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

Read: Hebrews 4:14-16

Bryson wrote something on a piece of paper, then crumpled it up and threw it in the trash can. He did this several times, and before long he was out of paper. He laid his head on his desk in frustration.

Just then Mom walked by. “What’s wrong, Bryson?”

“I’m all out of paper. Can we go to the store so I can get some more?”

Mom glanced at the crumpled balls of paper in and around the trash can. “What are you trying to write?”

“Our Sunday school teacher challenged us to write an encouraging letter to someone. I immediately thought of Dylan. He’s been really upset lately about his parents getting a divorce. So I’ve been trying to write him a letter, but everything I write sounds dumb.” Bryson picked up a ball of paper and handed it to his mother. “You can read one of my attempts if you want.”

Mom uncrumpled the paper. “Hey, Dylan. Sorry your parents are getting a divorce. Hope you have a good day anyway.”

“See, Mom? Everything sounds so dumb, and I don’t know what I can say to make Dylan feel better. I have no idea what he’s going through, but I know it must be hard.” Bryson sighed. “And now I’m all out of paper.”

“I’m sorry, Bryson,” Mom said. “I have no idea how to make paper, so I can’t help you.”

Bryson frowned. “Mom, I don’t need you to make me paper. I just need you to take me to a place where I can get some.”

Mom nodded. “You’re exactly right—and it’s the same with Dylan. He doesn’t need you to solve his problems. He just needs you to take them to someone who can—God. Jesus understands what Dylan is going through and loves him so much that He suffered and died to save him. He knows exactly what Dylan needs. The biggest encouragement you can give Dylan is to tell him you’re praying for him and then do it.” She smiled. “I’ll pick up some more paper at the store tomorrow. In the meantime, why don’t you take Dylan’s problems to Jesus in prayer?”

Bryson nodded, and after Mom left, he bowed his head and said a prayer for Dylan.

–Melissa Yeagle

How About You? Do you know someone who’s going through a hard time? Even though you may want to, you can’t solve everyone’s problems. The best thing you can do for a friend in need is take their problems to God in prayer. He may direct you to help them in other ways too, but ultimately He’s the only one able to give them what they need. Encourage your friend by letting them know you’re praying for them.

Today's Key Verse: God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble. Psalm 46:1 (NLT)

Today's Key Thought: Pray for those who are hurting

Read: Proverbs 3:5-6; Psalm 37:5-9, 39-40

Mallory blew her nose. Again. “Mom, how long do allergies last?” she asked as they drove away from
the doctor’s office.

Mom smiled sympathetically. “The doctor said you have seasonal allergies, so you’ll probably have them the next couple of months.”

“Great,” said Mallory glumly. She felt stuffed up, and her head was foggy.

“I know you don’t feel well,” Mom said. “We’ll be home soon.”

As they drove across a bridge, a blanket of fog seemed to come up out of nowhere and surround them. Mallory peered out the window, trying see the water below the bridge, but it was like everything had disappeared.

“I can hardly see a thing,” Mom muttered as she turned on the headlights. She slowed down and carefully steered the car over the bridge.

A few minutes later they were off the bridge and heading home. Mallory couldn’t believe how quickly it went from being so foggy to clear skies and sunshine. She turned around to watch the fog slowly float away behind them. “Wow, that was crazy, Mom! Weren’t you scared driving over the bridge when you could hardly see?”

Mom nodded. “It was a little scary, but as long as I kept my eyes focused on what was in front of me, I knew we’d get to the other side of the bridge eventually.” She turned the headlights off and headed into the sunshine. “You know, Mallory, faith can sometimes be foggy too,” she said thoughtfully.

“How can faith be foggy?” Mallory asked.

“Even though we have Jesus in our lives, there will sometimes be days when we won’t feel joyful or know what to do about a tough situation. That’s when we need to depend on God to show us the way through our foggy faith.”

