Read: Romans 8:14-17

Leo sat at the dining room table with his mom, dad, and two older brothers. He had been part of the family for exactly nine years now. They bowed their heads, and Leo’s dad prayed. “Father in heaven, today we celebrate the day You brought Leo to our family. Thank You for letting us adopt him. He has brought us great joy. Bless our son in every way. In Jesus’s name, amen.”

When Leo looked up and saw his mother’s smile, he felt warm and wonderful inside. Even though being adopted held mysteries and he’d been asking his parents a lot of questions about it lately, he was glad to be part of his family.

After dinner they had family devotions, and Leo listened closely when Dad talked about adoption during Bible times. “Historians tell us that many sons were adopted,” said Dad. “In fact, some people believe Mary’s husband, Joseph, adopted Jesus as his very own son, even though God Himself was Jesus’s real Father.”

Mom smiled. “You’re in good company, Leo,” she said, giving him a hug.

“In Bible times, a man with no children would adopt a son in order to pass on all that he owned,” Dad continued. “That son took the man’s name and called him ‘Father.’”

“Hey! No fair!” Leo’s brother Corbin kicked at him playfully. “We’ll be glad to share the inheritance with you, but you don’t get it all!”

“Dad was talking about guys with no children,” said Leo. “Mom and Dad had children when they adopted me.”

“Right,” said Dad. “So the three of you will share the inheritance. And there’s an even better inheritance that all of us get to share as God’s adopted children.”

“There is?” asked Leo’s other brother, Timothy. “What is it?”

“When we trust Jesus as our Savior, we’re adopted into God’s family. Then we can call God ‘Father’ and share in the inheritance of Jesus—an eternal inheritance far greater than our little minds can fathom. The Bible says we’re heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ.”

“Wow,” said Leo. “I’m glad I’m part of God’s family.” He grinned at everyone seated around the table. “And this family too!”

–Christi B. Kehn

How about you? Did you know that God wants to be your heavenly Father? He paid a great price. He gave Jesus, His only Son, to take the punishment for your sin and give you eternal life. Become His adopted child by trusting Jesus to save you from sin. Then you’ll become part of God’s family and share an inheritance with Jesus that lasts forever! (To learn more, go to https://keysforkids.org/goodnews.)

Today's Key Verse: God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. Ephesians 1:5 (NLT)

Today's Key Thought: Christians are God’s children

Read: James 1:19-25

Ryan, Avery, and Mom took off on horseback down the dirt road—Ryan and Avery on Velvet, and Mom on Lady. Ryan glanced back toward the stable. “Look, Dad is feeding Buster his grain.” Buster was an older horse, and when he ate with the others, he often got pushed away from his own grain by Lady, who tried to be the boss of the barnyard.

“Oh, good,” said Avery. “I’m glad Dad’s making sure he gets enough to eat—he’s been looking thin lately.” She patted Velvet. “Not you, Velvet. You’re pretty plump!”

Mom nodded. “I noticed that too. It’s probably because all Velvet does is eat. She needs to be ridden or exercised every day.”

“Avery and I can do that,” said Ryan. “Can we canter? That would be good for Velvet.” Mom agreed, and they were off.

As they unsaddled the horses later, the kids told Dad about their ride. “One of us is going to exercise Velvet every day,” Ryan said, and Avery nodded.

“Good,” Dad said. “She needs it. And it’ll help remind us that we need to do the same thing.”

“You mean not eat too much and remember to exercise?” asked Avery.

“Well, yes, but I was thinking of spiritual diet and exercise,” said Dad. “As Christians, we feed our faith by learning about Jesus and spending time with Him. Praying, reading our Bibles, and going to church are spiritual foods that keep us full and help us grow. But we also need to exercise our faith to stay in good spiritual shape.”

“How do we do that?” asked Ryan.

“By putting our faith in action and doing things that show others the love of Jesus, like telling people about Him, serving those in need, and treating others with kindness.”

Mom nodded and patted Buster. “We also need to be careful not to become like this old horse. He gets enough exercise, but he doesn’t always get enough to eat. Christians like him may do many things to serve the Lord but not take time to get spiritual food. That leaves us spiritually hungry and makes it harder for us to live out our faith.”

