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

Read: Psalm 139:1-12; John 10:11-15 “I shouldn’t have let you see my test paper,” Teo said as he and his friend Joel rode the bus home after school. “I think I should tell Mr. Grant I cheated.” “Why would you do that?” asked Joel. “You didn’t cheat. I did.” “But I helped you,” said Teo, “so I cheated too.” “We’ll never do it again, so nobody will know,” said Joel. “Nobody saw us.” “God did,” said...

Read: Revelation 21:1-5 Luke peered out the van’s window as his dad drove down the cemetery’s narrow path past rows and rows of small gray tombstones. Snow and ice covered the ground from the last winter storm. When they reached the last row of tombstones, Dad pulled to the side of the road and turned off the engine. They all got out of the van, and Mom opened the back door and pulled out a colorf...

Read: Philippians 2:1-4 “Hey, Dad.” Kwan plopped down on the couch next to his father. “Today I tried to be kind like Jesus, but it didn’t work.” “Really?” asked Dad. “What happened?” “I tried to be friendly to Jayden—he’s new at school—but he’d hardly talk to me. I asked if he wanted to sit with me at lunch, and he said no. During recess I asked him if he wanted to play, and he just shrugged and...

Read: Psalm 33:20-22 Aisha very carefully rolled onto her side, trying to get a little more comfortable. At least she was feeling a little better than earlier. A quiet knock sounded on her door, and Dad came in. “Do you think you could handle some soup?” he asked. Aisha shook her head. “I’m sorry you have to miss Vivian’s party,” Dad said. “Me too, but I told Vivian she could come over here next w...

Read: Psalm 119:33-40; Matthew 4:4 “Hi, Grandpa,” called Caleb as he and Abigail ran up the porch steps to their grandpa’s house. “Hi, yourself,” answered Grandpa with a grin. “What are you up to today?” “We got behind in learning our verses for Bible club,” said Abigail, “so we have to learn a whole bunch of them today. Mom said we could take a break and come over here for a while.” “Yeah,” said...

Read: 2 Corinthians 3:12-18 “I’m sorry to interrupt your schoolwork, boys,” Mom said, “but we should go outside and see the sunset. It’s spectacular tonight.” Zach and Connor bookmarked their pages and got up from the sofa. “How do you even know what the sunset looks like tonight, Mom?” Connor asked as he glanced toward the window. “This window faces north. There’s no way you can see the sun from...

Read: Hebrews 11:8-9 “Guess what?” Isla said when her mom got home from work. “Miss Collins is moving, and she doesn’t want to take her fish tank with her. She gave me her three Oscar fish.” “Aren’t Oscars really big?” Mom asked. “In an open lake they are, but if they grow up in a fish tank, they stay small. Miss Collins says they always grow in proportion to their surroundings.” “That’s interesti...

Read: Matthew 6:5-8 Callum heard someone calling his name. “Amen,” he said quickly, then opened his closet door to find his dad standing in the middle of his room. “I didn’t mean to interrupt you,” Dad said, “but I’m curious. Why were you praying in your closet?” “Well, I always pray beside my bed, but our lesson at church this week was about prayer, and my teacher read a verse that said to go int...

Read: 1 Corinthians 10:13; Hebrews 12:1-3 Austin watched as his uncle put a treat right in front of Trixie. “No, Trixie! No!” Uncle Josh told the puppy. “Look at me!” Trixie looked straight at her master’s face, then glanced down at the treat she wanted so much. “Trixie, no! Look at me!” The dog raised her eyes and gazed at her master again, ignoring the treat. “Why does Trixie have to look at you...

Read: Romans 4:6-8; 5:6-8 “Dad’s here!” Keziah peeked her head around the side of the house. “Jonah!” Jonah stared at his older sister. “No. He can’t be here yet.” Jonah’s eyes filled as he heard his dad greeting his sister. He wanted to join them, but he’d been working on painting the fence for their mom all afternoon. He didn’t want to look all messy when they reunited. He heard his dad’s voice....

Read: Proverbs 15:23; 25:11-13 “Whoa!” Lachlan yelled as his remote control jeep crashed. He picked it up and saw that a piece had fallen off. Lachlan tried to fix the jeep—but it was no use. “Parker, can you fix this?” he asked his older brother. “You’re always breaking things!” said Parker. But he held out his hand. “All right, give it to me.” In no time at all, the jeep was as good as new. “Tha...

Read: Psalm 139:23-24; Jeremiah 17:10 “Why is there an old apple core inside a crinkled chip bag under your pillow?” Dad asked when Camila came into the kitchen. Camila smirked. “The real question is why were you looking under my pillow?” “I was just following my nose,” said Dad. “Your room is a mess! You need to clean it before going to Mackenzie’s house.” Camila stomped upstairs, mumbling someth...

