Book Summaries

The Treasure Principle

by Randy Alcorn

 

– 15% of what the Lord spoke about has something to do with our money – that is more than he spoke about heaven and hell combined.

– God spoke so much about money and possessions because they have so much to do with our heart.

– Storing up treasures on earth is not only unwise, it is stupid. You cannot keep it here, so why would you try to store it all up here?

– It’s not that Jesus does not want us to store up, He does want us to store up, but He has our best interest in mind so He tells us where to store up.

– What person, place and possessions are you living for?

– The treasure principle put simple is that although we cannot take anything with us, we can send it ahead.

 

– Treasure Principle Keys:

 

1. God owns everything

• God owns it, but He placed me as a manager.

• We should think like stewards, finding the best way to invest and use our money.

• Don’t wait until you feel like giving because the feeling may never come. Just give and the joy will follow.

• Giving is not a luxury of the rich, it is a privilege of the poor.

• The more you gaze upon Christ, the more you will become a giver.

• Christ’s grace defines, motivates and strengthens our giving.

• We give because He first gave to us.

• If you want to empower your prayer life, start giving.

• Giving will break us free from the orbit of all our possessions. When we give, we let go and show that our possessions are not the most important thing to us.

 

2. My heart always goes where I put my money.

• If you put shares in something, you will begin to have interest in it and pay attention to it every day.

• As surely as the compass points north, so does your heart follow the treasure.

• If you want to love stronger missions, your church or anything else, start supporting that area and you will begin to feel stronger about it.

• Moses left Egypt’s treasures because he was looking for another reward – Hebrews 11:26

• There are many roadblocks to giving – our hearts desire, society, etc. but the greatest deterrence to giving is probably that of realizing that the earth is not our home.

 

3. Heaven, not earth is our home

• Where we choose to store treasure largely depends on where we believe our home is.

 

4. I should live for eternity, not just the present.

 

5. Giving is the only antidote to materialism.

• Giving takes our eye off of ourselves and reminds us that it is not about us.

• As long as I have something in my possession I feel like I own it, but giving it away relinquishes that feeling.

• We can use our lives and possessions to make a difference.

• Giving can get better with practice – we can give more frequently and more strategically.

• If you’re giving while you’re living than you can be knowing where it’s going.

• Give your money away as fast as possible before it makes its way to your heart.

• When God gives us more, it’s not so that we can increase our living, but increase our giving.

• What would you wish that you gave away five minutes after death – than give it away right now.

 

6. God prospers me not to raise my standard of living but to raise my standard of giving.

• When it comes to our possessions and God, are we acting like managers of a store that we do not own or are we acting like we own the store?

• Man’s life does not consist of what he possesses – Luke 12:15.

• When I meet Jesus, will I wish I had given more or less?

The Shark and the Goldfish

by Jon Gordon

 

– Goldfish wait to be fed while sharks go out and find their food.

– Gold fish swim around in it’s little bowl waiting for food and listening to the music that is being played. Not much they can control outside of their own attitude (if fish could do such a thing).

– Adversity is not the end, it is just the beginning if you think it is. The best days could be ahead of you or behind you depending on what you think they are.

– There are many who want to focus on the impossible instead of the possible, on the negative instead of the positive.

– Your belief must be greater than all the negativity and doubt.

– Positive belief turns into positive action. Positive fish find more food.

– Learn to listen to all the negative voices but make positive choices.

– Both fear and faith believe in something that has not happened. Fear worries about what has not happened but faith believes and hopes in what has not happened.

– Expect success and you’ll find it.

– The only one who can limit yourself is you.

– There’s no substitute for hard work. You have to be positive, but it takes more than that – you have to work hard.

– Be more focused than others. Focus on what you want and throw out the distractions. Focus is not something that you’re born with, it is something that you can learn and grow better in.

– Don’t settle. If you work at becoming better each day, you will become one of the greatest in that area. Don’t settle for being average or just going on what you know.

– Learn from others and model their success.

– You won’t find food if you’re not looking for it.

– If you believe it is too late in life to find what you want, then it is.

– Be humble and be hungry.

The Richest Man in Babylon

by Denis Waitley

 

– All of us have time, but we must decide to learn during that time.

– If you take advice about your savings from the one who does not know, you will be sorry.

– Set aside or save at least a tenth out of every paycheck.

– Learn to live on less than you earn.

– We call someone with wealth lucky, but would we call a good fisherman lucky just because he’s taking the time to learn how to fish better?

