Unlocked Archives: personal story

  • December 9, 2024

    READ: PSALM 119:9-16, 105; JOHN 14:5-6, 16-18 Have you ever heard the advice, “Be true to yourself,” and wondered, But what does that mean? How can you be true to yourself if you’re not one-hundred-percent sure who you are yet? After all, you’re still learning and growing—not just in your teen years but throughout your [...]

  • December 5, 2024

    READ: PSALM 63; JEREMIAH 33:3; COLOSSIANS 2:2-8 I don’t have time for devotions. Not today. Have you ever had this thought before? I know I certainly have. I mean, who has time for devotions? We’re busy, growing young adults. We have family, friends, school, sports, hobbies, jobs…the list goes on and on. In all the [...]

  • December 3, 2024

    READ: JOHN 1:29; ROMANS 6:8-11; HEBREWS 10:1-25 I sat against my bunk bed. I had just realized that after being a believer for sixteen years, I didn’t understand Jesus. I know this sounds strange—and trust me, it was. I was devastated and confused. I had put my trust in Jesus at five years old and [...]

  • December 1, 2024

    READ: DEUTERONOMY 31:8; MATTHEW 6:25-34; JOHN 10:3-5 I was 24 years old, and I was bawling. I sat halfway down a mountain slope, one ski at my feet and the other several yards uphill where it had landed when I’d crashed. I had actually chosen this area of snow to land on, as leaping into [...]

  • November 24, 2024

    READ: MATTHEW 6:25-34 Since I was young, I’ve often had to remind myself to just consider the next moment instead of trying to figure out everything that’s going to happen in the future. The truth is, it’s all in God’s hands, so I don’t have to worry about tomorrow. I don’t have to get stressed [...]

  • November 15, 2024

    READ: 1 CORINTHIANS 3:4-9; 1 PETER 2:1-5 What do we need to do to become more spiritually mature? Be really self-sufficient? Come up with all the right answers to life’s questions? In 1 Peter 2:2, we are told to “like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in [...]

  • November 12, 2024

    READ: PSALM 25:4-9; ROMANS 8:31-39 You don’t have to do a lot of research to discover there’s an expert for pretty much everything. And these experts offer all kinds of advice, ranging from health and beauty tips to education and relationship advice to life goals and more. Sometimes this abundance of information causes overload, whether [...]

  • November 7, 2024

    READ: MATTHEW 6:25-34; LUKE 22:39-54; 1 PETER 5:6-7 I worry. I get stressed out. I spend hours or even days in dread. And then I regret it. I remember one year, I was at a fireworks show and there was a nagging worry on my mind. Instead of being able to fully enjoy the beauty [...]

  • November 6, 2024

    READ: ROMANS 8:18-39; HEBREWS 13:1-21 There is pouring rain outside my window as I type. November in Michigan—you never know what weather you’ll get. On November 1st, I was bundled in winter gear, trudging through the woods in around eight inches of snow. The trees were heavy with sparkling beauty. November 6th, I was walking [...]

  • November 4, 2024

    READ: MATTHEW 23; ROMANS 12:1-2; JAMES 1:19-27 Every few weeks (or months—ahem), I have the disturbing realization that I haven’t cleaned inside the sink. I’m not talking about the basin where you wash your hands, I’m talking about under the surface. Have you ever pulled out the sink plug and looked inside? Unless the people [...]