SAPATE NOVEMA 30, 2025

NOW IS THE TIME

KO ENI PE ‘A E TAIMI 

2 CORINTHIANS 6:2

"Now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation."

2 KOLINITO 6:2

He ‘oku ne folofola, Ko e taimi tali hū ne u ongo‘i ai ko ē, Ko e ‘aho fai fakamo‘ui ne u tokoni ai koe. Vakai mai, ko eni pē e taimi mātu‘aki tali hū; Vakai mai, ko eni pe ‘aho fai fakamo‘ui.

Nothing confronts us with our creatureliness quite like the watch that we wear on our wrist or the clock that ticks on our wall. Try and think about no time. It is virtually impossible for us to do. God, who is outside of time, created time so that we might live each moment that He has given to us for His glory.

We don't like to face it, but Scripture frequently calls us to face life's brevity. It tells us that our life is "a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes" (James 4:14). The Bible confronts us with transience in this way not to manipulate us or crush us but in order that we might be sensible. We need to be reminded of how quickly time passes, especially when we are young, because we tend to think that we have more time than we really do.

The Bible almost always addresses us in the now: "Now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation." Now, in other words, is the time to be reconciled to God. Now is the time to take heed - not someday over the horizon. Now is the time to hold out the gospel message to those around you. You are not to live dominated by the regrets of yesterday or the anxieties of tomorrow. You are not to live as though you will always have a tomorrow in which to do what you should be doing today. You are to face the fact squarely, head on, that the future comes in at the rate of 60 seconds a minute.

The time that God has allotted you is quickly passing by. If you are not careful, it will be gone before you realize it. In Psalm 90, the psalmist prays, "Teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom" (Psalm 90:12). May this prayer become your own, and may God enable you to be a good steward of the time that He has given to you. Today is a great day to enjoy your salvation and to speak of it. Now is the time. Be sure to use it.

Bible Through The Year: 2 Chronicles 23-24; Luke 9:18-36

Lau ‘a e Tohitapu ‘i he ta’u ‘e taha: 2 Kalonikali 23-24; Luke 9:18-36

 TOKONAKI NOVEMA 29, 2025

TEACHING WITH INTEGRITY

TALA FAKAPATONU ‘A E FOLOFOLA

ACTS 20:20

"I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you in public and from house to house." 

NGAUE 20:20

‘Oku mou ‘ilo foki na‘e ‘ikai te u taetae ha me‘a, ka u fakahā pē mo ako‘aki kiate kimoutolu ‘i he ‘ao ‘o e kakai, pea ‘i he fale takitaha;

Paul never succumbed to the temptation to shape his message to cater to his hearers' tastes, and neither must we.

It is always tempting to temper what we say to avoid the prejudices or tickle the fancies of those we're speaking to, whether we're speaking from a platform or over a meal table. But if we are going to be honest stewards of the message given to us in the Bible, then our teaching and speaking about it needs to be marked by integrity.

Faithfulness to all of Scripture's teaching is crucial. Scripture itself warns us that false teachers will arise and tell people what their itching ears want to hear (2 Timothy 4:3). Times will come when people turn away from sound teaching, instead seeking out voices that don't challenge them with biblical truth but simply reinforce their own views.

Paul spent more than two years teaching among the Ephesians, publicly and privately, and his message was always pure, open, and straightforward. It didn't matter where he was or who his hearers were; what he knew to be profitable-the proclamation and application of God's word-was what he brought.

If someone had come from one of Paul's addresses and was asked, "What did Paul say today?" the response must always have included sentences like these: "He said that we're supposed to turn in repentance toward God. We need to forsake our sins. We are to trust in Jesus as our only Savior. He really challenged me, but he really encouraged me." No matter where you met him and no matter when you heard him, Paul always got to the heart of the gospel. His life and ministry were gospel-centered. He was not willfully offensive or obnoxious, but at the same time, he did not shrink from saying hard but necessary things.

