MONITE MA‘ASI 31, 2025

AWAKENED TO NEW LIFE

FOKOTU‘U HAKE KI HE MO‘UI FO ‘OU

EPHESIANS 2:4-5

"God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ."

‘EFESO 2:4-5

4 Ka ko e ‘Otua, ‘a ia ‘oku ne mohu ‘alo‘ofa, ko e me‘a ‘i he ‘ofa lahi ‘a ia na‘a ne ‘ofeina ‘aki ‘a kitautolu, 5 neongo kuo tau mate ‘i he ngaahi talangata‘a, na‘a ne kaungā fakamo‘ui hake kitautolu mo Kalaisi, (ko e kelesi pē kuo mou mo‘ui mei ai), 

Some claim that mankind's problem is not that we're sinful but that we're sick. If only our lives would be transformed and we'd be ok, for surely man is essentially good, not innately sinful. At least, so goes the thinking.

According to the Bible, however, the only adequate explanation for the predicament we face is that man is spiritually lifeless. It's not even that we are spiritually sick; outside of Christ we are "dead in [our] trespasses and sins" (Ephesians 2:1, emphasis added). And how much can a dead person do to make themselves alive? Nothing.

So you and I quite literally have a grave problem - unless, that is, there is one who is able to speak into the deadness of our experience and, by His very words, bring us to life. And that, of course, is Christianity's great message: "As in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive" (1 Corinthians 15:22).

The best physical picture of this spiritual reality is the story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. Imagine the scene. Lazarus was gone, and everyone knew it. He had been buried for four days. And yet Jesus walked up to the tomb and addressed the dead man: he "cried out with a loud voice, 'Lazarus, come out." (John 11:43). And Lazarus came out.

How was it that Lazarus came to life? It was a result of the voice of Jesus, who alone can speak so that the spiritually dead hear. Just as Jesus brought life to lifeless Lazarus, so He breathes life into the deadness of men's and women's spiritual condition. Spiritually, we are corpses-just as dead and decaying as Lazarus in his tomb. But when God chooses, He utters His word and awakens us to life. As the hymn writer puts it:

He speaks, and, listening to His voice,

New life the dead receive.

The mournful, broken hearts rejoice;

The humble poor believe.

*Charles Wesley, "O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing" (1739).

We are not to think too much of ourselves. Left to our own devices and efforts, we are dead. We can never think too much of Jesus. He and He alone is the reason we have life. And we must never think too little of the call to share His gospel with those around us for we have been given the inestimable privilege of being the means by which Jesus call dead people to come out of their spiritual grave and discover eternal life with Him. To whom is He prompting you to speak of Him today?

EZEKIEL 37

Bible Through The Year: Proverbs 21-23; Hebrews 2

 SAPATE MA‘ASI 30, 2025

THE KINGDOM AND THE CROSS

KO E PULE ‘ANGA ‘O E ‘OTUA MO E KOLOSI

JOHN 18:36

"My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world." 

SIONE 18:36

Pea tali ‘e Sīsū, Ko hoku pule‘anga ‘oku ‘ikai ‘o e maama ko eni: ka ne ‘o e maama ko eni ‘a hoku pule‘anga, pehē ‘e tau ha‘aku kau ‘ōfisa ke ta‘ofi hoku tukuange ki ha‘a Siu: ka ko eni, ko hoku pule‘anga ‘oku ‘ikai ‘o ‘eni.

When Jesus arrived in Jerusalem on the first Palm Sunday, He was a king on a donkey, a king without a palace, a king without a throne - a king with no apparent kingdom. It rapidly became abundantly and controversially clear that Christ had come as the suffering king whom the Scriptures had foretold, not as the triumphant king whom people wanted.

Many who admired Jesus on that day in Jerusalem eventually discarded Him. They said, I don't want any suffering. I only want victory. I only want power. I only want rule. Not much is different today. We often ignore what we don't like in Jesus' ministry and content ourselves with Jesus the great example, Jesus the problem-fixer, Jesus the guru, or Jesus the political reformer.

But God's kingdom centers on the cross: "I decided to know nothing among you," says Paul, "except Jesus Christ and him crucified" (1 Corinthians 2:2, emphasis added). In other words, we will never understand Jesus - never truly know Him, never really love Him, never actually be in His kingdom-until we understand that the entrance to and the heart of Christ's kingdom is His death and resurrection. It is the means by which we come into it and the pattern by which we live in it. 

