Tusite Sanuali 19 2021
Hola telia ho‘o mo‘ui
(v. 17) So it came to pass, when they had brought them outside, that he said, “Escape for your life! Do not look behind you nor stay anywhere in the plain. Escape to the mountains, lest you be destroyed.
(v. 17) Pea kuo na ‘omi leva kinautolu kitua‘ā, pea ne me‘a mai. Hola telia ho‘o mo‘ui; ‘oua te ke kilo kimui, pea ‘oua ‘e momo‘i tu‘u lolotonga ho‘o ‘i he Seakale: hola pē ki he mo‘unga na‘a ke mole.
*Commentary: Matthew Henry*
(1.) The salvation of the most righteous
men must be attributed to God's mercy, not to their own merit. We are saved
by grace.
(2.) God's power also must be acknowledged
in the bringing of souls out of a sinful state. If God had not brought us
forth, we had never come forth.
(3.) If God had not been merciful to us, our lingering had been our ruin.
With what a gracious vehemence he was
urged to make the best of his way, when he was brought forth, v. 17.
(1.) He must still apprehend himself in
danger of being consumed, and be quickened by the law of self-preservation to
flee for his life. Note, A holy fear and trembling are found necessary to the
working out of our salvation.
(2.) He must therefore mind his business
with the utmost care and diligence. He must not hanker after Sodom: Look not
behind thee. He must not loiter by the way: Stay not in the plain; for it would
all be made one dead sea. He must not take up short of the place of refuge
appointed him: Escape to the mountain. Such as these are the commands given to
those who through grace are delivered out of a sinful state.
[1.] Return not to sin and Satan, for that
is looking back to Sodom.
[2.] Rest not in self and the world, for
that is staying in the plain. And,
[3.] Reach towards Christ and heaven, for that is escaping to the mountain, short of which we must not take up.
* study on the Attributes of God / ako ki
he natula (ngaahi ‘ulungaanga) ‘o e ‘Otua *
GOD IS . . . (KO E ‘OTUA, ‘OKU . . )
GOD IS TRIUNE
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. (2 Corinthians 13:14)
Doctrine...
The Bible attributes deity to the Father,
the Son, and the Holy Spirit:
1. The Father (Rom. 15:6; 2 Cor. 1:3-4; 1
Pet. 1:3)
2. The Son (Acts 20:28; Rom. 9:5; Titus
2:13)
3. The Holy Spirit (Ps. 95:3, 8-9 [cf. Heb. 3:7-11]; Acts 5:3-4)
Ko e ‘Otua´ ko
e Tolu-ʻi he-Taha
Ko e kelesi ‘a e ‘Eiki ko Sīsū Kalaisi, mo e ‘ofa ‘a e ‘Otua, mo e feohi ‘o e Laumālie Mā‘oni‘oni, ‘ofa ke ‘iate kimoutolu kotoa pē ia (2 Kolinito 13:13).
Tokāteline...
‘Oku ‘osi hilifaki pe ‘e he Tohitapu´ ‘a e ngaahi tuʻunga
faka-‘Otua´ ki he Tamai´, ‘Alo´, pea mo e Laumalie Maʻoniʻoni´:
1. Ko e Tamai´
(Loma 15:6; 2 Kolin 1:3-4; 1 Pita 1:3)
2. Ko e ‘Alo´
(Ng 20:28; Lom 9:5; Tait 2:13)
3. Ko e
Laumalie Maʻoniʻoni´ (Saame 95:3, 8-9; Hep 3:7-11; Ng 5:3-4)
God rescue plan for Lot and his family.
ReplyDeleteOf course God foreknew (omniscient) that there was no 10 righteous people (previous chapter dialogue with Abraham) in Sodom & Gomorrah so His plan to destroy the city was sure.
But in His Mercy He did not destroy all. Being a righteous judge of the universe God always does what is right according to His Holy counsel and Perfect Will. He spared the lives of Lot & his family. He allowed them to escape before they begin to city's destruction.
Righteousness is not of man's possession/character, it belongs to God and God alone. Through His Mercy He made us Righteous because of His Grace alone (son Jesus Christ in repentance and faith) it was and is nothing we ever deserve.
We witness here God's plan of rescue more so pointing to the tremendous universal & cosmic rescue of not just a single family but the whole of humanity from the destruction of sin in our lives & heading towards the righteous wrath of God. This was manifested as we know in the gospel of our Lord King Jesus Christ.
This verse also speaks to the devastation of our sins. Most times we categorised sins & rate from simple to worse. I often time in the past failed in this. For example, we know that heinous effect of sin in our lives so when we look at people with homosexual sins we crinch & we utter disgust at their actions. I had a personal encounter which has changed the worldview on this matter. They are people too who are lost in this world of sin. They also needs the Saving Grace of Christ in His Gospel which had saved a wretched like me and me being the worst of it all.
