Part 2
Operate on Yourself
This sixth pattern is explained in Chapter 18 of Mastering Life Before It’s Too Late:
(18) The Art of Strengthening Yourself in the Lord
Excerpts from the text:
“The art of strengthening oneself in the Lord is the greatest of all the spiritual disciplines. Sometimes, under the guidance of the Great Physician, we have to open ourselves up, take a look, improve ourselves, talk to ourselves, encourage ourselves, make our own changes, remove an infected attitude or an inflamed habit, and help ourselves become healthier.”
“Pleasantly productive people are well ‘versed’!” Memorize scripture that will serve as a scalpel to cut away those areas in need of surgery.”
“Be emotionally confident and spiritually self-sufficient. Learn to operate on yourself. As you learn the fine art of strengthening yourself in the Lord, the Great Physician Himself infuses you with strength. He will restore your soul. Out of the riches of His grace, He will strengthen you with all power through His Spirit in your inner being; and as your days may demand shall your strength ever be.”
Live As If
This seventh pattern is explained in Chapter 19 of Mastering Life Before It’s Too Late:
(19) Harness the Psychology of the Soul
Excerpts from the text:
The “as if” principle is described as choosing our own attitude in any given set of circumstances. “This general concept has become the basis for a hundred years of motivational speeches, self-help books, and think-and-grow-rich philosophies…Even when viewed outside the concept of Scripture, this technique brings value to life, for it corresponds to the way God made our souls…Though the as if principle may be the basis for most of the self-improvement literature of the last century, to be truly effective, it needs a biblical anchor. The as ifs need to be squarely based on realities, not platitudes or positivisms.”
“When we act as if, the mind-set we select settles into our hearts, we internalize the decision, and the attitudes we’ve chosen engender the emotions we need.”
“Attitudes are more important than emotions. Emotions come and go, but attitudes come and grow, and our attitudes, when based on scriptural realities, become the seedbed for ever-healthier emotions as we go through the day and throughout the years. The as if principle frees us from being enslaved to our emotions or to our circumstances.”
“Remember Abraham Lincoln’s comment that people are about as happy as they make up their minds to be. Shake off the melancholy melodies of life and put on the headphones of heaven.”
Bathe in the Dead Sea
This eighth pattern is explained in the next three chapters (20-22) of Mastering Life Before It’s Too Late:
(20) The Singular Secret of Unsinkable Saints
(21) The Executive Joy of Pleasantly Productive Leadership
(22) Well Versed in Happiness
Excerpts from the text:
“Cheerful Christians have an unsinkable quality because we’re supported by the joy of the Lord and by the salient waters of His Word.”
“To stay emotionally buoyant on the lake of life, we have to learn to float in the waters of God’s joy, supported by His everlasting arms. In doing so, we find we’re unsinkable, not because of the makeup of our constitution but because of the composition of His joy.”
“Because of who God is and what Jesus has done, we can determine to be cheerful people; we can choose an attitude of gladness; we can bathe in His joy and discover the secret of unsinkability.”
“The inner cultivation of joy is arguably the greatest tool of effective leaders, because their attitudes will inexorably disseminate like a rolling fog into the hearts of those who follow them.”
“The single best way to maintain a joyful attitude is to have a rich handful of joy verses, which we learn by heart, quote frequently, and ponder often.”
Practice the Power of Plodding
This ninth pattern is explained in Chapter 23 of Mastering Life Before It’s Too Late:
(23) Don’t Despise the Day of Small Things
Excerpts from the text:
“I’m convinced we’re too enamored of the dramatically big when most of life is blessedly small. Sometimes we mistakenly equate smallness with insignificance, but that’s an indictment against God’s wisdom in planning our ways.”
“Life has a cumulative effect; it compounds constantly. There’s no way to know the ripple effect of our labor when patiently, ploddingly pursued. We finish years by completing days, and we consummate days by seizing moments. We complete major tasks through small, persistent increments. It’s said we overestimate what we can do in ten days but underestimate what we can do in ten years. When we take care of the days, the Lord will take care of the years. This is plodding. It’s easier to plot than to plod, but both are necessary.”
“Patient plodding produces durable results.”
“The word plod comes from an old English word meaning ‘puddle’. A plodder is someone willing to get his feet wet and wade through the mud and mire to arrive at his destination. ‘By perseverance,’ said Charles Spurgeon, ‘the snail reached the ark.’ The quality of perseverance is at the core of character.”
“Success is doing our work one task at a time, one step at a time, one moment at a time, relishing the smallness of it while trusting God for its power to change the world through chain reactions of blessings we’ll recognize only in heaven. So we must practice the power of plodding and despise not the day of small things…Our lives and labors call for prayerful perseverance, patient persistence, and plodding.”
Remember There Are Two of You
This tenth pattern is explained in the final three chapters (24-26) of Mastering Life Before It’s Too Late:
(24) Double Vision
(25) God’s Arithmetic
(26) Pipelines of Grace
Excerpts from the text:
“We truly master life only when we recognize Jesus Christ as the Unseen Senior Partner in all our pursuits.”
“If we maintain a healthy connection with Him, like a branch attached to a vine, we don’t have to try to be productive. We cannot help being productive.”
“It’s not our work for the Lord but our walk with the Lord that’s most important. It’s about keeping our relationship with Him unstained, unstrained and healthy.”
“All of life—every moment of every day—should be the overflow of our walk with Him; and all our labor—every effort and every task—should be the overflow of His fullness in us… Remember, you’re not alone. There are two of you.”
“We might think we’re influencing people one by one and little by little, but God knows how to turn our addition into His multiplication, and His calculus is incalculable.”
Final Thoughts
We hope this seminar series has provided valuable insights for you and that you can implement what you have learned right away!
Feel free to watch the video presentations as many times as you would like. If you know of others who could benefit from the strategies included in this seminar series, be sure to tell them about it!
Pastor Morgan is a best-selling, Gold Medallion winning writer. He has written more than 35 books with 4 million copies in circulation—including the book that highlights the ministry of Child Evangelism Fellowship®—Every Child Every Nation Every Day. Visit his website to learn about other books and resources that are sure to benefit you and your ministry.
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