dayONE :: Name and Renown

"Yes, LORD, walking in the way of your laws, we wait for you; your name and renown are the desire of our hearts." Isaiah 26:8

Wishy-washy.  On the fence.  One foot in the door.  Lukewarm.  The journey of planting a church is not for the faint-hearted.  Walking in the way of God's direction, we have confidence.  We may not always have answers to tomorrow, but we are confident.  Confident, not in our own plans, but in the faithfulness of God to make the way of the right-living smooth (v. 7).  Because of this confidence, we too can say "Yes, Lord!"  Yes, I am committed.  Yes, I am 100% in.  Yes, I will do what it takes to see this through.  Yes, Lord.

In our saying yes, we wait.  If you are like me, you want to know what to do and how to do it.  It's not Type-A to wait.  Give me something to do.  Believe me, there will be plenty to do, but it's important that we wait for Father.  He knows the plans he has for us, and they are good plans.  He knows the name of every single person that will attend all three preview services.  He knows the families that live around the corner from you that you don't even know yet.  He even knows the hearts and hurts of the families that will move into the two vacant houses on each side of me!  We would be wise to wait for Him.

The desire of our hearts is not a packed house, a tight program, full neighborhood groups.  The desire of our hearts is the Name of the Lord and His Renown.  In all the planning, preparing and sweating, our number one desire is for the name of God to be exalted and lifted up and praised in each of our neighborhoods, so that people may reach out easier to Him and find Him.  This is why our vision is to see the active presence of God in each of the 47 neighborhoods that make up our target area.  We want a packed house, a good service and lots of people involved in Neighborhood Life, but that's not enough.  It's His Name.  It's His Renown.

renown = indelible memory; fame that never fades

prayTODAY :: Before we take any steps forward on our twenty-one day journey, it's important to pause and take spiritual inventory of where our hearts are today.  What have you wanted for The Springs that may not fall under the category of His Name and His Renown?  Commit your desires to the scrutiny of the Spirit and ask God to align your desires with His desires.  Ask Him to place a burning desire for His Renown to echo through your heart and soul that you may carry that to all that we do at The Springs.