TOKONAKI ‘EPELELI 25, 2026

2 TU’I 15-17; SELEMAIA 7:30-34

It is dangerous to minimize or forget the horrible sinfulness of sin.

‘Oku fakatu’utamaki ‘etau fakasi’isi’i pe fakangalo’i ‘a e fulikivanu ‘a e angahala.

It is easy to minimize, deny, or forget the evil that still lives within us and will continue to live there until God's redeeming work is complete and we are with him forever. Yes, he has given his children means of grace, such as his Spirit, his word, and his church, but we still must not minimize the presence or power of remaining sin. Think about the following realities:

We are still capable of going to where lust leads us.

We can still let anger drive our actions, reactions, and responses.

We are still able to be consumed by bitterness or jealousy.

We not only fail regularly to love our neighbor, but we also give way to                 contempt.

We often love our own way more than God's way.

We often seem to love the world more than we love our Lord.

This list could go on and on. It is clear that our struggle with sin is not over, but something else is just as clear. Sin doesn't always seem sinful to us. Sometimes what God says is ugly looks beautiful to us. We tell ourselves that we can sin and everything will be all right in the end. But sin is a liar. It never keeps its promises, and it never produces good in us or through us. Sin whispers to us promises of life, but it leads only to death. Sin is more deeply sinful than we tend to think or imagine. So God has recorded shocking moments of history in his word; he wants us to be confronted with the horrible nature of sin. One such shocking moment is recorded in 2 Kings 16:1-4:

In the seventeenth year of Pekah the son of Remaliah, Ahaz the son of Jotham, king of Judah, began to reign. Ahaz was twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned for sixteen years in Jerusalem. And he did not do what was right in the eyes of the LORD his God, as his father David had done, but he walked in the way of the kings of Israel. He even burned his son as an offering, according to the despicable practices of the nations whom the LORD drove out before the people of Israel. And he sacrificed and made offerings on the high places and on the hills and under every green tree. 

When we read about these horrible idolatrous practices, including infanticide, we must remember that this passage is not describing some animistic, pagan nation. This is Judah, the tribe of David, out of which the Messiah will come. These are God's people, who have progressively, step by step, walked away from their Lord. They have walked so far away that they are now burning their children on altars to false gods!

This sickening passage screams to us of why the cross of Jesus Christ was necessary. Grace had to flip the script. A penalty for sin had to be paid, and sin had to be defeated. Today, remember the sinfulness of sin and celebrate the eternal victory of God's grace in Jesus.

 FALAITE ‘EPELELI 24, 2026

2 TU’I 12-14; 2 KOLINITO 5:18-21

Our hope in life and death is found not in our faithfulness, but in the perfect faithfulness of our Savior.

Ko ‘etau ‘amanaki ‘i he mo’ui mo e mate ‘oku ‘ikai makatu’unga ‘i he’etau ngaue tonunga, ka ‘i he ngaue tonunga haohaoa ‘a hotau Fakamo’ui.

It was not my finest moment, by any measure. I was impatient and irritated. We had made plans, and I was watching my plans evaporate as Luella was waylaid by a phone call from work. The call seemed to last an eternity, and the delay seemed personal, although it wasn't. I paced the floor, making sure she knew I was not happy that we weren't leaving. When she got off the phone, I was cold and distant. But by God's grace, conviction set in quickly. It was all very humbling. I confessed my impatience, and Luella graciously forgave me. As we drove away, the gospel exploded in my brain. This is why my hope is never in my obedience, my faithfulness, my wisdom, or my righteousness. This side of eternity, I will never have a perfect track record to lay before the throne of God. I am not an intentional rebel against God or a heretic. I do not mock his existence or flaunt my transgression of his law. But even though I am a child of God, I am not yet sin-free. The longer I walk with the Lord, the clearer it is to me that my hope is not in my faithfulness, but in the absolute perfection of the faithfulness of my Lord.

You could argue that one of the main themes of the Old Testament is divine covenant faithfulness cast in contrast to human unfaithfulness. The story of the people of God is one of sin, repentance, and temporary obedience, followed by apostasy once again--and the cycle repeats. You want to scream, "Is there anyone faithful in Israel?" The answer is, "Yes, the Lord of Israel, Jehovah alone." You see this unfaithfulness/faithfulness contrast in an important passage in 2 Kings 13: 

"Now Hazael king of Syria oppressed Israel all the days of Jehoahaz. But the LORD was gracious to them and had compassion on them, and he turned toward them, because of his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and would not destroy them, nor has he cast them from his presence until now" (2 Kings 13:22-23).

