FALAITE FEPUELI 21, 2025

PRAYER AND GOD'S SOVEREIGNTY

KO E LOTU MO E AONIU ‘A E ‘OTUA

PHILIPPIANS 1:19

"I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance." 

FILIPAI 1:19

‘io, pea te u fiefia ai foki, he ‘oku ou ‘ilo ‘e iku ‘a e me‘a ko ia mōku fakamo‘ui, ko e me‘a ‘i ho‘omou hūfia mo e tokonaki ‘a e Laumālie ‘o Sīsū Kalaisi:

Your prayers change things.

The apostle Paul understood this well. The book of Acts charts the rapid expansion of the church throughout the eastern Mediterranean world, fueled in large part by his three great missionary journeys. Yet it concludes with Paul living under house arrest at his own expense for two whole years (Acts 28:30). From a human perspective, it would seem that by this point his situation was hopeless. The Jews had been trying to kill him for years. He'd been in a series of trials because of trumped-up charges. He'd faced shipwreck, beatings, and hardships. And now he was chained to a Roman soldier, with no freedom to come and go as he pleased. His circumstances seemed to indicate that everything was against him and against what God might accomplish through him.

Yet in the midst of Paul's difficult circumstances, he was confident in the power of prayer. During his Roman imprisonment, Paul wrote to the Philippian church, "I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance." He also wrote a letter to his friend Philemon that contained the following words: "Prepare a guest room for me, for I am hoping that through your prayers I will be graciously given to you" (Philemon 22, emphasis added).

Paul's letters indicate that he was confident that he would be released from prison, and he believed that his deliverance would come by means of the prayers of his believing friends. And though Acts never mentions Paul's release, we can be fairly confident, from

reading his other letters and Acts side by side, that he was indeed allowed to leave.

Paul was convinced that God was sovereign and that He was working everything out according to the eternal counsel of His will (Ephesians 1:11). But at the same time, he was not a determinist - he did not believe that nothing we do matters because nothing we do changes anything. That is because he knew that very often God works His plans out through means - through people. So Paul didn't think that God's sovereignty made prayer irrelevant, because he understood that God had ordained not only the end to which he was moving but also the means that would bring him there - means that included the prayers of God's people.

God commands and expects you to pray. In a mysterious way that you cannot fully comprehend, your prayers are enfolded into the great outworking of His purposes. So when your life ceases to make sense and everything appears to be against you, don't assume that God's purposes for you have been thwarted. Direct your gaze to Him and ask others to join you in prayer. It may be that their prayers are the sovereign means that God will use to bring about your deliverance - for in His kindness, God has ordained that the prayers of His people really do change things.

LUKE 11:1-13

Bible Through The Year: Exodus 14-15; 1 Thessalonians 3

 TU‘APULELULU FEPUELI 20, 2025

CHOOSE YOUR REFUGE

FILI HO‘O KOLO HUFANGA

PSALM 11:1

"In the LORD I take refuge; how can you say to my soul, 'Flee like a bird to your mountain?" 

SAAME 11:1

Kuo u ma‘u hūfanga ‘i he ‘Eiki: Fēfē ho‘omou lau ki he‘eku mo‘ui, “Hola ki homou mo‘unga, ‘a e fanga misi:

‘OKU ou falala kia Jihova: bea ‘oku fefe ho‘o mou behe ki hoku laumalie, Buna ‘o hage ko e manu ki ho mo‘uga? (UESI)

When it comes to crises in life, it is not a matter of whether they will come but when. And when they do, our response will be to flee to a refuge - somewhere or something or someone we trust will keep us safe and protect us from the storms. So the question then will not be whether we flee but where we flee.

Some of us will take the advice of David's friends in Psalm 11. These advisors urged him to "flee like a bird to your mountain." Difficulty had come for David, seemingly in the form of threats to his life, with wicked people preparing to aim their arrows at him (Psalm 11:2). The counsel he received was essentially to head for the hills, to get away, to go somewhere that removed him from adversity.

