Keys for Kids - daily devotions and Bible stories for kids and families

Read: 2 Samuel 9:3-11; Luke 14:13-14 “Lose your kickball scrimmage?” Dad asked. Will buckled his seatbelt. “No. It’s Carter again.” “The boy who uses a wheelchair?” Dad grinned. “He’s funny.” “Dad! Should you say that about someone who can’t walk?” “Why not? He wears a T-shirt that says ‘A Wheelchair Is How I Roll.’” Dad put the car in reverse. “He must have a great sense of humor.” “Well, I wish he wouldn’t watch us from the sideline the whole game.” Will shoved his dirty sneakers into his duffle bag. “I don’t know why he wants to play with us anyway. Don’t they have Special Olympics for kids like him? He should just play with his own kind of kids.” Dad put the car in gear. “Grab the Bible out of the glove compartment, Will. I want to show you something.” “You don’t have to read me a Bible verse about being nice, Dad. I don’t do anything mean to Carter.” “Just turn to Second Samuel 9.” Dad waited for Will to read the passage. “Well?” Will sighed. “King David asks if there’s anyone left in his friend Jonathan’s family and learns Jonathan has a son named Mephibosheth who can’t walk. So David finds him and tells him, ‘Don’t be afraid, for I will surely show you kindness, and you will

Read: Matthew 14:25-31 Jonah climbed up the playset at the park close to his family’s apartment. Sirens wailed as he settled at the top and looked at the city around him. “Come on, Lydia.” Jonah offered his hand to his little sister. “It’s really cool once you get all the way up here.” “It’s scary.” Lydia shook her head and started to go backwards down the ladder. “I’m going to stay on the ground by Nana.” Jonah looked to where their grandma sat on a bench, taking a work call on her phone. She was busy, and he knew Lydia wouldn’t have any fun if she chose to sit by her instead of playing with him. “I won’t let you fall,” Jonah said. “I’ll make sure you’re safe.” “Okay.” Lydia started to climb up again. A gust of wind blew across the park, and Lydia’s eyes grew wide. “It’s windy. I’m scared.” She went back down to the ground and hugged herself tight. “You should come down too.” Jonah moved to the slide and slid down, then walked over to his sister and put his arms around her. “Do you remember the story of Peter in the Bible?” “He walked on water,” Lydia said. Jonah nodded. “But as soon as the wind blew, he got scared. He began to sink, and Jesus caught him. I’m not Jesus, but I’ll l

Read: Matthew 5:14-16; John 8:12; 15:7-8 Jayce and Caleb grabbed their flashlights and headed outside for a game of flashlight freeze tag. Caleb moved among the shadows, silently sneaking up on friends and tapping them, freezing them in their spots. “Rats,” Chloe said. “I didn’t see or hear you, Caleb.” Chloe waited for a flashlight beacon to find her, unfreezing her to move again. Caleb had gone off to tag others. Then his flashlight quit. He flicked it off and on, off and on. Nothing happened. That’s when Chloe tapped him on the back. “Gotcha, Caleb. You’re frozen.” After Chloe ran off, Caleb’s voice filled the darkness. “Jayce, help! I’m frozen. My batteries are dead. And look out for Chloe!” “Good thing I always have extras,” said his brother. He touched Caleb with a beam of light and handed him more batteries. “Thanks, Jayce.” Unfrozen and with a flashlight that worked, Caleb quietly disappeared into the darkness. Later, the boys recapped their night. “Hey, I just thought of something,” said Caleb. “Remember the verse we learned in church—‘Let your light shine before others’? I didn’t really understand what that meant, but I think I get it now.” “How so?” asked Jayce. “When we

Read: Deuteronomy 31:1-8 “Incoming!” Kason ran at top speed and jumped off a stump into a pile of freshly raked leaves. Grandpa leaned on his rake and laughed as Kason peeked at him from the center of the pile, where only the top of his head and eyes were visible. “Thanks for helping me today, kiddo! You deserve a nice jump or five!” “Come on, Grandpa!” Grandpa strolled over to the leaf pile and fell backward beside Kason. “Just as comfy as I remember,” Grandpa joked. Kason and Grandpa lay in the leaves facing the sky as the wind picked up. Several colorful leaves pulled free from tree branches and descended in spirals, twirls, and lazy drifts. “I wish you didn’t have to leave,” Kason said softly. “Me too, Kason. You know I’ll visit you as often as possible—and of course, you can visit me anytime!” “Yeah, but it won’t be the same.” Kason sighed deeply. “Everyone leaves.” “Sometimes it feels like that,” Grandpa agreed. “But don’t forget there is someone who never leaves.” “Jesus?” “You said it, kiddo! Throughout the Bible, God continually showed His people that He was near them. When Moses was nearing the end of his life, Joshua was preparing to take over leading the people of Israe

