Blessed Christmas and Happy New Year 09

Joy to the world, the Lord is come!
Let earth receive her King;
Let every heart prepare Him room,
And heaven and nature sing,
And heaven and nature sing,
And heaven, and heaven, and nature sing.

Joy to the world, the Savior reigns!
Let men their songs employ;
While fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains
Repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat, repeat, the sounding joy.

No more let sins and sorrows grow,
Nor thorns infest the ground;
He comes to make His blessings flow
Far as the curse is found,
Far as the curse is found,
Far as, far as, the curse is found.

He rules the world with truth and grace,
And makes the nations prove
The glories of His righteousness,
And wonders of His love,
And wonders of His love,
And wonders, wonders, of His love.

Too busy for Him?

written by Sarah Chew - redrafted by Japheth

He waited patiently at the restaurant, glanced at his watch and sighed... The waiter approached him and asked,
"Sir, would you like to take your order first? It has been half an hour since you've been here"
"No thank you," said the finely dressed man 'She'll come in a while, maybe she's delayed today"..
He looked out the window and sighed again.. The waiter shrugged his shoulder and went his way.

The clocked chimed nine times, the waited again approached the man and said,
"Sir, it's already 9'o clock and it's getting late, are you sure you don't want to order ahead?"
"Maybe just a coffee," he replied. "I'm pretty sure she's coming soon, I really do believe in her, I just can't wait to spend time with her, listen to her day, gaze at her beauty and tell her how much I love her.." the man said. The waited once again shrugged his shoulders and went to get the order of coffee, "What an irresponsible girl!", the waiter thought, "She should consider herself fortunate to be with a such a fine, understanding and loving man like him." thought the waiter further.

By ten'o clock the waiter was frustrated, for the gentle man was constantly looking out the window and sighing with a heavy look on His face and yet having such hope that the girl he loved was coming.
"Sir, it's 10'o clock, and we will be closing soon. Whoever the girl you're waiting for does not deserve such a fine man as you. You have waited patiently for her so long! What is so special about her anyway?, You have not even eaten yet. I couldn't help but notice that this is not the first time she's done this to you and I remember seeing you here for a few nights in a row without your date."

A tear fell from the man's eyes.
"You don't understand", the man said. "I love her so much that I would give my all for her, Yes, she has not been coming for quite a while but that will never stop me from loving her." he wiped a tear from his eye. "Thanks for the coffee." the gentle man paid the bill, gave the waiter a tip and got up from his seat. With another sigh, the man walked off into the night...

...


She flungs open her room door and dashes for her bed.
"What a great day I've had today!" she mentioned, "Gosh, I'm so tired and worn out after going out for a birthday party and an awesome movie!" she yawns.
The clock chimes 11 times.
"Oh no!", thought the girl, "I promised God I would spend time with Him at 8pm!"
"Well, God knows I'm really really tired after a great time today, I'm sure He understands ;)"
and she drifted off into the night...

God at the improv

taken from a book - butterflies in brazil

As a christian, I believe that God is the creator of all things, and he is ultimately in control. But that doesn't really answer our question. As humans, we are not passive pawns that God shifts and shuttles in a purely deterministic of chess. Our lives are part of a bigger story, and somehow our choices contribute to it. We have a purpose, but we are not puppets. Part of our life's journey is to learn how to surrender to God and cooperate with hiim in shaping our lives around his purpose. Saying that God is sovereign means acknowledging that the story is his, and it is about him. It also means recognising that he has allowed us to participate in the story with him. He's the author and finisher, but we have very importnat roles to play.

Think of it this way: Human history is like an improvisational movie- that's right, not an improv sketch, an entire movie- with God as the writer, director, producer, and lead actor. It's a work in progress, and we, the other improv avtors, have the opportunity to put in a few scene's of our own. We're not just extras in a busy boulevard scene, we're characters with uniques parts, personalities, and idiosyncrasies.

So let's imagine a scene. You're on a date. Let's say it's your first date in a while- you were taking a break from the dating scene, you know, taking some time to clear your head and reconnect with God. In this scene, there are a few things you know the director doesn't want- you can't be a jerk; you can't end up in bed together, you know the limits- but the restaurant, the activity, the conversation, that's all you.

Now, as it turns out, God is also in that scene. You soon discover he's in every scene, though you don't always see him. As you try your hand at this edgy style of acting called improv, you see that God improvises right along with you. And like a good actor, he leads you in each scene with subtle cues and actions. In case you forget the overall story, he's there to help you not ruin the picture, and to find your way back to the plot. God never forgets; he wrote the synopsis, remember?

The direction you go with the evening is your choice: You either advance the plot of God's story, or you digress and distract it. That's why you can't end up in bed with your date: It's outside the plot and would sidetrack the story that God is trying to tell through you. If you allow your scenes to be hikacked by sin, they'll end up on the cutting room floor, because they'll be ruined. But when you let God redeem your life, it can become a great scene, displaying a powerful performance by the main character.

God's brilliance is seen in his ability to work the various parts and players together into a larger story that serves his ultimate purpose. He knows what each scene is for and what purpose it serves in the overall picture. Still, how each scene unfolds depends in part on how the players play it. We can make choices that take a scene in a direction that God did not intend, but when we do that, we hinder the development of the story and don't advance the plot. (If you've ever been to an improv performance and suffered through a sketch that just doesn't work, you know what I'm talking about. It makes it awkward for everyone.) When we take a scene away from the storyline that God has prepared, our actions in that scene become pointless because God won't use them in the final cut. Although God can use even our 'cutting room floor' scenes to refine our character and teach us important lessons, the more we come to understand the roles he has given us to play, the more our lives can become a part of the story God is ultimately trying to tell.

The good news is, He's on the scene, always leading us back to the story. After all, He's the star. The story is His.

Will you be a part of His-story?
visit mypg.worpress.com

Raising an army that marches on its knees!

Isaiah 52:7 - How beautiful on the mountains are the feel of those who bring good news, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, 'Your God reigns!'

In New York City a guy called John bought a Big Mac for a homeless man; it was the beginning of a lifelong friendship. In Dublin, Lucy's heart felt as if it were breaking as she prayed for friends who didn't know Jesus. In Tennesee, a prodigal stepped inside a prayer room and began the journey home.

The stories of Jesus are still being told. He is alove and moving powerfully in our generation, still comforting those who mourn, answering prayer and making ordinary lives extraordinary.

Stories are powerful; they can evoke anger, ignite truth, inspire hope or invade a person's loneliness with an empathetic hug. Jesus told stories but He also was the story. You've heard of short quotes and personal accounts of God on the move. Life is like a video, there are snapshots capturing parricular moments on people's spiritual journeys. Hopefully they will help you understand God's character better. And when we get our heads around God's character; Prayer, devotion and discipleship ceases to be a technique and becomes and instinct.

That's when we can take our place in an army that marches on its knees, fighting for the Prince of Peace.

Will you join me?
Then check out mypg.wordpress.com!

Song writings

Song No.1

When I was blind You made me see
You are the love that carried me
I will rejoice because of You
And now all I wanna do (X2)

Is to praise You
to love You
to adore You
There's no one else in this world that can be
compared with You
Bring joy to me
Satisfy and comfort me

Now I look unto the cross
All my sins and all my dross
I lay them at Your throne
I give You full control (X2)

Song No.2

You gave it all for me
I will look and see
Your love and faithfulness
Forever You will be

Glorious are you Lord
Faithful, You are God
I will praise Your name
and magnify Your fame

Now I will worship You..

Time to catch my breath~

Amidts the hectic end year schedule, it's good every now and then to catch my breath, sit down and reflect, think and take a nap.. Zzz..

After exams I've been out most of the time. Have been in MAPs (ministering through adventure programs) and doing outdoor sports like mountain biking at FRIM. Spent some time in another forest doing some bible reading and song writing and finally hanging out with friends. I've just attended a worship conference with Glen Packiam (awesome!), and next week I'll be going to a children's camp with my parents, rest a day, and then off to another prayer camp for a couple of days before going to MAPs again till the end of nov. December's pretty free which I'm thankful for (phew..), 2 camps so far, including white water rafting, archery and caving which should be pretty fun ;)

Among the stuff that needs to be done (cleaning my room, never ending house chores, enrol for next sem and plannings), I've finally gotten my real driving licence (no more Ps!). There are though, a lot of books to read, and other stuff to do before the new year starts and work comes in jan feb at my parents' kindergarten and the new semester starts again...

Paintball anybody? ;)

A word of encouragement~

taken from daily devotional material - worthy ministries

Proverbs 22:1 : "A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, Loving favor rather than silver or gold."

My comments and personal messages on facebook and msn has been a lot about God and includes bible verses and personal prayers such as "I can do ALL things through Christ who strengthens me". I've had comments on "oh you shouldn't put your nickname in MSN like that, it's too extreme"...

