** Daily Devotional 에서 방송된 내용의 줄거리입니다. Daily Devotional은 Keys for kids Ministries에서 지원받은 프로그램입니다. 홈페이지 www.keysforkids.org로 들어가시면 Keys for kids Daily Devotional <August 3, 2021>에서 다시 들으실 수 있습니다.**

 

Almost (Monday)

Read: Acts 26:1-2, 22-23, 27-29; 1 John 5:12-13

 

David turned off his alarm clock and stretched. Sunday morning's message still bothered him. Pastor Hill had stressed every person's need to trust Jesus as their Savior, and David had almost decided to talk to the pastor or his dad about it. Maybe I should have, he thought, but...oh well, I'm almost sure I'm saved anyway. He shook the thoughts from his mind. Right now he had other things to think about--like baseball, for instance. David was shortstop for the Lions, and today they were playing the Bears for the city-wide championship.

 

Soon it was time for the game to begin, and both teams were eager to win. As the game progressed, it became obvious they were well matched. First the Lions were ahead, then the Bears, and then the Lions went ahead again. Unfortunately for David and his teammates, the Bears scored two runs in the bottom of the ninth inning and won the championship.

 

"That was a great game!" Dad said as they drove home. "You played very well."

 

"A great game?" David shook his head. "We lost!"

 

"You ended up as the second-place team in the whole city. You should feel good about that," said Dad.

 

"Yeah," his sister agreed. "Your team almost won!"

 

"Well, almost isn't enough!" David replied. "We still lost."

 

"I guess I can understand how you feel," Dad said, giving him a thoughtful look. "In fact, your game reminds me of the message we heard on Sunday."

 

"Really? How?" David asked, curious since he had been thinking about Pastor Hill's sermon that morning.

 

"I was thinking of King Agrippa's answer to the apostle Paul in the Bible story Pastor Hill read. When Paul told him Jesus died and rose again so we could be saved, King Agrippa replied, You almost persuade me to become a Christian.' And you're right, David. Almost isn't enough--not in winning baseball games or in getting saved."

 

David was startled. He was almost certain he was saved--but what if he wasn't? He'd thought about talking to someone about it on Sunday. Now he knew he shouldn't put it off any longer. Being almost sure he was a Christian wasn't enough.

 

"Uh, Dad? Can we talk when we get home?" he asked. "I have to make sure about something." -Lucinda J. Rollings

 

HOW ABOUT YOU?

Are you almost sure you’re a Christian? Almost isn’t good enough. Make sure right now. Check out “Have You Heard the Good News?” on page 102. If you need help understanding what trusting Jesus as your Savior means, talk with a parent, teacher, or other Christian adult. Don’t wait any longer. Trust Jesus today and know you are truly saved.

 

TODAY'S KEY VERSE: Acts 26:28 (KJV)

Agrippa said to Paul, "You almost persuade me to become a Christian.” (NKJV)  

** Daily Devotional 에서 방송된 내용의 줄거리입니다. Daily Devotional은 Keys for kids Ministries에서 지원받은 프로그램입니다. 홈페이지 www.keysforkids.org로 들어가시면 Keys for kids Daily Devotional <August 02, 2021>에서 다시 들으실 수 있습니다.**

 

Transplanted Tree (Tuesday)

Read: Psalm 1; Colossians 2:6-7

 

Gael carefully filled a pitcher with water, took it out to the backyard, and poured the water at the base of a tiny black spruce tree. Each day more dried-up needles fell to the ground. "It's not going to live, is it, Mom?" he asked.

 

"I don't know, Gael," Mom answered. "It doesn't look like it will."

 

"But I've been taking such good care of it!" Gael said.

 

"I know," Mom said. "But remember what Grandpa said when you asked him if you could transplant it? He told you he didn't think a black spruce would grow in our yard because those trees usually grow in extremely damp soil."

 

"But I've watered it every day!" Gael exclaimed.

 

"I know, but since it's so dry here, that might not be enough."

 

Gael and his mom stood looking at the scraggly tree. "You know, Gael, that black spruce seedling reminds me of myself."

 

"It does? How?"

 

"It's in the wrong environment, and I used to be in the wrong environment too," Mom explained. "I ignored my Bible, seldom went to church, and didn't take time to pray. I didn't spend much time with people who loved the Lord. As a result, I didn't grow spiritually. For a long time, I didn't even realize that."

 

"We can't always be with Christians though, can we?" asked Gael. "I mean, I have to spend a lot of time at school, and a lot of the kids there aren't saved."

