There Must To Be More To Life Than This

The Magician's Greatest Pay

www.zlwinmagic.com

One of the greatest rewards for being a magician are the smiles, laughters and applause you get once you have entertain your audience truly. The picture here was taken at The Curve during one of my recent gig. This girl gave the nicest smile ever when she saw my magic.

Building Bridges Through Magic

www.zlwinmagic.com

Another fun thing about magic is that you get to meet different people; some down right nasty and some really really friendly. I met this group at Urbanattic, Capsquare. Nice people who just wants to have good fun. among them are two actors, Tony Eusoff and Jay.

Magic @ Zouk Club, Kuala Lumpur

www.zlwinmagic.com

Zlwin does walkabout close-up magic at Zouk every weekend. Look out for him if you are there to dance the night away!

The Watchmen

www.zlwin.com

Watchmen watches what no one watches and does what no one does. They would lay down their lives watching and protecting. They stand guard over the people that needs them but do not want them. They take up responsibilities which otherwise no one would want. Do you want to be a watchman? "What does it matter..." you ask.

Zlwin Chew - Magician, Minister.

www.zlwinmagic.com

Magic is something that seems like it goes against how the world works and it is us magicians who has the privilege to demonstrate it. There are no tricks in magic, only wonderment. – Zlwin Chew

Zlwin Chew’s New Website Is Launched!

www.zlwin.com

Zlwin has designed a new website and is no longer with Blogspot anymore. From today onwards, this site will be his official site where he will be posting his usual Christian devotional materials as well as some other stuff. Do drop by every now and then. And please bear with the upcoming and ongoing changes that will happen in this website. He is trying to improve it little by little as the each moon ends its shift and as he gains more knowledge on website designing. Have a good read! God bless!

Acts 20:24

www.zlwin.com

However , I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me – the task of testifying to the Gospel of God’s grace

The Worldwide Magician Directory

www.magician-directory.com

A worldwide directory of magicians. Thousands of magicians have their profile uploaded here as well as links to their websites. Visit the Magician Directory to find out more about your local magician.

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Thursday, July 31, 2008

Follow Nature?


Plants grow towards light. Only then it can survive and be a beauty like the flower above. Once it moves away from the light, it will die. Will we be wise enough to learn from the plants?

John 8:12
I am the light of the world.
Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness,
but will have the light of life.

Saturday, July 26, 2008

Guard Your Heart


I got to watch the Dark Knight movie on Wednesday. I really enjoyed the movie and I don’t mind going to watch another time at the theater. The movie was very long though, 2 hours and 20 minutes. However I enjoyed every second of it and believe me, I did. And for an advice, this movie is definitely not a movie a 10 year old will enjoy. They may think, “It’s Batman, wow! I want to see Batman!”. They will be disappointed. I feel that the story line is more for matured minds to understand and enjoy. And my oh my, The Joker is really scary. I love The Joker more than Batman honestly haha. The Joker’s acting is really good.

This movie is about this psychopathic villain named The Joker who goes around killing people and brainwashing them to join his cause. This villain is different, he is not after the money, he is out to prove that everyone can become corrupted. So he goes around trying to corrupt Batman but failed. However he managed to turn a city hero, Harvey Dent into a corrupted villain as well. How he does it is hard to comprehend though. The Joker is a good psychologist haha.

I am not trying to spoil the movie for you who haven’t watch it yet, so you can stop reading here if you want. I am just going to share about something I got out from the movie which applies to our daily lives as normal human.

Proverbs 4:23
Above all else, guard your hearts for it is the wellspring of life.


Thehuman heart can be the strongest part of the body and yet the weakest. The human heart can be bold, courageous, courteous, kind and yet it can be selfish, coward, bad and those of the like. There was one part in the movie where The Joker planted bombs in two ferries. One ferry was full with civilians and the other was full with criminals from prisons. They were escaping Gotham City before midnight because The Joker was planning to destroy the city. So they got into the two ferries and set out to another place. Moments later the ferries stopped moving. The Joker’s voice was heard through the speakers telling them that their ferries were full of bombs. Then The Joker gave them a choice. There was a detonator in each ferry. The ferry that presses the detonator first will be saved but the other one will blow up in pieces.

