Unlocked: Daily Devotions for Teens

• Time to Laugh

  READ: PSALM 16:11; PHILIPPIANS 4:4; 1 THESSALONIANS 5:16-18 April Fools’ Day is biblical. Many would stare at me or raise an eyebrow if I said that, but it’s true. April Fools’ Day is a day when practical (not harmful) jokes are encouraged, and people spring them on each other left and right. While pranks can go too far, if done in the right spirit a good joke can cause a lot of laughter and fun. How is all of this biblical? While April Fools’ Day isn’t in the Bible, Proverbs 17:22 tells us that “a cheerful heart is good medicine.” God doesn’t want us to walk around solemn and dull all the time. He wants us to enjoy life, have fun, and take time to laugh. When Jesus was on earth He attended weddings (John 2:1-12), went to parties (Mark 2:13-17), and celebrated holidays (Luke 2:41; John 5:1). He spent time with friends and family, including children and babies. He didn’t just teach and preach; He also had fun. And remember, Jesus didn’t become human and live on earth—and ultimately pay for our sins by dying on the cross and rising from the grave— just to send us to live in a humdrum place for eternity. While we don’t know what the new heavens and new earth will be like exactly, we do know that we will enjoy feasting and singing with Jesus and with all those who have gone before us who were saved. Psalm 16:11 says God will fill us with “joy” and “eternal pleasures” in His presence! So don’t be afraid to have fun and enjoy yourself. Maybe this April Fools’ Day you’ll pull a prank and get everyone laughing. It’s okay to do so—as long as the recipient ends up having fun too! After all, everyone knows Jesus played an April Fools’ joke on Peter in Matthew 29:1-3. Just kidding—April fool! • Morgan A. Mitchell • Have you ever played a fun practical joke on someone, or had one played on you? What happened? • Have you ever seen a prank that didn’t make the recipient laugh or maybe even hurt someone? Remember, if a joke is only fun for one person, it’s not a good joke. If you’re considering playing a prank, slow down and think things through. God calls us to love others the way He loves us by considering their needs, interests, and feelings. And God helps us do this through His Holy Spirit, His Word (the Bible), and His people (the church). Who are trusted Christians you can talk to if you’ve experienced a hurtful prank, or if you’re not sure if a joke is a good one? A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones. Proverbs 17:22 (NIV)

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• Unlocked Special: April Fools with Producer Josh!

  This is a special episode of Unlocked featuring not only Dylan and Natalie together (sort of ) but hosted by Josh, who produces each podcast episode! Since Josh began editing the podcast, he has ever-so-kindly taken the initiative to save a large variety of verbal missteps, mess-ups, repeats, and mistakes from Natalie and Dylan, and beautifully arranged them into a lovely bloopers episode made especially for today It’s unfiltered. It’s unpredictable. It’s Unlocked…and yeah, it’s kind of a mess. But it’s their mess. And we love them for it. Hit play if you dare. ️

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  5:27
• Gifted

  READ: ROMANS 12:6-8; 1 CORINTHIANS 12:1-12; 1 TIMOTHY 4:12-14 Have you ever had a teacher, mentor, or parent speak into your life in a way that you will always remember? When I was a junior in high school, I was struggling with anxiety following an event that happened at school. It was a dark time in my life. I was feeling lonely, scared, and overwhelmed. Worst of all, I was feeling distant from God. A few weeks after this event, my Spanish teacher took me aside after class one day. She told me she had noticed me struggling these past few weeks. And she felt like God had put it on her heart to share something with me. She believed that the Holy Spirit had gifted me in the area of listening. And that I would continue to use this to serve others and bring joy to God. Before this moment, I had never thought that listening could be a gift from God. But then I realized that even in the midst of trials, I could use my God-given gifts to draw closer to Him. The way that I listened to other people’s stories became a way to honor God. Listening with empathy and humility could be a gift to my neighbors to reflect God’s love to them. God has given each of us unique gifts, and it is a great source of joy to be able to use those gifts to honor Him. Some of us have been given gifts such as wisdom, service, and generosity. These gifts, as well as many others, can be used to live out our calling to share God’s love by being Christlike in our thoughts, words, and deeds. Whether you realize it or not, God has created you uniquely and beautifully in His image (Genesis 1:27). And whether you feel gifted or not, God can and will work through your life for His good purposes. • Emily McDonough • Before Jesus came, the Spirit of God gave some people special aptitude for craftmanship or superhuman strength (Exodus 35:30–36:5; Judges 14:5-6). Then, after Jesus rose from the dead and ascended into heaven, God the Father sent God the Holy Spirit to live inside everyone who puts their trust in Jesus. Every believer is given at least one spiritual gift, and we can find lists of these gifts in Romans 12:6-8 and 1 Corinthians 12. God has also given us our own unique personalities and natural abilities, and He often works through these as well. How has God gifted you? How could you use your giftedness to show His love to others this week? • Have you noticed any gifts from God revealed in others? How can you encourage these people and speak into what you’ve witnessed in their lives? God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another. 1 Peter 4:10 (NLT) 

