Unlocked: Daily Devotions for Teens

READ: EXODUS 24:12; 34:6; ROMANS 7:1-22; GALATIANS 3 Kids under ten can be pretty blunt. While listening to the book of Leviticus, a freckled-faced girl commented, “I feel like the God of the Old Testament is so different from the New Testament. He’s sitting on a couch saying, ‘Bring me more grapes! Do this! Don’t do that, or you will be punished!’” While her words were startling, this nine-year-o...

READ: PSALM 119:105; PROVERBS 6:23; JOHN 1:1-18; EPHESIANS 5:1-20 Once, when I was about fifteen, I was in the woods late at night with my scouting group. We turned our flashlights off to practice stealthy forest maneuvers—just to see if we could make it back to camp without a light. We decided that one of us would be the leader. The girl in front (she claimed to have excellent night vision) inche...

READ: JOHN 4:24; GALATIANS 3:26-29; REVELATION 7:9-10 Richard Allen was born into slavery in 1760. As an adult, he put his trust in Jesus. He then asked his non-Christian slaveholder to invite preachers to come speak in their home, and he agreed. One of these sermons convicted Richard Allen’s slaveholder that slavery was wrong. So, he invited Allen to buy his freedom. Head held high, Allen purchas...

READ: MATTHEW 1:23; EPHESIANS 2:8-9; COLOSSIANS 1:12-22; HEBREWS 12:2 A few days ago, Keera had been told of the beautiful Golden City where there were no tears. So she had left her home, her family, everything, to seek it out. But when she arrived, she was dismayed to find it was at the top of a huge cliffside. She could just see a bit of light at the peak. Finally, after a long hesitation, she b...

READ: PSALM 139:23-24; ROMANS 8:15, 28-39; PHILIPPIANS 4:4-9; HEBREWS 13:5-6 Exactly one month after receiving my driver’s license, I got into a car accident. Though I was thankful to walk away without serious injuries, this event shook me. I had never been in such a dangerous situation before, especially one in which I was at fault. It took six months to find the courage to drive alone again, and...

READ: PSALM 139:1-4, 23-24; JEREMIAH 23:23-24; 31:3; HEBREWS 4:12-13 As she related her story, my eyes widened. Our friends laughed. And she congratulated herself. This girl, who I’ll call Kelly, had just told us about a trip to the mall. It sounded like she was describing an adventure as she explained how she tried on a swimsuit in the dressing room of a store. Only Kelly didn’t change back into...

READ: PSALMS 92:1-2; 150:1-6; EPHESIANS 5:18-20; 1 THESSALONIANS 5:11 It’s easy to be thankful when we really like the gift. Maybe someone gave you just what you wanted, or maybe school is amazing this year—your friends are awesome, classes are great, and learning has been coming easily. In those times, it feels natural to be thankful. But when life hands us hardships, trials, and even suffering,...

READ: 2 THESSALONIANS 1:1-3, 11-12 Do you share your friends with God? You’re probably wondering what that means. You might even think it’s a typo and should read, “Do you share God with your friends?” While it is important to share Jesus with our friends by telling them about Him, it’s just as important to share our friends with Jesus by praying for them. When they come to us with problems we can...

READ: HEBREWS 11:1–12:3 You can’t catch your breath. You feel weak, and you just want to lie down and give up. If life is a race, you’re in last place and the finish line is miles away. Should you even try to keep going? Many people who’ve gone before have felt the same way, and yet somehow they’ve persevered—not just waiting for time to pass, but moving forward, even when the specific outcome was...

READ: MARK 1:29-39; LUKE 5:1-16 I grabbed a yellow blanket and stormed out into the breezy summer day. I was nine years old and fed up. Fed up with our big family, our small house, and all the frustration with my little brother, who I’ll call Bradley. I’d decided right then to run away from home. The blanket was just an afterthought. As I stomped down the steps, Bradley caught up to me. “Where are...

READ: PSALM 100:3; ISAIAH 43:1; ROMANS 8:14-17; 12:15 Recently, I participated in a day of service in my college community. There were many service projects to choose from, and I blindly signed up, not knowing where I’d be placed. “Our group will be serving at a homeless shelter today,” the leader said. “We’re going to split into two groups. Half of us will work in the donation closet, and half of...

READ: GENESIS 3:1-13; EXODUS 32:19-24; 1 JOHN 1:8–2:1 During a holiday meal, five-year-old me carelessly set down a glass of milk, tipping it over. Immediately, I pointed to my great-grandpa sitting next to me and said, “Frank did it.” I may be older now, but sometimes that urge to play the Blame Game is still there. It’s nothing new. The Blame Game has been played from the beginning of time. In G...