Read: Galatians 3:26; Ephesians 1:3-6; 1 John 3:1-2 Mai sat quietly at the dinner table, poking at her rice with her chopsticks. Usually she loved dinner—especially when her dad made his special noodle stir-fry—but tonight, nothing tasted good. “Mai, sweetheart, you’ve barely touched your food. Is everything all right?” Mum asked. Mai’s chest tightened. “I don’t want to do the presentation about Japan,” she blurted, tears stinging her eyes. “I don’t even like my culture!” Her parents exchanged a worried glance. Before either could speak, Mai pushed back her chair and ran to her room. A few minutes later, there was a soft knock on her bedroom door. “May I come in?” her mum asked gently. Mai sniffled but nodded. Her mum sat beside her on the bed. “What’s really bothering you?” she asked. Mai hesitated. “I don’t look like you and Dad,” she finally admitted. “Everyone will think it’s weird. You both have blonde hair and blue eyes, and I have black hair and dark eyes. I look different because I’m adopted!” Mum smiled and tucked a strand of Mai’s hair behind her ear. “You know, Mai, we are different in some ways,” she said, “but do you know what you and your dad and I have in common?” Ma

Read: Psalm 78:34-39; Ephesians 4:26-32 “Stop following me around, Diego!” Santos yelled at his little brother. “But I want to be with you,” Diego said tearfully. “I don’t care! I’m tired of you following me everywhere!” Santos said as he stormed out of the house. Later that day, Santos went inside to get a snack. “What are you doing?” he asked when he found his dad under the kitchen sink. Dad crawled out from under the sink and fumbled around in his toolbox. “Oh, the faucet is leaking again, and I’m trying to fix it. Ever since it started leaking, I just can’t seem to get it to stop! I may have to call in a professional.” Dad sighed, somewhat discouraged, then went back to work as Santos continued to look for something to eat. A few minutes later, Dad gave up trying to fix the faucet and sat down at the table. “You know, we can be like that faucet sometimes,” he said. Santos looked confused. “What do you mean?” “When we get angry with someone and respond to them harshly, it’s a lot like water dripping from a leak. Once it gets started, it’s hard to mend. The faucet was never the same after I tried to fix it, just like our feelings toward one another are never quite the same when w

Read: Acts 4:1-12 How about you? Have you received the antidote for sin? The Bible says everyone has sinned by doing wrong things, and sin leads to death. There’s nothing we can do to save ourselves—the only way to be saved is through Jesus, God’s Son. Trust Him to save you from sin and death and give you eternal life with Him. (To learn more, go to Have You Heard the Good News?) Today’s key verse: Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” John 14:6 (NKJV) Today’s key thought: Jesus is the antidote for sin

Read: Psalm 20:6-7; Romans 8:38-39 Editor’s note: This story may not be suitable for some children. “Almost time for school,” Mom said as she picked up Rhea’s backpack. “Rhea! What do you have in here? Feels like a bag full of rocks!” She unzipped the top. Rhea’s eyes grew round. “No, Mom, don’t—” But Mom was already pulling out a can of hairspray, a camouflage jacket that belonged to Rhea’s brother, a bicycle helmet, and indeed, one large rock. “Is this for some kind of project at school?” Rhea looked down. “No. I was just…” She sighed. “Scared.” Mom sat down with her on the sofa. “Scared? Of school?” “I’ve been watching the news.” Rhea leaned her head against her mom. “There was another shooting at a school. And we did a drill at school so we’d know what to do if it wasn’t safe.” Mom had a sad look in her eyes. But then they twinkled a bit. “So if someone dangerous comes in, you’re going to…do his hair? Or send him away on a bicycle?” Mom grinned softly, and Rhea smiled too. “I thought I could spray hairspray in his eyes. The bicycle helmet is for me, to protect my head. The camo is so he wouldn’t see me. And I could throw the rock at him. I’ve been practicing.” “Oh, honey.” Mom