Well honestly, would a msn nick "Busy doing assignment, stressing out, going through depression, just ate a nice cake, or a random nick" serve any purpose? I mean really, stop reading this for 5 minutes and scroll through your msn contacts. What do you see? Anything encouraging? Or just another person perhaps looking for sympathy, or articles for assignment, or being bored..

Personally, the reason why I love to put encouraging verses or quotes on my blog, facebook or msn is because I feel that people need it, and I don't want the attention on I, me and myself, it really is ALL about Him, looking at the bigger picture, without Him, all we do or say is useless cuz He is the one who gives us life and the ability to communicate and share His goodness.

Life is bigger than your exam, life is bigger than what happened yesterday night at the party, or what movie you watched, the latest political news or sporting event. Life is about Him, shining His glory and living a life worthy to be called a child of God.

I would encourage whoever who's reading to think about changing your personal message on msn for some time, put anything encouraging, be it a verse, a line in a song, a quote, a promise, and wait and see if people will nudge "thanks bro I needed that encouragement today". There is power in what we say, be it verbal or written, check this out:

Proverbs 18:21 - "Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit"

2 Thessalonians 2:15-17 - "So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter.
May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word."

and my favorite:

Proverbs 15:23 - "A man has joy by the answer of his mouth, And a word spoken in due season, how good it is!"

Be Blessed! and may we be a blessing to the people around us.

God bless you

Japh

Currently reading~ again..

Boy meets Girl. (Joshua Harris) -

'A couple committed to God's glory places their ultimate hope in God, not in each other. Before two people can please God as a couple, they must first be individuals who want God more than anything else and who know that only He can satisfy the deepest longings of their souls.

One of my favorite authors, John Piper, has made his life message this simple but profound truth: "God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him." What does this mean? It means we can exalt God by trusting in Him and desiring Him above anything else in life- more than companionship, more than romance, more than marriage. When we do, out lives say louder than words that HE is more fufilling than all these things.

Unlike all the fleeting pleasures of this world, when we make God the object of our soul's longing, He truly satisfies us - we find lasting peace and joy that we long for. Only then can we have a healthy, happy relationship, because instead of the relationship being our reason for living, it becomes an expression of the fact that we're living for Someone greater.' (Harris, 2000)

God Bless You!

I will in trust in You, Jesus...

You give and take away
My heart will chose to say
Blessed be Your name...

You open doors and close some
I may not fully understand why
But I chose to trust in You
Cuz You know what's best

"Though the fig tree may not blossom,
Nor fruit be on the vines;
Though the labor of the olive may fail,
And the fields yield no food;

Though the flock may be cut off from the fold,
And there be no herd in the stalls-

Yet I will rejoice in the Lord,
I will joy in the God of my salvation.

The Lord God is my strength;
He will make my feet like deer's feet,
And He will make me walk on my high hills."

Taken from Habakkuk 3:17-19

He alone is my Rock and my Salvation
He is my Sheild
I will not be shaken

My deliverer, My comforter in times of trouble
My portion, My everything
My God is mighty to save....

My family~

THe Chew Familylove them to bits!, from left, Japheth, Sarah, Irene, Deborah, Jeffrey Chew ;)

~All About Love~ Steven Curtis Chapman

We've got CDs tapes and videos and radio and TV shows
Conferences retreats and seminars
We've got books and magazines to read on everything from A to Z
And a web to surf from anywhere we are

But I hope with all this information buzzing through our brains
That we will not let our hearts forget the most important thing is...

Love love love love love
It's all about
Love love love love love
Everything else comes down to this
Nothing any higher on the list than love
It's all about love

Now they're fighting in the Middle East and they're fighting down on 7th street
And there are fights in my own house on given days
It's like something¹s lurking deep inside that can't seem to be satisfied
But life was not meant to be lived this way

'Cause it's true for every man and woman every boy and girl
That our only hope for living here together in this world is...

Love love love love love
It's all about
Love love love love love
Everything else comes down to this
Nothing any higher on the list than love
It's all about love

This is the reason we were made
To know the love of our Creator
And to give the love He's given us away
Yeah, the Maker and the Father and the God of everything says...

Love them like Jesus~ Casting Crowns

The love of her life is drifting away
They're losing the fight for another day
The life that she's known is falling apart
A fatherless home, a child's broken heart

You're holding her hand, you're straining for words
You trying to make - sense of it all
She's desperate for hope, darkness clouding her view
She's looking to you

Just love her like Jesus, carry her to Him
His yoke is easy, His burden is light
You don't need the answers to all of life's questions
Just know that He loves her and stay by her side
Love her like Jesus
Love her like Jesus

The gifts lie in wait, in a room painted blue
Little blessing from Heaven would be there soon
Hope fades in the night, blue skies turn to gray
As the little one slips away

You're holding her hand, you're straining for words
You're trying to make sense of it all
They're desperate for hope, darkness clouding their view
They're looking to you

Just love them like Jesus, carry them to Him
His yoke is easy, His burden is light
You don't need the answers to all of life's questions
Just know that He loves them and stay by their side
Love them like Jesus

Lord of all creation holds our lives in His hands
The God of all the nations holds our lives in His hands
The Rock of our salvation holds our lives in His hands
He cares for them just as He cares for you

So love them like Jesus, love them like Jesus
You don't need the answers to all of life's questions
Just know that He loves them and stay by their side
Love them like Jesus
Love them like Jesus

Love song for a saviour ~ Jars of Clay

in open fields of wild flowers
she breathes the air and flies aways
he thanks her Jesus for the daises and the roses
in no simple language
someday she'll understand the meaning of it all

He's more than the laughter or the stars in the heavens
as close a heartbeat or a song on her lips
someday she'll trust Him and learn how to see Him
someday He'll call her and she will come running
and fall in His arms and the tears will fall down and she'll pray

i want to fall in love with You

sitting silent wearing sunday best
the sermon echoes through the walls
a great salvation through it calls to the people
who stare into nowhere, and can't feel the chains on their souls

He's more than the laughter or the stars in the heavens
as close a heartbeat or a song on our lips
someday we'll trust Him and learn how to see Him
someday He'll call us and we will come running
and fall in his arms and the tears will fall down and we'll pray

i want to fall in love with You

it seems too easy to call You "Savior"
not close enough to call You "God"s
o as i sit and think of words i can mention
to show my devotion
iwant to fall in love with You

F.O.C.U.S!!

F- Finish what you need to do!
O- Other things can wait for later!
C- Concentrate on the important things!
U- Utilize every time you have and Use it wisely!
S- Succeed rather than just Survive!

Yes I need more of that! Lord Help Me!

Recently in need of a whole lot of that, although trying to cut down things have been hard, saying 'no' to new things has been even harder!! ish. FOCUS JAPH!!!I guess I'm learning that not every event in life has to be attended. I mean, what's there to miss anyway. And when other things are starting to take priority over your personal time with God, that's dangerous. Nothing, and I mean nothing is more important that spending time with God, not even spending time with friends. Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

I've also been learning to really love others the way God wants me too. I mean, though I may have the faith to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing really.. The world has enough racist people, haters, rebels, proud and egoistic people, this world needs people who loves beyond themselves.. teach me Lord to love the way You would..

I always say how life could be better if only this and if only that, but really how about make the best of it in every circumstance? it's a choice to live in whatever state you may be in, and we can choose to either be happy or sad about the choices we have made/ will make. Life moves on. Do your best in whatever you and do and leave the rest to God. It's His life your living for anyway..

Well I could go around ranting but I could have more better things to do haha like getting started on yet another assignment :) and for some reason people have been telling me to enjoy doing it? that's hard! haha.

Japheth

Please Pray for Malaysia!! 16/09/08

I'm writing this on the 16 September 2008 at 1am, the date up there is incorrect for some reason. Anyway.

Many many events has been happening in our nation these past few days.

Please read the newspapers to find out what's been happening.

Racial tension, persecution, politcal unrest and a posible toppling of the government.

Please Pray for our Nation, today. Today is Malaysia day for those who might not know.

I'm seriously pleading with you guys, STOP praying only for your assignments and tests. Our country seriously needs prayer.

Whatever happens whether today or in the next few days will affect the whole nation.

Thanks and God bless!