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  4:36
• Even in Our Imperfections

  READ: PSALM 139:13-16; EPHESIANS 3:17-19 Lately I have had one skin issue right after another. Just when one blemish starts to fade and I start to feel better about my appearance, another appears on my face. As I was thinking about how imperfect I feel and how I can never seem to have flawless skin, I started thinking about how God accepts us, with all of our imperfections, and loves us fully. Acne issues? God sees you as beautiful. Can’t stop worrying? God sees your concern and wants to help you with your burden. Struggling with a sin? Even in your temptation and sin, God loves you and cares about you. He will help you. We are never going to be perfect, in any way, until Jesus returns and makes all things new. Not in our appearances and not in our thoughts, words, or actions. We mess up on a daily basis. Even when we’re striving to love like God loves us, we fail. Not only do we sin, but we experience skin issues and illnesses too. We feel down about the way we look. We can’t be everything that we want to be. Yet, we are always going to be wholly, fully, incredibly loved by our God. He is with us, and He promises to one day put an end to all our suffering and struggles. And even now, He sees past any imperfections we have and accepts us. • Emily Acker • Throughout the Bible, we see God’s great love and care for us—a love that does not change based on our sins, our struggles, our appearance, our accomplishments, or anything else. It was because of God’s love that Jesus died on the cross and rose from the grave for us—so now everyone who puts their trust in Jesus is forgiven, brought near to God, and has the hope of being transformed more and more into Jesus’s likeness until the day we are finally perfected at Jesus’s glorious return (Philippians 1:6). If you want to know more about this good news, see our "Know Jesus" page. • What do you consider your biggest flaw? How do you think God sees that flaw? Remember, He as compassion on you, and your flaws don’t affect the love that He has for you, not one bit. • When you see the imperfections of others, do you ever feel that they are beyond God’s love? It’s normal to feel this way sometimes. Yet, how can remembering God’s love for you, despite your imperfections of all kinds, affect the way you see others? (Romans 15:7) But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8 (NIV) 

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  5:14
• Clean It Out

  READ: MATTHEW 4:1-11; HEBREWS 4:14-16 "We need to start cleaning out and organizing.” I groan when I hear my mom say those words. Digging through stuff, sorting, and deciding what to keep, give away, or throw away are some of my least favorite activities. It’s not that I mind getting rid of what I don’t need; I just don’t care for the actual process. It requires me to rifle through drawers, organizers, and containers, thinking about whether I need or want this, whether I should keep it or just get rid of it, and why I even had the item in the first place. There are times when we’re walking with Jesus and He calls us to do some purging and cleaning too. Bad habits and sins creep into our lives, even if we don’t mean for them to. But when we realize those sins have appeared, we can confess them to God and remember how, in Christ, we can count ourselves dead to sin (Romans 6:10-12). This may lead us to do a physical clean out, such as getting rid of music, magazines, books, video games, apps, or movies that make it difficult for us to view God, ourselves, and the world the way He does. Or it may be a figurative clean out, like turning away from attitudes or thoughts that don’t line up with God’s character. This can be difficult. However, we have a Savior who knows what we’re going through. Even though Jesus is perfect and sinless, He was tempted by the devil. But Jesus refused to give in to his temptations. Our Savior is always there to remind us that He has already freed us from sin through His death and resurrection, and He will help us overcome these difficulties and become more and more like Him (Romans 6:18; 1 Corinthians 10:13; James 4:7). Sometimes we have to do a clean out, but thankfully we have someone by our side to guide us. • Morgan A. Mitchell • Is there anything in your life that’s making you feel far from God? If you know Jesus, nothing can ever separate you from God’s love (Romans 8:38-39). Yet so often we find that things like hatred, lust, and unforgiveness have snuck into our lives. Consider taking some time to do an inventory of your heart, asking God to help you notice bad habits and sins that have accumulated that you need to deal with. You can confess all of these to Him, resting in Jesus’s sure forgiveness and trusting Him to help you move forward in righteousness. Remember, in Christ you are dead to sin, and you don’t have to let any sin overpower you. In addition to talking to God, who are trusted Christians in your life you can talk to about your struggles? Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you. James 1:21 (NIV)

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