“How do we do that?” asked Mallory.

“By keeping our focus on Jesus. We can do that by listening to what He says to us in the Bible and talking to Him about everything. Even when we can’t see what’s in front of us, we can hold on to God’s promises and what we know is true. Jesus will always be with us in the fog, and we can trust Him to bring us out on the other side.”

–Kelly Hope

How about you? Are you going through a foggy time in your faith? Maybe you’re not feeling very joyful or you’re facing difficulties in life. Keep talking to Jesus in prayer and reading your Bible to get to know Him better. Remember that He saved you by dying for your sin, and trust Him to help you get through the fog and show you the next step to take.

Today's Key Verse: Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. Hebrews 11:1 (NIV)

Today's Key Thought: Trust Jesus in foggy times

Read: 1 Corinthians 13:4-13

Wynn visited her garden every day, and her tomato plants, which she and her sister had named Love, Joy, Patience, and Goodness, grew and grew. Then one evening dark clouds began to gather on the horizon. At first Wynn watched from her bedroom window as droplets of water fell from the sky, but soon she could no longer see her poor little tomato plants through the sheets of falling rain. Suddenly lightning cracked in the sky, and the wind blew so hard that a tree branch fell inches from the window. Mom called for Wynn and Riley to come down into the basement.

In the morning, when the storm was over, Wynn and Riley walked timidly to the garden. The grass was swampy, and several branches littered the ground. Wynn’s and Riley’s rain boots made great slurping noises as they plodded through the mud. Both girls were afraid of what they might find in the garden, but when Wynn approached, she let out a shout of excitement. “They’re okay!”

All four tomato plants were unhurt. Wynn was about to give Riley a hug when she heard a sob from next door. She looked over to see Kai, the mean neighbor boy who had made fun of her tomato plants, crying. The wind had lifted his tomato plants up by the roots, and the rain had pounded them into the ground. Now the space of earth where Kai’s garden had been was nothing but green mush.

Riley leaned down and whispered into Wynn’s ear as they watched Kai go back into his house. “Do you remember what the first fruit of the Spirit is?”

“Love,” said Wynn. “Nothing grows without love.”

The girls whispered together for a moment longer, then Riley got a shovel. Carefully she dug up Love, the tomato plant that had just begun to sprout little green fruits. They were careful not to damage the roots as they lifted the plant out of the ground. Together they took the plant next door. Riley dug a spot in the ruined mush of Kai’s garden. Then, ever so carefully, Wynn placed the tomato plant inside the hole. She filled the hole with dirt and planted Love there in the center of her neighbor’s garden.

–Kristin Beaven

How about you? Is it hard for you to love someone who’s been mean to you? The Bible tells us that love is the most important way we show others who Jesus is and what He’s done for us. He loved people who were mean to him—He died for us when we were His enemies, separated from God because of our sin. When we’re kind to others—even when they’re not kind to us—we’re planting seeds of His love.

Today's Key Verse: Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love. 1 Corinthians 13:13 (NLT)

Today's Key Thought: Plant seeds of love

Read: Galatians 5:16-26

“Riley!” Wynn called to her sister as she inspected her four tiny tomato plants. “Look, little green tomatoes!” This was Wynn’s very first time growing a garden, and she was very excited.

Riley smiled. “See? You just needed to have patience.” Riley was fourteen and had helped their mother grow vegetable gardens before.

“Look at those shrimpy tomatoes!” a voice taunted from next door. “We had tomatoes on our plants weeks ago.” The voice came from Kai, their neighbor, who was always mocking Wynn. He and his mother also had a garden. They had bought their plants already half grown, and they were now full of fruit.

Riley put her hand on her sister’s shoulder. “Ignore him. Yours are growing just fine. Now that they’re starting to get fruit, we should name them,” she told Wynn, trying to distract her from Kai’s rudeness. “That’s what Mom and I do with our plants each year.”