David did not heed this advice. But what about you? While you likely will not face armed foes threatening you with violence, crisis will come to you someday, in one form or another. It could be social pressure to compromise biblical convictions, an unwanted diagnosis, or intense relational strife. Where will you flee? Will you head for the hills, finding some form of escapism, be it numbing yourself with endless media consumption or abusing a substance, or throwing yourself into frenetic activity in another part of your life? Or will you be able to say with David, "In the LORD I take refuge"?

David had seen God deliver him from bears, lions, and a Philistine giant. The Lord had proven Himself to be a trustworthy refuge, and David took that to heart. David knew the Lord was a mighty refuge; that had been borne out again and again in his life. His trust in God was grounded in experience, making it sturdy enough to withstand life's darkness and the Evil One's darts.

Have your eyes been opened to God's trustworthiness? Have you trusted Him in response? If you are a Christian, remember that your new life began by taking refuge in the Lord Jesus Christ. You were facing the wrath of an eternal God, with no hope to be found. The only hope you had was to cast yourself on God's mercy and embrace the salvation offered in Christ. And so you fled to Him and found eternal refuge.

God desires for you to seek refuge in Him not only at the beginning of the journey but until Christ returns or calls you home, and not only for eternal salvation but in the storms of this life. Trouble will come and when it does, you can either head for the hills or you can lift up your eyes beyond the hills and to the Lord "who made heaven and earth" (Psalm 121:2), facing the crisis with confidence and, yes, even joy.

PSALM 11

Bible Through The Year: Exodus 12-13; 1 Thessalonians 2

 PULELULU FEPUELI 19, 2025

PRIZE THE WORD

KOLOA‘AKI E FOLOFOLA

1 SAMUEL 3:1, 4

"Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the LORD in the presence of Eli. And the word of the LORD was rare in those days: there was no frequent vision…Then the LORD called Samuel." 

1 SAMIUELA 3:1, 4

1 PEA ko e tamasi‘i ko Sāmiuela na‘a ne fai ‘a e tauhi ‘o Sihova ‘i he ‘ao ‘o ‘Īlai, pea ko e folofola ‘a Sihova na‘e ma‘ungata‘a ‘i he taimi ko ia: na‘e ‘ikai ha vīsone ‘e pā mai.

4 mo e ui ange ‘e Sihova ‘a Sāmiuela: pea tali ‘e ia, Ko au.

The chaos at the end of Judges, when "everyone did what was right in his own eyes" (Judges 21:25) and there was an absence of effective leadership, indicated the spiritual darkness at that time among God's people. And what caused this darkness? Faithful proclamation of the word of God was becoming increasingly rare. Yet such silence is not reserved to that one era. Throughout the generations, the people of God have experienced periods of this silence and darkness.

But God is a God of clarity and of grace - and so He has never left people without His word. So it was that, despite the faithlessness of the people during the time of the judges, God was preparing to bring His words to them through "the boy Samuel."

God always ensures that, one way or another, His people can hear His word; and today in the West we can never claim that His word is "rare." It is our privilege to have easy access to God's word in the Scriptures. Only in the last few centuries has a minister been able to say to the congregation, "Please take your Bible and turn to..." because prior to the printing press, few people had a Bible to turn to, nor could they have read it themselves if they had had one. In the 18th century, when John Newton was addressing his congregation, he noted, "I account it my honour and happiness that I preach to a free people, who have the Bible in their hands." And there are still many places in the world where Bibles are removed and destroyed and must be smuggled in. To receive even a portion of the Scriptures means a tremendous amount to many of our brothers and sisters in such countries.

Yet while many of us have the honor and privilege of owning a Bible, we nevertheless live in effective silence, allowing the word of God to become increasingly rare in our lives. Is the Bible truly present in your daily life and in your place of worship that is, not only physically present but also audibly proclaimed and intently listened to? What matters is not simply owning a Bible, or even merely reading and knowing it, but living by it and loving the one to whom it points: the Lord Jesus.

Alec Motyer writes, "Have we got a Bible still in our hands? Let us prize it, read it and commit precious truths to heart and mind. It is not an inalienable possession; it may not be ours forever." Let these words challenge you to seek out God's word and treasure it so that you may walk in the light of hearing from God, about His Son, by the work of His Spirit.

PSALM 119:17-24

Bible Through The Year: Exodus 9-11; 1 Thessalonians 1

 TUSITE FEPUELI 18, 2025

MIXED MOTIVES

TUIFIO ‘A E LELEI MO E KOVI

PHILIPPIANS 1:15-18

"Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will. The latter do it out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. The former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment. What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice."

FILIPAI 1:15-18

15 ‘Oku mo‘oni ‘oku ‘i ai ha ni‘ihi ‘oku malanga‘aki ‘a Kalaisi ko e meheka foki, mo e fakafekāke‘i; ka ‘oku fai foki ‘e he ni‘ihi ko ‘enau lotolelei mai. 16 Ko e ha‘a ‘ofa, ‘oku nau fai ko ‘enau ‘ilo ko hoku nafa ko e taukapo‘i ‘o e Kōsipeli: 17 ka ko e ha‘a fakakikihi ‘oku nau ongoongoa ‘a Kalaisi, ka tala‘ehai ko ‘enau fai mo‘oni, ka ko ‘enau fakakaukau ke langa ai ha fakatanga ke kanoni hoku ngaahi ha‘i. 18 Pea neongo e me‘a ke fēfē? Ko ia ai pē hono anga: pe ko e kofu ‘o ha me‘a, pe ko ha fai mo‘oni, kehe pē ‘oku ongoongoa ai ‘a Kalaisi, pea ‘oku ou fiefia ai;

18 Bea fefe ai? ko eni, i he mea kotoabe, i he kākā, be i he mooni, oku malaga aki a Kalaisi; bea koia oku ou fiefia ai, io, bea teu fiefia.(UESI) 

In his missionary letter to the Philippian church, Paul gets real. Though he shares encouraging news, the picture is not all rosy. The motivations some people had for sharing the gospel were downright bad - they were driven not by good will so much as by rivalry and a desire to stir up trouble for the apostle.

The wrong motives of other people didn't become the determining element in Paul's attitude, however. Their selfishly motivated preaching did not keep him awake at night or mar his commitment to seeing the kingdom advance. He passionately wanted the true gospel to be preached, so he wasn't primarily concerned about the reasons others had for preaching, as long as they were still preaching Christ. His concern was for the Lord's glory, not for his own stature or even for his safety.

Perhaps we find ourselves relating to Paul, surrounded by those who share their faith out of false motives. But if we allow these failings to determine our own attitude or actions, it will cripple us. We will spend too much of our time and energy either constantly questioning the intentions of others or continually refuting and rebutting what they're doing. That would be to give the devil a great gain, in that we would then be distracted from proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ. It's a huge temptation! But Paul didn't fall into that trap.

Alternatively, you and I may wrestle with our own wrong motives for sharing the gospel. One of the most significant challenges we all face is the potential for dreadful self-centeredness and pride. Even in matters of our faith, we often wrongly want others to recognize us, and so we do the right thing but for the wrong reasons (or, more usually, a mix of right and wrong reasons). At the same time, we find that envy prevents us from rejoicing in the fruitfulness of another's life and ministry. But thanks be to God: He still uses broken vessels like us to carry forth the great gift of His message.

So, like Paul, fix your eyes on the goodness of Jesus and the advancement of His gospel, no matter the circumstances surrounding you or the flawed motives you suspect in others or see in yourself. Seek to set aside your own pride and ambition so that your greatest concern will be the Lord's glory - and as you do so, continue to share Him with those around you. What matters most is that Christ is preached, and in that we can all rejoice.

ISAIAH 52:7-10

Bible Through The Year: Exodus 7-8; Mark 16

 MONITE FEPUELI 17, 2025

DISPLAYS OF DIVINE PROVIDENCE

KO E NGAAHI ‘ATA ‘O E PALOVITENISI ‘A E ‘OTUA

PROVERBS 21:1

"The king's heart is a stream of water in the hand of the LORD; he turns it wherever he will." 

PALOVEPI 21:1

KO E koto vaitaki ‘a e loto ‘o e tu‘i he ala ki ai ‘a Sihova: ‘Oku ne fakatafe ki he me‘a kotoa ‘oku ne finangalo ki ai.

‘OKU ‘i he nima ‘o Jihova ‘a e loto ‘o e tu‘i, ‘o hage ko e vai ‘o e gaahi vaitafe: he ‘oku ne fefakatafokiaki ia ko ‘ene faiteliha ‘a‘ana. (Uesi)

Here is a picture of the doctrine of providence.

