Podcast
Unlocked: Daily Devotions for Teens
Hosted by Keys for Kids Ministries · EN
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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Splintered Trust
Yesterday00:04:13Tap to summarizeREAD: PSALM 55 Smiles, charm, Perfect friends Watching you. Your back is turned, Whispering begins. Nasty remarks, A chuckle heard. Comments, jibes Grind you down. Burning tears. Thumping heartbeat. Subtle rejections. Trust splintered. When friends badmouth you, the hurt can be so deep that trusting again is challenging. David had the same problem. The first part of Psalm 55 shows how he is deeply troubled, and in verses 13 and 14, he shares the disappointment of his friend’s betrayal. In the midst of this desperation, he goes to God, the one who is always trustworthy. When your trust has been splintered, Jesus invites you to come to Him. He loves you deeply, and He feels your pain as His own. He can truly empathize with what you’re going through because He endured the pain of betrayal, rejection, and humiliation on the cross. Why? Because He was determined to bring forgiveness for sin—including gossip and backstabbing—and to provide healing for the harm sin causes. Jesus is trustworthy even when people are not. Through it all, He will never leave your side. • Cindy Lee • Can you think of a time someone broke your trust? Consider taking a moment to talk to Jesus about this and receive His tender compassion. • Because we live in a broken world, not everyone can be trusted, and it’s okay to set healthy boundaries, especially with people who have shown themselves to be untrustworthy in the past. At the same time, it’s important to remember that one of the ways God extends His love and healing to us is through community. If you’re not sure who you can trust right now, you can ask God to help you identify people who will treat you with respect and care, like He does. • Have you ever gone behind someone’s back? It’s easy to get drawn into a conversation when everyone is badmouthing someone. How can you remove yourself from situations like these? (1 Corinthians 10:13) • If you’re in the midst of a toxic situation, who are trusted adults you can reach out to? But I will call on God, and the LORD will rescue me. Psalm 55:16 (NLT)
Transcribe →Rest
2d ago00:04:29Tap to summarizeREAD: GENESIS 2:1-3; 1 KINGS 19:1-9; MATTHEW 11:28-30 I couldn’t sleep. My irritating cough kept me awake in the middle of the night. “Don’t go into work if you’re feeling poorly,” my parents advised. But I ignored them, afraid of letting anyone down. I must be resilient and keep going, I thought. I can’t give in and miss a day of work. So I soldiered on until my exhaustion eventually caught up with me. The illness didn’t go away, and refusing to rest made it substantially worse. I ended up spending a week (during my vacation) in bed. I hadn’t listened to my body or to good advice, and so I was forced to stop everything. As I lay in bed, feeling sorry for myself, I had no one to blame but myself. I recalled how, when my friends or family were ill, I would rush around buying throat lozenges, fruit, or whatever I thought might help them—but then I neglected my own body. I realized how easy it is to nurture and help other people but forget ourselves. In the Bible, God teaches us that it’s important to rest and recharge. Resting doesn’t mean you’re lazy. It might look like relaxing, enjoying a hobby, or doing something that allows your mind to rest. It could also mean making sure you’re getting enough sleep or listening to your body when you’ve overexerted—or when you’re feeling poorly and just need to take a break. Whenever we start to feel overwhelmed, we can listen to God. He cares for us more than we know, and He wants to give us rest. Even when we overdo it and wind up exhausted, God has so much compassion on us, and He is ready to help us. If you, like me, find it easier to care for other people than for yourself, remember that taking care of our bodies is necessary if we want to keep helping others. When you’re feeling poorly, you can rest and give yourself a dose of tender loving care in the same way you would a close friend or relative (Matthew 22:36-40). You don’t have to keep pushing yourself—you can rely on Jesus, the one who has already done everything that was needed to save us through dying and rising again, the one who gives us true rest. • Cindy Lee • Do you sometimes throw yourself into things and then forget to take time out to rest? Have you ever found it difficult to give yourself permission to take a break? Why do you think that is? • Sleep is an important part of our physical and emotional health. Sometimes we need help in order to give our bodies the sleep we need, and that’s okay. If you’re having difficulty sleeping, who is a trusted adult you can talk to, such as a parent, counselor, or doctor? In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat—for he grants sleep to those he loves. Psalm 127:2 (NIV)
Transcribe →Stranded and Alone
