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

Read: John 5:28-29; 2 Corinthians 5:1, 6-10

Stretching sleepily, Camden wondered why he had a strange, empty feeling in his stomach. Then it all came back to him. He glanced over at the empty bed on the other side of the room. It really was true—his brother Aaron was gone. It had been almost a month since Aaron had left for school in the morning and had not come back. Tears rolled down Camden’s cheeks as he remembered. There was an accident, and Aaron had been killed.

The door to Camden’s room opened and Mom came in. “Morning, honey. I see you’re already awake.” Noticing his tears, she sat beside him on the bed. “You’re thinking of Aaron, aren’t you? Dad and I miss him too.” Mom sniffed and wiped her eyes. “Death is a sad thing, and it hurts to lose someone we love. But we know we’ll see Aaron again someday.”

“But Mom, how do you know?” asked Camden.

“I know because Aaron trusted Jesus as his Savior,” Mom answered. “The Bible says that those who trust in Jesus go to be with Him when they die.”

“But…” Camden stifled a sob. “But he was right there in the casket! And then he was put in the ground at the cemetery.” Camden covered his face with his hands.

Mom leaned over and gave Camden a hug. “Aaron’s body is in the grave, but his soul is with Jesus,” she said.

“His soul?” Camden looked at his hands. “So my hands and feet, and my head and ears and eyes—they’re not really me?”

“Of course they’re you!” said Mom. “Just like your soul is. But because we live in a sinful world, our bodies die. When that happens, our souls go to be with Jesus. But one day, when He returns to earth and makes everything new, He will bring our bodies back to life. Then our souls will be reunited with our resurrected bodies—and they’ll be free of sin and won’t ever get sick or die again!”

Camden wiped his eyes. “I still wish I could see Aaron every day.”

Mom squeezed Camden’s shoulder. “I know. And you will. Because we know Jesus, we can look forward to seeing Aaron again someday. Then we’ll all be together forever with Jesus!”

–A. W. Smith

How about you? Did you know that, if you’re a Christian, your soul will go to be with Jesus after your body dies? Nothing can separate Him from those He’s saved—not even death. But it doesn’t end there! One day He’ll bring your body back to life, and you and every other Christian will live with Him forever! If you’re not a Christian, trust in Jesus today so you can look forward to eternal life with Him. (To learn more, go to Have You Heard the Good News?)

Today's Key Verse: Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die.” John 11:25 (NIV)

Today's Key Thought: Bodies die, but souls don’t

Read: Psalm 27:4; Luke 24:44-49

“And now, I would like to present the class of 2026!”

Kendis squinted to see her sister, Derica, in the crowd of high school graduates donned in robes of black and maroon. She stood next to her mom, dad, aunt, uncle, and grandma, all of whom were cheering and clapping and stomping in response to her sister’s graduation.

At dinner, Derica talked excitedly about all the things she was looking forward to. “I can’t wait to find a church and other students at college who also love Jesus. We could start a Bible study. We could learn and grow together!”

Grandma put her hand over her heart and squeezed Derica’s shoulder, brushing her coily hair to the side.

“Does that mean you’re going to move on from the things you learned at church here?” Kendis asked. Her family looked at her, trying to determine what she meant. “Well,” Kendis went on, “we’ve learned about the gospel—how Jesus died for our sins, rose from the dead, and promises to be with us forever.”

“And how the Holy Spirit lives in us,” Derica added.

“But people always say there’s so much to learn about God and you can never understand it all. I guess I just meant you’ll be done learning about Jesus and His life and move onto other things…like the Old Testament.” At Kendis’s comment, both Derica and Grandma laughed. “Well, it’s true!” said Kendis. “There’s so much of the Bible left to read!”

“Yes, yes, Kendis,” Grandma said. “But the whole Bible is about Jesus. It’s one story of how God always loves His people, even when we mess up, and how He fulfills His promise of a Savior. The whole Bible tells the story of the gospel, the good news that Jesus came to save us.”

