late-night essay

Using numbers and time to motivate my lethargic self as I churn out a 1500-word essay in one (late) night. I cited twelve references and only read five specifically for this assignment. I also like the opening quotes I remembered/found.

Thanks ASLAN!!! I also downloaded one of the most influential academic and non-academic writings I've read so far in my noob life. The abstract looks too dense, the article is fabulously understandable. 

That's three more encouragements for my lethargic, ready-for-bed self.

192/1500 1.28am

313 2.08am

547 2.46am

644 2.59am

719 3.08am

798 3.27am

947 3.52am

1001 3.58am

1082 4.10am

1138 4.22am

1282 4.38am

1306 4.50am (to be continued)

BUT bed is only for clean people, so I have to shower and clean up first. Nooooooo

zzz

new year's greetings

Me as the devil wishing you:

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

shopping

Today I went shopping! Mostly grocery, body products, and little trinkets. I wanna pack my own lunch to class again.

I bought Melrose's Brazil Nut and Linseed Oil spread, Dr. Organic's Pomegranate lip balm, and lavender soap from Holland and Barrett. Can you believe it? Organic shops are sprouting even in residential hoods like mine! This British company just opened six stores in Singapore...finally something else accessible to choose from aside bogus-natural Body Shop stuff :D

I also got a really pretty tunic and some glass and metal bangles from India, in Little India. Turns out I wasn't needed at Little India for some transcribing work, so I had the whole evening to myself. What a great way to wind down and get ready for classes again after spring break.

I also think that now what my mum says makes a lot of sense. There's not a lot of point in me using all this nice natural stuff if I don't get my sleeping hours right. Because my meal times get messed up, and my body can't rest well.

This week, I'm gonna make subs for lunch: Australian cheddar, cheap ham, lettuce, carrots, yellow tomatoes. I also stocked up on hazelnuts and Brazil nuts, yay!

I'll go to bed at midnight today.

random wishlist

I don't know if I'll get down to doing them for several reasons, but it'd be really fun if I get to:

1) Learn the motorbike, and have one. A scooter will do too.
2) Own a roadbike.
3) Tattoo "ISA" on my arm, or near my wrist.
4) Busk on the streets.
5) Bring Wallyball to Singapore.
6) Speak a minority Indian or African language.
7) Be a locker (the dance, not the metal box).

And something probably more challenging than fun...
8) Go homeless for a week.

And something probably improbable, unless I'm a guy:
9) Live and work as a migrant worker for a month.

Radical love

Someone recently apologized to me for the seeming "unfriendliness" of this group of believers (of many years) towards a new and special person in my life. I've been thinking about his apology until now, so I should purge it out because I know if I keep thinking about it, I can potentially become bitter and bear grudges in my heart like I used to when I was disheartened by why self-professed believers in typical churches were not interested or not pursuing Christ in their actions.

First, I will be "patient, bearing one another in love" (Ephesians 4:2), just as Jon, Christy, PC, Christina, Shangyang, and the ISF has beared with my previous religious arrogance. And I know God will change them throughout their time here just like he's changing me and he won't give up if we remain in him (John 15:5, Philippians 1:6). If I know he has changed me for so much good, I know he will do it for them too!

Second, I want to be an example of Jesus' radical love, just as the ISF has for me. God loves all of us already in our despicable and disgusting state before some of us started following Jesus. His love is pro-active and I want to be one of his tools through which people experience Jesus' love, so that they will in turn love others to greater extents. "This is what God does. He gives his best — the sun to warm and the rain to nourish — to everyone, regardless: the good and bad, the nice and nasty. If all you do is love the lovable, do you expect a bonus? Anybody can do that. If you simply say hello to those who greet you, do you expect a medal? Any run-of-the-mill sinner does that." (Matthew 5:45-47)

Christian America

Greg Boyd's Don't Weep for the Demise of American Christianity, Christus Victor Ministries

Jon Meacham's The End of Christian America and Faith isn't Under Fire, Newsweek

Judith Warner's This I Believe, New York Times

Still thinking about it, but it seems to corroborate with what I've seen and encountered with Christian America and many American Christians.

