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

Read: Matthew 4:1-11

“I’ll probably fail our math test today,” Carter told Lucy as they walked to school. “I’m really bad at multiplication.”

“Yeah, me too,” said Lucy. “But I’m not going to fail. Want to know why?” She slid a card from under the cuff of her sleeve. “See? The multiplication tables are all right here!” She grinned. “I’ve got an extra card. Want it?” She pulled a card from her pocket and offered it to Carter.

“That’s cheating,” Carter said.

“What’s worse, cheating or failing?” asked Lucy.

Carter to...

Read: Romans 12:9-15

“What’s wrong, Elijah?” Mom asked as Elijah got in the car.

Elijah sighed. “Mrs. Lewis told our class that Henry won’t be in school for a few days. His dad had a heart attack and died early this morning.”

Mom gasped. “Oh no! That’s awful.”

Elijah nodded. “Principal Brown came and told us he went to Henry’s house this morning. He said Henry and his mom and little brother are very sad. Then he and Mrs. Lewis let us ask questions and talk for a while.” Elijah pause...

Read: Ephesians 6:13-17; Hebrews 4:12-13

“We had a missionary from Guatemala in my class today,” Maverick said as his family drove home from church. “He showed us a machete. It was big—and he said it was very sharp.”

“What’s a shetty?” asked Maverick’s little sister.

“Not shetty, Charis—machete,” Maverick corrected her. “It’s something like a sword. It can be used as a weapon, but the missionary said people in Guatemala use machetes to whack tall grasses and scoop out clumps of dirt when they’re planting crops. They use them to cut sugar cane and...

Read: 1 Corinthians 11:23-27

“Hey, Dad,” said Parker as he and his family were on their way home from a visit with their grandmother, “what do you want written on your tombstone?”

“What a question!” said Mom. “Why are you asking that?”

Parker laughed. “While you were visiting with Grandma, Sadie and I went to the cemetery across the street, remember? There were some interesting things carved on the grave markers—like little sayings or poems. I was just wondering what you’d want on yours someday.”

“I think I’d like a Bible verse,” Dad said. “I...

Read: Psalm 121

“Why are we making a scarecrow for the garden?” Cora asked her grandma as she put in some more stuffing.

“Well, the scarecrow helps keep the garden safe from crows. The crows love to pull up the sprouts just as they’re popping out of the ground, but when they see the scarecrow, they’re afraid to come into the garden.”

“So the scarecrow is pretty important. I think we should name him,” Cora said. “Let’s call him Patrick, Protector of the Garden.”

“I like that name,” Grandma replied.

When they...

Read: Romans 10:9-14

“Mom, can I go play at the park with Logan?” asked Michael.

Mom laughed. “Logan, Logan, Logan. Ever since you met him, all I hear is ‘Logan.’”

“He’s lots of fun,” said Michael. “I think we’re going to be really good friends. It almost feels like he’s the brother I never had.”

“Well, he seems like a nice kid,” said Mom. “Why don’t you invite him to come to church with us this week?”

“Okay,” said Michael, “I will.”

That evening, Michael was excited when he got hom...

Read: Job 12:9-13

Alicia tried to peel back her baby sister’s fingers. “Mom left me to watch you for five minutes, and you’re already trying to take something you shouldn’t.”

Bella’s hands were in tight fists, and it was hard for Alicia to get back the little ball that belonged with her dollhouse. “You could choke on that. You don’t want it.”

Alicia got her toy back and tried to get her sister settled with something safer. She was relieved when Mom came back and took Bella to get ready for thei...

Read: Psalm 37:23-24; Jeremiah 18:1-6

“I like coming to visit you, Grandma,” Olivia said as she sprayed more cleaner onto her rag.

“It’s nice having you here,” said Grandma. “Miss Cindy was glad for your help with the younger children at youth camp. She wondered if you’d be interested in leading the children’s class at church this week.” She picked up a knick-knack to clean and winked. “You might become a great youth leader someday.”

Olivia lowered her head. “I don’t know. I’m not sure God can use me for anything. My stubborn...

