TU’APULELULU MA’ASI 12, 2026

SIOSIUA 5-8; MATIU 4:1-11 

What do you do when the thing that God is calling you to do seems absurd?

Ko e ha ho’o me’a ‘e fai kapau ‘oku ngali kehe ‘a e me’a ‘oku ui koe ‘e he ‘Otua ke ke fakahoko?

It really is true that God's thoughts are not like our thoughts and his ways are very different from our ways.

I sat in my chair during a difficult and painful recovery from a surgery I had hoped to avoid. I was so weak that I could barely get out of that chair. I sat there doing nothing because medications had scrambled my brain enough that I couldn't do the writing I thought God had called me to do. It seemed absurd that at the moment of what I thought was my greatest gospel influence, I had been weakened almost to immobility and my world had shrunk to this chair in our loft in Philadelphia. On a human level, it didn't make any sense. I knew God wasn't toying with me. I knew him to be present, faithful, and right in every way. But I was impressed with the seeming absurdity of the moment.

Having read through the biblical narrative over the course of my life, I am tempted to write a book called Divine Absurdities. Please don't misunderstand the title. I don't think that God, in the complete perfection of his wisdom, ever thinks, says, or does anything absurd. But there are moments when God asks us to do something that, at a human level, seems absurd; that is, it's so hard for us to make sense of it that it leaves us confused or a bit scared. Biblical faith calls us to persevere through what may seem absurd and to hold on to our belief that God is holy and wise, that all of his ways are good, right, and true. If you stop at the absurd, you will abandon God's call and turn and run the other way.

Joshua 6 invites us to witness one of those seemingly absurd moments. God calls his children not to attack thick-walled Jericho with military strategy but to parade around it for seven days. On a human level, this doesn't make any sense. It seems like an act of military suicide. But God has a plan. On the seventh day, after the seventh time around the city, the Israelites blow their trumpets and scream at the top of their lungs. The walls collapse and the city is sacked. God's plan was to give his children a victory that they could not take credit for and, in so doing, to instill in them the belief that he would be present with them and that they would fight their battles in the promised land in his almighty power. The absurd was not absurd, but rather a gift of God's grace and glory.

The biblical narrative marches toward another moment that seems absurd. It seems absurd that the entire hope of humanity would rest on God becoming a man, living a perfect life, dying a substitutionary death, rising from the dead, and ascending in victory to sit at the right hand of the Father. But it wasn't absurd; it was the perfect plan, conceived before the earth began. By faith we embrace the plan, God-in-the-flesh, the ultimate gift and giver of grace.

 PULELULU MA’ASI 11, 2026

SIOSIUA 1-4; NGAUE 5:17-42

There is no greater act of courage than to obey the law of God, no matter the opposition, the rejection, or the hardships you face.

‘Oku ‘ikai mo ha toe ngaue loto to’a ‘e mahulu hake, ka ko ‘ete talangofua ki he lao ‘a e ‘Otua, ‘o tatau ai pe ‘a e fakafepaki, ta’e tali pe ko ha faingata’a ‘oku te fehangahangai mo ia. 

From age ten until about fourteen, I was obsessed with reading automobile-racing stories. It didn't matter what kind of racing, or whether the story was about race cars or race-car drivers. I was taken by the bravery of the drivers who committed themselves to this perilous sport. They faced dangerous conditions, endured physical injuries, and overcame discouraging defeats, but they never gave up. As an awkward middle schooler, I was amazed by their courage, and I wondered if I would have that kind of courage when I grew up.

God had chosen Joshua to lead Israel. This man would need loads of courage to accomplish what God had called him to do. Joshua had been chosen to lead difficult, often discontented people who were known to turn on their leader if they didn't like what they were experiencing. Joshua had been chosen to lead this group of people across the Jordan and into battle against the nations inhabiting the promised land. He had been called to be a wartime general leading an unhappy army into battle after battle. He would need courage for the internal and external battles he would face. I think it's important to recognize and understand how God defines that courage:

Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go. This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go. (Josh. 1:7-9)

God defines courage as obeying his law no matter what, never allowing yourself to stray away from it to the right or to the left. We are to bathe in God's law day and night, so that it controls the thoughts of our minds and the desires of our hearts. As I read Joshua's commission, conviction sets in and the Spirit leads me to confess that I often fall short of God's standard. But I am not without hope, because a greater Joshua was sent to us. He was perfectly courageous on our behalf. He went about his mission to defeat sin and death, facing opposition, rejection, and torment of soul and body, yet he never wavered. He perfectly measured up to God's standard of courage. We now stand before God as righteous because of the courageous righteousness of Jesus. That's very good news.

