Flying

Have you ever seen an airplane stop and stay still in the sky? You see, airplane once it starts flying can never stop in the sky. And, while flying sometimes airplanes meet storms, strong winds, and even lightening!  But even then, the airplane in the air cannot stop, it keeps flying until it lands.


This is kind of what it looks like when we start following Jesus Christ. The Bible says, once we start following Jesus Christ, we can never stop in the middle of the way. There will be times storms, strong winds, and even lightening come against us to make us stop following. But, even then, just as airplanes stay flying, we stay following, until God brings us to heavenly home.

" 'Follow me' Jesus said" (Matthew 4:19)

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Stop!

Have you seen a stop sign before? What is that sign about? It’s the sign that tells cars to stop to stay still... for few seconds, before moving on.

Do you realize we too sometimes need to stop before moving on in our lives? Stop where? You may ask? Sometimes, we need to stop to stay still... before God, so that we can spend time with Him. You see, in this life we can be so busy, that we just forget to spend time with God. That’s why we need to stop sometimes. When was the last time that you stopped to be still... to spend time with God? He is waiting for you.

“Be still…” (Psalm 46:10)

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Susan Boyle

Do you know who Susan Boyle is? She is a British woman who surprised the world with her breathtaking voice. But, before she sang, some people did not believe that she would be a great singer, just based on how she dressed and looked. Here, listen to her amazing voice!

Wow, how amazing! You see, the audience never realized her amazing voice until they actually heard what was in her. And, the Bible says that we should never judge people based on how they look on the outside, because you never know what's in the person's heart. For example, the person on the appearance may look very nice, but may have a mean spirit inside. Also, a person who does not look smart may be the smartest person in the world. God says,

Do not consider the outward appearance...The LORD does not look at the outward appearance but the LORD looks at the....... 

(1 Samuel 16:7, Paraphrase)

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Real Faith

Do you know what faith is? Faith is “believing” in something. Watch this video, and see how this young girl was able to make the bold move and jump off the cliff!

Wow, that looked pretty scary! So, how was it that this brave girl was able to jump off the cliff? Well, she believed in the words of her teachers! Her teachers said, “It is going to be ok! You will be fine!” She believed their words and courageously jumped off the cliff! YAY!

Now do you know what REAL FAITH is? REAL FAITH is “believing” in whatever God says to be true. For example, in the times of Genesis, God told Noah to build an ark in the desert, because God said it’s going to rain for 40 days! Even though everyone laughed at Noah for building an ark in the desert, Noah built it. Because he believed that God’s words are always true. So, real faith is believing in whatever God says to be true.

What is God saying to you today? Can you show real faith by believing in His words? You can do it!

"Noah believed in God's words, even though he was not sure about it!" 

(Hebrews 11:7, Paraphrase)

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Little Light

Have you seen a tiny small short little candle light lightening the whole room full of darkness? You see, the tiny small short little candle light has power to SHINE and make the darkness go away.

Do you realize God calls us light? That means, we have power to shine in the world, so that people living in darkness may have hope. How do we shine in the world? We shine our light to the world, when we show people joy and peace God gives to us. So, you are a little light! Let your light, SHINE SHINE SHINE!

“You are the light of the world” (Matthew 5:14).

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Fake Fears

During Halloween days, have you seen pumpkins carved out like these? When you saw them, did you ever get scared? Of course not! They are FAKE FEARS!

Once, Jesus’ disciples were sailing in the boat. Meanwhile, Jesus was too tired that he was taking some nap on the boat. Then, all of sudden, the winds and storms blew! And, the boat was about to be fallen over! The disciples were so scared that they screamed: “JESUS! WAKE UP! WE ARE DYING!”

But, when Jesus woke up, he wasn't happy. Not because they woke him up. No. Jesus wasn't happy, because his disciples were scared. Jesus knew that wind and storms were nothing but FAKE FEARS to make disciples scared. Jesus told them, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Then, Jesus calmed the storm.

You see, when we believe in God, we have nothing to fear. All the fears around us are nothing but FAKE FEARS!

"You of little faith, why are you so afraid?" (Matthew 8:26, NIV)

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Sort of?

“Do you know who your best friend is?” What if you ask me that question and I tell you, “Mmmm. Sort of?” Would you say then I really know my friend? Probably not… If someone is your best friend, then you know that person. I mean you know EVERYTHING about your friend. That is what it REALLY means to REALLY know your best friend!

