Unlocked: Daily Devotions for Teens

“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 fi…

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…

When difficulties come, it’s easy to give in to worry and fear. When problems arise, we can find ourselves shaken, beaten, and hurt. The Israelites experienced this when God was rescuing them from sl…

As Christians, how should we approach science? From forests to soil, seas to sky, planets to microorganisms, to you and me, God’s creation is incredible! God calls us to be caretakers of His creation…

Kiara slammed her mug of coffee on the blue diner counter, defeated. She had just spent the last of her sratos on what was most likely her last meal for a long time. She’d thought there was no way sh…

“You’re not part of the team. You can’t come with us. You’re not invited.” Has anyone said something like this to you? It hurts when others make it clear you are not welcome. We all want a place to …

It’s okay to not know what is to come. It’s alright to go into a new year or phase of life without plans or expectations. My expectations don’t always happen anyway. My plans aren’t always for the …

Your mission will be riddled with perils. Make no mistake, this exoplanet is uncharted territory—there are no illusions about our exploration team making it back to our home planet safely.” Commande…

I. ran a marathon once. In case you are unfamiliar, a marathon is 26.2 miles of running. That was in the year 2000, and I’ve never even considered running another one. I’m completely convinced it’s b…

A baby cries because the crib is too large, and they don’t feel secure until they are in the arms of their parent. A toddler reaches for the hand of an adult when a loud noise frightens them. A young…

Dull gray eyes stared back at me in the mirror. Unimpressive, unimportant, unseen. That’s how I felt—invisible. Would anyone notice if I were gone? Would anyone really care? Contemplating my apparent…

Consider the birds, Whose magnificent wings Propel them through the air. No human voice could match Their song, and their beauty’s Beyond compare. Consider the lilies, As they color the fields, An…

He takes a whole mass of nothing, a void of empty, and fills it with light—and life! This is our God. When His heart breaks over evil and sin consuming His precious creation, He seeks out the fait…

Last Christmas, our pastor used the hymn “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing” as inspiration for a sermon. In the third verse, eighteenth-century preacher Charles Wesley wrote lyrics about how Jesus was b…

For many years, my family celebrated Christmas at my grandparents’ home in northern Wisconsin, where winter is typically very cold and snowy. One year my dad thought it would be fun if he and I hiked…

Every Christmas, I hear about the “wise men” coming to Bethlehem to see baby Jesus as recorded in Matthew 2. But why is this historical event important? Who were the wise men and how did they play a…

READ: ISAIAH 9:6; MATTHEW 2:1-2, 9-11

For as long as Sahine could remember, the world had been at war. For years she had defended her small kingdom against the fierce advances of the Hadyssian emp…

On a rainy African day, we flew in a small plane from the city of Monrovia, Liberia, to a small airstrip in the northern part of the country. This ninety- minute flight saved us two days of travel on…

One person in the New Testament I admire is Joseph. He isn’t mentioned much in the Bible, but his actions had a tremendous impact on humanity. Who was he? How did his role influence Christianity toda…