DAILY BIBLE VERSES AND PRAYER THOUGHTS:

MONDAY - VERSES: Romans 5:6-10; Colossians 1:19-22; 1 Timothy 1:12-16 PRAYER THOUGHT: Thank God that He loved you when you were unlovable and did not deserve it. Ask for His help in learning to treat others in that way as well.

TUESDAY - VERSES: Psalm 32:3-4; Matthew 5:23-26 PRAYER THOUGHT: Pray that you will be able to reconcile with someone that you have wronged in some way.

WEDNESDAY - VERSES: Proverbs 17:17; 18:24; 27:6,10; Matthew 11:19; Luke 14:12-14 PRAYER THOUGHT: Pray that you will be able to befriend someone who is lonely and in need of a friend.

THURSDAY - VERSES: Mark 16:15-16; John 15:12-15; 2 Corinthians 5:18-20; PRAYER THOUGHT: Pray that God in His providence will bring you into contact with someone who needs the gospel and is willing to learn. Ask for the perceptivity to recognize it and the courage to help them get to know Him.

FRIDAY - VERSES: Matthew 9:37-38; John 17:20-23; Acts 8:22-24 PRAYER THOUGHT: Pray for the other saints, by name, to be strong, remain faithful, and reach out to others. Pray for their growth and protection. Pray for those you know are struggling and for those who are in sin and have wandered away to come back.

SATURDAY - VERSES: Matthew 6:12-15; 18:32-35; Mark 11:24-26 PRAYER THOUGHT: Pray that you will forgive from your heart those who have wronged you. Ask God to help you remember that He knows ALL and will judge and do what is right.

Remember, those who deserve love the least need it the most.

ASSIGNMENTS

1. Daily read over this material and read or sing the song.

2. Place the scripture where you will see it each day.

3. Look for ways you can practice treating others as you want to be treated throughout the day.

4. At the close of day write down the ways you treated others as you want to be treated.

5. Plan to tell the class, next week, an example of how you or someone else practiced treating others as you want to be treated and what happened as a result of your doing so, or tell the class how you should have treated others but did not during the week.

SPIRITUAL HEALTH REGIMEN - WEEK 6

TREAT OTHERS AS YOU WANT TO BE TREATED

SCRIPTURE - Luke 6:31 "And just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise."

COMMENT - This Golden Rule, treat others as you want to be treated, if practiced would change the world.

SONG - A COMMON LOVE

A common love for each other, A common gift to the Savior, A common bond holding us to the Lord; A common strength when we're weary, A common hope for tomorrow, A common joy in the truth of God's Word.

THOUGHTS

A preacher one time described his mother as being love personified. As a boy he found her sitting at the table with an old trarnp one day. Apparently she had gone shopping, met the tramp along the way, and invited him home for a warm meal. During the conversation the tramp said, "I wish there were more people like you in the world."

Whereupon his mother replied, "Oh, there are. But you must look for them." The old man simply shook his head, saying. "But, lady, I didn't need to look for you. You looked for me."

When that mother reflected her Christian kindness toward the tramp she did something more than simply offer him welfare. It was a compassion that went out of its way to love the unlovely. And that's the story of our Savior's life, death and resurrection. He came looking for us in the sick, the maimed, the lame, the bruised, the broken hearted, the wretched wanderer, the poor and forgotten, the prisoner, and the lonely rich.

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A man fell into a pit and couldn't get himself out. A SUBJECTIVE person came along and said: "I FEEL for you, down there."

An OBJECTIVE person came along and said: "It's logical that someone would fall, down there."

A CHRISTIAN SCIENTIST came along: 'You only THINK that you are in a pit."

A PHARISEE said: "Only BAD people fall into a pit."

A MATHEMATICIAN calculated HOW he fell into the pit.

A NEWS REPORTER wanted the exclusive story on his pit.

A FUNDAMENTALIST said: "You DESERVE your pit."

An IRS man asked if he was paying taxes on the pit.

