Bible Reading: Romans 3:21-26

"Can I crack the eggs?" Penelope asked as her mom started blending the butter and sugar.

"Sure," Mom said, and as each egg was added, she beat it into the cookie dough. "Now we need to add flour, baking soda, and salt."

"I can do that," said Penelope. She carefully measured the flour into a bowl, then added the baking soda and salt. She looked down at the bowl in surprise. "I thought flour was supposed to be white."

"It looks white to me," said Mom.

"But look," said Penelope. "The baking soda and salt are on top of the flour, and they're really white. They make the flour look almost gray."

"That's true," Mom said as she stirred the ingredients together. "Penny," she said after a moment, "if I said the flour is like us and the baking soda is like God, what do you think I'd mean?"

Penelope thought for a moment. "I'd think you weren't making any sense," she said with a grin.

Mom smiled. "When I saw those ingredients together and the difference in color, it occurred to me that we often think we're decently good people. But compared to what God says, we don't look so good."

"I think I get it," said Penelope. "Compared to the baking soda, the flour isn't very white. And compared to how the Bible says we should live, we're not very good at all."

"That's right," Mom said as she dropped spoonfuls of dough onto the cookie sheet. "The only person to ever live up to the Bible's standards was Jesus, the Son of God. He lived a perfect life, then died to take the punishment for our wrongs. When we trust in Him, He replaces our sin with His righteousness--His goodness--and makes us pure in God's eyes. If this baking soda could turn all the flour in this bowl pure white, that would be like what Jesus does for us."

"These cookies will remind me of that," said Penelope, putting a tray in the oven. "So I should eat lots of them, right?" Mom laughed and gave her a playful jab.

–Pauline Youd

How About You?
How does your life compare to God's standard that He gives us in the Bible? Do you feel like you measure up? Or do you know that your life is like the flour in this story--more gray than white? Only Jesus measures up to God's standard. When you trust Him as your Savior, He purifies you from sin and makes you good in God's eyes. (To learn more, click the "Good News!" button in the right column of this page or go to www.keysforkids.org/goodnews.)

Today's Key Verse:
God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (NIV) (2 Corinthians 5:21)

Today's Key Thought:
Only Jesus measures up

Bible Reading: Matthew 21:1-11; John 3:16-18

Arlo giggled as his sister Marni raised her palm branch over his head. "Save me! Aunt Lori, Marni is going to rule over me!"

Aunt Lori called to the kids from the deck. "Quit playing with those. Come on, let's eat lunch."

Arlo and Marni groaned. They tossed their palm leaves to the side and trudged up the steps. "Those branches are perfect for sword fighting," said Marni. "Why can't we play with them?"

"Yeah," Arlo added. "We got them in church, but all we did was wave them around and lay them on the floor. It was boring."

Uncle Damien brought out plates of sandwiches. "Do you even know why you got them?" he asked as he set the food down.

The kids shrugged and said in unison, "Palm Sunday."'

Uncle Damien nodded. "A week before Jesus died on the cross for our sins, He entered Jerusalem on a donkey. The people laid down their cloaks and palm leaves as He rode through the city to honor Him as the Messiah--the Savior God had promised. Every year on the Sunday before Easter, we celebrate that day by remembering that Jesus is the humble King who came to save us."

Marni thought about the church service earlier. "But why did the pastor have us say 'hosanna'? What does that mean?"

"Actually, it's kind of like what Arlo exclaimed when you beat him in your game earlier," said Aunt Lori.

"I joked that you had to save me from Marni's oppressive rule," said Arlo.

"And hosanna means just that," Aunt Lori said. "It's a word meaning 'save us' in the language Jesus spoke."

Marnie nodded in realization. "So we shout it in church on Palm Sunday to remember that God saves us from our sins."

"And He did just that," Uncle Damien said. "When Jesus died on the cross, He took the punishment for sin we deserved. Then when He rose from the grave, He conquered death so we could have eternal life with Him. The moment we trust in Him, He frees us from the oppressive rule of sin and death and makes us right with God."

"Wow!" Arlo exclaimed. "We should shout hosanna more often!"

–Zoe Brickner

How About You?
Have you ever gotten a palm branch at church on Palm Sunday? During Jesus's time, the leaves and cloaks on the ground showed respect to kings. Jesus was a different King than all the others--He's the King of kings! He is the most powerful King, yet also the humblest. Jesus became human and died on the cross to save us, and that's a good reason to shout, "Hosanna!"

Today's Key Verse:
The crowds who went ahead of him [Jesus] and those who followed shouted…"Hosanna in the highest heaven!" (CSB) (Matthew 21:9 )

Today's Key Thought:
Jesus came to save us

Bible Reading: Psalm 71:15-17

Jade, Leah, and their little sister, Izzy, joined their mother in the backyard one spring day. "Wow, look at all the flowers!" Jade said, walking over to her mother's garden. "I love the hyacinths. I think they're my favorite."

"Not mine. I like those yellow ones," said Izzy, pointing to the daffodils. "They're so pretty. Yellow is my favorite color!"

Leah shook her head. "The tulips are the best. They come in lots of colors--they don't just stick to one!"

Jade looked around at the garden. "There are lots more flowers than there were last year. Did you plant more this year, Mom?"

Mom shook her head. "No, but over the winter, they multiplied."

"Multiplied?" asked Izzy. "What does that mean?"

"That means there are more of them," said Jade. "That's because the bulbs in the ground produced more bulbs, so now there are more flowers for you to see. Right, Mom?"

"Right." Mom removed a few dead leaves from the base of a daffodil. "You know, these spring flowers are a good example of what Christians should be like."

"Really?" asked Jade. "How?"