Keeping a tab on:
De Civitate Deo, Augustine
The Myth of a Christian Nation: How the Quest for Political Power is Destroying the Church (2006), Greg Boyd
The Cross and the Sword Sermon Series (2004), Greg Boyd

Quotes of the day

"Any idiot, any total fool can post anything on the Internet."
Dr Classen, on looking for sources

"A god that lets us prove its existence is an idol."
Dietrich bon Hoeffer, Lutheran pastor killed for the Hitler assassination attempt

Thoughts:
effective and respectful pedagogy
immanence embodied by Christ
Boethian happiness
listen, listen, listen
love in wisdom
God's grace

And lastly, this super cute and hilarious illustration of a wrist accupoint you can press to reduce motion sickness. Credits go to Yingjie.

LOL!

My Red Badge of Courage

I swerved too hard on a gravel-filled road while cycling on a new route home just now. A driver in his white suburban beside me and a lady pruning the plants in her house came out to see if I was ok. The whole of my sole was sticky because there was so much blood oozing out (Man, if I'd donated that blood).

Then I went home and dripped blood in the living room and on my other slipper because I needed the first-aid box from Dean III. Figuring out that I totally shouldn't use the kitchen scissors to cut that flap of heel off, I asked Max for a pair of scissors. Thank God he had one, and he worked in a veterinary before, so he helped me pry open the remaining bits of skin that had gravel stuck inside. He cut them and all the while, the forceps and the blade of his thick scissors dug and scraped against my wound. And that was after hydrogen peroxide was applied. Double ouch. And let's skip the part concerning my suppressed and constipated reactions to the cutting, bleeding and digging.

>>> I'm leaving my wound to dry and it's perpetually glazed with pus-yellow plasma that trickles down my sole. But thank God I didn't have to dig out the gravel like I did when I was 15 (a large part of the skin on the ball of the SAME foot came out because I was too vigorously playing mess games on the road). Thanks Max (U DA MAN). And I'll walk as little as possible and cycle as much as possible. I should be fit for hiking Picacho Peak on Saturday morning though.

I like to think that my mum will be proud of me when I tell her about it, though in reality, she'll probably get worried and chide me.

A New Role for Iraqi Militants: Patrons of the Arts

"True Islam patronizes the arts."
--Sheik Mazin, Baghdad's newest patron of the arts

Thoughts:
Depiction, Sufism, Spirituality of the arts & a despaired humanity

this probably tells you how bored I am

I tell you three things:

1.
Dear American Beauty,
I think you should either change your brand name or stop selling Angel Hair. It's just gross when I tell people I'm eating American Beauty Angel Hair. And this is America! Non-blonde people are people too.

2.
Dear Arizona Green Tea,
I love you!!! My life's been completely changed ever since you came. You are totally the new water. One thing though, some people I've talked to here in Arizona don't get it when I say I love Arizona Green Tea. I suppose they think my English is poor, like "New York Statue of Liberty", "California Hollywood" or worse, "Pennsylvania Penn". They think you are just a normal teabag. Tell them the truth. That you are from BROOKLYN.

3.
Dear crustal plates in Tucson,
Can you please subduct within the next five months? My government says more land is fantastic, but I think too much land is doing your people, like yours truly, harm. My feet hurt from walking. We always learn to cherish something only when they're gone. Do your people a favour to appreciate you.

4.
Dear Sun Tran,
Can you make bus stop benches out of something else? Anything else besides metal. I get static electricity attacks from your chairs and they're just too cold for my butt. I don't think it's healthy for a major muscle of the body to freeze off metal benches and reheat on bus seats, then freeze off... Such irregular temperatures can create stress, and when stress comes, cancer follows. Surely you don't want passengers to get cancer because of your benches. Please do something about it, spankss.

For November 1

What's even better: the ESV Study Bible.