3d ago00:06:05Tap to summarizeREAD: JOHN 8:12; 1 JOHN 1:5–2:2 This is Captain Rodriguez, leaving another message. It’s been about ten Earth days since the accident. It’s difficult to tell time here…wherever here is. I’m slowly running out of food and water. After that, it’s over. I’m still alone, but I’m hoping someone is getting these messages, although I don’t know if the crash damaged the comms beacon. I’ve been thinking about my old church lately. (Thinking is the only thing I can really do now, besides sending these messages.) I never really liked going to church. Growing up, my parents made me. They said, “A healthy Christian is always in community.” All I really wanted was to be by myself, which is why I chose this job. But even here I had a small community, up until ten days ago. Everybody’s gone now. I’m all alone. I feel like I’m in a dark, empty room, and no matter how long I search the walls, there’s no light switch. I’ve always called myself a Christian, but I never really wanted to have community with anyone, even God. I’m realizing that I used to think I was better than those people at church, always pretending they were fine and denying their brokenness. But, turns out, I was doing the same thing. What a numskull I was. Blast! I wish I wasn’t in charge of controls that day! But that’s part of my job, so it is what it is. Now all I have left is seeking community with my God. I hope it’s okay to talk about these things here. I don’t even know if anyone is receiving these messages anyway—so, if you’re listening, deal with it I guess. The truth is, while I’ve been stranded here, Jesus has shown me His grace. He’s giving me a second chance to return to His light. To allow Him to be the light in this dark and empty room. I’ve been reading the Bible, and I believe what it says—that because Jesus died and rose again to bring me close to God, the community I have in Him will be more than enough now, even if I never get to be rescued. And if I am rescued, being reunited with the community of God’s people will be the sweetest part of all. Nonetheless, I know that Jesus is my deliverance. That’s all for today. Captain Rodriguez signing off. • Andres López • Today’s science fiction story explores how God designed all of us to be in relationship with Him and with each other. Can you think of a time you really appreciated some of the relationships in your life? Consider taking a moment to thank God for the people He has placed around you who show you His love and kindness. • It’s not good when we try to isolate ourselves from the world or from our church community. Yet, throughout our lives, we all fall into this trap. The good news is, Jesus is eager to help us. How might He be calling you into community with others and with Himself today? • Why is it so important that Christian community be characterized by authenticity and vulnerability? How does Jesus’s death and resurrection make it possible for us to be ourselves and not try to pretend we have it all together? (Romans 12:1-13; Galatians 6:1-2) • According to 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 and Revelation 21:1-5, why is it so important that our Christian community will last for eternity? (For more about what it means to have eternal community with God and His people, check out our "Know Jesus" page.) • We all have times when we just want to be alone, and it’s healthy for everyone to spend regular time away from other people—even Jesus often withdrew to the wilderness for prayer (Luke 5:16). But we also have times when we feel lonely and we long for connection. In both cases, how could it be comforting to remember that God always wants to be with us and that, through Jesus’s death and resurrection, He has promised never to leave us? (Hebrews 13:5; Romans 8:35-39) But if we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son, cleanses us from all sin. 1 John 1:7 (WEB)
Transcribe →Hard Things, Holy Strength
4d ago00:04:40Tap to summarizeREAD: 1 CORINTHIANS 13:4-7; HEBREWS 12:1-3; JAMES 1:2-4, 12 Sometimes God uses everyday things to show us deep truths. I recently had to take apart a drawer in our refrigerator and replace it. Doesn’t sound very spiritual or complicated, right? But it was hard. And somewhere between the stuck rails and the confusing mechanics, I almost gave up. What I thought would take about twenty minutes ended up taking hours. I didn’t know what I was doing but figured it couldn’t be that complicated. But with the complex design, hidden levers, and no tutorial that matched my fridge, I got frustrated and annoyed. Something so simple revealed how quick I am to doubt myself—and how easily I can get discouraged. I kept repeating to myself: “You’ve got this. You can do hard things.” I had to give myself permission to take my time. And when I finally got the new drawer installed, I felt strong and accomplished. Not just because the job was done, but because I didn’t quit. Sometimes the hard things in life aren’t big and dramatic; they’re the everyday frustrations that test your mindset, your confidence, and your willingness to keep going. But in every hard situation, God invites us to rely on Him. He isn’t only with us in the big miracles. He’s also present in the moments when we’re tempted to quit. And whether we choose to dig in and persevere, or fall into believing the lie that we are incapable, He never leaves our side. We can be confident that God is with us because Jesus, God the Son, persevered in doing hard things for us—He became human, lived a sinless life, died on the cross, and rose again from the grave. He was tempted to quit, but He kept going because He loves us. Once we’ve put our trust in Jesus, He is with us through the Holy Spirit, giving us strength and courage to persevere through every hard thing He has called us to do (Ephesians 2:10; 2 Peter 1:3). I’m reminded of Galatians 6:9: “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” The drawer wasn’t just a drawer—it was an opportunity to persevere. Every hard moment is a chance to practice perseverance and trust God’s steady presence through it all. Resilience isn’t about never struggling; it’s about not quitting when the struggle comes. • LaVerne Vest • Can you think of a time God helped you persevere through a hard thing? Consider taking a moment to praise Him for this! Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. James 1:4 (NIV)
Transcribe →Shout Out to God
5d ago00:04:39Tap to summarizeREAD: MARK 10:13-14, 46-52; JOHN 1:4-5; 1 JOHN 1:7 You’ve probably heard little kids cry out, “Mama, Daddy! Help me!” And if they are in great need, they shout as loudly as they can! Children cry for what they need. They aren’t concerned about what other people think. They know who to go to, and so they shout out to the adults who love them. We could learn something from the little humans around us. Are they maybe onto something? In Mark 10, we find a man in crisis. Bartimaeus suffered blindness. Imagine not being able to see in a day and age when there were no seeing-eye dogs, no braille. Bartimaeus had to beg just to survive. But he was done with living in darkness. Bartimaeus wanted to see. So, when he heard that Jesus was passing by, just ahead, he cried out for the Savior. In fact, he shouted. “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” he cried. And the crowd, bothered by this display, tried to hush him. But Bartimaeus would not be hushed. He shouted even louder—insistent, desperate, needy. “Have mercy on me, Son of David!” Jesus, ever keen to hear those who call on His name, stopped. The Lord told the people to bring Bartimaeus to Him. And Jesus the merciful, had mercy. Jesus the powerful used His power. He stopped, He listened, and He healed Bartimaeus of his blindness, changing his life forever. We too have a desperate need for the Son of David. We too walk in blindness, until Jesus, the Light of the world, touches us with His redeeming power. Jesus the merciful is moved when He hears desperate cries. He is eager to touch us in our dark state, and He is able to turn us from blind beggars into children of the light, changing our lives forever. • Kristen Merrill • Jesus is called the Son of David because He is the promised King, descended from David, who came to establish God’s eternal kingdom here on earth. And if we’ve put our trust in Jesus, we belong to that kingdom as God’s dear children! For more about this good news, see our "Know Jesus" page. • Even after we’ve admitted our need for the Son of David and become His beloved people, He still wants us to cry out to Him with our every need, fear, question, and longing. Consider taking a moment to cry out to Jesus, the merciful one, about whatever is on your heart. He waits, eager to listen, to draw us near, and to bring light into any darkness. (Psalm 9:10) Jesus spoke to them again: “I am the light of the world. Anyone who follows me will never walk in the darkness but will have the light of life.” John 8:12 (CSB)
Transcribe →Adopted by Love
6d ago00:04:16Tap to summarizeREAD: LUKE 15:3-10; EPHESIANS 1:3-6; 1 JOHN 3:1-3 Our youngest son came to us by airplane, traveling over half a day to reach us in Seattle. I will never forget the moment my sweet baby was handed to me. Right away, he nestled into my arms. He laid his head down upon my shoulder, and fell into deep sleep almost immediately. It was a moment I will never forget. That’s one of the very best days of my life. The day my son came home. It’s like I can still feel his six-month-old self filling up my empty arms. If a human parent can get so much joy from the arrival or birth of their child, imagine how much joy God the Father experiences when we come to Him, into His arms, at last. We are adopted by God when we receive His invitation to become part of His family. He has chosen each and every one of His adopted children. He loves each of us as His own. Becoming sons and daughters of God is the greatest thing in this world, and in the next one too. In fact, it’s the whole point of life. It’s the reason God the Father sent His dearly beloved Son, Jesus. So that we could become part of His family, reconciled to Him. Now, as God’s children, we are free to live into all He has for us as His sons and daughters. Because of His love for us, we can love Him back, and we can walk in His good ways, overflowing His love to others. Of course, we won’t do this perfectly, yet Jesus’s forgiveness covers all our failures and shortcomings, and He promises to walk with us every step of the way. After all, when we were adopted by God the Father, we became brothers and sisters of Jesus Himself. Once you know Jesus, you are God’s dearly loved child. You can rest in your Father’s arms. You have been adopted! • Kristen Merrill • Have you ever thought about how God felt when He adopted us? Consider taking some time to ponder how today’s author felt when she got to hold her six-month-old son, and then imagine God holding you the same way. How does this image make you feel? • When Jesus, God the Son, died on the cross and rose from the grave for us, He made the way for us to be adopted. If you have questions about what it means to become part of God’s family, who are trusted Christians in your life you could ask? (You can also find out more on our "Know Jesus" page.) See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are! 1 John 3:1 (NLT)