In spite of Israel's rebellion and idolatry, God keeps the Syrians at bay. He does so not because the Israelites have earned his favor through a track record of covenant faithfulness. No, the opposite is true. If their relationship to God had been based on their performance of the law, then God would have abandoned them long ago. Instead, God had compassion on Israel and turned toward them because he is faithful and will fulfill his covenant promises.

So it is with us. Our standing before God is based not on our righteousness but on the perfect righteousness of Jesus. He perfectly measured up for us in every way, because he knew that we never would. Here in 2 Kings, during the dark days of Israel's rebellion, the gospel is preached to us once again. Our hope in life and death rests on our Savior's faithfulness, not our own. 

 TU’APULELULU ‘EPELELI 23, 20226

2 TU’I 9-11; SEMISI 1:14-15

Like a father who warns his children about the dangers of crossing the street, in his word God again and again warns his children about the dangers of crossing his

boundaries and doing what he has declared to be sin.

Hange tofu pe ko e fakatokanga ‘e ha tamai ki he’ene fanau ‘a e fakatu’utamaki ‘o e kolosi he hala pule’anga, ‘oku tau ma’u ‘i he Folofola ‘a e fakatokanga ‘a e ‘Otua ki he’ene fanau fekau’aki mo e fakatu’utamaki ‘o e kolosi ‘i he ngaahi fakangatangata kuo ne ‘osi tala fekau’anga mo e angahala.

It quickly became clear to me that our young children had no sense of the dangers that were all around them in the world they had been born into. Few days would go by that were not marked by repeated warnings about the steps, the stove, the electric sockets in the walls, what was edible and what was not, where sharp corners were, and the dangers of jumping off the back of the couch. I warned my children about dangers because I cherished them (I still do). I wanted them to grow, develop, and thrive, so I did everything I could to keep them safe. 

God's righteous warnings are an expression of his love. If heeded, they are a spiritual safety system. The warnings in the Bible should be to us like alarms going off. They should get our attention and alter what we think and what we do. But God's warnings in Scripture are not always direct, as in "Don't do this" or "This is what will happen if you do that." God's warnings can sometimes be in poetic form or in story form.

If you don't understand God's zeal to protect his children from spiritual danger, to keep their hearts from wandering, to keep them from looking at what is evil and seeing good, and to claim them as his own, you might wonder why in the world 2 Kings 9:30-35 is in the Bible. You might think that this dark and gruesome story was unnecessary. It is the story of the death of the rebellious and horribly evil queen, Jezebel. God had prophesied through Elijah that dogs would eat her and there would be nothing left of her to bury:

When Jehu came to Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it. And she painted her eyes and adorned her head and looked out of the window. And as Jehu entered the gate, she said, "Is it peace, you Zimri, murderer of your master?" And he lifted up his face to the window and said, "Who is on my side? Who?" Two or three eunuchs looked out at him. He said, "Throw her down." So they threw her down. And some of her blood spattered on the wall and on the horses, and they trampled on her. Then he went in and ate and drank. And he said, "See now to this cursed woman and bury her, for she is a king's daughter." But when they went to bury her, they found no more of her than the skull and the feet and the palms of her hands.

Why is this passage important for us to read and contemplate? Because sin doesn't always seem sinful to us and because we sometimes tell ourselves that we can sin and things will turn out all right in the end. So, in loving and protective mercy, God lets his judgment for sin be seen. God exposes us to things we'd rather not see in order to keep us from going where he knows we shouldn't go.

 PULELULU ‘EPELELI 22, 2026

2 TU’I 6-8; SIONE 9:1-41

It's sad when anyone is blind to the presence and almighty power of God.

‘Oku tau ongo’i mamahi ‘i he’etau vakai ki ha taha ‘oku kui ki he ki he naunau mo e mafi ‘o e ‘Otua.

It is vital for us to understand that the most important realities in all of life cannot be seen with our physical eyes. Our God, who sits on the throne of the universe, ruling with holy wisdom, absolute sovereignty, and awesome power, cannot be physically seen or touched. His existence, rule, and plan for his creatures are the most visible things in the world, but they are not physically visible. You can't use the scientific method or modern technology to prove the existence or character of God. You can point to physical evidences of his existence in the creation, but it takes another set of eyes to see the glorious one behind the glories of creation. This means that our most important vision system is not our physical eyes. When Luella and I worked at a school for the blind, we became aware of how devastating and life-altering physical blindness can be. But it is not the most destructive form of blindness. Nothing is more devastating than when the eyes of the heart are blind to the things of God.