 TUSITE MA’ASI 10, 2026

DEUTERONOMY 32-34; Psalm 86:8-13

No one is like our God. Nothing compares to him. He is glorious beyond our ability to comprehend.

‘Oku ‘ikai ha taha ‘e tatau mo hotau ‘Otua. ‘Oku ‘ikai ha me’a ‘e ala fakatatau mo Ia. ‘Oku ope atu hono langilangi mo hono naunau ‘i hotau mafai ke tatae ‘a ‘Ene ‘Afio.

For a few summers I was a chaplain at a camp in the middle of Pennsylvania. The camp's ministry philosophy was to blow the campers away with the stunning glory of God in creation and give them an introduction to the glory of God as Savior. I loved my time there, as did my family. The camp was located in a valley between two mountain ranges. One afternoon I sat on the porch of the main building that overlooked the valley, and I watched dark clouds rise over the mountains as a storm began to build. In a few minutes the clouds broke, thunder roared, and lightning seemed to be everywhere. Rain came down with power like I had never seen before. I was transfixed, glued to my seat by the scary, thunderous glory I was viewing. The storm passed over us as quickly, as it had risen, the sky brightened, and we could hear claps of thunder in the distance as the storm dumped its glory on another valley. Those of us on the porch spontaneously applauded. We were all blown away by the power we had just experienced, but our applause was about something deeper. We knew that what we had seen was a minute glimpse of the glorious glory of the God behind the storm.

Moses's final act as the great leader of the children of Israel was to pronounce a blessing on each of the tribes of Israel. The great prayer/poem of Deuteronomy 33 builds to this crescendo:

There is none like God, O Jeshurun,

who rides through the heavens to your help,

through the skies in his majesty.

The eternal God is your dwelling place,

and underneath are the everlasting arms.

And he thrust out the enemy before you

and said, "Destroy."

So Israel lived in safety,

Jacob lived alone,

in a land of grain and wine,

whose heavens drop down dew.

Happy are you, O Israel! Who is like you,

a people saved by the LORD. (Deut. 33:26-29)

Moses had witnessed incredible displays of divine glory. He had seen God unleash his power to deliver, protect, provide for, and guide the children of Israel. From the plagues in Egypt, to the water walls of the Red Sea, to the glory display on Sinai, to the cloud and pillar of fire, and finally to manna on the ground every morning, God had displayed his glory on behalf of Israel. Moses summarized all he had experienced with these two exultant statements: "There is none like God" and "Happy are you, O Israel! Who is like you, a people saved by the LORD." 

May we who have experienced the redeeming grace of Christ Jesus start each morning with this twofold declaration: "There is no God like my God" and "I am happy today because I am among that great company of people who have  been saved by the Lord."

 MONITE MA’ASI 9, 2026

TEUTALONOME 30-31; ‘AISEA 40:28-31

Strength for the believer is not an independent accomplishment but rather the result of the presence and power of God.

Ko e ivi ki he tokotaha tui, ‘oku ‘ikai ko ha me’a na’a ne ngaue’i ‘iate ia pe, ka ko e ola ‘o e ivi mo e lotolotonga ‘o e ‘Otua.

Though the life, ministry, and leadership of Moses comes to an end, God does not leave his children leaderless. He raises up leader after leader, until the train of God-appointed leaders culminates with the Messiah, Jesus Christ. As you work your way through the Old Testament, you encounter three kinds of leaders God raises up and through whom he guides his children. Leading Israel are prophets, priests, and kings. These three offices would be fulfilled by Jesus, who is the final and eternal prophet, priest, and king for the children of God.

At the end of Deuteronomy, God's people are in a significant moment of transition. They are preparing to enter the promised land - but without Moses. Who will fill the vacuum that Moses leaves behind? What kind of man will be able to deal with the grumbling, complaining, fearful, God-doubting, and often rebellious Israelites? Who will be able to handle the internal trouble in the Israelite camp, while at the same time leading them to conquer the nations that inhabit the promised land? Who can do this with hope and courage?