Read: Psalm 134; Colossians 3:17, 23-24

The church building was dark and empty. Mandy’s mom turned on all the lights. Mandy followed her down to the cleaning supply closet in the basement. “I’ll start in the bathrooms,” Mom said. “How about you mop and dust upstairs? And try to finish a little faster this week, okay?”

Mandy wandered slowly upstairs with the mop, swinging the bucket and humming. As she dusted music stands on the stage, she looked out at empty seats and imagined them filled with smiling, clapping people who raised their hands in praise. She...

Read: Romans 6:11-14

James looked up from his job of pulling dandelions as his friend Alex pedaled his bike up the driveway. “Hey,” called Alex. “Let’s go to the splash pad at the park.”

“Can’t,” James replied. “My mom says she’s sick of seeing yellow dandelions instead of green grass, and I have to get rid of them.” He held up the tool he was using. “I work around the plant with this so I can pull out the whole root—and they sure go deep!” He wiped his brow with a dirty hand. “It’s really hot...

Read: Psalm 34:15-17; 55:16-17

As Colin sat down to begin his homework, he heard his little sister whining in the kitchen. He began to study, but all the noise his sister was making distracted him. Then Colin heard his mother’s voice. “Kinsley, I want you to stop whining.” Colin returned to his homework, but soon he heard his sister again.

Colin got up and went to the kitchen. “What’s wrong with Kinsley?” he asked. “I have tons of homework, and her whining is driving me crazy!”

Kinsley made a face and threw a sock at...

Read: John 1:1-9; Romans 8:38-39

Reid came to a stop, panting. He’d been playing tag with his cousins for the last twenty minutes. They were playing outside while they watched the solar eclipse. He took advantage of the pause in play to grab his cardboard glasses, adjust them to cover his eyes, and look up at the sky. The sun was now half-covered by the moon. Reid knew that eventually the moon would completely cover the sun. It was supposed to be dark. Reid really didn’t like the dark. He looked around and felt comforted know...

Read: Proverbs 16:16-20

“Has anyone seen my math book?” asked Aria. “I can’t find it anywhere.” But no one had seen it, and Aria finally remembered she had left it at Zoe’s house. My perfect homework record will be ruined! she thought miserably. She always had her homework done at the beginning of class each day. Maybe if I stayed home sick tomorrow, I could make up the lesson.

So the next morning, she pretended to have a stomachache and went back to bed while her family got ready for school and work—except for Mom...

Read: 1 Peter 5:6-11

The broom swished across the kitchen floor as Mom worked to gather the crumbs and dirt from under the table. Ethan, Evan, and Everett sat nearby watching.

“Wow, Mom,” Everett said. “That’s a lot of crumbs.”

Mom laughed. “That’s what happens when three hungry boys live here.” She swept everything into a little pile, then walked over to the wall. With a whoosh, the hidden vacuum inside the wall sucked every last crumb away.

“Whoa!” Evan’s eyes went wide. “Where did it all go?”

“It’s like a secret vac...

Read: Psalm 139:13-18; Ephesians 2:8-10

After church, Elizabeth and Mom climbed into the car. “I liked my class today,” Elizabeth said. “It was lots of fun.”

“Good,” said Mom. “Tell me about it.”

“We learned about a Bible story, and we sang some songs.” Elizabeth began to hum one of them.

Mom grinned. “I know that song! I think it’s one of the first ones you learned. Let’s sing it.” So together they sang the words: “Jesus loves me, this I know.”

Elizabeth stopped singing and looked at her mom. “Does God really lov...

Read: Luke 6:27-36

“Muffie!” yelled two-year-old Reya as she toddled into the living room. She plunked down on the floor next to Muffin, the family dog. Reya reached out a chubby hand and pulled Muffin’s fluffy brown tail. Muffin didn’t bite or even growl. She just moved away as quickly as she could, lying down by the fireplace. Reya followed. She tugged on Muffin’s ear. “Nice doggie,” she cooed. Muffin still didn’t growl or bite. Instead, she licked Reya’s knee with her rough tongue.