When men and women go about their business, God's hand is always involved. Question 2 of the New City Catechism includes a helpful summary of this doctrine: "Nothing happens except through him and by his will." The Bible is clear in its teaching that God is sovereign over every detail of every part of the universe. In creation, God exercised His divine energy to bring the world into being. In His perfect providence, He continues to exercise His divine energy to sustain the universe and bring all things to their appointed end - uniting all things in heaven and earth under Christ (Ephesians 1:9-10).

There is some mystery in how God directs the course of events without violating the nature of what or who is involved. Charles Bridges provides helpful insight on the way this unfolds: "In inert matter he acts by physical force; in brute animals, by instinct and appetite; in intelligent beings, by motives suited to their faculties; in his redeemed people, by the influence of grace." In God's economy and purposes, the causality of natural events, circumstances, and free decisions is used by Him in order to achieve His glorious ends. Throughout Scripture this pattern is repeated, whether it's through Nebuchadnezzar, Pharaoh, Herod, Pilate, or other figures. Though earthly rulers set themselves against the Lord as they exercised their rebellious wills, they were at the same time part of God's foreordained plan of salvation (Psalm 2:1-2; Acts 4:25-26). He turns all plans, even the desires of the heart of the most powerful men and women, "wherever he will."

For those of us who belong to Jesus, God's providence brings security. When we become disheartened because it is obvious that the wicked flourish and that bad is called good, the Bible reminds us that God is sovereign over all affairs. These things neither surprise nor defeat Him; indeed, He has made use of the wicked often, sometimes to protect and shield His people and at other times to purify and refine them. After the event, we may sometimes discern His purpose; during the event, we are simply to trust His providence.

God is the heavenly Father who seeks to draw you to Himself and make you His own. It is likely that even now you are thinking of circumstances that seem contrary to God's will and that confuse you. Remember His sovereignty, rehearse His purpose, and sing:

I trust in God, I know He cares for me,

On mountain bleak or on the stormy sea;

Though billows roll, He keeps my soul,

My heav'nly Father watches over me.

ACTS 4:24-31

Bible Through The Year: Exodus 4-6; Mark 15:26-47

 SAPATE FEPUELI 16, 2025 

A CALL TO REMEMBER

KO E UI KE FAKAMANATU

Joshua 4:6-7

"When your children ask in time to come, 'What do those stones mean to you?" then you shall tell them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD. When it passed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. So these stones shall be to the people of Israel a memorial forever.”

Siosiua 4:6-7

6 koe‘uhi ke hoko ia ko e faka‘ilonga ‘i homou lotolotonga, ‘oka faifai pea ‘eke ‘e ho‘omou fānau ‘amui, ‘o pehē, Ko e hā ‘a e ‘uhinga ‘o e ngaahi maka ni? 7 Pea te mou toki tali kiate kinautolu, Ko hono ‘uhinga na‘e motuhi ‘a e vai ‘o Soatani ‘i he ‘ao ‘o e ‘A‘ake ‘o e Kovinānite ‘o Sihova: ‘i he‘ene a‘a atu ‘i Soatani na‘e motuhi ‘a e ngaahi vai ‘o Soatani: ko ia ‘e hoko ‘a e ngaahi maka ni ko e me‘a fakamanatu ki ha‘a ‘Isileli ‘o lauikuonga.

The Christian life is, in a sense, one big call to remember. Our Lord Jesus, speaking of the new-covenant meal of Communion, told us, "Do this in remembrance of me”(Luke 22:19, emphasis added). Every Lord's Supper, then, offers us the opportunity to remember together all that is pictured in the bread and wine.

Deuteronomy similarly envisions a scenario in which a son asks his father, "What is the meaning of the testimonies and statutes and the rules that the LORD our God has commanded you?" (Deuteronomy 6:20). The father responds by telling Israel's story of redemption, highlighting that what God instructs is "for our good always" (v 24). The book of Joshua, too, commends the same kind of commemoration when the Lord instructs the people to set up twelve memorial stones at the Jordan River, so that the stones would be "to the people of Israel a memorial forever." God wanted His people then and wants His people today - to ever remember His faithfulness and to tell others what He has done.

