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. 

 TOKONAKI ‘EPELELI 18, 2026

1 TU’I 18-20; LOMA 5:6-11 

The difference between true and false religion is clear. In false religion people fearfully reach up to somehow gain acceptance with their god. In true religion God reaches down and by grace grants his acceptance to those who do not deserve it.

Ko e faikehekehe ‘o e kautaha lotu mo’oni mo e kautaha lotu loi ‘oku mahino ngofua. ‘I he kautaha lotu loi, ‘oku feinga mate ‘a e kau lotuu ke nau kakapa hake ke ma’u ha fakahoifua mei honau ‘otua. Ko e kautaha lotu mo’oni, ‘oku tukuhifo ‘e he ‘Otua hono to’ukupuu ki mamani, pea ‘i he’ene kelesi, ‘oku ne tali ‘a e kau ta’e taau. 

There are more than three hundred and fifty "fear nots" (or similar expressions of that encouragement) in your Bible. There is a gloriously beautiful and comforting message in this central theme in Scripture. It splashes across the pages of your Bible to remind you that the faith you have given your heart to is a system not of fear but of grace upon grace. We do not wake up in the morning fearing our deity's wrath or wondering what we could do that day to ward it off. Our religious lives are not relegated to "do more and try harder." The story of the Bible is not an extended call for us to get our act together-or else. The primary theme of the biblical narrative is not divine condemnation but divine grace. Our consistent unworthiness doesn't make us hide in guilt and shame, but rather stands as a reminder of how much we need the grace that is our only hope. Acceptance by human effort vs. acceptance by a sacrifice of grace is the fault line between true and false religion.

We see this great spiritual fault line in the contest between the priests of Baal and the prophet Elijah to prove who the true God really is. It is clear that there is no restfulness of heart in the religion of these priests of Baal. They work as hard as they can, even to the point of self-injury, to try to get their god's attention and to make him willing to answer their prayers and consume their sacrifice. It's a sad display of fear mixed with delusion. After all their dancing, raving, and cutting themselves, they receive no answer. They are greeted with complete and utter silence, and their sacrifice sours in the sun.

Elijah has his sacrifice doused with water three times to prevent any charges of monkey business, and then he bows and prays a humble prayer for help: "O LORD, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that you are God in Israel, and that I am your servant, and that I have done all these things at your word. Answer me, O LORD, answer me, that this people may know that you, O LORD, are God, and that you have turned their hearts back" (1 Kings 18:36-37). 

This is not a prayer of appeasement; Elijah does not say, "Haven't I done enough to get you to respond?" This is a prayer of glory and grace. He prays for God to answer, so that people would know that he is the one true God. His prayer is a request for grace. Elijah doesn't rave, parade, or cut himself. He simply bows his head and rests in God's gracious reply. God has called us not to a life of fear but to the rest of faith, made possible only because he is a God of amazing grace.

 FALAITE ‘EPELELI 17, 2026

1 TU’I 15-17; PALOVEPI 19:21

Nothing in the earth below or the sky above can stop the march of the plans and purposes of God. Nothing.

‘Oku ‘ikai ha me’a ‘i lolofonua pe ‘i he langi ‘i ‘olunga te ne lava ke ta’ofi ‘a e palani mo e taumu’a ‘a e ‘Otua. ‘Oku ‘ikai ha me’a.

I was in the most vibrant, productive, influential, and exciting ministry period of my life. I had speaking engagements every weekend and several international trips each year. I was also writing a book a year. I was committed and determined, but I was not sovereign or without limits. All it took were some physical symptoms and a visit to the hospital, and my seemingly unstoppable plans stopped in an instant. I faced the fact that I would never again be capable of completing what I had committed myself to do.

Thankfully, God is not like me. Nothing can thwart his will, nothing can challenge his rule, and nothing can stop the march of his grand redemptive plan. The hope and spiritual security of every believer rest on the fact that our Lord cannot be stopped. His rule rules. This truth is clear and comforting in the following passage:

Now in the eighteenth year of King Jeroboam the son of Nebat, Abijam began to reign over Judah. He reigned for three years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Maacah the daughter of Abishalom. And he walked in all the sins that his father did before him, and his heart was not wholly true to the LORD his God, as the heart of David his father. Nevertheless, for David's sake the LORD his God gave him a lamp in Jerusalem, setting up his son after him, and establishing Jerusalem. (1 Kings 15:1-4)

The Lord of heaven and earth had set a redemptive plan in motion from before the world was formed, and he would not turn from that plan, no matter what. Here he established the throne of Abijam and his son in Jerusalem, not because Abijam was a God-fearing king but because God would not let anything stand in the way of his great redeeming plan. Out of Judah would come the King of kings whose throne would never, ever end. Don't misunderstand; God was not ignoring Abijam's sin, acting as though it were nothing. Abijam's sin against God is clearly proclaimed in this passage. What God was unwilling to do was to turn his back on the redemptive plan and the covenant promises he had made to David. Think about it for a moment. If our sin could thwart God's sovereign plan of grace, then there would be no hope for us. Hope for covenant breakers is found only in the perfect covenant-keeping zeal of the Lord. When we are faithless, he will remain faithful, because he cannot deny himself or the promises of grace he has made. So when you place your hope on him, your hope is secure. In a world where so many things disappoint us, that's very good news.