“What should we name them?” Wynn asked.

“Well, tomatoes are fruit,” said Riley. “And the Bible tells us that the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.”

“Wow, that’s a lot of fruit!” said Wynn.

“Yep,” said Riley. “And it’s all fruit that the Holy Spirit grows in our lives when we put our faith in Jesus, just like your tomatoes grow in your garden.”

“But we only have four plants, so which names should we choose?” asked Wynn.

“I think the first one should be Patience,” said Riley, “to remind you to have patience as the tomatoes grow.”

Wynn giggled. “Okay, and we’ll name the second one Joy because I will be full of joy when they finally do! And the next one can be Goodness, because the tomatoes will be full of yummy goodness.” Wynn smiled. “Now I’ve named two and you named one, so you have to name the last one.”

“The last one should be Love,” said Riley. “Because nothing grows without love.”

Wynn looked down at her garden. “Now all four of our fruit of the Spirit plants have names.”

“Yep,” said Riley. “And they’re going to keep growing just like the fruit of the Spirit is growing in you.”

–Kristin Beaven

How about you? Did you know that, if you’re a Christian, you have fruit growing in your life? When we trust Jesus as our Savior, the Holy Spirit begins to work in our hearts so that His ways grow in us like fruit in a garden. As He fills our hearts with love, He grows the fruit of the Spirit in our lives to make us more like Jesus. Trust Him to fill your life with good fruit so others can see His love.

Today's Key Verse: But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Galatians 5:22-23 (CSB)

Today's Key Thought: God grows fruit in Christians’ lives

Read: Psalm 133:1; Philippians 2:14-16; Colossians 3:23

George rubbed his stomach and John licked his lips as they entered the kitchen.

“That sure was a good meal,” said George. “I love that chicken Mom makes.”

John set his plate in the sink with a clang. “But look at all the dirty dishes,” he said. “The sink is full of them. I’m glad it’s your turn to clean up.”

“It’s not my turn. I did dishes last night. Don’t you remember?”

John put his hands on his hips. “I know you did them last night, but last week I did them two nights in a row because you had soccer practice. So you owe me.”

Mom entered the kitchen. “Goodness, boys. Do you have to fight about everything? I worked hard to make this meal because I know it’s one of your favorites. I’d appreciate your help cleaning up.”

John pointed his finger at George, and George stuck out his tongue.

“You know what the Bible says?” Mom asked.

“It says lots of things,” said George.

“In the book of Philippians, Paul tells us to do everything without complaining or arguing.”

“Everything?” asked John. “Even dishes? I bet Paul never had to do dishes.”

“Maybe not,” Mom said. “But he worked really hard as a missionary. And he also worked as a tentmaker because he didn’t want to ask for money. In Colossians, another book of the Bible, Paul tells us to do our work willingly and joyfully because we’re really doing it for Jesus, who willingly died on the cross to save us. And do you know what else the Bible says?”

George and John both answered at the same time. “It says lots of things.”

Mom smiled. “In Psalms it says it is good and pleasant when brothers live in unity.”

George and John glared at each other. Then George’s lips curved up the tiniest bit. Then John grinned even more. And suddenly they were both laughing.

“I know you did the dishes last night,” said John. “Sometimes when I have band rehearsal, you do them two nights in a row, and I don’t always repay you. So I can do them tonight.”

“Or maybe we can do them together,” George said as he picked up a dish towel. “You wash, I dry?”

John nodded and flicked on the faucet.

–Carol Raj

How about you? Do you complain about work you have to do? Do you argue with others when it seems like you’re doing more than they are? Instead of complaining and arguing, think of chores and other tasks as opportunities to show others God’s love. The Bible tells us that Jesus is the one we’re truly working for, and when we do our work out of love and joy, we reflect Him.

Today's Key Verse: Do everything without complaining or arguing. Philippians 2:14 (ERV)

Today's Key Thought: Help without complaining