Unlocked: Daily Devotions for Teens

READ: 1 CORINTHIANS 13:3-7; 1 JOHN 4:16 [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20CORINTHIANS%2013%3A3-7%3B%201%20JOHN%204%3A16&version=NLT] Maybe you’re like me, and you’ve found yourself struggling with same-sex attraction. Or maybe you haven’t personally experienced this, but some of your friends have come out as LGBTQ+. You may wrestle with knowing how to respond. Should you still be friends with them? How much do you agree with your friends, and how much don’t you? What does “love” mean in this scenario? Although this could be (and should be) a much longer conversation, let’s dive into how to love our friends when they come out to us by using three characteristics listed in 1 Corinthians 13. “Love is…kind” (1 Corinthians 13:4). I am giving you permission to be kind to your friends—no matter how they identify. It is God’s kindness, tolerance, and patience that leads us to repentance (Romans 2:4). Additionally, our friends who identify as attracted to people of the same sex may not need repentance from it. They are simply telling us how they are tempted sexually. Temptation of any variety is not a sin (Hebrews 4:15). “Love…rejoices whenever the truth wins out” (1 Corinthians 13:4-6). I have watched people change their theology of marriage overnight when a friend comes out. They see their friend genuinely in pain over what they reveal (or happy for the first time in a long time), and they conclude, “We must have gotten marriage wrong.” The church has unquestionably gotten loving people in the midst of any type of wrestling wrong, but the Bible isn’t wrong when it comes to marriage and sexuality. Loving your friend well means loving them toward daily surrender of any type of sin struggle. “Love never gives up” (1 Corinthians 13:7). If your friend rejects you, don’t reject them. If they wander from the faith, you stay connected. As one friend said to me, “You are so annoying in your pursuit of me—and so like Jesus!” Be annoying like Jesus—just like He is in His pursuit of you—as you love your equally broken friends. Never give up on them. Truly loving someone is not easy—it is costly. But it is the only way I know how to demonstrate the heart of the one whose name is Love. • Laurie Krieg • Whenever we read 1 Corinthians 13, it’s vital to remember that this is the way Jesus loves us. Consider taking some time to read this passage slowly, and just rest in Jesus’s love for you. • Throughout the Bible, God blesses marriage between one man and one woman. He makes it clear that the relationship between a husband and wife should reflect the loving and faithful relationship between Christ and the church, and that sex is a good gift to be shared and enjoyed by a husband and wife within marriage. While being attracted to someone of the same sex is not a sin, acting on those attractions by pursuing a sexual encounter is sin. In the same way, pursuing a sexual encounter with someone of the opposite sex who is not our spouse is also a sin. And lusting after anyone is a sin as well. But, thanks be to God, He extends forgiveness to us through Jesus’s death and resurrection. The truth is, we are all equally broken with sin and in need of Jesus. And even after we’ve put our trust in Jesus to save us, He calls us to live in a daily rhythm of confession, repentance, and thankfulness as we rest in His forgiveness. How should these truths affect the way we interact with people who struggle with different temptations than we do? • Read Hebrews 4:14-16. Why is it important to know that Jesus Himself was tempted yet was without sin? • Who do you know who is wrestling with their sexuality right now? Have you responded to them in love? Consider taking some time to pray for this person, asking God to bless them and to help you love them well. • How can you do the work of love today—specifically in being kind, rejoicing in the truth, and never giving up? • If you’re struggling with how to best love your LGBTQ+ friends, reach out to The Center for Faith, Sexuality & Gender. They can offer you loving and nonjudgmental support and point you to people you can talk with and/or resources that may help you in your journey: centerforfaith.com/contact [http://centerforfaith.com/contact] Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. 1 Corinthians 13:7 (NLT)