The day will come, if it has not already, when you will be tempted to soften the message of God's word-tempted to loosen your convictions in order to make the warnings, promises, and commands of Scripture seem more palatable to those in your hearing. How will you respond when this day comes? Will you shrink from declaring God's message, as so many around Paul did? Or will you follow the example of the apostle by

declaring the truth plainly, trusting that it will bring glory and honor to the Lord, and remembering that what people want to hear is not always or often the same as what they need to hear what is profitable to them?

Bible Through The Year: 2 Chronicles 21-22; Luke 9:1-17

Lau ‘a e Tohitapu ‘i he ta’u ‘e taha: 2 Kalonikali 21-22; Luke 9:1-17

 FALAITE NOVEMA 28, 2025

YOU WILL EXIT THE BOX

TE KE HU KITU’A MEI HE PUHAA

JOHN 11:25

"I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live." 

SIONE 11:25

Pea me‘a ‘e Sīsū ki ai, Ko au pē ko e Toetu‘u, pea mo e Mo‘ui: ko ia ‘oku tui pīkitai kiate au, ne ongo kuo pekia, ka te ne mo‘ui pē: 

In my years as a pastor, I've conducted countless funeral services. I remember one in particular, though, for the lesson that it caught me.

When I arrived at the funeral home, I was asked to wait in a side room. Being an inquisitive soul, I looked around and realized that I was sitting beside miniature coffins - models with their ends sawn off so that you could see what the inside of each coffin looked like.

As I was sitting there, I began to think of what it would be like not just to look inside but to be inside. I became greatly disturbed. I said to myself, "I am a Christian. I believe in the resurrection of the body. I believe that I will die and go to heaven." And yet, I still looked at the coffin and thought to myself, "I don't want to go in one of these things!"

Then the thought came to me: "What comes to the unbeliever's mind when he or she thinks of death and dying?"

In the late 1960s, the United Kingdom introduced grids painted on the roads at particularly busy intersections, called box junctions, accompanied by signs that read, "Do not enter the box unless your exit is clear." The purpose of these grids and signs was to help aid traffic flow. But that day in the funeral home, what entered my mind was how apt that sign's warning is when we consider that we will all be dead and lie in a coffin. Though my body will one day be in a box, my soul will have departed - and my exit must then be clear.

Everybody knows that death is coming. The statistics are clear: one out of one dies. The affairs of life lead inescapably toward the end. Yet God the Son, who existed "before the foundation of the world" (1 Peter 1:20) has come into time in order that we may know a Savior, a Friend, and a Lord and so that we might be prepared for - and even long for - all that eternity will bring.

You may be one of many who are prepared for just about everything that might possibly happen - except for your exit from the box. But that exit is the one thing for which you must be prepared. You will stand before God. You will give an account for your life. But the message of the gospel is that you do not need to fear that day,  provided that you are trusting in Christ to bring you through. And if you are, then you can look at a coffin and speak to your fears, for though your earthly flesh may end up in one, your soul will not; and you will enjoy a resurrection body that never sees the inside of a wooden box. "Do not enter the box unless your exit is clear"- but, gloriously, your route through is signposted with the blood of Christ and your heavenly destination awaits. Have no fear.

Bible Through The Year: 2 Chronicles 19-20; Luke 8:26-56

Lau ‘a e Tohitapu ‘i he ta’u ‘e taha: 2 Kalonikali 19-20; Luke 8:26-56

 TU’APULELULU NOVEMA 27, 2025

VICTORY IS THE LORD'S

‘OKU ‘A SIHOVA ‘A E IKUNA

PSALM 3:7-8

"Arise, O LORD! Save me, O my God! For you strike all my enemies on the cheek; you break the teeth of the wicked. Salvation belongs to the LORD; your blessing be on your people!" 

