** 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, 2020>에서 다시 들으실 수 있습니다.**

 

Because It's Sunday? (Monday)

Read: Psalm 100; Hebrews 10:24-25 

 

Axel had asked a simple enough question, but Ryker was stumped for an answer.

 

"Why do I always go to church?" Ryker repeated, stalling for time to think of a good answer to give his friend.

 

"Yeah." Axel sounded like he really wanted to know. "Why do you and your family always go to church?"

 

"Because...because..." Ryker hesitated. He wasn't sure what his answer should be. "Because it's Sunday," he said at last.

 

Axel looked at him quizzically, then smirked. "That's a stupid answer! That's like saying, I go to school because it's Monday or Friday.'"

 

Ryker shrugged. He knew his answer had not been a good one. He thought about it as he headed home. Why do I go to church? he thought. Is it because Mom and Dad make me go? Or have I been going so long that now I just keep going out of habit?

 

After dinner, Ryker was still thinking about the question. "Dad, why do we go to church?" Dad looked at him in surprise, and Ryker explained that Axel had asked him that question.

"It's a good question, and it's one we all need to answer for ourselves," said Dad. "One reason I go is to worship Jesus."

 

"You can worship Him other places too, like at home or out in the woods," Ryker said.

 

Dad nodded. "Yes, we can worship the Lord at any time and in any place, but the Bible says we should assemble together with others who believe in Him too. If we don't go to church, we miss out on fellowship with other Christians--singing together, sharing blessings and problems, and learning more about God from His Word. One of the ways Jesus reminds us of His love and helps us grow is through church. It's a gift to us from Him."

 

Ryker nodded. "I do like singing in junior choir," he said, "and I learn a lot from Pastor Joel's sermons that I probably couldn't learn from the Bible by myself. I always learn a lot in Sunday school too, and I like being with kids who love Jesus." He grinned at his dad. "Tomorrow I'll talk to Axel again. I think I can give him a better answer now." Ruth I. Jay

 

HOW ABOUT YOU?

Why do you go to church? Is it to worship Jesus and enjoy being with other Christians? Or do you simply go out of habit or because your parents make you? Going to church is a good habit to have, but remember that church isn’t an item on your to-do list—it’s a gift from Jesus. It’s a place you can worship Him with other Christians and learn about His love for you. Don’t miss out on the gift of church.

 

TODAY'S KEY VERSE:  Psalm 122:1 (KJV)

I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go into the house of the Lord.” (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 <July 20, 2020>에서 다시 들으실 수 있습니다.**

 

Signs and Stickers (Tuesday)

Read: Galatians 5:22-25

 

"I. got a V!" Marley yelled as a van with a bumper sticker on the back passed their car. "See--that bumper sticker says, Visualize world peace.'" She crossed the letter V off her sheet of paper. On vacation with their dad, Marley and her brother, Gabe, were playing a game to see who could be the first to find signs and bumper stickers that started with each letter of the alphabet.

 

As Gabe glanced at the van, its driver angrily blasted his horn at another driver who had pulled in front of him. "He sure isn't acting very peaceful," observed Gabe. A little later, they stopped at a country store. "Service with a smile," Gabe read on a sign in the window. "That's an S for me." But they had to wait a long time for service, and then the attendant did a lot of grumbling about the heat. "He forgot to smile," Gabe said as they drove away.

 

As they ate lunch, they talked about their trip and the things they had seen. "What are some things you've learned on our trip?" asked Dad.

 

"Well, one thing is that you can say one thing and do something completely different," said Gabe. "We've seen lots of signs and bumper stickers that say one thing, but then the people who put them there don't live by them."

 

"That's a good point," said Dad. "And it's something we all need to remember-- especially Christians."

 

"You mean, because the Bible says people should be able to tell we're Christians by the way we love each other?" asked Marley.

 

Dad nodded. "When we say we're Christians, our actions need to reflect our words. Of course, we all make mistakes and fail to live up to the things we say, just like the people we saw today who didn't do what their sign or sticker said they would. When that happens, we need to ask Jesus to forgive us and trust Him to help us live out the words we say."