CONFUCIUS said; "If you would have listened to me, you would not be in that pit."

BUDDHA said: 'Your pit is only a state of mind."

A REALIST said: "That's a PIT."

A SCIENTIST calculated the pressure necessary (lbs./sq.in.) to get him out of the pit.

A GEOLOGIST told him to appreciate the rock strata in the pit.

AN EVOLUTIONIST said: "You are a rejected mutant destined to be removed from the evolutionary cycle." In other words, he is going to

DIE in the pit, so that he cannot produce any "pit-falling offspring."

The COUNTY INSPECTOR asked if he had a permit to dig a pit.

A PROFESSOR gave him a lecture on: 'The Elementary Principles of the Pit."

An EVASIVE person carne along and avoided the subject of his pit altogether

A SELF-PITYING person said: 'You haven't seen anything until you've seen MY PIT!!"

A CHARISMATIC said: "Just CONFESS that you're not in a pit."

An OPTIMIST said: 'Things COULD be worse."

A PESSIMIST said: 'Things WILL get worse!!"

JESUS, seeing the man, took him by the hand and LIFTED HIM OUT of the pit.

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Dale Carnegie once said, "You can make more friends in two months by becoming really interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get other people interested in you. Which is just another way of saying that the way to make a friend is to be one."

G.K. Chesterton used to say, "The truly great person is the one who makes every person feel great." Jesus said in Luke 6:31, "And just as you want men to treat you, treat them in the same way."

The following illustration reveals the accuracy of the above listed statements. In Queen Victoria's time, a young woman had the good fortune of being escorted to dinner by William E, Gladstone, who was considered one of the most brilliant statesmen of the 19th century. On the following evening, the same young lady was escorted by Benjamin Disraeli, novelist, statesman and twice prime minister of Great Britain. When asked for her impression of these two great rivals, she replied, "After an evening with Gladstone, I thought he was the most brilliant man I'd ever met. After an evening with Disraeli, I thought myself to be the most fascinating woman in the world!"

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A friend is one who walks in when others walk out.

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DO UNTO OTHERS

INTRODUCTION

WHAT WOULD I WANT OTHERS TO DO FOR ME?

L. S. - I WOULD WANT OTHERS TO . . .

I. TELL ME WHAT TO DO TO BE ___________. - JOHN 3:16

II. LOVE ME IN SPITE OF MY _________________. - 1 PETER 4:8

III. EXPRESS APPRECIATION FOR WHAT I ____. - PHILEMON 1:4-7

IV. HELP ME WHEN I HAVE A __________. - JAMES 2:15-17

V. ENCOURAGE ME IN MY _____________. - ACTS 11:23

VI. BE ________ AND UNDERSTANDING WITH ME. - EPH. 4:32

VII. ____________ ME IF I WRONGED THEM. - EPHESIANS 4:32

VIII. WARN ME IF I WERE IN ________. - GALATIANS 6:1

CONCLUSION

A. A TRUER VISION

B. ARE YOU TREATING OTHERS THE WAY YOU WANT TO BE TREATED?

DO UNTO OTHERS

SCRIPTURE - (Luke 6:27-36) "But I say to you who hear: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, {28} "bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you. {29} "To him who strikes you on the one cheek, offer the other also. And from him who takes away your cloak, do not withhold your tunic either. {30} "Give to everyone who asks of you. And from him who takes away your goods do not ask them back. {31} "And just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise. {32} "But if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. {33} "And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. {34} "And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive back, what credit is that to you? For even sinners lend to sinners to receive as much back. {35} "But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High. For He is kind to the unthankful and evil. {36} 'Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful.

INTRODUCTION

A. (Luke 6:31) "And just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise.

B. (Mat 7:12) "Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.

C. (Lev 19:18) 'You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD.

D. (Mat 5:43-48) "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' {44} "But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, {45} "that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. {46} "For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? {47} "And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so? {48} 'Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.

WHAT WOULD I WANT OTHERS TO DO FOR ME?