 

"You're right--it's true that we all spend time in places where there are people who don't know Jesus," Mom agreed. "In fact, that's why we need to be in those places--so we can point others to His love and grace. But we can't do that effectively without being rooted in God's Word and connected to God's people. That's why praying, reading the Bible, and going to church are so important--spending time with God and other Christians reminds us that we belong to Jesus. Those things create the healthy, fertile environment we need to grow spiritually and tell others about Him."

 

"Okay. I'll try to remember that," said Gael. "If this tree dies, I'll get another kind that will grow here. It will remind me that I need the right environment too." -Linda M. Weddle

 

HOW ABOUT YOU?

What kind of spiritual environment do you have in your life? Do you attend church regularly? Do you have close friends who love the Lord and encourage you to follow Him? Do you read the Bible yourself and take time to talk with Jesus? Don’t neglect the things that help create the environment you need to grow spiritually and stay rooted in your faith.

 

TODAY'S KEY VERSE: Colossians 2:6-7 (KJV)

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. (CSB)

 

** Daily Devotional 에서 방송된 내용의 줄거리입니다. Daily Devotional은 Keys for kids Ministries에서 지원받은 프로그램입니다. 홈페이지 www.keysforkids.org로 들어가시면 Keys for kids Daily Devotional <July 26, 2021>에서 다시 들으실 수 있습니다.**

 

Popcorn People (Wednesday)

Read: Hebrews 3:8-15

 

"This popcorn is so good!" exclaimed Avery as she helped herself to the stove-popped popcorn her Sunday school teacher had made for their class in the church kitchen. "It's so much better than microwave popcorn. I think I could eat the whole pan."

 

"Me too," said Emma.

 

"Ow!" exclaimed Charlotte just as their teacher asked the kids to gather around. "I bit into a hard, burnt kernel!"

 

"Sorry about that, Charlotte,"said Miss Jones. "But let's have a short lesson now before you go back upstairs to meet your parents." She paused as the kids got settled, then asked, "Who knows what made the difference between the hard popcorn kernels like the one Charlotte just got and the tasty ones we all enjoyed?"

 

"Um...the good kernels popped, and the ones like Charlotte just bit on didn't," said Geoffrey.

 

"Right," Miss Jones replied. "Do you have any idea why those like Charlotte's didn't pop?"

 

The kids thought it over. "Not really," said Emma. "Heat makes them pop, but they all got heated, right?"

Miss Jones nodded. "They did, and some of the kernels responded to the heat, but others didn't. And that's what I want to talk to you about today--how people are sort of like popcorn."

 

The kids looked at their teacher in surprise. "Popcorn people?" asked Avery. "I don't get it."

 

"The popcorn needs to be changed," Miss Jones said, "and people do too. Popcorn changes as it responds to heat. What do you think changes people?"

 

"I know," said Charlotte. "Jesus! We're changed when we become Christians, right?"

 

"That's right," replied Miss Jones. "People who hear the message of God's love and salvation and trust in Jesus are changed. Jesus fills their hearts with His love, and they become new people. But those who hear the gospel and reject its message are like the hard, unpopped kernels that felt the heat but didn't respond." She looked around at the group. "God's love is like the heat of the stove. He loves every single person and offers each one of us the gift of eternal life through His Son, Jesus. It's my prayer that each of you will be like a popped kernel--that you will respond to God's love and put your faith in Jesus." -Jan L. Hansen

 

HOW ABOUT YOU?

Have you responded to the message of the gospel—the good news that Jesus died and rose again so you could be saved and have eternal life? Or do you remain unchanged—hard and unyielding? When you put your faith in Jesus, you become a new person. Don’t harden your heart toward the message of God’s great love for you. Trust in Jesus today!

 

TODAY'S KEY VERSE: 2 Corinthians 5:17 (KJV)

Anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! (NLT)

** Daily Devotional 에서 방송된 내용의 줄거리입니다. Daily Devotional은 Keys for kids Ministries에서 지원받은 프로그램입니다. 홈페이지 www.keysforkids.org로 들어가시면 Keys for kids Daily Devotional <August 06, 2021>에서 다시 들으실 수 있습니다.**

 

No Fooling (Thursday)

Read: 1 John 1:6-10

 

"Shoulder to shoulder, then fold it over," Grady recited as he folded the final T-shirt in the laundry basket. He glanced up as his dad came in and set several bags of groceries on the counter. "Hi, Dad!" he said. "Mom's not home from work yet, but I had a snack, and I've already done my chores." He patted the clothes he had folded.

 

"Good," Dad said. "How was school?"

"Okay," Grady replied. "I don't have homework, so can I go over to Drew's?"

 

Eyeing the laundry Grady had folded, Dad lifted a T-shirt and examined it. "Where did you get this load of laundry?"

