{"id":538,"date":"2023-09-01T03:47:59","date_gmt":"2023-09-01T08:47:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/matt-long\/?p=538"},"modified":"2023-09-01T03:48:01","modified_gmt":"2023-09-01T08:48:01","slug":"tired-of-lies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/matt-long\/2023\/09\/01\/tired-of-lies\/","title":{"rendered":"Tired of Lies"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/td><\/tr>
\"\"\u00a0
Rom. 3:20&22 \u201cFor no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. \u00a0The law simply shows us how sinful we are\u2026 We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. \u00a0And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are.\u201d
\u00a0
\u201cYou look tired\u201d should be on a list of things never to say to people, right up there with \u201cAre you pregnant?\u201d

A student said this to me last week, and I was not feeling very complimented by it. \u00a0However, to his credit, he was being observant and trying to be compassionate, and I WAS tired.

Last week there was a revival happening across the street from our house. \u00a0As a result, people geared up their loudspeakers to start off the preaching before 5am each morning. \u00a0Now, as obnoxious as this was, what was more difficult was knowing that they probably weren\u2019t teaching the true gospel, that we can be saved through faith in Jesus alone. \u00a0This kind of event is common in PNG, and there are actually many churches here, especially in urban areas. \u00a0However, the message that is taught the majority of the time is some variation of, \u201cDo good works and you will get into heaven.\u201d

This message is not only common in PNG, but in many churches in America as well. \u00a0I actually even had to have a long discussion with the students in my Bible class about the fact that following the law cannot save us. \u00a0It didn\u2019t save people in the Old Testament, and it doesn\u2019t save us now. \u00a0This message is something that many authors of the New Testament had to address as well, even long ago. \u00a0Why is this false gospel so prevalent?

I think that one reason is that we want to feel like we\u2019ve earned it. \u00a0We want to be able to do something to get into heaven. \u00a0The idea that we cannot measure up is offensive, but it is also incredible. \u00a0No, we can\u2019t do it, but Jesus did it. \u00a0He lived the perfect life that we could not, and died to pay the penalty for our sins, so that all we have to do is believe that He died for us.

So yes, I am tired, but mostly I\u2019m tired of people teaching lies about Jesus and the way of salvation. \u00a0It breaks my heart that many people in PNG went from believing, \u201cI need to do all the right things to appease the spirits,\u201d to \u201cI need to do all the right things to be saved by God.\u201d \u00a0This is why we are here in PNG, to support tribal missionaries who will communicate the gospel clearly in people\u2019s heart languages, so that they will know the truth that can set them free. \u00a0This is also why I am so excited to be teaching Bible at our school this year, so that I can reinforce the truths of God\u2019s Word to my students.

So whether people are believing in animism, or in a works-based salvation, the need is the same, and we will continue to work to spread the gospel.

Till all know,
Matt, Karissa, Ty, and Wyck<\/td><\/tr>
\"\"
Matt speaking in chapel
\"\"
Karissa\u2019s students doing a skit about the tower of Babel<\/td><\/tr>
Praise God:
-God has been answering Karissa\u2019s prayers for joy in teaching this year
-Matt\u2019s role as personnel director is going well
-The school year has started off well for Karissa, Ty, and Wyck
-We have enough teachers this year to teach all the classes, even specials like art and PE
Please Pray:
-Karissa is going to be doing some training about how to help people process after going through a traumatic event
-for Matt as he helps some people work through some conflict
-for Matt as he is very busy now that his online classes have started again
-for Karissa as she hurt her back playing floor hockey. \u00a0We don\u2019t think it\u2019s serious, but it is sore and making it hard to sleep (again!)
\"\"
What are we supporting? \u00a0This month’s tribal focus: \u00a0Pray for the Lembena work. \u00a0The missionaries here are currently in language and culture study, but they are already seeing the need that these people have to hear God\u2019s truth. \u00a0In the Lembena area, there actually are some \u201cChristian\u201d churches. \u00a0One of the missionaries there showed us a video of some people in church singing and praising God. \u00a0That seemed great, until he told us what they were singing. \u00a0\u201cWe used to have grass roofs, but now we have tin roofs. \u00a0We used to wear grass skirts, but now we wear trousers.\u201d \u00a0This was their idea of what Jesus had done for them- given them new stuff. \u00a0Their only idea of the gospel is a prosperity gospel. \u00a0There is a man who sometimes visits their village, claiming to be a prophet. \u00a0He preaches to them a false gospel, and they pay him all their money for doing it. \u00a0Pray for the missionaries here, that they will learn the language and culture quickly. \u00a0Pray for the people here, that God will be preparing their hearts to hear and understand the true gospel- that Jesus has something much better for them than tin roofs and trousers\u2014 He offers them eternal life.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0Rom. 3:20&22 \u201cFor no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. \u00a0The law simply shows us how sinful we are\u2026 We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. \u00a0And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are.\u201d\u00a0\u201cYou look tired\u201d […]<\/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":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-538","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-uncategorized","7":"entry"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/matt-long\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/538","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=538"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/matt-long\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/538\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/matt-long\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=538"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/matt-long\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=538"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/matt-long\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=538"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}