“We need a proper balance between food and exercise,” said Dad. “Both physically and spiritually.”

–Tracy J. Ellifrets

How about you? Do you feed your faith by reading the Bible, going to church, and spending time with other Christians? That’s great! But are you also exercising your faith by living out what you believe and showing others Jesus’s love? There are lots of ways to put your faith in action, like helping someone in need or telling a friend about Jesus. Feed and exercise your faith to stay healthy spiritually.

Today's Key Verse: Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. James 1:22 (NIV)

Today's Key Thought: Feed and exercise your faith

Read: 2 Kings 5:1-4, 9-14

The breeze felt cool against Eli’s cheeks as he and Uncle Martín stood quietly on the pier. They were watching ships enter and leave the great harbor. “Look at those little tugboats moving the big ships through the water, Uncle Martín!” said Eli. “It doesn’t seem like boats that small could even move those big ships!”

Uncle Martín shook his head. “They’re interesting, aren’t they?” After watching a while longer, he said, “Those little tugboats remind me of you.”

Eli turned away from the ships to look at his uncle. “Me?” he asked in surprise. “Why do they remind you of me?”

“Well, there’s a Bible verse that says, ‘Even a child is known by his deeds, whether what he does is pure and right.’” Uncle Martín smiled. “Those great big ships are helped into the harbor by the little tugboats. And grownups can be influenced—and helped—by the actions of kids.”

“Kids like me?” asked Eli.

“Kids like you,” said Uncle Martín. “Children, as well as adults, can be examples of Jesus to those who don’t know Him. They can show others they have a relationship with Him by the way they live, and they can lead people to Him. Jesus has given each one of us who know Him the Holy Spirit, who helps us share His love with others through our words and deeds—no matter how old we are.” Uncle Martín gestured to another small tugboat passing in front of them as it pulled a ship into the harbor. “You may think other kids are the only ones who would listen to you, but that’s not true. You certainly can influence kids, but adults may also take notice.”

Eli watched the tugboats in the harbor as he thought about what Uncle Martín had said. “There may be quite a few teachers at my school who don’t know Jesus,” he told his uncle. “And next week is our family reunion. Some people coming to that might not know Jesus either.” He smiled. “I’m going to ask God to use me to point others to Jesus—both kids and adults.”

–Richard S. Maffeo

How about you?

Today's Key Verse:

Today's Key Thought:

Read: Colossians 3:12-15; 1 John 1:9

Samuel ran into the house and threw his jacket on the table. “Weather report,” he panted. “It’s pouring!”

“Ohhhh noooo!” Olivia rushed over. “You threw your wet jacket on my seascape painting for school—it’ll be ruined!”

“It’s a picture of ocean waves—all I did was add more water.” Samuel laughed.

Olivia lifted Samuel’s jacket. “See? The paint ran! Why didn’t you look first?”

“Why’d you leave your painting on the table?”

“The paint was drying! Aren’t you even going to apologize?”

“Fine,” Samuel said with a shrug. “I’m sorry. Are you happy now?”

“That’s it?” Tears filled Olivia’s eyes. “My painting is ruined, and you’re only sorta-sorry? Then I only sorta-forgive you.”

Dad walked into the room. “I can hear you down the hall,” he said. “You know, God’s good at forgiveness. Hasn’t He forgiven each of you when you’ve asked Him?”

“Yeah, always,” Samuel said.

Dad sat at the table. “Because Jesus died to pay for our sin, God promises to forgive. When we tell God we’re sorry for wrong things we’ve done, He completely forgives us—He doesn’t sort-of forgive us. Because God forgives our sin, shouldn’t we forgive others?”

Olivia sighed. “Yeah, we should.”

Dad looked at Samuel. “You were careless and ruined Olivia’s painting—but you weren’t really sorry, were you? And Olivia, you can’t sort-of forgive. You either forgive—or you don’t.

“Olivia,” Samuel said. “Dad’s right. I’m sorry I ruined your painting.”

Olivia wiped her tears. “Well, if God can forgive me, I can forgive you.”