There's a 35-38% discount at EvangelicalBible.com!
http://evangelicalbible.com/shop/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=107&zenid=644ce39fbe6485218f2a202efbfe7023

I've never asked for a birthday present, but I know I want this bible for my twentieth. So any kind soul out there, if you're buying a birthday gift for me, this is it! (I'd love to have the bonded leather, burgundy version). :)

Boohoohoo

My throat.

My voice!

And now I can't sing at all! :(

God’s Listener

God gave us two ears and one mouth so that we could speak less and listen more. Besides the horrifying sight of having a friend with one ear and two blabbering mouths, God wants us to learn to listen, not just to friends. More importantly, He wants us to develop a keen ear for Him.

Why do we need to listen to Him?

(1) Out of love-duty. We have been reconciled with God through the blood of Christ (Col 1:21-22), meaning that we have been redeemed from the grasps of sin and its deadly consequence of death. We have grown up with too many an epic story that tells of a distressed damsel reciprocally offering herself to marriage with her heroic saviour. God’s grace is unfathomable and is beyond the shallow gratification that we can offer. However, what we can do is to offer our best. He saved us, and it is fitting that we become bond-servants like John.

As MacArthur highlights in his book, “Because the Time is Near”, bond-servants were a special category of slaves that willingly serve their masters out of love and devotion. The laws in the Torah wrote that in such cases, the master should ‘pierce his ear with an awl. Then he will be his servant for life.’ (Ex 21:5-6) Many posts ago, I wrote about bearing the mark of the cross, like how a lamb bears the carving of its shepherd and a staunch member brands himself with the seal of his organization. We listen to God because He is our benefactor, and we are obliged, out of both love and duty, to listen to Him and live our new lives according to His Will.

(2) So we can serve Him. Isaiah wrote that he ‘heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who shall go for us?” (Is 6:8) He replied, “Here am I send me!” In order to live for God, we must first discover what His Will for us is. God has beckoned the Israelites to come near Him, for He is the Lord who saved them from Egypt. Yet idolatry, greed, sexual immorality and sins pulled them away from God. Only people who have stayed close to Him have been able to hear His voice. Noah, like Isaiah, heard the Lord’s voice because he was a godly man, his godliness made apparent by his faith in God despite the mockery he faced for building the ark. If we want to be God’s stewards, we need to listen to His instructions. If we want to be faithful ones, we need to constantly have a keen ear for His Will.

(3) God is our only true refuge in times of need. Elijah was disillusioned upon hearing Jezebel’s poisonous vow, so much so that he pleaded the Lord to take his life (I Kings 19:4). He was the great prophet that defeated the 300 prophets on Baal on Mount Carmel with God’s strength. Yet within a day, he became a man fleeing for his life, losing his faith in God. God’s appearance to him at Mount Horeb came not in the wind, earthquake or fire, but in the still, small voice that came after. The NIV writes ‘gentle whisper’. In order to listen to God, we need to peel our ears, especially in face of hardship. It takes a lot of faith to keep calm and listen to that whisper in danger, but it is precisely faith that God will prove He is Jehovah Shalom.

(4) Because He is the Source of All Blessings. God promises us that He is Jehovah Jireh. Jesus says the prerequisite to God’s providence is that we must seek His kingdom and righteousness (Matt 6:33), aka His Will, ‘and all these things shall be added unto you’. We need to find out God’s Will so that we can please Him. He will answer our prayers and even give us the crown of life for being faithful stewards when we finally see Him again.

How do we listen to Him?

(1) Sanctification
A seraph used a piece of coal to purify Isaiah of his sin (Is 6:7), so that he could meet God. What can be extrapolated from here are two things: to be God’s listener we need to be saved and consecrate ourselves to the Lord, what John Calvin calls ‘Perseverance of the Saints’.