Everyone was panic. Ferry A wanted to press the detonator and bomb up Ferry B because Ferry B was full of “useless” people, they are the criminals from the prisons. Ferry B also wanted to press the detonator and bomb up Ferry A. There was a lot of commotion in both the ferries. The clocked ticked slowly. Like a ticking time bomb, each of them waited for someone to make the first move and stand up and go press the detonator. No one dared.

A prisoner from Ferry B took the detonator… He looked at it… And then threw it out of the window into the sea. Everyone went silent. He went back to his seat and sat down.

A man from Ferry A stood up and spoke to the crowd telling them that the prisoners in Ferry B should die. He took the detonator in his hand. Looked at it… And then he put it down again… and went back to his seat and sat quietly.

No one did anything to the detonators.

The clocked continued to tick. And at the strike of 12… silence……… There were no bombs going off in either ferries. No screams or yells. Everyone was saved.

You see, The Joker believes that everyone is a villain and the most righteous people will even turn wicked in times of desperation. He played this game with the two ferries trying to prove that. However he failed.
But he only won in one battle. He won trying to turn the Gotham district attorney who is hailed as Gotham's "White Knight", Harvey Dent into a villain.

How well do are you guarding your heart? The people in the two ferries were all nervous and all agreed to blow up each other at the beginning. Their hearts were selfish. They cared only about saving themselves. The civilians wanted to blow up the prisoners because they were just useless to the society. After all, they “deserve” to die. The prisoners, being already sinful, wanted to blow up the civilians as well. However at the end both parties sat down and did nothing.

Put yourself in that situation what will you do? Will you stand up and explain why the other party deserves to die or will you stand up and explain why we should not do anything. Jesus Freaks would probably stand up and start sharing the Gospel. The selfish ones would definitely start running after the detonator so they could blow up the other ferry. What will you do?

Harvey Dent was a righteous person who was looked up by everyone in the city. In the end he was corrupted by The Joker and turned into a villain and went around on a killing spree. Harvey did not guard his heart well.

The Bible says that out of our heart flows the wellspring of life. If our heart is pure, out of it comes pure spring water. If our heart is bad, out of it comes wickedness. I have seen many good people turned bad just because they did not guard their hearts well. Enticed with fame and wealth, people would willingly trade their pure heart for a wicked one.

The consequence of not guarding our heart is bad. You would not want to end up like The Joker would you?



I love The Joker's character, the late actor Heath Ledger's acting was really good.


Not so much of the main cahracter this time round haha.


Love your acting. Too bad you are not aroung anymore.

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Give Me Only My Daily Bread (Part 2)

Proverbs 30:7-9
Give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread.
Otherwise I may have too much and disown you and say, “Who is the Lord?”
Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God.

Wealth blinds the eyes of the rich and poverty the eyes of the poor.

It is human nature to desire things that we do not own or cannot afford to own. Therefore, some of the many solutions to getting whatever we want are to steal or cheat to get them. We are known to kill and to go to great lengths to get rich and stay rich.
“No money, no talk” has become a phrase widely used in the world past, present and future. Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus over 30 silver coins.

I have suffered the consequences of people who rob others off their riches. I have seen with my very own eyes of how people of the same family will betray one another for the love of money. Hate it!

Robin Hood steals from the rich to help the poor in the name of righteousness. This is false teaching. Stealing is still a sin no matter for what cause you are doing it for. The reason robbery exists because poverty exists. Hunger for the love of money drives people to steal and kill.

Jesus Christ told his disciples, “Seek first God’s kingdom and God’s righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well.” (Matthew 6:33)

There is nothing wrong in being poor. God does not look down on the poor. Only men look down on the poor. Men shun the poor. Men hate the poor and men are always coming up with plans on how to draw money from the poor. The world’s standard is this: If you have no money, you are poor, if you are poor, you are a failure.

But God’s standard is different. Being poor in riches of the world is not God’s concern, God is more concern about your spiritual poverty. A man who has a strong relationship with God and has little money is much richer than a man who earns 5million dollars a year. Keep this in mind: God does not care whether you are rich or poor. He cares about your relationship with Him and how you serve Him with all you have.

Jesus saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple’s treasury as offerings. Jesus also saw a poor widow putting in only two miserable copper coins. He then told the disciples, “I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put in more than all the others. All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.” (Matthew 21:3-4)

What matters to God is what you do with the little that God gave you.

