TUSITE ME 5, 2026

1 KALONIKALI 22-24; 2 KOLINITO 5:11-15

Grace transforms us from being those who live for our own glory to being those who find joy in living for the glory and fame of another.

‘Oku liliu ‘e he kelesi kitautolu mei he mo’ui kumi pe ‘a e lelei ‘a’ata ki he fa’ahinga ‘oku nau fiefia ‘i he lelei mo e langilangi ‘o e tokotaha kehee.

The apostle Paul writes, "He died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised" (2 Cor.5:15). Here we see the center of the great spiritual war that rages in and around us. Sin causes us to shrink our world down to the tiny, self-focused scope of our wants, our needs, and our feelings. It really is true that the essence of sin is selfishness. We hold our wants, needs, feelings, dreams, and choices to be more important than God's existence, will, and glory. We ignore his existence, rebel against his commands, and step over his boundaries. We live as mini-sovereigns in constant conflict with other mini-kings and mini-queens. Think about times and situations when you have gotten angry. How much of your anger has anything whatsoever to do with God's law, glory, or kingdom? We tend to get mad at others not because they have broken God's law, but because they have offended the law of our wants, needs, and feelings. Only powerful, rescuing, and transforming grace can cause glory-seekers to live for the glory of God. This is why Jesus had to come; he rescued us from external evil as well as from our bondage to ourselves. Saving grace rescues us from our glory and changes us so that we might live for God's glory. That rescuing grace operates in you and me today.

This is why I am struck by David's zeal that the temple his son Solomon will eventually build must be a glory-of-God beacon - that is, a physical monument to the glorious glory of God. Whenever you encounter a biblical character or a person in your life whose goal is to show off the glory of God, you can be sure he or she has been visited by God's grace. Self-glory is natural for sinners, but it takes grace to have your heart consumed and your life shaped by the glory of God. Consider the words that expose David's heart: "David said, 'Solomon my son is young and inexperienced, and the house that is to be built for the LORD must be exceedingly magnificent, of fame and glory throughout all lands. I will therefore make preparation for it. So David provided materials in great quantity before his death" (1 Chron. 22:5). David didn't want his fame to mar the temple. He wanted the temple to proclaim God's magnificence, fame, and glory. Notice the evangelistic zeal in David's heart. He wanted the temple to proclaim God's glory not to Israel alone but also to all the surrounding nations.

Even though you and I are not building a temple, we can have the same zeal. Our God is glorious beyond imagination and is worthy of our surrendering every aspect of our lives to the proclamation of his glory.

 MONITE ME 4, 2026

1 KALONIKALI 18-21; KALETIA 6:1-5

No one extends grace better than a person who knows he needs it himself; therefore, humble prayers of confession tend to produce loving prayers of intercession.

‘Oku ‘ikai ha tokotaha ‘e toe lelei ange ‘i hono fakahoko ‘o e kelesi, ka ko ia ‘oku ne ‘ilo’i ‘a ‘ene fiema’u; ko ia ai, ko e lotu vete ‘i he loto fakatokilalo, ‘oku ne fakatupu ‘a e mo’ui lotu hufia.

Jesus told a parable about a man who stood in the temple and offered what he thought was a most humble prayer (Luke 18:9-14). In truth, his prayer wasn't a prayer at all. It lacked all the elements of true prayer: devotion, supplication, and intercession. This Pharisee essentially told God that he didn't need him, that he was righteous enough on his own. It is shocking that the most Godward-appearing act - prayer - can actually be just the opposite. The religious form may be there, but a prayer can be robbed, by human glory or selfish demand, of its devotion and submission. Not only was the Pharisee stunningly proud, but he also looked on a struggling tax collector with contempt. People who think themselves righteous tend not to be patient, compassionate, or gracious with those who appear to be less righteous than they have named themselves to be. It is, therefore, the grief of humble, heartfelt confession of sin that stimulates concern, compassion, and intercession for others who need the same grace you have just cried out for. Self-righteous pride is not the soil in which compassion grows.

We see this in the life of David. Take careful note of the two parts of David's prayer in 1 Chronicles 21:17: "David said to God, 'Was it not I who gave command to number the people? It is I who have sinned and done great evil. But these sheep, what have they done? Please let your hand, O LORD my God, be against me and against my father's house. But do not let the plague be on your people." David had succumbed to Satan's temptation to number his people. God didn't want David to grow proud and self-reliant. Because of his sin, God determined to send a plague upon the people of Israel. Note that David's guilt over and confession of his own sin prompted him to plead to God on behalf of God's people.