(2) Discovering His Will
God’s revelation has been made through three modes, as categorized by systematic theology: Natural Revelation, Common Revelation and Special Revelation (hope I got the terms right). God reveals to us His Creator identity through everyday things we see around us. Nature tells us it is the handiwork God has shewn to Man (Ps 8:3) so that we may give due reverence to Him, and know that He is the Sovereign God (Rom 1:20), a title that encompasses matters of judgment, grace, faith and providence. Common Revelation is made to us via the Bible that is so readily available in many parts of the world today. An example of God’s Will revealed through the Bible is the Ten Commandments, the crux of which is to love the Lord our God with all our hearts, souls, minds and strength (Deut 6:5, Matt 22:37). Special Revelation pertains to the Will He has for each of us. With the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we pray for His Will to be enlightened upon us each day. His Will for each of us is not too abstract to be understood – simple decisions made each day, year and phase of life, are the gradual fruition of His plan for you in life. The emphasis is on prayer, which entails spiritual intimacy with God, best complemented with daily immersion in His Word (aka Quiet Time). Another form of spiritual bread is reading Christian literature, which ought not be substituted for quiet time, however.

(3) A Willing Heart

Isaiah’s “Here am I. Send me!” is a reply of willing fervency. What boils down to the core of being God’s listener is a heart that is humble enough to receive, acknowledge and execute His Will. Young Samuel also pledged his service to God, “Speak for your servant is listening’ (I Sam 3:10). Isaiah and Samuel both listened to God, and God used them and blessed them greatly – Isaiah being God’s prophet, Samuel being in favour of both God and men (I Sam 2:26).

Talking about Common Revelation, Jesus, the One ‘whose eyes are like blazing fire and whose feet are like burnished bronze’ (Rev 2:18), beckons in this final book of the Canon for us to be God’s Listener. “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” Jesus ended off his letter to the seven churches in this same manner. He could not emphasise more on the importance of listening to God – His last words of warning to Laodicea and Thyatira and His words of comfort and affirmation to Smyrna and Philadelphia. Likewise, God reminds us of His sovereignty in judgment, his righteousness and justice. The unfaithful servant who had refused to listen to God’s still, small voice will be refused of the rewards God gives to the faithful steward who had done otherwise.

Our ears are symbolic reminders of the need for spiritual intimacy with God, so we could hear what He wants to say to us. How often do we, in the chaotic world of paper chases and the ‘certification of self’, of seeking peer pleasure and merriment, of worldly recognition, ignore the beckoning of the Holy Spirit in us to read the Bible, pray to God and be close-r to Him?

Let he who has an ear, hear what God has to say to him!

Discouraged

"In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you." I Thess 5:18

I'm a little discouraged now. I'm a minority around who doesn't have 5 modules yet, because I got outbidded TWICE. (Yes, I'm in NUS Arts, the faculty known for its obnoxious bidding competition.) :(

And school starts in 2 days' time.
And the appealing for help is only open in 2 days' time too.

But I'll give thanks to God nonetheless. Who knows I might get some really interesting module in the end? Anyhow, I know that through this little freshman crisis, God will be glorified. He is a provident God! So I'll make do and be happy with what I am currently left with - faith in God and comfort from all you dear siblings-in-Christ (hint hint).

AND I havent forgot about it. The Chatuchak episode hehe. Soon, it'll come soon. God bless.

Visual DNA

I got this from Joycie's old blog:

http://ardour---euphoria.blogspot.com/

It must be boredom that's driving me to try such stuff, but the pictures are really beautiful. You should do it too : )

Read my VisualDNA™ Get your own VisualDNA™

My Results

The 'A' level results. What a touchy and sensitive issue, especially during that week of anticipation prior to collecting it. I must thank God absolutely because I wasn't bugged by self-imposed benchmarks and evident thought of fruits of longsuffering labour over the last week. The worst of what anticipation I felt was icy cold palms on Friday morning. (Wait but isn't it weird then that my hands have remained icy cold till now?)

My philosophy regarding results and achievements of any kind is: 'The higher you hope, the greater you'll fall'. I can imagine my students calling me a pessimist again. Of course, when you don't expect anything, you won't feel embarrassed or ashamed in front of others when you 'underperform'. But for me, I think that when I don't expect anything, I am worries-free, and I can give thanks to God humbly for the outcome. I entrust the outcome to God.

