Unlocked: Daily Devotions for Teens

READ: MATTHEW 6:19-33; COLOSSIANS 3:2-4; 1 TIMOTHY 4:8 [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=MATTHEW%206%3A19-33%3B%20COLOSSIANS%203%3A2-4%3B%201%20TIMOTHY%204%3A8&version=WEB] I don’t mean to brag, but I’ve had a six-pack (abs, not sodas) on and off for about twenty years. Exercise has become part of my lifestyle. But something I realized about ten years ago was that my weight training had become an obsession. It slowly moved from low priority, to medium priority, to high priority, and finally to, “Life, get out of the way, because I’m working out no matter what!” This is called an obsession. Even if you don’t work out, obsessions come in many forms. My obsession may have been about health, but it wasn’t healthy. You see, an obsession is when something takes God’s place as the decision-maker for all other areas of your life—rather than Jesus being at the center of all your decisions. Obsessions can be about anything: appearances, video games, sports, clothes, relationships, etc. Schoolwork can even become an obsession. The bottom line is this: If you place your identity in anything other than your relationship with Jesus, then your life is built on unsteady sand (Matthew 7:24-29). Sure, an obsession may not be about an evil thing, but the way we pursue that thing can become evil when we let it take the place of God in our hearts. So what do we do when we realize something in our lives has become an obsession? We turn to Jesus. He loves us more than any other, and He has come to set us free. • David Shorts • God created us out of love, to be loved by Him and to love Him back. It’s because of God’s love that Jesus died for us and rose again. Any obsession we may have will leave us empty. But Jesus invites us to fulness of life with Him (John 10:10). In your own life, what things have become obsessions, decision-makers, or idols—either in the past, or in the present? • What might it look like to love God and honor Him through the activities you enjoy, without placing your identity in them? This is a question we need to ask ourselves throughout our lives, but God is so patient with us, and He is eager to help us. Consider taking some time to talk to Him about these things. In addition to talking to God, who is a trusted Christian in your life you could talk to? We love him, because he first loved us. 1 John 4:19 (WEB)

READ: PSALMS 25:1-5; 32:8; ISAIAH 30:21; JOHN 8:12 [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=PSALMS%2025%3A1-5%3B%2032%3A8%3B%20ISAIAH%2030%3A21%3B%20JOHN%208%3A12&version=NIV]   God is the one who guides my way, Directs my path, and leads each day. I want to go where He takes me, Even in times when I can’t see.   The road for me is dark ahead. He takes me by the hand and says, “I know the path that you should take. Trust me for the right choice to make.”   So I press on, holding His hand, And with His strength, I always stand. Turn to the left, turn to the right, I trust Him because He’s my light.   I don’t know what the future holds, But trust God’s plan to soon unfold. He holds the future in His hand. On His promises I will stand. • Brooke Morris   • Life can be confusing, especially when we don’t know what the future holds or we need help making a big decision. Thankfully, Jesus is always with us, even when we feel uncertain about His plans for us. When we feel afraid or anxious about the future, how might it help to imagine Jesus holding our hand, walking with us? • God loves to help us discern the next steps to take, and He provides an abundance of wisdom through His Word (the Bible), His Holy Spirit, and His people (the church). Can you think of a time God gave you wisdom to make a decision about the future? What was that like? Consider taking a moment to thank Him for this. • When we’re waiting to see how our circumstances turn out, what are some of God’s promises we can rest on? (Matthew 11:28-30; 28:20; Romans 8:35-39; James 1:5; Revelation 21:1-5) “The LORD will guide you always.” Isaiah 58:11 (NIV)

READ: JOHN 20:24-29; ACTS 17:10-12; PHILIPPIANS 1:9-11 [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=JOHN%2020%3A24-29%3B%20ACTS%2017%3A10-12%3B%20PHILIPPIANS%201%3A9-11&version=CSB] We all have doubts and questions from time to time. Does God exist? Are heaven and hell real? Does the Bible actually teach what people say it does? Did Jesus really rise from the dead? Maybe it’s questions from a friend that make us doubt. Maybe it’s something we hear on social media, in a movie, in a book, or from a teacher. Or maybe it’s just our own wondering hearts. Let me assure you: it’s absolutely okay to doubt. It can even be good! Faith is not blind belief in what someone tells us. Instead, it’s a trusting reliance on a God we can know personally. Doubts can help us realize what we still need to learn… and what we don’t yet understand. That’s a healthy part of the Christian life. It wouldn’t be healthy, though, if we just ignored our doubts, or if we gave in to them. We have to do something about them. We have to answer them. How? The way we answer any question: with thought and research. But also, with prayer. God invites us to entrust our doubts to Him, asking Him to make the answers clear to us and to help us know Him better in the process. For example, if you can’t come up with reasons why you know God exists, maybe ask a trusted Christian in your life to tell you their reasons—such as a friend, pastor, or family member—or find a book by a Christian apologetics expert. If you’re wondering whether something you’ve been taught is truly right, be like the Bereans in Acts 17—pick up a Bible, and find out what God has to say! Easy? Certainly not always. But if we don’t challenge ourselves, if we don’t ask tough questions and search for tough answers, how will we grow? Remember, God can use our questions—and the things we learn from them—to equip us for the missions He has for us in His kingdom. So we don’t need to be afraid of doubts. As Jesus mercifully appeared to Thomas when he doubted—showing Thomas His wounds from the cross to prove that He was alive again—Jesus reveals Himself and comes near to us in our search for tough answers. • Christiana Albrecht • What doubts do you have about your faith? Which topics make you uncomfortable? • Is it hard for you to admit that you don’t have all the answers? Why do you think that is? • When you find yourself struggling with doubt, who is a trusted Christian in your life you can talk openly with—someone who will listen well, pray with you and for you, and remind you that you are forgiven and loved, completely and eternally, in spite of your doubts? But test all things. Hold on to what is good. 1 Thessalonians 5:21 (CSB)