“You know,” Dad said, “after God forgives us, He does something amazing. He restores our relationship with Him and reminds us of His love and kindness.”

Samuel gave Olivia a hug, and an idea flashed in his head. “Leave the room for a minute, would you? But Dad, you stay. I’ll need your help.”

Olivia gave him a funny look, but left. Two minutes later Samuel called her back. He’d put fresh paper on the table and had dad pull up a soundtrack of ocean waves on his phone. “There’s still time to paint it over,” Samuel said. “Wanna try?”

Olivia smiled. “You turned a weak apology into the best one ever!”

–Matt Shoemaker

How about you?

Today's Key Verse:

Today's Key Thought:

Read: 1 Corinthians 15:20-26, 54-57

Landon ducked as a bee buzzed by, barely missing his head. He watched the bee settle on a flower before moving on.

“That bee was so close to your head, he almost gave you a buzz cut!” Dad said with a smirk.

Landon didn’t laugh. He had something else on his mind. “Dad, can I ask you something?” He hesitated, and Dad waited quietly. “Grandma died months ago, but I’m still sad about it,” Landon said at last. “Is that bad?”

“No, it’s natural to feel sad.” Dad put an arm around Landon’s shoulders. “Death is not how it’s supposed to be—it came when sin entered the world. But for Christians, death is not the winner. Even though we’re sad, we can take comfort in knowing that we don’t have to be afraid of death because Jesus defeated it when He rose from the dead.” Dad thought for a moment. “Why were you afraid of that little bee that flew by a minute ago?” he asked.

“Because I could have gotten stung!” said Landon. “That hurts!”

“Yes, and death hurts too—like how we’re hurting after Grandma died,” said Dad. “But do you have any reason to fear that bee like Ellis would?”

Landon shook his head. Ellis, his older brother, was severely allergic to bees. “Ellis could die if he was stung by a bee and didn’t go to the hospital right away,” Landon said. “It would still hurt if I was stung, but I wouldn’t have to worry about dying from it.”

“Exactly,” said Dad. “You have no reason to fear bees the way Ellis does, and Christians have no reason to fear death the way the world does. It still hurts when death takes away someone we love, but it can’t take away the eternal life we have in Jesus.”

“So it’s okay to feel sad because I miss Grandma?” Landon asked.

“Of course,” said Dad. “Even though Grandma is with Jesus and we know we’ll see her again, it still hurts not to have her with us. But one day, Jesus will come back to get rid of sin and death for good, and those who trust in Him will be raised to life and never feel the sting of death ever again.”

–A. J. Schut

How about you?

Today's Key Verse:

Today's Key Thought:

Read: Proverbs 4:1-4; Galatians 5:16-18, 22-25

“Want to see the ring I got?” Lucy pulled a small box from her dresser drawer and showed her friend Skye the delicate opal ring inside. “It used to be my grandma’s.”

“It’s so pretty!” said Skye. “Can I wear it for a while?”

Lucy bit her lip. “My mom told me not to take it out or wear it until I’m older. She doesn’t want it getting lost.”

“Oh, come on!” said Skye. “I won’t tell her. Please?”

Lucy had a bad feeling about letting Skye wear the ring, but she was afraid of what Skye might think if she said no. So she handed over the box.

Later, the girls went to the park across the street. They were twirling each other on the swings when Skye’s phone buzzed. “It’s my mom,” Skye said. “I gotta go.” As she took Lucy’s ring off and held it out, she stumbled. The ring fell to the pavement, bounced once, and disappeared down a drain.

“My ring!” cried Lucy. The girls peered down the drain, but the ring was gone.

When Lucy got home, she tearfully told her mom what had happened. “I had a bad feeling about not listening to you and letting Skye wear the ring, but I was afraid she wouldn’t like me anymore if I said no. Now it’s lost forever!”

“I’m afraid you’re right,” said Mom. “I’ll check with the city sewer service, but it’s probably impossible to get it back.” She sighed. “You know, Lucy, that bad feeling you had reminds me of how the Holy Spirit often works in our lives. He guides us in doing what’s right and warns us against things that are wrong and hurtful, but we have a choice in whether we listen to Him or not. You’re going to be a teenager soon, and more and more people will try to get you to do things that are wrong—things that can have very serious and lasting consequences.”

