Unlocked: Daily Devotions for Teens

We all struggle, and it can be both heartwarming and strengthening to know that someone is praying for us during those times. Have you ever been in a really tough situation and found yourself just wi…

In kindergarten, I owned a pair of sturdy brown shoes with thick, black shoelaces. My mom often insisted I wear them, but I hated them. I thought they were hideous and felt embarrassed to wear them. …

There is a truth that is unfolding before me: God is holy, and He requires holiness of us. For years, I never saw this tRuth I became a Christian at age eleven and through the years I have been in c…

CLANG! Raymnd’s sword clashed against the training dummy, his flowing movements getting faster and faster. SWOOSH! Raymnd was determined to become one of the strongest, fastest knights there was. As …

I used to love writing letters to my pen pal. Whenever her letters showed up in my mailbox, I had the thrill of ripping into them, excited to hear what was going on in her life. The Apostle Paul wrot…

“I wish God understood how hard this is for me,” you whisper. You’re trying to live right, but the temptation to do wrong is really strong. “This is the hardest thing I have ever had to do.” In th…

Hey, Jesus, we need to talk. I have to tell you about someone we both know. She tries to follow you, but she tends to gossip. She doesn’t make up lies or say cruel things, but she shares information …

King David was called a man after God’s own heart (1 Samuel 13:14; Acts 13:22). He is remembered as noble, a man of character and courage. In many instances, he obeyed God, but David also sinned just…

READ: GENESIS 2:4-25; SONG OF SONGS 8:6-7

The book of the Bible called Song of Songs is...confusing. It uses all kinds of metaphors and imagery that make no sense to us twenty-first-century reader…

Do you find it hard to love people as Jesus tells us to? I know sometimes I do, and it is especially hard to love people who have hurt you. In John 15:12, Jesus tells us to love people as He loves us…

“You’re not good enough and nothing is ever going to change that.” The words rang through his head over and over again. “Forget trying out for the team.” He turned and dashed out of the school. The …

Some people spend long hours looking into their family history. They want to find out where they came from, who came before them in their family, and which countries they have a connection to. You mi…

God is our help. How amazing is that? The Bible tells us so many times that we can rely on God. If we’ve put our trust in Jesus, we can know that He is always with us (Matthew 28:20). In Deuteronomy …

Tragedies wrap themselves around my heart Clinging tighter. Constricting Squeezing and squeezing and squeezing until I can’t move. Can’t breathe. Can’t think Locked in place by overwhelming hurt A…

My absolute favorite story in the Old Testament is about these three Israelites, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who were taken as prisoners to Babylon when they were teenagers, and how God was with…

God is always at work. But because we are just human and we can only see a small portion of the big picture, sometimes we get so discouraged when it feels like things are falling apart because we don…

In high school, I wanted to be like my friend Alyssa. Alyssa has a passion for loving others. She’s outgoing and good at making friends. I admire how she and her family often travel to serve communit…

Many of us hear it all the time: “I’m going to church tomorrow,” or “I attend this church.” But what is the church? It isn’t a place we go or something we do; it’s who we are. If you’re a Christian…

From naan in India to tortillas in Mexico to baguettes in France, bread has been a staple food for thousands of years all around the world. Bread plays a central role in the food of almost every cult…

Have you ever baked bread before? It’s a long, time-consuming process of mixing, kneading, rising, and baking. One of the most important ingredients in breadmaking is leavening, often yeast. Though y…