Japh

Worlds apart~ Jars of Clay

I am the only one to blame for this
Somehow it all ends up the same
Soaring on the wings of selfish pride
I flew too high and like Icarus I collide

With a world I try so hard to leave behind
To rid myself of all but love
to give and die

To turn away and not become
Another nail to pierce the skin of one who loves
more deeply than the oceans,
more abundant than the tears
Of a world embracing every heartache

Can I be the one to sacrifice
Or grip the spear and watch the blood and water flow

To love you - take my world apart
To need you - I am on my knees
To love you - take my world apart
To need you - broken on my knees

All said and done I stand alone
Amongst remains of a life I should not own
It takes all I am to believe
In the mercy that covers me

Did you really have to die for me?
All I am for all you are
Because what I need and what I believe are worlds apart

I look beyond the empty crossf
orgetting what my life has cost
and wipe away the crimson stains
"dull the nails that still remain"

More and more I need you now,
I owe you more each passing hour
the battle between grace and pride
I gave up not so long ago

So steal my heart and take the pain
and wash the feet and cleanse my pride
take the selfish, take the weak,
and all the things I cannot hide
take the beauty, take my tears
the sin-soaked heart and make it yours

take my world all apart
take it now, take it now
and serve the ones that I despise
speak the words I can't deny
watch the world I used to love
fall to dust and thrown away

I look beyond the empty cross
forgetting what my life has cost
so wipe away the crimson stains
"dull the nails that still remains"
so steal my heart and take the pain
take the selfish, take the weak
and all the things I cannot hide

take the beauty, take my tears
take my world apart, take my world apart
I pray, I pray, I pray
take my world apart~

Church camp 08

So during the merdeka weekend I find myself in nilai attending my ex-church, church camp ;)
It was great just to be back where I was staying / studying last year at a house in nilai, brought back memories of staying alone / away from home during pre-u as well as in ywam, browsing through old notes, written journals and just enjoying peace and quiet....

church camp was great as well, catching up with old friends was a bomb, listening to an awesome speaker from Sabah was refreshing, and just reflecting my own walk with God while hearing His voice, here's some of the stuff learnt at camp:

1. The speaker gave a a testimony of a Sabah pastor who's house got burned down, one son got burned to the bones in the fire, the pastor risked his life trying to save his second/third sons and got 80% burned, before passing out, tells his wife to take care of the kids. In hospital the second son died while the third was 35% burned. Before his last breath, in excruitiating pain and agony, he struggles to lift up his hands, and whisper "puji Tuhan (Praise God)". His hands never came down. The speaker challenged us with a question, What is greatness? riches? honour? prosperity? size of congregation? No. One who can still praise God in the fire. That's greatness.

2. The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked, who can know it? (Jeremiah 17:9), the speaker challenged us to really dig deep into our hearts and ask God to search us out, every secret sins, to confess them before God and make right with Him. The speaker talked about Moses's prayer not to see his wretchedness appear, and David's fall into sin and genuine repentence to be cleansed again and again (psalm 51 - Wash me thoroughly). She mentioned that our salvation should be as a lamp that burns (keeps on burning - Isaiah 62:1) , and cleansing is a continual process.

3. The inside controls the outside, It's what's going on in the insides of us that needs to be dealt with, cuz often times it controls what we do/say (on the outsides). Just like how we wash ourselves everyday (bath), our insides (thoughts, mind, will, emotions) needs to be cleansed (brought before God) to be dealt with everyday. 'Unconscious is the most deadly', meaning to say, the things which we are unconsious about (most of the time, like pride, greed, lust etc, can bring out the worse in us, anger and so forth).

Many many other things I've learned in the saturday and sunday I was there. To mention all would take some time, we also had a christian minister and politician giving his testimony (super cool!) and we also got to see some fireworks outside the church camp (merdeka!), as well as eat local foods like durian and chi-ku-teh!

All in all, I guess I really thank God that I decided to follow my family for this camp, missing out on other events (such as Monash ball) wasn't much of a missing out at all, spending time with family these past few days has been very meaningful, went for merdeka dinner with dad and sis, catching up with old church mates and listening to God, totally made it worth it. Praise and Thank God!

right now? it's back to the books and assignments ;)

take care!

Japheth ;)

Passion ~ Sing Sing Sing ~ Chris Tomlin

We will sing, sing, sing
And make music with the heavens
We will sing, sing, sing
Grateful that you hear us
When we shout your praise
Lift high the name of Jesus

What's not to love about you
Heaven and earth adore you
Kings and kingdoms bow down
Son of God
You are the One
You are the One
We're living for

You are the love that frees us
You are the light that leads us
Like a fire burning
Son of God
You are the One
You are the One
We're living for

Passion - God of this city ~ Chris Tomlin

You're the God of this city
You're the King of these people
You're the Lord of this nation
You Are

For there is no one like our God
There is no one like our God

Greater things have yet to come
Greater things are still to be done
In this city
Greater things are still to come
And greater things are still to be done here

You're the Lord of Creation
The Creator of all things
You're the King above all Kings
You Are

You're the strength in our weakness
You're the love to the broken
You're the joy in the sadness
You Are

Tagged!!

Instructions: Remove 1 question from below, and add in your personal question, make it a total of 20 questions, then tag 8 people in your list, list them out at the end of this post. Notify them in their chat box that he/she has been tagged.

1. At what age do you wish to marry?
Hopefully around 25ish ;)

2. What is your most favourite thing to do?
Sleep sounds pretty good at the moment ;) besides that I guess it would be jamming on the guitar or drums! or currently some extreme sports ;)

3. If you have a close close close friend since childhood who loves to take away whatever you like, including guys/girls, and he/she always wins, will you still consider him/her your friend?
What kind of close friend would do that? I guess it'll depend on the situation but it won't be anything too drastic la, life moves on....

4. What would you give up in return to eat all you want in the world and not get fat ?
Doesn't really matter, for some reason I think I eat a lot and not get fat, well not yet at least... ;)

5. If you can have 1 dream to come true, what would it be?
That this tag thing would end? lol. I guess it'll be for the whole world to be saved! and a drop in oil prices might be helpful ;)

6. Do you believe you can survive without money?
Yes. It'll be hard, but yes.

7. What are you afraid to lose the most?
Dignity? Reputation? Sanity? Oh and my loved ones of course ;)

8. What do you feel like doing, right now?
Finish this darn tag. lol. I guess it'll be to start studying... start ;)

9. If there's someone that you love, would you confess to him/her?
Sigh.

10. List out 3 good points of the person who tagged you.
1. His name is Wilson (is that good? ;))
2. He's open and transparent, nice guy to hang out with and share thoughts
3. Teachable and has a wacky sense of humour ;)

11. What are the requirements that you wish from your other half?
God-Fearing, Peace-Loving, Loves God more than anything else in this world, even me.

12. What is your ambition?
To know God and make Him known more and more! To be an influence in my generation and make an impact in this world.

13. Is anyone really perfect?
Yes. My heavenly father, Jesus Christ is ;)

14. If you had a choice to be rich or happy, which one would you pick ?
Happy. Of course.

15. If you have a chance, which part of your character you would like to change?
The lazy bit part? Haha ;) More humility would be good too!

16. Who is the person that you can share all your problems with?
God, first of all. Next up would be my dad and sister, my pastor, and accountability partner

17. How do you see yourself in 10 years time?
Married. One kid so far. House. Working

18. What is the one thing you love about yourself?
Sounds a bit wrong eh ;) I guess I like it when I can relate to people, make friends, play music and sports?

19. How many personalities do you have?
A little out-going, tends to take on responsibility and leadership roles, sanguine?, a bit emo sometimes but trying not to be, loves adventures, lame most of the time, passionate about God, and would go all out doing the things I like ;)

20. What kind of personalities would you like to have?
More integrity, walk the talk more often, more focus, more discipline to study, Self-less and love people more, more wisdom in making decisions and will power to do it ;)

I tag:
1. Sarah (my sis)
2. Sarah Tan
3. Mark Teen
4. Jacqueline
5. Daniel Ong
6. Jo Khoo
7. Li Wen
8. David Yeap

Integrity

cant' remember where i got this from by must be from a book or devotional material somewhere ;)

An aging king woke up one day to the realization that should he drop dead, there would be no male in the royal family to take his place. He was the last male in the royal family in a culture where only a male could succeed to the throne - and he was aging. He decided that if he could not give birth to a male, he would adopt a son who then could take his place but he insisted that such an adopted son must be extraordinary in every sense of the word. So he launched a competition in his kingdom, open to all boys, no matter what their background. Ten boys made it to the very top.

There was little to separate these boys in terms of intelligence and physical attributes and capabilities. The king said to them, 'I have one last test and whoever comes top will become my adopted son and heir to my throne.'

Then he said, 'This kingdom depends solely on agriculture. So the king must know how to cultivate plants. So here is a seed of corn for each of you. Take it home and plant and nurture it for three weeks. At the end of three weeks, we shall see who has done the best job of cultivating the seed. That person will be my heir-apparent.' The boys took their seeds and hurried home. They each got a flower pot and planted the seed as soon as they got home. There was much excitement in the kingdom as the people waited with bated breath to see who was destined to be their next king.

In one home, the boy and his parents were almost heartbroken when after days of intense care, the seed failed to sprout. He did not know what had gone wrong with his. He had selected the soil carefully, he had applied the right quantity and type of fertilizer, he had been very dutiful in watering it at the right intervals, he had even prayed over it day and night and yet his seed had turned out to be unproductive.