SAAME 3:7-8

7 ‘E Sihova, ke ke tu‘u hake; Tokoni mai, hoku ‘Otua ē! He kuo ke taa‘i kou‘ahe hoku fili fua pē; Kuo ke laiki ‘a e nifo ‘o e faka‘otuamate. 8 ‘Oku ‘a e ‘Eiki ke tokoni: Ke hifo ki ho kakai ‘a ho‘o tāpuaki! (Sila)

Does trouble drive you to God or from God?

In Psalm 3, King David is facing a severe trial: the apparently successful insurrection of his son Absalom. He has had to flee his palace and his capital. Many men he counted as friends have turned against him.

What does David do? He takes his trial straight to the Lord. He recognizes and we ought to be humble enough to recognize with him that any life-transforming change, any ultimate solution, any lasting success is owing ultimately and finally to the Lord.

Who can bring deliverance from the enslavement of habitual sin? Who can set captives free? Who can take the burdens from people's backs? Only and ultimately the Lord. Whether we're bothered by a mere nuisance or we've been struck by awful tragedy, God alone brings deliverance.

Even when David's foes surround him, he doesn't try to take vengeance into his own hands. He recognizes that God strikes the winning blow, because it is God who is the one true source of lasting victory. So David cries out, "Arise, O LORD! Save me, O my God!" because he knows that "salvation belongs to the LORD."

Notice, too, that David has more than deliverance for himself in view: "Your blessing be on your people," he prays. Trials have a tendency to drive us in on ourselves - away from God and away from others. It's so easy only to pray for ourselves when we are struggling. But David reminds us that even in life's valleys, we are traveling together and

need to keep our brothers and sisters in mind and in our prayers-and not only those who already believe, for God's salvation is for any who would cry out to Jesus for help. Our neighbors, our colleagues, the stranger in line with us as we wait for our coffee - they all need this deliverance just as much as any of us.

If you desire victory in your life, you must first recognize, like David, that you can have none apart from God's help. And if you are going to be an instrument of grace to the people God has placed around you, you must also look beyond your own needs and call out for their blessing and deliverance to the only one who is mighty enough to grant it. He alone is our eternal hope, our great gift of salvation, the source of satisfaction for our every longing-in the valleys as much as on the mountaintops.

Bible Through The Year: 2 Chronicles 17-18; Luke 8:1-25

Lau ‘a e Tohitapu ‘i he ta’u ‘e taha: 2 Kalonikali 17-19; Luke 8:1-25

 PULELULU NOVEMA 26, 2025

A SONG OF FAITH

KO E HIVA ‘O E TUI

HABAKKUK 3:2, 17-18

"Your work, O LORD, do 1 fear. In the midst of the years revive it; in the midst of the years make it known. Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD; I will take joy in the God of my salvation." 

HAPAKUKI 3:2, 17-18

2 E Sihova, kuo u fanongo ki ho ongoongo, Pea u manavahē: ‘E Sihova, to‘o ki mu‘a ‘a e fakapuho hake ho‘o ngāue, To‘o ki mu‘a ‘o fakae‘a ia; Lolotonga he fai houhau manatu ke faka‘atu‘i. 17 He neongo ‘e ‘ikai fisi ‘a e fiki, Pea ‘ikai ha fua ‘i he vaine; Si‘isi‘i ‘a e ngāue ‘a e ‘ōlive, Pea hala ‘a e ngaahi ngoue‘anga ‘i he me‘akai; Kuo tu‘usi ‘a e tākanga mei he ‘ā manu, Pea ‘ikai ha pulu ‘i he fale manu: 18Ka ko au te u fiefia ‘ia Sihova, Te u tome‘e ‘i hoku ‘Otua fakamo‘ui‘anga.

2‘E Jihova, kuo u fanogo ki ho’o folofola, bea ne u manavahe: ‘E Jihova, fakaakeake ho’o gaue ‘i he lotolotoga ‘o e gaahi ta‘u, fakaha ia i he lotolotoga ‘o e gaahi ta‘u; ‘i he houhau, manatu ki he ‘alo’ofa.

17 Ne ogo ene ikai fiji ae akau koe fiki, bea e ikai ha fua i he gaahi vaine; bea kovi ae tubu oe olive, bea e ikai i he gaahi goue ha meakai; bea e motuhi ae faga sibi mei he lotoa, bea e ikai ha faga manu i he gaahi tuuga: 18 Ka ne ogo ia teu fiefia ia Jihova, beau nekeneka i he Otua o hoku fakamoui.(UESI)

No matter how committed to God we consider ourselves to be, Habakkuk's prayer in these verses is probably not what springs to our minds when we are faced with terrible circumstances, as he was. But his prayer was not for himself alone! Indeed, it was to be

accompanied by a choir and instruments and prayed by God's people (Habakkuk 3:19).

Habakkuk was imagining a situation that would amount to great devastation for an agricultural society. No fruit, produce, yields, flocks, or herds meant a completely broken economy and a chronic shortage of food. Yet Habakkuk says that even if confronted with that scenario, our greatest concern should be neither pestilence nor plague but that the work of God would be revived. Ultimately, Habakkuk said he would be found singing, trusting the sovereign work of the Lord. The God of salvation was all he needed for joy (Habakkuk 3:18).

How is Habakkuk able to say, and pray, this? Throughout his prayer, the prophet also recounts God's great works throughout history (Habakkuk 3:3-16). These serve as a reminder to him that God is sovereign, God is good, and God is always to be trusted. Even the darkest of days gives way to the dawn in God's sovereign purposes; and though the dawn sometimes tarries, it does not fail to arrive. Habakkuk knows that God saves His people, and that is sufficient cause for joy. And it is the same for us. God's dealings and deliverance of His people through the Old Testament foreshadow His ultimate deliverance in Jesus. It is in Jesus' life, death, and resurrection that God remembers mercy in wrath and the believer is safely brought through death to life. We're not exempt from calamity-but because of God's great work, we can still rejoice. The dawn of salvation will come, however dark the moment.

As we consider Habakkuk's prayerful song, we should ask ourselves two questions: Am

I as concerned as the prophet for the reviving and fulfillment of God's work? And is God

alone sufficient for me? May the prayer of the prophet become yours as you seek to further God's purposes among His people in this time. And when the world appears to crumble around you, you can still find joy in the God of your salvation. By faith you can sing:

Tis what I know of Thee, my Lord and God,

That fills my soul with peace, my lips with song:

Thou art my health, my joy, my staff and rod;

Leaning on Thee, in weakness I am strong."

[Horatius Bonar, "Not What I Am, O Lord" (1861).]

Bible Through The Year: 2 Chronicles 15-16; Luke 7:24-50

Lau ‘a e Tohitapu ‘i he ta’u ‘e taha: 2 Kalonikali 15-16; Luke 7:24-50

 TUSITE NOVEMA 25, 2025

IT IS THE LORD WHO JUDGES ME

KO E ‘OTUA PE ‘OKU NE FAKAMAAU AU

1CORINTHIANS 4:2-4

"It is required of stewards that they be found faithful. But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by any human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself. For I am not aware of anything against myself, but I am not thereby acquitted. It is the Lord who judges me." 

1 KOLINITO 4:2-4

2 ‘Oku fai ‘i heni foki ‘a e sivi ‘o e kau sētuata; koe‘uhi ke hā ‘a e faitotonu ‘a ha taha. 3 Ka ko kita, ‘oku ma‘ama‘a ‘aupito kiate au hoku sivi ‘e kimoutolu, pe ko e fakamaau ‘o eni: ‘io, na‘a mo kita, ‘oku ‘ikai te te sivi kita. 4 He neongo ‘oku ‘ikai te te ‘ilo ha me‘a kiate kita; ka ‘oku ‘ikai te te falala ki ai kuo u tonuhia; ka ko ia ‘oku ‘a‘ana hoku sivi ko e ‘Eiki.

