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

• A Fake Christmas

  Read: John 3:14-21 “It’s so pretty!” said five-year-old Julia as she stood at the rope barricade and stared in wonder at the shiny balls, glittering stars, and sparkling snow on a Christmas tree at the mall. “Is the snow on the Christmas tree real?” “No,” said Julia’s older sister, Dakota. “It comes in a spray can, and you just spray it on.” “It looks so real,” said Julia, disappointed. “Who are all the presents under the tree for?” “They’re not real presents,” said Dakota. “They’re empty boxes wrapped to look like presents—just part of the decorations. They’re supposed to get people in the mood to buy Christmas presents.” Julia could hardly believe that the beautifully wrapped boxes were empty. She wanted to reach over the barricade, pick one up, and shake it. Back home, Julia told her mother about the tree. “The snow looked so real, and the presents did too, but Dakota says they’re just empty boxes. Are they really?” “I’m afraid so,” said Mom. “Even though they’re covered in shiny paper and colorful bows, there’s nothing inside.” “That’s sad,” said Julia. “It’s not real at all—it’s a fake Christmas!” “In a way, it is,” said Mom. “And we wouldn’t want to celebrate a fake Christmas, would we? Not at the mall, and not at our house.” “At our house?” Julia giggled. “We don’t wrap empty boxes and put them under the tree!” “No,” said Mom. “But if we’re not careful, the things we do to celebrate Christmas—all the parties and gifts and decorations—can distract us from the real reason we celebrate Christmas—Jesus coming to earth to save us from sin. He’s the true gift of Christmas, and without Him, Christmas is empty, just like one of those empty boxes wrapped in pretty paper.” “So is it bad to do those things, like give each other presents or decorate the house?” Julia asked. “Of course not!” said Mom. “But those things are like the pretty paper we use to wrap the gifts we give each other—it’s not the gift itself. And all the fun things we do at Christmas point us to the real reason we celebrate—God sending His Son to the world to save us and give us eternal life.” –Pauline Youd How about you? Do you celebrate the real reason for Christmas? Or do you just focus on buying gifts or getting presents? At Christmas, we celebrate God giving us the best present ever—Himself. He sent Jesus to save us from sin so we could have eternal life with Him. If you haven’t received that gift, do it today by trusting in Jesus. (To learn more, go to Have You Heard the Good News?) Today's Key Verse: The gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23 (NKJV) Today's Key Thought: Celebrate the true gift of Christmas

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• No Sacrifice Too Great

  Read: Matthew 2:1-12 “Mrs. Chavez read us a short story today called ‘The Gift of the Magi,’” Jenna announced at dinner. “By O. Henry! I love that story,” exclaimed her mother. “It’s about a young couple who were really, really poor,” Jenna told her older brother, Damon. “They really wanted to buy each other a special Christmas present, but the only valuable thing the guy owned was a gold watch, and the girl had nothing except her beautiful, long hair. So she secretly decided to cut her hair off and sell it so she could buy a chain for the watch her husband was so proud of. Meanwhile, he secretly sold his watch so he could buy expensive combs for the hair she no longer had!” Damon laughed. “What a disaster!” “I know, it sounds awful. But it ended up the best Christmas ever, because it made them realize how much they really loved each other.” “Sappy.” “Damon.” His father shook his head. “Remember the year you spent all your money on a Christmas gift for Mom? You’d been saving forever for a video game, but you sacrificed it to buy a cookbook she wanted.” “Yeah, I remember.” Damon grinned. “It was worth it seeing your expression, Mom, when you opened the box!” “A gift that keeps on giving,” Mom said, pointing to their dessert. “Jenna, I wonder if your story is called “The Gift of the Magi” because the magi—the wise men who visited baby Jesus—brought Him costly gifts? They brought Him gold, frankincense, and myrrh, which were special because they pointed to how Jesus was King over everything but had come to sacrifice Himself so we could have the gift of eternal life. The couple in the story made sacrifices to show their love for each other, and Jesus showed us His love by making the greatest sacrifice of all.” “Maybe we should all think of ways we can show others God’s love this Christmas,” said Dad. Jenna was quiet for a moment. “Maybe instead of keeping all the clothes I get this year, I could share my new sweaters and stuff with girls I know who don’t have much. What do you think, Mom?” Mom smiled. “I think any gift you give from your heart pleases Jesus and makes His birthday extra special!” –Debbie Meroff How about you? Have you ever sacrificed something valuable in order to give a person you love a particular gift? Or maybe you’ve had a friend or family member make a sacrifice to give you a gift. Jesus broke every record for sacrifices when He gave His life for us! How can you share His love with others this Christmas? Today's Key Verse: Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me. Matthew 25:40 (NIV) Today's Key Thought: Give joyfully like Jesus

