July 31:  The Joy of Service.

Guardian Angels.
He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways.  In their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone.--Psalm 91:11, 12, NKJV

THE ANGEL OF THE LORD encampeth round about them that fear Him, and delivereth them."  Psalm 34:7.  God commissions His angels to save His chosen ones from calamity, to guard them from "the pestilence that walketh in darkness" and "the destruction that wasteth at noonday."  Psalm 91:6.  Again and again have angels talked with men as man speaketh with a friend, and led them to places of security.  Again and again have the encouraging words of angels renewed the drooping spirits of the faithful and, carrying their minds above the things of earth, caused them to behold by faith the white robes, the crowns, the palm branches of victory, which overcomers will receive when they surround the great white throne.--The Act of the Apostles, 153.

Oh, that we could all realize the nearness of heaven to earth!  When the earthborn children know it not, they have angels of light as their companions.  A silent witness guards every soul that lives, seeking to draw that soul to Christ.  As long as there is hope, until men resist the Holy Spirit to their eternal ruin, they are guarded by heavenly intelligences.--Testimonies for the Church, vol. 6, 366.

In all ages, angels have been near to Christ's faithful followers.  The vast confederacy of evil is arrayed against all who would overcome; but Christ would have us look to the things which are not seen, to the armies of heaven encamped about all who love God, to deliver them.  From what dangers, seen and unseen, we have been preserved through the interposition of the angels, we shall never know, until in the light of eternity we see the providences of God.  Then we shall know that the whole family of heaven was interested in the family here below, and that messengers from the throne of God attended our steps from day to day.--The Desire of Ages, 240.

July 30:  The Joy of Service.

Angels Minister to Our Needs.
Are they all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation?--Hebrews 1:14, NKJV

TODAY, AS VERILY AS IN THE DAYS of the apostles, heavenly messengers are passing through the length and breadth of the land, seeking to comfort the sorrowing, to protect the impenitent, to win the hearts of men to Christ.  We cannot see them personally; nevertheless they are with us, guiding, directing, protecting.

Heaven is brought near to earth by that mystic ladder, the base of which is firmly planted on the earth, while the topmost round reaches the throne of the Infinite.  Angels are constantly ascending and descending this ladder of shining brightness, bearing the prayers of the needy and distressed to the Father above, and bringing blessing and hope, courage and help, to the children of men.  These angels of light create a heavenly atmosphere about the soul, lifting us toward the unseen and the eternal.  We cannot behold their forms with our natural sight; only by spiritual vision can we discern heavenly things.  The spiritual ear alone can hear the harmony of heavenly voices....

We need to understand better than we do the mission of the angels.  It would be well to remember that every true child of God has the co-operation of heavenly beings.  Invisible armies of light and power attend the meek and lowly ones who believe and claim the promises of God.  Cherubim and seraphim, and angels that excel in strength, stand at God's right hand, "all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation."  Hebrews 1:14.--The Acts of the Apostles, 152-154.

July 29:  The Joy of Service.

United With the Angels.
Bless the Lord, all you His hosts, you ministers of His, who do His pleasure.--Psalm 103:21, NKJV

ANGELS OF GLORY that do always behold the face of the Father in heaven, joy in ministering to His little ones.  Angels are ever present where they are most needed, with those who have the hardest battles with self to fight, and whose surroundings are the most discouraging.  Weak and trembling souls who have many objectionable traits of character are their special charge.  That which selfish hearts would regard as humiliating service, ministering to those who are wretched and in every way inferior in character, is the work of the pure, sinless beings from the courts above.--The Ministry of Healing, 105.

Is there not something stimulating and inspiring in this thought, that the human agent stands as the visible instrument to confer the blessings of angelic agencies?  As we are thus laborers together with God, the work bears the inscription of the divine.  The knowledge and activity of the heavenly workers, united with the knowledge and power that are imparted to human agencies, bring relief to the oppressed and distressed.  Our acts of unselfish ministry make us partakers in the success that results from the relief offered.

With what joy heaven looks upon these blended influences!--Testimonies for the Church, vol. 6, 457.

July 28:  The Joy of Service.

The Angels Labor With Us.
Bless the Lord, you His angels, who excel in strength, who do His word, heeding the voice of His word.--Psalm 103:20, NKJV

IN THE PRESENCE CHAMBER of the King of kings they wait--"angels, that excel in strength," "ministers of His, that do His pleasure," "hearkening unto the voice of His word."  Psalm 103:19-21; Revelation 5:11.  Ten thousand times ten thousand and thousands of thousands, were the heavenly messengers beheld by the prophet Daniel.  The apostle Paul declared them "an innumerable company."  Daniel 7:10; Hebrews 12:22.  As God's messengers they go forth, like "the appearance of a flash of lightning" (Ezekiel 1:14), so dazzling their glory, and so swift their flight....