“So the Holy Spirit helps me say no to things that are wrong?” asked Lucy.

Mom nodded. “He helps you live in a way that points to Jesus, who freed you from sin and made you a new person. Any time you sense Him warning you against something, listen to Him.”

–Rosalie J. Currier

How about you?

Today's Key Verse:

Today's Key Thought:

Read: John 1:4-5; 8:12; Matthew 5:14-16

Corey shivered as the lights went out in the restaurant where he and his family were eating. “What’s going on?” The room was completely dark and everyone around them mumbled nervously. He heard babies and little kids whimper and cry, probably scared of the dark like he had been when he was younger.

“The storm must have knocked out the power,” Mom said. A moment later, light spilled across the table from her phone’s flashlight. “This isn’t much, but it will help until they get things figured out.”

“If you had bought me a phone when I asked, I could help make it lighter in here too,” Corey’s sister said.

Corey looked around him. Little by little, the room began to light up as people got out their phones. The voices started to sound less nervous, the little kids quieted down, and things didn’t seem quite so scary. The small lights worked together to brighten the room until the power came back on.

The next morning Corey listened as his pastor talked at church. “You are lights,” the pastor said. “If you trust in Jesus, His light shines in you, and you can shine His light to others through what you say and do. The Bible calls Jesus the light of the world because He came to rescue us from the darkness of sin and death and give us eternal life. As we shine His light together for others to see, each little light makes a difference.”

Leah nudged her brother. “Like the phones yesterday,” she whispered. Corey nodded, remembering how the restaurant had brightened as the little lights came on one by one and everyone calmed down.

“You might not feel powerful or capable of doing a lot,” the pastor continued. “But Jesus has given each of us the Holy Spirit so we can shine His light to those around us. The world is a dark place, and people need Jesus. When we do what we can to share His love and hope with others—even just through small things—the Holy Spirit works through us to bring more people out of darkness and into Jesus’s light.”

Corey smiled. He knew just what shining a little light could do.

–Emily Acker

How about you?

Today's Key Verse:

Today's Key Thought:

Read: Psalm 96:1-6; Isaiah 41:9-13

Brook loved to sing. Whenever there was an opportunity to sing at church, she took it. It felt good to be on the stage singing in front of everyone, and she loved singing for God too. She felt close to Him when she sang songs in church.

One day when she was up on stage singing a solo, Brook messed up on some of the words. She felt her face flush and was tempted to step away from the microphone, but she somehow carried on.

“You did great,” her family said when she finished. Brook shook her head, wanting to run away and hide.

A few days later, her mom came into her bedroom. “They’re looking for volunteers to sing next Sunday,” she said. “I didn’t see your name on the list yet.”

“I don’t want to sing again.” Brook pulled her knees up to her chest.

Her mom’s brows rose. “You’re not going to sing again?”

“I messed up last time. It was embarrassing,” Brook said.

Mom touched her hand. “It wasn’t so bad, and even if it had been, you can’t give up just because of that. You love singing up there.”

“But I let everyone down,” Brook said.

Mom shook her head. “You didn’t let anyone down.”

“But I always want to do my best for everyone in the audience and especially for God.”

“And you did,” Mom said. “Everyone makes mistakes, honey. God knows that, we know that, and no one is disappointed in you. It’s not important that you messed up the lyrics, and it wouldn’t matter if you did again—all that matters is that you want to sing for God. You want to, right?”

Brook nodded. “I love singing for Him.”

“I know. God has given you that gift so you can use it to worship Him and point others to Jesus and what He did to save us. So, you just need to do it again.”

Brook sighed. “It will be scary.”

“God can help you do scary things.” Mom squeezed her hand. “And we’ll be rooting for you.”

Brook did love singing and would miss it if she quit. “Okay,” she finally agreed. ”I’ll ask God to help me be brave and try again.”

–Bethany Acker

How about you?

Today's Key Verse:

Today's Key Thought:

Read: Romans 8:14-17; 9:25-26

Sophie sat on the kitchen floor petting her new golden retriever puppy while Mom snapped the stems off green beans. “Mom, you’ll never guess what happened today,” Sophie said. “Mira told our class she’s a real-life princess.”