 

After lunch, they got back on the road. "Thanks for taking us on this trip, Dad," said Marley.

 

"Yeah," Gabe said, grinning. "You're living out the words on that mug we got you that says, Best dad ever.'" Jan L. Hansen

 

HOW ABOUT YOU?

Do you tell others that you’re a Christian? Do you live out those words by showing them the love of Jesus? Read through the fruit of the Spirit listed in today’s Bible reading. If you know Jesus as your Savior, these are the characteristics you will display as you allow the Holy Spirit to work in your life. Trust Him to help you put your words into action and point others to Jesus.

 

TODAY'S KEY VERSE: John 13:35 (KJV)

[Jesus said,] "By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

** 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 21, 2020>에서 다시 들으실 수 있습니다.**

 

Wait and See (Wednesday)

Read: Deuteronomy 18:10-12; Matthew 6:25-34

 

"Where are we going, Dad?" asked Collin as his father turned a corner. "Wait and see," Dad said with a wink.

 

"Psychic Readings," Collin read aloud as they drove past a sign on a nearby building. "Have your fortune told here."

 

"I'd like to know the future," said sixteen-year-old Lena. "Like...will Sean ask me to Homecoming?"

 

"Yeah, it would be cool to know what's going to happen," agreed Collin. "I'd like to know if I'll pass my math test tomorrow."

 

Dad shook his head. "Fortune tellers don't have the answers," he said. "The Bible warns against going to them. Besides, not knowing what will happen is often a blessing."

 

"Why?" asked Lena and Collin in unison.

 

"Well...suppose we had known last Christmas that Grandma was going to have a stroke the next week. Would you have enjoyed the day?" Dad asked.

 

"No, it would have been sad," answered Lena.

 

"I read about one young man who was told he would die at age sixty-five," Dad said, "so he began living very dangerously--driving like a maniac and taking other kinds of crazy risks. At twenty-eight, he was killed in a car crash."

 

"That wasn't very smart of him," said Collin. "He should have known fortune tellers aren't always right."

 

"Yet people still base their lives on the false predictions of fortune tellers or horoscopes," Dad replied. "That's very dangerous, not just because they're so often wrong, but because consulting them is something God forbids. He's the only one in control of the future, and we need to trust Him with it."

 

As Dad pulled the car into a parking lot, Collin let out a whoop when he saw where they were. He pointed to the sign: Joe's Ice Cream Shop Grand Opening!

 

Dad smiled. "You trusted me when you didn't know where I was taking you, and God wants us to trust Him like that. No matter what happens in our lives, Jesus died and rose again to give us a future of eternal life with Him, and He promises to help us when difficult things happen. Because of His love for us, our future is good." Barbara J. Westberg

 

HOW ABOUT YOU?

Do you remember that the future is in God’s hands? He says not to worry about what you’ll eat or what you’ll wear. No one can predict what’s going to happen, and trying to do so using psychics and fortune telling is forbidden by God. He is the only one who knows the future, and He sent His Son to die for you so your future could be with Him. Trust in Jesus. He has everything under control.

 

TODAY'S KEY VERSE: Jeremiah 29:11 (KJV)

"For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." (NIV)

** 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 23, 2020>에서 다시 들으실 수 있습니다.**

 

Hide and Seek (Thursday)

Read: Genesis 3:1-13; Hebrews 10:19-22 

 

"Come out, come out, wherever you are!" yelled Dad. Maddie giggled happily as her dad missed her hiding spot in the bushes. He looked high in the trees and under the deck, and he even started looking in the house for her. "Have you seen Maddie?" he asked Mom. Mom said no. He went back outside and called out to her. "Maddie!" She started giggling again, and this time Dad found her.

 

"Oh no! I was hoping you would never find me. It was so hard not to laugh," Maddie said as he scooped her into his arms.

 

"Did you know that the first people, Adam and Eve, hid from God in the Garden of Eden--kind of like how you hid from me?" asked Dad.

 

"Really? Why did they hide from Him?" Maddie asked.

