Keeping Perspective

"But each one is tempted when he has been drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death." James 1:14,15

We need to keep the right perspective on what we will actually be doing in bringing down the dark strongholds of Butte. Remember that Satan has no power to make men sin—they choose it themselves. The enemy simply takes advantage of and encourages sinful desires that are already resident in a person's heart.

This takes us back to the original fall of Adam and Eve. Why did God allow Lucifer—the rebellious angel—access to them? I'm sure he had multiple reasons, but one that stands out to me is that Satan serves as a catalyst. Suppose that Adam and Eve had chosen not to sin. Suppose that the serpent had not enticed them to eat forbidden fruit. Eventually, someone of their descendents would have chosen rebellion and God, in his loving mercy, would have sent Jesus to die for them. (Note, too, that faith that is not tested is not faith at all—but that's another discussion.) God allowed the enemy access, at least in part, to get the program rolling. So Satan, for all his rebellion, ends up serving God. Is that not ironic?

My point is this—when the strongmen over Butte fall we will have removed a major obstacle to the redemption of the city, but sin will still be resident in the hearts of the people. That is when the real work begins. The Holy Spirit will be working, many will choose Christ, and the Christians of Butte will need to nurture and feed these new converts into maturity. This is a big part of the vision of Living Water Fellowship—nurturing new Christians in the context of small, closely-knit groups. We need to remember, too, that this isn't just about Living Water Fellowship—every church in Butte has its appointed mission in transforming our city.

Lord, I pray for the churches of Butte—prepare them to receive those you are drawing into the kingdom, to nurture the young into maturity. Fill each pastor with your Holy Spirit and guide them in caring for their flocks. I pray also, Lord, for the apostate, liberal-theology churches. It is not acceptable that we should just let them go their merry way into error---redeem them from their false teachings. Let the truth be heard from every pulpit!