On Wednesday, October 2, around noon local time in Jakarta, Jesus Our Lord came to take Oom Hein to his eternal home.  I happened to have arrived the day before but that Wednesday I had a class to teach, so, I planned on visiting him on the day after.  Not knowing that he’d already passe...

2 amazing steps: Step 2 Last week we looked at how the community in Thessalonica lived faithfully, living in a way to please God. What more could they do? Do the things they were doing more, and more, and more, and more. Paul says, “we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as […]...

2 amazing steps: Step 1 I’ve been working through 1 Thessalonians a lot lately and have been so encouraged by it. One thing that makes the letter easy to grasp is that there are basically just 2 parts or steps which are separated by prayers. The first step – live faithfully & please God. Thi...

Last Wednesday I felt like being in Heaven.  Friends that I met over four decades ago, three decades ago, two decades ago, and over a decade ago, came to pay their last respect to my father-in-law Peter Subadya.  I guess this is what Heaven must be like: full of laughter and joy; where our...

In one of his sermons, Bishop Rober Barron explains the reason why Adam and Eve became afraid of God after they disobeyed His Word: They felt shame.  They became so self-conscious that they became ashamed of themselves.  But what came next was even worse: They blamed each other.  Firs...

In his book, Your Legacy, Dr, James Dobson, a psychologist who God has used to bless many families not only in America but also all over the world, defines legacy as faith in Jesus.  There is nothing that is more important than this, so this is what we must pass on to our children and […...

Fyodor Dostoevsky, who lived in the 19th century Russia, was not a psychologist; he was a writer.  However, through his writings he showed insights into humanity and spirituality like no other; one of them is this: “that the whole work of man really seems to consist in nothing but proving to ...

On Wednesday morning, Christ Our Lord came to take Oom Peter Subadya, Santy’s dad and my father in-law, home. For years he was bedridden, unable to stand and walk; and had to endure discomfort and sometimes pain. Several times he was rushed to the hospital for emergency care, taken on a stretcher,...

Some people look forward to retirement, but some do not. In fact, some dread it, like a germ we must stay away from. Like it or not, we must retire, we cannot and should not hold on to our positions. Work has no expiration date, but job does. Those who look forward to retirement usually […]...

In his devotionals, Inspirasi Hidup (Life’s Inspiration), A. J. Soenarja, SJ, points out the fact that Moses was a not leader of an army that obeyed and admired him. On the contrary, they never stopped expressing their dissatisfaction and disobedience to him. So, here lies the secret that made Mos...