The blindness in 2 Kings 6:15-17 is instructive:

When the servant of the man of God rose early in the morning and went out, behold, an army with horses and chariots was all around the city. And the servant said, "Alas, my master! What shall we do?" He said, "Do not be afraid, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them." Then Elisha prayed and said, "O LORD, please open his eyes that he may see." So the LORD opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw, and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.

Elisha is under attack. The king of Syria has sent his troops to do him harm. Elisha's servant looks out and sees the Syrian army and panics. But Elisha assures him that they are being defended by an even greater army, one the servant cannot see. So Elisha prays that God would open the eyes of the servant to the spiritual realities right in front of him. The Lord answers Elisha's prayer, and the servant sees that the mountain is filled with horses and chariots of fire. Remember, horses and chariots are a theophany, that is, a divine appearing. God opens the eyes of Elisha's servant to his presence and his power.

This passage reminds us that spiritual sightedness is not natural. When the eyes of your heart "see" God in all his majestic power and glory, you can be sure you have been visited by his grace. It took an act of divine empowerment for the servant to see the presence and power of God.

One of the prophecies regarding the earthly ministry of the Messiah, Jesus, said that he would give sight to blind eyes (Isa. 35:5). Since sin blinds and is still present in our hearts, we should never stop praying for the grace of spiritual sightedness. That's a prayer God delights in answering.

 TUSITE ‘EPELELI 21, 2026

2 TU’I 4-5; LOMA 8:1-11

Christianity rises or falls on whether God has the power to raise the dead.

Ko e lotu faka-Kalisitiane, ‘e tu’u pe holofa ‘o fakatatau ki he mafai ‘o e ‘Otua ke ne fokotu’u ‘a e pekia.

No power can compare with resurrection power, which God alone holds. It is one of the things that separates him from everything else. We are used to death being the end. This may seem crass, but when you attend a funeral, you expect nothing from the deceased. You know that there is no life in that person, and that is that. The finality of death is why it is so painful. Nothing leaves us feeling more helpless than death. Because sin ushered death into our world, and because death is the inescapable end that every living thing eventually faces, God's power to raise the dead is the ultimate victorious comfort to his people. The apostle Paul argues that if there is no resurrection from the dead, then the resurrection of Jesus is a fake, and, if that is true, then we have been duped and our faith is in vain (1 Cor. 15:12-19). The power to raise the dead is the platform on which everything we believe rests.

Three times in the Old Testament and six times in the New, someone is raised from the dead. Each of these has been recorded and preserved to remind us of the solitary power of God over life and death.' The account of the Shunammite's son in 2 Kings 4:18-37 is the second recording in the Old Testament of someone being raised from the dead. God works this miracle through his prophet Elisha. 

These nine accounts not only remind us of the almighty power of God, a power that not even death can defeat, but they also foreshadow where the story of redemption is going. Sin will not have the final victory. The story will not end in the unmoving stillness of death. Life will triumph over death. This is the plan of God.

The stories of individuals being raised from the dead that are sprinkled throughout the biblical story predict the necessity of two resurrections to come. The first is the resurrection of Jesus, after his death on the cross. He came not only to pay the penalty for our sin but also to defeat sin and death in his resurrection. Remember that the resurrection of Jesus is not the final resurrection; it is the firstfruit of resurrections to come. There will be a day when all of the dead in Christ will be raised (1 Cor. 15:20). Death will die, and the children of God will live forever with the Lord of life, dwelling in his presence and basking in his glory.

The stories of these individuals are a promise of the greatest ending to a story ever imagined. In the dark valleys and hardships of life in this groaning world, we remember again and again that sin, suffering, and death are doomed. Someday they will imprison us no more, because with our Lord we will rise and breathe in the perfect air of the new heavens and the new earth, never again to shed death's tears.

 MONITE ‘EPELELI 20, 2026

2 TU’I 1-3; LOMA 8:18-21

No matter what we may face in this broken world, a bright and glorious future awaits every child of God.

Neongo pe ko e ha ha me’a te tau fehangahangai mo ia ‘i he mamani mamahi ko eni, ‘oku ‘i ai ha kaha’u maama mo langilangi’ia ‘oku tatali mai ki he tokotaha kotoa ‘o e fanau ‘a e ‘Otua.