I got A for English Literature, Geography, and Economics, A1 for GP and B3 for AO Mathematics. (Arr! Ugly B3, but I deserved it for complacency.) And A2 for AO Chinese, which was taken when I was in J1.

You might smirk, 'Ha, easy for you to say - you did well. I doubt you would say this if you did badly.'

I was not a good academic performer in junior college. Check my geography results especially. I was getting straight O's before the D for last June's common test, not out of laziness but a lack of wisdom to study and answer smart. Thanks to God, I could still stand by the faith I have in Him. Whereas for Lit, I remember hating it so badly that I would purposely allocate Lit lessons as my sleeping time, especially during E4 lessons on boring Red Badge of Courage. Oh! and Lit assignments were handed in 2 months after deadlines. LOL. I remember Shu Juan Dao Shi (my ex-Sunday school teacher and life mentor) comforting me that I needed to make myself confront the subject and overcome it, since it's God's Will for me to do so. As for Economics, Mrs Yap has made me live in fear as her student, struggling to survive in the tough competition and stress she gives. Through fine-tuning my essays, thanks to Olie, Si, JT and Sher, I saw a rising trend in the grades Mrs Yap gave through each essay.

As for GP, I guess I put in hard work out of empathy for Miss Low. I decided to be her goody two-shoes to release her stress of teaching a crazy class that celebrates her birthday every now and then. LOL! Not putting my beloved class in a bad light here however. With my varying experiences from sheer nerdy, eye circle-inducing and unkempt hair-frizzing diligence to initial nonchalance and repulse, my philosophy worked - have great faith in our Father! Will He give us a stone instead of bread? Confront that which is unwished for in life with the faith that He will carry you through. Seek for improvement in humility to glorify God's name in your areas of talent. :)

As a teacher now, I can finally understand how Miss Low and Mr Ng feel at times. That frustration you get when you are not in sync with your lesson plans, the stress to remain comparable to your colleagues (BECAUSE STUDENTS COMPARE THEIR TEACHERS >:( ), the woes from doubting your own teaching abilities...

And, I must clear Mr Ng's name here. Don't laugh but I think he is like a raw diamond - he merely needs time to learn how to teach and convey what he has to share to us. Underneath all the awkward concentration exercises and reprimanding, he is after all, only a human like you and me. And he helped me loads and loads for discursive essays and provoking deeper thoughts for my E1 texts. So don't be prejudiced. He helped me in getting my A for Lit okay!

I think I have ranted/shared enough. To end off the ACJC chapter in my life, I'll share a very precious Bible verse.

'In every thing give thanks: for this is the Will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.'

I Thessalonians 5:18

Dummy's Guide to Flag Days

My last minute efforts of some spring cleaning has paid off. I fished out my journal that I wrote in Secondary 4 and I'm proud that I gave the impression (and was!) a goody-two-shoes. : ) I'm kinda bored, my jogging plans postponed by the threatening weather. So I'll post a nonsensical entry as well haha.

The Dummy's Guide to Flag Days

by Daphne Tan

Have had nerve-wreckingly frustating experiences pestering people for their 50cents and 20cents? No fear! These tried-and-tested tactics will leave you contented with tins of cash overflowing.

1. Approach people who either have wallets in hand, or are digging for something in their bags and pockets. They'll feel quite obliged to give you money.

2. Once the target is spotted, pretend to look around while advancing towards him. Only give him eye contact within approachable distance, so he cannot run away.

3. Sneak from behind!

4. Approach for people stuck in queues - they can't run away!

5. Choose your targets wisely. If you're good-looking, try looking for older folks of the opposite sex. These ah peks and aunties will be inclined to give money for the sake of your mesmerising smile.

Someone! Help me, I'm very very bored. Two more days without work? It's driving me crazy.

My New Year Resolution

The New Year resolutions.

They are beneficial, right? They aid in giving us a general direction for the year. Over many years, we would have achieved many things, corrected many faults if we keep to our resolutions in a cumulative manner. I started believing in the efficacy of resolutions 3 years ago, and here's mine for the year 2007.