God appoints Joshua as the next leader of the Israelite children, but not because Joshua is a giant among men. God does not employ people in his work because they are able, but because he is infinitely able. Listen to the words that accompany Joshua's calling:

Then Moses summoned Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel, "Be strong and courageous, for you shall go with this people into the land that the LORD has sworn to their fathers to give them, and you shall put them in possession of it. It is the LORD who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed." (Deut. 31:7-8)

It is clear that God doesn't choose Joshua because he is independent, strong, and capable. Then why can Moses say to Joshua, "Be strong and courageous"? Here is why: Moses understands the promises, resources, and power of the Lord. God never sends his children to do a task without going with them. When God sends his children, he doesn't leave his promises behind. When God sends his children to do his work, he empowers them to do the work he has called them to do. When God sends his children, he never turns his back on them or leaves them to the small resources of their own strength. God's children can go forward fearlessly, doing what God has called them to do, for one reason only: he is with them in his glorious presence and power.

The promises of God's presence and power are fulfilled in Jesus Christ, who took on flesh and exercised his power to do what we never could have done on our own-that is, defeat the enemies of sin and death. Remember: as you do what God calls you to do, you are never alone.

 SAPATE MA’ASI 8, 2026

TEUTALONOME 28-29; MA’AKE 8:22-26

Your physical eyes can be wide open even while the eyes of your heart are sadly blind.

‘Oku malava pe ke ‘ā lelei ho mata fakamatelie, ka kui ‘a e mata ho laumalie.

During my time in seminary, Luella and I were houseparents at a school for the blind. We lived with about fifteen boys who either had been blind from birth or had become blind due to some kind of accident. We experienced firsthand the enormity of this physical deficit. We saw how it impacted every area of our boys' lives. We also witnessed the brilliant things our boys were taught so that they could do almost everything a sighted boy could do.

But there is a set of eyes dramatically more important than your physical eyes. A human being's most important sight comes from the eyes of the heart. Spiritual blindness is a life-destroying tragedy. If you are physically blind, you can forge a fairly normal existence, doing in your own way the things that sighted people do. But you cannot be spiritually blind and live well.

Hear the words of Moses:

Moses summoned all Israel and said to them: "You have seen all that the LORD did before your eyes in the land of Egypt, to Pharaoh and to all his servants and to all his land, the great trials that your eyes saw, the signs, and those great wonders. But to this day the LORD has not given you a heart to understand or eyes to see or ears to hear." (Deut. 29:2-4)

Moses makes a distinction that is important to understand. He points to a fault line that divides humanity. He says the Israelites saw with their physical eyes all that God had done for them, but they did not see these great wonders with the eyes of their heart. You can see and be blind at the same time. God's children saw the mighty wonders God had performed on their behalf, but they did not see (understand) the full spiritual significance of those wonders. Moses explains why they were blind to the spiritual glories behind the physical glories. When you are born, your physical eyes open; progressively, you gain clear vision. But it takes an act of divine grace to open the eyes of your heart to deep and wonderful spiritual mysteries.

Apart from an act of divine grace opening your eyes, you can look at wonderful things in creation but not see the glory of the one who has designed those things and set them in place. Without being visited by eye-opening grace, you can read the words on the physical page of the Bible but not understand the spiritual realities those words reveal.

If your eyes are open to the glories of God in creation and the spiritual mysteries revealed in God's word, know that you have been visited by divine grace. God has done for you what you could have never done for yourself. He has opened the eyes of your heart so that you would see him in all his glory, know his redeeming fullness, and surrender your life to him. It is an eternally glorious thing to be visited by the divine optometrist.

 TOKONAKI MA’ASI 7, 2026

TEUTALONOME 24-27; SENESI 4:1-7

We should never give God what is left over, but rather offer him the first and best of what he has provided.

‘Oku ‘ikai totonu ke tau foaki ki he ‘Otua ‘a e toetoenga, ka ke tau foaki ange ‘a e tu’ukimu’a mo e lelei taha ‘o e me’a kuo ne tokonaki.

We have to look back to creation to understand fully the importance of Deuteronomy 26:1-2:

When you come into the land that the LORD your God is giving you for an inheritance and have taken possession of it and live in it, you shall take some of the first of all the fruit of the ground, which you harvest from your land that the LORD your God is giving you, and you shall put it in a basket, you and shall go to the place that the LORD your God will choose, to make his name to dwell there.