 

"From the laundry room," said Grady.

Dad frowned and shook his head. "The basket with clean clothes is in the hallway. You got socks out of it this morning, remember?"

 

"Oh no!" Grady groaned. "You mean I wasted time folding dirty clothes?" He looked at the basket. "I didn't even notice these things weren't clean. They don't look dirty. Just this once, can we put them away and not tell Mom?"

 

Dad chuckled. "You really think she wouldn't notice?" He shook his head. "Grady, when we try to hide things we've done wrong, we only deceive ourselves."

 

"Deceive," echoed Grady. "We talked about that in church yesterday. Mr. Phil read a verse that says something about deceiving ourselves. He said that's what we do when we try to convince ourselves that some wrong thing we've done is not so bad and isn't really sin."

 

Dad nodded. "We sometimes manage to fool ourselves and other people, but we don't fool God at all. That's why we should never try to hide our sin. We need to confess it to Jesus and ask Him to forgive us."

 

Grady sighed. "Well, I guess it wasn't sinful to fold this stuff, but putting it away to deceive Mom would be," he said, looking at a small stain on one of the shirts he had folded. "It wouldn't fool her for very long anyway. I guess I better put these back in the laundry room and fold the clothes in the other basket.

 

Want to help me?"

 

"Sure," said Dad with a grin. "If you'll help me put away these groceries." -Patricia LoCascio

 

HOW ABOUT YOU?

Have you tried to tell yourself that some wrong thing you’ve done is okay? Sometimes it’s easy to convince ourselves that telling a white lie or being jealous of someone isn’t so bad, but it’s still sin. Don’t try to hide it by deceiving yourself and pretending it’s okay. Confess it to Jesus. He promises to forgive you and give you a clean start.

 

TODAY'S KEY VERSE: 1 John 1:8 (KJV)

If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. (NKJV)

** Daily Devotional 에서 방송된 내용의 줄거리입니다. Daily Devotional은 Keys for kids Ministries에서 지원받은 프로그램입니다. 홈페이지 www.keysforkids.org로 들어가시면 Keys for kids Daily Devotional <August 08, 2021>에서 다시 들으실 수 있습니다.**

 

The Best Kind of Gift (Friday)

Read: Romans 12:1-3 

 

All I have for Mom's birthday is the recipe book I made in my class at school and the flowers I picked, thought Nicole. I wish I had money so I could get her something really nice. She knew Dad had bought Mom a new phone, Nick had gotten her a necklace, and Natalie had bought Mom a bottle of her favorite perfume.

 

When Nicole gave Mom her birthday gift, Nick looked at the flowers and snorted. "Those are weeds," he said.

 

Natalie raised her eyebrows when she saw the cover of the recipe book that Nicole had drawn herself. "Did you make that at school?" she asked. Nicole could hear a hint of disdain in her voice.

 

"I love both of these things!" Mom said, but Nicole ran from the room, crying. Mom got up to follow her.

 

Nicole cried harder as her mother gathered her into her arms. "The gifts I gave you aren't as nice as the other things you got," she said.

 

Mom kissed Nicole's forehead. "To me they are. I can see you spent a lot of time on the recipe book--and I already saw a recipe I want to try tomorrow. And I love flowers!"

 

Nicole sniffed. "I saw those in the field behind Grandma's house. I thought they were pretty, so I picked them for you."

 

"They're very pretty," Mom said, "and that was so sweet of you." She hugged Nicole. "One thing I like so much about your gift is that it came from your heart. A gift from the heart is the best kind of all. I can't think of anything I would like better."

"Really?" asked Nicole.

 

"Really," said Mom. "And you know what? You not only gave me the recipe book and flowers, you also gave me a wonderful example of the kind of gift we should give to God."

 

"What should we give Him?" Nicole asked.

 

"Ourselves," said Mom. "To give Him ourselves means to love and serve Him with all our hearts in response to the gift He gave us--His own Son, Jesus, who died and rose again to save us from sin. That's the best gift we can give." She took Nicole's hand. "C'mon. Let's go have some of my birthday cake." -Jane Weverink

 

HOW ABOUT YOU?

Have you accepted the gift God offers you—eternal life through Jesus? (See “Have You Heard the Good News?” on page 102.) In return, have you given yourself to Him? Do you serve Him because you love Him and want others to know Him too? Are you willing to give up your time or money to show others His love? He gave you the best gift of all when He sent Jesus to save you. Give Him yourself in return.

 

TODAY'S KEY VERSE:  2 Corinthians 8:5 (KJV)

They first gave themselves to the Lord. (NKJV)