Read: Ephesians 6:1-3 Charley toddled happily around the living room. He had just learned to walk, and it was Lacie’s job to keep an eye on him while Dad was cooking dinner. He was a very curious little boy and almost always found a way to get into trouble. “Charley, get out of there! You could pull the whole bookcase down on you,” Lacie exclaimed. Charley had begun to climb up the shelves to grab...

Read: John 10:14-18 “Why would Jesus allow Himself to be killed if He were really God?” Jackson asked his youth group leader. “I don’t get it!” Mr. Anders did his best to explain, but Jackson still thought it made no sense. A few days later, Jackson joined the group on a campout at a national park. Before heading off, they met with Ranger Davis. He told them about his work and even let them climb...

Read: Romans 5:1-5 Marta sat down on the couch beside her grandmother and glanced at the needlepoint canvas she was working on. “That’s so pretty!” said Marta. “That’s going to be the cover for the pillow you made for my bed, isn’t it? Is it almost finished?” “Not yet,” said Grandma, “but it’s getting there.” She turned the canvas over and cut a thread. “Wow!” said Marta. “It doesn’t look so good...

Read: James 2:14-17; 1 John 3:18 Sebastian was so focused on coloring the big red heart that he didn’t hear his dad come into his room. Dad stood behind him and read the poem written on the card Sebastian was making out loud. “‘Roses are red, the snow is white…you light up my life like a big headlight.’” Dad grinned. “You certainly have a way with words, son. I’m guessing this Valentine isn’t for...

Read: James 4:13-15 When Journey and her dad clapped their hands and shouted loudly, two barn swallows quickly flew out of the garage, their tails looking like forks against the blue sky. “Why can’t we let them nest in the garage, Dad?” Journey asked as she watched the birds fly over a neighbor’s house and disappear. “Our garage wouldn’t be a safe place to raise baby birds,” said Dad. “See what ha...

Read: Ephesians 2:19-22 “Hey, Blaine, what are you working on?” Dad asked as he walked into Blaine’s room. “I’m making a building out of interlocking blocks for the library contest,” Blaine said. “If I post a picture on their website, I could win a free meal at a local restaurant.” Suddenly, he frowned. “Hey, where’s my baseplate? Can you help me find it, Dad? It’s the big flat one that I have to...

Read: Ephesians 4:26-32 Mei hung up the phone and walked into the living room with her arms crossed and her jaw clenched. “That was Everly.” Mom frowned. “You’re not still angry with her, are you?” “Of course I am!” said Mei. “She shouldn’t have made fun of me that way. She did it right in front of everyone, and they were all laughing at me!” “I know she hurt you, Mei, and what she did was wrong....

Read: Psalm 143:8-10; 1 John 4:1-6 “Dad, what are those ropes on the side of the road?” asked six-year-old Arthur as they drove down the highway. “Those are called guardrails,” Dad replied. “Sometimes guardrails are made of wide metal bands, and sometimes they’re heavy wire ropes. They’re to make sure people driving on the highway stay on the road.” “Why would they want to leave the road?” Arthur...

Read: Ephesians 2:4-7 Harvey threw a baseball toward his dad. “What if I do all this practicing and I still don’t make the team?” Dad grinned. “I’ll still love you.” Harvey sighed. “You’ll always love me. You say that all the time.” “God will always love you too.” Dad lifted his arm. “Get ready to swing.” The ball came toward Harvey. He swung hard, but his bat didn’t connect with the ball. “This i...

Read: Luke 16:1-10 Mina pouted as her older sister, Jackie, folded a pastel quilt and placed it on top of a large stack of quilts their mother had made. “Ready to go?” Mom asked as she hurried into the living room. Kitty, Mina and Jackie’s toddler sister, giggled as she bounced on Mom’s hip. “Ready!” Jackie replied, grinning. “Why can’t I go to the craft fair too?” Mina whined. “Dad will take you...

Read: Luke 15:11-24 Brock was sprawled on his bed with a book when Seth, his older brother, came into the room. “Hey, Brock, did you know that Dakota Smith talked with Pastor Briggs after church yesterday and decided to trust Jesus as his Savior?” “Great,” Brock said halfheartedly. “Maybe he’ll stay out of trouble now.” Then he frowned. “But what if he doesn’t? What happens if he sins again? I alw...

Read: Matthew 25:31-40; Philippians 2:3-8 “Mom!” Jade called as she ran into the kitchen. “What’s up?” Jade’s mom asked from where she stood kneading bread dough. “I just saw an ad about kids who don’t have enough food to eat or clothes to wear, and I want to help, Mom!” Jade explained in a rush. Mom dusted flour off her hands. “Jade, I’m so glad you want to help and serve others. Why don’t we sta...

Read: Genesis 1:26; 2:15; Psalm 128:1-2 “I’m outta here!” Micah dunked an old cleaning rag in the trash can and ran into the house. Calvin looked around at his half of the garage, then at the other half that had been Micah’s responsibility to clean. What a difference! He knew Micah had worked a lot harder than he had. Now Micah was finished and could go to the ball game. Calvin scowled. He hated c...