To Serve is to be Happy

I love it when you amble down the street, and someone passes by and says hi to you.

It always seems to lift your current mood a notch or two.

I enjoy being happy.

In fact every human being I know enjoys happiness.
It’s one of the many splendid gifts God gave to us.
Being happy is great.

Making others happy, is really great.

Think about it. You go to a birthday party. And you know you got the special person something they will really like.
You feel good. You hold the present and can’t wait for them to open it.
They finally get through everyone else’s gifts. And pick up yours.

This is the moment is where you completely lose all focus on yourself and fully concentrate on someone else for once.

It doesn’t matter what you paid, or how much time it took to find it, or stand at the register and wait for the cashier to open a new roll of pennies.

In this moment all you care about is seeing the look on that persons face.
They rip the wrapping off and show that surprised smile that you love to see.
They take their eyes off the present and look up into your eyes, and say things like

“I don’t believe it!”

or

“Dude!”

or

“I really need this!”

(Even though you know they don’t.)

But usually all these things are followed by a warm,

“THANK YOU.”

And it’s at this point when you feel really, really good inside.

You forget about your homework, your bills, or that parking ticket you just got.

(50 bucks!?)

And you are completely focused on others.
I’m pretty sure that is how Jesus felt when he washed his disciple’s dirty feet.

My Mom would always ask me,

“What can you do for others?”

I would always blow it off and say what others could do for me.

But know I’m realizing that she was right.
(About a lot of stuff)

When you think of others, you feel good inside.

You feel happy.

Why wouldn’t we want to feel like this all the time?

God wants us to be happy all of the time.

And the Bible tells us how.

Serve others.

It may seem a bit unusual at first.

“Being someone’s servant will make me happy?”

The Answer is yes.

Think of the feeling you get when anyone says they are pleased with you.

You feel good, you feel happy.
Being someone’s servant will make you happy!

Here is what you need to do.

1. Pray to God for Humility.

This is a major first step into becoming happy.
You need to be humble to be a servant, and you need to be a servant to be happy.
When you serve other you will gain more humility, which will help you serve others better, which will make you happier.

2. Start Serving.

You don’t need to be a maid to serve people.

You can serve people in your very own house.

(This will really help you get humble)

Start by doing small things around your house to help out.

Dishes, Dusting, Serving food, etc.

Do things that aren’t expected.

Take someone’s car to the gas station and fill up the tank.
(Make sure you know the person when doing this deed)

This will make them extremely happy.

If Gas prices are too high for you,

go make all the beds in the house,

or

give them a massage,

or

wash their clothes,

or

make them some food,

or

just ask if they need anything.

Unexpected deeds will make the receiver of the deed very happy, which in turn, makes you happy.

You have to give if you want to receive.

Jesus served people all the time while he was on earth.

If we want to be like Christ, then we must Serve.

To Serve is to Be Happy.

Ministry Business

Luke 4:16 - 30.

Jesus goes to the synagogue on the sabbath just like he was raised to do.

Its his turn to speak and he is handed the book of Isaiah, he turns to Chapter 61 verses 1 - 2 and reads it.

“The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me,
Because the LORD has anointed Me
To preach good tidings to the poor;
He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives,
And the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD,
And the day of vengeance of our God;
To comfort all who mourn,"

He then tells the people that what they have heard has just come to pass.

They are surprised and ecstatic. "This is Joseph's boy?!"

Jesus, they kid they all grew up with just told them he was chosen by God to do great things.

Jesus then tells them that they will ask him to go places and do things for them, but he will not do what they ask. Jesus said he could not do everything, only the things that God tells and allows him to do.

As soon as they heard him say that they got very angry and were filled with wrath. They pushed him out of the synagogue and brought him to a cliff, intending to throw him off. Jesus had other plans and passed through the middle of the crowd and went on his way.

It seems to me that everyone was excited to hear that Jesus was the new local hero. Eager to see what he could do for his hometown. But as soon as he told them that he would be leaving, everyone freaked out and got angry. They wanted to keep him there to help the people he grew up with.

People today might be jealous or angry when God blesses and tells a person to leave and do work for him. They may wonder why God would not want that person to stay and help locally. We don't need to plan out how God can use that person for our benefit, that is selfish. We need to make sure we give blessings, not criticism when someone is called off by God. We should be thankful that we know that person and be supportive of the ministry that God has called them into.