This is how prayers of intercession always work. Pride causes you to be less than compassionate or perhaps even condemnatory of other sinners. Uncaring judgment of lawbreakers is easy when you have named yourself a law-keeper. But constant confession of your need for God's rescuing, forgiving, and transforming grace is what softens your heart to extend that grace to others.

Sinless Jesus, who had no transgression to confess, was moved with compassion for sinners, so much so that he was willing to die to secure their forgiveness. His heart of grace for sinners like you and me is the hope of the universe. Although he needed no grace, he became the grace of God for all who believe. May we be tools of that same grace in the lives of those near us who need what only grace can give.

 SAPATE ME 3, 2026

1 KALONIKALI 15-17; 2 KOLINITO 10:13-1

It is important to resist taking credit for what you never could have accomplished or produced on your own.

‘Oku mahu’inga ke ke faka’ehi’ehi mei he polepole ‘i ha ngaue na’e ‘ikai mei lava ‘i ha’o feinga tokotaha pe.

A spiritual leader's downfall can begin when he starts to take credit for what is actually the result of God's grace, faithfulness, and power. In this way, success in ministry can be far more dangerous than failure. Success has the power to change the way you think about yourself, who you are, and what you are able to do. Success has the power to make you self-congratulatory and seemingly self-sufficient. Success can steal away your daily worship and devotional life, as you begin to think of yourself as more capable than you actually are. You become less aware of God's presence and less mindful of his grace. Success has the power to make ministry seem like your show rather than God's work. It can cause you to think that your success is God's endorsement of your character, rather than a revelation of his own. Success can close you off from those whom God has sent to advise and confront you. Success can cause you to treat fellow workers as servants for your success, rather than acknowledging them as servants of God. But, most significantly, success can turn you into a glory thief, attempting to steal the spiritual limelight that rightfully belongs to your Savior King.

First Chronicles 16:8-36 records one of the Old Testament's most exuberant, humble, worshipful, and God-glorifying hymns of praise. With great rejoicing, the ark of the covenant of the Lord has been brought to the City of David and, as the crescendo of the celebration, David appoints Asaph and his brothers to sing this great hymn of praise. David has been hugely successful in battle, unified Israel, became a powerful reigning king, and brought the ark of the covenant back to Jerusalem. But David's heart isn't filled with his own glory. He doesn't want people to celebrate all that he has done. He knows that all he has accomplished is the result of the presence, power, grace, and covenant faithfulness of the Lord. David knows he is not the hero of his own story - the Lord is.

I am particularly taken by the final words of this hymn. They are a prayer:

Save us, O God of our salvation,

and gather and deliver us from among the nations,

that we may give thanks to your holy name,

and glory in your praise.

Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel,

from everlasting to everlasting! (1 Chron. 16:35-36)

"Save us, that we may glory in your praise." May this be your prayer and mine today. May we pray for relief from our trials and temptations not just so we would experience personal comfort, but so our lives would glorify God and lead others to do the same. May he give us the grace to glory in his glory and not our own.

 TOKONAKI ME 2, 2026

1 KALONIKALI 12-14; ‘EFESO 3:14-21

When God calls you, he supplies everything you need to answer his call.

‘I he taimi ‘oku ui ai koe ‘e he ‘Otua, ‘oku ne tokonaki ‘a e me’a kotoa pe te ke fiema’u ke tali’aki ‘a ‘Ene ui.

Sometimes God calls us into his service not because we are able, but because he is. When God calls us into his service, he is not necessarily endorsing our character, wisdom, power, or righteousness. His call reveals not how great or worthy we are, but how perfectly great and worthy he is. God knows we are sinners in need of grace. He knows that he has created us with limits. He knows we are still tempted to love what is foolish and to think that we are far wiser than we truly are. He knows how often our minds and bodies fail us. So every call and command of God is accompanied by his empowering grace. We need grace both to desire and to do what God calls us to do. I am convinced that we should never allow ourselves to forget that God's grace is designed to move us not from dependence to independence, but from independence to a greater and deeper dependence on him. Mature believers are mature because they have forsaken the delusion that independently they can be what God calls them to be and do what God calls them to do.