“Careful, Reya,” said Mom. She walked over, gently loosened...

Read: James 5:16-18

“I wish I had a hundred dollars to put in the offering tomorrow!” Isabella told her mom. “The missionaries we’re collecting money for really need it, and I want to help them care for people and tell them about Jesus.”

“If you’ll clean the cupboards for me this afternoon, I’ll pay you—not a hundred dollars, but a little,” said Mom. “Have you prayed about the money you’d like to give?”

“Prayed for a hundred dollars?” asked Isabella. “No.”

“You should,” Mom said. “Trust God to provide whatever amount He wants...

Read: James 4:4-10

“Hey there, Noah,” Mr. Davis called from his yard as Noah passed by his neighbor’s house. “Problems? You don’t look very happy.”

Noah walked over to talk with him. “My friends are all mad at me,” he said. “Some of my school friends told some of the kids at church that I said bad things about them.”

“And did you?” Mr. Davis asked.

“Well, the kids at school are always gossiping about people they know, so I started doing it too.” Noah wiped a hand across his eyes. “I didn’t want the...

Read: Psalm 145:18-19; Romans 8:38-39

“It’s gone!” Abigail exclaimed one morning as she and her older sister walked to the school where they attended day camp. “They just put it up, and now it’s gone!” A huge telescope had recently been installed on a mountain near their town. The girls usually saw it clearly as they walked down their street.

Sophia laughed. “In this fog, lots of things are gone. They’re really just hidden by the fog. I’m sure we’ll be able to see the telescope by the time we walk home this after...

Read: 2 Corinthians 4:16; 5:1-5

“Hey, kids, how about a camping trip to the mountains this weekend?” Dad asked enthusiastically at the dinner table one night.

“I’m in!” yelled Rico. He wanted to get his vote in before his older sister said something negative.

Sure enough, Cara frowned. “Dad, remember the last time we went camping? Our tent collapsed in the middle of the night because we didn’t put it up right, and the mosquitos nearly ate us alive.”

Rico giggled. “Don’t forget the night we camped on a beach. When the tide came i...

Read: Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

Chan walked into the six-inch-deep stream right behind his friend Oliver. The water filled his shoes and stuck his pants to his ankles. The round stones shifted under his feet as he slogged through the water.

Further downstream the rocks became larger and rougher, the ground more uneven, and the water muddy. Chan felt around with one foot before taking each step. Even when he found a good rock, sometimes the surface was slick.

Suddenly his foot slipped. He fought for balance, but he fell with a huge splash.

Read: Romans 5:6-11

Oh no! Poor little bird! Aelin thought when she noticed a bird fluttering around in the grass. It’s hurt. I think it has a broken wing. Maybe I can help it. She picked up her butterfly net and tried to catch the bird, moving slowly and quietly toward it. But each time she got close, it flapped its wings and wiggled out of her reach. The bird led her to the front of the house. Just when she thought she could catch it, the bird flew up and perched on a power line hi...

Read: Ephesians 2:8-10; 1 Peter 4:8-11

“Your friend Mason is really growing in his faith, isn’t he? It’s been fun to see him plug in at church,” Uncle Ken said as Aiden helped him replace the worn-out boards on the porch.

“Yeah,” Aiden said.

“His solo with the junior choir was great,” Uncle Ken said between creaks and squeaks as he pulled nails. Aiden didn’t answer. As they worked, he was very quiet—too quiet. Uncle Ken put down his hammer. “Aiden, is everything okay?”

Aiden sighed. “It’s just that Mason does everyth...

Read: Philippians 1:21-26; Revelation 22:3-5

On the way home from church, Joanna noticed her brother staring out the window. “What’s wrong, Derek? You’ve hardly said a word since we got in the car.”

Derek sighed. “I was just thinking about what Pastor Kevin said about Jesus coming again.”

Joanna frowned. “Don’t you want Him to come?”

“Sure…someday,” Derek replied.

