In 44 BCE, Julius Caesar, the emperor of Rome died.  He was killed by the same folks who declared him to be a god a couple of years earlier.  His wealth and kingdom fell into the hands of his adopted son, Gaius Octavius, who over a twenty-year reign rose to become a great emperor.  So...

Christmas is coming and we know that not only by the Christmas songs we hear on the radio, in shopping malls, or restaurants, but also by the traffic.  It seems like everywhere we go, any day we will hit traffic, regardless of the time of the day.  But there is one more thing I observe: [&...

Great people tend to see themselves as little while little people tend to see themselves as great.  We all know that one of the pop bands that has made a big splash in the music world is the Beatles.  Once a reporter asked Paul McCartney, the bassist of the band, about the Beatles’ place...

In this Thanksgiving week, I have been pondering on what I am grateful for.  There are of course many things that I thank God for, but somehow good as they are, they appear to be dim compared to the gratitude I feel toward the assurance and the revelation that once I pass on this world, [&helli...

This week two members of our church went to the operating table.  Budi finally got a hip replacement after months of suffering intense pain and Tante Els had heart surgery.  As I write this, both are still in the hospital recovering; and by the grace of God, both can look to better and hea...

In his book, Surprised by Joy, C. S. Lewis shares that one thing that he hated the most was interference.  What he wanted more than anything else was “a barbed wire fence and guard with a notice No Admittance.”  But that was what he found in Christianity before he became a Christian, a...

On Thursday some of us went to visit Oom Kiat Ong to celebrate his 96th birthday.  He’s weaker compared to the last time we saw him some weeks ago but remained alert.  When asked what he wished to say on his birthday, he said, “I cannot tell you how grateful I am to God for […]...

During our visit to Indonesia, Santy and I had an opportunity to visit Tante Betsy.  She’s healthy and alert, and still remembers almost all of you.  She said hello to all of you.  Frans, her son, filled me in with the details of his dad’s passing.  According to him, Oom Arie...

Today is a special day that calls for thanksgiving.  We are celebrating our church’s 44th anniversary.  There are many things that we can thank God for but today I would like to give thanks to God for Tante Barbara, the wife of our beloved Pastor John Lim, who has been with us since the ...

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...