Category Archives: Children’s Devotions

Children's Devotions

The Lying Cereal Box

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The Lying Cereal Box

“Can you get the prize out for me?” Greta eagerly asked her father. She pointed to

a picture on the back of her cereal box. It showed a huge pile of colorful candy

pouring out of a package.

“Well, let’s see if we can find it,” said Dad. He shook the box, tipped it this way

and that, then reached in and pulled out the prize–a small, sample-size package of

candy. He tossed it to Greta. “Save it till after breakfast,” he said.

When Greta tore open the package a little later, a few small pieces of candy fell

out. She counted them–only three. She counted the pieces in the picture on the

cereal box. There were 20. “I thought I’d get as much candy as the picture shows,” she

complained to her dad.

“The cereal company wanted you to think you’d get a lot so you’d persuade

someone to buy the cereal for you,” explained Dad. “They deceived you.”

Greta frowned. “What does deceive’ mean?”

“It means to get someone to believe something that isn’t true,” explained Dad.

That afternoon, Greta’s friend Molly came to play. Greta had recently begun taking

piano lessons, and she showed Molly what she had been learning. “That looks like

fun! Let’s pretend you’re the teacher and I’m your student,” suggested Molly.

“Greta! Telephone!” called Dad.

The caller was Kaylie, who lived a few doors away. “Play? At my house?” asked

Greta after listening a moment. “Well . . . uh . . .” Greta chose her words carefully.

“I’m in the middle of a piano lesson,” she said. “Uh . . . sure. Some other time.”

Dad frowned as Greta hung up. “Did you tell Kaylie the truth?”

Greta shrugged. “I didn’t lie.”

“What did Kaylie understand about the piano lesson?” persisted Dad. “Do you

think you deceived her?”

Greta blushed. She knew the picture she’d given was just as deceiving as the picture

on the cereal box. She’d gotten Kaylie to think her piano teacher was there. “I’m sorry,”

said Greta. “I’ll call her back and see if she wants to come and play piano lessons,’ too.”
HOW ABOUT YOU?
Have you ever been deceived—been given the wrong idea—by someone? Do you ever deceive other people? Deception is allowing someone to believe something that isn’t true. There are other ways to lie besides just saying something that isn’t true, and all of them are wrong. Speak honest words, but live an honest life, too.

TODAY’S KEY VERSE: Leviticus 19:11 (KJV)
You shall not . . . lie to one another.

 
Children's Devotions

Hunting Treasures

Paul put his report card on the table and picked up the newspaper. He raced upstairs, plopped down on his bed, and hurried through each page until he found what he was searching for. It was the third of a five-part article called “Treasures of the Deep.” The articles told about the discovery of treasures found in the seas. Paul eagerly read the current one and then cut it out. He often imagined what it would be like to find treasure and get rich.

After dinner, Dad picked up the paper. “What’s been so interesting in the newspaper lately?” he asked. “I see that another article’s been cut out.”

Paul’s eyes shone as he told his dad all about the treasure articles and how he hoped he could be a treasure hunter some day. “I like the water, so I think it would be great to hunt treasure deep down in the ocean,” he said.

Dad smiled. “Why not start hunting treasure right now?”

“How can I hunt treasure now?” Paul asked in disbelief.

Mom frowned. “I think your dad’s teasing you,” she said.

Dad laughed. “I guess I am–a little,” he admitted, “but you actually can hunt treasure of a different kind right now–wisdom.”

“Oh, that’s right,” said Mom. “The book of Proverbs describes wisdom as being more precious’ than gold or valuable jewels. You could hunt wisdom, Paul.”

“How do I do that?” asked Paul. “By studying hard in school?”

“That is important,” agreed Dad, “but the Bible says the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.’ We need to recognize God’s goodness and greatness and power. We learn more about that from His Word. You can dig deep into it as you read it and listen to what your pastor and Sunday school teacher say.”

“Right!” Mom nodded. “It’s okay to dream of being a treasure hunter as long as you find the treasure of wisdom first.”

“Sounds good to me.” Paul grinned. “I’ll start treasure-hunting tonight! The book of Proverbs sounds like a good place to start.”

HOW ABOUT YOU?
Do you want to be a treasure hunter? Wisdom is one of the greatest treasures. Start by learning what God wants to teach you from His Word. Read your Bible. Study your Sunday school or Bible club lessons. Ask questions when you don’t understand something. Wisdom is more valuable than money. Start hunting for it today!

TODAY’S KEY VERSE: Proverbs 3:15 (KJV)
She (wisdom) is more precious than rubies, and all . . . you may desire cannot compare with her.
*Verse displayed is NKJV

Children's Devotions

What Would You Do?

“There’s a video game I want, but I don’t have enough money,” Brett told his friend Travis. “I wish I could think of a way to make some extra cash.”

“Why not sell me the tires from your old bike?” asked Travis. “I told you I wanted to buy them, and my dad said it was okay.”

“Oh, that’s right! I forgot,” said Brett. “My dad okayed it, too, so it’s a deal!”

Travis paid Brett for the tires, and Brett bought his video game. For a while, the boys played the game almost every day.

As the weather turned warmer, Brett and Travis played less indoors. They began

to take bike rides around the neighborhood. One day, Brett ran over a broken bottle and slashed his front tire. “Oh, no!” he exclaimed. “This whole tire is ruined! Now what am I going to do?” He frowned. “I guess I should have kept those bike tires I sold to you.”

“Well, I only used one, so I’ll sell the other back to you,” offered Travis. “I don’t need it.”

“Really?” asked Brett. “Cool!” So the boys got the tire and went to Brett’s house

to put it on the bike.

“What happened?” asked Brett’s dad when he came home and saw the boys at work.

“My tire got ruined, so I bought this one back from Travis,” explained Brett.

Dad smiled. “You redeemed it,” he said. “That word is used often in the Bible. What you did with the bike tire is a good example of the meaning of the word. Redeemed’ simply means bought back.'”

“But . . . why is that word used in the Bible?” asked Travis.

“God created people, so they belonged to Him,” began Dad. “But Satan came and tempted them to sin–and they did. So all people became sinners, enslaved to Satan and sin. But when Jesus died on the cross for us, He paid the price to buy us back. When we trust in Him, we no longer belong to Satan, but to God.”

Travis grinned as he looked at the tire on Brett’s bike. “I never thought I’d have something in common with an old bike tire–I’ve been redeemed!”

HOW ABOUT YOU?
Have you been redeemed? Jesus said that anyone who has sinned—that’s you—is a slave to sin (John 8:34). He paid a great price to buy you back out of that slavery and free you from the curse of sin and the power of Satan. Will you trust Him as your Savior today? (See the ABCs of Salvation at the end of this book.)

TODAY’S KEY VERSE: 1 Peter 1:18-19 (KJV)
You were not redeemed with corruptible things . . . but with the precious blood of Christ.

*Verse displayed is NKJV

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