First Chronicles 11-12 records for us all the mighty men who come to King David and swear their loyalty to him in service and in battle. It is an impressive list of men of wisdom and valor. But as we read this history, we must understand what is happening here. These men gather around David in loyal service, surrendering their gifts and abilities to him, not simply because he is great. No, something grander and more encouraging is occurring. God has called David to unify and lead Israel, an extremely difficult task. To accomplish this, David is going to need lots of help. So God, in faithfulness to his servant, supplies him with what he needs. These men gather around David because when God calls one of his children into his service, he supplies what that servant needs. These men of valor are physical evidence that when God calls, he supplies.

God never calls us into his service and then walks away. He never calls you and then stands back to see how well you are doing. When God sends you, he goes with you. When he appoints you to a task, he supplies you with what you need to do that task.

David's Lord is your Lord; he will supply what you need, just as he did for his servant so long ago. Answer his call; he will supply.

 FALAITE ME 1, 2026

1 KALONIKALI 10-11; SAAME 37:1-6

We should always hold our plans with an open hand, because God is perfectly wise and sovereign and we are not.

Ko ‘etau ngaahi palani ‘oku totonu ke tau hapai kotoa ki he ‘Otua, he ko Ia pe ‘oku poto haohaoa mo aoniu, ‘o ‘ikai ko kitautolu.

What do you really want? Be honest with yourself and with God as you make this assessment. If you could have anything, what would it be? What personal dreams do you hold onto and revisit? Where do you wish you were sovereign and able to make the world do your bidding? What makes you dissatisfied with your life? Where are you tempted to doubt the wisdom or goodness of God? How do you handle disappointment? What do you tend to do when your plans are thwarted? What have you prayed for and later wondered why God failed to provide? Is there a struggle in your life between your plans for you and God's plans for you? Are you ever tempted to think that you are smarter than God?

The biblical story is God's story. It was written to introduce you to the magnificent glory of his glory. He is the character that dominates every narrative. The biblical story is meant to expose you to God's character, his will, and his plan for his own. He is the hero of every story. All the victories belong to him. Every great man or woman of faith is great only because of God's empowering presence and grace. In the biblical story, human plans fail, but God's never do. Human power is limited and temporary, but God's isn't. Human love is weak and fails, but God's love is strong and always prevails. But, despite God's zeal to reveal himself to us in such a way that should encourage us to trust him, follow him, and surrender our will to his, there is a constant struggle in the biblical story between what people want and what God knows is best for them.

Israel was dissatisfied with having no human king, even though God was an infinitely better ruler than any human king they could ever have. They looked at the nations around them and wanted a king like they had. So God gave them what they wanted. Sadly, Saul was a king like the other nations' kings. His repeated rebellion against God, his obsession with his own power, and his jealousy all led to his demise. God had planned something better for his children, something much better than what they envied in the surrounding pagan nations (see 1 Chron. 11:1-4). God wanted for his children a king after his own heart. He would covenant with this king to give him a throne that would never end. Out of this king's line would come Jesus, the Son of David, the Savior of the world. As a wise Father, God always knows what is best for his children. His plans are always best. His way is always right. We will never know  more than he knows or be wiser than he is. Surrendering your desires, plans, and will to the Lord of lords is never a bad choice. Demanding your own way never produces anything good. The plan of the ultimate planner is always the wisest and best plan. Surrender your plans to him, and you will be glad you did.

 TU’APULELULU ‘EPELELI 30, 20226

1 KALONIKALI 5-9; SELEMAIA 31:16-20

We should be thankful that woven into the gospel is the promise of fresh starts and new beginnings.

‘Oku taau ke tau fakafeta’i ‘i hono fatu ‘i he koosipeli ‘a e palomesi ‘o e faingamalie mo e kamata fo’ou.

One of my favorite verses in all of Scripture is Jonah 3:1: "Then the word of the LORD came to Jonah the second time...." God's patience and grace toward Jonah surprise me every time I read this book. In the face of God's call, Jonah ran in the other direction, not only to disobey God but to escape God's presence. I probably would have told Jonah that I was done with him, that I didn't need him because I had plenty of prophets to send in his place. But our God is a God of inexhaustible patience and grace. He pursued Jonah, rescued Jonah from himself, and then called him again to his mission to Nineveh. Jonah was granted a fresh start and a new beginning, even in the face of his rebellion, because God's grace is amazing. Once God has chosen you as his own, you

cannot outrun his grace.