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• One-of-a-Kind Masterpiece

  Read: Psalm 139:14-18 When Emmalyn got home from school, she went straight to her room, flopped face-first on her bed, and began to cry. Soon there was a knock at her door. “Emmalyn, it’s Mom. Can I come in?” Emmalyn managed to let out a muffled yes, and Mom came in and sat down on the bed. “What’s wrong?” Mom asked. Emmalyn sniffled. “Judson noticed that I’m the only one with red hair in our class. He made jokes about redheads all day and even got the other kids to call me carrottop!” She wiped the tears from her eyes. “Can I dye my hair a different color, Mom? Please?” Mom was silent as she stared at Emmalyn’s bedroom wall. Emmalyn had a very special bedroom wall. Last summer her uncle had come and helped her paint a mural of a tropical scene on it. “Well,” Mom finally said, “I guess we’ll have to go to the store and pick up some hair dye. While we’re at it, we should pick up a gallon of white paint to cover up your mural.” “What?” Emmalyn looked shocked. “Why? Uncle Joe and I worked hard on that, and it turned out really well. It’s a one-of-a-kind masterpiece!” “Well, you want to change your hair so you can be just like your classmates, and I know none of them have a bedroom wall like yours,” said Mom. “So we should get rid of that too.” Emmalyn stared at her mom for a few moments before she finally understood. “Oh, I get it. You’re trying to tell me that I’m a one-of-a-kind masterpiece, just like the mural on my wall.” “That’s exactly right,” said Mom. “God made you the way you are, and He loves you—so much that He sent His Son, Jesus, to die for you! And He created you to show His love to others in your own unique way. So don’t try to change yourself just to make other people happy—you’re beautiful just the way you are because you belong to Jesus.” Mom gave Emmalyn a tight hug, and Emmalyn smiled as she looked at the mural on her wall and thought of herself as God’s masterpiece. –Melissa Yeagle How about you? Has anyone ever made fun of you for the way you look? It hurts when that happens, but remember God made you the way you are and He loves you. He made you for a special purpose—to know Jesus and share Him with others in your own unique way. Your beauty doesn’t depend on other people’s opinions about how you look. You’re beautiful because you know Jesus! Today's Key Verse: For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. Ephesians 2:10 (NLT) Today's Key Thought: You are God’s masterpiece

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• The Wrapping Paper Redo

  Read: Romans 12:3-10 “It’s my idea! I should wrap all the presents!” Libby cried. “But you’re not good at wrapping,” Hattie answered. “It’s a class project to raise money for missionaries our church supports. We are going to work together,” Miss Coretta intervened. When Miss Coretta had asked their class for ideas to help support missionaries, Libby shared her plan: wrapping Christmas presents at the mall in exchange for donations from shoppers getting their purchases wrapped. Everyone agreed, so Miss Coretta made the arrangements. Libby felt proud of her idea and wanted to carry out the project by herself. When Hattie noticed Libby rushing to wrap each gift the shoppers brought them, she tried talking to Libby. But Libby insisted on handling it alone. “Please get more tape and ribbon from the box I brought,” Miss Coretta asked Libby. Grumpily, Libby yanked the supply box from under the table. Then a man approached. “I had this candle wrapped for my wife’s Christmas present,” he explained. “But the paper fell off on my way out. I was wondering if you could rewrap it.” Libby stood up from her search for ribbon and tape. She remembered wrapping that candle. She now saw how sloppy she’d been. “I’m sorry.” Libby’s face turned red. “Hattie, why don’t you rewrap the candle? I’ll get the shiny paper.” Afterwards, Miss Coretta took Libby aside. “I know that embarrassed you, but I think you can learn something from this mistake.” “I can?” Libby asked. Miss Coretta nodded. “God tells us He gives grace to those who are humble. When we admit we need help, He’ll provide it. Jesus humbled Himself by dying on the cross for our sins because we couldn’t save ourselves, and He’ll help you have the same kind of humble attitude He did. When we’re prideful and try to do His work all on our own, we set ourselves up for failure. But when we humbly work with others to serve Him, people can see His love and grace in us.” “I did fail at wrapping that man’s candle,” Libby replied. Then she smiled. “Hey, Hattie?” Libby called. “Will you show me how you wrap presents? I think I have a lot to learn.” –Allison Wilson Lee How about you? Are you humbly serving the Lord with other Christians? God gives each of us abilities to use for His purposes. When we work together as God’s people, we bless others and glorify Him. But when we think we have what it takes to do God’s work all by ourselves, our pride leads to failure, and we keep others from doing their part too. As we grow in Jesus, He’ll help us get rid of pride and be humble so the work we do with others can show people who He is. Today's Key Verse: When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom. Proverbs 11:2 (NIV) Today's Key Thought: Be humble

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• Just Mud

  Read: John 13:3-10; 1 John 1:5-9 “Hudson!” Mom’s voice startled him as he stepped into the kitchen. “Look at your shoes!” Hudson looked down at his feet and then at the trail of mud behind him. “How did your shoes get so dirty?” Mom asked. Hudson shrugged. “I was just outside.” “Well, please go back outside and clean off your shoes.” A few minutes later, Hudson came back, and he and Mom wiped up the dirt. “I’m sorry, Mom,” Hudson said. Mom smiled. “No harm done. I know it was an accident. It’s pretty easy to get dirt on your shoes without knowing it, isn’t it?” Hudson nodded. “I still don’t know how they got so dirty.” “Well, at least it was just mud—not sin,” Mom said. Hudson looked puzzled. “Getting your shoes dirty with mud is a little like getting your life dirty with sin,” Mom explained. “We talked about that at church this morning, remember? Sometimes you don’t even think about what you’re doing, and then you suddenly realize that something you’ve done wasn’t right.” “Does that ever happen to you?” asked Hudson. “Yes. When I mess up, it’s like my life has gotten dirty with sin. And do you know what I have to do then? To get clean again?” Hudson thought about it. “Jesus would have to clean up the sin, wouldn’t He?” “That’s right,” Mom replied. “He promises to clean away any sin from our lives when we confess it and ask for forgiveness.” Hudson frowned. “Does that mean every time I sin, I’m not saved anymore until I say I’m sorry and ask for forgiveness?” Mom shook her head. “No, Hudson. Because we’ve trusted Jesus to save us, we belong to Him, and nothing we do could ever separate us from Him. We’ll always be His children—just like you’ll always be my child, even when you have dirty shoes. When we realize we’ve been tracking sin around, we need Him to wash it away.” Hudson smiled. “I’m glad Jesus will always forgive me when my life gets dirty with sin—just like you forgave me for tracking mud in the kitchen!” –Richard S. Maffeo How about you? Have you done something that’s gotten your life dirty with sin? Even though Jesus has already saved you from sin if you trust in Him, you’ll still struggle with it in your daily life until He comes back and gets rid of sin once and for all. When you sin, confess it to Him right away to keep it from getting in the way of living the way He wants you to. He’ll forgive you and make you clean! Today's Key Verse: Completely wash away my guilt and cleanse me from my sin. Psalm 51:2 (CSB) Today's Key Thought: Confess sin and be clean

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