“I always thought of the Old and New Testaments as two separate things,” Kendis said thoughtfully.

“Think about it this way,” Derica said. “I took math and English classes in high school, and I’ll still keep taking them in college. But they’ll be more advanced, building on what I already know. I want my faith to be like that. I still need to learn about Jesus because without Him, nothing else matters. Everything else I hope to learn simply points to Him.”

Kendis grinned. “I guess you’ll never graduate from the gospel!”

–Zoe Sherman

How about you? Have you ever thought about how much there is to learn about God and the Bible? Does that overwhelm you—or make you excited? You can learn new things about God and experience His presence every single day of your life, and you’ll still never know everything. Isn’t that amazing? But no matter what you learn or how old you get, never forget how much Jesus loves you.

Today's Key Verse: Just as you have received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to walk in him, being rooted and built up in him and established in the faith. Colossians 2:6-7 (CSB)

Today's Key Thought: You never graduate from the gospel

Read: Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23

“I hate weeding,” Lynnie huffed, yanking another scraggly weed away from the green beans and throwing it into a pile.

Jayson sat on the soft grass, picking blades and throwing them into the air.

Lynnie watched the wind blow the grass away. “I don’t want to weed anymore, Mom. I want to go play. Weeding is boring.”

Mom knelt in the dirt. “Look at all these weeds. Do you know why we pull them?”

“Punishment,” Lynnie muttered.

“See these tiny pea shoots? They’re so little. They need water and sunlight to grow. See these weeds? They’re called wisteria.”

Jayson poked at the climbing vines and white flowers with a stick. “That doesn’t look like a weed. It has flowers.”

Lynnie held one of the white flowers in her hand. “Yeah, these are pretty. They’re not really weeds, are they, Mom?”

“They are pretty. But this plant grows long vines that strangle, crush, and ruin any other plants. It will destroy every pea plant in our garden, and then it will move to the green beans until the whole garden is nothing but weeds.”

Lynnie dropped the flower on the ground.

“Jesus talked about weeds,” said Mom. “He told a story that described people as different kinds of soil. Each group heard the truth of God’s Word, but one group’s soil had thorns, or weeds. A weed can be any anything that distracts us from God and makes it harder for us to hear and obey Him.”

“Like how these weeds make it harder for veggies to grow?” Jayson held up a thistle weed by the roots, the spiny leaves dangling from his hand.

Mom nodded. “When we get overwhelmed by worries or believe lies that tell us something other than Jesus will give us peace, hope, or joy, it’s like letting this wisteria grow in our garden—it may look like a flower, but it’s a weed. That’s why we need Jesus to weed our hearts. He gives His followers the Holy Spirit to help us focus on Him and understand the truth of His Word. Then good things can grow in our hearts and lives.”

“Like these vegetables in our garden.” Lynnie grinned at her brother. “Bet I can pull more weeds than you!” And the race was on.

–Nicole Monroe

How about you? Do you like to pull weeds? Probably not, but if weeds aren’t pulled, they’ll take over the garden so that nothing can grow. Because we live in a world filled with worries and distractions, our hearts need to be weeded too, and God does that through the Holy Spirit. Trust Him to make your faith grow by reminding you that peace, hope, and joy come only from Jesus.

Today's Key Verse: May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13 (NIV)

Todays Key Thought: Trust Jesus to weed your heart

Read: Psalm 5:1-3

“Your science project is looking good,” Grandpa said as he looked over Sophia’s shoulder.

“Thanks,” said Sophia. “I’m calling it ‘Means of Communication.’ It’s about how the ways people communicate with each other over long distances have developed over time.” She pointed to pictures on her display board showing handwritten letters, telegraphs, telephones, radios, TVs, and computers. “Hundreds of years ago, the only way you could communicate with someone far away was to send them a letter, which could take weeks or even months to get to them. Over time, we invented new ways to communicate that got better and better. Now, with computers, smartphones, and the internet, we can communicate instantly—with just one person or with a million!”