 

"They hid because they had disobeyed Him and felt ashamed," Dad replied. "God told them not to eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Yet they both ate from it because they were tempted by Satan."

 

They went into the house, and Dad took out his Bible and read from the book of Genesis. Maddie listened intently to the story.

 

"When Adam and Eve were hiding, the Lord even called out, Where are you?'" Maddie said when Dad had finished reading. "Just like you asked me where I was, Dad."

 

Dad nodded. "We sometimes try to hide from God too. When Adam and Eve disobeyed God, they brought sin into the world. Because of that, we're all sinners, and we all feel ashamed about the wrong things we do. But it's impossible to hide from God--He knows about our sin, and He still wants us to be His children. That's why He sent His Son to come find us."

 

"You mean, when Jesus came to earth and died for us?" asked Maddie.

 

"Right. Because we trust in Jesus, who took the punishment for our sin on the cross, we don't have to feel ashamed. We can stop hiding and enjoy a relationship with Him." Dad smiled. "Okay, kiddo. How about one more round of hide-and-seek with your old dad? You can try to find me this time."

 

Maddie nodded, then closed her eyes and began to count. ALEXIS WOHLER

 

HOW ABOUT YOU?

Have you tried to hide from God? It’s impossible to hide from Him. He already knows what you’ve done, and He doesn’t want you to hide and feel ashamed. Jesus took the punishment for your sin because He wants you to be forgiven and have a relationship with Him! Stop hiding and trust in Him. (To learn more, click the "Good News!" button in the right column of this page.)

 

TODAY'S KEY VERSE: Hebrews 10:22 (KJV)

Let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean. (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 <July 24, 2020>에서 다시 들으실 수 있습니다.**

 

Knowing God (Friday)

Read: Psalm 145:1-13; Isaiah 55:8-9 

 

"Mom?" Zane came into his mother's office with his friend Toms. "Can Toms stay the night? We're doing a report on Abraham Lincoln and need to work on it some more."

 

"Sure," said Mom, "if it's okay with his parents, and if he doesn't mind going to church with us in the morning."

 

"I don't mind," said Toms. "My family doesn't go to church much. My mom says God is too hard to understand. I think she's right."

 

"Don't you think Abraham Lincoln is hard to understand too?" asked Mom.

 

"Well, learning about him should help us understand him a little better," said Toms. "That makes sense," Mom said. "And that's one reason we go to church--to learn and understand more about God."

 

"See, Toms?" said Zane. "Going to church will help you."

 

"I have gone a few times," said Toms, "but I still don't understand God."

 

"That's good!" said Mom.

 

The boys looked surprised.. "It's good he doesn't understand God?" Zane asked. "Well, can you imagine a God that a twelve-year-old--or anyone--could understand by going to church a few times? Would you want Him in control of everything?" Mom motioned toward a book Toms was holding. "Will you completely understand Abraham Lincoln after this report?"

 

Toms shook his head. "People are...complicated."

 

Mom smiled. "Right. People are complex, and you can't fully understand them just by reading a book. And God is more complex than any human could ever be. He created everything, and our human minds cannot completely understand God and all He knows. But He gave us a book--the Bible--to help us understand who He is and what He's like, and He also made a way for us to know Him personally."

 

Zane gave Toms a slug on the arm. "You know--like a friend!"

 

Mom nodded. "We may not understand everything about God, but we know He loves us because He sent His Son, Jesus, to die for us so we could have a relationship with Him. As we get to know Him better, He helps us understand enough so we know we can trust Him for all we need--both now and for eternity."

 

Toms nodded thoughtfully. "Maybe going to church will help me understand Him a little more." HEATHER M. TEKAVEC

 

HOW ABOUT YOU?

Do you find God hard to understand? That’s okay! No one can fully understand Him. God is much greater, wiser, and more powerful than anybody, and that means you can trust Him to take better care of things than you or anyone else ever could. You don’t have to understand everything about God to know Him personally. He loves you, and as you get to know Him better, He’ll help you understand that you can always trust Him.

 

TODAY'S KEY VERSE: PSALM 145:3 (KJV)

Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; And His greatness is [a]unsearchable. (NKJV)