Anyone who has ever been a leader knows the vulnerability that comes with the position. Whether a schoolteacher, politician, scientist, team captain, or CEO, anyone who attempts to lead others will learn that there is a spotlight on them due to their position and that they are susceptible to misunderstandings and to false accusations.

When Paul described good stewards leaders to the Corinthian church, he said nothing of their popularity, giftedness, influence, or even success. No, the real test of this kind of biblical leadership was "that they be found faithful." Faithfulness was the yardstick and faithfulness was his anchor. Paul was basically saying, I'm not going to allow my life to be carried along on the emotional rollercoaster of undue compliments on the one hand and undue criticism on the other. Only one opinion, one judgment, matters.

Paul recognized that he couldn't even adequately evaluate the purity of his own motives. He did not judge himself, in the sense of seeing his own self-assessment as accurate. "It is the Lord who judges me," he knew. He recognized that God was gazing into the very core of his being and that His requirement was faithfulness. This realization allowed him to press forward without being distracted by the adulation of some or the envy and opposition of others.

When you find inept leadership in any organization, you will likely be able to trace the incompetence back to a leader who became less concerned about leading people and more concerned about being liked by them, or who became less concerned about putting others first and more concerned about their own prestige. So, as a result of desperately wanting to be liked by everyone or be honored by everyone, the leader lost the ability to lead anyone meaningfully-to say what must be said or to listen to what must be heard.

Throughout life, if you are always measuring yourself by the approval ratings bestowed by others, you won't be able to function. Since human knowledge of the facts is always imperfect, compliments and criticism are also always imperfect. So don't allow yourself to be knocked off balance by premature and imperfect judgments-including your own! It is good and right for you to examine yourself-but, having done so, you must remember that there is only one judgment that ultimately matters. God is looking for faithfulness to His word and His people. Let that be the liberating yardstick of how you conduct yourself as a leader, a parent, a spouse, a friend-a Christian.

Bible Through The Year: 2 Chronicles 13-14; Luke 7:1-23

Lau ‘a e Tohitapu ‘i he ta’u ‘i he taha: 2 Kalonikali 13-14; Luke 7:1-23

 MONITE NOVEMA 24, 2025

YOUR PRIMARY CALLING: FAITHFULNESS

KO HO UI: FAI TONUNGA

3 JOHN 7-8

“They have gone out for the sake of the name, accepting nothing from the Gentiles. Therefore we ought to support people like these, that we may be fellow workers for the truth." 

3 SIONE 7-8

7 He na‘a nau ‘alu atu koe‘uhi pē ko e Huafa, ‘o ‘ikai te nau to‘o ha me‘a mei he hīteni. 8 Ko ia ‘oku totonu ke tau tauhi ‘e kitautolu ‘a e fa‘ahinga pehē, koe‘uhi ke tau hoko ko e kaungā ngāue mo kinautolu ki he mo‘oni.

About 10 to 15 miles off the coast of France lies a cluster of landmasses called the Channel Islands. In 1940, Germany invaded and occupied them. Among the tunnels the Germans built on one of them, Jersey, there is a plaque that details the generous labor of a few women from the occupied island who bravely sent mittens, socks, flying helmets, sweaters, and more to the United Kingdom's Royal Air Force. Because of their generosity, as some brave airmen flew against the German airplanes to resist Nazi Germany's attempt to take over Europe, they were warmed by the products of those women's compassion.

You might ask, What's the big deal? These women were just knitting. But try telling that to an airman who had to brave freezing temperatures in the heat of battle! For him, there was nothing insignificant about socks and mittens. Those women from Jersey made a significant contribution to the Allied war effort by meeting a serious need. In this sense, without ever flying a plane, they were "fellow workers" with the RAF airmen. The New Testament speaks over and over again of believers laboring alongside each other as "fellow workers." In Philippians 2:25, Paul even speaks of Epaphroditus as his "fellow soldier." The apostle Paul was arguably the most capable missionary and church planter who ever lived - and yet he could not have successfully completed anything without such "fellow workers for the truth," as John calls them.

