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Unlocked: Daily Devotions for Teens

Keys for Kids Ministries

Unlocked is a daily teen devotional, centered on God’s Word. Each day’s devotion—whether fiction, poetry, or essay—asks the question: How does Jesus and what He did affect today’s topic? With daily devotions read by our hosts, Natalie and Dylan, and questions designed to encourage discussion and a deeper walk with Christ, Unlocked invites teens to both engage with the Bible and to write and submit their own devotional pieces.

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Today · 4 min
Even When No One Listens
READ: JEREMIAH 1:1-9; 11:1-5; 1 TIMOTHY 4:12; 2 TIMOTHY 2:23-26 Jeremiah was a young man when God called him to be a prophet—a messenger to speak to the people on God’s behalf. At that time in Judah, the religious leaders had abandoned God’s Word. As a result, widows, orphans, and immigrants were being taken advantage of—in clear violation of God’s Word—and the leaders weren’t doing anything about it. Although people were worshipping God in the temple, many were also going out and worshipping
Yesterday · 4 min
There's an Invitation Here for You!
READ: MATTHEW 6:19-21; JOHN 3:16-17; 14:1-4; REVELATION 19:6-9; 21:1-5 Do you like to host parties? Back when I worked in youth ministry, I used to host gatherings at my house frequently. I would spend a day or more preparing—picking my menu, cleaning the house, and writing a lesson with my co-leader. I would set out blankets and pillows. I would get the space heater going and light a candle. All of this to ensure that when my guests came over, they would feel welcome, loved, at home. Did
Thursday · 3 min
The Unedited Cut
READ: PSALM 139:1-4; ROMANS 5:6-8; 2 CORINTHIANS 5:17 We curate the caption and crop the distraction, Chasing the applause of a virtual reaction. We polish the exterior to hide the interior, Afraid that our true selves are somehow inferior. But in the quiet, when the screen goes black, We feel the heavy weight of the perfection we lack. See, Jesus didn’t come for your highlight reel, He came for the brokenness you try to conceal. No filter could cover the crimson cost of sin, So He opened His ar
Wednesday · 4 min
Never Abandoned
READ: PSALM 77; ROMANS 8:35-39 Have you ever felt abandoned by God? Psalm 77 records a fervent prayer of Asaph. At the beginning, Asaph searches for and calls out to God, so we’d think everything would turn out okay, right? But then Asaph groans! He remembers the ways God helped him in the past, but he feels agony that he is no longer in that place. He starts to wonder if God still cares about him. He goes so far as to question God’s character, wondering if He is even compassionate and mer
Tuesday · 5 min
How to Handle Rejection
READ: ISAIAH 53:3-4; EPHESIANS 1:3-7; 1 PETER 2:4 When my parents divorced, I moved to a brand-new town at the beginning of fourth grade. After feeling rejected by a parent and leaving my hometown where all my old friends were, it felt good when I made three friends at my new school. But suddenly, one day, none of them wanted to play with me anymore. They didn’t want to be my friends. For about a month or so, they intentionally ignored and made fun of me. I felt rejection—again. It hurt to
Monday · 4 min
Safe and Strong
READ: DEUTERONOMY 33:26-29; ISAIAH 40:1-11; JOHN 10:10-11, 27-30 When I was little, my dad had a friend who visited us, named Dennis. Once we took him on a walk through the woods on some family property. My parents probably suggested I change into more suitable shoes, but I wore sandals. Before long, I stepped into a pile of biting fire ants. As the insects swarmed my feet, Dennis quickly reached down and scooped me up. As he held me, he brushed the bugs away. I felt protected and safe in his
Sunday · 5 min
Law vs. Grace?
READ: EXODUS 24:12; 34:6; ROMANS 7:1-22; GALATIANS 3 Kids under ten can be pretty blunt. While listening to the book of Leviticus, a freckled-faced girl commented, “I feel like the God of the Old Testament is so different from the New Testament. He’s sitting on a couch saying, ‘Bring me more grapes! Do this! Don’t do that, or you will be punished!’” While her words were startling, this nine-year-old made some sense. Throughout the Old Testament, we find accounts of God punishing sin and di
October 17 · 4 min
Light Is Key
READ: PSALM 119:105; PROVERBS 6:23; JOHN 1:1-18; EPHESIANS 5:1-20 Once, when I was about fifteen, I was in the woods late at night with my scouting group. We turned our flashlights off to practice stealthy forest maneuvers—just to see if we could make it back to camp without a light. We decided that one of us would be the leader. The girl in front (she claimed to have excellent night vision) inched slowly ahead, and we each followed, one after the other. To avoid branches in our faces, roo
October 16 · 4 min
Head Held High: The Legacy of Richard Allen
READ: JOHN 4:24; GALATIANS 3:26-29; REVELATION 7:9-10 Richard Allen was born into slavery in 1760. As an adult, he put his trust in Jesus. He then asked his non-Christian slaveholder to invite preachers to come speak in their home, and he agreed. One of these sermons convicted Richard Allen’s slaveholder that slavery was wrong. So, he invited Allen to buy his freedom. Head held high, Allen purchased his liberty and began looking for work. As he supported himself in various trades, Richard
October 15 · 6 min
I Am the Only Way