I. I Would Want People to Tell Me What to Do to Be Saved

A. (John 3:16) "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

B. (John 13:34-35) "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. {35} "By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."

C. You lived next door to me for years. We shared our dreams, our joys, our tears,

A friend to me you were indeed A friend who helped me when in need.

My faith in you was strong and sure. We had such trust as should endure,

No spats between us ever rose. Our friends were alike, also our foes.

What sadness, then, my friend, to find, That after all, you weren't so kind.

The day my life on earth did end, I found you weren't a faithful friend...

For all those years we spent on earth, You never talked of Second Birth,

You never spoke of my lost soul, And of the Christ Who'd make me whole.

I plead today from hell's cruel fire, And tell you now my last desire,

You cannot do a thing for me, No words today my bonds will free.

But do not err, my friend, again, Do all you can for souls of men,

Plead with them now quite earnestly, Lest they be cast in hell with me.

II. I Would Want People to Love Me in Spite of My Shortcomings

A. (1 Pet 4:8) And above all things have fervent love for one another, for "love will cover a multitude of sins."

B. (Heb 8:12) "For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more."

C. (Luke 6:36-37) "Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful. {37} "Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.

D. In an article on China in Eternity Magazine, the writer records a story of Christian love and kindness. "A Chinese cook was put into prison one night. It was bitterly cold. About 26 degrees below zero. He had on his padded clothes and a big fur coat. But a heathen man who was later thrown in with him had no wraps at all. The Christian man began to pray that God would get him out of prison. While he was praying, it seemed God spoke to him. 'I won't hear your prayer until you've taken off your fur coat and given it to this man who had none.'

'But if I do that, I'll be frozen to death by morning,' the man thought. 'Well, if you don't,' he seemed to hear God's reply, 'this man will be dead before morning.' So he took off his fur coat and gave it to the man and his life was saved.

Later on at a Christian gathering in Communist China, the heathen man who had received the coat got up and gave his testimony. "I am here today because a man shared his coat with me in prison."

People are in need. People are suffering. The winning of souls to Christ could well depend on how willing we are to share our coat.

III. I Would Want People to Express Appreciation for What I do

A. (Phile 1:4-7) I thank my God, making mention of you always in my prayers, {5} hearing of your love and faith which you have toward the Lord Jesus and toward all the saints, {6} that the sharing of your faith may become effective by the acknowledgment of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus. {7} For we have great joy and consolation in your love, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed by you, brother.

B. (Rom 16:1-5) I commend to you Phoebe our sister, who is a servant of the church in Cenchrea, {2} that you may receive her in the Lord in a manner worthy of the saints, and assist her in whatever business she has need of you; for indeed she has been a helper of many and of myself also. {3} Greet Priscilla and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus, {4} who risked their own necks for my life, to whom not only I give thanks, but also all the churches of the Gentiles. {5} Likewise greet the church that is in their house.

C. A man went fishing one day. He looked over the side of his boat and saw a snake with a frog in its mouth. Feeling sorry for the frog, he reached down, gently took the frog from the snake, and set the frog free. But then he felt sorry for the snake. He looked around the boat, but he had no food. All he had was a bottle of bourbon. So he opened the bottle and gave the snake a few shots. The snake went off happy, the frog was happy, and the man was happy to have performed such good deeds. He thought everything was great until about ten minutes passed and he heard something knock against the side of the boat. With stunned disbelief, the fisherman looked down and saw the snake was back with two frogs!

IV. I Would Want People to Help Me When I Have a Need

A. (James 2:15-17) If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, {16} and one of you says to them, "Depart in peace, be warmed and filled," but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? {17} Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

B. (1 John 3:17-18) But whoever has this world's goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him? {18} My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth.