– Wealth grows wherever we exert energy.

– Make a budget for yourself.

– Make your money to multiply. One’s gold is not what is in his purse but the continual income that keeps flowing into the purse. Make your money work and bring you more money.

– Protect your treasures from loss. Consult the lies about where you invest your money instead of confiding in just anyone.

– Own your own home.

– Save for your future.

– The more knowledge we obtain, the more income we will have.

– LUCK is actually: Laboring. Under. Correct. Knowledge.

The Rhinoceros Success

by Scott Alexander

 

– Get out of bed in the morning like a rhinoceros, not a sloth.

– Wake up with a purpose of what to do that day. Don’t be like a lazy cow going back to the same old pasture, be like a rhinoceros and go out and charge.

– Charge, put all of your weight and all of your strength into it and charge forward.

– Your skin is so thick as a rhinoceros, you’re not worried when torpedoes are flying your way to discourage or criticize you. You are big and can take the punches, you almost enjoy the challenge because you are a rhinoceros.

– A rhinoceros charges with one single focus/purpose. You can be so successful because you charge only one thing at a time, not two. You charge your one goal and then accomplish and go for the next, you are a rhinoceros.

– What is it that turns a boring, lazy old cow into a rhinoceros? Why does the rhinoceros charge and what keeps them charging? What are the cows after… apparently not much. They have ears, eyes and feet just like you, but why don’t they care – a rhinoceros may look like a cow yet is so different. The great difference is belief. Cows just don’t care or believe they can, so they just don’t charge, they stay put. Cows have the same opportunities, they see the same thing, and they are capable of the same, but they just don’t care or they are lazy.

– It is your belief that electrifies yourselves, ignites you and causes you to charge. Enthusiasm gets you out of the bed in the morning. You are a rhinoceros.

– Rhinoceroses have a zeal for life, they charge forward and are not easily distracted. Their belief is what pushes them to charge, to have a different attitude and outlook.

– Believe and succeed. You have to believe yourself, no one else can put this on you or force you to.

– Your attitude is the most important ingredient in being a rhinoceros. If you don’t really want to be a rhinoceros, you won’t be. You must be like an atom bomb that is waiting to be dropped, like Niagara Falls that continues flowing… Your attitude creates your zeal, desire, and pushes you forward. It is better to attempt something and fail then attempt nothing and succeed.

– Do not ignore the negative, but do not saturate your mind with it either. Sure, you have thick skin, but there’s no reason to point a canon at yourself just to prove it.

– We become the product of three things: the books we read, the people we associate with and the media that we listen to. Associate yourself with Eagles and not turkeys, with horses and not donkeys. You become what you feed your mind with. Gather good books and articles and feed your mind with those.

– Plan it. Plan for nothing and you get it every time. Plan on something and work hard and you will get it. Plan your dreams and then work your plan. Be a rhinoceros and charge. The plan itself will not work, but a rhinoceros will charge and work that plan. Plan your attack and then attack your plan. What are you going to be doing in 5 years, how about in 1 year, how about this week?

– The more energy you put into something, the more you will get out of it – this works with anything.

– Take care of yourself. Don’t put cheap gas into your Rolls-Royce. Don’t try to run on seven cylinders when you have eight. Eat right and take care of your body. Learn what is good for your body and get in the habit of regular exercise.

– Have discipline. Discipline is something that we do not like to do, but we do it. The kid who could do anything he wanted, and his parents let him do anything he wanted, is now a cow and does very little. You are a rhinoceros, discipline yourself. We can do anything we want, no one tells us what to do but a rhinoceros disciplines himself. We get out of bed, work and charge because we are motivated by the belief we have in us. Rhinoceroses have self-discipline, they charge and have audacity. You are your boss. You are the president of you-Inc. so run your company wisely. You are a rhinoceros, so don’t slip back into the pasture with the cud-chewing cows.

– Rhinoceroses are happy when they’re charging at their goals; cows are happy when they are sitting on their couch surfing the Internet or watching TV. But we need cows – we need them for milk, meat, leather for a good wallet, etc. Cows make a good view while driving on a Sunday afternoon. We need cows, so some people have to be cows. But you choose if you’re going to be a cow or a rhino. You don’t have to be a cow if you don’t want to and you can be a rhinoceros if you want to.

– Happiness is so simple yet so many try to complicate it. If you want to be a happy rhino, then choose to be happy right now. You don’t have to be miserable, you choose that. Decide now that you’ll be a happy, cheerful, exuberant, friendly, charging rhinoceroses.