READ: MATTHEW 1:23; EPHESIANS 2:8-9; COLOSSIANS 1:12-22; HEBREWS 12:2 A few days ago, Keera had been told of the beautiful Golden City where there were no tears. So she had left her home, her family, everything, to seek it out. But when she arrived, she was dismayed to find it was at the top of a huge cliffside. She could just see a bit of light at the peak. Finally, after a long hesitation, she began to climb the Mountain of Sin. Now, she half clung to the broken handholds, half crawled u
October 14 · 5 min
Jesus, Take the Wheel
READ: PSALM 139:23-24; ROMANS 8:15, 28-39; PHILIPPIANS 4:4-9; HEBREWS 13:5-6 Exactly one month after receiving my driver’s license, I got into a car accident. Though I was thankful to walk away without serious injuries, this event shook me. I had never been in such a dangerous situation before, especially one in which I was at fault. It took six months to find the courage to drive alone again, and even then, I chose the quietest route possible. Over the years, I’ve experienced both victori
October 13 · 4 min
Getting Away with What?
READ: PSALM 139:1-4, 23-24; JEREMIAH 23:23-24; 31:3; HEBREWS 4:12-13 As she related her story, my eyes widened. Our friends laughed. And she congratulated herself. This girl, who I’ll call Kelly, had just told us about a trip to the mall. It sounded like she was describing an adventure as she explained how she tried on a swimsuit in the dressing room of a store. Only Kelly didn’t change back into her own clothes and then pay for it. She kept the swimsuit on, put her clothes over it, and walke
October 12 · 4 min
Thankful, Together
READ: PSALMS 92:1-2; 150:1-6; EPHESIANS 5:18-20; 1 THESSALONIANS 5:11 It’s easy to be thankful when we really like the gift. Maybe someone gave you just what you wanted, or maybe school is amazing this year—your friends are awesome, classes are great, and learning has been coming easily. In those times, it feels natural to be thankful. But when life hands us hardships, trials, and even suffering, thanking God might be the last thing we feel like doing. “It is good,” says Psalm 92, to give
October 11 · 4 min
Sharing Your Friends with God
READ: 2 THESSALONIANS 1:1-3, 11-12 Do you share your friends with God? You’re probably wondering what that means. You might even think it’s a typo and should read, “Do you share God with your friends?” While it is important to share Jesus with our friends by telling them about Him, it’s just as important to share our friends with Jesus by praying for them. When they come to us with problems we can’t fix—like parents divorcing, major illnesses, or the death of a loved one—we can feel helple
October 10 · 4 min
Staying the Course
READ: HEBREWS 11:1–12:3 You can’t catch your breath. You feel weak, and you just want to lie down and give up. If life is a race, you’re in last place and the finish line is miles away. Should you even try to keep going? Many people who’ve gone before have felt the same way, and yet somehow they’ve persevered—not just waiting for time to pass, but moving forward, even when the specific outcome was unknown. Noah spent years building the ark before the waters began to rise. Abraham left his
October 9 · 4 min
Running Away
READ: MARK 1:29-39; LUKE 5:1-16 I grabbed a yellow blanket and stormed out into the breezy summer day. I was nine years old and fed up. Fed up with our big family, our small house, and all the frustration with my little brother, who I’ll call Bradley. I’d decided right then to run away from home. The blanket was just an afterthought. As I stomped down the steps, Bradley caught up to me. “Where are you going?” he asked. “I’m running away!” I shouted. “Wait for me! I’ll come with you!”
October 8 · 4 min
Belonging to God
READ: PSALM 100:3; ISAIAH 43:1; ROMANS 8:14-17; 12:15 Recently, I participated in a day of service in my college community. There were many service projects to choose from, and I blindly signed up, not knowing where I’d be placed. “Our group will be serving at a homeless shelter today,” the leader said. “We’re going to split into two groups. Half of us will work in the donation closet, and half of us will sit down with the folks at the shelter and have conversations with them. I knew im
October 7 · 5 min
The Blame Game
READ: GENESIS 3:1-13; EXODUS 32:19-24; 1 JOHN 1:8–2:1 During a holiday meal, five-year-old me carelessly set down a glass of milk, tipping it over. Immediately, I pointed to my great-grandpa sitting next to me and said, “Frank did it.” I may be older now, but sometimes that urge to play the Blame Game is still there. It’s nothing new. The Blame Game has been played from the beginning of time. In Genesis, Adam and Eve sinned against God and ruined the perfect, peaceful world He had creat
October 6 · 4 min
Awkward in Algebra
READ: ISAIAH 44:6-24; 1 JOHN 5:20-21 In ninth grade, I struggled with algebra. As the “smart kid,” I placed a lot of importance on my grades—not just because I wanted to do my best, but because excellent grades gave me a ticket to self-worth. Without academic success, I couldn’t point to anything that made me feel valuable. One day, Mrs. Russell returned our recently graded tests. I sighed when I noticed the C on my paper. I looked up to see that the guy sitting in front of me, who I’ll ca
October 5 · 5 min
Jesus Is Our Joy
READ: NEHEMIAH 8:1-12; PSALMS 1:1-6; 119:34; LUKE 24:13-35 Sometimes we rush through reading the Bible. We’re too distracted, or we don’t really listen, or we don’t stick with it long enough to understand. In Nehemiah 8, we see how the people of God responded to hearing His words. God’s law had been lost after their forebears abandoned God—pursuing wickedness, injustice, and idols instead. Eventually, God had allowed the destruction of their beloved city, Jerusalem. But now, at last, th

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