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

Read: John 15:12-15 “I can’t believe Aanya would do this to me!” Lucy pulled the friendship bracelet off her wrist and dropped it in the trash. “Lucy? Are you okay?” her mother asked. “Why are you throwing away your bracelet from Aanya?” “I thought she was my friend.” Lucy hung her backpack up on its hook and sat down at the table. “But she told my secret to the entire class. Even the boys!” “What...

Read: Hebrews 4:14-16 Bryson wrote something on a piece of paper, then crumpled it up and threw it in the trash can. He did this several times, and before long he was out of paper. He laid his head on his desk in frustration. Just then Mom walked by. “What’s wrong, Bryson?” “I’m all out of paper. Can we go to the store so I can get some more?” Mom glanced at the crumpled balls of paper in and arou...

Read: Proverbs 3:5-6; Psalm 37:5-9, 39-40 Mallory blew her nose. Again. “Mom, how long do allergies last?” she asked as they drove away from the doctor’s office. Mom smiled sympathetically. “The doctor said you have seasonal allergies, so you’ll probably have them the next couple of months.” “Great,” said Mallory glumly. She felt stuffed up, and her head was foggy. “I know you don’t feel well,” Mo...

Read: 1 Corinthians 13:4-13 Wynn visited her garden every day, and her tomato plants, which she and her sister had named Love, Joy, Patience, and Goodness, grew and grew. Then one evening dark clouds began to gather on the horizon. At first Wynn watched from her bedroom window as droplets of water fell from the sky, but soon she could no longer see her poor little tomato plants through the sheets...

Read: Galatians 5:16-26 “Riley!” Wynn called to her sister as she inspected her four tiny tomato plants. “Look, little green tomatoes!” This was Wynn’s very first time growing a garden, and she was very excited. Riley smiled. “See? You just needed to have patience.” Riley was fourteen and had helped their mother grow vegetable gardens before. “Look at those shrimpy tomatoes!” a voice taunted from...

Read: Psalm 133:1; Philippians 2:14-16; Colossians 3:23 George rubbed his stomach and John licked his lips as they entered the kitchen. “That sure was a good meal,” said George. “I love that chicken Mom makes.” John set his plate in the sink with a clang . “But look at all the dirty dishes,” he said. “The sink is full of them. I’m glad it’s your turn to clean up.” “It’s not my turn. I did dishes l...

Read: Job 12:7-10; Matthew 6:26 “Mom, what is this animal?” Tiana asked as she gazed past the zoo fence. The animal looked strong like a horse, but it had the stripes of a zebra on its legs. “Is it a type of zebra?” Mom looked at the plate in front of the cage. “It’s an okapi. It’s related to the giraffe.” “Not a zebra?” Tiana asked, wondering where the dark brown on the animal’s head and back cam...

Read: Philippians 3:4-9 As Dad and Micah walked into the station, the train on the track gave two long whistles. “It looks like our train is almost ready to pull out—we must be later than I thought!” said Dad. “Good thing I got our tickets ahead of time. Come on!” They made a dash for it and were just settling down in their seats when the train began to move. Micah was so excited he could hardly s...

Read: Psalm 119:9-16 Manuel looked up when Grandpa walked into the room. “Do you know where I left my glasses?” Grandpa asked as he reached for his Bible. Grandma sighed. “Did you lose those glasses again? You had them on when you paid the pizza delivery man.” “We didn’t order pizza today. That was yesterday,” said Grandpa. “Somebody else was here today. Now…” He stopped a moment to cough. “Your c...

Read: 1 John 1:5-9 “Ronan!” Mom called. “Can you take out the trash, please? I had to get rid of the old trash can, so you’ll just have to stack the bags in the garage for now.” Ronan scowled. “Why can’t Daisy put it out for once? All she ever does is sit around and text her friends.” Daisy scowled back at him. “At least I have friends!” “Both of you, stop it!” said Mom. “Why do you kids have to f...

Read: Isaiah 53:4-11 “Mom, I don’t understand this verse,” Alec said. “It’s Second Corinthians 5:21. ‘God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.’ I know it’s talking about Jesus, but what does it mean when it says He was made to be sin for us? Jesus never sinned, did He?” “No, He didn’t,” said Mom. “That’s why He was able to save us by ta...

Read: Ephesians 1:4-6 Audrey sat on the front steps, lost in thought. She’d had a rough week. She failed her math test and skinned her knee, and one of her best friends had moved away. Why is God letting all these things happen to me? she thought. It almost seems like He doesn’t care about me anymore. Audrey glanced up when her puppy came bounding out onto the front porch. “Hello, Shamrock,” she s...

Read: John 13:35; Romans 1:14-16 “Happy birthday!” Ivy said when she arrived at her friend Rennah’s birthday party. Ivy’s family had moved recently, and she’d been praying for new friends. Now she had some. But there was a problem at Rennah’s party. “Okay, you guys,” Rennah said when they were ready to play the first game. “Here’s what you do. Everybody has to draw a slip of paper from this basket...