Mom let out a little chuckle, but when she looked at her daughter’s face she could tell Sophie was serious.

“Don’t you think that’s a little—foolish?” asked Sophie. “I mean, we’re not little kids anymore.”

“Oh, honey, I’m sure she was just kidding,” said Mom.

“No, she means it!” Sophie insisted. “She said that since God is her Father that makes her a real princess. She was calling herself Princess Mira!”

“Hmm,” said Mom. “You know, it may not be as foolish as it sounds.”

Sophie raised her eyebrows and tilted her head down. She couldn’t believe what her mom was saying.

“It reminds me of Goldie,” added Mom. “Some people might not accept Goldie as her real name.”

“What?” asked Sophie in disbelief. She looked down at the sleeping puppy curled up in her lap and stroked her soft golden fur. “But that’s what we named her!”

“Well, when Goldie was rescued by the animal shelter, what did they call her?” asked Mom.

Sophie thought a moment. “Molly,” she answered.

“Right. Just like Molly’s name changed when we adopted her, our name also changes when we’re adopted into God’s family. In the Bible, God says, ‘Those who were not my people, I will now call my people.’ And do you know what He says next?”

Sophie shook her head. “No, what?”

“The very next verse says that ‘they will be called children of the living God,’” said Mom. “I think Mira has figured something out—something really special. When she trusted Jesus as her Savior, she was adopted into God’s family. Just like Molly was adopted into ours and—”

“And became Goldie!” Sophie gently removed the sleeping dog from her lap. “Well, you and Goldie will have to excuse me—this princess has homework to finish!”

–Nichole Gatten

How about you? Have you been adopted by God? Have you become part of His family by trusting in Jesus? If so, you are now one of His children. Your heavenly Father has given you a new name and a new life! If you’re not yet one of God’s children, you can be adopted through Jesus, who sacrificed His life to save you and welcome you into His family. Trust in Him today! (To learn more, go to Have You Heard the Good News?)

Today's Key Verse: You received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.” Romans 8:15 (NLT)

Today's Key Thought: Embrace your new name

Read: 1 Samuel 3:4-11; Psalm 103:13-14

When the school bell rang, Xavier tossed his bag over his shoulder and headed for the door. He spotted his older brother, Malik, standing on the sidewalk.

“Hey, what’s up?” asked Malik as they headed for home.

“Not much.” Xavier kicked a plastic bottle, and it hit a parking meter.

“Did you get to shoot some hoops at recess?” asked Malik. Xavier nodded. “Sink any threes?”

“Yeah, but…” Xavier looked through the window of a coffee shop at all the people on their computers and cell phones. “There’s a new kid at school named Devon. I saw him when we were playing ball.”

“And?” Malik raised his eyebrows.

“Well, now I’m thinking he wanted to play. He just stood by the court watching us the whole time.”

“But you didn’t ask him to be on your team?”

Xavier shook his head. “I don’t know why I didn’t think of it then.” He sighed, breathing in the smells of a Greek restaurant as they passed by.

“Hey, don’t beat yourself up over it.” Malik stopped at the crosswalk and turned his head to look down the street. A city bus whizzed by, then the light changed and they stepped into the road. “Do you remember that Bible story about the boy named Samuel? God called to him three separate times, and each time Samuel thought it was the priest calling him.”

“Yeah, I remember,” said Xavier.

“Well, what happened with the new kid at school today is kind of like that.”

Xavier gave his brother a puzzled look. “How?”

“Samuel didn’t realize it was God calling him the first three times he heard His voice,” said Malik. “But the fourth time, after the priest told him who it really was, he got it. He knew God was calling him and was able to listen and obey.” Malik waved at a guy with ear buds walking down the other side of the street.

“You didn’t realize Devon wanted to play at first, but now you know he did. So now you can do what God is calling you to do.”

“You mean I can ask Devon to play ball with us tomorrow,” said Xavier.

Malik clapped Xavier on the back. “Exactly.”

–Annika Klanderud

How about you?

Today's Key Verse:

Today's Key Thought: