PULELULU TISEMA 31, 2025

A PRAYER FOR PROSPERITY

LOTU KI HE TU’UMALIE

3 JOHN 2

"Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, as it goes well with your soul." 

3 JOHN 2

Si‘i ‘ofa‘anga, ‘oku ou hūfia koe ke ke tu‘umālie ‘i he me‘a kotoa pē, kae‘uma‘ā ke ke mo‘ui lelei, ‘o hangē ko e tu‘umālie ‘a ho laumālie.

Does God desire that you prosper? Does He want you to succeed? Does He want you to do well?

Those are controversial, and complicated, questions - and in large part the answers depend on how we define prosperity and success. We are rightly at pains, on the strength of biblical warrant, to refute every notion of the "prosperity gospel." God is not our personal vending machine, Jesus Christ is not our butler, and the Holy Spirit is not our genie. God has not promised us that faith leads to health and wealth in this world. We should never forget that Jesus, who Himself had nowhere to lay His head in this world (Luke 9:58), said, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me" (Mark 8:34).

On the other hand, the apostle John prays openly and sincerely for prosperity for the addressee of his third letter. What the ESV translates as "go well" and "goes well" is actually a Greek word that means "to prosper" - though we should take care to note that John offers a disclaimer of sorts: "as it goes well with your soul." It's a subtle but crucial reminder that health and material prosperity are not disconnected from the spiritual. 

Perhaps we might even say that it is only insofar as we prosper spiritually that we can genuinely prosper in any other way. In the words of our Lord Jesus, "What does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?" (Mark 8:36). Your portfolio can burst at the seams, and you can have the endurance of a triathlete, but unless your soul is fit, then your monetary and physical prosperity amounts to nothing in the end.

So what might John's prayer for prosperity mean for us practically? Many of us, I imagine, will be quite content and happy to pray that all may be well with the souls of our brothers and sisters. But perhaps we may hesitate slightly to pray such prayers as these:

• "May it all go phenomenally well with my dear brother's business."

• "May it all go exceptionally well with my sister's children."

• "May my good friend enjoy the prosperity of God crowning all of his endeavors."

We must remember that these issues are not ultimate-but that doesn't mean they aren't important! As we rightly guard against the "prosperity gospel," we must at the same time never allow our love and care for one another to become stilted. Selfless love always desires the best for others in the soul, absolutely and primarily, but also in their vocation, relationships, and in any other engagements and transactions in which a Christian participates in a way that is obedient to their Lord.

Perhaps now would be a good moment to boldly lift up some prayers for the right kind of prosperity for others in your church, asking that the Giver might be glorified through all that He gives.

Bible Through The Year: Malachi; Luke 24:36-53

Lau ‘a e Tohitapu ‘i he ta’u ‘e taha: Malakai; Luke 24:36-53

 TUSITE TISEMA 30, 2025

A TASK UNFINISHED

NGAUE KE FAKAKAKATO

LUKE 24:48-49

"You are witnesses of these things. And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high," 

LUKE 24:48-49

48 Ko kimoutolu ko e kau fakamo‘oni ki he ngaahi me‘a ni. 49 Pea ko au ‘eni ‘oku ou tuku atu ‘a e tala‘ofa ‘a ‘eku ‘eiki kiate kimoutolu: pea ko kimoutolu te mou nofo ‘i Kolo, kae‘oua ke fakakofu ‘aki kimoutolu ha mālohi mei ‘olunga.

We are called to a task that we cannot accomplish alone: to be witnesses to Christ.

Following His death and resurrection, Jesus appeared to His disciples, dispelling their fear and doubt by revealing the nail marks in His hands and His feet (Luke 24:39), reminding them of all that had been written concerning Him (v 44), and opening their minds to the truth of Scripture (v 45). And before He returned to His heavenly throne He gave them a task: to witness to what they had seen Him do and heard Him teach. The truth about Him needed to be proclaimed "to all nations" (v 47).

Since that task is as yet unfinished, God's people today are called to witness no less  than God's people that day were. We may not be able to go out and say with the apostle

John, "That which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life... we proclaim also to you" (1 John 1:1, 3). But in the Bible we have God's very word, which we are called not only to believe but also to proclaim.

Yet we are so limited! One minute we're believing; the next minute our minds are filled with uncertainty. We often step back in fear rather than forward in faith. We find ourselves not quite knowing what we should say about the gospel to those around us.

Jesus, the Good Shepherd, knows this. He knows His sheep-He knows our propensity for fear and timidity-and He assures us that we do not have to speak or act merely by our own power. No, we have received what Jesus told those first disciples to wait for: "the promise of the Father," His Holy Spirit, so that we are "clothed with power from on high."

Jesus gives us His Spirit in order that we might be involved in kingdom business-in order that we might take the good news to the nations and to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8). Don't give in to fear and timidity. What you cannot accomplish alone you can do in the power He has given you. So, go out in dependence on the Spirit of God, and prayerfully commit to playing your part in the great, unfinished task of proclaiming the name and glory of Jesus Christ to the nations near and far: Facing a task unfinished that drives us to our knees, A need that, undiminished, rebukes our slothful case. We who rejoice to know Thee renew before Thy throne The solemn pledge we owe Thee to go and make Thee known.

Bible Through The Year: Zechariah 13-14; Luke 24:1-35

Lau ‘a e Tohitapu ‘i he ta’u ‘e taha: Sakalaia 13-14; Luke 24:1-35

 MONITE TISEMA 29, 2025

THE BLOOD THAT FREES TO SERVE

FAKATAU’ATAINA ‘E HE TA’ATA’A KE FAI HA NGAUE

HEBREWS 9:13-14

"If the blood of goats and bulls sanctify for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.

HEPELU 9:13-14

13 He kapau ā na‘e lava ‘e he toto ‘o e fanga kosi mo e fanga pulu mo e efuefu ‘o ha pulu fefine, ‘i hono luluku ‘aki ‘a e kakai kuo ta‘ema‘a–kapau na‘e lava ‘e ia ke fakama‘a ‘a e kakano. 14 Huanoa ‘a e ta‘ata‘a ‘o Kalaisi, ‘a ia na‘a ne ‘oatu ‘e ia ia ta‘ehano mele ki he ‘Otua, fai ‘e ha laumālie laui ‘ītāniti–huanoa ‘ene fakama‘a ‘e he ta‘ata‘a ko ia hotau konisēnisi mei he ngaahi ngāue mate, ke tau tauhi ‘a e ‘Otua ‘oku mo‘ui.

The uncomfortable truth is that by nature we are slaves to sin. We serve ourselves, we

glory in our folly, and none of us seek after God (Romans 3:11). But there is hope: "God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us... made us alive together with Christ" (Ephesians 2:4-5). And when we are united with Christ by faith, "we have redemption through his blood" (1:7).

Our redemption was secured at the highest cost: the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. John Murray, the Scottish theologian of old, noted, "Christ did not come to put men in a redeemable position but to redeem to himself a people."

The redemption which God the Father has planned, the Son has procured, and the Spirit has applied encompasses all the wonder of a life changed. It is in this eternal redemption that our consciences are purified "from dead works." That is, we are cleansed from our sinful actions, including those of religious self-reliance, which lead to death.

The "blood of Christ" frees us from our slavery to sin to make us slaves all over again-only now we are gladly and joyfully bound to the Lord Jesus Christ, who is our Master and our Guide. Jesus did not go to the extent of redeeming us from all ungodliness so that we could just run around and please ourselves. He did not redeem us so that we might treat Him with scant regard. No, He ransomed our lives in order that we might serve the living God!

What a privilege it is to serve God and to pursue the good works which He has prepared for those who are in Christ (Ephesians 2:10). What joy should fill our souls as we marvel at His redeeming love: that from all of eternity, the triune God entered into a covenant of redemption and planned to secure a people that belong exclusively to Him and who are called to serve and honor Him in all they do.

Perhaps today you are stuck in patterns of unhelpful introspection. Maybe you have been neglecting the fact that you have been redeemed at great cost in order that you might be sanctified in His service. Consider Christ and all He has done for you. Remember that He has enabled you to do what He calls you to do: to live a life of glad obedience.

Bible Through The Year: Zechariah 9-12; Luke 23:26-56

Lau ‘a e Tohitapu ‘i he ta’u ‘e taha: Sakalaia 9-12; Luke 23:26-56

 SAPATE TISEMA 28, 2025

SHOW NO PARTIALITY

‘OUA NA’A MOU FILIFILIMANAKO

JAMES 2:1

"My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory." 

SEMISI 2:1

SI‘OKU kāinga, ke ‘oua na‘a taka filifilimānako ho‘omou fai‘aki ‘a e tui hotau ‘Eiki ko Sīsū Kalaisi, ‘a e ‘Eiki ‘oku ‘a‘ana ‘a e lāngilangi.

A living faith is not only a listening faith but also a doing faith. True belief manifests itself in action - and, in some cases, in inaction. In other words, true faith is known not only by what it does but also by what it doesn't do for example, as James points out, by not showing partiality.

Partiality - the sin of treating people differently due to their outward appearance, status, or usefulness - was a clear and present danger in James' day, and it remains so in our own. James was not condemning all acknowledgment of distinctions, or even preferential treatment for legitimate reasons. A young man who gives up his bus seat for an elderly woman is not running foul of James' teaching! Rather, what James was making absolutely clear is this: external characteristics, and especially those that indicate wealth, in and of themselves do not mean that someone deserves honor.

This is the point of the illustration in James 2: if two men enter our gathering, one in fine clothing and the other in shabby, and the wealthy man gets the place of honor while the poor man gets shoved aside, then we are guilty of the sin of partiality. To give such preferential treatment to the wealthy would be to make "distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts" (v 4). God does not judge us by such distinctions, and so neither should we judge others in this way.

In His life and ministry, Jesus displayed how impartiality ought to look. He was willing to allow a woman of ill repute to weep over Him and for her tears to wash His feet (Luke 7:36-50). And He was just as prepared to call a rich man down from a tree to take Him to his house (19:1-10). Why? Because He knew that great wealth and worldly honor do not and cannot make someone more valuable in God's eyes. He was well-acquainted with both the richest of riches and the lowest circumstances imaginable. In descending from heaven, exchanging honor for humility, Jesus set aside the glory which was His due in order to draw near to and save sinners like us-rich and poor alike.

When we grasp the wonder of this reality, we begin to see the true ugliness of judging others on the basis of the external and superficial. Partiality should have no place among the people of God because if we know God at all, it is because He dealt with us impartially. Be honest with yourself, then, and ask the Lord for the grace to see others in the way He does and to show others the mercy and grace He has shown you.

Bible Through The Year: Zechariah 5-8; Luke 23:1-25

Lau ‘a e Tohitapu ‘i he ta’u ‘e taha: Sakalaia 5-8; Luke 23:1-25

 TOKONAKI TISEMA 27, 2025

THE THE GREATEST DISCOVERY

KO E FEKUMI FUNGANI TAHAA

MATTHEW 2:11

"Going into the house, they saw the child with Mary, his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh." 

MATIU 2:11

Pea ‘i he‘enau hū ki he fale, na‘a nau ‘ilo ‘a e tamasi‘i, ‘oku ‘i he‘ene fa‘ē ko Mele; pea nau fakatōmape‘e ‘o hū kiate ia: pea na‘a nau tangaki ‘enau ngaahi ‘angame‘a, ‘o nau ‘atu kiate ia ‘a e ngaahi me‘a‘ofa, ko e koula mo e laipeno mo e mula.

When the wise men came to Jerusalem in search of the King of the Jews at the end of what was likely an 800-mile journey, they quickly discovered that they had arrived in the wrong place. They came to the king's palace in Jerusalem because of an entirely logical deduction: they thought the palace in the capital city would be the best place to begin. Yet they soon realized that they were going to need more guidance than the stars could provide.

When King Herod heard that the wise men were inquiring about the birth of a new king, he assembled the chief priests and scribes, who determined that the Christ was to be born "in Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet" (Matthew 2:5). The religious specialists were themselves indifferent to this great knowledge, but they demonstrated to the wise men that they needed the Scriptures to point them in the right direction. God may employ all kinds of extraordinary means to draw people to Himself, but He always brings them to His word, the Bible, in order that they might encounter the living Word, His Son. There is no other way to God except by the Christ of God, who is revealed to us in the word of God.

Having been led by the Scriptures to Jesus, the wise men then made their greatest discovery: worshiping Christ was the only appropriate response. When they finally encountered Jesus, they fell down, worshiped Him, and offered Him gifts. In the same way, whatever God may use to trigger our thinking and investigation of the truth, whenever He finally brings us to Jesus, we don't arrive before Him as arrogant researchers. No, when our eyes are opened to the majesty of King Jesus, we bow before Him in humility, wonder, and awe.

In your search for the truth, have you yet discovered that the Bible is the surest guide? And, having discovered Christ, have you also discovered that mere knowledge of Him is insufficient that the only right response is worship, laying before Him the best of all you have; your time, your possessions, your energies, your heart? You know you have grasped the message of the first Christmas if you have sensed that there is a God who is at work, if you have met with Jesus His Son through His word... and if you have bowed down before Him and now offer Him your life daily.

Bible Through The Year: Zechariah 1-4; Luke 22:47-71

Lau ‘a e Tohitapu ‘i he ta’u ‘e taha: Sakalaia 1-4; Luke 22:47-71

 FALAITE TISEMA 26, 2025

RESPONSES TO THE KING

KO E TALI KI HE TU’I

MATTHEW 2:4-5

"He inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. They told him, 'In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet."" 

MATIU 2:4-5

4 Pea na‘a ne fakataha ‘a e hou‘eiki taula‘eiki kotoa pē, mo e kau sikalaipe faka-Siu; ‘o ne ‘eke kiate kinautolu pe ‘e ‘alo‘i ‘i fē ‘a e Mīsaia. 5 Pea nau tali kiate ia, ‘i Pētelihema ‘i Siutea; he ‘oku pehē hono tohi ‘e he palōfita,

When Jesus was born, seven centuries after the prophet Micah had prophesied where He would appear, His arrival was met with a variety of different reactions - those responses are the same today as they were then: hostility, indifference, or faith.

King Herod was the epitome of hostility toward Jesus. He stands for everyone who says to themselves, "I don't mind some religious person sitting quietly in the back seat, but I don't want anybody driving the car of my life." A religious leader who keeps quiet is acceptable; one who makes claims on a person's life and who does not agree with what they already think is not. Herod did all he could to ensure there would be no king to rival him (Matthew 2:16-18). And many do so still today.

Jerusalem's religious professionals responded to the arrival of Jesus with indifference. When Herod asked them about the coming of the Christ, they were able to answer his questions with great specificity. They were aware that Micah had prophesied that He would be born in Bethlehem; but they simply didn't care. They wouldn't even take the time to make a six-mile journey to meet and worship the newly born, long-awaited King of the Jews. They completely disregarded Him. They were too busy with their religion to make time for their rescuing King.

Then there were the wise men, this group of foreign astrologers who saw a star in the heavens, worked out what it was announcing, packed their bags, and responded to Jesus in faith. What moved men who were authorities in their field to bow down at the cradle of a child? How does that happen? Only by the power of God. And it was they, and not Herod or the priests, who were the ones who "rejoiced exceedingly with great joy" (Matthew 2:10).

There is only one true dividing line between people. It has nothing to do with skin color, intellect, or social status. It is the dividing line between unbelief - whether that unbelief manifests itself as hostility or indifference and unbelief. We may note that the Western world grows in hostility to a God who insists on ruling His world, but we should also note that "religious" people are also at risk of unbelief: the unbelief of indifference.

Those of us who have heard the Christmas story countless times, who know our Old Testaments, and who are in church Sunday by Sunday are not immune to the indifference that is seen in a lack of joy over the Lord and a lack of response to His word when it calls us to change our plans. And whoever we are, if we won't have Jesus as our King in this life, we won't live in His kingdom on the other side of death. If you choose to ask Jesus to leave you alone, either in your hostility or in your religiosity, He will leave; forever. Your response to Jesus has eternal significance. Look on Him who came to die for hostile and indifferent sinners, then, and allow His great love to soften your heart so that you respond to Him in real, joyful, obedient faith, today and every day.

Bible Through The Year: Micah 6-7; Luke 22:21-46

Lau ‘a e Tohitapu ‘i he ta’u ‘e taha: Maika 6-7; Luke 22:21-46

 TU’APULELULU TISEMA 25, 2025

SUPERNATURAL HISTORY

HISITOLIA FAKA-TU’ANATULA

LUKE 2:6-7

"While they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn." 

LUKE 2:6-7

6 Pea lolotonga ‘ena ‘i ai, na‘e kakato hono māhina ke fā‘ele: 7 pea na‘a ne ‘alo‘i ‘a e tama, ko hono ‘uluaki, ‘o ne fakakofu ‘aki ia ‘a e kofu‘i tamasi‘i valevale, ‘o ne fakatokoto‘i he ‘ai‘angakai ‘o e manu: koe‘uhi na‘e ‘ikai te na hao ‘i he fale talifononga.

In the Gospel of Luke, no sooner has the author introduced himself as a detail-oriented historian (Luke 1:1-4) than we are immediately ushered into an environment filled with supernatural occurrences (v 11-17). The story of Jesus' birth is filled with angels, predictions, and miracles (1:26-2:21) - and when Luke reports these events, he offers them not as imaginative stories or poetical speculations but as they are: real history.

When we read that Mary laid her firstborn son - the very Son of God - in a manger, it's because she did. When we read that the child she gave birth to was conceived through the power of the Holy Spirit (Luke 1:31-35), it's because He was. Rather than being superfluous, these supernatural elements are an intrinsic part of the Gospel's account. There are those who have concluded that Jesus' birth narrative appears so dramatically supernatural as to be implausible. They don't believe it themselves or teach it to anybody else. They have decided that the story would be more acceptable to everybody if we simply removed anything miraculous.