The history of the children of Israel was a chronicle of commitment, followed by rebellion and idolatry, followed by repentance, with the cycle repeating-but each time with a deeper falling away and deeper evil, until the sins of Israel were as great as those of the surrounding pagan nations. Because God loved his children, he could not sit by and dispassionately watch their wanton idolatry and immorality. Just as a father who truly loves his children will discipline them because of that love, God moved to discipline his own. This discipline was not a final condemnation. God was not turning his back on his own. He was not forsaking his covenant. He was not turning from all his promises. God was not casting his children away from his presence.

God raised up Babylon not as a tool of his final judgment against Judah, but as a tool of his purifying discipline. The captivity in Babylon would not be the final chapter for Judah because God is a God of inexhaustible patience and grace. There would be more chapters, culminating in the coming of the Son of David, Jesus Christ-the Lion of the tribe Judah.

So the words of 1 Chronicles 9:1-2 are heartening:

All Israel was recorded in genealogies, and these are written in the Book of the Kings of Israel. And Judah was taken into exile in Babylon because of their breach of faith. Now the first to dwell again in their possessions in their cities were Israel, the priests, the Levites, and the temple servants. 

Judah was exiled because of their wholesale breach of faith, but it wasn't the end, because woven into God's grace is the promise of fresh starts and new beginnings. Judah returned to the promised land, led by those who would reestablish the centrality of the worship of God. Be thankful that, in spite of our sin, his grace offers us hope for a new day.

 PULELULU ‘EPELELI 29, 2026

1 KALONIKALI 1-4; FILIPAI 3.8-14

It's important to remember that our hope in life and death is not our zeal for God, but his zeal to keep every one of his redemptive promises.

‘Oku mahu’inga ke tau manatu’i, ko ‘etau ‘amanaki ki he mo’ui mo e mate ‘oku ‘ikai makatu’unga ‘i he’etau ngaue mateaki ma’ae ‘Otua, ka ‘i he mateaki’i kitautolu ‘e IA ke ne tauhi ‘a ‘Ene fo’i palomesi kotoa ‘o ‘Ene huhu’i kitautolu.

You should dedicate and discipline yourself to keep every one of God's commands. You should work to apply the wisdom of his word to every aspect of your life. You should be a student of his word. You should be committed to understanding the theology of Scripture and live that theology out in your daily life. You should use the resources God has entrusted to you to contribute to the work of his kingdom and to meet the needs of those he places in your path. You should be committed to sharing the gospel when God gives the opportunity. You should commit yourself to having a marriage and family life that are shaped by the comfort and call of the gospel. You should build a robust devotional life of worship and study. You should be committed to counting your blessings every day and resist numbering your complaints. You should live with gratitude, even when facing trials. You should do all of these things with joy. But it is vital that you also remember that your zeal and discipline for God are not the rock of your spiritual hope.

We must constantly remember that true, unshakable hope is only ever found in God's zeal for his own glory and the plan of redemption he set in place before the foundations of the world were laid. If you faithfully do all of the things above, which God clearly calls you to do, you do so only because you have been rescued and empowered by God's grace. It's true that not only is he faithful, but we can be faithful only because he has been faithful first. All of our desires to love, serve, and worship him are the fruit of his grace. We must always resist taking credit for things that are the fruit of his faithful grace. All human righteousness is the work of his convicting, rescuing, transforming, and empowering grace.

So, when you read the genealogies in 1 Chronicles, you should be impressed with something other than the long list of names. Your heart should go to the God behind the list. First Chronicles 1-4 takes us from Abraham and his descendants, to David and his descendants, and to Judah and his other descendants. These genealogies are a tribute not so much to human effort, commitment, wisdom, righteousness, or faithfulness, but to the perfect faithfulness of God to every covenant promise he had made. He called, empowered, guided, warned, and forgave. From the early promises to Abraham, to the redemption from Egypt, to the journey through the wilderness, to the entrance into the promised land, and to the establishment of a kingdom, God acted with power and grace on behalf of his people. This is why they exist. Romans 11:36 is the best summary of these genealogies: "From him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen."