Real Happiness Comes from Serving

[Real Happiness Comes from Serving]( Current Teaching Series [The Habits of Happiness]( [Listen to Today's Broadcast]( [Real Happiness Comes from Serving]( By Rick Warren — 06/16/2022 [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Pinterest]( [Email](mailto:?subject=I'd like to share a Daily Devotional from Pastor Rick with you&body= “If you insist on saving your life, you will lose it. Only those who throw away their lives for my sake and for the sake of the Good News will ever know what it means to really live.” Mark 8:35 (TLB) God wired the universe so that happiness does not come from anything the world has to offer. Happiness comes from service. God designed you to be happiest when you are giving your life away. Why? Because he wants you to become like him—and he gave himself away in love. It’s all about love! “If you insist on saving your life, you will lose it. Only those who throw away their lives for my sake and for the sake of the Good News will ever know what it means to really live” (Mark 8:35 TLB). To have a happy heart, you have to practice service and generosity every day. Matthew 20:28 says, “Even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many” (NLT). Jesus came to serve and give. Those two things will bring more happiness than anything else in your life, and they define what it means to follow Jesus. If you’re not serving, if you’re not giving, then you’re not following Jesus. It’s very simple. God also wired the universe in such a way that the more you give yourself away, the more God gives to you and the more blessed and happier you are. Is your heart growing more generous every year? Are you more generous with your resources this year than you were a year ago? Or are you stuck at the same level of generosity and wondering why you’re also stuck in unhappiness? In Philippians 2:17-18, Paul says, “Your faith makes you offer your lives as a sacrifice in serving God. If I have to offer my own blood with your sacrifice, I will be happy and full of joy with all of you. You also should be happy and full of joy with me” (NCV). Your faith compels you to offer your life as a sacrifice and to serve God by serving others. Sacrifice and serving are two of the keys to lifelong happiness as you generously give your life away for the sake of the Gospel. [PLAY today’s audio teaching from Pastor Rick >>]( Talk It Over - What makes you happiest in your everyday life? - When have you experienced happiness through service or generosity? - What is one specific way that you can serve another person today? Have you trusted Jesus with your life? The Bible says you can only get to heaven by trusting in God through his Son, Jesus Christ. You cannot earn your way into heaven: “It is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9 NIV). If you’re ready to confess your sins and to trust Jesus with your life, start with this prayer: “Dear God, you have promised that if I believe in Jesus, everything I’ve ever done wrong will be forgiven, I will learn the purpose of my life, and you will accept me into your eternal home in heaven one day. “I confess my sin, and I submit to Jesus as my Savior and Lord. Jesus, I want to follow you and serve you. I humbly commit my life to you and ask you to save me and accept me into your family. In your name I pray. Amen.” If you just prayed to accept Jesus, please email me at Rick@PastorRick.com and let me know about it. I’d like to send you some free materials to help you start your journey with Jesus. The post [Real Happiness Comes from Serving]( appeared first on [Pastor Rick's Daily Hope](. [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Pinterest]( [Email](mailto:?subject=I'd like to share a Daily Devotional from Pastor Rick with you&body= [Get The Habits of Happiness Bible Study when you give a gift to support Daily Hope!]( Real, lasting happiness can only be found by following God’s commands. That’s why Pastor Rick created The Habits of Happiness Bible study to show you how happiness that’s grounded in God’s unconditional love runs deeper than any difficult circumstance, feeling, or relationship you experience. This interactive, full color, hardcover book is filled with Scripture, biblical truths, practical lessons, application exercises, and prayers to guide your journey. It’s a comprehensive study tool that will help you develop biblical habits that lead to true and lasting happiness. And thanks to a $50,000 Matching Grant, your gift today will be DOUBLED to reach even more people with the certain hope of Christ! [LEARN MORE]( [Complete Audio Series (Purchase)]( Includes 8 full-length messages from Pastor Rick's series The Habits of Happiness. [LEARN MORE]( [Series Summary]( Message 1: Grow Healthy Relationships Message 2: How to Be Happy No Matter What Message 3: The Humble Path to Happiness Message 4: How to Keep Your Heart Happy Message 5: Happiness Can Be Learned Message 6: Five Daily Habits for Happiness Message 7: How to Keep from Stressing Out Message 8: God's Promise to the Generous [PLAY TODAY'S BROADCAST]( Pastor Rick Warren [Facebook]( [Instagram]( [Linkedin]( Enjoy today's devotional? Listen to Pastor Rick’s daily audio teaching at [PastorRick.com]( Did someone forward this devotional to you? [Subscribe to Pastor Rick Warren's Daily Devotional.]( As the founding pastor of Saddleback Church with his wife Kay, Dr. Rick Warren leads a 30,000-member congregation in California with campuses in major cities around the world. As an author, his book [The Purpose Driven Life]( is one of the best-selling nonfiction books in publishing history. It has been translated into 74 languages and sold more than 50 million copies in all formats. His book [The Purpose Driven Church]( was named one of the 100 Christian books that changed the century. Rick also founded [The PEACE Plan]( to address five global issues—spiritual emptiness, self-serving leadership, poverty, disease, and illiteracy—through the power of ordinary people in the local church. 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