But that cannot be done. The story of the gospel is supernatural in its entirety, and not just at its beginning, because it is the story of the Creator of the universe entering into time, revealing Himself as Savior and King. Surely it would be more bizarre if the almighty God did not enter and exit the world in entirely supernatural ways that made mere mortals scratch their heads in amazement! Indeed, in each of the supernatural incidents Luke recorded, there were faithful people who had reflected on the Scriptures and were keenly anticipating that God would break into their environment in a way that had never happened before and would never happen again. When God came, these were the people who were ready for God to come and do what only He could do; these were the people who responded in faith.

Christianity is ultimately meaningless apart from the almighty, miraculous intervention of God in time. God has come to meet us, but not at the top of the towers that we have created on the strength of our ideas and investigation into what is plausible. He came to meet us in a cattle shed in Bethlehem. He came to meet us on a Roman cross at Calvary. He works in ways that we cannot explain and cannot predict.

As you reflect on God's word during this Advent season, consider His divine work, which has already been accomplished, and the ways He continues to move today. In doing so, your heart will once again be stirred by the wonder of the triune God's supernatural love for you, and your eyes will be prepared to see surprising ways that God is at work in and around you-ways that you cannot explain, and had not predicted, but love to enjoy and to praise Him for.

Bible Through The Year: Micah 4-5; Luke 22:1-20

Lau ‘a e Tohitapu ‘i he ta’u ‘e taha: Maika 4-5; Luke 22:1-20

 PULELULU TISEMA 24, 2025

REJOICE WITH THE ANGELS

MAVAVA MO E KAU ‘ANGELO

LUKE 2:4-5

"Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child." 

LUKE 2:4-5

4 Pea fononga hake mo Siosifa foki mei he kolo ko Nāsaleti ‘i Kāleli, ko ‘ene ‘alu ki Siutea, ki he kolo ‘o Tēvita, ‘a ia ‘oku hingoa ko Pētelihema; (he na‘a ne kau ki he hako mo e fa‘ahinga ‘o Tēvita): 5 ke na tohi ai mo Mele, ko e fefine kuo polo‘i kiate ia, ‘a ia na‘e feitama.

Jesus' birthplace had a rich biblical history before ever it was visited by angels. It was Bethlehem that had once been stirred at the return of a woman who had left with her husband and two sons. Her name was Naomi. She and her family had gone in search of bread, from "the town of bread" (the meaning of "Bethlehem"), because of famine. While away, she'd lost her husband and both her sons. After this triple bereavement, she returned to the town with one of her daughters-in-law, a woman called Ruth, who gives her name to the Old Testament book that tells their story. This grieving foreigner would one day become a part of the lineage of the Messiah (Matthew 1:1-6).

It was also in the fields surrounding Bethlehem that a shepherd boy, David, looked after his father's sheep. Bethlehem was the place where Samuel arrived in obedience to God's word to find a replacement for King Saul. He asked Jesse to bring his sons out because one of them was going to be the king. They all came. None of them were chosen. The prophet then asked if there were any others, and the one who just looked after the sheep was brought in-and soon became the shepherd king of Israel (1 Samuel 16:1-12).

Then, 1,000 years later, a man named Joseph returned to his ancestral home of Bethlehem to be registered for a census with his betrothed, Mary. In this now-familiar and ordinary yet historically significant place, it was time for the arrival of the promised and long-anticipated Messiah. For some 600 years previously, the prophet Micah had recorded these words:

But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah,

who are too little to be among the clans of Judah,

from you shall come forth for me

one who is to be ruler in Israel,

whose coming forth is from of old,

from ancient days. (Micah 5:2)

Once again in Bethlehem, presumably in those same surrounding fields where David had once watched over his father's sheep, there would be a stirring as the skies filled up with angelic visitation and echoed to salvation's songs (Luke 2:8-14). 

As you approach this familiar territory during the Christmas season, may your heart be stirred afresh in the presence of God's Son, our Messiah. May His Spirit move you to consider with awe the centuries-long complexity of the preparation for that moment when your King lay in a manger. And may He cause you to rejoice with the angels in God's great salvation, knowing that our great God uses the small and ordinary things in life-even a little town like Bethlehem-to accomplish His great and glorious purposes.

Bible Through The Year: Micah 1-3; Luke 21:20-38

Lau ‘a e Tohitapu ‘i he ta’u ‘e taha: Maika 1-3; Luke 21:20-38