MY RESOLUTION FOR 2007

1. (CONFIDENTIAL)

2. HAVE QT DAILY.

3. LOVE MY ENEMIES.

If any snoopiness in you prompts you to want to find out my #1 clause is, let your hopes die. I have never told any human being on earth anything about it. Only God knows! Muahaha.

I recently realised that all that hanging out with the alumni choir, church and class people makes me drained of any energy or desire to have QT after I get home late at night. So, thank God, I see it as a warning, like a beacon that beckons me to stay away from rocky shores and treacherous shoals, for the year, should I continue to be distracted.

Having a daily quiet time with God for me would mean having an opening prayer, reading the Biblical passage allocated, lightly annotating my Bible and penning down my understanding of it in a notebook. Then I'd read the QT guidebook and write some more, before a closing prayer.

Through QT, I attain two things. Firstly, I gain knowledge of the Bible and wisdom from God, which is the 'theory' of my 'practical', the living of the Word. Secondly, I gain more peace and joy by being close to my Shepherd, having more of His protection, empathy and mercy at all times than before. And hopefully, I will give Him pleasure by being close to Him and be blessed with a 'yes' to my prayer.

Then, I want to live out what I learn in church and during QT, specifically by loving my enemies.

Applying to real life, the enemy is an euphemism for those unloveable by human nature, as I've shared before. I want to love my brother, even when he talks back at me, the less fortunate who beg or sell tissue for long hours, the uncles that smell of sweat and urine on the bus, churchmates who like to fan the fire and play politics, and colleagues who might bully me into doing more work because I'm a newcomer.

God give us strength to fulfill our resolutions!

Hurrah! Hurrah!

Hello again,

I am confining myself within the four walls of my house now that most errands are completed. I am still sick, and I thank you if you've been praying for my recovery (or did you NOT?!). Haha. I suppose I overexhausted myself from mugging for the A's and from all that prom-shopping. I'm down with flu. Thank God for Piriton, my snot is getting more goo-ey, with high viscosity and low water content. Haha. Some of the snot is getting to my throat, which is not sore and swollen anymore, so I'm expecting a cough to come up in the next few days.

Nonetheless, my spirits are not dampened. I finally bought a dress and shoes for prom. Thank God it's the upcoming Yuletide that we get discounted rates. Also, we finally got a room at Marina, which was supposed to be fully booked on December 5. How miraculous! Thanks to JT too.

Ahh, what a nice and lovely day.

I am going to tone my body, get a slight tan, guzzle loads of water, and sleep like a pig within the
next 7 days, even till before I return to my alma mater to teach. Just a slight update. I'm bored, but I HAVE to sleep to get well. So off I go.

Oh, and Caleb gave a wonderful analysis on the lamp metaphor in the Bible. I'll post it up too after I get his permission. As Kenneth would say: AWW YEAH, NICE.

Bye.

Christmas is Coming

Have you seen the map for the Raffles area in the street directory?

I have. On page 133 of the bilingual Mighty Minds Singapore Street Directory, I found 4 hotels that are in the vicinity of Ritz Carlton, the venue for our promenade. But sadly, our indecisiveness in booking a 300+ room at Ritz has left us with only two options for room-booking. Either a $300 Deluxe Room at Marina Mandarin (before 16.55% tax) or a $450 Suite at Ritz Carlton (before tax). $450 before tax. Either way, I thank God that Grace's sister is able to get cheaper rates. Hehe.

Does anyone wants to share the suite with us? $450 for ONE night is not exactly affordable for a small class like 2AA3. I should think that our last resort is to walk from Marina Mandarin in our outfits to the venue (will that be awkward or simply understandable? haha).

Anyway, I am very glad to know that my classmates are very fun-loving and are enthusiastic about a Christmas party. Talking about Christmas parties, there's one next Wednesday by the choir juniors! Hmmm, should I dress up as Rudolph for it? Fancy having that red nose and a full body of brown fur, save the fact that you can only give reindeer grunts and not sing carols. Last year, our choir's Christmas party was at Pandan Valley. I remember how we felt we were in deep trouble when we thought the soccer ball had made a crack in the clubhouse window. Even more vividly, I remember how Alex exclaimed so frankly that I was fat, and when I looked down, I did have a considerably protuberant tummy! Ouch. The salad that my parents and I prepared was mostly untouched - almost everyone present preferred the meaty stuff and the potato chips, till kind souls, especially Josiah and Livia, helped finish the stuff off.