Every single one of us in the body of Christ has an important function. In wartime terms, some of us are pilots, others of us are mechanics, and some are knitters - and still others of us may be the sheep farmers who provide the wool! Perhaps society would have us grade these contributions, creating a hierarchy of sorts. Perhaps you are tempted to think that your contributions are insignificant. But this is not how things work in the economy of God. As Paul wrote, "The parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor" (1 Corinthians 12:22-23).

God chooses whom He will to fulfill each function in His body - and what matters to Him most is that we are faithful wherever He has placed us. Stay faithful, and the Lord will strengthen you for whatever role He's calling you to- whether knitting or flying for the glory of Christ. Do what you can, for what you can do He will use.

Bible Through The Year: 2 Chronicles 10-12; Luke 6:27-49

Lau ‘a e Tohitapu ‘i he ta’u ‘e taha: 2 Kalonikali 10-12; Luke 6:27-49

 SAPATE NOVEMA 23, 2025

TRANSFORMING GRACE

KELESI LILIU MO’UI

TITUS 2:11-12

"The grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age." 

TAITUSI 2:11-12

11 He kuo fakahā mai ‘a e kelesi ‘a e ‘Otua, ‘a e kelesi ‘oku ‘omi fakamo‘ui ki he kakai kotoa pē, 12 ‘oku ne ngaohia kitautolu ke tau fakafisi ki he faka‘otuamate, mo e ngaahi holi fakaemāmani; ka tau mo‘ui anga fakama‘uma‘u mo angatonu mo anga fakalotu ‘i he maama ko eni: 

We are to live our lives from the inside out.

When Paul wrote to Titus, he didn't provide him with a mere manual for how to teach people to live properly in their various roles in society. The book of Titus does contain numerous commands for how Christians are to live - and that is why, if we are not careful, we can easily read it as a moralistic how-to book. Indeed, when reading God's word as a whole it is possible to slip into reading it as a list of commands that we are to keep in order to gain or maintain God's favor. We need reminding, again and again, that all the Scriptures, including this letter of Paul's, show us the grace of God, and then they show those who have understood the grace of God how to live from the inside out.

The Bible's story is the story of God, who created humans and put them in His company in the Garden of Eden. They were privileged to enjoy His presence and everything He had made. But they rebelled against God, and we too, following those ancestors, have rejected His rule, have adopted a skewed view of the world, and don't seek after Him. Because of our sinful nature, we live life upside down. But when we believe in Christ, our upside-down lives are rectified. We begin to stand the right way up, and we are put back together by the power of Jesus. We are then to live our lives from the inside out, so that what God has accomplished in us by His grace is the driving force for what He is now going to accomplish through us for His glory.

Paul tells us that "the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation." In Titus 3:7, he reminds those of us who have trusted in Christ that we have been "justified by his grace," becoming "heirs according to the hope of eternal life." And in 3:8, Paul teaches that these gospel truths are trustworthy things that must be insisted on, "so that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works" (emphasis added). This progression is absolutely crucial to grasp. It's not that we are to devote ourselves to doing good works so that we might be accepted by God; it is that because we have believed in God and are accepted through the person and work of His Son, we devote ourselves to doing good works. The good works flow from His grace, inspired by that grace. The grace of God is what trains us to live for the God of grace.

Do you desire to be distinct from the world? Do you hope to live a life worthy of God - one that honors Him in all you do? That is a mark of His grace at work in you. Remember that what you do is never what saves you; in Christ, His grace appeared and was poured out on you. Focus not on what you are to do for God but on what He has done to transform you by His grace. As you do so, you will find your heart and mind trained to live in the way that pleases Him.

Bible Through The Year: 2 Chronicles 7-9; Luke 6:1-26

Lau ‘a e Tohitapu ‘i he ta’u ‘e taha: 2 Kalonikali 7-9; Luke 6:1-26