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

Read: Ephesians 4:31-32; Colossians 3:12-13 Aaron and his mom sat on the floor with one of his dresser drawers beside them. “I want to keep that!” Aaron said as Mom tossed a worn-out toy into a trash bag. Mom was helping him clean out his drawers, and she kept wanting to throw things away. “Why keep all this junk?” Mom asked. “It doesn’t leave any room for all the good things you have.” “It’s not...

Read: James 3:5-10 Milo looked up as his little sister limped into the kitchen. “What’s wrong?” “I need new shoes!” Presley said. She lifted her right foot. “This one hurts me!” Milo smirked. “Because you don’t know how to put shoes on right. You probably have them on the wrong feet.” He laughed. “You’re such a baby!” Presley crossed her arms. “I’m six years old. I know which shoe goes on which fo...

Read: Matthew 5:10-12, 44; 1 Peter 4:14-16 “I had a terrible day,” Chase told his friends Thomas and Joel. “The guys in gym class laughed at me because I told them to stop making fun of this kid who goes to my church. Then they started making fun of me instead,” he said as his mom set a plate of carrots and dip on the table. “My day wasn’t so great either,” said Joel. “A girl in my class offered t...

READ: Romans 10:9-13; Galatians 3:28 “Oh, look, Mom!” Alyssa picked up a pair of gloves in the store. “These would match my new winter jacket perfectly! But I doubt they’ll have my size—they haven’t had my size in anything else I wanted today.” Alyssa and her mother were having a rather unsuccessful shopping trip. “Well, let’s have a look,” said Mom. “We might be able to order your size online if...

Read: Psalm 34:18; Matthew 28:20 Maya watched the windshield wipers sweep away the raindrops as she brushed away her tears. The autumn sky was gray as they drove home from her grandma’s funeral. “Why did God let Grandma die, Mom?” Maya asked. Mom turned around, and Dad looked at her in the rearview mirror with sad eyes. “Cancer kills a lot of people, Maya,” said Mom. “Grandma loved Jesus and had a...

Read: Psalm 29 Adrian dragged his toe in the dirt as the swing went back and forth, back and forth. He was hardly swinging at all. “Isn’t swinging supposed to put a smile on your face?” Adrian looked up and cracked a grin. It was his neighbor, Mr. Snyder. “I saw you sitting here as I walked by and noticed you seem a bit down,” Mr. Snyder said as he took a vacant swing. “What’s nagging at you?” “Ju...

READ: 1 John 4:7-11 “I know the Bible says God loves everybody, but I don’t really see how He could love Gianna,” Quinn told her older sister as they raked leaves in the backyard. “Is she that girl in your class who cuts in the cafeteria line?” Tori asked as she filled a large bag with leaves. “Yes,” said Quinn. “And cheats and steals and says mean things about people.” Tori was about to respond w...

Read: 1 Timothy 4:11-16 Aimee reached for her cup of hot chocolate and glanced out the window as a group of kids walked across the neighbor’s lawn on their way home from the bus stop. The mug froze halfway to her mouth when she noticed one of them was her little sister. “Brooklyn, you know Mr. Wilson doesn’t like it when you cut across his lawn!” Aimee said when her sister came through the door. “...

Read: John 10:30; 14:16-20, 26 “Mom, what does ‘Trinity’ mean?” Kaylee asked one afternoon. “Pastor Banks said that word in his sermon this morning.” “It means that God the Father, God the Son—that’s Jesus—and God the Holy Spirit are three persons, yet they are one God,” explained Mom. “The word ‘Trinity’ isn’t found in the Bible, but the idea of one God in three persons is found in several places...

Read: Luke 11:9-13 “Matthew, when you’ve finished raking the leaves, come to the shed.” Matthew’s father pushed a wheelbarrow around the back of the house. Uh-oh, what did Dad want now? The last time he called Matthew to the shed, he asked him to pick up sticks that had fallen from the windstorm. Maybe he was going to give him more chores to do. Matthew bagged up the last of the leaves and stared...

Read: Jeremiah 9:23-24; 1 Peter 5:5-6 “My history report is due tomorrow, and I’m going to have the best one in the class!” announced Mateo as he and his dad got ready to play a game of ping-pong. “Most of the kids write the dumbest essays you’ve ever seen! I also got the top score on our spelling tests three weeks in a row. And the math we’re learning is so simple, it’s pathetic.” Dad didn’t look...

Read: Philippians 2:14-16 Julia was quiet as she walked beside her mom at the mall. “What’s wrong, sweetheart?” Mom asked. Julia sighed. “Kids at school were saying bad things about Christians today. It’s all Paige’s fault! She claims to be a Christian, but she’s the meanest girl I know. So now the other kids think Christians are mean people who pretend they’re good—she gives all of us a bad name!...

Read: Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 “I wonder why geese always fly in a V formation,” Zion said as he and his dad raked their lawn. Overhead, a flock of geese honked their way southward in the cloudless fall sky. “Do you see how closely they fly together?” asked Dad. “As each bird flaps its wings, it creates an uplift for the bird following it. That means the bird behind it uses less energy as it flies. By...