Some of his friends advised him to go and buy a seed from the market and plant that. 'After all,' they said, 'how can anyone tell one seed of corn from another?' But his parents who had always taught him the value of integrity reminded him that if the king wanted them to plant any corn, he would have asked them to go for their own seed. 'If you take anything different from what the king gave you that would be dishonesty.''Maybe we are not destined for the throne. If so, let it be, but don't be found to have deceived the king,' they told him.

The d-day came and the boys returned to the palace each of them proudly exhibiting a very fine corn seedling. It was obvious that the other nine boys had had great success with their seeds. The king began making his way down the line of eager boys and asked each of them, 'Is this what came out of the seed I gave you?'

And each boy responded, 'Yes, your majesty.' And the king would nod and move down the line.The king finally got to the last boy in the line-up.

The boy was shaking with fear. He knew that the king was going to have him thrown into prison for wasting his seed. 'What did you do with the seed I gave you?' the king asked. 'I planted it and cared for it diligently, your majesty, but alas it failed to sprout.' the boy said tearfully as the crowd booed him.

But the king raised his hands and signaled for silence. Then he said, 'My people behold your next king.' The people were confused. 'Why that one?' many asked. 'How can he be the right choice?'

The king took his place on his throne with the boy by his side and said, 'I gave these boys boiled seeds. This test was not for cultivating corn. It was the test of character; a test of integrity. It was the ultimate test.

'If a king must have one quality, it must be that he should be above dishonesty. Only this boy passed the test. A boiled seed cannot sprout.' Never!!

We live in a society that has become obsessed with success and many show success at any cost. We say the end justifies the means. It is the tragedy of life. You see, failure often is an invitation to God to show that he is all powerful and does not need help to make us great or to bless us.

Reach out!!

taken from devotional material

Some time ago there was a story in the San Francisco Chronicle about a female humpback whale who had become entangled in a spider web of crab traps and lines. She was weighted down by hundreds of pounds of traps that caused her to struggle to stay afloat. She had hundreds of yards of line rope wrapped around her body, her tail, her torso, and a line tugging in her mouth.

Thankfully, a fisherman spotted her just east of the Farralone Islands (outside the Golden Gate) and radioed an environmental group for help. Within a few hours, the rescue team arrived and determined that she was in such bad condition that the only way to save her was to dive in and untangle her, a very dangerous proposition.

One slap of the enormous whale's tail could kill a rescuer. Still the brave rescuers worked for hours cutting her free. One guy who was cutting the rope out of her mouth says her eye was following him the whole time. Eventually they were able to free her.

As soon as she became free, the divers say she began to swim in what seemed like joyous circles. She then came back to each and every diver, one at a time, and nudged them, pushed gently around-she thanked them. Some said it was the most incredibly beautiful experience of their lives.

Let's take a lesson from this beautiful story. So often we let the hurting in our churches and communities fall through the cracks, never to be seen again. But it is a brave soul who gathers up an army of rescuers to reach out to a suffering or hard to reach brother or sister and rescue him or her from the binding entanglements of this world. Just as the Lord has so mercifully reached out to us, we need to do the same. Whether it is a gift, an invitation to a meal or a smile and a word of encouragement, let's strive to reach out.

Some more things to think about!

Got this from a devotional material - if i'm not mistaken - worthy ministries

Have you even heard how eskimos kill wolves?

First the Eskimo coats the blade of his knife with animal blood and allows it to freeze.
He then adds and freezes more layers of blood, several coats, in fact, until the blade is completely covered with frozen blood.
Next, he plants his knife in the snow, the blade facing up and goes about his business.
When a wolf finds his way to the luring aroma of fresh blood, he starts licking.

Then more and more vigorously, lapping it until the sharp blade of the knife is exposed.

However, by this point, so intense is his craving for the scrumptious blood, that the wolf does not notice the sharp sting of the blade on his own tongue, nor does he even realize that his ravenous craving is now being satisfied by his very own blood!

By light of dawn, the Eskimo will find him laying dead in the snow.

Sin entices and seduces us in precisely the same way. Satan lures us to the place where he plans to ravage us with some sort of destructive fleshly pleasure -- gossip, rage, sexual sin, etc. Once we give in to it's lustful pleasures, our craving for it increases.

When we continue to allow ourselves to indulge, it grips us all the more. And before we know it -- it completely consumes us. Our friendships are damaged. Our marriages are broken. Our testimony, spoiled...

It's scary when we think about it, and how true is it!

think think think ;)

japh

T.H.I.N.K!

Here's something to THINK about

Before we say / do anything, let's think:

T- is it true?
H- is it helpful?
I - is it inspiring?
N - is it necessary?
K - is it kind?

THINK! If what we say does not pass those tests, don't say it!

Interestingly, 've been reading some proverbs lately, and sometime it is a wise thing to do to be silent sometimes, even a fool seems wise when he stays silent, and a person who vents all his feelings is folly too.. hmm...

Gonna enjoy some moments of silent-ness ;)

Peace~

japh

Passion World Tour in Malaysia!!

Date: 3rd August 08
Time: 6 onwards
Place: Sunway convention centre, pyramid
Tickets: RM20

And, it's going to be awesome! Can't wait!
If I'm not mistaken, CHRIS TOMLIN and Louie Giglio is coming, and I'm so excited to see what's God's gonna do there, prepare for revolution people!!

Let's get our PASSION on!!

Japh

1st MYPG 08

So the 1st Malaysian Youth Prayer Gathering was a success! Youths from all accross Malaysia gathered in Kluang, Johor for a whole day of prayer, like 8am to 8pm! and prayed for many issues, repentence, prayer for the states, the youths, the nations and for our beloved country Malaysia!

The drive down to Kluang took about 2 and a half hours, thanks to my dad driving down at an average of 160Km/h! we left at like 6.30 in the morning, had breakfast along the way, and still made it by 9am! Kluang was really different than I expected, my first reaction when I first heard Kluang was, "what's a kluang?" then I tried looking for it in a map and couldn't find it! So when we entered Kluang district I was like, "CIVILISATION!!" haha ok sorry I'm mean! but ya Kluang is really developed, I saw a kluang parade mall, the conference was in a nice hotel, and there's kluang rail coffee! not to mention beef balls noodle soup we had for dinner ;)

It was great meeting people I knew from around Malaysia there, some from alor setar, others from east and south (JB) and be able to pray with the youths who were there, they have a really big dream of gathering 100,000 youths in the future to dedicate their lives to missions in a stadium! The organisers are really passionate about seeing this young generation get serious in prayer and commit their lives to seeing their friends saved and believe in transformation in Malaysia. Ps Kenneth Chin gave an awesome message and challenge to the youths to commit their lives to being 'full time' workers in whatever area they will be involved in their career. Indeed the harvest is ripe and there shall be many labourers starting from the youth! The youth leader, Isaac, has a huge heart and vision to see youths from all denominations to gather and just worship God!

It's exciting to see what God's gonna do through the youth in these end times!
Let's look forward together!

God bless!

Japheth

India Report

this is my friend's india report - which i was at -my friend from south africa

We arrived on chennai international airport 1 july. The first impression of india was hot and confusing! india is very hot! it was about 40 degraas celcius with a high humidity. the traffic is terrible! the vehicals drive as they like - hundreds of trucks and three-wheel taxis (called tuk tuks!), cars, scooters, bikes and cattle share the same road. cows stand in the middle of the road while the traffic simply drives around them.

the CiP (children in prayer) conference was from 2 tot 7 july. 37 nations were present; about 200 people. there was about 50 kids at the conference. i made so many friend from different nations! egypt, malaysia, australia, finland, new zealand, england, jamaica...

the kids led the conference two nights. we learned a lot about CiP across the globe. different people from different countries shared testimonies of what God is doing in CiP in their countries.

Egypt had a bash of 5000 kids coming together where they launched Kids Games. Kids from Singapore pray and people get healed. kids from malaysia, indonesia and india intercedes for the nations. kids from lebanon write down their prayers and draw pictures of visions they saw. a boy of 8years old led 5000 people in prayer in asia.

God is working with and through the kids. God's endtime plan is the kids!! Because kids are arrows in His bow which destroys the plan of satan. (Ps127) in malaysia, kids do spiritual warfare with shofars, worship, the Word and flags.

God uses the youth and grown-ups around the world to mentor kids and teach them to listen to God's voice.

5 july was a huge highlight. we went to father anton cruz's ministry for child intercessors, Royal Kids. His vision which he received from God is to raise up 100 000 child intercessors by 2010. Their ministry takes in children from the streets and garbage heaps and supply in their needs. They educate them in school and teach them how to pray. Transforming kids from trash to treasure!