I am not implying that Christians are supposed to be poor. Definitely not! I only want to stress that Christians are supposed to seek first God’s kingdom and His righteousness. Let that be your passion.

1 Samuel 2:7
The Lord sends poverty and wealth;
He humbles and he exalts.

There Must To Be More To Life Than This.
-Zlwin Chew

Saturday, July 19, 2008

Give Me Only My Daily Bread (Part 1)

Proverbs 30:7-9
Give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread.
Otherwise I may have too much and disown you and say, “Who is the Lord?”
Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God.


Wealth blinds the eyes of the rich and poverty the eyes of the poor.

After bringing the Israelites out from the land of slavery in Egypt, Moses told the Israelites not to forget the Lord that rescued them. Moses warned them not to forget their God once they are blessed with lands, herds, food, drinks, wealth and everything nice.

Moses told the Israelites,

Deuteronomy 8:7
The Lord your God is bringing you into a good land – a land with streams and pools of water, with springs flowing in the valleys and hills; a land with wheat and barley, vines and fig trees, pomegranates, olive oil and honey; a land where bread will not be scarce and you will lack nothing; a land where the rocks are iron and you can dig copper out of the hills.


Deuteronomy 8:17-18
You may say to yourself, “My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.”
But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth.


As predicted by Moses, the Israelites eventually did forget about the Lord God that brought them out of Egypt and blessed them with the Promised Land. They were so caught up in their riches and wealth that they ignore God.

What happened in the Bible is happening in the world today as well. Today, the people who are rich and wealthy are the ones who are most likely to leave this world not accepting Jesus Christ. That means the rich and wealthy are the ones who don’t seem to need God.
It is because they are so secured with their wealth and so self-sustaining, they think that God is just something to pass time. Many who are religious even pray to their God asking for more money. They want blessings after blessings and there is no need for God to be in their life because they have a full life already and they are enjoying every moment.

Wealth can be a curse. It blinds the eyes of many to see that life is all about earning money and more money. To them, life is just that and that alone – money.

My youth pastor, spiritual father and friend, Pastor John taught me how and what to pray for people that are enjoying life having everything they want. He told me that he prays for his relatives who are basically rich and have all they need and much more. He asks God to pull the carpet off their feet. You get what I mean? You see, these people are so comfortable where they are and they are enjoying it, so they see no need to have God in their lives. Therefore it is wise to pray and ask God to pull the carpet off their feet and let them fall. Also meaning that, to call disaster upon them so they will be shaken and when they are desperate enough, then they will open their hearts to Jesus.

And that was what exactly I prayed for my family. But I am not going to write in my blog what happened.

It is not cruel to pray this kind of prayers but it is wise to do so. These people must understand that money is not everything and it is not permanent and does not last forever. Money cannot satisfy them. They will want more and more and more. Money will not buy happiness nor security. Money cannot buy health, it can only prolong your life. Money is a necessity in life but definitely not life’s only asset. Eventually, the hunger for money will bring you straight to your GRAVE!

I say this boldly because I know what is happening. It is clear to see that everyone in this world has the ultimate aim to get rich and enjoy life. However I tell you that there must to be more to life than this.

Do not boast in front of me about your riches and wealth and whatever things that you own or do not own. I do not want to know and I don’t need to know anyway. But what I am interested in hearing is you telling me how strong your walk with God is and how close are you to God. Boast about your spiritual wealth not your worldly wealth.

Do not look up to the rich and do not look down on the poor. Live life simple. Above all else, seek after the Kingdom of God and then everything else will be added to you as well.

The Israelites forgot about God because of the wealth they enjoyed. But… What does it matter to you?

1 Samuel 2:7
The Lord sends poverty and wealth;
He humbles and he exalts.


There Must To Be More To Life Than This.
-Zlwin Chew

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Convenience or Inconvenience?

The KTM train is probably one of the types of transportation most heard of in the Klang Valley. In other countries they have their own train transport system as well. Public transport is meant to provide convenience and ease of travel. They work for more than 12 hours shift everyday. However there are convenience and also inconvenience in taking the public transport system.

Everyone probably agrees that Malaysia has one of the lousiest transport systems other than Kuala Lumpur’s LRT and Monorial. Apart from these two, everything else is just screwed up. I want to bring your attention to the KTM train system in this post of mine today.