Read: Ephesians 2:8-10 “I wish I never came to your house for spring break,” Miles told his cousin Jonathan. “Since you became a Christian, all you say is ‘Don’t do this’ and ‘Don’t do that.’ Next you’ll be complaining about the picture on my t-shirt and telling me to dress in a choir robe!” Miles stomped outside, letting the door slam behind him. When the house grew unusually quiet, Jonathan’s da...

Read: 2 Thessalonians 3:3-5 With a big sigh, Peyton dropped her books on the table and flopped into the chair beside her mother. “Something wrong?” Mom asked, closing her laptop. “It’s Mila,” Peyton replied. “You know—that annoying girl in my class. I can’t help it—I just don’t like her at all.” “I know it can be hard to love some people, especially those who seem to make life more difficult,” sai...

Read: Philippians 3:10-11; 1 Peter 1:3-9 “Who’s that guy on TV?” Ashton asked. “That’s the father of the boy who went missing last year,” Dad said. “Oh yeah, I remember that. He went missing on a camping trip, and they never found him. It’s so sad.” Dad nodded. “I can’t imagine what his family must be going through. It was a story we heard on the news and quickly forgot about, but it’s been their...

Read: John 8:34-36; 1 Peter 5:6-11 Elizabeth squealed and grabbed her mom as the tram stopped by a huge alligator in the Everglades. People around them stood to snap pictures of the beast sunning himself at the edge of the road. Their guide told them some facts about alligators, and then the tram began to move. Elizabeth relaxed as the guide pointed out ibis, herons, and other native birds. She la...

Read: John 20:24-29 “Mom,” Ethan said hesitantly one day, “did you…uh…did you ever think about having plastic surgery to fix all those scars on your face?” For as long as Ethan could remember, there had been ugly red scars on his mother’s face and hands. He was used to them and hardly noticed them, but some kids in his class had asked what was wrong with her and whispered about the way she looked....

Read: James 2:1-9 “Look!” Naomi pointed to a tin can outside her family’s apartment building. “Somebody is a litterbug.” “Yeah,” said Samuel. “Let’s throw that old can in the trash.” As he picked it up with a napkin, he noticed something stuffed inside. “Hey! There’s money in here!” Samuel and Naomi hurried inside, eagerly discussing all the things they could do with the money. “Hold on!” Dad said...

Read: Proverbs 3:5-6; Hebrews 13:20-21 “I can’t wait to taste maple syrup!” Brady said, smacking his lips. Mom laughed. She was chaperoning his field trip to the nature center to see how maple syrup was made. As they trudged behind their group, Brady sighed. “I wish I was invited to my teacher’s wedding.” Mom was surprised. “Why do you want to go?” Brady frowned. “What if I get married someday? I...

Read: John 3:16; Colossians 1:13-14 As Jana sat at the dining room table doing her homework, she looked out the window and saw a beautiful butterfly. It was flying from flower to flower, getting nectar. Jana loved how gracefully the butterfly floated through the air and then landed on a flower for some nectar. “How’s your homework coming?” Mom called from the kitchen. “It’s coming!” Jana replied....

Read: Luke 16:10-12; 1 Corinthians 4:2 It was a warm day, and Dad had just finished digging up the garden plot so he and Eliza and Jeremiah could plant sweet corn. “Hey, look!” exclaimed Eliza, bending over a corner of the plot. “An earthworm! We learned about earthworms at school. They eat dirt.” She picked it up and waved it under her brother’s nose. “Doesn’t that sound yummy, Jeremiah?” “Ew, gr...

Read: 1 Samuel 3:1-10 Konan looked at the fish lying in the bucket at Grandpa’s feet and frowned. “Why are they biting for you and not me?” he asked. “Well, you keep pulling in your line to check the bait and moving to different sides of the boat,” Grandpa said. “If you want to catch fish, you can’t keep moving around all the time. Try sitting still.” Konan sighed. “I don’t like to sit still.” “I...

Read: Matthew 25:31-46 Simi pouted as she placed the bag of toys beside the other cartons in the back of the minivan. “Mummy, why do we have to go to the refugee camp on a Saturday?” Simi’s mum shut the van’s back door. “You already know why, Simi. Those children need all the love and attention they can get.” “I know.” Simi kicked a stone into the sand as she walked to the front seat of the miniva...

Read: Matthew 5:44-48; Ephesians 4:32 “No, not Amie! Now we’re really gonna lose!” The entire team sighed in unison as Amie approached the plate and waited for the kickball. She hadn’t felt well all morning, and now the weight of her teammates’ disgust seemed to make her insides churn even more. Just as the teacher was about to roll the ball, Amie gasped. “Mrs. Anderson! I have to—” It was too lat...