Read: Psalm 34:1-8; Revelation 4:11 “Psalm thirty-four verse three. Oh, magify…magify…” Sadie struggled with her memory verse as she and her older sister walked up the driveway to their grandfather’s house. “Hi, Grandpa,” said Bryn as they went into the house. “Hi, girls.” Grandpa folded his newspaper. “I was just reading.” “What’s that, Grandpa?” Sadie pointed to an object on the coffee table. “T...

Read: Psalm 118:24-29; Isaiah 43:19-21 Sawyer was kicking the soccer ball around in the front yard when his dad drove up. “Hey, Sawyer-man,” Dad said as he got out of the car. “How’s it going?” Sawyer shrugged. “I don’t think I did well on my spelling test at school today. And it was supposed to be my turn to feed the class hamster, but Jasper said it was his turn. Then I spilled my milk all over...

Read: Matthew 10:29-31; Luke 19:1-10 Kevin was lost. The cornstalks were so far above his head that even when he jumped, he couldn’t see any way out. If only he hadn’t insisted on going into the corn maze by himself. His mom and dad had both offered to come with him, but he wanted to go on his own. Now he was lost, alone, and afraid. It was starting to get cold. He put his hands on his upper arms....

Read: Romans 8:14-17 Leo sat at the dining room table with his mom, dad, and two older brothers. He had been part of the family for exactly nine years now. They bowed their heads, and Leo’s dad prayed. “Father in heaven, today we celebrate the day You brought Leo to our family. Thank You for letting us adopt him. He has brought us great joy. Bless our son in every way. In Jesus’s name, amen.” When...

Read: James 1:19-25 Ryan, Avery, and Mom took off on horseback down the dirt road—Ryan and Avery on Velvet, and Mom on Lady. Ryan glanced back toward the stable. “Look, Dad is feeding Buster his grain.” Buster was an older horse, and when he ate with the others, he often got pushed away from his own grain by Lady, who tried to be the boss of the barnyard. “Oh, good,” said Avery. “I’m glad Dad’s ma...

Read: 2 Kings 5:1-4, 9-14 The breeze felt cool against Eli’s cheeks as he and Uncle Martín stood quietly on the pier. They were watching ships enter and leave the great harbor. “Look at those little tugboats moving the big ships through the water, Uncle Martín!” said Eli. “It doesn’t seem like boats that small could even move those big ships!” Uncle Martín shook his head. “They’re interesting, are...

Read: Colossians 3:12-15; 1 John 1:9 Samuel ran into the house and threw his jacket on the table. “Weather report,” he panted. “It’s pouring!” “Ohhhh noooo!” Olivia rushed over. “You threw your wet jacket on my seascape painting for school—it’ll be ruined!” “It’s a picture of ocean waves—all I did was add more water.” Samuel laughed. Olivia lifted Samuel’s jacket. “See? The paint ran! Why didn’t y...

Read: 1 Corinthians 15:20-26, 54-57 Landon ducked as a bee buzzed by, barely missing his head. He watched the bee settle on a flower before moving on. “That bee was so close to your head, he almost gave you a buzz cut!” Dad said with a smirk. Landon didn’t laugh. He had something else on his mind. “Dad, can I ask you something?” He hesitated, and Dad waited quietly. “Grandma died months ago, but I...

Read: Proverbs 4:1-4; Galatians 5:16-18, 22-25 “Want to see the ring I got?” Lucy pulled a small box from her dresser drawer and showed her friend Skye the delicate opal ring inside. “It used to be my grandma’s.” “It’s so pretty!” said Skye. “Can I wear it for a while?” Lucy bit her lip. “My mom told me not to take it out or wear it until I’m older. She doesn’t want it getting lost.” “Oh, come on!...

Read: John 1:4-5; 8:12; Matthew 5:14-16 Corey shivered as the lights went out in the restaurant where he and his family were eating. “What’s going on?” The room was completely dark and everyone around them mumbled nervously. He heard babies and little kids whimper and cry, probably scared of the dark like he had been when he was younger. “The storm must have knocked out the power,” Mom said. A mom...

Read: Psalm 96:1-6; Isaiah 41:9-13 Brook loved to sing. Whenever there was an opportunity to sing at church, she took it. It felt good to be on the stage singing in front of everyone, and she loved singing for God too. She felt close to Him when she sang songs in church. One day when she was up on stage singing a solo, Brook messed up on some of the words. She felt her face flush and was tempted t...

Read: Romans 8:14-17; 9:25-26 Sophie sat on the kitchen floor petting her new golden retriever puppy while Mom snapped the stems off green beans. “Mom, you’ll never guess what happened today,” Sophie said. “Mira told our class she’s a real-life princess.” Mom let out a little chuckle, but when she looked at her daughter’s face she could tell Sophie was serious. “Don’t you think that’s a little—foo...