Unlocked: Daily Devotions for Teens

At a Loss for Words

READ: ROMANS 8:26-27, 31-34 [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=ROMANS%208%3A26-27%2C%2031-34&version=NIV] Every time I called the dog’s name, my family laughed. Now that I’m older, I understand why. I grew up near my uncle Andy, who had a dog named Shep. I adored Uncle Andy and liked his dog too. But—as a child—I couldn’t pronounce “Shep.” Try as I might, the dog’s name sounded like “Botch” every time I spoke it. I understood the name Shep; I just couldn’t get the word out when I pronounced it. Have you ever tried to say what was on your mind, but you just couldn’t seem to verbalize it? Have you felt this way in your prayers—attempting to call out to God for what you or a loved one needed, but just unable to form the right words? Throughout the Bible, we read about God’s people crying out to Him in prayer. These believers showed a range of emotions as they talked with God about what they were going through and asked for answers to their problems. When we begin a relationship with God, He gives us that same privilege of prayer. We can enter a relationship with God by putting our trust in Jesus. He died and rose again to provide forgiveness for our sins and to adopt us as God’s beloved children. In this relationship, we can freely approach God’s throne through prayer (Hebrews 4:14-16). But what happens when we don’t know what words to use as we speak to God? When we long to follow His call in Lamentations 2:19 to “pour out your heart like water in the presence of the Lord,” but we can’t find the vocabulary? There’s good news: God the Holy Spirit prays to God the Father on our behalf. The Spirit intercedes, asking the Father for what we need. And Jesus—God the Son—also talks to the Father for us. In our prayers, we’re not on our own. We can rest in the knowledge that Jesus and the Holy Spirit both pray for us, and God knows our hearts better than we know ourselves. • Allison Wilson Lee • What concerns or needs are weighing on your heart today? Do you feel like you can pray about them? • How could it be comforting to remember that God knows all our thoughts and needs before we say a word? How could this free us to talk to God without pressure? (Psalm 139:4; Matthew 6:8) In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. Romans 8:26 (NIV)

Dear Unforgiveness

READ: MATTHEW 18:21-22; EPHESIANS 4:32; COLOSSIANS 3:13 [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=MATTHEW%2018%3A21-22%3B%20EPHESIANS%204%3A32%3B%20COLOSSIANS%203%3A13&version=NLT] Dear Unforgiveness, I nurtured you after someone hurt me. You grew in the soil of my misery, and I watered you each day with anger and frustration. Like ice, you crept into my heart, teaching me to shut people out, afraid of future disappointments. You are a storm twisting within, causing confusion. Like fire, you flare up and draw pictures of those I have failed to forgive. The thoughts of them spiral inside me like a movie, re-enacting the scenes over and over again. The problem is, you are wounding me. The rage that prowls inside and the sadness that creeps in—they warn me I cannot carry on like this. But you are impossible to give up. I know the only way to conquer this is to open up my heart to God and allow Him to carry the burden of you, Unforgiveness, trusting Him to take care of all my hurts. I am praying to Jesus, asking Him to melt the bitterness and heal me—praying I will rest in the grace He’s given me and extend that grace to others. Now, it is time to say goodbye to you. Unforgiveness, I am letting you go. In Christ, I’m finally breaking free. • Cindy Lee • Forgiving someone who has hurt you is a challenging process, and it doesn’t always mean trusting the other person, especially in a dangerous situation. But if you know Jesus, forgiveness is possible because His Holy Spirit lives in you and will empower you day-by-day to forgive others as God has forgiven you (Ephesians 4:32). If you’re struggling with forgiveness, who is a trusted Christian—such as a parent, pastor, or counselor—you can talk with about it? • What emotions has unforgiveness caused in your life? Consider taking some time to write them down and talk to Jesus about them. He cares about all your hurts, and He weeps over them. You can trust Him to heal you,and to fill you with His loveforall people. • How could it be helpful to remember that we have all sinned, and God has promised to bring justice for every wrongdoing—whether at the cross or on the Judgment Day? (Luke 23:32-43; Romans 3:23-27; 5:8; 12:14-21; 2 Peter 3:9-13) Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you. Ephesians 4:32 (NLT)

As Far as the East Is from the West

READ: MICAH 7:19; 1 JOHN 1:9–2:1 [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=MICAH%207%3A19%3B%201%20JOHN%201%3A9%E2%80%932%3A1&version=NLT] Do you still feel guilty about it? That thing you did. Maybe it happened yesterday, maybe it happened eight years ago. No matter what it was, you may be holding on to unnecessary guilt. Guilt does have a purpose. It leads us to repentance and encourages us not to do evil again…but that purpose can be twisted by Satan. God wants us to feel sorry for our sins so we can repent (or turn away) from them and rest in His forgiveness. But once these sins are forgiven, they’re gone. Poof! God has removed them from us. If we’ve put our trust in Jesus, we carry these old sins no more. The Bible even says that God separates us from our sins “as far…as the east is from the west” (Psalm 103:12). God doesn’t want His people to sit in their guilt and pore over sins already forgiven. Jesus took on our punishment for us. He died and was forsaken for our sins, taking on God’s wrath for us so that we don’t have to suffer the punishment our wrongdoing deserves. Besides guilt, another problem Christians face is shame. Shame is similar to guilt, but instead of seeing wrong in your sins, you see wrong in yourself. Shame changes “I did something bad” into “I’m a bad person.” As Christians, we were once defined by our sins. But if we’ve put our trust in Jesus, He has given us a new identity. We are now children of God, wrapped in Jesus’s righteousness and blameless in His eyes. God wants us to rejoice in Him, not feel shameful. As Psalm 34:5 says, “Those who look to him for help will be radiant with joy; no shadow of shame will darken their faces.” So whenever you feel guilt or shame, you can repent of any sins that come to mind—acknowledging them to God, turning away from them, and resting in His forgiveness. If you still feel guilt and shame after that, consider taking some time to thank Jesus for the grace and forgiveness He has already given you. You are no longer captive to the power of guilt and shame. You are held in the love of Jesus. • Naomi Zylstra • If you’ve put your trust in Jesus, then all your sins have been paid for on the cross—past, present, and future. If you want to know more about this amazing forgiveness, see our "Know Jesus [https://unlocked.org/knowjesus/]" page. • Are there any sins you still feel guilty for? If you haven’t confessed them to God yet, consider doing that now. If you’re still feeling guilt or shame, who is a trusted Christian you could share openly with— someone who can pray with you and remind you of how God truly sees you? He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west. Psalm 103:12 (NLT)