I am not a prophet or the son of a prophet. It's not just that I cannot predict what will happen years down the road; I don't know what will happen in the next ten minutes. Fear of the future is a regular human affliction. We tend to fear what we do not know and have no ability to control. But this fear is weakened for the Christian, because grace has made us the sons and daughters of the one who is in complete control not just of our present, but also of all the tomorrows that follow on into eternity. The plan, over which God has complete control, has a glorious end written into it. We may weep with the pains of our present address, but there is glory in store for us.

Elijah had a rough life. He was called to his prophetic ministry during the reign of the abominable evil of Ahab and Jezebel. He faced opposition and threats. He proclaimed and defended the presence, power, and glory of God, while being surrounded by idolatry. At times he felt alone and forsaken, but a glorious homecoming was in God's plan for him:

Now when the LORD was about to take Elijah up to heaven by a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal.... And as they still went on and talked, behold, chariots of fire and horses of fire separated the two of them. And Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. And Elisha saw it and he cried, "My father, my father! The chariots of Israel and its horse-men!" And he saw him no more. (2 Kings 2:1, 11-12)

The experience of going up into heaven after one's earthly life is over, without first experiencing physical death, is rare in the Bible, so there is something both unique and prophetic about the story of Elijah's end. Notice that he doesn't just disappear, and then is somehow in heaven with the Lord. No, chariots and horses of fire come to get him. It is important to understand that the chariots and horses of fire are a theophany, that is, a divine appearing. God didn't send an Uber to get Elijah. The Lord Almighty himself, whom Elijah served, came to carry Elijah to heaven, forever to dwell in his presence. This is almost too beautiful and amazing to grasp. What an incredibly and gloriously shocking scene for Elisha to witness! He saw the Lord come for his own, liberating him from the sin and suffering of this fallen world, and transporting him to a place where these things are no more.

What happened to Elijah stands as a prophecy of what is in store for all of God's children he has adopted by his grace. It is a finger pointing to Jesus's words  to his disciples in John 14:3: "If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and take you to myself, that where I am you may be also." Here's the good news: the same Lord who came for Elijah will finally come in glory to take his children to be with him forever.

 SAPATE ‘EPELELI 19, 2026

1 TU’I 21-22; ‘EKISOTO 34:6-7

The only hope for real sinners is real divine mercy.

Ko e ‘amanaki pe ‘e taha ma’ae kau angahala mo’onia, ko e meesi mo’oni ‘a e ’Otua.

Sin is real, it is destructive, and it always leads to death. Sin is humanity's greatest pandemic. No one escapes it. No mere human has ever defeated it. Systems of personal reform do not weaken its power. Every human being is born with this grave spiritual sickness and, apart from divine intervention, will carry it to the tomb. Sin rears its ugly head in your thoughts and desires. Sin colors your communication, both how you speak and how you listen. Sin corrupts every relationship, creating conflict where peace should dwell. Sin causes you either to deny God's existence or to rage against his rule. Sin makes us self-absorbed, self-righteous, and self-defensive. Sin makes us want to control more than to serve. Sin turns everything into an idol, as we fail to be in awe of the one who desires our worship. Sin is more deeply sinful than we can imagine-and that is why God's grace is more deeply essential than we tend to think. No matter how much you minimize your sin, you will still live under its power apart from divine intervention.

God's mercy is a constant theme of the biblical narrative. Again and again, as we read, we are confronted with real sin and real mercy. Sometimes you have to ask yourself, "How can God be so patient? How can he be so kind? Will his mercy ever run out?" You find one of those radical moments of mercy in 1 Kings 21:25-29:

(There was none who sold himself to do what was evil in the sight of the LORD like Ahab, whom Jezebel his wife incited. He acted very abominably in going after idols, as the Amorites had done, whom the LORD cast out before the people of Israel.)

And when Ahab heard those words, he tore his clothes and put sackcloth on his flesh and fasted and lay in sackcloth and went about dejectedly. And the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, "Have you seen how Ahab has humbled himself before me? Because he has humbled himself before me, I will not bring the disaster in his days." It's important to pay attention to how Ahab is described. He "sold himself to do what was evil in the sight of the LORD.... He acted very abominably in going after idols." Not only was Ahab a wicked man, but in his wickedness and idolatry he encouraged others to be the same. You would think that God would exercise his righteous judgment against this evil king, but this is not where the story goes. Ahab has a moment of grief and contrition over his sin, and God's response is to treat him with mercy rather than judgment.

This passage points us to the cross of Jesus Christ. The cross is the ultimate demonstration that sin is real and has consequences, but also that God's mercy is real and will ultimately triumph over judgment. Because sin is the bad news we have to accept, grace is the good news we all need to hear and believe. No one is without a need for grace. No one.