Unlocked is a daily teen devotional, centered on God’s Word. Each day’s devotion—whether fiction, poetry, or essay—asks the question: How does Jesus and what He did affect today’s topic? With daily devotions read by our hosts, Natalie and Dylan, and questions designed to encourage discussion and a deeper walk with Christ, Unlocked invites teens to both engage with the Bible and to write and submit their own devotional pieces.
Where do you find yourself on the introvert-extrovert spectrum? People who are more extroverted tend to value their time with other people because the interaction and conversations give them energy. …
I didn’t use to think about God very often. But did you know that God is with us throughout our day, even if we’re not thinking about Him? When I was in high school, I really struggled with what peo…
On the night before Jesus went to the cross, He washed the feet of His disciples. This was a very unusual act that surprised them, especially Peter, because only servants were required to do this, an…
My Gran collected crystal animal ornaments. They would be on display in the living room looking ordinary most of the time, until the sun shone on them. Immediately the sun’s rays transformed the crys…
The teacher was at his wits’ end. His search for truth had led him to understand some of the gospel, but he could not escape the never-ceasing pull of a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for e…
Growing up in my village with my parents was a joyful and fulfilling experience. But I realize now that there are many things I did not bother to observe keenly during those years. My mum reared some…
Sickness, accidents, conflict, persecution. Our world is broken, and hardship is inevitable in our lives. But how should we respond to hardship? Paul, the apostle, was familiar with suffering. After …
Have you ever been the target of a bully? In today’s passage, Daniel gets a dose of what a bully with clout can do. About two years have passed since Daniel and his friends were taken captive by King…
Have you ever moved? If so, was it sudden or was there time to prepare and say goodbye to friends? Moving can create a lot of mixed emotions. It may be exciting in one wayyet produce anxiety in other…
A paradox is a phrase that seems to be self-contradictory, backward, and impossiblelike less is more or this sentence is false. Paradoxes might seem confusing, but they make you think and often revea…
My favorite verse in the Bible is Jeremiah 1:5. This is what God said to Jeremiah when He called him to be a prophet: I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb. Before you were born I set …
Ashley stopped in front of the school doors and took a deep breath. Over winter break, her stomach had grown considerably larger, and it was impossible to hide it anymore. But if she didn’t go in, sh…
I worry, a lot. I worry about mistakes I’ve made in the past, and I worry about the future. I worry that my actions and insensitivities may have hurt people I care about. I worry that I have not hand…
Silent. I cover up the darkness within. If I do not speak of what is hidden, I think that none shall know. But in my silence I inwardly groan and waste away. It is as if a heavy hand presses down up…
Filling a basin with water in the upper room, our Lord Jesus Christ washed the feet of His disciples. He then tenderly dried each foot with a towel He had hung around His waist. This included the two…
There are many challenges people face every day. The world we live in is dysfunctional, torn apart by imperfection. Sin has twisted God’s good creation, but Jesus came to heal the brokenness we inhab…
People make promises but often fail to fulfill them. Sometimes people change their minds about the promises they’ve made, or lie about them, or even forget they made a promise at all. Other times, pr…
“Behold, I will do a new thing. Isaiah stood on a hill overlooking the once great city of Jerusalem. His shoulders were bent with age, his long beard a tangle of gray. It had been years since he firs…
When anyone becomes a Christian, it’s easy to become despondent when suddenly things go wrong. The dreams you had of walking in Jesus’s footsteps and showing others what He’s like can quickly turn so…
Many of us have taken care of plants at some time, whether a little succulent, a pot of herbs, a flower bed, or a field of vegetables. Some of us are more successful gardeners than others, but whethe…