Angels are sent on missions of mercy to the children of God.  To Abraham, with promises of blessing; to the gates of Sodom, to rescue righteous Lot from its fiery doom; to Elijah, as he was about to perish from weariness and hunger in the desert; to Elisha, with chariots and horses of fire surrounding the little town where he was shut in by his foes; to Daniel, while seeking divine wisdom in the courts of a heathen king, abandoned to become the lion's prey; to Peter, doomed to death in Herod's dungeon; to the prisoners at Philippi; to Paul and his companions in the night of tempest on the sea; to open the mind of Cornelius to receive the gospel; to dispatch Peter with the message of salvation to the Gentile stranger--thus holy angels have, in all aged, ministered to God's people.--The Great Controversy, 511, 512.

                    And the angel answered and said to him, "I am Gabriel, who stands
                                in the presence of God, and was sent to speak to you
                                               and bring you these glad tidings."
                              
                                                           --Luke 1:19, NKJV

July 27:  The Joy of Service.

The Angels Rejoice When Sinners Repent.
"I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance....Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents."--Luke 15:7, 10, NKJV

THERE IS MORE JOY in the presence of the angels in heaven over one sinner that repents than over ninety and nine just persons who need no repentance.  There is joy with the Father and with Christ.  All heaven is interested in the salvation of man.  He who is instrumental in saving a soul is at liberty to rejoice; for angels of God have witnessed his efforts with the most intense interest, and rejoice with him in his success.--Testimonies for the Church, vol. 4, 263.

Humanity is still as much the object of heaven's solicitude as when common men of common occupations met angels at noonday, and talked with the heavenly messengers in the vineyards and the fields.  To us in the common walks of life, heaven may be very near.  Angels from the courts above will attend the steps of those who come and go at God's command.--The Desire of Ages, 48.

All the resources of heaven are at the command of those who are seeking to save the lost.  Angels will help you to reach the most careless and the most hardened.  And when one is brought back to God, all heaven is made glad; seraphs and cherubs touch their golden harps, and sing praises to God and the Lamb for their mercy and loving-kindness to the children of men.--Christ's Object Lessons, 197.

                             For God saved us and called us to live a holy life.
                He did this, not because we deserved it, but because that was his plan
            from before the beginning of time--to show us his grace through Christ Jesus.
                              
                                                                    --2 Timothy 1:9, NLT

July 26:  The Joy of Serving.

The Joy of Christ.
"Now I am coming to you.  I told them many things while I was with them in this world so they would be filled with my joy."--John 17:13, NLT

THE JOY SET BEFORE CHRIST, the joy that sustained Him through sacrifice and suffering, was the joy of seeing sinners saved.  This should be the joy of every follower of His, the spur to his ambition.--Prophet and Kings, 172.

God has given to every man his work, and no one else can do that work for him.  Oh, that you individually would apply the eyesalves, that you might see your defects of character and realize how God regards your love of the world, which is crowding out the love of God.  Nothing can give you such power, such true self-reliance and nobility of soul, as a sense of the dignity of your work, an assurance that you are co-laborers with God in doing good and saving souls.

The Son of God came to this world to leave an example of a perfect life.  He sacrificed Himself for the joy that was set before Him, the joy of seeing souls rescued from Satan's grasp and saved in the kingdom of God.  "Follow Me" was Christ's command.  Those who follow His example will share in the divine work of doing good and will finally enter into the joy of their Lord.--Testimonies for the Church, vol. 4, 615.

That joy, to which Christ Himself looks forward with eager desire, is presented in His request to His Father, "I will that they also, whom Thou hast given Me, be with Me where I am." [John 17:24].--Gospel Workers, 516.

                "Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am,
                               that they may behold My glory which You have given Me;
                                  for You loved Me before the foundation of the world."
                              
                                                                 --John 17:24, NKJV

July 25:  The Joy of Service.

The Joy Found in Saving the Lost.
"And he said to him, 'Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours.  It was right that we should make merry and be glad, for your brother was dead and is alive again, and was lost and is found.' "--Luke 15:31, 32, NKJV

YOU CLAIM TO BE A CHILD OF GOD; but if this claim be true, it is "thy brother" that was "dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found."  He is bound to you by the closest ties; for God recognizes him as a son.  Deny your relationship to him, and you show that you are but a hireling in the household, not a child in the family.--Christ's Object Lessons, 211.

When you see yourselves as sinners saved only by the love of your heavenly Father, you will have tender pity for others who are suffering in sin.  You will no longer meet misery and repentance with jealousy and censure.  When the ice of selfishness is melted from your hearts, you will be in sympathy with God, and will share His joy in the saving of the lost.--Christ's Object Lessons, 210.