What if I ask you a question, “Do you know who God is?” Would you say, “Sort of?” You see, God does not want us to know Him, in a “sort of” way. He wants us to REALLY know Him. That means, God wants us to know everything about Him and experience His amazing love. Do you know how we can REALLY know God? We can do it by trusting in Jesus Christ. And, the Bible says when we trust in Jesus Christ, God comes to dwell in us, so that we can REALLY KNOW Him. 

“Oh, that we might know the LORD! Let us press on to know Him!” (Hosea 6:3, NLT).

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Just in case

While walking on the street, have you seen a lonely red fire hydrant standing alone? Did you ever wonder, “Why is the lonely red fire hydrant standing alone there?” Well, it is there for just in case. It is there to provide water, just in case there is a fire. It is standing ready always, just in case. 

Do you realize that the Bible says we too must be ready always for just in case? “Ready for what?” you may ask. The Bible says we must be ready to tell people about our faith, just in case they ask us about it. That means, we really have to know our faith very well. And, we can do that by spending time with God. So, let's stand ready always as well to tell people about our faith, for just in case. 

“Always be ready to give answers to people who ask about your faith” 
(1 Peter 3:15, Paraphrase).

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Picture taken from http://www.clker.com/clipart-fire-hydrant-3.html

Sun! Stop Shining!

“Sun, Stop Shining!” Have you ever said that to the Sun? But, is it really fair to say, “Sun, Stop Shining,” to the Sun? How Silly! You cannot say that to the Sun, because that is what Sun is! Sun Shines because Sun Shines! 

“God, Stop Loving!” Have you ever said that to God? You see, it is never fair to tell God, “God please STOP LOVING me! Because that is who God is. The Bible says that God IS love. That means God loves because God loves! It also means that God loves us forever, and NOTHING can separate us from His love. Did I say nothing? Nothing! 

“Nothing can ever separate us from God’s love” (Romans 8:38)!

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Never Give up!

“Ah, come on! This is too hard! I cannot do this! Better give up!” Sounds familiar? These are the words of quitters! People who quit in the middle of things. Have you ever felt like giving up before on something? You are not alone, if you felt so before. 

Watch this video and how this athlete managed to finish the race, even when he felt like giving up.

Wow! What an amazing determination to finish the race! Do you realize what Bible says about giving up? It says, 

“Let us not give up! For in the right time, we will see the fruits, if we do not give up!” 

(Galatians 6:9, Paraphrase)

So, when you feel like giving up, don’t. Just hang in there! And with God’s help, you will see the fruits! Also, in God’s world, He does not care so much about winning as much as finishing. What He cares most about is that we "finish" the race, by never giving up. 

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Real Hero

“Bat-man, Super-man, Iron-man, Spider-man” Man! There are a lot of heroes in this world! Who is your favorite one? And, who do you think is the REAL HERO?

Do you know who the Bible says the REAL HERO is? I guess you guessed it right! It is Jesus Christ! But, do you know why Jesus Christ is the Real Hero? Have you thought about that? Well, although Bat-man, Super-man, Iron-man, and Spider-man are great men, they cannot save us from our SINS!

The Bible says, the REAL HERO is the one that saves us from our sins, so that we can love God in this life and the life to come. And, Jesus is the Only One that has done that by dying on the cross for our sins. So, Jesus is our Real Hero!

“Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). 

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Picture taken from http://www.clker.com/clipart-super-hero-cartoons.html.

Foods

Do you like eating? What if one day you said to your mom…“Mom, since I had great foods yesterday, I no longer need foods for today, tomorrow, and the rest of my life.” Does this make sense? Of course it does not. Why? Because our body needs foods every day! We need to eat daily on a regular basis!

Do you realize we need to eat spiritual foods daily as well? Spiritual foods are what we call having relationship with God. We can do this by praying, reading the Bible, worshipping, or even just thinking about God. So, are you eating foods for your stomach every day? What about spiritual foods? 

“Your word is better than daily foods” (Job 23:12, Paraphrase).

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Soap

Do you know what soap does? It cleanses your hands, face, and the body. But, do you realize what happens every time we use the soap? It gets smaller, smaller, and smaller. And, it eventually disappears and dies. The soap dies to cleanse us.