A renewed culture comes about not because we transform institutions and policies but because that cross-centered kingdom transforms human hearts. Never in history has a revival been sparked by political activity; it has always resulted from Christians praying, preaching, pleading, and living as Christ calls us to live. The world will only ever be changed when we ourselves are changed.

God's kingdom is a cause great enough to live for and great enough to die for. Do you want to give up your small ambitions and give yourself to God? Then give up championing a political cause as a means of safeguarding the health of the church or your society or of making revival happen. Instead, go somewhere where nobody knows Jesus and tell them. Maybe it's your office. Maybe it's your neighborhood. Or maybe it's Tehran, Jakarta, or Algiers. It could be anywhere, for God is everywhere and is needed by everyone. Give up living by the maxims of the systems of this world and follow the King who tasted death before He entered His glory (Luke 24:26).

Believers have the immense privilege and the incredible challenge of offering the good news of God's kingdom to a society that fears death and knows little of true life. That is no easy commission, and heeding it may very well cost you dearly in this life. But no one who gives much for Jesus has cause to regret it, now or through all eternity.

LUKE 9:18-26

Bible Through The Year: Proverbs 19-20; Hebrews 1

 TOKONAKI MA‘ASI 29 2025

HOW TO APPROACH GOD IN PRAYER

KO E FOUNGA ‘O E FOTU KI HE ‘OTUA ‘I HE LOTU

JAMES 1:6-8

"But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways." 

SEMISI 1:6-8

6 Ka ke ne kole tui pē, ‘o ‘oua ‘e tāla‘a. He ko ia ‘oku tāla‘a ‘oku ne hangē ko e peau ‘o e tahi ‘oku fakateka ‘o fepālekina ‘e he matangi. 7 ‘Io, ke ‘oua na‘a mahalo ‘e he tangata ko ia te ne ma‘u ha me‘a mei he ‘Eiki. 8 Ko e tangata lotolotoua ia, ta‘emaau ‘ene anga kotoa pē.

There is a kind of prayer that receives nothing from God.

It is the prayer of the doubter, the one who does not "ask in faith." When James says we are to make our requests to God "with no doubting," he's not saying we must never have any uncertainty or confusion in our minds, ever. To doubt in the sense that James uses the term here is more than simply saying, "I am struggling to be certain about this" or "I know this to be true but sometimes I wonder"; it is a refusal to entrust ourselves to our Father's care. It is to make a back-up plan that relies on our efforts even as we ask God for His intervention, or to ask for something that deep down we do not really want.

J.B. Phillips paraphrases this verse in a helpful way: "He must ask in sincere faith without secret doubts as to whether he really wants God's help or not." James is addressing the issue of divided loyalty, describing the doubter as one whose prayers and desires are clearly at odds with each other. This person comes before God and asks for things that he or she has no intention of doing, much as the great 5th-century theologian Augustine famously prayed prior to his conversion: "Lord, make me pure, but not yet."

God knows when we are simply playing the game, using the language, and singing the song without any desire to match our lives to our words. He knows whether we really want His help or are reserving the right to do what we feel like doing if His wisdom doesn't lead us in the direction we naturally desire. Faith says no to this kind of hypocrisy, which prays for wisdom but acts in foolishness. The faith James describes is therefore more than comprehension; it is an expression of trust and devotion.

Honesty lies at the heart of any genuine appeal, whether to an earthly father or our heavenly Father. When you come before God, you must "draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith" (Hebrews 10:22). With this kind of sincerity, you will make it clear in your own soul and to God that you are trusting Him to be faithful to His promises and that you are serious about acting on whatever wisdom He provides. In what area of your life are you particularly aware that you need God's wisdom? Entrust yourself to your heavenly Father and be ready to follow His guidance, so that you will walk steady in your faith and joy, and not be tossed about by the wind.

1 PETER 5:5-7

Bible Through The Year: Proverbs 16-18; Titus 3                        

 FALAITE MA‘ASI 28, 2025

THE GOD OF BROKEN PIECES

KO E ‘OTUA MA‘AE MAUMAU MO E LI‘EKINA

GENESIS 16:10; 17:3-4

"The angel of the LORD also said to [Hagar), I will surely multiply your offspring so that they cannot be numbered for multitude. And God said to (Abram], Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations." 

SENESI 16:10; 17:3-4

16:10 Pea toe me‘a kiate ia ‘e he ‘Āngelo ‘a Sihova, Te u mātu‘aki fakatokolahi ho hako; ‘io, ‘e ‘ikai malau ko ‘ene tokolahi. 17:3 Pea tō fo‘ohifo ‘a ‘Epalame: pea folofola ‘a e ‘Otua kiate ia, ‘o pehē, 4 Ko e me‘a kiate au, ‘oku ‘i ai ‘eta fuakava mo koe, pea te ke hoko ko e tupu‘anga ‘o ha fuifui pule‘anga. 

Have you ever watched children play with a Lego set, building a little house or spacecraft but completely ignoring the plans for its construction? Eventually, with pieces strewn across the floor, they end up with a monstrosity - pieces every which way, doors that open to nowhere - and they come to you, bemoaning the fact that it just doesn't look right. And so you take the child, the pieces, and the mess, you sit down together, and you say, "Let's take the plans and this brokenness, and let's do it right this time."

When Abraham and Sarah grew weary and restless as they waited for God to fulfill His promise of an heir, they took matters into their own hands. Trying to piece together life on their own, they agreed that Abraham would sleep with Hagar, Sarah's servant, in order to have a child (Genesis 16:1-4). Their decision sowed discord, chaos, contempt, and unhappiness: after Hagar "saw that she had conceived" (v 4), she became proud and "looked with contempt on her mistress." Sarah then blamed Abraham for her misfortune, and he responded by wiping his hands clean of the whole mess: "Your servant is in your power; do to her as you please" (v 6). Their lives had become a disheveled mess.

But God overruled their wrong decisions and intervened with mercy and grace. First, an angel of the Lord met Hagar in her need, assured her of God's presence, and told her God's promise: "I will surely multiply your offspring so that they cannot be numbered for multitude." Likewise, Abraham and Sarah's blunder couldn't derail God's covenant purposes and steadfast love. God promised that Sarah would bear a son, whom they were to call Isaac, and promised Abraham, "I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant" (Genesis 17:19).

In many ways, God treats us similarly. Like a parent with a dismayed child, He comes and picks up the scattered parts of our lives. He comes to us in our brokenness, with the scraps of our self-effort strewn around us and His plans tucked somewhere off to the side, and He replaces the pieces, points us back to His plans, and restores us to the right path.

How many times has God overruled your blundering? How many times has God come to you in your error and rebellion, in your emptiness and brokenness, and brought about, to His glory, events that are unimaginable? Praise God today for His steadfast love and faithfulness. The words of Moses to Joshua still ring true today: "It is the LORD who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you" (Deuteronomy 31:8).

PSALM 40

Bible Through The Year: Proverbs 13-15; Titus 2

 TU‘APULELULU MA‘ASI 27, 2025

A NEW KIND OF PEACE

KO HA MELINO ‘OKU FO‘OU

JOHN 20:19-20

"Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, 'Peace be with you." When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad." 

SIONE 20:19-20

19 Pea ‘i he‘ene efiafi ‘i he ‘aho ko ia, ‘a e ‘uluaki ‘aho ‘o e uike, pea kuo tāpuni ‘a e ngaahi matapā ‘o e fale na‘e nofo ai ‘a e kau ako, ko ‘enau manavahē ki ha‘a Siu, na‘e ha‘u ‘a Sīsū, ‘o tu‘u ki honau lotolotonga, ‘o ne folofola kiate kinautolu, Si‘oto‘ofa atu! 20 Pea ‘i he‘ene lea pehē, na‘a ne faka‘ali‘ali kiate kinautolu hono ongo nima mo hono vakavaka. Pea na‘e fiefia ‘a e kau ako ‘i he‘enau mamata ki he ‘eiki.

Many of us who have lost someone dear can recall evenings in the aftermath of loss when it felt difficult even to breathe. We sat there with others, grieving in a silence punctuated every so often by reflection.

On the Sunday evening following Jesus' death, we can imagine His disciples going through a similar experience. Maybe one said, Do you remember how excited and hopeful we were when He walked on water? Perhaps another added, I remember Him weeping at the tomb of Lazarus. I won't ever forget it. In all their reminiscence, they doubtless felt a stabbing awareness that they would never again on earth see Jesus' face. Of that they were convinced. They were fearful of the future. They had just witnessed Christ's execution, and they had locked the door behind them (John 20:19), worried that they would be the next targets.

Jesus knew this. Therefore, when He appeared quietly among them that night, the first word to come out of His mouth was "Peace," or Shalom. This was a customary Semitic greeting that came with warmth and without rebuke, blame, or disappointment. Then He showed them His hands and His side. It was Him. The Jesus whom they were convinced they would never see again was actually standing among them!

"Peace be with you" gave the disciples an indication not simply that their gladness should be prompted by the awareness that He was no longer dead but of something far greater: that by His resurrection, Jesus had now come to bestow a new kind of peace as a result of His blood shed upon the cross. And the peace with which He greeted them is the same peace that He gives to every pardoned sinner.

Shalom takes on a whole new meaning for those who discover this peace. In our weary world, bowing under the weight of all that is difficult and broken, tainted by indifference toward or denial of Almighty God in all His majesty, we know that He still seeks us out. Just as He came up behind Mary Magdalene at the open tomb (John 20:11-18) and the two disciples on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-35), so He pursues you and me in love, bidding us find peace in Him, the one at whose birth the angels sang, "Peace on earth" (Luke 2:14, CSB).

In the face of fear, our world aches for peace. But longing for it and singing about it will not create it. Peace can only be found in Jesus' words: "In me you may have peace (John 16:33; emphasis added). The resurrection doesn't simply mean there is a Christ. It means that Christ is alive forever and that He gives us peace with the Father and peace in ourselves, today and forever. Whatever storms are raging around you or inside you. make sure you hear the voice of your risen Savior today, saying, "Peace be with you.”

JOHN 20:11-23

Bible Through The Year: Proverbs 10-12; Titus 1

 PULELULU MA‘ASI 26, 2025

A TEMPLE WITH FOUNDATIONS

KO E TEMIPALE MO HONO NGAAHI MAKATU‘UNGA

PSALM 11:4-5

"The LORD is in his holy temple; the LORD's throne is in heaven; his eyes see, his eyelids test the children of man. The LORD tests the righteous." 

SAAME 11:4-5

4 Ko Sihova ‘i hono Temipale tapu na, Ko Sihova ‘oku ‘i langi ‘i hono ‘afio‘anga; ‘Oku vakai‘i ‘e hono fo‘i fofonga, ‘Oku sivi ‘e hono lau‘i fofonga ‘a e hako‘i tangata. 5 ‘Oku sivi ‘e Sihova ‘a e mā‘oni‘oni: Ka ko e angakovi, mo e ‘ofa ki he fakamālohi, ‘Oku fehi‘a ki ai ‘ene mo‘ui.

It's possible for all of us to read certain passages or verses of Scripture many times yet miss goldmines of truth. Sometimes we pass by because we're overly familiar with what we've read, and other times it's because we don't take the time to meditate and savor the wealth before us.

So let's take the opportunity to dwell on the truth that "the LORD is in his holy temple." This simple truth offers both comfort and chastening. Its reality is affirmed in many places in the Old Testament (for example Habakkuk 2:20; Psalm 18:6; Micah 1:2), but David provides some additional angles from which to consider it here in Psalm 11. 

The first is that "the LORD's throne is in heaven," making Him the exalted Lord. He reigns not as a mortal with limited perspective and control but as the all-powerful, immortal, all-knowing God of heaven. He outlasts all rulers, and all nations are as nothing before Him.

Second, God is the observing Lord: "His eyes see." From the exalted position of His heavenly throne, nothing is hidden from God's sight. No good thing done in His name unobserved, and no impure motive or thought is secret to Him. What a comfort to know that every day of our lives, going back to when we were merely "unformed substance," is visible to God (Psalm 139:15-16)! And what a sobering reality to realize that every word, thought, and deed is laid bare before Him!

Third, God is the examining Lord: "The LORD tests the righteous." His tests are not always or often easy, but they are always precisely what we need. None of us will reach heaven without tests and trials along the way. This may be an unpleasant reality to consider, but it should be precious to us, for it means we will not panic when God, in His sometimes inscrutable wisdom, routes our path through a valley. God's tests are never without a purpose; they are always for the sake of preparing us for the day when we shall see Him in His holy temple.