“Sometimes I wish He’d come right away,” said Joanna. “Like before my math test tomorrow.”

“If you’d study, you wouldn’t have to wish that,” Derek pointed out.

Read: Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 9:37; 16:15

Hudson dribbled his basketball up the driveway, aiming for the hoop above the garage. As the ball swished through the net, he glanced next door. The new girl was at the window again. She always seemed to be watching, especially on weekends when his family left for church.

One afternoon, Hudson was riding his bike up and down the street when he spotted her kicking a football. As he zoomed past, she gave him a shy wave. Hudson stopped his bike and smiled. “Hi,” he said. “I’m Hudson.”

“I’m Sami,” s...

Read: Galatians 4:4-7

Morgan never got tired of hearing what happened when her parents took her home from the adoption agency. “You were only six weeks old,” her dad told her one evening when she begged to hear the story again. “I’ll never forget when the agency called to say they had a baby for us. I was at work, and I was so excited I forgot to ask if it was a boy or a girl.” Everyone laughed as they recalled the happy event.

Mom continued the story. “The ride home was a long one, an...

Read: Psalm 46:1-7

“I miss our old house,” said Tomás. He sighed as he thought about why they had moved into a trailer on Grandpa’s farm. First his little brother, Felix, was seriously injured in a car accident. Then the company Dad worked for went bankrupt, and it had taken him quite a while to find a new job. Tomás knew living in the trailer on the farm saved a lot of money. “But it’s kinda nice to be living near Grandpa,” he said.

“I like that too,” replied Mom. “It’s one of the blessings...

Read: Job 12:7-10; Psalm 96:11-13; 2 Peter 1:16-21

“Why are we lying on the trampoline?” Penny asked her dad as she looked up at the sky. “All I see is a couple clouds. And it’s so creepy and quiet.”

“There are clouds, you’ve got that part right. But I don’t think the silence is creepy. Let’s listen for a few moments and see what specific sounds you can hear.” Dad shifted on the trampoline as he spoke.

Penny sighed, but did what her dad said. She watched as one of the clouds floated a...

Read: Ephesians 5:1-2, 21-33

Hailey knew she should ask for help before trying out her new manicure set, but she couldn’t wait. She needed something to take her mind off the bad day she’d had. She spilled the glittery nails onto her desk, and without bothering to read the directions, she grabbed the glue and unscrewed it.

“What’s wrong with this glue?” she muttered as the watery liquid squirted out of the tiny spout. She shook it, wondering why it wasn’t thick like school glue. Shrugging, she held it against her fingernail a...

Read: Luke 11:37-39

“Sean, the family shelter downtown needs donations. I’ve collected some items. How about donating some of your toys?”

Sean knelt in front of his toy box. “I don’t have any toys I want to give away, Mom.”

“What about this car?” Mom asked. “I haven’t seen you playing with it in a while, and I’m sure any little boy would love to have it.”

Sean looked at the remote control race car his mom was holding. “It doesn’t work anymore.”

“Let’s have dad take a look at it. Mayb...

Read: 2 Corinthians 2:14-17

A delicious aroma drifted through the door as Audrey walked into the house. She inhaled deeply, wondering for a minute what it was. I know—apple pie! Maybe Mom will let me have a piece before supper. Her stomach growled as she went into the kitchen. No Mom. No apple pies either.

Audrey found her mother in the living room. “I was just reading an email from your teacher,” Mom said, grinning. “I think you’ll be pleased to hear what she has to say.”

Mom turned to her computer and read the...

Read: Psalm 34:1-3; Jeremiah 9:23-24

“Hey, Joel!” shouted Micah from the other side of the parking lot at school.

“What’s up?” Joel asked as the two of them began to walk toward the school building together.

“I was wondering if you’d like to come to my house after school,” Micah said. “I got a new bike for my birthday, so maybe you could bring yours.”

“Sure, I’ll come over,” said Joel. “My dad bought me a girl’s bike, and we had to paint over the flowers! We worked really hard on it.”