Transcribe →God’s Plan: More Than We Can Imagine
1w ago00:04:21Tap to summarizeREAD: 1 SAMUEL 2:1-10; EPHESIANS 3:14-21; HEBREWS 13:8 Have you ever prayed, Lord, what is your plan for my life? You’re not alone. Becoming an adult can be overwhelming, especially with all the unknowns ahead. A woman in the Bible named Hannah knew how it felt to face an unknown future. She didn’t know if God would give her a child. She prayed for years, until one day God spoke through the priest Eli and answered her with a yes—she would have a son (1 Samuel 1:17). Hannah was thrilled! But God’s plan for Hannah didn’t stop there. He worked through the details of her life in ways beyond what she imagined. As she thanked God for her son, her prayer showed a glimpse of a much bigger picture already set in motion: “There is no one holy like the Lord... there is no Rock like our God...‘He will give strength to his king and exalt the horn of his anointed’” (1 Samuel 2:2, 10). Hannah’s prayer mentioned a king, but she couldn’t have known that one day her baby Samuel would grow up to anoint David to be king of Israel (1 Samuel 16:13). Not only that, but many years later Jesus Christ would be born from the lineage of David (Matthew 1:17). Jesus is the promised King of kings, and He came to save us from sin and death. Even as far back as the Old Testament, we see pieces of God’s design for our salvation. Hebrews 13:8 says, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” As Christians, we don’t have to worry about the future—we can trust God with the details because He is working all things out according to His good kingdom purposes (Romans 8:28-29). So when you wonder what God’s plan is for you, be assured of this. In Christ, it’s more than you could ever imagine (Ephesians 3:20). • Kristine Brown • Can you think of a time you were unsure about your future? How can Hannah’s story encourage us as we face unknowns in our lives? • Hebrews 13:8 talks about Jesus being “the same yesterday and today and forever.” How can this truth give us hope for our future—both our eternal future when Jesus returns to make all things new, and every day till then? Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. Ephesians 3:20-21 (NIV)
Transcribe →Eat Every Day!
1w ago00:04:25Tap to summarizeREAD: MATTHEW 6:11; JOHN 6:25-69 The other night as I sat down to another meal, I got to wondering. As I ate with my family, I wondered even more: What’s with all this eating? Why do we require so much food? Why do we have to eat every day—several times a day? Wouldn’t it have been more efficient if the good Lord had made our bodies in such a way that we could store our caloric needs just a little longer? I mean, He made camels that way, with humps for extra storage. How about eating every three days? We’d get so much more done without all this constant need for nourishment! And yet, we know that God made all things good. He likes the way He made us, dependent upon our daily supply. He planned it this way. I’m sure God has many reasons for this plan. One might be to keep us humble. We can’t be too puffed up, we humans, if we grow weak and frail from just a few missed meals! Maybe another reason is because God wants to give us a daily (sometimes hourly) illustration, right before our eyes—like the meals in front of us each day—that we are utterly and totally dependent, needy, starved without the presence of God. We see this in John 6, when Jesus explains He is “the true bread…that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world” (verses 32-33). Without Jesus, we’re all dead in our sins. But if we’ve put our trust in Jesus, we can know we have “crossed over from death to life” (John 5:24). He says, “Whoever comes to me will never go hungry” (John 6:35), which means that believers have eternal life with Him! As we learn to follow Jesus in our everyday lives, we quickly discover we need the nourishment that time with Him brings. And often, the more we spend time with Him, the more we want to spend time with Him! How? He has provided us with His Word, the Bible. He provides His presence through the Holy Spirit (also called the Spirit of Christ), who lives inside every believer. And He provides the church, other believers who have the Holy Spirit too. He is that faithful. And He is that good. • Kristen Merrill • Our hunger points us to God, and we find that He desires to provide for us. For example, in Exodus 16, God provided manna—bread from heaven—when the Israelites were in the wilderness for forty years. How can physical hunger point us to our need for Jesus? • We’re all sometimes tempted to think that regular time in God’s Word, in prayer, and with His people isn’t that important. Why is this not true? (Psalm 119:105; Luke 5:16; Hebrews 10:25) Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him. Psalm 34:8 (NIV)