This is kind of like what Jesus Christ did for us to cleanse us from our sins. Jesus Christ died on the cross, so that we may be cleansed from our sins, when we trust in Him. But, unlike the soap, Jesus did not just disappear or remain dead. Because on the third day, Jesus came back from the grave to prove that Jesus has overcome the power of sin and death!


Also, when you use the soap to cleanse yourself, how often do you need to use it? Almost every day, whenever you get dirty, right? But, Jesus’s death on the cross cleanses us from our sins ONCE FOR ALL. Praise Jesus Christ!

"...you are clean, because Jesus Christ, the Passover Lamb, has died for you" 

(1 Corinthians 5:7b, Paraphrase).

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The picture taken from http://www.clipartpanda.com/clipart_images/bar-of-soap-clipart-image-11289728.

Blinkers!

Do you know what blinkers are? They are something that horses wear on their eyes, when they run the race. Blinkers help horses fix their eyes on the race in front of them, so they do get distracted by the crowds on their sides. It looks like this:

The Bible says that when we run this life race, we need to fix our eyes on Jesus Christ (Hebrews 12:2). But, when we try to do that, we face so many distractions that keep us from doing that. For example, when we try to have some time with God through prayer, we may be tempted to do something else, more fun, and more exciting. So, we too need blinkers to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus Christ. 

What is your blinker? It can be anything such as a little post-it on your doorpost that says, "Love Jesus." Or, it can simply be an alarm clock that reminds you a time for the Bible reading and prayer. What is your blinker that keeps your eyes fixed on Jesus Christ? 

"Let us fix our eyes on Jesus..." (Hebrews 12:2, ESV)

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The picture taken from http://www.clipartpanda.com/clipart_images/free-brown-horse-clipart-50453049

Book Project: using children stories to tell God's stories

Currently, I am working on a book project that will present 50-100 children Bible stories/ sermons. The book will utilize well-known children stories from various sources such as movies, books, and fairy tales as means to yield persuasive, conviciting, and applicative Biblical messages that are: (1) Creative, (2) Culturally-Interactive, (3) Christ-Exalting, and at the same time (4) Centered faithfully in the original authorial intention of the Biblical texts.

The the goal of the book will be to help children: (1) learn Biblical messages in easy and fun manners, (2) recall those learned Biblical messages, when they hear children stories narrated in other various settings, (3) develop skills to perceive Biblical themes through cultural artifacts, and (4) equip them with tools to carry on Gospel conversations with friends and others.

Furthermore, the book will be written in a way that is fitting for all occasions such as sunday school teaching, preaching, and even for bed-time reading.

Please keep checking the blog for updated matters on this forthcoming book.

Hi, welcome to the blog!

Hi,

Welcome to the blog!

Once, I entered the Christian book store. On the far right corner, there were stacks of scholarly books on  Biblical commentaries, Greek and Hebrew textbooks, and theological dictionaries. On the other hand, however, on the far left corner, there were stacks of children materials on Bibles, books, and various curriculums. As a biblical student who aspires to be a scholar one day, and as a children-minister, I had a dilemma: is there a way to bring the "gap" closer? In other words, is there a way to connect the biblical scholarship world with children world? Although far from perfect, this blog is an attempt to do that. In this blog, I do my best to bring my theological and exegetical insights to the level where children can understand and even enjoy.

More specifically, I created this blog to creatively communicate culturally-interactive "Christian insights" to children in a simple and concise way. I use various objects, stories, or other cultural artifacts that children see in their life settings as access points to deliver Christian insights (which are gained from my theological studies) across their hearts. Although the blog posts are mainly written for children, parents, and children ministers in mind, I hope that ALL readers will be richly blessed by the posts from here.

Currently, I am working on a book project that will present 50-100 children Bible stories/ sermons. The book will utilize well-known children stories from various sources such as movies, books, and fairy tales as means to yield persuasive, conviciting, and applicative Biblical messages that are (1) Creative, (2) Culturally-Interactive, (3) Christ-Exalting, and at the same time (4) Centered faithfully in the original authorial intention of the Biblical texts. For more information, click.

On my credentials, I have earned B.A. in Political Science, and Economics from the University of Washington (Seattle, WA), MDiv. from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (Fort Worth, TX). I am currently pursuing ThM at Regent College in Vancouver, BC, Canada. Also, I have more than a year expereince of serveing as a children pastor.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me at paulsjcho@gmail.com.

Blessings,
Paul