I use the KTM everyday to go to college and including Sundays when I have to go to Petaling Jaya for my magician meeting. So basically I use the KTM 6 days a week, 4 weeks a month, 12 months a year. Phew! That is one whole lot of tickets haha. There are times when the KTM comes a little late and sometimes very late. Apart from that, sometimes the trains get stranded halfway on its journey and it remains still for like an hour. Sometimes two hours. My neighbor went through four hours! Gosh! And this is when all the cursing and swearing comes out. “Stupid KTM! Useless! Malaysia’s transport system like crap.” And it goes on.

Just last week on the way back from KL, the train had some problem and had to stop in Setia Jaya. The train operator told us to wait for the next train coming on another lane. So all of us got out of the train, I have to admit I was quite frustrated as well. It was a long and tiring day and I just can’t wait to get back home and sleep. I do not know whether my estimation was right but I think there were roughly 200 people who got out of the train and waited for the next train. Look at the pictures, you can judge for yourself the amount of people and the amount of stink! Haha.

The next train came and to everyone’s dismay, the train was FULL! The amount of people in the train was same as the amount of people waiting outside. There were a lot of groans from the waiting passengers including me. But I decided to be a typical Malaysian and try to put myself above everyone else and try to squeeze my way into the already full train. Did I mention with me was Jolene and Simon Kong? Haha. The three of us had to try our best to be as thin as possible to get on the same train and head home. After much squeezing and tasting of people’s sweat, we all managed to get in. The doors literally closed with some people’s butt sticking out haha. My oh my was I glad to get in…

So here goes the question. Should I be angry because the train broke down or should I be glad that there actually was KTM to make our travel easier although not faster?

Do we ever think of the many times where the train comes in time? Every morning, the train at my place arrives 8.05 A.M. sharp. However there were times the train delays for 20 minutes and 40 minutes. Come to think of it, life would be much harder if the KTM never existed. I would have to drive to college from my house everyday and face the jam and build up my high blood pressure. Life would be much harder for us teenagers without car license. When we need to go to Sunway Pyramid to celebrate our friend’s birthday we rely on the KTM train to take us there. When we need to go to KL for shopping we also rely on the KTM. Of course there are teenagers who are really blessed with transporters to take them everywhere they want to go but I am talking about the many people who can’t afford to pay for petrol nowadays.

So is the KTM an inconvenience or convenience?

You see, people view different things in different ways. One sees the cup half full while the other sees it half empty. Do you know that the way you view the world will determine the way you will change it?

Also keep in mind that we cannot have the best of both worlds. We cannot expect everything to be perfect and going the way we want it to go. This will not happen because people may fail, computers may fail, electricity may fail, and something somewhere will go wrong and affect many other things.

But rest be assured that one person will never fail on you. That very person is GOD.

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By the way… KTM should improve on their services, so does many other public transportations but… thank God for KTM =)

Always look on the bright side but don’t fool yourselves with an imaginary light.



There were a lot more people who weren't in front of the camera's eyes. Can you imagine the amount of people waiting to get on the next train? Survival of the fittest yo! haha.

    Man In The Mirror

    . A very nice song from the late Michael Jackson. "If you want to make the world a better place, take a look at yourself and make a change."

    Shout It Out


    ZlwinMagic

    About Zlwin Chew

    He is a person who is sold out for Jesus. Nothing can move him once he has set his mind on doing and achieving something. Once he is set for one thing, no one can tell him otherwise.

    He blogs, but he blogs differently. The world blogs about themselves, nothing but me, myself and I. But Zlwin Chew blogs his God. He believes that a blog is a powerful medium in which one can tell the world about what He, Himself and God has done in me, meself and I. God needs to be glorified, even online. The world needs to hear what it does not want to hear but need to hear. The world need to know what it does not want to know but need to know.

    Zlwin Chew is also a magician who has a heart and passion to enhance his Gospel sharing with the aid of magical effects and illusions. His magic portfolio can be found at http://www.zlwinmagic.com/

    He loves photography as well. Capturing time in frames is his passion. His photography blog can be found at http://www.zlwinchew.blogspot.com/

    He is radical. He wants to be radical. He wants to be different. Because everyone thinks outside of the box, he thinks inside of the box. He is different. And he does not care how people view him. He only cares how God views him. Zlwin Chew is a Jesus Freak.

    And he dare you to do something radical. He dare you to...

    BLOG GOD...