"I know!" said Leah. "Because Jesus gives us new life when we trust Him as our Savior, and we should bloom for Him."

"Yes," said Mom. "He puts His love in our hearts, and as we rely on Him to help us show it to others, our lives bloom with the love and beauty of Jesus. That's how Christians multiply."

"Oh no!" said Jade, looking at Leah. "You mean there are going to be more Leahs popping up?"

Leah laughed. "Or more Jades?"

Mom smiled. "You girls know what I'm saying--that we should be sharing God's love with others and praying He puts seeds of faith in their hearts and makes them grow. It's not more Leahs or Jades we want popping up, but more people who know Jesus and show His love to the world."

Izzy bent over to look more closely at one of the daffodils. "I hope the whole yard is full of these pretty yellow flowers next year!"

"Yeah," said Jade. "And I hope the whole world is full of people who love Jesus!"

–Shelley A. Janofski

How About You?
Have you trusted Jesus to forgive your sins and give you a new life? Then your life should be like a flower and bloom with the love and beauty of Jesus. Show His love to others and let them know about all the wonderful things He's done--like coming to earth and giving His life to save us from sin. Ask Jesus to use your life to bring others to Him.

Today's Key Verse:
O God, you have taught me from my earliest childhood, and I constantly tell others about the wonderful things you do. (NLT) (Psalm 71:17)

Today's Key Thought:
Show Jesus's love to others

Bible Reading: Ephesians 4:32-5

Wyatt called to Mom as he raced down the stairs and toward the back door. "I'm heading out to my garden to weed." Wyatt had his own garden in the backyard and was looking forward to caring for his plants.

Mom stuck her head out of the kitchen. "Can you take William with you, please? He's been wanting to go outside all day."

Wyatt sighed. Taking William with him would make tending his garden go much slower with all the questions he would ask. Wyatt was tempted to complain, but thought better of it. Mom needed to take care of baby Rose since she was teething and feeling miserable. Besides, William could be cute sometimes.

"William," Wyatt said, "do you want to come with me to the garden?"

"Yes!" William shrieked with delight. "Will you help me put on my shoes? Why do we have to go to the garden? What are we going to do there?"

Wyatt sighed but smiled as he kneeled down to buckle William's sandals. "We need to go to the garden to pull weeds and care for the plants."

William paused a moment, but soon thought of more questions. "How do we care for plants? Why do we pull weeds?"

Wyatt continued to answer William's questions as they headed outside. "We care for the plants by checking to see what they need. They may need water or extra support. If we don't pull the weeds, the plants won't have room to grow." He knew there would be many more questions before the day was done. Mom and Dad had told him that asking questions was how William learned and that answering them kindly and carefully helped him grow and showed him God's love. The kind of love Jesus shows us, Wyatt thought. Love that is always patient as He helps us learn and grow.

While William paused to chase a butterfly, Wyatt realized something. Showing patience and kindness to William wasn't that different from taking care of his plants. He decided he would keep tending William and do what was needed to help him grow.

–Myrical Barton

How About You?
Do you get impatient when younger kids ask lots of questions? Does it annoy you when friends or classmates don't understand something? Remember that Jesus is patient and loving toward you and that you show His love to others by treating them the same way. Be patient with others and do all you can to help them grow.

Today's Key Verse:
Be patient, bearing with one another in love. (NIV) (Ephesians 4:2)

Today's Key Thought:
Be patient and help others grow

Bible Reading: Psalm 119:65-73

Denver tugged his mother's hand. "Come on, Mom! I want to find out if my science fair project won a ribbon!"

"Okay, but help me keep an eye on Darcy," Denver's mom answered as she motioned for his little sister to follow them.

When they arrived at the table holding Denver's project, they spotted a red ribbon attached to the board displaying Denver's research.

"Second place! Cool!" Denver exclaimed. Then he, his mom, and Darcy walked around the gym looking at other projects. Denver congratulated some of his friends on their ribbons too.

"Denver, did you give Darcy a piece of gum?" Mom asked.

"No, I know Darcy's too little for gum."

"Well, she's chewing something." The three of them sat down on the gym's bleachers so Mom could ask Darcy about the gum. When they realized Darcy had yanked an old, already-chewed piece of gum from under one of the science fair tables, Denver cried, "Gross!"

Darcy began to whimper.

"Darcy, it's okay," Denver consoled his sister. "Mom, why would she do that?"

"She's little. She saw something that looked good, so she grabbed it. She doesn't have much experience making wise decisions yet. But she's not the only one who needs help making good choices." Mom smiled and shook her head. Then they returned to admiring the science projects set up in the gym.

On the ride home, Denver asked, "Mom, what did you mean about how Darcy's not the only one who needs help making choices?"

"Well, we all need help choosing what's best sometimes," said Mom.

"Because not everything that looks good is actually good for us," Denver said. "Like Darcy's gum."

"Exactly," Mom replied. "Thankfully, we have a place to turn when we need wisdom. Because you and I trust in Jesus, who died on the cross for our sins and then came back to life so we could have a relationship with God, we can go to our heavenly Father with any need we face, and He'll give us guidance."

"Good to know, Mom. I'm going to ask God for guidance about next year's science project--and about keeping Darcy away from old chewing gum."

–Allison Wilson Lee

How About You?
Have you ever faced a decision and needed help? We all have choices in life to make, and some of them are difficult. But as God's children, we can ask God for help and trust Him for wisdom in making decisions. As we look to God's Word, the Bible, for guidance and share our needs with Him, He will help us make wise choices that show others we have a relationship with Jesus.

Today's Key Verse:
I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you. (NIV) (Psalm 32:8)

Today's Key Thought:
God helps us make wise choices