God has qualified His people to enlighten the world.  He has entrusted them with faculties by which they are to extend His work until it shall encircle the globe....

...In far-off countries, from those whose hearts are by these agencies turned from the service of sin unto righteousness, will be heard thanksgiving and the voice of melody.  By their songs of grateful praise a testimony will be borne that will win others to allegiance to and fellowship with Christ.

The conversion of souls to God is the greatest, the noblest work in which human beings can have a part.  In this work are revealed God's power, His holiness, His forbearance, and His unbounded love.  Every true conversion glorifies Him and causes the angels to break forth into singing.--Testimonies for the Church, vol. 7, 51, 52.

July 24:  The Joy of Service.

The Revelation of the Lord's Joy in Our Lives.
Then he said unto them, "Go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet, and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord.  Do not sorrow, for the joy of the Lord is your strength."--Nehemiah 8:10, NKJV

GOD IN HIS PROVIDENCE has willed that no one can secure happiness by living for himself alone.  The joy of our Lord consisted in enduring toil and shame for others, that they might be benefited thereby.  We are capable of being happy in following His example and living to bless our fellow men.

We are invited by our Lord to take His yoke and bear His burden.  In doing this we may be happy.  In bearing our own self-imposed yoke and carrying our own burdens, we find no rest; but in bearing the yoke of Christ there is rest to the soul.  Those who want some great work to do for the Master can find it just where they are, in doing good and in being self-forgetful and self-sacrificing, remembering others and carrying sunshine wherever they go.--Testimonies for the Church, vol. 4, 224.

All heaven is waiting for channels through which can be poured the holy oil to be a joy and blessing to human hearts.

Christ has made every provision that His church shall be a transformed body, illumined with the Light of the world, possessing the glory of Emmanuel.  It is His purpose that every Christian shall be surrounded with a spiritual atmosphere of light and peace.  He desires that we shall reveal His own joy in our lives.--Christ's Object Lessons, 419.

                "Don't be dejected and sad, for the joy of the Lord is your strength!"
                              
                                                                   --Nehemiah 8:10, NLT

July 23:  The Joy of Service.

Filled With the Holy Ghost.
And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.--Acts 13:52, NKJV

THE HOLY SPIRIT is the breath of spiritual life in the soul.  The impartation of the Spirit is the impartation of the life of Christ.--The Desire of Ages, 805.

No sooner does one come to Christ than there is born in his heart a desire to make known to others what a precious friend he has found in Jesus; the saving and sanctifying truth cannot be shut up in his heart.  If we are clothed with the righteousness of Christ and are filled with the joy of His indwelling Spirit, we shall not be able to hold our peace.  If we have tasted and seen that the Lord is good we shall have something to tell.  Like Philip when he found the Saviour, we shall invite others into His presence.  We shall seek to present to them the attractions of Christ and the unseen realities of the world to come.  There will be an intensity of desire to follow in the path that Jesus trod.  There will be an earnest longing that those around us may "behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world."  John 1:29.

And the effort to bless others will react in blessings upon ourselves.  This was the purpose of God in giving us a part to act in the plan of redemption.  He has granted men the privilege of becoming partakers of the divine nature and, in their turn, of diffusing blessings to their fellow men.--Steps to Christ, 78, 79.

        And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises.
                         These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature
                              and escape the world's corruption caused by human desires.
                                                                                                      --2 Peter 1"4, NLT

July 22:  The Joy of Service.

Serving Is the Source of Our Greatest Joy.
"Behold, My servants shall sing for joy of heart, but you shall cry for sorrow of heart, and wail for grief of spirit."--Isaiah 65:14, NKJV

IN OUR LIFE HERE, earthly, sin-restricted though it is, the greatest joy and the highest education are in service.  And in the future state, untrammeled by the limitations of sinful humanity, it is in service that our greatest joy and our highest education will be found--witnessing, and ever as we witness learning anew "the rices of the glory of this mystery;" "which is Christ in you, the hope of glory."  Colossians 1:27.--Education, 309.

We do not, as followers of Christ, realize our true position.  We do not have correct views of our responsibilities as hired servants of Christ.  He has advanced us the wages in His suffering life and spilled blood, to bind us in willing servitude to Himself.  All the good things we have are a loan from our Saviour.  He has made us stewards.  Our smallest offerings, our humblest services, presented in faith and love, may be consecrated gifts to win souls to the service of the Master and to promote His glory.  The interest and prosperity of Christ's kingdom should be paramount to every other consideration.  Those who make their pleasure and selfish interest the chief objects of their lives are not faithful stewards.

Those who deny self to do others good, and who devote themselves and all they have to Christ's service, will realize the happiness which the selfish man seeks for is vain.--Testimonies for the Church, vol. 3, 397.

                  And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men.
                                                                                                 --Colossians 3:23, NKJV