The evening we were led by youth in praise and worship and we prayed for and moved in between the kids as profetic act that they say yes, i will labour in the harvest wherever God sends me.

We washed the feet of kids of prostitutes, orphans, kids with AIDS en lepers. our hearts were broken for the kids and we could just cry as we washed their feet declaring: the hearts of the fathers turn to the children. we also got prayed for by other kids. they layed their hands on our heads and prayed for us - in top gear! the herts of the chilren turn to the fathers.

the last evening of the conference some of the royal kids came to teach us how to dance and led us in worship.

God's heart is for His young disciples. kids are the missionary field. when the kids are reached, the parents will also be reached. through the intercession of children nations can change, can humble themselves and pray and seek God's face and God will then hear them and heal their land through the blood of Jesus Christ. india was a life-changing experience! if you want to see change, start praying!!

Wanna see change? I dare you to move!

1st Malaysian Youth Prayer Gathering!!

Place: Kluang, Johor
Date: 19th July 2008 (Saturday)
Time: 8am till 8pm

Am taking a van load down to Johor early Saturday morning and heading back saturday night. Places are limited so do inform me if you are want to come! The more of you guys confirm, can book more transport.

For more information, contact me and I will email you the information, fliers, video etc. It's going to be awesome!

Japheth

Praise GOD!!!

3 Ds and 1 Cs for first semester!! totally unexpected!! Thank You Lord!!

Management and Statistics especially, totally shocking!

It all starts again...... back to uni life, books, assignments....

And for some reason..... I'm excited!

Bring it on!

Peace~

Back from India!!

And it was... amazing...

It was a conference for children and children's workers from all around the world, called 'Children in Prayer Global consultation', which main aim is to connect children prayer networks from around the world and bring prayer back into their nations through children ministries, as well as to sense the father heart of God for children.

Many of you would probably wonder what I was doing there.. well, my family has been in the children ministry for some time and my parents bring us (me and my sisters) to their travels and ministry to help them, and we love it!

This time though, I was also involved with speaking in a main session about 'youth/children leading children' and help lead the kids who were from there from all around the world. Meeting with other people and kids is amazing, I now have friends from South Africa, Aussie, Egypt, and list goes on!

What made it great though, was what I learnt while the time spent there...

We visited a big orphanage called the Royal Kids, and they have a few thousand children around India, and just seeing them, was phenomenal! esspecially when they prayed for us

I really felt God's love for the indian children, and it brought back memories of my previous mission trip to India through 'Youth with a mission' in 06 (that's another whole story I've yet to write about :p)

This time though, it wasnt exactly a mission trip, altough we did minister to many of the children
and prayed for the children etc.

I was really worried actually, like 'who will feed these children, where do they stay, etc but God reassured me that He really loves them and will sustain them, even supernaturally.. wow!

This turns my perspective of the world around... again...

Many of these children have been abused, raped, forced into prostitution, watched their parents die in front of them (like being burnt or electricuted, it's horrifying just hearing their stories)

And then looking back at how blessed we are, melts us really, many of us just stood there weeping as we washed the feet of some of these children during the night rally..

May God break our hearts with the things that break His heart..

One particular verse will stick with me through this, Malachi 4:6 'He will turn the hearts of the children to thier fathers, and the heart of the fathers to their children', to the heavenly father, our daddy God!

Let's just be grateful yeah, for the things God has blessed us with, even the opportunity to read this post... Millions out there, have a need.. shelter, education, food...

Spend some time thinking, and praying, and being grateful ;)

God bless you

Japheth

Monash CF Camp!

IT was great!

Thanks guys for being so participative and sporting and funny and all!

Thanks committee for planning and leading!

Thank you speakers for just being yourself and transparent with us!

Thank you most of all, God!, for everything!

Praise God!

Jesus You are...

A song I wrote, can't remember when, or how it sounds like, but here it is ;)

God, help me realise that Life on earth is more than this
I try and try, yet changes never come
Could I suffer any more,
won't you help me please
not my will, but yours be done

Sitting alone in this corner
I reflect what you've done for me
give me the self-control, the will power
to live a life that I was meant to be

What must I do to break free?
To honour You, for You are worthy
Give me the strength, to worship thee
More of You, less of me

Cuz Jesus You are
More than the air I breath
the song I sing

Jesus You are
My only hope
My everything

Victory is found in You my King
As I seek You I shall find You
For You promised freedom, not just a fling
If I would obey and honour You in all I do

Out of the bag...

Another poem I found while digging through my old files... from RP2 Camp by a one of the groups

Out of the bag, I took out of my bag a paper,
My past, my present, and my future,
How the story of my life unfolds,
That the Lord God Almighty controls,
In order to move on I have to give in,
And surrender all my hurts and pains to Him.


Out of the bag I took out myself,
Taught of my identity, children of God himself,
Creations of the maker, special in every way,
He will never forsake me, each and everyday,


Out of the bag, I took out my God,
Viewed His personality, which I long forgot,
Knowing the trinity, my triune God,
Gives me a clear picture of my sovereign God.


Out of the bag I took out my family,
Memories of roles, discipline and responsibilities,
Mommy, daddy, siblings and me,
They are the people who make up my family,
I learned that unconditional love is a must,
And honesty, too, to build their trust.


Out of the bag I took out my friends,
People who motivated and inspired my plans,
The good, the bad, and the ugly,
They will always be a lasting memory.


Out of the bag I took out my teachers,
Painted my life a beautiful picture,
My teachers I learned to appreciate,
Remembering the sacrifices they made,
Imperfect though they may be,
I thank God they were given to me.

Devotions.....

taken from devotional material - worthy ministries

John 15:1-5 I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

How do we produce much fruit? What is the Lord saying?In the modern world, the work ethic is, achieve and produce by working longer and harder! The focus is on getting results through human effort -- we've become product oriented and the bottom line is......the bottom line! But God's way runs contrary to this approach -- His way is much more oriented toward process and relationship rather than performance and production. He IS interested in results which He calls "fruit"; but not by pushing or egging us on to work harder or longer.The Lord's way is to work with and through us so that every result or product comes out of our abiding in Him, since without Him WE CAN DO NOTHING.This is opposed to of the culture we live in today, and to human nature in general. Think about it -- we're constantly bombarded with self-help books promoting self-esteem, self-confidence, and self-control –- our society is all about SELF! But God's way of success produces the results which He values; results which are not produced by self-effort, but which grow out of an intimate relationship with Him, in which we seek to constantly abide.

The only way we can become abundantly fruitful is to understand the Lord's fruit-bearing process. As we lay down self-effort, our natural human independence, and seek communion with Him, abiding in the Vine, then His power, His will, and His desires will be realized in our lives, which then, will bear fruit that remains throughout eternity!

God's Ideal

I read this entry at a friends blog some time ago and saved it, check it out!

GOD’S IDEAL

Everyone longs to give themselves completely to someone

to have a deep soul relationship with another,

to be loved thoroughly and exclusively.
But God, says,“No, not until you are satisfied, fulfilled and content with being loved by Me alone, with giving yourself totally and unreservedly to me, with having an intensely personal relationship with me alone,

discovering that only in Me is your satisfaction to be found, will you be capable of the perfect human relationship that I have planned for you.

You will never be able to unite with another until you are united with Me,

exclusive of anyone or anything else,exclusive of any other desires or longings.
I want you to stop planning, stop wishing,

and allow Me to give you the most thrilling plan existing,

one that you cannot imagine.

I want you to have the very best.

Please allow Me to bring it to you.

You just keep watching Me, expecting the greatest thing,

keep experiencing the satisfaction that I AM,

keep listening and learning the things I tell you,

you just wait, that’s all.
Don’t worry. Don’t be anxious.

Don’t look around at the things others have gotten or that I’ve given them.

Don’t look at the things you think you want.

You just keep looking at Me, or you’ll miss what I want to show you.
And then, when you’re ready,

I’ll surprise you with a love far more wonderful than any you would dream of.

You see, until you are ready, and until the one I have for you is ready,

(I am working even at this moment to have you both ready at the same time)

until you are both satisfied exclusively with Me,

and the life I prepared for you,

you won’t be able to experience the love that exemplifies your relationship with Me,

and thus the perfect love.
And dear one, I want you to have this most wonderful love.

I want you to see in the flesh a picture of your relationship with me,

and to enjoy materially and concretely,

the everlasting union of beauty, perfection and love.

Know that I love you utterly.

I am God.
Believe it and be satisfied.”

Jesus Loves You!

Passion V2

So I thought I would continue the passion ramblings..
A verse struck me the other day, Matthew 6:21:

"Where your treasure is, there your heart will be"

and it's sooo true... I guess what I learnt from the things that we desire the most, would probably mean the most to us. I'm the kind of guy that would really be all out to do the things that I like, e.g- jamming, worship leading, futsal'ing, chatting (at times), and it's so easy to get caught up in our own desires that we kind of, miss out what God has planned for us?