READ: PSALM 139:23-24; 2 TIMOTHY 1:9-13; 2:19-26 [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=PSALM%20139%3A23-24%3B%202%20TIMOTHY%201%3A9-13%3B%202%3A19-26&version=CSB] As a kid, one of my jobs after dinner was to clear the table and help wash the dishes. Many of my mom’s fancy dishes couldn’t go into the dishwasher but had to be washed by hand. I can still remember the feeling of having finally rinsed them and put them on the drying rack, only to discover there were some spots I had missed. Bits of dried food would be left under the brim or deep in some crevice, and the dish would have to be washed again. The only way to be sure the dishes were completely clean was to turn them over and over under the hot water, searching out every nook and cranny with a soapy sponge. The same is true with our spiritual lives. In 2 Timothy 2, Paul says to Timothy, “Now in a large house there are not only gold and silver vessels, but also those of wood and clay; some for honorable [or special] use and some for dishonorable [or ordinary use]. So if anyone purifies himself from anything dishonorable he will be a special instrument, set apart, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work” (verse 20-21). How do we purify ourselves like this? Paul goes on to instruct Timothy to flee the lusts of youth, to pursue what is good, to “reject foolish and ignorant disputes,” and to instead patiently and gently teach his opponents in hopes that God will grant them repentance (verse 22-26). In order to move toward righteousness and away from wickedness, we need to search out our hearts, thinking deeply and inviting the Holy Spirit to come into those places where, if we’re honest, we would really rather He not go. And this is something we do in community with other believers. Paul says in verse 22 that we are to do this “along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.” Together, we pursue righteousness and obedience to Jesus Christ, who saved us from sin by His own death and resurrection. When we are in relationship with brothers and sisters in Christ, we can lovingly point out things in each other’s lives that need repentance and growth. We don’t do this out of pride or arrogance, but out of love for Christ and for one another. God wants to cleanse every nook and cranny of your heart. Will you invite Him to do that today? • Jacob Bier • To be holy is to be set apart. What does holiness have to do with service? How does unconfessed sin get in the way of serving the Lord? And how does Jesus cleanse us? So if anyone purifies himself from anything dishonorable, he will be a special instrument, set apart, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work. 2 Timothy 2:21 (CSB)

READ: LUKE 9:10-17; ROMANS 5:5; 1 THESSALONIANS 3:12 [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=LUKE%209%3A10-17%3B%20ROMANS%205%3A5%3B%201%20THESSALONIANS%203%3A12&version=CSB] Do you like leftovers? I love them. I would prefer to take leftovers as my lunch over a sandwich any day! When I was growing up, I remember my grandmother would designate one day of the week to have “must-go” casserole for supper. That meant she would take all the leftovers from the week before and make some sort of casserole—it was always something unique. Personally, I’m thankful for leftovers because it means that my family has more than enough to eat. The amazing thing about today’s Scripture passage is that there were leftovers. Jesus was feeding over 5,000 people with just five loaves of bread and two fish. There shouldn’t have been any leftovers at all. In fact, there should have been several thousand people who didn’t get anything to eat. Instead, Jesus did a miracle, and there ended up being more food than they started out with—that day was overflowing with leftovers. God can do that in the lives of His people too. He can take a sinner who has lots of bitterness, anger, and unforgiveness, and He can fill them with His overflowing love—so much so that they have leftover love to give to others. The truth is, we’re all sinners apart from Jesus. But once we know Jesus, we can share His abundant love in any situation because, as Romans 5:5 says, “God’s love has been poured out in our hearts.” And His love is too good not to share! • Melissa Yeagle • Can you think of a time someone showed God’s love to you? What did they say or do? • In God’s kingdom, there is always more than enough love, compassion, and forgiveness to go around—because Jesus’s death and resurrection is just that powerful! (You can find more about this good news on our "Know Jesus [https://unlocked.org/knowjesus/]" page.) And if we know Jesus, we never need to worry about running out of love because His Holy Spirit lives in us. The love we share with others doesn’t come from us—it comes from God! When do you find it difficult to love others? Consider taking a moment to talk to God about this. You can always ask Him to remind you of how much He loves you and the people around you. We love because he first loved us. 1 John 4:19 (CSB)