Keys for Kids - daily devotions and Bible stories for kids Keys For Kids Ministries

"Hey, you want a monkey for a pet?" asked Anthony's friend Obi one day.
"Sure, but how would I catch one?" asked Anthony. He and his parents had recently arrived in Africa as missionaries.
"It's easy. You trap him," said Obi, handing Anthony a gourd. "First, make a hole in this gourd--make it just big enough for a monkey to put his paw through." He supervised while Anthony worked. "Okay," Obi said, "that's big enough. The gourd is hollow, so now we'll put some fruit in it. Then we'll fasten it to the branch of a tree at the edge of the village."
"I don't get it," said Anthony. "How will this work? Even if a monkey reaches into the gourd to get the fruit, what will keep him from getting away with it? Doesn't the trap have to slam shut or something?"
Obi shook his head. "When the monkey has the fruit in his fist, his paw won't go through the hole. If he'd just let it go, he could get away, but they usually don't do that. I guess they want the fruit so bad they hang on even though it means they get caught."
Soon the trap was ready. The boys walked to the tree Obi had selected and attached the gourd to a branch. "There. By tomorrow morning, you'll probably have a monkey," said Obi.
Back home, Anthony told his mother how the monkeys foolishly held on to the fruit instead of letting it go and getting away. Mom laughed. "Do you know I used to be just as foolish myself?"
"You were?" Anthony was surprised.
"I wanted certain things," Mom explained. "A nice home, pretty clothes, a nice car, a grassy lawn. I wanted to hang on to those things--I didn't want to give them up and come here, even though your dad and I sensed God calling us to move to Africa. But the Lord helped me let go of those things by showing me I already had something much better--a relationship with Him and the promise of eternal life. I've never been as happy as I am here in Africa, sharing the good news of Jesus with the people I meet."
Anthony looked around their new home and smiled. "God really wants what's best for us, huh, Mom?"
Mom nodded. "Yes, He truly does."
–Hazel W. Marett

Gwen did a belly flop on her bed and began to sob uncontrollably. After a couple minutes, there was a light knocking on her door. "Come in," Gwen said into her pillow.
Mom sat down on the side of Gwen's bed. "I take it you didn't have a good day at school today?"
"It was the worst day ever!" Gwen said as she sat up in bed and tried to wipe the tears from her eyes.
"What happened? Does it have to do with the spelling bee?" Mom asked gently.
Gwen sniffed and nodded. "I got so nervous when it was my turn, I misspelled the easiest word. I spelled house H-O-W-S-E, and everyone in my class burst out laughing." The tears began flowing down her cheeks again.
Mom embraced Gwen in a hug and rubbed her back while she continued to cry. After a while, Gwen broke free and looked at her mom. "How am I ever going to show my face in school again? The kids are probably going to make fun of me for a long time. It was so embarrassing!"
"I know how hard it can be to face others when they might make fun of you, but remember that you're not alone. God is with you, and He will never leave you." Mom stood up and looked at the rain outside Gwen's window. "When it storms outside and we're inside the house, do we need to worry about getting wet?" Mom asked.
Gwen got up and joined her mom at the window. "No, because the house shelters us," she said as she watched the rain pour down and lightning light up the sky.
"Exactly, and God is our shelter when we face the storms of life. When others laugh at you or judge you, remember what God thinks of you--He loves you so much that Jesus came to earth and died for you! Trust Him to help you through this, and know that I'll be here to help too."
After Mom left her room, Gwen stood watching the storm outside. Dear Lord, please help me face this storm in my life, she silently prayed. Afterward she felt like she could face school the next day.
–Melissa Yeagle

"How does she sleep like that?" Lennon asked, staring at her baby sister. Lennon had been having nightmares that just wouldn't stop. "How is she so peaceful?"
Mom smiled. "I think Lyric feels safe. I think she's pretty comfortable here with us." She shifted the baby in her arms. "If I put her down, then we might have issues."
Lennon wished she could sleep in her mom's arms. She would feel a lot safer then.
"Do you know who holds you when you sleep?" Mom asked, as if reading her thoughts. Lennon shook her head. "Jesus does," Mom said. "He holds each of those who trust in Him as we rest. He watches over us so we can feel peace, sort of like what I'm doing with little Lyric here."
Lennon's face scrunched up. "But I'm not a baby. You really think God holds someone like me?"
"Someone like you, someone like me." Dad stepped into the room. "God watches over us as we sleep." He moved to Mom and sat beside her, stroking his finger along Lyric's cheek.
Lennon looked between her parents. She knew they loved her and would do anything they could to protect her, but she wasn't a baby anymore. She didn't sleep in a crib in their bedroom like Lyric did.
Lennon twisted her hair around her finger. "Jesus is with me in my room when you two are across the hall with Lyric?"
"He is," Mom said.
"And He's there in the middle of the night when I wake up from a bad dream?" Lennon asked.
"He is," Dad said. "He loves us so much He died for us, and He is always present with those who have faith in Him. When we feel afraid, we can turn to Him for comfort and peace. And you can still come to us too, you know. We might have a newborn to look after now, but we're still here for you."
Lennon nodded. "God looks after a lot of kids, huh?"
Dad smiled. "Yes. Many more than we could ever look after."
Mom rocked Lyric in her arms. "And He offers each one the peace needed to sleep like a baby. Like this baby."
–Emily Acker