Transcribe →Bible Study Blessings
1w ago00:04:22Tap to summarizeREAD: ACTS 2:42-47; 1 THESSALONIANS 5:9-11; HEBREWS 10:23-25 What do you picture when you hear the word church? Perhaps you feel a rush of excitement as you imagine worshipping alongside hundreds of other believers. Or maybe you’re envisioning a quiet sanctuary where a pastor is teaching from God’s Word. Many churches today look very different now than churches did in the book of Acts. Back then, believers often met in homes and took care of each other’s needs. If someone didn’t have enough food, the rest of the church would feed them. If someone was being persecuted for their faith, everyone would come together and pray for them. There’s beauty in large gatherings of believers, but there’s also something valuable about meeting in smaller groups. Often, smaller groups of Christians gather to study the Bible and pray for each other. Participants in a small group or Bible study have the opportunity to care for each other in practical and personal ways. In high school, I started a Bible study when my youth group disbanded. I was longing for godly community, and God provided. Over the years, He has blessed us with deep conversations, wisdom in understanding Scripture, and lasting friendships that continue outside of our meetings. In fact, my closest friendships were born out of these impactful moments of fellowship. How is this kind of community possible? Because Jesus has bound us to Himself and to each other with an everlasting bond. As Christians, we are united in His love for us. Romans 12:15 tells us to “rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.” In my Bible study, when one person shares that they’re struggling with anxiety, the rest of us will comfort them and pray for peace. If another person is celebrating an exciting new opportunity, we will praise God together. Participating in close-knit fellowship with other believers not only strengthens our faith, but it also allows us to experience God’s love in deep and tangible ways. • Hannah Chung • Once we’ve put our trust in Jesus, believing in His death and resurrection, we are part of His church. His Holy Spirit lives in us, uniting us with other believers because we all have the same Holy Spirit. Together, we get to participate in His Kingdom as parts of His body, living in His love and sharing the truth of the gospel—the good news of Jesus. What are some ways you’ve seen God at work in and through the church? Consider taking a moment to thank Him for this! Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. 1 Corinthians 12:27 (NIV)
Transcribe →The Peace of the Covenant
1w ago00:05:12Tap to summarizeREAD: GENESIS 15; ACTS 3:25; HEBREWS 13:20-21 Have you ever worried about losing your relationship with God? I used to worry God would give up on me if I wasn’t good enough—and, of course, I was never “good enough.” Then I learned about covenant. A covenant is a binding, sacred agreement, and it’s one way God relates to humankind. In Genesis, the first book of the Bible, the rainbow provides a beautiful picture of covenant (chapters 6–9). Humankind was so steeped in wickedness that God, in His justice, flooded the earth and destroyed almost all life. Noah and his family, who were spared through their trust in God, built an ark and lived in it for about 370 days, surrounded by all different types of animals. When the flood was over, God sent the rainbow as a sign of His covenant: that He would never flood the world again. But God didn’t stop there. Years later, He made a covenant with Abraham, promising him descendants and leading him from his home to an unknown country and an unseen future, so the whole world would one day be blessed through the birth of Jesus (Genesis 15; Galatians 3:6-14, 29). Here’s some great news: God’s covenant with His people can’t be broken— because He is the one keeping the covenant, and He knows people are incapable of keeping it (Psalm 89:34). And God loves us so much that He has a covenant with you and me—and with everyone who puts their trust in Jesus—to rescue us from sin and death so we can live with Him forever. Covenant brings me comfort. It dispels any doubts about God’s love, forgiveness, and trustworthiness. Hebrews 13:20 tells us that Jesus is our great shepherd and we are His sheep through “an eternal covenant [ratified] with his blood.” God is the one who established the covenant through His blood, and God is the one who keeps His covenant. • Sharon Rene • Throughout our lives, we may experience fears that God might abandon us. Thankfully, God invites us to bring these worries to Him in prayer anytime. In addition to talking to God, who are trusted Christians in your life you can talk to about this, people who can pray with you and point you to Scriptures that remind us of God’s faithful love? • Why do you think we humans try to be perfect to earn God’s love? How can remembering God’s covenants and the symbol of the rainbow help us rest in His faithful love, instead of working to earn His favor? “For the mountains may move and the hills disappear, but even then my faithful love for you will remain. My covenant of blessing will never be broken,” says the LORD, who has mercy on you. Isaiah 54:10 (NLT)
Transcribe →