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

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 sit still. “I can’t believe we’re really going to see the Cubs play in person! How many miles is it to Chicago, Dad?”

“I don’t know exactly. You can ask the conductor. Here he comes now—get your ticket ready! Here, you can give him mine too.”

The conductor approached, and Micah proudly held out the tickets. “Thank you, young man,” the conductor said. He looked at the tickets, and then turned to Dad. “Sir, I’m afraid you’ve either got the wrong tickets or the wrong train. Your tickets are for Chicago, but this train is going to St. Louis.”

“Oh no!” exclaimed Dad. “How could I have made such a mistake? I was sure I had the right train.”

“You can get off at the next station,” the conductor said. “Then you can catch the first train back the other way. It shouldn’t take too long.”

“Are we going to make it to Chicago, Dad?” Micah asked anxiously. “What about the ball game?”

“I think we’ll still make it to the game,” Dad assured him. “You know, Micah, this kind of thing happens a lot.”

“You mean a lot of people get on the wrong train?” Micah asked.

“I was thinking of something even worse than that,” Dad replied. “Everyone wants to go to heaven someday, but when we try to get there the wrong way, it’s like we’re on the wrong train. No matter how good we try to be, the Bible says we won’t get to heaven by anything we do. Do you know the way that does lead to heaven, Micah?”

“Sure,” Micah answered. “Jesus says He’s the way.”

“Right,” said Dad. “He’s the one and only way to heaven. We can only have eternal life with God by trusting in Him.”

–Harry C. Trover

How about you? Are you trying to get to heaven by living a good life? By going to church, giving to people in need, or doing nice things for others? If so, you’re going the wrong way! None of those things will get you to heaven. Jesus is the only way. It’s not what you do, but what He did for you on the cross, that gives you eternal life. Trust in Him today! (To learn more, go to Have You Heard the Good News?)

Today's Key Verse: Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” John 14:6 (NKJV)

Today's Key Thought: Jesus is the way to heaven

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 cough doesn’t seem to be getting better,” Grandma said. “You’d better get more medicine.”

“I just got some,” said Grandpa. He paused and furrowed his brows. “Leo!” he suddenly called out, making Manuel jump. “That’s who came today!” Grandpa turned to Manuel. “Leo lives next door, and he picks up medicine for me.”

Just then Manuel spied Grandpa’s glasses lying on the table. “Here are your glasses, Grandpa.”

“Oh good, you found them,” Grandma said. “Now, if only I could find mine!”

Manuel grinned. “They’re on your head, Grandma!”

“Oh, look at that!” Grandma laughed. “I don’t remember putting them on.”

Grandpa put on his glasses and opened the Bible he was holding.

“Are you gonna memorize some verses, Grandpa?” Manuel asked.

Grandpa shook his head. “Not today, but we used to memorize whole chapters when we were kids.”

“That’s right,” said Grandma. “Sometimes when our eyes are tired now, we just say some of them together.”

“Wait a minute,” Manuel said with a puzzled look. “You can’t remember things that happened today—even just a little while ago—so how do you remember things you learned when you were kids?”

Grandpa smiled. “The things we learn as kids just stick in our brains better, I guess. The older you get, the harder it is to remember things. That’s why we encourage you to read and memorize God’s Word as much as you can now, while you’re young.”

Grandma nodded. “The verses I learned as a child have stuck with me all through my life. They’ve reminded me in difficult times that I belong to Jesus and that He’s always with me. That’s something I’ll never forget!”

–Agnes Livezey

How about you? Are you hiding God’s Word in your heart? One way to do that is by memorizing Bible verses. Try it now with today’s key verse. Read it over a few times, then shut your eyes and see if you can say it out loud. Try to do that with a different verse every day or week. But don’t just memorize the words—think about what God is telling you. Use His Word to help you remember His truth and promises.

Today's Key Verse: Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You. Psalm 119:11 (NKJV)

Today's Key Thought: Memorize Bible verses

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 fight all the time?”

Ronan didn’t say anything more as he grudgingly took out the trash.

When they pulled into the garage a couple days later, Daisy held her nose as she got out of the car. “Ugh! Something stinks in here!”

“It’s the trash!” said Mom. “Let’s move these bags out to the driveway. I’ll text Dad and remind him to pick up a new trash can on his way home.”

“Hey! Come back here and help!” Ronan called to Daisy, who was going into the house. “No wonder you didn’t get a part in the school play—they must have known you’d be too lazy to learn your lines!”

Daisy kicked at the bag he was holding. “Be quiet, dummy!” she yelled.

“That’s enough!” Mom said sternly. “You’ll both help.”

When they finished, Mom made them go to the kitchen and sit down. “Your attitudes remind me of that trash,” she told them.

“Sorry,” Ronan muttered. “Can I get up now?”