"It's a nice sunny day," said Mom. "Want to help me plant seeds in the garden? We can plant the flower seeds we found at Grandma's house."
"Okay!" said Leo. "I'll get them." He ran to fetch the brightly colored packets, and soon he and Mom were burying tiny brown seeds in the rich, dark earth. "I wonder if there will be flowers in heaven," said Leo suddenly. His grandma had recently died, and Leo knew she was now in heaven.
Mom smiled. "I hope so!"
"It's hard to understand what heaven is like, huh?" said Leo. "I know Grandma is there now, but…" He paused. "We'll still have bodies, right? I know Pastor Holmes said Grandma left her body and went to be with Jesus, but he said her body would be raised up again someday when Jesus comes back to make the whole world new again." Leo hesitated. "But Grandma was old and sick. I don't think she'd want her body back."
"The Bible says that when our bodies are raised, they'll be changed," said Mom. "They'll be glorious, heavenly bodies."
"But how can such an old, sick body like Grandma's change so much?"
Mom thought a moment. "Leo, do you really think those seeds you're planting will grow into flowers?" she asked.
Leo looked at her in astonishment. "Why wouldn't they?"
"Look at them--they're so small and ugly! They don't look at all like the flowers in this picture." Mom pointed to the picture on the seed packet--a glorious mass of red, orange, and yellow flowers. "Do you really think those seeds can turn into something as beautiful and as different as this?"
"Mom! Of course they can!" exclaimed Leo. "They're seeds--that's what they do."
Mom grinned. "I just want you to see how God can make things change. Just like He created tiny seeds that become big, beautiful flowers, God promises that He will one day transform those who trust in Jesus and give them bodies more glorious than we can imagine."
Leo glanced back and forth from the seed packet to the seeds he held in his hand. "Glorious, heavenly bodies," he murmured. Then he smiled. "All right!"
–Tanya Ferdinandusz

Bruno frowned and kicked at a stone as he walked home from school. As he approached Mr. Burk's house, he saw his Sunday school teacher working in the yard. "Hi there, Bruno," said Mr. Burk. "How are you today?"
"Not great," muttered Bruno. He shuffled his toe in the dirt. "I'm always getting into trouble at school." He sighed. "Since I've been coming to your Sunday school class, I've been trying to change and be good--but I just can't seem to do it. Today I had to stay in at recess because I talked back to a teacher."
Mr. Burk leaned on his rake. "I'm sorry to hear that," he said.
Bruno shrugged. "Like I said, I'm trying to do better, but I guess it's hopeless."
"Oh, no, no, no!" said Mr. Burk. "It's not hopeless. I think you're just depending on the wrong things to help you." He picked up a small dead branch that had fallen from a tree. "I was going to plant some fruit trees out back. I'll water them and put fertilizer around them, and soon they'll bear juicy peaches and apples for me to eat." He held up the dead branch. "Why don't you help me plant this one?"
Bruno laughed. "That's a dead stick. You know it won't grow anything."
Mr. Burk looked at the stick. "True," he said. "A dead stick can't produce fruit. And you know what, Bruno? You may be like this stick--you don't have true life either if you haven't trusted Jesus as your Savior. Have you done that?"
"Well, no, I…I…" Bruno stammered. "I thought if I just went to church and read the Bible and did stuff like that, I'd be all right."
"You said you want to do better, but you need Jesus for that," said Mr. Burk. "Even if you read the whole Bible and go to church and pray, you can't produce good fruit unless you have spiritual life that only comes through Jesus. You need Him to free you from sin and give you the power of the Holy Spirit so you can live in a way that shows others His love." Mr. Burk smiled at Bruno. "Would you like me to explain how you can receive real life through Jesus?"
Bruno looked at the dead stick lying on the lawn and nodded.
–Mary Rose Pearson

As the curtain dropped at the end of her school play, Hazel's dad and brother made their way backstage. "You remembered every line perfectly," Dad said, giving her a hug.
Hazel smiled. "Before the curtain rose at the beginning, I was so scared! I didn't see how I was going to get through it without my script in front of me. But when I had to start talking, the words just came back."
"What's a script?" asked Hazel's little brother, Tommy.
"It's a copy of the play," said Hazel. "On my copy, I marked the words I had to say." She smiled at a girl walking by. "Good job, Mia!"
"Thanks," murmured Mia. "You did good too, Hazel."
As Hazel and her family drove home, Hazel spoke. "Remember Mia? She seems really unhappy lately. I feel like I should talk to her about it, but I'm afraid I might say the wrong thing." She looked at the script she held in her hand. "I wish there were a script for that sort of thing."
"Well, you're in good company," Dad said. "I think the apostle Paul was sometimes a bit concerned about saying the wrong thing too."
"No way!" said Hazel. "Paul was one of the greatest preachers ever!"
"But he was human--just like you. And he had a big responsibility too--helping people understand how much God loves them and what Jesus did to save them. Do you know what he did about it?"
"Maybe he prayed," suggested Tommy.
"Yes, he did," answered Dad. "And he also asked his Christian friends to pray that God would put the right words into his mouth."
"Sort of how the right words to the play popped into my head tonight?"
"Sort of," said Dad. "Only the words he spoke came from God, not from a script. You may not know the right thing to say to Mia, but God knows exactly what you need to say--and what Mia needs to hear. Pray about it, and if you believe God wants you to talk with her, go for it, trusting Him to help you. I'll pray for you too."
–Heather Tekavec