I tried to understand what that verse in a different approach, try switching it around and you get "Where your heart is, there your treasure will be"

Now I get back to passion, it all starts from the heart. That's number one. How many of us pray for revival and yet we refuse to lift our hands during worship or allow the Holy Spirit to move in our hearts? Many of us pray for passion and yet we do not attend prayer meetings or encourage our friends to. Now don't give me 'oh I'm like really busy and I can pray back home', There might be some truth in that but how many of us actually do pray by ourselves? It is said in the bible, 'Pray without ceasing' and we would, if we really understand what passion is. There's power in corporate prayer and agreement, 'If two or three are gathered, there He is in our midts'.

Number two, Passion is more caught than thought. Speakers can talk alot about passion but at the end of the day, it's really all about catching the essence and acting apon what you believe. Walk the talk. Don't just talk so much (something I'm learning too!).

So I guess a question to ask ourselves after all this is,

What are you doing about your passion?

Japh

Happy Father's Day!!!

Just a side note, dedicated to all father's out there, especially my dad! and our Big daddy up there!

Happy Father's Day!!

Thank You, Dad for everything! Words alone cannot describe how you have impacted my life, and made me who I am today..

Sorry for the times I have not heeded your advice.. which are very very wise.. I've learnt that!

May God bless you and keep you, may His face shine on you, and grant you peace!

I love You, Dad!

Japh

Passion = Revived

It's so easy to just let our fire dwindle....
Many people fade away after a while, and it seems to increase as we grow up...
In school it's really easy to catch the flame (cf camps, conferences, concerts etc etc)
And it's quite easy to mantain it since you're stuck with ur friends in school for a max 11 years
After that as we enter college... most of us split... make new friends.. adjusting to new environments.. Some people keep their fire up, maintain their friendships, still attend CG's..
As we enter Uni, we find more and more of our friends going overseas... Life gets a little more challenging, tougher.. more deadlines, important assignments.. crazy exams.. It is most likely to be here where one actually decides His faith, whether to maintain it, grow it, or let it die...

Cuz when we actually get out to work, 9-5, reality, bosses, loneliness, relationships, family, finance, jobs and many other things kick in..
An interesting fact in most churches today, many many kids/teens, ok ok number of youths, and then there are the older generation..
Where are the young working adults?
This is true with many churches, including the mega ones

I believe we can change that. And one of the things that really stuck me is Passion. We talk alot about bringing revival, reaching others for Christ, mantaining a relationship with God, which is all really good and important. But how to do those things without having a passion for God?
In this case I'm talking about hunger. When one is hungry, you feed yourself. Same goes for us as christians, most of us do not feed our hunger, maybe we have even built an immunity against feeling it!
How may one feed our spiritual hunger? easy. Pray always. Eat the Word. Heart of Worship.
Sounds cliche? Let me add one more very important factor, fellowship with believers. I believe that when a person is continually in contact with strong christians, there is motivation to mantain a stronger personal relationship. I know you have heard this a zillion times, 'Oh all that matters is your personal walk with God", and this is true! However, how do u do so when u walk with the world? sounds contradictory?
DO u know what struck me? Take our Handphones for example, or internet (MSN, gmail, facebook) etc etc. How many of us can live without our handphones for lets say, 1 week? oh wait, make that a day? or wait, make that a couple of hours? be honest here people, I'm pretty sure you are either having your phone right next to you this very moment or if not, in your pocket!
This is my point. Why do we really treasure our phone or msn? easy. It connects us with people!

Now trade your handphones with the bible. Are you twitching right now? How easy is it to stuff our bibles in our little closets and take it out on sundays for church because 'it's the right thing to do?' How many of us can live without or bible for lets say, 1 week? sure! 2 weeks? yeah most likely i'll survive, 3 weeks? a month? be honest here again. Where is your bible now? err, somewhere in my room? And why do we not treasure our bibles when IT CONNECTS US TO GOD! or maybe we treasure it too much that we don't want to ruin it by openning it?!
It is said, a clean bible does not nessessarily mean a clean christian (and I think u would know why)

Sorry if this hits a nerve or two. Bear in mind I'm also talking to myself many times. Lets get back to passion. Ever heard somebody shout, "YEAH ENGLAND WON! GLORY MAN U! CHELSEA ARSENAL! F1! LETS GO CS! HAVE U SEEN THAT MOVIE?!! and the lists goes on....

now that a deep breath. Ever heard somebody shout, "YEAH MY AUNT GOT HEALED FROM CANCER!, DO U KNOW MY FRIEND RECEIVED CHRIST? HAVE U READ THIS BOOK ABOUT GOD? LET's GO FOR PRAYER MEETING!

again I'm sorry if this hurts a few buttons. Just think for a while. and let me ask this final question...

Where is your passion?

Jesus Loves You.

Japh.

My busy upcoming holidays (workdays more like it)

Yes exams are finally coming to an end.. (well I still have one more paper to go but... weee!!)
Thank YOU GOD for helping me through my papers! (thus far :p)!
Seriously it's been a crazy 2 weeks or so of being stuck in the library TRYING to study (which I somehow managed to do -most of the time :P!)
My first paper was management and I panicked when I entered the hall (finger shaking etc..) but heck I finished it! :O! Second paper was better thanks to all the past year papers and answers! haha.. Third paper done today and for some reason I had TOO much time.. so.. ended up doodling.. hehe.. next up is on tuesday so can blog! Thank You to everybody who has been helping me throughout this period (even asking me to study helps! or bugging me about exams! :P)

All in all I've learnt a few things through this period
1. I study better in the mornings then I do at night (like 8am? hehe)
2. If I sleep less, I can accomplish more work! (like duh.. haha!)
3. An earphone can do wonders (like cutting out distractions! p.s- I'm an audio person, remembers things through sounds)

So yes that's been pretty much sums up my semester, and looking forward to my holidays (if I can call them that!) will be crazier! these are my plans for the holidays...

17th June: Final paper- accounts
18-19th: Go to Inti Nilai for CF drama competition, Stay in Nilai
20th: Get bank account
21: Probably footsal or batminton or rock climbing
22: Church
23-27: Prepare for CF camp // India trip (am doing a presentation in front of a few hundred people? :O!)
28-30th: Monash CF Camp! (STM Seremban)
1st-8th July: India!! (Children In Prayer Conference)
12-13th: CG+ in FRIM! (mountain biking, orienteering, technical tree climbing etc)
14th: Semester two starts................................

Crazy or not?

Probably the reason why I'm doing all this is cuz next semester would probably be nuts anyway, business law, marketing, macroeconomics, money and capital markets.. crazy subjects! and I guess I would be busier (I better be! I've learnt my lesson!), and I should do my homework regularly (yes yes I know...) So I guess my hectic'ness MIGHT end only in November after my finals.. in which I might be going to Australia.... Working in Jan/Feb..... going CG+ again.... paint-balling.... ... ... etc etc...

Never ends eh?

Oh and do get better Chris!! will be praying for you! May God heal you completely!

Here we go again............

Take care u all!

Japh

~Free~ Hillsongs

Would you believe me if I said
That we are the ones who can make a change
In the world today
Would you believe me if I said
That all of the dreams in your heart
Can come through.. today...
Would you believe me if I said
That life could be all that you want it to be.. today...

And if I had wings I would fly
cuz all that I need, You are
And if the world caved in around me
To You I'll still hold on
Cuz You're all that I believe
And the one who created me
Jesus, because of You

I'm free

Would you believe me if I said
That God can make miracles happen today
Would you believe me if I said
That you don't need to wait for the answers before
You step out in faith
Would you believe me if I said
That nothing is ever impossible... for God

Just live your life
With God inside
You won't regret
One moment of it
And give all you can.. for God...

Updated.. again...

Things that have been happening the past week or so...

1. Played in a band performance for Monash Street Carnival (yeah "Unmasked!"), it was a pretty good experiance but took up alot alot of time for practice, jamming sessions etc etc.. Thank God it's actually over.. for now at least.. and I managed to put my electric guitar and effects peddle for some good use.. I'll probably let it rot for a while again..

2. Been serving more in Monash CF, worship led, preperations for Monash CF Camp 2008 are underway! And yes I've somehow been chosen as asst camp commandant and I've only been around for.. 2 months+? Thank God so far everything's been pretty fast and smooth.. Just so u guys know, It'll be on the 28-30th June, at STM Seremban, camp theme= Renovation of the Heart-Psalm 139:23-24, It's gonna be a real fun and the forms should be out soon, recently finished up camp promo video.. Feel free to contact me about more details

3. Studies wise.. only one word.. LAGGING!.. I really really need to catch up on my studies to ensure I don't end up retaking any subjects.. bad testimony u know.. which means no more band practices, idle talk on msn'ing, less tv and facebook etc etc which includes blogging haha.. might cut down on other stuff as well.. ministries and so forth.. I'm must learn to say "NO" to certain work that people offer me.. So whoever reads this post, pls pls don't ask me to handle or lead things cuz.. EXAM'S IN A MONTHS+!!! sigh...


And... I've got an assignment to finish...
take care u all!

Japh

I'm tired Lord... Please Revive me

I'm tired of living a double life
I'm tired of living this lie
I'm tired of putting on this mask

I wanna be real...

Too many obstacles to face
I cannot handle on my own
So I'm asking Lord of You
Grant me patience, strength, and courage too

Help me Lord to go Your way
Help me not to go astray
Cuz this world's a crazy place
But You have made it safe for me

When the time comes for me
to stand up for You
I know You'll be by my side
On my own I'll never make it
But with You, everything is possible

Forgive me Lord for lying, trying to impress others, trying to fit in
Forgive me Lord for doing things out of my own strength, for not trusting in You totally

I surrender my life into Your hands

Only You can satisfy my life.. I know You will pull me through and make me a better person after all this..

Thank You Lord

Have you seen death in the face?

I saw it yesterday.

When I found my uncle in my grandma's house, he was already lying down on the floor, motionless, skin as pale as ever, with a blanket covering him..

My sister was at the scene before he died, he was sitting on the toilet bowl struggling to clean himself. His head was hanging to the side, struggling to breathe and he was drooling, not a good sight...we were guessing it was stroke or heart attack, She wasnt sure. The maid and her helped to carry him out to the living room.

She propped him on my knees and prayed and prayed without stopping. She tried to call an ambulance and 911 was no help at all. When my dad finally managed to get an ambulance and arrived at the house, it was 1/2 hour later. The ambulance took another 1/2 hour to come.

She wasn't afraid, just begging God to give my uncle one more chance. Not so much that we can have him around longer, although that would have been really great, but more so that he can make peace with God.

But it was too late. At one point, the maid kept telling her 'he's gone, he's gone, he's not breathing' and she refused to believe it. She kept saying, no he's ok, he's breathing, like she could will him to live.

The paramedics came and started CPR, and she kept thinking...maybe she could have taken him straight to the hospital, if only she knew how to do CPR properly, if this, if that. But she somehow deep down knew it may not have made a difference. Only God knows when is a person's appointed time, my uncle has cheated death before in a drunk driving accident.

People don't like to be told that heaven and hell is real, that God and Jesus is real. But when you look death in the face, I know it's true. And I may never see him again. Forever.

~I'll Trust You Jesus~ The Sword

Lord when You came into my heart
You gave my life a brand new start
And promised You'd never ever leave

You've kept all the promises You've made
You gave me Your word to light my way
Your Spirit is with me every day

And though the circumstances of this world
would try to get my eyes off you
I'll stand my ground
'cause I know I've found in You, the victory

I'll trust You Jesus
Put my whole life in Your hands
I'll trust You Jesus
On Your Word I'm gonna stand

For every situation that has tried to make me doubt
You've anointed me, given faith to me,
so my Lord I'll trust in You
My Lord I'll trust in You

Jesus, You have called us all to follow after You
And even when it seems there's no way out
I know You'll see us through

There's Freedom in the Name of Jesus!! planetshakers

You saved me, You set me free
You healed me, You made me see
You set me free

You give me, all that I need
You give me, life abundantly
You set me free

All I wanna do
Is praise You
'Cause You have set me free

You're my saviour
You have set me free forever
It is by your grace and power
That You have set me free

You are the way
I will live for You all my days
Never will I hold back my praise
'Cause You have set me free
There's freedom in the Name of Jesus
Freedom from all shame
There's freedom in the Name of Jesys
Freedom from all pain

There's freedom in the Name of Jesus
Freedom from all sin
There's freedom in the Name of Jesus
There's freedom in the Name of Jesus

~a planetshakers album (Free, 07)

How Great Is Our God!!

Location: PDMC - Port Dickson Methodist Centre
Event: Sunway CF Camp

It was a camp worth going, no regrets, the speaker was really good (yeah pst Lee!!), each session had at least 2 hours of hard-core preaching! The cool part was all the campers actually managed to hang on to our seats and learn.. hehe! He thought us about the Kingdom of God, relationships, and end times (super cool stuff!).. and all his five kids are so cute!! and they can memorize scriptures like the whole of Matthew 5! (makes me want to memorize scriptures too! hehe)

Worship was.. good (played guitar for two sessions).. Games was.. good (although I fell down and hurt my back but.. it was good, havent played beach volleyball ever since YWAM hehe ;) The best part for camp for me was actually being able to witness life changing events.. My room mate which I met was a new christian who gave his life to Christ during an easter event not too long ago.. the cool part about him was his testimony of how he gave his life to Chrsit!! If only I could write his whole testimony here it would take up the whole page! haha. To sum it up he came from a broken family but God intervened in his life, sent people to bring him to God and touched him Himself! and although he faced persecution from his family and all, Pst Lee sort of answered all his questions through his sermons (like loving God more than anybody else, including our parents).. and he's testimony actually was the stepping stone for a girl to accept Christ in camp itself!!

Besides having a new salvation at camp (praise God), quite a few others received the baptism of the Holy Spirit and the gift of Tongues! How cool is that!.. It blows my mind thinking of all that God can do with us if we let Him! Also the testimonies from both the Pastor and his wife was realy life changing and challenging.. like trusting in God 100% when faced with decisions and relationships :p *hint hint*

So that kinda sums up camp for me.. besides making new friends and learning alot.. PDMC brought back memories of previous camps I've been to there..

ok ok i'm rushing for class...

laters

Japh

update update update

So.. I'm on a week's break from uni.. thought i'd drop in and say a few words before i dissapear again haha..

Life in Monash is not too bad.. making some friends while serving in the CF.. still pretty frustrated that Monash makes us do everything ourselves.. like download our articles and expect us to present it in class without telling us.. everything has to be done independantly.. i dont even know why we even have lecturers and tutors to teach us in the first place when they dont tell us anything.. "Oh u can get everything online", they say.. it makes it more irritating when u pay about RM 13 K ++ PER semester and u get this !@#$! kind of treatment from them.. what's worse is that some of my lecturers cannot speak english properly.. "relevant" becomes "lelevont" and "correlation" becomes "colllelllation"... half the time I'm trying to figure out what my lecturers are even trying to say.. let alone understand the subject.. my statistics lecturer does not know how to use the mike.. so nobody can hear her.. my management lecturer wants us to give her a good review so that "Monash will look good".. swt!

still among all my complaints... Monash is still ok.. the facilities are awesome.. toilets smell like perfume... If the weather was colder I would say it feels like an Australian campus indeed.. they are quite a handful of international students too..

recently i had to rush an assignment last minute.. (yes typical me).. slept at 4am the night before.. and passed it up 4pm the next day.. so i'm trying to finish some assignments this week.. hopefully.. am also fasting MSN, TV and facebook.. so far i've managed to fast MSN and TV... but.... succumbed..... to...... FACEBOOK! sigh.. mainly due to curiousity, like people tagging my photo's or adding stuff or events.. lol!

besides this, i've stopped my chinese lessons.. mainly cuz nobody at home speaks chinese, so it's really quite sad.. i'm not practicing what i learn.. and my teacher graded me an "extremely limited user".. which is sad.. so there goes my chinese lessons for the time being..

CF has been great... been serving quite a lot already, recently had to worship lead.. and i'm only in my.. fourth week?.. we had an outing the other day in bukit cahaya (shah alam) and till now my legs hurt like crazy.. ouch..

so far my plans are.. not much.. besides survive uni life.. i'm in the midts of cleaning my room.. which is hard trust me... cuz my room used to be my family's library.. which means piles and piles of books.. and passed down from my sister, to me, to my younger sister.. books from standard 1.. till secondary, till college, till university books.. all in my room!! so yes i've packed so far about more than 8 boxes of stuff and still my room looks like it's been bombed!

besides that.. most of my time has been doing house chores lately.. cuz my family got a doggie.. a little beagle which is really destructive.. so it means cleaning up it's poo.. feeding.. bathing etc etc.. not to mention my other household pets (birds, fish etc).. it's good cuz i'm home alone sometimes during the day so can play with doggie ;)

i do plan to go for sunway cf camp! mainly cuz my pastor is speaking (yay pst shaw ming!).. oh ya.. just to let some of u know i've left my church in nilai.. (good ol' semarak revival centre) which i've been attending for the past.. 8 years? so i'm now attending a house church in Subang.. which is great, I love the feeling of a house church (bond and food!)

so... hmm... that's about it for my life now.. quite sad cuz some people who were close to me are all away... (daniel-UK, tim-Aust, chris-Aust) and other people who are busy or non-contactable.. and other people who would be leaving.. so quite sad la..

recently i've joined a band.. which is kind of fun cuz i can express myself.. am using my electric guitar more now.. which is good cuz it was rotting! haha.. have perfomed a bit.. brushing up on some skills while still having to learn lots.. and also training to help out in a youth alpha program which some of us are gonna start in Monash...

sometimes i feel like life would be better if i was in a relationship.. then i keep reminding myself about my vow till 21.. it's hard but.. pressing on! i guess my experiance in ywam (youth with a mission) still keeps me going when i feel down.. looking back at my notes and experiance gives me the extra boost to keep me going.. and I thank God for friends who STILL contact me and encourage me (though it's getting fewer!) haha.

i guess that's about as much as i can think of for now.. am looking forward to going to India in July.. for a children in prayer conference.. meeting up with some of my friends which i met in New York is pretty exciting!

but right now.. it's back to the books...

take care u all

japh

Life continues...

Back to the books.. late night studying... or rather last minute work :)... waking up early in the mornings... listening to boring people blabber in front of the stage.. copying notes.. assignments.. friends bugging u at 3 in the morning..

yep. It's back to student life..

Welcome to Monash!

So far there hasnt been much to do besides attending boring orientations.. ok maybe they arent too boring but it seems to be after not being in college for... 3 months?

Time to be independant and responsible!
Time to be ready for life!

Here It comes!

So come.... by Israel Houghton

You have taken the precious
From the worthless and given us
Beauty for ashes, love for hate
You have chosen the weak things of the world
To shame that which is strong
And the foolish things to shame the wise

You are help to the helpless
Strength to the stranger
And a father to the child that's left alone
You've invited the thirsty to come to the water
And those who have no money come and buy
So come.. So come..

Behold the days are coming for the Lord has promised
When the plowman will overtake the reaper
And our hearts will be the threshing floor
And the move of God we've cried out for will come surely come

And You will shake the heavens and fill Your house with glory
Turn the shame of the outcast into praise
All creation groans and waits for the Spirit and the bride to say
The words that Your heart has longed to hear...

By
Israel Houghton & the New Breed 2007

New years resolution (well.. sort of..)

So at this time of the year it's always fun to come up with a new years resolution although I pretty much have the same resolution every year but oh well...

1. Learn chinese (So far tuition has been ok but failing my ting xie exams hasnt been helping! I've learnt how to pronounce and write my name in chinese though! I rock!)
2. Brush up on my guitaring skills (yes yes my e.guitar has been sitting around rotting and gathering dust! not to mention my under-used effects peddle)
3. Work out (gym's and all havent been my thing but I think I should start before I'm old and wrinkly *tsk tsk)]
4. Serve in Monash CF
5. Eat more veggie's and fruits! lol!
6. Read up the whole bible in a year
7. Catch up on my devotions regularly
8. Clean up my room (here we go again!)
9. Reach out to at least 10 people this year (last year I hit about 6'ish)
10. Remain focused througout the year, shining for God's glory, living life the way God wants me to live!

SO that about summurizes what I would want to accomplish this year, not to mention other personal goals such as waking up before 8am regularly and going for jogs and so on and so forth.. or really extreme dreams such as starting a band or being a professional musician/sporting fella.. I think I would love to write songs if I find the time, and maybe compile an album of my own.. well.. dreams will be dreams unless you wake up and do it ;)

cheers

Thank God he's still alive...............

Time: 6pm+
Date: 9-1-08
Place: Jalan templer road connecting to jalan gasing at jalan 6/29

It was raining after he finished work at the kindergarten at around 5.45'ish, Japh was among the last to leave and locked the office. He cranks up his old Honda Civic and drives away. Mark was beside him, preparing to doze of in the car while waiting for the jamm to subside. The roundabout connecting to Jalan Gasing was blocked by the police..
'drat..' he says to himself, 'nvm i'll turn right at the next intersection'..
It was pretty jamm as he tried to turn right into Jalan 6/29 crossing the yellow box, he inches across slowly.. It was a three lane road, first car stops for him, 'so far so good'.. second car stops..
'ok it should be clear now' and he edges across the intersection..

suddently..

*CRASH*!!

He hits the emergancy brake but it's too late! He reviews his mirrors just in time to see a figure fly across his car boot! The other cars stop immediately. Cars are honking in response. His partner next to him, Mark awakes in shock.

Japh stops his car at the side of the road and dashes out into the street. The figure was lying down on the road. It was a figure of a man. His bike was totally in ruins. Engine and body parts were still flying across the roads as cars pass by, running on them. Mark and another driver helps the man to his feet to bring him to the side of the road. A deep gash could be seen on his right arm. He was hobbling as he struggled to regain consciousness and retrieve his bike from the main road.

Japh stares in horror.. What should he do now? Never had he witnessed an accident such as this. The man begans to call his brother. Should he make a police report? How will the man take such an accident? Will he call up some gang to 'settle' things? ' All sort of thoughts run through his mind as he regains his composure.

'It's time to put on defencive mode', Japh reasons. He approaches the man and defends himself.

'Hey bos, tadi u tidak stop kat yellow box la tu. Kena saya punya car u salah tau mesti bayar. tengok tengok u sudah damage saya punya door. u ada insurance kah? tengok IC dan driving licence?', he demands. Japh pilles on the heat to the poor man who probably was still recuperating from shock. A few moments of heated exchange found none in an advantage position. It was still raining at this point.

They decide to head on the police station to make a police report. Japh prays silently in his heart for protection and for self-control so that he would'nt blow.
'My poor car', he thinks. 'Just got a 1000rm worth of repairs and spraying and this happens!' his anger still spurring. (e.d How selfish!)


They arrive at the PJ police station headquarters and guess what??!!


system jamm.....

computer rosak.....

swt....

Anyway.. cut the story short... they decide to meet the next day. Everything was settled OUTSIDE the polis station. Coughed out RM200 to compensate his injuries a little. Agreed not to make a police report (scared P licence kena gantung le).. Found out the other guy was actually a Sarawakian Christian. Prayed for him at the bus stop opposite the polis station! haha. He was pretty touched and probably really thanking God for keeping him alive..

All in all I think I've learned a valuable lesson out of this..
1. Life is SOOO fragile.. seriously..
2. Sometimes it's hard to be kind and compassionate, it might hurt your wallet and ego, but your reward's in heaven.
3. I received an sms right after the accident.. "If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish motives; Be kind anyway. If you are honest, people may cheat you; Be honest anyway. What you spent years building, someone will destroy overnight; Build anyway. The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow. Do good anyway. We can never be able to please or satisfy everyone but in the final analysis, it's between YOU and GOD. It was never between you and anyone anyway, for God has the ultimate say. So why get disappointed, frustrated or fooled? Check yourself this day, am I right with God?
4. I should really learn to be humble and think of others first
5. Seriously pray before you drive and don't fool around. Use signals and drive according to the rules. I really dunno what i would do if the fella had died.. seriously..

So anyway... the car's in the workshop now.. a little phobia of driving already since this is the 2nd official accident that I've been involved in.. although i still blame the other people, maybe it's time to check myself as well.. sigh.. one of the things God has been teaching me through this situations is tolerance, forgiveness and humility.. and maybe i'll end with an encouragement, the next time u see a 'reckless' driver or an accident, before u start saying nasty things, remember that it can happen to ANYBODY. It is God's grace and mercy that we are not dead yet.. seriously.. Stop and Thank God that he's faithful to you. Be a good driver on the roads. We are no better than the other 'reckless' people deserve.

Selah (think about it)

SO...........

yes......... it's time......... to............ update.......... Zzzzzz.......

1. I've received a conditional offer from Monash Sunway to do business and commerce.
2. That was the same day I got my SAM results.
3. Praise GOd for a TER of 82.3!
4. I've officially said bye bye to Inti Nilai!
5. Anybody wants SAM books? look me up!
6. It's still back to work at Madeleine Kindergarten
7. School's started and the working hours have extended to 8am till like 6pm?
8. During those hours at work there's hardly time to go toilet or drink! aiks!
9. Main reason for that is cuz there's 500 kids running ard and their parents to handle!
10. Besides that.... Mandarin classes has been hard.
11. I failed my ting xie (spelling exam).
12. I got 2 correct out of 15 questions!
13. Only the character 'chinese' and 'ni hao ma' i got correct!
14. I had a 50 character chinese essay to do about myself.
15. Not to mention another ting xie exam on next monday
16. I'm suppose to register officially for monash tomorrow (wish me all the best!)
17. It's late and I think I should sleep.
18. Sorry for updating in this format
19. I'm running out of ideas
20. And lazy to type out a proper update.
21. And
22. Well
23. You
24. Get
25. The
26. Idea.
27. Isnt
28. This
29. Irritating?
30. Haha.

take care peeps.