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