Keep the truth of this verse in mind the next time you feel as though "the foundations are destroyed" (Psalm 11:3). The instability we sometimes feel is meant to remind us that worldly stability is only an illusion and that true security is found in God alone. He alone is exalted, He alone sees all, and He alone directs our lives and tests us for our good. When the foundations tremble, we can remember that this world is not our home and that our sovereign God is leading us to one day inhabit a city with foundations that will not shake (Hebrews 11:10; 12:28). You can know that He is in His holy temple and He has promised to bring you to that very place.

HEBREWS 12:22-29

Bible Through The Year: Proverbs 9; 1 Corinthians 16:10-24

 TUSITE MA‘ASI 25, 2025

HIS GLORY, OUR CONCERN

KO HONO LANGILANGI, ‘ETAU KAVEINGA

1 SAMUEL 4:19-21

"She bowed and gave birth, for her pains came upon her. And about the time of her death....she named the child Ichabod, saying, 'The glory has departed from Israel!' because the ark of God had been captured and because of her father-in-law and her husband." 

1 SAMIUELA 4:19-21

19 Pea ko e uaifi ‘o hono foha ko Finiasi kuo feitama, ‘o tei fā‘ele: pea ‘i he‘ene fanongo ki he ongoongo, tokua kuo ‘ave ‘a e ‘A‘ake ‘o ‘Elohimi, pea kuo pekia hono husepāniti, mo ‘ene tamai, na‘a ne punou hifo leva ‘o fā‘ele; he na‘e langa‘i ai ‘ene langā. 20 Pea ‘i he‘ene hokotaki, na‘e pehē ange ‘e he kau fefine na‘e tutu‘u ofi mai, ‘Oua te ke manavahē; he kuo ke fā‘ele‘i ha tama. Ka na‘e ‘ikai ha‘ane tali, pea na‘e ‘ikai te ne tokanga ki ai. 21 Pea ne fakahingoa ‘a e tamasi‘i ko ‘Ikapote (ko Ta‘e-ha-lāngilangi), he‘ene pehē, Kuo mole ‘a e lāngilangi ‘o ‘Isileli: ko ‘ene lau ki he ‘ave ‘o e ‘A‘ake ‘o ‘Elohimi, pea mo hono husepāniti mo ‘ene tamai.

Do you ever see somebody in passing, perhaps on a bus or in a store, and find yourself struck by the thought that there's a whole life wrapped up in that person hopes, dreams, sadnesses, regrets? Phinehas's wife - we don't even know her name - is someone who may cause us to wonder, "What had her life been?"

Presumably, there would have been great joy and celebration at this woman's wedding, after all, she was marrying a priest! As time went by, however, she likely became aware of her husband's double standards: he fulfilled his priestly duties, but he also abused his role to sleep with other women, which was a matter of public knowledge (1 Samuel 2:22).

Now, heavily pregnant with his child, "she heard the news" (1 Samuel 4:19) that the Philistines had slain her husband and captured the ark of the Lord (v 11). Typically, you would think that the death of a spouse would head the list of concerns, with every other consideration in the world receding in comparison. But this was not the case for Phinehas's wife. For this woman, the spiritual implications of the ark of God being captured far outweighed even the most distressing temporal concerns. Even the news that she had borne a son did not rally her. And so she named her child Ichabod, which simply means "no glory" or "Where is the glory?"

In all her pain, disappointment, and loss, somehow, deep inside, Phinehas's wife had laid hold of something that even those closest to her had not grasped. She knew that God's glory mattered more than Eli's name, mattered more than Shiloh, and mattered more than victory in battle. As Dale Ralph Davis writes, "She taught more theology in her death than Phinehas had done in his whole life."

This woman must have lived in the presence of God. When her husband let her down and she was aware of the discrepancy between his public profession and his private reality, she must have run to the Lord, her "very present help in trouble" (Psalm 46:1). Otherwise, concern over His glory would not have been her response.

What about you? Is God's glory and presence your greatest concern? Does the advance of His cause and honor of His name matter more to you than anything? This way lies real freedom, for it means you always look forward to life in the very presence of God-that city where there is no temple, "for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light (Revelation 21:22-23). In the details of your day, in the trials of life, and at the moment of your death, turn to God as your refuge and strong tower (Proverbs 18:10). Only then will you discover or remember that God's glory truly is our greatest hope and joy.

PSALM 18

Bible Through The Year: Proverbs 8; 1 Corinthians 16:1-9