Unlocked: Daily Devotions for Teens

Maybe you’re like me. If you grew up in the church, it might be second nature to pray about everything. After all, you want to share whatever is going on in your life with Jesus, your Best Friend. S…

“God is good. All the time,” Christians say. But what do these words really mean? God’s goodness means He is both generous and merciful. The ultimate example of God’s goodness to humans is Jesus Chr…

I’m going to be honest; I’m terrible at being patient. I get frustrated with long lines, slow computers, and people who walk at a snail’s pace on the sidewalk but also take up the whole sidewalk so t…

“What are you afraid of?” Ask ten different people, and you are likely to get ten different answers! Our fears are very personal to us, depending on our past experiences. Still, one of the most com…

When I was thirteen, my family moved from the city to a small town in Louisiana. It’s difficult to switch schools at any age, but thirteen is traumatic. To make matters worse, I was the quiet, introv…

Many people say they follow, love, and identify with Jesus. Unfortunately, a lot of different Jesus figures are out there, and all but One of them is fake. Many people believe in the Mormon Jesus, …

Jeff stepped out of his car into the crisp, cold air. It had been in the teens during the night, and the weather felt as cold as the relationships in his home. Things had gotten tense between his par…

Tales still circulate today of $50,000 in English gold coins buried in the mountains of upstate New York during the French and Indian War. Who doesn’t love a good story of buried treasure? In Matthe…

Your body matters. You might not think about that all the time. When was the last time you looked down at your hands or feet, noticing the way they look or feel? What did you think? Were you pleased…

The following is an allegory based on 2 Kings 22-23, which tells the story of King Josiah and the rediscovery of the book of the law. The lieutenant of the Fourth Galactic League rushed into General …

She must have been so frustrated. Martha was working, always working. Cooking, cleaning, doing everything possible to make their guest comfortable. And not just any guest: they were hosting Jesus, th…

You’ve probably heard it in youth group or Sunday school: “It’s very important to have daily devotions.” But you just can’t seem to make it happen, and you feel terrible. Between homework, extracur…

*I shouldn’t have even brought this into the fitting room*, Mandy thought. *Dresses like these don’t look pretty on girls like me.* But her friends hadn’t understood her hesitation. They were tryin…

I was already asleep when my grandpa called, asking for help with my grandma’s diaper. I don’t feel especially loving when sleep-deprived, but the quiet stirring of God’s Spirit within me assured me …

When I was little, I spent countless afternoons with my brother and cousins raking leaves into enormous piles—and then leaping through them joyously. We always had a blast until somebody found the ev…

My cellphone was set to full volume—there was no way I could miss this call. A small tech company had expressed interest in hiring a freelance writer to create promotional material for a new app, and…

Death smiled as his followers swept down onto the farmlands below. For centuries, he had ruled in secret over the whole world, owning all men and ending them when he chose. But his wrath had been kin…

Life’s busy—we all know that. Between school, friends, and extracurriculars, by the end of the day, we’re burned out. And then we have to start homework. God knows our lives are busy. That’s why He c…

Editor’s Note: Today’s devotional reading discusses abuse. In this sinful, fallen world, abuse happens everywhere; we see it on the news, at our schools, and even in our churches. When we hear about…

*Judgment.* We hate that word. We don’t want people to judge us. One of the embarrassments of being a Christian is that the Bible is full of stories of judgment. And, of course, the Bible also promis…