Genesis 1 and 2 tell us that God is the Creator of everything. As the Creator of everything, he owns everything. I am a painter. After I have gone to my studio and completed a painting, it belongs to me, because I made it. God, as Creator, is the rightful owner of all that is. This means he owns me and everything that I am and have. Nothing belongs to me; it all belongs to him.

As the Creator of everything, God not only owns everything, but he also determines everything's purpose. If you sit down to sew a garment, you don't start aimlessly, hoping that your sewing will turn into something. No, you sit down with a distinct purpose in mind. You make every stitch to accomplish that purpose. God not only owns everything, but he also has a purpose for everything he has created.

So when God asks his children to give him the firstfruits of their crops, he is not asking them to take what belongs to them and give it to him. He is asking them to return to him a portion of what already belongs to him. Nothing we own is ours to use however we choose to use it. It all belongs to God, and is to be stewarded as he directs. Now, this is important to understand: God does not want whatever is left over after we have satisfied ourselves with the fruit of our work. God wants us to make our offering to him first. When we do so, we acknowledge that all we are and all we have belong to him to be used as he pleases.

God is protecting his children from the idol of possession. He knows that the acquiring and maintaining of material things and the pleasure they give can rule our hearts and shape how we live. There's grace in this command to offer God our firstfruits. God is rescuing us from us, so that we can know the joy of worshiping the Creator rather than living in bondage to the creation. He made us. We belong to him. He is where true life is to be found. So, offer him your first and your best. You'll be glad you did.

 FALAITE MA’ASI 6, 2026

TEUTALONOME 21-23; 1 PITA 1:13-21

The biblical story marches slowly to a man hanging on a tree: Jesus, who died as our substitute, the perfect sacrificial Lamb.

Ko e talanoa ‘o e Tohitapu, ‘oku fononga mamalie ki ha tangata ‘oku tautau ‘i he ‘akau: ko Sisu, na’e pekia ko hotau fetongi, ko e Lami haohaoa na’e feilaulau.

I wake up every morning with hope and joy. It's not because I always feel great. As I write this, I am in unrelenting pain. Something has happened to my back, which makes everything I do painful. Getting out of a chair is torturous. Riding in a car is agonizing. But my hope and joy are not diminished. My hope is not based on what God has called me to do. It does not rely upon people's opinions of me or my financial security. My hope is not based on the fact that I am married to my hero or that I have four wonderful children. My hope really does look back to a tree, outside of the walls of an ancient city, where an innocent man willingly suffered the cruelest and most humiliating kind of death, crucifixion, for the sake of my forgiveness, my reconciliation to God, my adoption into his family, and my eternal place with him in glory. Jesus is my hope. Jesus is the source of my joy. His work on my behalf, his presence, and his grace-not my suffering, my work, or my family-define me. My chronic pain does not make me angry or bitter, because I am daily blown away by the knowledge of what he has done for me and of who I am in him.

In Deuteronomy 21 God gives directions for how to deal with a man who has committed a capital crime, that is, one punishable by death. Such a person is to be hanged on a tree. It's a hard passage to read, but it is there for our guidance and protection. This passage sits in the Old Testament to remind us that God takes sin seriously, so we better take it seriously too. In order to have a relationship with his people, God never ignores or minimizes sin. This passage has been retained to remind us that something has to happen that will allow sinners to have a relationship with a perfectly holy God.

Deuteronomy 21:22-23 points us to two trees. First, it looks back to the tree in the garden of Eden, where temptation and sin first entered the world and separated people from their Creator. Second, it looks forward to that tree on the hill of Golgotha, where Jesus willingly suffered and died for our justification and eternal adoption into the family of God. In Deuteronomy, one man hangs because of his sin; on Calvary, one man hangs for the sins of others. In Deuteronomy, one man suffers the penalty for his iniquity; on Calvary one man pays the penalty for multitudes. One tree is a tree of death; the other tree is, ultimately, a tree of life. On one tree hangs a man who has no hope; on the other tree a man's death gives eternal hope to a countless company of sinners.

We have hope because of what Jesus did on that tree, and because of what he continues to do for us with mercies that are new every day.