Head: Know God's Word | Heart: Love God | Hands: Follow God's Way 

Read Romans 15:1-13 

Head  

In Romans 15:1-13, Jesus tells His followers to be humble and serve others - neighbors, the weak, or anyone who needs a helping hand. Jesus didn’t come down to earth to be served. He came to serve others so that they would know the Father’s love. Our purpose in life is not to please ourselves but to please others with kind words or helping hands. We are to give hope to the hopeless by showing the love of Christ in our actions.  Remember, we are meant to be salt and light to the world to show them what Jesus has done on our behalf.  He came to be our Rescue Plan.  

Heart 

It is sometimes hard to put ourselves last.  Everything in this world tells you that you deserve it and treat yourself. But Jesus has upside-down ideas about that.  He says when you put others first, you will have more joy.  He would know.  When my children were little, they learned the secret to joy with this simple acrostic poem.   

J-Jesus  
O-Others 
Y-You  

If you put Jesus first above all else, you will have joy. When we live by faith, we don’t worry about who will watch out for us, because we know God cares for us. Putting Jesus first and then putting others before ourselves will multiply JOY in our hearts because you are starting to see what it means to follow Jesus. When you put yourself last, it doesn’t mean you lose out on everything you like or want, it just means you are following Jesus and living like Him! 

Hands 

There is a saying, “It is better to give than to receive.” Sound familiar?  This comes from Acts 20:35 in the Bible. Jesus knows that when we focus on ourselves, we usually find disappointments or unhappiness, but when we give someone else a gift, something good inside of us grows.  Maybe that’s what joy feels like! Thinking of others before ourselves can only happen when Jesus is the Lord of our lives. His will, serving others, then our will.  
So put that JOY equation (Jesus > Others > You = True Joy) into practice and see if your joy doesn’t multiply.  

Prayer: Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for the lessons You teach us in the Bible, showing us how to love and help others before ourselves. Lord, we can’t be good followers of You if we aren’t putting You first.  Help us each day to set aside time to pray and learn more about how You want us to live our lives for You.  Help us to have joy in our lives that comes and never leaves us because You have said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5).  Lord, we thank You for Your sacrifice for us. Help us to honor You with how we live our lives for others.  In Jesus’s name, Amen.