READ: ISAIAH 44:6-24; 1 JOHN 5:20-21 In ninth grade, I struggled with algebra. As the “smart kid,” I placed a lot of importance on my grades—not just because I wanted to do my best, but because excellent grades gave me a ticket to self-worth. Without academic success, I couldn’t point to anything that made me feel valuable. One day, Mrs. Russell returned our recently graded tests. I sighed when I...

READ: NEHEMIAH 8:1-12; PSALMS 1:1-6; 119:34; LUKE 24:13-35 Sometimes we rush through reading the Bible. We’re too distracted, or we don’t really listen, or we don’t stick with it long enough to understand. In Nehemiah 8, we see how the people of God responded to hearing His words. God’s law had been lost after their forebears abandoned God—pursuing wickedness, injustice, and idols instead. Eventua...

READ: EXODUS 20:8-11; LUKE 5:16; 10:38-42; HEBREWS 4:1-11 “I’m so stressed! I have volleyball practice for two hours after school, homework in every class, and I have to study for my test tomorrow. I won’t get to bed until after midnight!” We live in a fast-paced world, and we’re asked to make a lot of decisions in the few short years of our teen lives. We’re suddenly expected to be mature and adu...

READ: EXODUS 16:11-31; JOHN 6:25-40, 58 Have you ever seen worms wriggling around in old food—maybe in a trash can or compost pile? It’s pretty gross! The book of Exodus tells us about a time when people disobeyed God and food grew worms overnight. Back when the people of Israel were wandering in the wilderness for forty years, they needed food. They had no opportunity to settle down, raise a crop...

READ: PSALM 139:1-10; 2 CORINTHIANS 5:14-21 Out of habit, her eyes swept the crowded cafeteria, but not one familiar face registered from the blur of morning classes. Starting over was always this way. Two girls, hovered in a private conversation, ignored Nora as she approached their table. She dropped her backpack and sighed. She hated moving, but that was military life. She nibbled on a granola...

READ: 1 CORINTHIANS 6:19-20; 2 CORINTHIANS 2:12-17 I never liked my name. The meaning of Sourabhi is sweet fragrance. There were innumerable reasons for not liking my name, but the major ones were: (1) No one could ever pronounce it properly. Every time it was called out, I wished I could disappear. And (2) I constantly ran out of space when writing it on forms, especially at school. My nickname i...

READ: PSALM 139:7-12; JEREMIAH 29:8-14; ROMANS 8:18-39 Even in the darkest nights When the sun is nowhere to be seen Even in the hardest fights When hope feels like a distant dream When I’m struggling to smile Because all I want is to scream O Lord, You are there And You will comfort me. Even if my friends and family And church leaders turn away And even if I cannot bear To face another day Even i...

READ: ISAIAH 64:8; 2 CORINTHIANS 1:3-7; 4:5-18; 12:9-10 Another crack! I peered at the inside of my arm, horrified. It began years ago, these fissures that looked like my skin split and was leaking gold. Most of the time, it didn’t hurt, but I was ashamed of how I looked. I tugged my long kimono sleeve down to hide the new imperfection, glancing around to make sure no one had seen. There’s a patte...

READ: PSALMS 68:5; 145:8-9; LUKE 18:1-8 Have you ever felt like you have lost the heart to pray? It could be for any number of reasons. Jesus knows there are times we may be discouraged from praying, and so He tells a parable in Luke 18 meant to encourage His people to not give up praying. The first character in this story is a judge. Right away, we learn this is not a God-fearing or people-respec...

READ: COLOSSIANS 1:13-14, 21-22; 2:2-8, 16-23; 3:5-17; 4:2-6 We’re all faced with the temptation to try to look godly to those around us. We might go to church, volunteer to pray, pray before every meal, refuse to use certain words, and the list could go on. But does a list of actions truly reflect how close we are to God? Fairly early on in Christianity, a trend toward something called asceticism...

READ: ROMANS 12:9-21; 1 PETER 4:7-11 After a long week of boring classes and demanding homework assignments, I was very excited when the weekend arrived. I was free to enjoy myself, at least for a few hours. I didn’t have any big plans—one of my new college friends was coming over, and we were going to watch an episode of a TV show together. When we finished the episode, my new friend invited me a...

READ: GENESIS 1:1-19; PSALM 19:1; COLOSSIANS 1:15-22 Have you ever put together an aquarium? If not, you may be surprised how many requirements have to be met to create an ideal habitat for fish. Some species require fresh water, others salt. Some thrive with companions; others prefer to live alone. Temperature must be adjusted, a bubbler installed, and the right kind of food provided. If your fis...

READ: JOSHUA 23:3; PSALM 61:2-4; ISAIAH 54:17 I clutched the blankets over my face to muffle my sobs. I didn’t want my family to hear me crying. We had a good day together, and right now everyone was healthy in our family. But when the lights were out and I lay in bed, my heart was aching, burdened. So I let the tears flow until my body trembled with each breath. Flashes of the past few years play...