Read: 1 Peter 1:23-25

“I can’t believe Grandma gave me a Bible for my birthday!” Ethan said as he and his older brother Sam walked home from the library. “What am I gonna do with that?”

“Well, you could read it,” Sam said.

Ethan laughed. “How could an old book written thousands of years ago have anything to say to us today? Dad is always saying the Bible is old-fashioned and outdated. Maybe he’ll let me return it and get something else.” He pointed down the street. “Hey, let’s stop and see the house Uncle Andr...

Read: Matthew 7:13-14, 21-23; 1 John 5:9-12

After enjoying a picnic lunch, Uncle Don pointed toward the paths around the picnic area. “Do you remember which path we took to get here?”

“It was the one by the swings,” Kennedy said.

Elliot disagreed. “It was the one by that flowering bush over there.”

“Nuh-uh! I remember seeing the swings right away,” Kennedy insisted.

“But I remember seeing a bird’s nest on the other side of that bush!” Elliot shot back.

“Let’s try an experiment,” said Uncle Don. “You each sincerely bel...

Read: John 14:6; Acts 17:10-12

“It’s so pretty here!” Kennedy told her aunt and uncle as she gazed around the picnic area. She turned to her brother. “Don’t you wish we could live in the Rockies, Elliot?”

“It sure is nice,” Elliot said. “Look—I guess everybody likes this spot. There are paths coming here from all directions. It’s just like the city of Rome.”

“How is this like Rome?” Aunt Sue asked.

“Last week our pastor said that in the days of the Roman Empire, you could follow any road and it would lead you...

Read: 1 Corinthians 13

“Keira, let me help you with that.” Alexis reached for a pile of laundry needing to be folded. “It will earn me points for my youth group contest. I want to get the most points so I can win!” One of the ways kids in the youth group could earn points was by helping the members of their family.

Keira frowned and batted her sister’s hands away. “I’m not signing any paper saying you helped me with anything. Just leave me and my things alone!”

The other members of Alexis’s family...

Read: Psalm 23

Owen looked at the frail man on the bed. Grandpa’s getting so weak, he thought. I know he’s going to die soon. “Are you afraid, Grandpa?” he asked.

“No, Owen.” Grandpa smiled as he reached for Owen’s hand. “I’m not afraid to die. Jesus is with me. I’m going home to be with Him.”

Owen nodded, but he thought he’d be afraid anyway. After all, he couldn’t see Jesus!

Later that afternoon, Owen got a text from his friend Kian. “Wanna come over for a while?” Kian aske...

Read: Romans 12:1-2

“Whoa!” Vivian exclaimed when she saw the pile of things her mother had laid out on the table. “Is Gracie getting all of that for her birthday?”

Mom nodded. “Grandma brought some of it over. She found a lot of things on sale, so your little niece is probably getting more than she needs. I offered to wrap Grandma’s gifts for her.”

Vivian sat down beside her mom. “Can I help?”

“You sure can,” Mom replied.

Vivian chose a doll in a pink dress. She wrapped it in bright p...

Read: Matthew 5:14-16

The evening was cool and clear. The earthy smell of the forest filled the air, and stars shone brightly through the trees. A group of boys and their teacher lingered around the dying campfire at their youth group retreat. “Wow!” Joshua said, craning his head back. “The stars are really bright tonight.”

Enoch looked up toward the sky. “They just look brighter because there are no other lights around,” he said. “They stand out more against the darkness.”

“I see a firefly,” said Joshua. “Look! Over there.” He pointed toward a tree a few feet away f...

Read: 1 Peter 5:5-11

Whiskers, Lincoln’s kitten, leaped into the air and batted the shoestring Lincoln was swinging back and forth. “I don’t care how nice Todd is, no one can ever take Dad’s place,” Lincoln told Uncle Shawn. “I don’t want a stepfather.” He sighed. His dad had died a few years before, and now his mom was getting remarried.

“Todd isn’t trying to take your dad’s place, Lincoln,” said Uncle Shawn. “He’s a good man who loves your mom, and he wants to be there for you too.”

“I don’t care,”...