READ: ROMANS 7:18–8:2; EPHESIANS 3:14-21 [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=ROMANS%207%3A18%E2%80%938%3A2%3B%20EPHESIANS%203%3A14-21&version=NLT] My eyes snapped awake, and I searched inside of myself: Do I still feel the attraction? One second of introspection revealed the dreaded answer: Yes. I’m still attracted to her. I felt like this shouldn’t be. I was a pastor’s daughter. I led worship and small groups at my church. I loved Jesus as much as I knew how, and here I was: a Jesus-loving-and-fearing woman who was attracted to other women. I had been in a secret same-sex relationship for months, but I didn’t even call her my girlfriend. We were simply two Christian best friends who loved each other deeply…and yet…there was this sexual aspect to it. I both hated and loved it. I felt a lot like Paul in Romans 7: “I love God’s law with all my heart. But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind…Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death?” (verse 22-24). I knew the answer Paul stated in the next verse. I did not like it: “Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord.” But how? I questioned God. I love You, but here I am, wrestling with what most Christians do not even call a “sin struggle.” I feel I am automatically categorized as the worst type of human until it is gone. But I couldn’t stop. I could not pray the attractions out of me. I wish present-day me could go back into that moment, cup my face in my hands, and say some words of hope: Dear one, it’s okay. Everyone has broken sexuality. This is simply your version. Find someone you can talk to about this, who will love you as you are and who will teach you not only to know Jesus’s love but also how to experience it. Then you will be empowered to daily surrender all your brokenness to Him (Ephesians 3:19). Those words would come to me soon, but I offer them to you today: You are not the worst. You’re simply broken—like everyone else. • Laurie Krieg • Can you think of a time you felt like today’s author felt, and like Paul felt in Romans 7? • Do you view people who wrestle with same-sex attractions differently than you view those who struggle with heterosexual lust? Why? • Why is it important to know that we are all broken and struggling with sin—that we are all desperately in need of Jesus and the forgiveness He extends to us through His death and resurrection? (Daniel 9:9; Romans 3:23-24; 10:9-13) If you want to know more about Jesus and why we all need Him, see our "Know Jesus [https://unlocked.org/knowjesus/]" page. • Do you wrestle with shame or self-hatred because of your sexuality? God loves you right now—right here in the midst of your struggles—and He wants to help you. How can you take the next right step to reach out to a trusted Christian who can help you not only know God’s love for you but experience it? • God created sexual intimacy as a good gift to be shared and enjoyed between a husband and wife within marriage. Though we may experience attraction to people who are not our spouse, we don’t need to act on these attractions, either by pursuing a sexual encounter or by lusting. If we’ve put our trust in Jesus, the Holy Spirit lives in us and helps us follow God’s good ways, regardless of the temptations we face. What a relief! Through the Holy Spirit, we have the power to live godly lives because of His life in us (2 Peter 1:3). Instead of focusing on temptation, He calls us to set our minds on His Spirit in us and His good desires for us (Romans 8:5). When we are facing temptation, it can be helpful to remember that, as Christians, God has already given us the power to say “no” to any sin. And even when we do sin, the Holy Spirit helps us to repent by reminding us of God’s infinite love and unbreakable forgiveness. What questions do you have about marriage, sexuality, sin, repentance, etc.? • If you’re wrestling with your sexuality and need someone safe to talk with, you can reach out to The Center for Faith, Sexuality & Gender. They can offer you loving and nonjudgmental support and point you to people you can talk with and/or resources that may help you in your journey: centerforfaith.com/contact [http://centerforfaith.com/contact] May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God. Ephesians 3:19 (NLT)

READ: LUKE 22:54-62; JOHN 21:15-25; ROMANS 3:23-24 [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=LUKE%2022%3A54-62%3B%20JOHN%2021%3A15-25%3B%20ROMANS%203%3A23-24&version=CSB] Will I go to hell for how I am? This question invaded my mind on too many occasions for me to count, especially after observing other people’s Christian walks. Usually, they appeared to be extremely holy people who had their righteous lives intact. Nothing fazed them, they committed no wrongdoings—at least, not in public—and they referred to their prayer lives often. Reading the Bible and speaking to God through prayer seemed like second nature to them. It didn’t for me. I struggled for years to pray and read my Bible daily. But it wasn’t that I lived my life separately from what I heard on Sundays or that I didn’t even think about God throughout the week. I just had a difficult time setting up good habits. During that time, I kept wondering about God’s tolerance of my lackluster performance. Especially, I thought, in comparison to my clearly better-suited fellow humans. They seemed much holier than I was. Cue teenage me discovering John 21. It’s uncoincidentally located right after Jesus reinstates Peter. Peter had denied Jesus three times before Jesus’s death on the cross. But now, in this passage, Jesus asks Peter three times, “Do you love me?” And each time, when Peter says yes, Jesus responds, “Feed my lambs… Shepherd my sheep… Feed my sheep.” This echoes the three times Peter denied Him, showing that Jesus is reinstating Peter as a disciple. Jesus goes on to tell Peter the kind of death he will die to glorify God, and then He says to Peter, “Follow me.” But Peter notices another disciple, John, is following them. Peter asks Jesus, “What about him?” That’s when Jesus said one of the most liberating things I’ve ever heard: What’s it to you? The last thing Jesus wants us to do is selfishly worry about others’ relationships with Him—that’s not our concern. The truth is, we all fall short of God’s holiness, but Jesus has given each of us grace, and that is the grace we are to be concerned with. You are free to focus on your relationship with Him, not the apparent relationships of others with Him. • Carson D. Jacobs • In what ways might you be focusing on others’ relationships with Jesus instead of your own? • How do you think you can develop healthy Bible-reading and prayer habits? Don’t worry about doing it just like someone else—find out what works for you! For example, how do you usually prefer to talk on the phone? Pacing? Sitting down? Figure out which way is most comfortable for you and try mimicking that while praying. “If I want him to remain until I come,” Jesus answered, “what is that to you? As for you, follow me.” John 21:22 (CSB)