“No!” Mom pulled out a chair and sat down. “The way you’ve been acting stinks worse than the trash you took out of the garage today. Things like bad attitudes, selfishness, and jealousy hurt people Jesus wants us to love and drive them away from us. That’s why we need to confess those stinky sins to Jesus. He’ll forgive us and make us clean. He’ll also help us apologize to others for what we’ve done and replace mean, selfish attitudes with kindness and love.”

Daisy and Ronan were quiet for a moment, then they looked at each other. “I’m sorry,” they said in unison. That made them smile.

Mom stood up and grinned. “It smells better in here already!”

–Barbara J. Westberg

How about you? Have you noticed any trash in your life lately? Sins like meanness, gossip, laziness, selfishness, and unkind words can really stink up your life and hurt your relationships with others. Ask Jesus to take out the trash! When you confess your sins to Him, He forgives you and makes you clean. Then trust Him to help you tell others you’re sorry and replace unkind attitudes with His love.

Today's Key Verse: If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9 (NKJV)

Today's Key Thought: Confess sin and be clean

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 taking our sin upon Himself. Let’s see if I can find a way to help you think about it.” She pulled up a picture on her phone. “Here’s a picture of a leper—a person who has leprosy. It’s a contagious disease mentioned often in the Bible, and it can still be found in some parts of the world today.”

Alec looked at the picture and frowned. “That poor man. He doesn’t have any fingers or toes, just little stumps!”

“Yes,” said Mom, “and he’s blind too. If you saw this man, what would you do for him?”

Alec thought about it. “I would give him a drink of water and some food.”

“But he’s dying,” said Mom. “Would you love him enough to get down beside him and take him in your arms and tell him that if he trusts in Jesus, he’ll go to heaven?”

Alec hesitated, then nodded. “But I’d want to wear a mask so I wouldn’t get sick.”

“But what if, in order to really help him, you had to get sick?” Mom asked. “What if you had the power to allow all of his sickness to flow into your body and let all of your strength and health flow into his? Would you do that?”

Alec cringed at that idea. “I don’t think I could do that,” he said. “He has such a horrible disease!”

Mom nodded. “Yet that’s what Jesus did for us, Alec. He never sinned, but He took all our sin upon Himself and died on the cross to take our punishment. That’s what caused Him to suffer so much—not just the physical pain of the crucifixion, but bearing the huge weight of our sin.”

Alec thought it over. “I think I’m beginning to understand.”

–Harry C. Trover

How about you? Have you ever thought about what Jesus did when He died for your sins? He suffered great shame and horror by taking your sin upon Himself. He took your place on the cross so you could spend eternity in heaven with Him instead of hell—He loves you that much! Accept His sacrifice for your sins and trust Him as your Savior. (To learn more, go to Have You Heard the Good News?)

Today's Key Verse: God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. 2 Corinthians 5:21 (NIV)

Today's Key Thought: Jesus took your sin upon Himself

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 said. But Shamrock didn’t seem interested in her—he was too busy gnawing on something. “Hey, that’s mine!” Audrey exclaimed, grabbing a wallet from the puppy’s mouth. “I just got this, and now you’ve ruined it!” She looked the torn-up wallet over and sighed. “Maybe Mom can fix it.”

Mom came out onto the front porch and examined the wallet. “Hmm, this is pretty torn up. We’ll probably have to throw it out.”

“But it’s still good,” said Audrey. “It’s just a little torn.”

“This wallet has been through a lot,” Mom said. “Are you sure we shouldn’t throw it away? It’s too torn and dirty to be worth anything.”

“Mom, just because it doesn’t look so good doesn’t mean it isn’t worth anything. If we fix it up, it will be as good as new.”

Mom smiled. “You probably feel a lot like this wallet right now, don’t you?”

Audrey gave her a puzzled look. “What do you mean?” she asked.

“I know this wallet is still good, and with a little TLC, I can fix it up,” Mom said. “I just wanted to help you see that your life is like this wallet. I know this week has been rough for you. But even though you’ve been through a lot, you’re still valuable. You belong to Jesus, who came into our broken world and gave His life to save you and make you His, and He’ll always be there to help you through life’s difficulties. His thoughts toward you will never change, no matter how torn up you feel.”

“Thanks, Mom,” Audrey said, giving Shamrock a hug. “I’m glad I’ll always be valuable to Jesus. And I’m glad you can fix my wallet—things are already starting to look up!”

–Norah Varner

How about you? Have you ever felt like God has turned away from you? Do you feel like you can’t do anything right? Jesus loves you so much that He died and rose again to save you, and He’ll never leave you. No matter what has happened to you or what you’ve done, His thoughts toward you will never change. He will always love you and care for you.

Today's Key Verse: This is my comfort in my affliction: Your promise has given me life. Psalm 119:50 (CSB)

Today's Key Thought: You’re valuable to Jesus