“It’s amazing, isn’t it?” Grandpa studied Sophia’s work for a few moments. “But there’s an even more amazing form of communication that’s not on here.”

Sophia was startled. “There is? What’s that?”

“Communication with God,” Grandpa answered.

“I never thought of that,” said Sophia. “In Bible times, God sometimes talked to people through dreams, didn’t He?”

“That’s right, and at other times He spoke to people directly,” Grandpa said. “But He has another way of speaking to us now.”

“I know,” said Sophia. “He speaks to us through the Bible, right?”

Grandpa smiled and nodded. “He uses His Word to shape the thoughts and desires of His children’s minds and hearts. That’s the work of the Holy Spirit. Before Jesus came to earth, the Holy Spirit only communicated with some people in specific circumstances. But when Jesus died for our sin and saved us, the long distance between us and God was closed up. The Holy Spirit is now with all Christians, all the time!”

“And He tells us how to live, right?” Sophia asked.

Grandpa nodded. “He guides us and shapes us to be more like Jesus. And because He lives in our hearts, we can communicate with God anytime through prayer. He always hears the prayers of His children.”

Sophia looked at the chart she had made and smiled. “I’m so glad God lives in my heart and I can communicate with Him anytime!”

–Agnes Livezey

How about you? Did you know that if you trust in Jesus, you have the Holy Spirit inside you? There’s no distance between you and God—He is with you every single moment! He speaks to you when you read the Bible and shapes your thoughts and desires to make you more like Jesus. And because He’s always with you, you can communicate with Him anytime through prayer. Talk with God each day and listen as He speaks to you.

Today's Key Verse: O God, You are my God; early will I seek You. Psalm 63:1 (NKJV)

Today's Key Thought: Communicate with God

Read: Acts 16:22-26

Gabby’s grandpa was in a lot of pain. His hands were nearly crippled, and he sat in a wheelchair when he was able to get out of bed. Gabby thought she would be miserable if she were in his place, but every time she visited him, he seemed to have a smile on his face.

“How are you so happy all the time?” Gabby asked as she sat in his living room with him one afternoon.

“God has been good to me,” Grandpa said, humming softly.

Gabby’s brows knit. How could he say that when he was in pain?

“What are you humming?” Gabby asked.

“It’s a song about God being good all the time,” Grandpa said. “We need to trust Him no matter what we face. We need to remember that He is good and has given us eternal life through His Son, Jesus.”

“I wish I had faith like you,” Gabby said.

Grandpa patted her hand with his gnarly one. “Did you ever read about Paul being put in prison?”

“I’m not sure,” said Gabby.

“Well, when he was beaten and put in prison, he still sang and praised God. Everyone who heard him was shocked.” Grandpa smiled. “I want to be like that.”

“And I want to be like you,” Gabby said.

Grandpa went back to humming, and Gabby leaned into his shoulder. She felt bad for him because of his pain, but he was one of the happiest and most content people she knew. She wanted to be like him when she was older rather than a lot of the grown-ups she knew who weren’t nearly as happy or friendly.

“God can get us through all kinds of terrible times and the pain we face,” Grandpa said softly. “Because Jesus died and rose again to save us, we can be joyful and praise Him no matter what. We just need to trust Him and know that He’s with us.” Grandpa smiled at Gabby. “Maybe I could teach you the words to the song I’ve been humming?”

“Sure,” Gabby said. She was eager to learn as much as she could from her faith-filled grandpa.

–Bethany Acker

How about you? Do you know someone who is happy even when life isn’t easy? We all go through hard, painful times in life, but we can still be joyful and praise God because of what He’s done for us. If you know Jesus as your Savior, He has given you eternal life and promises to be with you through every difficulty you face. Trust Him and praise Him no matter what life brings.

Today's Key Verse: In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name. Psalm 33:21 (NIV)

Today's Key Thought: Trust and praise God always