Samuel Liew’s Blog

News, events, and other interesting finds

As I am involved in the visuals ministry in church, I usually have to check through the lyrics of each song before service for consistency. This is tedious work as there are many songs, and have to repeatedly do the same validation each week. As any knowledgeable IT geek would do, I wrote a UltraEdit macro to automate the task using Regular Expressions to find and replace stuff.

Currently this script does the following:

  • Correct all words to proper capitalization
    - Capitalize first word of every line
    - Capitalize any word that refers to God. E.g.: Jesus, Lord, Holy Spirit, Father
  • Standardize words/punctuation
    - Replace angled quotation marks (“) to standard (")
    - Replace tabs with a space
    - Replace words like “O” to “Oh”
    - Captalize labels and add buffer lines before each (Chorus, Verse, Bridge, etc.)
  • Removes unnecessary stuff
    - Lines with song chords, if any
    - Multiple spaces
    - Trailing spaces
    - Multiple blank lines
    - Certain punctuations

Example song (before running the macro):

2. Tell the world Verse 1: F#m Don't want to stand here and shout your praise, F#m And walk away and forget your name. F#m I stand for you if that's all all i do, F#m 'Cause there is none that compares to you. Pre Chorus: F#m F#m 'Cause all i want in this life is you. F#m And all i want in this whole world is you, you, you. Chorus: Bm7 D A E Tell the world that jesus lives. F#m D Tell the world that. tell the world that. A E Tell the world that he died for them. F#m D Tell the world that he lives again. Verse 2: F#m No longer i, But christ in me. F#m 'Cause it's the truth that set me free. F#m F#m How could this world be a better place, by Thy mercy, and by Thy grace. Bridge: A Bm9 F#m D Come on, Come on, we'll tell the world about you. A Bm9 F#m D Come on, Come on, we'll tell the world about you.

Example song (after running the macro):

Tell the world Verse 1 Don't want to stand here and shout Your praise, And walk away and forget Your name. I stand for You if that's all all I do, 'Cause there is none that compares to You. Pre-Chorus 'Cause all I want in this life is You. And all I want in this whole world is You, You, You. Chorus Tell the world that Jesus lives. Tell the world that. tell the world that. Tell the world that He died for them. Tell the world that He lives again. Verse 2 No longer I, but Christ in me. 'Cause it's the truth that set me free. How could this world be a better place, by thy mercy, and by thy grace. Bridge Come on, come on, we'll tell the world about You. Come on, come on, we'll tell the world about You.

Here’s the macro code:

InsertMode ColumnModeOff HexOff PerlReOn TrimTrailingSpaces Top Find RegExp "^[ ]+" Replace All "" Find RegExp "^\s*(([A-G][\/ A-G a-z 0-9 #]{0,5})\s+)+\s*$" Replace All "" Find RegExp "^[0-9]+[\. \: \)]?\s*" Replace All "" Find RegExp "^(Key|key|KEY)[\. \: \)]?\s*[A-G a-g].*" Replace All "" Top Loop SelectLine ToLower SelectWord ToCaps Key END Key RIGHT ARROW IfEof ExitLoop EndIf EndLoop Top Find RegExp "\b(you)\b" Replace All "You" Find RegExp "\b(you've)\b" Replace All "You've" Find RegExp "\b(you're)\b" Replace All "You're" Find RegExp "\b(your)\b" Replace All "Your" Find RegExp "\b(yours)\b" Replace All "Yours" Find RegExp "\b(christ)\b" Replace All "Christ" Find RegExp "\b(father)\b" Replace All "Father" Find RegExp "\b(god)\b" Replace All "God" Find RegExp "\b(almighty)\b" Replace All "Almighty" Find RegExp "\b(son)\b" Replace All "Son" Find RegExp "\b(he)\b" Replace All "He" Find RegExp "\b(he's)\b" Replace All "He's" Find RegExp "\b(his)\b" Replace All "His" Find RegExp "\b(him)\b" Replace All "Him" Find RegExp "\b(himself)\b" Replace All "Himself" Find RegExp "\b(holy ghost)\b" Replace All "Holy Ghost" Find RegExp "\b(i)\b" Replace All "I" Find RegExp "\b(jehovah)\b" Replace All "Jehovah" Find RegExp "\b(jesus)\b" Replace All "Jesus" Find RegExp "\b(saviour|savior)\b" Replace All "Saviour" Find RegExp "\b(holy spirit)\b" Replace All "Holy Spirit" Find RegExp "\b(holy one)\b" Replace All "Holy One" Find RegExp "\b(spirit)\b" Replace All "Spirit" Find RegExp "\b(lord)\b" Replace All "Lord" Find "Lords" Replace All "lords" Find RegExp "\b(king)\b" Replace All "King" Find "Kings" Replace All "kings" Find RegExp "\b(Word)\b" Replace All "word" Find "prince of peace" Replace All "Prince of Peace" Find "my redeemer" Replace All "my Redeemer" Find "Kingdom" Replace All "kingdom" Find "your majesty" Replace All "Your Majesty" Find "my Spirit" Replace All "my spirit" Find RegExp "\b(o|oh)\b" Replace All "Oh" Find RegExp "\s*\b(((^(P|p)re)(C|c)horus)|((^PRE)CHORUS))\b" Replace All "\n\nChorus" Find RegExp "\s*\b((P|p)re([ ]|-)?chorus|PRE([ ]|-)?CHORUS)\b" Replace All "\n\nPre-Chorus" Find RegExp "\s*\b((P|p)re|PRE)\b" Replace All "\n\nPre" Find RegExp "\s*\b((C|c)oda|CODA)\b" Replace All "\n\nTag" Find RegExp "\s*\b((V|v)erse|VERSE)\b" Replace All "\n\nVerse" Find RegExp "\s*\b((B|b)ridge|BRIDGE)\b" Replace All "\n\nBridge" Find RegExp "\s*\b((I|i)ntro|INTRO)\b" Replace All "\n\nIntro" Find RegExp "\n\nIntro(.)*\n\n" Replace All "\n\n" Find RegExp "\s*\b((E|e)nd(ing)?|END(ING)?)\b" Replace All "\n\nEnding" Find ":" Replace All "" Find "’" Replace All "'" Find "‘" Replace All "'" Find "“" Replace All """ Find "”" Replace All """ Find "[" Replace All "" Find "]" Replace All "" Find " " Replace All " " Find " " Replace All " " Find " " Replace All " " Find "'S" Replace All "'s" Find "'R" Replace All "'r" Find "'V" Replace All "'v" Find RegExp "^'c" Replace All "'C" Find RegExp "(\r\n){3,}" Replace All "\r\n" SelectAll Copy