READ: JOHN 10:1-30 [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=JOHN%2010%3A1-30&version=CSB] Every time I get a voicemail from my mom, I smile. I’ve heard her voice almost every day of my life. So if I know anyone’s voice, it’s hers. What always makes me smile is the fact that she still feels the need to tell me that it’s her leaving the voicemail. It’s not just my mom’s voice that I hear and instantly know. I have some close friends and family members I talk with all the time. They can leave a voicemail without a name, and I know who they are. But, if someone I didn’t know very well left me a message without a name, I would have no clue who they were. Jesus says His sheep hear His voice and follow Him. When we trust Jesus as our Savior, we become His sheep. He is our good shepherd (John 10:11). So, as Christians, we spend time listening to His voice so we can know it and follow Him. We can do this by absorbing the truth of the gospel—meditating on who Jesus is and what He has done in the pages of God’s Word, the Bible. Throughout the Bible, God reveals His unending love and steadfast character, ultimately making Himself known to us through Jesus (John 1:18). As we press into relationship with Jesus through spending time in His Word, in prayer, and with His people, it will become easier and easier for us to discern His voice. • Melissa Yeagle • How have you heard people talk about listening to God’s voice? • Have you ever tried to listen to God’s voice? What was that like? • The primary way God speaks to us is through His Word, the Bible. And the gospel (good news) is the lens through which we understand His Word, because the whole Bible points to Jesus and hinges on His death and resurrection. If you want to know more about the gospel, see our "Know Jesus [https://unlocked.org/knowjesus/]" page. • Learning to listen to God’s voice takes time, and we’ll keep learning until the day Jesus returns— then we won’t need to discern anymore because we’ll see Jesus face to face! But in the meantime, if we know Jesus His Holy Spirit lives in us, reminding us of everything Jesus has said and helping us discern His voice. We can also talk to trusted Christians and help each other answer questions like: Does this agree with the Bible? Does this glorify God the Father and God the Son? Does this bring the fruit of the Spirit and hope, or condemnation and fear? Remember, God will never ask us to sin, and He will never break His promises. If you want to dig deeper, read John 3:17; 14:26; 16:12-15; Romans 8:1; Galatians 5:22-23. [Jesus said,] “My sheep hear my voice, I know them, and they follow me.” John 10:27 (CSB)

READ: ISAIAH 53:1-5; MATTHEW 2:13-18; JOHN 13:2-5 [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=ISAIAH%2053%3A1-5%3B%20MATTHEW%202%3A13-18%3B%20JOHN%2013%3A2-5%20&version=NLT]   Son of Man You chose to get Your hands dirty, to get knee deep in human suffering. To cry with us and bear our pain. You refused to turn away when we shouted with angry voices. Clashing swords while You were being born. You chose humility, while we searched for mighty kings. You ripped apart the fabric of our reality when You decided to come and live in the midst of humanity’s broken dream. • Catherine Valentine   • We live in a world that has been broken by sin, and we all experience hardships, like sickness, injuries, the pain of loss,and thesuffering of loneliness. What kinds of suffering and pain have you experienced lately? • Sometimes, it’s easy to think that God is far removed from us and our lives. But that’s not true! In Jesus, God came to be with us. In fact, one of the names for Jesus is Immanuel, which means “God is with us” (Matthew 1:23). It can be hard to picture the almighty, perfectly holy God being present here, in the midst of our messy lives. But the truth is, God is not afraid of our mess. He loves us so much that Jesus came and died and rose again to be with us—mess and all. He paid the price for our sins with His life, then He ascended into heaven so that His Holy Spirit could live in us. That means, once we know Jesus, we never have to go through the mess of life alone. And Jesus promises to return one day to get rid of all the mess, sin, and brokenness forever. Hallelujah! Consider spending some time in prayer, asking God to remind you of how He is with you right here, right now, in the middle of your mess. And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. Romans 8:38 (NLT)