Unlocked: Daily Devotions for Teens

READ: ISAIAH 53:2; LUKE 2:4-7; JOHN 3:16-17; 10:10-11

What matters more, the fancy wrapping on a gift or what’s inside? Once the paper and bows are off the present, we rarely think about them agai…

READ: ISAIAH 43:1; LUKE 2:8-20; JOHN 3:16

When Jesus came into the world, God could’ve invited anyone to welcome Him. God could’ve told the angels to invite priests, soldiers, or kings to visit th…

READ: 1 CORINTHIANS 12:4-13

Do you ever wish you had someone else’s talent? Maybe you have a friend or family member who’s really good at math or basketball or singing. Sometimes, when we look at …

READ: ACTS 2:42-47; 1 CORINTHIANS 12:12-27; PHILIPPIANS 4:10-20

One year, our family faced long months of unemployment. Jobs were scarce. So was money. I did everything I could think of to make en…

READ: DEUTERONOMY 15:7-11; PROVERBS 14:20-21; MATTHEW 25:31-46

Seni tossed the ragged orange ball and watched it sail through the hoop at the end of the gym, moving a bit more sluggishly than usua…

READ: PSALM 27; LUKE 2:6-20; REVELATION 21:1-5

I used to love Christmas—the lights, the songs, the joyful feeling in the air. But not this year. Rather than filling me with excitement and delight,…

READ: MATTHEW 1:18-25; LUKE 2:11; JOHN 3:16-17; 4:42

In my beautiful Colombia, and Latin America in general, calling your child Jesus is a sign of consecration to God or giving a respectable name …

READ: JOHN 1:1-14; 2 CORINTHIANS 4:6-10; 1 JOHN 1:1-10

I wanted to go home. This walk was not such a good idea. Heavy grey skies, colorless bare trees, and even an angry crow glaring down at me qu…

READ: DEUTERONOMY 31:8; PSALM 139:1-12; ROMANS 8:26-39

When I don’t understand

My racing mind

You know me

When I’m alone

In the dark

You see me

When my cries are silent

And the words won’t come

READ: COLOSSIANS 3:1-17; HEBREWS 12:1-3; 1 JOHN 4:19

When you get ready for bed at night, do you put your pajamas on over your clothes? That would kind of defeat the purpose. First you take off yo…

READ: LUKE 5:16; EPHESIANS 3:14-21; HEBREWS 4:14-16

I was determined to bring meaningful traditions into our family when I was a young mother. During the season of Advent, many Christians remember…

READ: COLOSSIANS 3:16; HEBREWS 10:23-25

Have you ever sat by a warm fireplace on a cold winter day? When the weather is stormy and harsh outside, a well-tended fire seems especially bright and com…

READ: HEBREWS 4:12; 2 TIMOTHY 3:16-17

Have you ever been following along in your Bible at church and realized none of the words on the page matched what your pastor was reading aloud? Why is that?…

READ: COLOSSIANS 1:9-11; 1 THESSALONIANS 1:2-3; 1 PETER 1:3-9

The final line of yesterday’s poem says the winter trees wait, “Certain of the coming spring.” Can we be certain spring is really comi…

READ: 2 CORINTHIANS 4:7-18; 12:8-10; HEBREWS 4:14-16; 12:1-3

Sharp and sheer, Against the white-washed sky, Winter trees stand stark and frozen— Not a leaf to greet the eye. Thick and thin, Limbs…

READ: ACTS 18; ROMANS 16:3-5; 1 CORINTHIANS 16:19

Who are Priscilla and Aquila? This was a question I asked as I was reading through Romans 16. They’re mentioned in verse 3, and for some reason it…

READ: PSALM 119:9-16, 105; JOHN 14:5-6, 16-18

Have you ever heard the advice, “Be true to yourself,” and wondered, But what does that mean? How can you be true to yourself if you’re not one-hundre…

READ: MATTHEW 1:18-25; JOHN 1:1-18; 3:16-17

One of the greatest mysteries for the church to comprehend is the nature of Jesus. In the incarnation—that is, the event in which God became human— some…

READ: MATTHEW 5:43-48; EPHESIANS 4:26, 31-32

Have you ever worn a full backpack for more than a few minutes? When you first put it on, it doesn’t seem too bad. But after walking across campus or s…

READ: JOHN 4:3-42; 7:37-39; REVELATION 7:16-17

The drought in Xzerio had gone on for a year. People were so thirsty they were fainting in the hot streets. That is why I came up into the mountains—…