Our Tongan culture often find it amusing to see a man pretending to be a woman. A lot of these guys were sexually abused very young hence they ended up in this distort way of thinking and living.
God will return to judge the whole world and He will do so righteously as of the days of Sodom & Gomorrah. By then we wouldn't be able to ask and plead for Mercy when the time is up.
We should pray & love our fellow sojourners in this life whether Christian or not who are battling with the sin of homosexuality s well as every other sin/addiction.
God is our healer, rescuer. He is near. It took the life of the Holy begotten Son, the second person in the Trinity to save us from the righteous wrath of God. He was crushed because of our sins & inquities. He ressurected giving us Hope of the glory to come in Heaven through His righteoussness & obedience.
Repent & believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you'll be saved.
Yes, transformation is of the Lord. May He so move in us and in our midst to carry His transforming love to others. Let us heed Jesus’ call to “bear fruits in keeping with repentance” (Mat 3:8)
DeleteFLEE! GO and SIN NO MORE! (easy said than done, right?) That is my prayer for us young people, that we may have the desire to flee from sin, and with God's help, may His Holy Spirit completes His work in our lives until the day of our Lord Jesus Christ!
ReplyDeleteAmen! 🙏🏽
DeleteHola mei he fili heene kei taimi 😊 Run away while you can, Joseph runaway from temptation in Genesis 6 to avoid sin, that remind us sometime we no need to face our enemy we need to turn away not just turn away but run away as fast as you can 😊 love u all and hope you have a wonderful and amazing day today
ReplyDeleteMalo Tikoni e poupou mo e tokoni ki he'etau kau lau Alpha Maama. Mo'oni 'aupito e mahu'inga 'o e HOLA! 'Ikai pe ha me'a lelei ia 'e iku ki ha taha 'e nofo atu ke alea mo e 'ahi'ahi - pea huanoa 'a e Tautea 'a e 'Otua! Ko 'Ene meesi pe 'oku ne taki lele ai kitautolu ke tau hu kitu'a mei he fakapo'uli 'o e angahala.
DeleteReading the passage of Lots family he was told to leave and not return...Run to the mountains and never look back!!!
ReplyDeleteWe tend as Christians to try to run for the mountains, but sometimes turn around here and there because it’s something that makes you happy...Sometimes it’s a temporary high that we’re seeking, but why stick around for something that’s temporary when you could be running towards something that’s permanent...Christ is our permanent happiness and He should be the mountain we should be running towards!!!
Have a great day and ofa atu mei he Api Ko Peteli -Malia-
Malo ‘aupito Malia - “Peteli” will be featured soon so I will be expecting everyone associated with Peteli to chime in. Thanks so much for sharing!
Delete"A holy fear and trembling are found necessary to the working out of our salvation". I like this piece and it's perspective. Majority of Christian focus on being in harmony, let's get along, everything is going to be ok mentality. But the story of lot and his family escaping for fear of their lives and also fear of God (told not to look back) is necessary in order to save us and we don't take heed (Lot's wife pillar of salt)we will suffer the consequences. For myself, I'm motivated by the nightmare rather then the reward. It's not the thought of going to heaven but not going to heaven that scares me and it propels me to run and escape so that I may live.
ReplyDeleteMalie! Glad you caught that. Just don’t over-do the “scared” part - ‘ikai ko ha faiva tevolo eni - but the emphasis should be in the “working out our salvation in fear and trembling” (Phil 2:12) Holy fear of God! We honor Him in our “struggles” knowing that He works “in us”. Malo Sisu 🙏🏽
Deletethis story always stands out in a way that helps me as a young boy. i should be looking forward striving to be the best man for God that i can be. yet something is always telling me to just look back and gaze on the things like temptations , sinful acts and thoughts , and yet we are are reminded that we should look forward to whats to come and what God has in store and not look back and dwell on the mistakes and shortcomings we may have encountered and acted upon.
ReplyDeleteLove the sharing everyone!! How fun to read upon your inner thoughts and heart murmurings. Keep it up❣️ Great read❤️
ReplyDeleteThe word “Reverence” comes to mind for me in today’s reading. A manifestation of a grateful and acquiescent spirit due to my acknowledgment of God’s mercy & Love. He allowed me an escape from S&G and all my sinful ways. He allowed me to flee with the instruction that I will leave behind my sinful ways and not return to it. He allowed me safe passage from ruin & damnation if I stayed diligent to His Word . . . . In Reverence - My mind accepts what my heart has known all along - The recognition & confirmation that my mere existence (hence through salvation) is all HE . . . And not Me. . . .Thank you Father for your word today 🙏🏻💕 1 Samuel 12:24
Only fear the Lord and serve Him in truth with all your heart; for consider what great things He has done for you.