Letters to My Daughters

May 8, 2010
Last night your father and I were listening to Dr. Mike Murdock, a man filled with the wisdom of God who suggested that whatever life lessons or wisdom keys that God gives you that you should write them down as a legacy. I have always been a writer and have kept a journal most of my life. I had considered a while ago writing a book for my daughters, since I have two of you, that put into words all of the wonderful things that God has done and revealed in my life. This is that book. My daughters, I love you very much. And as much as both your father and I love you there is no love greater than the love that God has for you. His love alone is the foundation of everything that dad and I do. As you grow and mature into your individual walks with God I want you to know that everything that you want in life or could possibly dream up for yourself is found in Him. His plan and purpose for you is ultimate and if you trust in Him you will never be disappointed. I have heard and read and seen many wonderful things in my short life. One of, but certainly not the only, life changing words I have heard was from Dr. Mike Murdock. He said that he came to a point in his Christian walk where he was tired of being broke. And he read Luke 6:38, which says, “Give and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running ever, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.” And he asked, God, “So if I give than it will be given back to me?” He meditated in that and compared it to John 3:16 which says, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” When he compared the two scriptures he asked himself, “How can I believe God concerning my soul and not concerning my finances?” And from that point he began to prosper financially because what he heard from God he applied. That is what wisdom is. Applied knowledge. You can gain understanding of some things through life experience. And you can read a book and tell me the intricacies of its story and characters and paint a picture of what you have read. But whether or not what you have read or learned becomes apart of the fabric of your person or a part of your life is contingent on whether or not what you have learned is applied. What you know doesn’t change you until you actually do it. What Dr. Murdock said changed me in this way. If I can trust God with my eternal soul, which is unseen to me, then how can I not trust him concerning my temporary life here on earth? It would seem strange to give my life to an invisible God and trust that He hears and sees my heart; yet, be distrusting of him concerning the tangible things that I deal with every day. I believe that God, like us, or rather we like him since we were created in HIS image and likeness, are designed to manifest or demonstrate God’s glorious nature both physically (naturally, tangibly) as well as spiritually (supernaturally, indescribably).
There is nothing impossible to God. There is no part of you that he cannot touch and change if you let him, but you have a role to play in what God is able to do for and through you. You have to apply yourself to knowledge. You have to see yourself as God sees you. And this is not for the faint of heart. Life will throw you all kinds of monkey wrenches but if you trust in the Lord you will never go astray. Even when things look like they are going all wrong, believe me I speak from experience with the knowledge that I have learned from God to apply, that things are going all right for you because you put your trust in Him. Seeing yourself as God sees you takes courage because it so much easier to believe negative points of view. It’s easier to say to yourself, I’m limited. I don’t have enough. I’m sick and will never be well. I don’t have what it takes. Nobody likes me. Nobody cares. I’m all alone. That’s easy. But to say, I have what I need. I am more than a conqueror through Christ who strengthens me. I am smart. I am beautiful. I am made in the image and likeness of God. I have a purpose. I am special. That is not easy, and it takes discipline. Discipline requires dedication. Dedication is holy. If you dedicate something it is set apart, it is holy. It is assigned for a specific person or purpose. For example, I have dedicated this book to you. That means that I set aside the contents of this work and I assigned specific significance to it for you. But the discipline or the required actions that I must take in order to reach my desired results comes from my dedication. If I do not dedicate or make holy this work than the discipline to do it will be lacking. It is the same with your walk with God. If he is not dedicated in your heart and mind and soul as holy, then the discipline to seek him will be lacking because you have not assigned a specific purpose to what it is you engage in. The best example I can offer is prayer. Prayer is a discipline. It is a required action that every believer should and must take in order to reach the desired results (or will) of God for their lives. But if God, is not dedicated in your heart then the desire to pray to Him will not be a priority because you have not assigned a purpose or a desired result to your prayer. I have found that far too many people pray vaguely or inconsistently and expect precise and consistent results. Your dad says, “You cannot get from a mustard seed an apple tree.” What he means is that you cannot reap what you have not sown. There is a saying that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing expecting different results. If change is going to happen in you then guess what, YOU have to change. And that takes discipline.
Discipline is an action. It is something that is done. It is active. When you pray, my daughters, you are taking action. You are putting into effect with your words the divine will of God by declaring what He says about you and Himself. You will know more about yourself the more that you know about Him. And the more you know about Him the more you will know his will, his nature and his character. The discipline of prayer is twofold, because while you engage in this action you are allowing God to discipline you. He is your Heavenly Father and His word says that “He ‘disciplines’ the ones he loves.” His discipline always evokes change because His purpose is to replicate his nature, his character and ability in you. When you take time to pray you are allowing God to discipline your thoughts, perceptions and desires in accordance to his word, which is truth and life to your soul and physical body. The Lord takes action concerning you. He has dedicated you to Himself through Christ. He gave of Himself, His son, for the purpose of gaining a whole family. You are His daughters and He loves you very much. He will never ask you to give anything that He himself is not willing to give to you. You cannot give to God anything that he hasn’t already given to you. So when you find yourself at a crossroads and are unsure if you can trust God concerning anything, always remember that he has a never ending supply of grace and strength and love reserved for you. He has dedicated His best just for you and when you want it you can have it, but you must ask it from Him and when you ask don’t be afraid or ashamed to receive it. It’s yours. Your name is written on it.
I love you.
Mom