{"id":329,"date":"2018-05-01T17:06:12","date_gmt":"2018-05-01T22:06:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/matt-long\/?p=329"},"modified":"2018-05-01T17:06:12","modified_gmt":"2018-05-01T22:06:12","slug":"so-what-should-we-do","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/matt-long\/2018\/05\/01\/so-what-should-we-do\/","title":{"rendered":"So What Should We Do?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n
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April 2018<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n
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Ty and Wyck made some signs and decorations because they were so happy Daddy was home after an 8 day trip. \u00a0Earlier this month, Matt got the opportunity to go along on a “mature church evaluation” trip. \u00a0That is where leadership goes and helps evaluate where a church plant is at spiritually. \u00a0It was a great chance for Matt and Isaac (one of our partners) to see a vision of where we hope our church will be one day, and also just to learn more about the task before us.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
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So, what should we do? \u00a0Reflecting on Tragedy.<\/h1>\n

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about tragedy. \u00a0There\u00a0is one particular one that has been on my mind, but I’m sure as I write this there is a\u00a0myriad that comes to yours. \u00a0There was a horrific event that happened recently in the U.S., and immediately\u00a0every news outlet, Facebook post, and Twitter feed exploded with articles. \u00a0Some of them ranted about the cause of it. \u00a0Others declared how we need to respond to prevent further tragedies. \u00a0People on every side of the political battle shared their opinions. \u00a0While the opinions seem to be as different as possible, the heart\u00a0they are\u00a0coming from is\u00a0the same. \u00a0Everyone is\u00a0asking, “Why do these things happen? \u00a0What should we do? \u00a0We have to do something to stop this and make our world safe!”<\/span><\/p>\n

I’m not saying we shouldn’t take steps to prevent tragedy. \u00a0We should. \u00a0But I think there is a much deeper reality at work. \u00a0As I reflected on this tragedy, three truths came to my mind. #1- Mankind is hopelessly wicked. \u00a0We have a deep, enduring sin problem that cannot be fixed by anything in this world. \u00a0#2- Jesus Christ is the only answer. \u00a0Only He can truly change people’s hearts, and only He offers an eternal future where we can\u00a0finally escape our sin-mangled world. \u00a0#3- Nothing in this world is secure. \u00a0We can do all we can to keep our loved ones and the life we have safe. \u00a0That’s why we move to good neighborhoods, buy insurance policies, and try to be healthy. \u00a0However, we can’t truly hold on to anyone or anything in this life, and that is terrifying. \u00a0That’s why we need to have our hope in eternity, where “moths and rust cannot destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal” (Matt.6:20),\u00a0and our loved ones who know\u00a0Christ are eternally secure.<\/p>\n

So as I reflected on this tragedy, I thought, “What do I do?” and I came to this conclusion. \u00a0I keep sharing the Word of God with anyone who will listen, so that as many people as possible can know Jesus and have eternal hope and security in Him. \u00a0There are people all around who are living in a hopeless, sinful state, and they desperately need the hope of Jesus. \u00a0So, we’ll keep trying to shine the light of Jesus here in PNG, and you all can do the same in the USA. \u00a0Thank you for partnering with us in this task of taking the gospel to all nations.<\/p>\n

Till all know,
\nMatt, Karissa, Ty, and Wyck<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

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We finished our Awana program that we were putting on here. \u00a0Ty was very proud to have finished his Cubbies book. \u00a0Pray that all the kids will remember the spiritual truths they learned this year.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n
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Our big news of the month is that we got two kittens. \u00a0Their names are Rambo and Schrodinger. \u00a0The boys were a little excited.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
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Praise God!:<\/span>
\n– He continues to provide for us financially
\n– We are growing in our relationships with our team members
\n– We are halfway done with our “team strategy statement,” an extensive document that helps us decide how we will do ministry and deal with various issues in a tribe<\/p>\n
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Please Pray:
\n– for wisdom and patience as we wait for God to provide a third family for us to partner with
\n– that we can serve God well in the ministries He has for us now as we wait for our church planting ministry to begin
\n– that God would be preparing the hearts of the people to whom we will go to hear His Word<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n
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April 2018 Ty and Wyck made some signs and decorations because they were so happy Daddy was home after an 8 day trip. \u00a0Earlier this month, Matt got the opportunity to go along on a “mature church evaluation” trip. \u00a0That is where leadership goes and helps evaluate where a church plant is at spiritually. \u00a0It […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1074,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[448],"class_list":{"0":"post-329","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-uncategorized","7":"tag-ethnos360","8":"entry"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/matt-long\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/329","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/matt-long\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/matt-long\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/matt-long\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1074"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/matt-long\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=329"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/matt-long\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/329\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/matt-long\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=329"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/matt-long\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=329"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/matt-long\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=329"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}