Such remembrances and memorials have always been significant. But in a day with endless competing claims on our attention and affections, we perhaps need more reminders of God's faithfulness than ever before. It's notable that the examples above are concrete and interpersonal. We participate in the Lord's Supper together, and it offers us a multisensory experience to help us remember. The twelve stones at the Jordan River constituted a physical memorial. The instruction of Deuteronomy encourages us to have conversations about God's faithfulness and goodness in our homes.

For today's Christians, every Sunday presents us with the opportunity to gather and remember with God's people. But we are going to need more than a weekly touchpoint to sustain ourselves. Ask yourself: What habits can I cultivate to remember God's goodness? How can I catalog His faithfulness to me and share that with others? What "memorials" can I set up so that I can remember how God delivered me?

Opportunities to see and recall God's faithfulness abound. All we need to do is look and remember.

LUKE 22:14-20

Bible Through The Year: Exodus 1-3; Mark 15:1-25

 TOKONAKI FEPUELI 15, 2025

GROWING IN BOLDNESS

TUPU FAKAUTUUTU ‘I HE LOTO TO‘A

PHILIPPIANS 1:12-14

"I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ. And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear." 

FILIPAI 1:12-14

12 Pea ko eni, ke mou ‘ilo, kāinga, ko e ngaahi me‘a kuo hoko kiate au, tā kuo nau iku ki he fakangaholo ‘o e Kōsipeli. 13 Ko ia, kuo ‘iloa ai hoku ngaahi ha‘i ‘i he ‘apitanga tau kotoa, pea ki he kakai kotoa pē, ‘o hā ko e tupu ‘i he‘eku kau kia Kalaisi. 14Kae‘uma‘ā ko e tokolahi ‘o e kāinga lotu, kuo langa hake ‘enau falala ki he ‘Eiki ‘e hoku ngaahi ha‘i, pea kuo fakautuutu ai ‘enau to‘a ‘i he lea‘aki ‘a e Folofola ‘a e ‘Otua ‘o ta‘emanavahē.

What must have looked like a tragedy turned out to be just the opposite.

When the Philippian church learned that Paul had been imprisoned in Rome, they were surely greatly concerned. Some may have even panicked, worrying that the gospel's influence would decline because its great teacher and apologist was shut away, unable to travel. It was a disaster for the gospel - wasn't it?

Paul himself had a radically different perspective on his imprisonment. Underpinning all that he wrote was an unshakable confidence in God's providence, for, as he wrote to the church in Rome, "If God is for us, who can be against us?" (Romans 8:31). Understanding that he had been placed in prison according to God's plan (Philippians 1:16), Paul was able to be an optimistic prisoner and a joyful servant, looking to the well-being of the church and not to his own predicament.

For Paul, it was imperative for the church to understand that his imprisonment was not hindering the gospel but furthering it. Being a prisoner was simply another opportunity to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ. What had happened had "really served to advance the gospel." Roman soldiers were unlikely to seek out a converted Jew who was gathering crowds with his preaching - yet God wanted His good news to reach them. He therefore prepared a different method of ministry and sent Paul to them, albeit in chains. As a result, the good news spread among the entire guard and even went on to break into the very household of the Roman emperor himself. And the news of Paul's success in turn emboldened other believers. As they realized that God was able to provide for Paul in his circumstance, they grew in their trust that God could provide for them in their own circumstances. And so they became "much more bold to speak the word without fear."

Perhaps we, too, need the confidence that comes from remembering that God is in control. We tend to assume that circumstances have to be right if we're going to be effective Christians. But God's thinking is different from ours. He's not waiting for the circumstances to be right. He's committed to using His people for His glory, even when the circumstances appear less than ideal. And He's able to use those circumstances to further the cause of the gospel.

We would do well to spend less time trying to change our circumstances and more time growing in boldness and speaking the word without fear. We would do well to consider how we might be in danger of using our circumstances as an excuse not to speak rather than as an opportunity to do so. Perhaps then the good news of Jesus Christ will spread through us in some strange and wonderful way, just as it did through Paul.

ACTS 8:1b-8

Bible Through The Year: Isaiah 65-66; Mark 14:53-72