Unlocked: Daily Devotions for Teens

READ: PSALMS 9:9-10; 27:8-14; MATTHEW 11:28-30; JOHN 10:10 [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=PSALMS%209%3A9-10%3B%2027%3A8-14%3B%20MATTHEW%2011%3A28-30%3B%20JOHN%2010%3A10&version=NIV]   Come to me. Come out of darkness. Don’t look at the shifting shadows. Don’t listen to the slithering snake. Look at the dawn, light breaking through. There is hope and joy. How I delight in you! You beat yourself all black and blue— it grieves My heart. Let Me lead and I will heal. I will show You things that will bring life. I am gentle and lowly, come and talk with Me, do not fight, My child. • Catherine Valentine   • Can you think of a time you felt reluctant to speak to God? Maybe you’re feeling that way right now. It happens to all of us sometimes. Satan loves to feed us lies to try to keep us from interacting with God, convincing us that He doesn’t love us or He isn’t good or He doesn’t want to hear from us until we’ve cleaned up the messy parts of our lives. Do any of these lies resonate with you? Do other lies come to mind? Who is a trusted Christian in your life who could help you sort through the lies and bring them into the light of God’s wonderful truth and love? If no one comes to mind, you can ask God to help you identify someone in the future. (James 1:17) • In the Bible, serpents are often associated with the lies of the enemy (Genesis 3; 2 Corinthians 11:3; Revelation 12:9). Satan wants to deceive us and tempt us to try to do things on our own—and then trap us in despair and self-hatred when we fail or when things don’t turn out like we expected. But Jesus is always breaking through with hope. He is infinitely more powerful than the enemy, and He came to set us free. How have you experienced Jesus’s hope in your life? In what ways has He brought you joy or shown you His love? [Jesus said,] “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble at heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” Matthew 11:29 (NIV)

READ: PHILIPPIANS 3:17; TITUS 2:1-8; HEBREWS 10:24-25 [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=PHILIPPIANS%203%3A17%3B%20TITUS%202%3A1-8%3B%20HEBREWS%2010%3A24-25&version=NIV] I’m so thankful for the people God has placed in my life. He has this incredible way of working everything out to give us just what we need. He knows when I need support from someone. He knows when I can’t do it on my own. He knows exactly who to put in my path and when to bring them into my life. There have been many times on my journey when God has brought godly people into my life—people who were older than me, farther along life’s journey than me. They could speak into the things I was going through with love, care, and truth. We are not meant to walk this life alone. There is so much wisdom to be gained from people who have gone before us. They can provide a listening ear and share how God has shown up in their lives so we can look for Him in similar ways. They can warn us of the ways we should avoid and tell us what happens when we walk down a bad path. And even when we mess up, they can remind us of Jesus’s faithful love and forgiveness, and they can help us get back on the path of following Him. I’m thankful for each one of these people who have mentored me. I also know that God has equipped me to mentor others—and He has equipped you too. Even as a teenager, you can be an example to someone who is younger than you. You may not realize it, but kids look up to you, and they’re already learning from watching you. You can pour into their lives by sharing experiences you’ve had and being someone they can turn to when things are difficult. God can, and will, work through you to be a blessing in the lives of people who are younger than you, and He will also provide older mentors who can walk with you as you navigate unfamiliar territory. • Tynea Lewis • As Christians, we know that Jesus is always with us, mentoring us. But how does it feel when you know there’s also someone else who will listen to you and help you when things are tough? • Do you have any Christian adults in your life you look up to as mentors? If not, you can ask God to help you identify someone in the future. • Who is someone you could intentionally pour into? Maybe it’s a younger teen from church, or a kid you babysit, or someone in your neighborhood? Consider taking a moment to pray for this person, and ask God to help you notice ways you could listen to them and encourage them. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Hebrews 10:24 (NIV)

READ: JOB 19:5-27; 38:1-15; LUKE 13:34; ROMANS 8:18-29, 38-39 [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=JOB%2019%3A5-27%3B%2038%3A1-15%3B%20LUKE%2013%3A34%3B%20ROMANS%208%3A18-29%2C%2038-39&version=NIV] Wow, I am so small. The thought was involuntary. And irrefutable. It wasn’t good or bad. It was just true. I was walking through a tropical conservatory, and it was like being transported to another world. Shielded from the elements by the glass panes of a giant greenhouse, the trees in this mini-rainforest towered above me. Leaves two or three times taller than me hung down like great curtains. Other branches stretched up, reaching toward the ceiling fifty feet above my head. Surrounded by such foliage, I felt a bit like Job. Before entering the conservatory, I had been pouring out my complaints against God. Much like Job, I had told God how unfair I thought He was being, how angry I was, how much He had hurt me, and how I wondered if I could even trust Him. Everything was too much—too much to bear, too much to carry. Too much was being asked of me. Now, faced with these mighty trees, I felt my own smallness. And yet, I didn’t feel afraid or unimportant. I was in awe of the trees—and the one who made them. Their leaves felt like a protective canopy, like the wings of a mother hen gathering in her chicks. God answered Job’s accusations by showing him what He had made—the heights of the heavens, the depths of the seas, and the might of amazing creatures. Job must have felt so small. Perhaps that’s what led him to say, “I know that you can do all things; no purpose of yours can be thwarted” (Job 42:2). God hasn’t given me answers to my questions, and I may never fully understand what He’s doing in this lifetime. But maybe I don’t have to. Maybe it’s enough to know that God is on the throne, and He is working all things together for His purposes. He stretches His wings over me like a mother hen gathering in her chicks. I might have more accusations to hurl at God tomorrow. But if He’s big enough to make the mighty trees of the rainforest, then I can trust that He’s big enough to work all of the mess in my life into something worthwhile. • Taylor Eising • Job pours out all his complaints, even accusing God of wronging him (Job 19:6). But in the end Job concludes, “Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know” (Job 42:3). Have you ever poured out your complaints against God? God invites us to bring Him the good, the bad, and the ugly. He loves us, and He wants to bring healing to our hearts. In fact, Jesus died and rose from the dead to make that healing possible. But we usually can’t receive healing without first acknowledging our hurts. What hurts do you have to bring before Him today? “I know that you can do all things; no purpose of yours can be thwarted.” Job 42:2 (NIV)

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)