Christmas parties are fun, so is carolling. Therefore, I am going to have my share of fun for the holidays by returning as a ALUMNUS (whoa whoa!). Please do come down and let us have a chance to share Christmas music with you! There are some pieces arranged by John Rutter, I remember, such as the choir's all-time favourite, Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas, and Quem Pastores. Then there's the jazz version of Silent Night, Hark! the Herald Angels Sing and Follow That Star, not forgetting Winter Wonderland, where people always cheered for the solo, eg: Joseph for last year. At Ocean Building last year, this angbao-lipped auntie gave herself away when her eyes lit up and she smiled when she saw Joseph. It was rather funny, but it gave those who saw that goosebumps. Haha.

I will post my carolling schedule the next time I blog. I don't have the exact time for most performances yet.

Is Christmas simply about having fun with all that gift-giving and receiving, carolling and partying? Sadly, with commercialisation and ironically, Westernisation, Christmas is merely a time to swell the pockets of retailers and producers and to dress prettily and socialise et cetera. Carolling with the choir is fun, but I will not equate this to a work of God. It is merely for aesthetic development - forging bonds and musicianship and sharing music with the audience.

Christmas is a day to commemorate the birth of Christ. (FOR THE LAST TIME, IT IS NOT HIS BIRTHDAY.) John explicitly states this in his opening of the John 1:1, 'the Word was God'. Jesus descended in status to become a lowly human being on earth, and by doing so, He fulfilled the prophecies of the Old Testament of the Messiah that the Jews had waited so long for liberation. Fulfilling the prophecies means fulfilling God's Will of having Jesus crucified, and liberation is that from the sting of death, from the condemnation of hell since the Fall of Man.

Therefore, the true meaning of Christmas is to give glory to God for His love in His wondrous plan, that even the evil of the scribes and Pharisees is used for God's good. This love is the unconditional sacrifice of Jesus so as to give the Gospel to the world. It is unconditional because salvation is by grace and by faith, not by intellect, achievement, status, or acts. Because the Gospel is so easy to accept - simply recognising your sins and putting Jesus into your new life - the world is skeptical about it. How do you see that people are skeptical? They question the rationality of miracles, seeing the Bible as a book of fairytales. They challenge creationism with a hypothetical theory of evolution. They abandon Christian principles for pragmatism, eg: getting into politics for people to back them up. Somehow, people think that you must qualify to be saved according to worldly achievements. No, the Gospel speaks of unconditional love. Take a look at Jesus' disciples. They were mere fishers, lowly educated and poor, but were chosen to become fishers of men.

Despite skepticism and rejection, we must continue to give love to them in the form of patience and a burden for their condemned souls. We give love because Christ first gave His love to us through crucifixion and the healing miracles. This is the true spirit of giving. The false spirit of giving is the one touted by the retail world. It can be so absurdly twisted to the extent of using Bible verses to validate generous Christmas shopping, ie: Tangs for this year and last year.

So how do you put the spirit of giving to practice? Look to the Bible. It tells all you have to do, such as in Matthew 5. Matthew 5 tells you several stuff.

1. Understand the principle behind God's Word,
and follow it with understanding. (v20)
2. Love thine neighbour, and thy enemy. (v24, v44)
3. Abhor thoughts and acts of sinful lust. (v28)
4. Do not swear but be truthful. (v37)

THAT IS, Be a Christian both in essence and appearance (v3-12, v16).

Makes sense? Now go and think about 3 misunderstandings you have had about Christmas and correc them, backing them up with God's Word. Also, choose 1 aspect of giving that you would want to focus on this Christmas season. Of course, this spirit of giving is not mere annual affair but is a continual thing till we all die, but simply emphasised more during this time of the year.

God bless.