Download The Macro (requires UltraEdit)

Ever wondered why we have to pray when God already knows everything (all-knowing) and can do anything (all-powerful) to help us?

  • we pray to deepen our relationship with God.
  • we pray to remind ourselves of our place of humility, to remind ourselves that God is God, and we are not.
  • we long for connection (we want to talk with someone who loves us)
  • prayer encourages our faith and dependence on God.
  • sometimes, we don’t know God’s will for us until we pray and ask

Bible Study Magazine and Mars Hill are giving away 20 copies of Mark Driscoll’s new book, Vintage Church. Not only that, but they are also giving away five subscriptions to Bible Study Magazine and a copy of their Bible Study Library software! Enter to win on the Bible Study Magazine Mark Driscoll page, then take a look at all the cool tools they have to take your Bible study to the next level!

Visit here: Bible Study Magazine — Driscoll Giveaway.

I created a powerpoint presentation on the John 3:16 illustration, then I converted the narration into speech using the built-in microsoft windows voice, added the speech to the presentation, then timed the presentation to match the speed of the voice, then converted the whole project into flash.

Here’s the project. Share it with your friends!

John 3:16 Gospel Illustration

1. Next time when you think you are terrific, try walking on water.
2. When the devil reminds you of your past, remind him of his future.
3. You are not lucky, you are blessed.
4. If you really want to live, you must go through the experience of death first.
5. Opportunity may only knock once, but temptation is always at the door bell.
6. When we are strong, we often forget God.
7. Those who call out for “Heavenly Father” only on Sunday live like orphans the rest of the week.
8. Do not be self-centered, be Christ-centered.
9. No Christ, no peace; know Christ, know peace.
10. Why we don’t mention God to our friends? Because we don’t mention our friends to God.
11. Dedicate everything you have to God because He has given you everything He has.
12. Is what you are after worth the death of Jesus Christ?
13. Those who make you get close to God are your real friends.
14. God loves us not because of what we are but because of what He is.
15. God’s promise is like stars in the dark of night. The darker the night, the brighter the stars.
16. Life without Jesus is hopelessness without end. Life with Jesus is hopefulness without end.
17. Although I don’t know what future will bring, I do know who rules the future.
18. Leave your heavy burden with God and let it stay there.
19. Don’t be afraid of tomorrow because God is already there.
20. When you are left with nothing but God, you will know that God is all you need.
21. Let go and trust everything to Him. Don’t ever tell God again your life’s storms, but tell the storms about the greatness of God.
22. The one who can satisfy what our hearts desire is the one who created our hearts.
23. Always keep the light in your heart burning because you don’t know who will need it to walk out of the darkness.
24. When our attention is directed only to our work, we work alone; when we pray God goes to work.
25. God is omnipresent, so we can pray anywhere.
26. A person without any need will never be able to see God’s miracles.
27. Worshiping helps remind us of our life’s worth, but the world keeps making us forget that.
28. When the going gets tough, don’t just pray and forget to follow the path God has directed us to.
29. Praying can do many things for us, worrying can do many things to us.

Today my quiet time material was about not being pessimistic and complain when things don’t go our way, but to trust and thank God for what we have.

Dear God, thank you for giving me life; help me to fufill the plans and purposes you have put me on earth for. Thank you for dying on the cross for my sins, and giving me hope and eternal life. I know I’m not perfect, and sinned on countless occassions in my life, but thank you for your endless grace to forgive all of them, and your strength to help me to do right in the future.

Thank you for giving me a loving and supportive family, and bringing good friends into my life who have made life more meaningful and worth living for.

Thank you for providing for my needs and sometimes wants, and protecting me from all harm, danger, evil, accidents. Thank you for providing a way out and rescuing me when I’m in trouble.

Thank you for giving me talents, that I can use to serve you for your glory.

Thank you I am able to worship you freely and openly, and letting me draw near to you and feeling your presence in my life. You are such a wonderful God.

Thank you for everything, Amen.

This afternoon, the guest speaker at the service ended the discipleship series by sharing about preaching the gospel. The three points are:

  1. Preach the gospel always, all ways
    - our ‘pulpit’ is our workplace, people are looking at how we live our lives
  2. Preach the gospel in spite of rejection
    - if anyone rejects, they are rejecting the truth
  3. Preach the gospel in light of Jesus’ return
    - He is coming back very soon

I went nearby funan after church to change malaysian currency, and got a mouse for the eee pc. I almost bought some $30 speakers which I didn’t need, cos it was portable and looks and sounds good.

I’ve started packing for church camp and hope to finish it before I return to camp this weekend.