been excited about wearing them to school on Monday. I told my mother, and she discovered it was that same friend, who I’ll call Josie. My heart hurt that one of my best friends was stealing from me. I had trusted her....

READ: ISAIAH 7:14; MATTHEW 1:18-23; 28:20 When I entered the auditorium, my stomach fluttered with nervous energy. But spotting Debbie in the audience reminded me that a friend would be there cheering me on. During my first year at college, I was a drum major in the marching band. Then, near the end of that school year, I tried out again for the position of drum major, hoping to continue in this r...

READ: MATTHEW 19:4-6; EPHESIANS 5:25-33; HEBREWS 13:4-5 Christians are notoriously bad at talking about sex. We gloss over it, give incomplete information, and usually end the conversation with, “Sex is bad. Don’t do it.” So, on behalf of Christians everywhere, I want to apologize. Sometimes we struggle with awkward subjects. We make the mistake of believing that sex has nothing to do with the gos...

READ: LUKE 10:38-42 I often find myself caught up wondering if I’m doing enough for God or others. The Bible tells us to do good, serve God, and love others. All these things are important, but sometimes I can forget what’s most important. In Luke 10, Martha is in a similar predicament. Jesus and His disciples were staying at her house, and Martha “was distracted with much serving” (verse 40). She...

READ: PSALMS 18:2; 73:26; 2 CORINTHIANS 12:9-10 Susannah Spurgeon was born Susannah Thompson in London, England, on January 15th, 1832. Her family often attended New Park Street Chapel, where she first trusted Jesus Christ as her Savior. There she met Charles Haddon Spurgeon, a new preacher who later became a pastor. On January 8th, 1856, Charles and Susannah were married. After their honeymoon, h...

READ: ISAIAH 9:6; LUKE 2:1-20; JOHN 14:27 “Peace on earth” is a common phrase on Christmas cards. Usually it’s accompanied by a picture of a dove or a nativity scene with Mary and Joseph and baby Jesus in a manger. As I reached my older teen years, I felt like “peace on earth” was a ridiculous thing to say. After all, evil doesn’t stop because it’s the Christmas season. People still do evil things...

READ: EPHESIANS 2:8-10; 1 CORINTHIANS 1:26-31 My worth is not found in how many friends I have or how many likes I get My worth is not found in my height, my weight, or how I look My worth is not found in my successes, achievements, grades, or awards My worth is not found in my GPA or how many hard classes I can pack into my schedule My worth is not found in being the star athlete, star musician,...

READ: ZEPHANIAH 3:17; JOHN 11:31-36; ROMANS 12:9-21 A young man sits in his home, weeping. His mourning song goes unanswered by all but the One who hears everything. A knock on the door startles him. An older man, a fellow member of the Body of Christ, comes in the house and, without prompting, throws his arms around the young man and weeps. The young man freezes. Then, slowly, awkwardly, he place...

READ: ISAIAH 41:10-13; 49:13-16; MATTHEW 10:29-31 My cell phone was set to full volume—there was no way I would miss this call. A small tech company had expressed interest in hiring a freelance writer to create promotional material for a new app, and they were considering me. What an impressive addition to my writing portfolio! Actually, it would be the only addition so far. I was just starting ou...

READ: LUKE 19:10; JOHN 3:15-21, 36; ROMANS 8:14-17; 1 JOHN 3:1 Oliver, the cat I adopted years ago, is asleep on the couch beside me right now. He’s gained a little weight over the years, and now he’s quite fat and happy. He’s had a wonderful life since he decided to trust us and take the gift of grace my family extended to him that week we left food out on the porch. And now he’s reaping the bene...

READ: ROMANS 3:20-24; EPHESIANS 2:8-10 Being adopted by my family wasn’t the only way my cat Oliver demonstrated a lesson of grace to me. You see, it’s common for cats to leave little presents for their humans. And when I say “little presents,” I mean dead mice that we’d find just outside the front door. Cats leave dead animals to show loyalty to the humans who take care of them—how cute is that?!...

READ: LUKE 15:1-7; COLOSSIANS 1:13-14; 1 PETER 2:22-25 I’ve learned a lot about God’s grace from my cat. I know that sounds weird, but hear me out! When I was in high school, I looked out the living room window and saw a fluffy gray cat striding through the trees in our backyard. After talking with all the neighbors, we concluded that he had no home. So, I made it my mission to give him one! I beg...

READ: MATTHEW 1:18-25; LUKE 2:1-21 I was gifted a beautiful Advent wreath for Christmas. The ceramic candleholders depict a winter scene, with the four words that represent the four weeks of Advent labeled in gold. I must admit, for a few years the labeling bothered me. The word wonder was used for the first week of Advent instead of hope. When I hear the word hope, I think of anticipation for som...

READ: 1 SAMUEL 1:9-20; MATTHEW 28:19-20; JOHN 16:33 Sun sets. Moon rises. Joy dies Within me. Silver stars Cool and pure. Pain inside Black as night. A prayer. No answer. I cry out In the dark. You still hear, I will not fear. Joy comes In the morning. • Lorna Garlets • Have you ever felt like there was no way anyone could understand the troubles you’re facing? We all feel like this at times, but...

READ: GENESIS 1:26-31; COLOSSIANS 3:17; 1 THESSALONIANS 5:11 I grew up around gamers. I remember spending hours of my childhood curled up on the couch watching my older brothers, Tony and AJ, play Legend of Zelda. I admired their skill and problem-solving abilities, and I often wished I could play as well as they did. Many people look down on video games, considering them a waste of time at best a...

READ: JOHN 17; ROMANS 8:34; HEBREWS 7:25; 1 JOHN 2:1 All of John 17 is a prayer that Jesus prayed to the Father on the night before He was arrested. He prayed for several things, but the most prominent theme was His concern for His followers. In these 26 verses, Jesus uses the pronouns they, them, and those 47 times. Jesus was praying for the disciples. But the shocker comes in verse 20, when Jesu...

READ: GENESIS 12:1-9; HEBREWS 12:1-3 I grunted as I gazed through the viewport. Black space. Tiny white dots in the distance. Nothing new here. I side-eyed my dad. This was his fault. He acted like he knew where we were going. As he looked up from the blinking lights of the console, the silver commander’s tattoo on his bald scalp gleamed in the near darkness. “Still not speaking to me, Tai?” I fin...

READ: ISAIAH 1:18; ACTS 3:19; 1 CORINTHIANS 6:11; EPHESIANS 3:18-21 It’s almost impossible to describe snow to someone who’s never experienced it. When I was asked to explain snow once, I was at a loss for words. The nearest I came was confectioners’ sugar. But that’s not even close! Snowflakes don’t have any taste, they’re cold, they fall from the sky, they’re not sweet, and they can’t be bought...

READ: JEREMIAH 29:1-14 Jeremiah 29:1-14 is one of my favorite passages in the Bible, and, if I’m being honest, one that I struggle with a lot. In this passage, most of Israel had just been taken captive by the Babylonians, who were pagans and had been enemies of Israel for a very long time. After the Israelites were taken captive, some prophets started saying God would come to their rescue quickly...

READ: JOHN 15:5; ACTS 17:13–18:5 Waiting is the worst. Or maybe I’m just the worst at waiting. Especially in the high school years, “real” life seems far away and dreams look distant. It’s easy to think about what we want to do and how we want to serve God in the future. It’s way harder to live that out now. A few years ago, I saw a need at my school and decided that, no matter how small my platfo...