– It comes down to how you believe. If you believe it will work out, you will be happy and accomplish it. Believe in your goals, and yourself and your future, you can get it done. Charge!

– You are audacious, this is what separates you from the cows and sheep. You have guts, you have nerve, you have backbone.

– Rhinoceroses have no excuses. No excuse for complacency, for not being happy and friendly, or for not enjoying life. Being too big, too young or old, different color, bad breath or anything else is no excuse. Take control of your thoughts and don’t make excuses.

– Never give up. Tenacity is in every cell of your body, you are a rhinoceros. Nothing can cause you to not succeed, not landmines, or any other hurdles thrown your way. Your persistence keeps you charging no matter what comes your way.

– Rhinoceros success is from becoming a rhinoceros all of the time. You do not achieve rhinoceros success just by being a rhinoceros sometimes.

 

– If you go rhino, it will help you in 6 areas of your life: financial, work, family, physical, social, and spiritual.

1. Financial.

Work on making money, but not loving money. Make money your hobby, not your savior. Give to God. You have to give to get. Luke 6:38; Proverbs 3:9-10.

2. Work.

Work at something that you enjoy and that you are interested in. If you dread each day because of your work, get out fast. Give more of yourself and you will get more back. Be happy at work. One rhinoceros can shake everything up, be that one.

3. Family.

Your family can either make or break you. You don’t want to work so much that you forget your family, you have to take care of your family as well. Learn to balance things. Don’t jump ship at the first rough seas. Marriage is like a garden, you have to nurture it, keep the bugs and animals out. Involve your family and your plans. Buy your spouse a gift once a week.

4. Physical.

A healthy body is required to live a rhinoceros life. If you’re not in shape or you’re sick all the time, you’re not going to feel like charging, so figure out what you need to do and fix that situation.

5. Social.

Associate with the right people, with the ones that build you up not tear you down. You’ll be like the people that you hang around. Proverbs 13:20.

6. Spiritual.

Believe in God. You have nothing to lose by believing, but everything to gain. Matthew 17:20. Have a rhinoceros faith in God.

– Rhinoceroses are always prepared for problems. Rhino problems are bigger problems than others have. Whatever problem comes your way, give the needed focus to fix the problem. The problem is your enemy, so don’t let it just linger around, fix it. Just lower your head, point your horn and charge full steam ahead.

– Worry is a fatal disease that is found in every animal except for the rhino. Rhinos have nothing to worry about, because they are bigger than everyone else except for the elephant, which is a friend anyway, so all of the problems are smaller than the rhino. You have 2 inch thick skin.

– Don’t try to be cool, not everyone will understand you and you won’t be able to please them. Don’t be pessimistic, change your mindset.

– The secret of success is believing and charging. Think rhinoceros and act like a rhinoceros.

The Purity Principle

by Randy Alcorn

– Purity is always wise and impurity is always unwise. Impurity brings consequences.

– Impurity is avoided by the fear of the Lord. Many other motives will fail.

– Sex is a gift from God. Just as fire, it can do immense good or immense bad.

– Who owns your body? You are not your own, you were bought with a price (I Cor. 6:20)

– Sexual sins are different from others in that it not only has grave consequences, but it is against your own body.

– You are targeted by the devil. He cannot take you to hell but he can do his best to destroy your life right now.

– We tend to be more vulnerable when we are tired, discouraged, or angry with our spouse – and don’t think that the devil is not aware this too.

– There is really nothing private, God always knows and things come out. Stay pure.

– Be self-controlled and alert because the devil is looking to devour and destroy

– 1 Peter 5:8

– Temptations always look good, otherwise they would not be tempting. But the One who lives inside of us is greater than the one who lives in the world (1 John 4:4).

– Often we say we want purity, but then we make choices to sabotage that.

– If we want different consequences, we must make different decisions. We must put up boundaries in our lives.

– Proverbs 4:23 — “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.”

– Our strongest sex organ is our brain, so what we think will make us pure or impure. Jesus said not only adultery is wrong but the thought of, the looking, is wrong as well.

– Think about the right things — Philippians 4:8-9.

– If we only try to stop looking and thinking about things, we will not succeed. We have to look to Christ and He will help us change. Filling ourselves with His Word will transform us from the wrong to the right.

– Stop feeding lust in your life.

– Men that are married to beautiful women have just as much likeliness of looking at pornography or lusting over women as anyone else. The reason is because it is not a physical problem, it is a spiritual and mental problem.