C. I was hungry and you formed a humanities club and discussed my hunger. I was imprisoned and you crept off quietly to your chapel and prayed for my release. I was naked and in your mind you debated the morality of my appearance. I was sick and you knelt and thanked God for your health. I was homeless and you preached to me of the spiritual shelter of the love of God. I was lonely and you left me alone to pray for me. You seem so close to God; but I am still very hungry, and lonely, and cold.

V. I Would Want People to Encourage Me in My Faith, with Calls, Words & Notes

A. (Acts 11:23) When he came and had seen the grace of God, he was glad, and encouraged them all that with purpose of heart they should continue with the Lord.

B. (1 Cor 10:23-24) All things are lawful for me, but not all things are helpful; all things are lawful for me, but not all things edify. {24} Let no one seek his own, but each one the other's well-being.

C. One of the highest of human duties is the duty of encouragement. It is easy to pour cold water on their enthusiasm; it is easy to discourage others. The world is full of discouragers. We have a Christian duty to encourage one another. Many a time a word of praise or thanks or appreciation or cheer has kept a man on his feet. William Barclay

VI. I Would Want People to Be Kind and Understanding with Me

A. (Eph 4:32) And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ forgave you.

B. (Col 3:12-13) Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; {13} bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do.

C. A train was filled with tired people. Most of them had spent the day traveling through the hot dusty plains and at last evening had come and they all tried to settle down to a sound sleep. However, at one end of the car a man was holding a tiny baby and as night came on the baby became restless and cried more and more. Unable to take it any longer, a big brawny man spoke for the rest of the group. "Why don't you take that baby to its mother?"

There was a moment's pause and then came the reply. "I'm sorry. I'm doin' my best. The baby's mother is in her casket in the baggage car ahead."

Again there was an awful silence for a moment. Then the big man who asked the cruel question was out of his seat and moved toward the man with the motherless child. He apologized for his impatience and unkind remark. He took the tiny baby in his own arms and told the tired father to get some sleep. Then in loving patience he cared for the little child all through the night.

VII. I Would Want People to Forgive Me If I Wronged Them

A. (Eph 4:32) And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ forgave you.

B. (Mat 6:14-15) "For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. {15} "But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

C. Have you ever noticed that sometimes we get angry and remain bitter with people and actually forget why we're so upset? Take, for example, the notorious Hatfield-McCoy feud.

It hit newspaper front pages in the 1880's, when the Hatfield clan feuded with the McCoy clan from across the border in Kentucky. Historians disagree on the cause of the feud - which captured the imagination of the nation during a 10-year run. Some cite Civil War tensions: McCoys sympathized with the Union, Hatfields with the Confederacy. Others say it began when the McCoys blamed the Hatfields for stealing hogs. As many as 100 men, women and children died.

In May 1976, Jim McCoy and Willis Hatfield - the last two survivors of the original families - shook hands at a public ceremony dedicating a monument to six of the victims. McCoy died Feb. 11, 1984, at age 99. He bore no grudges and had his burial handled by the Hatfield Funeral Home in Toler, KY.

VIII. I Would Want People to Warn Me If I Were in Sin.

A. (Gal 6:1) Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted.

B. (Ezek 3:18) 'When I say to the wicked, 'You shall surely die,' and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life, that same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at your hand.

CONCLUSION

A. I need a truer vision, Lord. A vision filled with Thee

To see the needy world again, With eyes willing to see.

A world where people are hurting, And hungry every day,

A world that's ready and waiting, To hear what You would say.

I need a wider vision, Lord, A vision filled with Thee.

To see that lonely woman, Down the street from me.

The teenager who's all mixed up, The child who's been abused,

The day-to-day cares in my neighborhood. Lord, I want to be used.

Give me a new vision, Lord. A vision filled with Thee,

To see the world and my neighborhood, As Your eyes would see.

Help me use my gifts, dear Lord, In ways that glorify You,

To act with loving kindness, Toward those with a different view.

A truer, wider, new vision, Lord. That's what I need

To carry out Your commands, In word and thought and deed.

B. Are You Treating Others the Way You Want to Be Treated?

Luke 6:31

"And just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise."