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.
READ: MATTHEW 18:21-35
Many of us love a good revenge story. In movies, books, and TV shows, we love the story of someone who takes matters into their own hands and gets back at the bad guy—we wan…
READ: PSALM 25:3; ROMANS 8:31-39; HEBREWS 10:19-23
Have you ever followed a celebrity who ended up in trouble? It can make us feel embarrassed that we were ever supporters of this person as their …
READ: PSALMS 90:1-4; 136:1; 2 PETER 3:8-9
We humans were made to be curious creatures. God made us to learn and to always be full of questions about Him and the world He made. One deep question we…
READ: GENESIS 1
Lord, how I long to turn your creation into art. How I long to paint the light, Where there once was dark How I long to sing of the waters, Where there once was nothing How I long…
READ: MALACHI 3:6; HEBREWS 13:1-8; JAMES 1:17
We live in a world where things are constantly changing. Music, friendships, clothing styles, circumstances—they all change. Some changes are good; so…
READ: PSALM 145:1-3; ACTS 16:22-25; ROMANS 12:10-18
When you think about snow days, what comes to mind? Maybe sleeping in, then going sledding in all that fresh snow, then drinking hot chocolate t…
READ: JOHN 10:11-18, 27-30; GALATIANS 1:1-4; 1 PETER 3:13-18
I’ve heard many an argument about who raised Jesus from the dead. The truth of the matter is that God raised Him from the dead.
Some…
READ: ECCLESIASTES 4:9-12; ROMANS 12:15; HEBREWS 10:23-25
When my closest cousin, Jeanna, was barely a young woman, she lost her fight with cancer. I mourned her death with daily tears longer than…
READ: 1 SAMUEL 17:34-36; PSALM 23:1-6; EZEKIEL 34:11-12, 22
One of Jesus’s names is the Good Shepherd. Throughout the Bible, we find glimpses of what this means, and in John 10:11, Jesus says, “I …
READ: MICAH 4:1-7; JOHN 10:11-18; REVELATION 21:1-5
In the book of the Bible called Micah, the prophet Micah speaks of God’s coming judgment against the nation of Israel: the impending invasion fr…
READ: EPHESIANS 1:7-9; 2:1-10; 3:14-21
When I was young, I didn’t realize the extent of God’s grace. As a child, I prayed over and over asking God to forgive me for my sins. I thought maybe it too…
READ: PSALM 62; MATTHEW 7:24-29; JOHN 16:31-33
Perhaps you know how it feels to seek shelter from the storms of life. I know I do. We often look for safety and security in anything we can, like sa…
READ: ECCLESIASTES 4:9-12; JOHN 15:9-17
I used to own a rock tumbler, a machine that takes ordinary rocks and transforms them into polished, gemlike stones. The process would last for days, and th…
READ: MATTHEW 11:25–12:14; 18:1-17; JAMES 3:1-2
I’m a big rule-follower, but I was more so when I was younger. I really didn’t want to make waves or question anyone who was in charge. It’s somethi…
READ: 1 JOHN 2:1-29
Recently, I was buying some pizzas, and when I handed the cashier my money she did something that made me freeze: she held up the dollar bills to the light, examining them clos…
READ: PSALM 63; JOHN 14:1-6; PHILIPPIANS 3:7-9
A lot of people think money is what makes you rich, but let’s take a closer look at the concept of riches. No matter how much money a person has, it …
READ: ISAIAH 33:5-6; MATTHEW 6:19-34; 1 TIMOTHY 6:17-19
Kellen knew that asteroid mining was a risky business. There were hazardous pockets of gas and metals too tough for the drill. For Kellen, t…
READ: GENESIS 1:27; PSALM 139:13-18
I’m one of those people who likes to make a big deal out of birthdays. Whenever it’s someone else’s birthday, I try to at least send a happy birthday text, or g…
READ: MATTHEW 5:14-16; ROMANS 8:35-39
Picture this. The room is dark, and you blink as your eyes adjust to the light created by the glowing candles on top of a birthday cake. “Okay, make a wish an…
READ: JOHN 4:1-42
When God amazes us, sharing our story with others can make a real difference. In John 4, we see how Jesus spent time with a Samaritan woman at the well near Samaria. He talked to…