Read: Genesis 41:46-57 “Guess what Joseph is doing?” exclaimed Ellie as she burst into the kitchen. “He’s burying acorns near the apple tree!” “Who’s Joseph?” asked Mom. “The new boy next door?” Ellie laughed. “No, Mom! Joseph is the squirrel who comes to our garden. But why would he bury acorns instead of eating them?” Ellie’s brother Michael answered her question. “He’s storing them away to eat in the winter.” Mom nodded. “While the weather is good, squirrels collect acorns and hide them,” she explained. “Then when winter comes and food is hard to find, they have their secret supply.” “That sounds like Joseph in the Bible,” said Michael. “God told him to collect grain for seven years so that when a famine came, the people would have plenty to eat.” “You’re right,” said Mom. “We can learn something from both Josephs.” “You mean we need to store up food in case there’s a famine here?” asked Ellie. Mom smiled. “I was thinking of a different kind of food—spiritual food. When difficult times come, we often realize we need God’s help, but we don’t always remember to use the good times to store up spiritual food that will help us trust and depend on Him when things get tough.” “How do w

Read: Lamentations 3:25-26; Romans 5:1-5 Hudson cast his line into the water. The bait landed with a small plop. On the other end of the boat, his grandfather quietly held his fishing pole. All was silent except for the sound of crickets chirping. Suddenly, a loud squawk split the misty air. The sound came again, and Grandpa pointed across the bayou to an owl perched on the top branch of a tall tree. A large crow circled him, squawking. “What’s that crow’s problem?” asked Hudson. Grandpa shrugged. “The owl might be sitting too close to the crow’s nest. Or maybe the crow is just pestering the owl and keeping him from sleeping. Crows do that kind of thing sometimes.” Hudson watched as the black bird swooped again and again, its harsh cries filling the swamp. Only the owl’s head moved as it turned to watch the crow. “I wish that crow would go away,” he said. “Can it hurt the owl?” Grandpa shook his head. “Not likely. God gave owls what they need to protect themselves—strong wings and sharp talons. If the crow gets too close, he’ll be in trouble, and he knows it. See how he stays at a safe distance?” “Yeah, but if I were the owl, I’d fight or fly away,” said Hudson. Grandpa chuckled. “

Read: Proverbs 3:5-6; Romans 11:33-36 “I think we’re going in circles,” Troy said as he and his dad and sister tried to make their way out of a corn maze. “I think we’ve been down this path before.” “How can you tell?” Elinor asked. She looked up at cornstalks that were twice as tall as she was. “Everything looks the same. Do you know the way out, Dad?” Dad laughed. “At the moment, I’m not quite sure.” “Hey, look!” shouted Troy. “There’s a platform-thing. We can climb up there and see where we are!” Sure enough, in the middle of the path was a high platform. Troy and Elinor ran up the steps, and Dad followed them. Standing above the stalks, they could see the whole field. Elinor pointed. “There’s the orange flag at the end of the maze. We gotta go that way!” “And look how far we’ve come,” said Troy. “With this a-maze-ing view, we can see we’re not going in circles after all.” They laughed at Troy’s joke. When they had found their way out of the maze, Dad bought warm cinnamon doughnuts and hot apple cider. They settled down on hay bales to enjoy their snack. “Dad,” Troy said, “why do you think God is having us move to another state for your job? I like it here!” “Yeah,” said Elinor

Read: James 1:13-16 Mitchell sniffed the air as he walked into the house. “Mmm, cookies! Can I have one, Mom?” “Not right now,” said Mom. “They need to cool, and we’re going to be having dinner soon. You can have one for dessert after we eat.” “Okay,” said Mitchell, but he looked longingly at the cookies as they cooled on the counter. They smelled so good, and he knew they tasted even better. He was still standing there, looking at them, when his mother took another cookie sheet from the oven. “The more I smell these cookies, the more I want one,” he said. “Can’t I just have a small one?” Mom shook her head. “It would be easier to wait if you went somewhere else instead of standing there where you can see them and smell them,” she said. “Remember the Bible verse you learned last week?” “You mean the one about God always providing a way to escape temptation so we don’t have to give in to it?” asked Mitchell. “That’s the one,” said Mom. “And I think the way to escape this temptation is to go outside and play.” “But cookies aren’t bad,” said Mitchell. “It’s not a sin to eat a cookie.” “True,” said Mom, “but if you stay around the cookies long enough, you might give in to the temptatio