A Tricky Performance

READ: ISAIAH 64:6; EZEKIEL 36:25-27; MATTHEW 23:23-28; 1 PETER 1:18-23 [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=ISAIAH%2064%3A6%3B%20EZEKIEL%2036%3A25-27%3B%20MATTHEW%2023%3A23-28%3B%201%20PETER%201%3A18-23&version=NLT] “You wear the pink wig; I’ll wear the silver one!” My friend Bridget and I laughed as we dressed in costumes. Playing around with Bridget’s keyboard that day, we decided to put on a show for my grandma, who had stopped by for a visit. My grandma didn’t know about the tunes the keyboard had been programmed to play with just the press of a button. We thought it would be funny to pretend we played the music and see if we could trick my grandma into believing we possessed more musical skills than we did. Bridget and I silently tapped the keyboard while recorded music filled the room. After our concert, my grandma praised our abilities. She gushed until we sheepishly admitted our ruse. Though Bridget and I fooled my grandma, that didn’t change anything about our actual talent. Sometimes in life, we do the same thing. We attempt to hide the reality of a bitter, unforgiving, or selfish attitude by putting on a kind of performance, like an outward show of friendship or kindness. People might be tricked, but God knows the true state of our hearts. God sees everything—including the motives for why we do what we do. When Jesus lived among us, “he knew what was in each person’s heart” (John 2:25). He spoke harsh words to the Pharisees, calling these religious leaders whitewashed tombs. Outwardly, they displayed good behavior, but they resisted humility and repentance of their sins. Each of us has a choice. We can try to look “good” with a performance we can never maintain, or we can acknowledge that our good deeds are just filthy rags before a holy God—and turn to Jesus for forgiveness. Once we trust Jesus to pay the penalty for our sins, we start a new-creation life in Christ. His love for us is always authentic and never a mere performance. As He transforms us from within, we grow into Christ followers who don’t just perform. We learn to live and love with a new heart. • Allison Wilson Lee • Have you ever felt God loved you more on your “good” days than your “bad” ones? What does the reality of being God’s children mean about His love for us? Does His love change based on our performance? (Hint: read Luke 15:11-32; Romans 5:6-11; Ephesians 2:8-9; Titus 3:5) • Why is it important to bring our heart issues to the Lord instead of simply trying to modify our outward behavior? Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me. Psalm 51:10 (NLT)

Both/And

READ: PSALM 103:1-8; EPHESIANS 1:3-6; COLOSSIANS 3:1-2 [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=PSALM%20103%3A1-8%3B%20EPHESIANS%201%3A3-6%3B%20COLOSSIANS%203%3A1-2&version=NIV] Ever wonder why we have to go through so much hard stuff in this life? If you do, you’re in good company! All of us prefer the sweet and easy moments, free from the burdens of grief and pain. God created us for wholeness, but humanity’s sin brought brokenness. Yet God made the way for wholeness again through Jesus, who died on the cross and rose from the grave to save us from sin and heal all the brokenness sin causes. One day, Jesus will return, and this earth will be remade. In a brief moment, all will be made right. Our suffering will be but a memory. If we’ve put our trust in Jesus, we have this good future to look forward to. In the meantime, we have a choice. We can ask ourselves, How will we suffer? The things we face might make us angry or deeply sorrowful. And those emotions only make sense! And yet, in the middle of our afflictions, we can also choose to rejoice in God our Father, Christ our Savior, and the Spirit our Comforter. God invites us to be honest about how difficult or even impossible the hard things are, and to feel our emotions with Him. And at the same time, because His power is in us, we can choose to raise our sights above, “where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God” (Colossians 3:1). Paul said it this way: he was “sorrowful, yet always rejoicing” (2 Corinthians 6:10). It’s a both/and kind of thing. We can face the reality of any sad or difficult thing in our lives, and we can also cast our eyes upward. When we do, we remember the truths that remain, no matter what: God really is good, He is still trustworthy, and His love for us never ceases. We remember that He chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world. We are His cherished children. Perhaps this is what Paul meant when he said, “We live by faith, not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7). Living by faith is a choice we can make, right now. Along with Paul, many other believers have chosen to rejoice even in their sorrows. We can too, when we remember that Jesus walks with us through every step of our life’s journey. • Kristen Merrill • When it feels impossible to turn our gaze away from the brokenness and rejoice in God’s goodness, God wants us to ask Him for help! We can talk to Him honestly, and we can also share our struggles with trusted Christians. Who in your life can pray with you today? • If you want to dig deeper, read Psalm 145:9; Lamentations 3:22; John 14:6; 1 John 3:1 Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess his name. Hebrews 13:15 (NIV)