– If you lust, you will soon find your adulteress; whether physical or digital, whether on a screen or in person.

– Make a covenant with your eyes – Job 31:1. He made a covenant between him and God and that included his eyes.

– Proverbs 4:14-15 — “Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil men. Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away.”

– Genesis 39:12 — run from temptation, don’t see how close you can get to it.

– II Timothy 2:22 — “Flee also youthful lusts”

– It is easier to avoid temptation then it is to resist it.

– Time with God is the fountain from which holiness, joy, and life flows.

– Psalm 119:11 — hide His word in your heart by memorizing it.

– Titus 2:11-12 — “Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world”

– Why is it that we would be surprised that our son gets a girl pregnant when we let him watch movies with immoral scenes consistently at home?

– Proverbs 8:13 — “The fear of the Lord is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate.”

– Matthew 5:27-30 – Jesus says go to radical measures to cut the sin out of your life.

– If it means that you have to throw out your TV, get rid of your computer, quit going to sports games or whatever extreme it may be, then so be it! But determine to be pure!

– It is a sin to put ourselves in a position where we will very likely commit sin (Romans 13:14). If going to a certain spot or doing a certain activity puts you at risk, whether looking or being tempted, than stop doing that activity!

– Remember that if you want a different outcome, you must begin to make different choices.

– If you are falling, get rid of what is tripping you up.

– Christian marriages face the same struggles that non-Christian marriages face, but the difference is that we have supernatural help.

– Rekindle your attraction to your mate. Appetites can be cultivated. What you focus on will be what you like.

– Train your eyes to stay away from pictures and focus on your spouse.

– Proverbs 5:18-19 — be captivated by your wife’s love.

– Lust thrives on secrecy. Nothing kills lust so quickly as discovering it instead of keeping it secret.

– Have accountability partners that can and will help you. The more visible a Christian leader becomes, the more accountability that he needs (although sadly it is usually less he has). Have 911 friends that are there to help you.

– If we plant purity today, we will reap a harvest of joy later.

– We do not have to live with regret

The Power of Attitude

by Mac Anderson

 

– Attitude is everything.

– Destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice.

– Your happiness and success is determined by your attitude and that affects both you and everyone around you.

– Attitudes are contagious and we have to ask if we want our attitude shared with others.

– The only thing that stands between someone and their dreams is the will to try and the faith to see it through.

– You become what you think about

– First we make our attitudes and then our attitudes make us – Dennis Waitley

– If we choose to think positive thoughts, we will get positive results; if we choose to think negative thoughts then we will get negative results.

– Smile is a light on your face letting someone know that you are home.

– A positive attitude touches more people than you will know.

– Laugh loud and laugh often. Laughter is to the soul what soap is to the body. It can affect our brain and immune system in multiple ways.

– Decide you will never ever give up.

– Treat all people like humans, it does not matter what position or how much money they have.

– Manage stress before it manages you.

– Exercise will help you with stress. Stress is built up in energy and you must use that somewhere.

– Quiet time to think and meditate will help with stress.

– Anger and bitterness are like a cancer and if you do not treat it, it will put a ceiling on your life that will not let you go any higher.

– Forgiveness is the key that will allows the heavy weight that ties handcuffs to be released.

– You cannot live a life of comparing, it is always seeking more because it will never satisfy you.

– Do not focus on the critical, significant few.

– We should learn to be like a child and not take ourselves so seriously.

– Humility is not an act but an attitude; caring for and thinking more of others than you do yourself.

– The measure of a great man is how he measures a lesser man than himself

– The question is not if you will have fear but how you act when fear comes your way.

– Your imagination is what hold most people back.

– If you were to read 30 minutes every night, you would very quickly become knowledgeable in so many areas.

– Surround yourself with people who love and it will make all the difference in the world to you.

– You become what you think about – Earl Nightingale

– Your success in life is not determined by the failures or setbacks that you face but by how you react to them.

– Whatever does not kill us can make us stronger.

– We cannot change the past or circumstances, but we can have the right attitude.

– Life is 10% what happens to us and 90% how we react to it.

– We are in charge of our attitudes.

– Find the right mentor and it will change your life in many positive ways.

– You have to be before you do – don’t just make a living, make a life. You have to love and enjoy what you are doing or you will not be happy.

– One study said that 53% of Americans are not happy with the work they have. You must enjoy what you are doing in order to be happy. You cannot fake passion.

