THE FAMILY ALTAR:

August 15.

"And he [the eunuch] went on his way rejoicing." Acts 8:39.

Our Christian faith is a religion of joy. "Fear not; for,

behold, I bring yon good tidings of great joy," the angel of the

Lord said at the birth of the Savior. Joy, pure, holy, abiding joy,

is the precious gift the Savior brings to all hearts that believe

in Him. Thus the shepherds, Simeon and Anna, the Wise Men

from the East, the jailer at Philippi were all rilled with joy when

they found the Savior. So, we are told, the eunuch from Ethiopia

went on his way home rejoicing after coming to faith and being

baptized in the Lord Jesus Christ. As he, so we ought to go our

way through life rejoicing. If we know so little of this heart-

filling joy in Christ, it is because we are still too strongly attached

to the trivial and fleeting things of this world. But as little as

water and oil will mix, so little will true, faith-born joy in Christ

mix with the pleasures of this world. "Love not the world, neither

the things that are in the world !" That involves no loss, as so

many think, but instead brings you great gain. Setting your

affection on things above, having your joy in Christ and His re-

deeming love, fills you with the joy of a good conscience, the

supreme happiness of knowing that you are a beloved child of God

and cared for and protected by Him in all the vicissitudes of life.

When the dark clouds come, this joy "turns them inside out" and

shows you the love-beaming face of your faithful Savior who gives

you this assurance: "
!"

Luther says: "If we could only truly believe that we are called

Christ's dear brethren, then we should be full of bliss already here,

our heart would always leap for joy and sing to God an endless

Lord God, we praise Thee/' May this joy in the Savior be ours

to-day and go with us through life