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 ;)
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Saturday, August 23, 2008
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
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
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
Thursday, August 14, 2008
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
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
Monday, August 11, 2008
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.
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.
Wednesday, August 06, 2008
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 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.
Tuesday, August 05, 2008
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
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
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
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