– Finding your reason for being can make you unstoppable.

– Attitudes are truly contagious, so decided today to make your attitude a worthy one to be caught.

– Attitudes are nothing more than thoughts and those thoughts come from habits, so start having the right habits.

The Positive Dog

by Jon Gordon

 

– Benefits of being positive:

1. Positive people outlive negative people.

2. A positive environment is much easier and better to work at.

3. Positive sales people sell more than pessimistic salesmen.

4. Positive leaders are able to make better decisions under pressure.

5. Marriages are more likely to survive when a couple uses 5 to 1 ratio of positive words rather than 1 to 1.

6. Positive people face problems with a positive outlook and are more healthy and likely to get through problems.

7. Positive people have a broader perspective and can see the big picture whereas negative people have a more narrow perspective and cannot see but one piece.

8. Positive thoughts and emotions counter negative thoughts and emotions. You cannot be positive and stressed at the same time.

9. Positive thoughts help athletes perform at a higher level.

10. Positive people have more friends which equals longevity in life as well as happiness.

11. Positive leaders are more likely to have followers, pay raises, and more success than those that are not positive.

 

– The cost of being negative:

1. 90% of doctors visits are connected to stress.

2. Negative employees scare off for good more customers.

3. At work, too many negative interactions can hurt the cause of the team.

4. Activity affects the morale, performance and effectiveness of a team.

5. A negative person can create a miserable office environment for everybody else.

6. One study shows that 90% of anxiety at work is created by the 5% of negative people at work.

7. Negative emotions are connected to shorter lifespan.

8. Negative emotions increase the chances of heart attacks and strokes.

9. Negativity is associated with worse health, more anxiety and less strength.

10. Negative people have fewer friends.

 

– We don’t base life off of reality rather off of our perspective of reality

– Practice gratitude every day and you will see the world through eyes of gratitude.

– How you define the world is how you see the world.

– Change your words and it will change your outlook:

• Say you get to instead of have to.

• Say blessed instead of stressed. Name three things you are thankful for the feel stressed it will change the way you feel.

• Turn complaints into solutions. Tell yourself that you will not complain unless you find one or two solutions to your complaints. Turn every negative situation into something positive.

– Feed the positive dog instead of the negative dog.

– Choose faith instead of fear. Anger, jealousy, and complaining are all rooted in fear. The antidote to fear is faith. Fear and faith both believe in the future, but fear believes in a negative future and faith believes in a positive future.

– Faith will help you turn challenges into opportunities.

– Challenges can make you better or worse. But the challenges can become fortune, not misfortune.

– Meditation and prayer reduce stress and give health and longevity.

– When you are positive, you are not the only one that benefits, everyone around you benefits from your positivity.

– Positive energy is contagious.

– If you’re negative, you impact people around you in a negative way but if you’re positive you impact people around you in a positive way.

– Each day you can choose whether to be a germ and infect people in a negative way or be vitamin C and impact them in a positive way.

– Kindness Feeds others. When you feed others, you are also feeding yourself. Other people need your kindness — kind action, kind word and positive attitude.

– Encourage others and speak into the lives of others. People need your encouragement.

The Passionate Preaching of Martyn-Lloyd Jones

by Steven Lawson

 

– He was a doctor but realized that he was fixing bodies to send them back to the world where they would just die, so he decided to become a preacher. News spread like wild fire that he left the medical field, people did not understand why he would give up such a good career to be just another preacher. He said that those people did not understand what the Gospel could do.

– A God-called man would rather die if he cannot preach.

– Jones said that no seminary could make a man of God, only God could do that.

– He read two chapters in the morning and two chapters in the evening of the Bible. He knew the Bible so well that people called him the walking Bible.

– He believed it was his job to declare the Bible, not defend the Bible; he was a preacher, not an apologist.

– The essential role of the preacher is to make the Bible come alive to the people.

– The preacher is to be a persuader, making people want to come to Christ.

– You’re not preparing a sermon for doctors and professors but for every kind of person that is in the congregation. Be practical, remember the people who you are preaching to.

– Information starts at the intellect, but preaching starts at the heart.

– The sermon must be clear to the one in the pulpit if it is to be understood by the ones in the pews.

– Just as in the Old Testament the wood had to be cut and gathered before placed on fire for a sacrifice, so it must happen with preaching – the pastor must prepare his message and then take it to the pulpit so that God can set it on fire. Jones believed that God would bless sermon preparation, not the lack of it.