Realms of Faith...

I have been a disciple since April of 1993 and I can't believe its been that long. I have to say that it has been quite a ride. April 6, 1993 started out the same as any other day, but somehow, I didn't know just how precious this day would be to me as I have launched out to pioneer my own unique journey of faith. On that momentous April evening a small flame was lit inside the very depth of my soul. Throughout my years of discipleship, that little flame has grown, and sometimes it has threatened to be extinguished as my spirit and the very core of my faith has weathered trials in order to ultimately be romanced, pursued, and drawn into the center of the Lord's certainty and unrelenting authenticity. There have been times of stagnant complacency, but there have been many more seasons where my faith has had to make a decision to grow, mature, and press on to higher realms.

God has used the image of light in order to show the depth and degree of my faith. From that first moment, as I came out of the waters of baptism, the little flame of faith has been on a journey of its very own. During my adolescent years I held to my faith with white-knuckled determination as I went through the turbulent winds of finding my identity. To be absolutely truthful, it has been my goal since those middle-school and high school days to persistently and confidently hold to the reality of the Lord. I have had to depend on something deeper and higher all of the days of my life in the natural realm.

I can confidently say that my journey these days is just the best. It truly is the most fulfilling part of my life because out of it flows everything else that resides in the core of who I am. My prayer is that my faith is seen by God in the heavenly places as a roaring fire that is ever-deepening and growing, and becoming brighter and purer with every passing day. It is my life's mission to learn to love God with a ruthless abandon; to not allow the world or humanity define the confines of my relationship with Him. This road I have chosen is one filled with joy, challenge, trial, rich fulfillment, and ultimate satisfaction and sufficiency. How has the Lord shown you the degree of your faith? Are you at a place of growth, complacency, or dormancy? May you desire to let your faith become like a raging glorious fire set on the altar of the Lord.