I am often guilty of the evil boasting of arrogance that presumptuously declares where I will go and what I will do as though such things were in my control. I’ve been trying to obey the instruction that James gives about not boasting, but instead saying “if the Lord wills” I will do such and such. But I noticed something in my most recent reading of this passage. James doesn’t just tell us to say “if the Lord wills we will do this or that,” he says “if the Lord wills we will live and do this or that.”

When considering my plans I need to always preface my intentions with the reality that where I go and what I do are governed entirely by God’s will. This is right, but insufficient. For not only are my ways directed by his will, but my days are too. I ought not to presume upon one more day of life, or one more minute for that matter. If the Lord wills I will live, and finish this paragraph.

Since the root problem of speaking presumptuously is arrogance, remembering the “if we live” part this exhortation can be especially helpful in combating my pride and producing humility. Acknowledging God’s governance of my ways is right and helpful, remembering that he upholds my very life by his will alone is even more sobering. But it is also comforting. If the Lord wills “we will live…” If I am humble and receive the Lordship of Christ I need not fear death. My days are controlled by Christ. I will not live one day more than those God has ordained, nor will I live one day less. And receiving the Lordship of Christ makes me happy to live or die, for “to live is Christ and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21).

No guilt in life, no fear in death—
This is the pow’r of Christ in me;
From life’s first cry to final breath,
Jesus commands my destiny.
No pow’r of hell, no scheme of man,
Can ever pluck me from His hand;
Till He returns or calls me home—
Here in the pow’r of Christ I’ll stand.
In Christ Alone – Words and Music by Keith Getty & Stuart Townend
Copyright © 2001 Kingsway Thankyou Music

Thank you Jesus for your power, your strong hand that upholds my life, gives me breath, and sustains me. Help me not to resist your will, to strive, or to arrogantly boast of where I will go or what I will do. Help me to remember that all my days and all my paths are ordained by you. Cause me to rejoice in your control, not resist it or ignore it–for you are good and worthy of praise. Amen.

There are, on God’s palette, many colors and shades from which He chooses when painting the canvas upon which His glory is revealed. They are not all bright rainbow colors. Among His supplies are earthy browns, dark umber hues, grays, and blacks that, when painted by the master, fall perfectly into His bright design.

The story of the death of Lazarus was painted in these darker tones. Yet the entire canvas was sovereignly drawn for the glory of the Son of God. Jesus said that He was glad for this opportunity and acted in His love when He filled His brush full of deep blues and cold black for shadows, mourning and grief.

Lazarus was sick. I’m sick right now with the cold and it’s not pleasant. But to be sick enough that your life is threatened is far more excruciating than having a common cold. Yet, Jesus’ delay allowed this sickness to get really bad, so bad that Lazarus did die from it.

Lazarus’s sister, Martha, who was already prone to worry, must have been an emotional wreck as she watched her brother die. She must have been frantic, hoping that the one they sent to find Jesus would find Him in time, hoping that Jesus would arrive to heal before it was too late.

Between verse three and verse four, there is a span of time from when the sisters sent for Jesus, and when the one they sent found Him to deliver the message. It must have been at least a day since it was at twenty or thirty miles from Bethany to where Jesus was. The messenger must have also been under great stress–traveling as quickly as possible with life and death on the line.

And I wonder what the disciples thought when they heard that Lazarus was sick and that Mary and Martha wanted Jesus to come? I glean from Thomas’s remarks that the disciples thought that a return to Jerusalem would result in the stoning of Jesus–and that they would be targeted too. Jesus’ knew exactly what He was doing in delay. He knew what was in store for the glory of God in the Son. But I wonder if the disciples, who didn’t know Jesus’ plan, felt an uncomfortable mix of sorrow for Lazarus’s suffering but also relief because it seemed like Jesus wasn’t going to go back to Jerusalem?

But He did go back. The long walk to Bethany probably felt like a death march to the disciples.

This is a dreary episode for everyone involved. It was full of pain, anxiety, sorrow, mourning, stress, fear and disappointment. What odd shades to choose when painting a glorious revelation of Jesus–the Resurrection and the Life.

But as any good painter knows, to dramatically display the brightest and most beautiful colors often requires the use of contrasting dark and muted tones. Some of the most glorious uses of color are found on the darkest canvases. And Jesus is the Master of masters when it comes to applying paint to canvas. Every shade is perfect and every stroke in place.

Speaking of paintings, there is an elusive and subjective element to art appreciation. Some people look at a painting and delight in it, while others pass by unaffected. There are many internal impulses that come into play when beholding a work of art. What these impulses are is hard to define.

Similarly, people respond differently to the displays of God’s glory. Some rejoice, fall down and worship. Some pick up stones. The inner condition that produces one response as opposed to the other is not hard to define at all. The element necessary to appreciate the glorious canvases of the Master is faith.

The eyes of faith look upon the story of Lazarus–a man dying from severe sickness, desperate sisters disappointed in their Lord, futile rescue plans thwarted by apparent indifference, and friends that are too fearful to help, and can see God’s skillful hand at work. Ultimately, Jesus does bring light and joy into the frame, but before He fills His brush with pure white and bright yellow, before He pulls it all together in a glorious work, He exhorts His disciples and He exhorts Martha—to have faith. “Did I not say to you, if you believe, you will see the glory of God?”

On the finished canvas the glory of it all is plain. Sorrow gives way to rejoicing, mourning gives way to gladness–and we believe. It is fitting that we should rejoice when the final stroke of a masterpiece is applied and a glorious painting is revealed. But it seems to me that Jesus is most glorified when, by faith, trusting in His skill, we accept, in anticipation of the final revelation, that every dark spot is placed in perfect proportion to the glory of God–even before the painting is done. Is this not how Jesus was exhorting His disciples, two days before they saw the power of God? “…I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, so that you may believe…”

Lord, grant me faith that rests in your perfect skill. Grant me faith to overcome pain, stress, sorrow, and fear when they come upon me. When the inexplicable happens, when disappointment arrives, when my plans are frustrated or my intentions foiled–then, O Lord, let me trust in your hand and watch the Master at work, knowing that when all is complete there will be resurrection and life. Amen.

Eric Holter
Chapel Hill, NC

“And all the people in the synagogue were filled with rage as they heard these things;”
Luke 4:22, 28

How sobering is the sovereign will of God. He turns hearts one way or the other according to His eternal purposes. Jesus did not ride the wave of human of applause as he preached the gospel. By His own words He provoked the stubbornness and disobedience that was thinly concealed in the hearts of His own people. Even while the people of Nazareth wondered at His gracious words He changed the theme. Through true, prophetic words He announced that the kingdom blessings they had been longing for would not be given to them but rather to foreigners. By these words their pre-existing sins of stubbornness and rebellion were cemented – their rejection was firmly set, their blindness complete, and their backs forever bent.

That the people of Nazareth rejected one of their own was merely a foreshadowing of what the entire nation of Israel would do. For as the son of Joseph was to Nazareth, so the son of God would be to all Israel.

And this was God’s design from the beginning. The full-orbed totality of God’s sovereign control made sure that His judgment corresponded with Israel’s genuine culpability for their sin – for they indeed stiffened their necks in unbelief. Natural branches were justly cut off so that wild olive shoots like me could be graciously grafted in. One nation was hardened so that mercy might be extended to all.

O my soul – be sober. Do not be conceited but fear. You stand upon unheard of mercy – and that at the cost of others. You inherited a kingdom you did not build. You stand because of blood brought mercy and sovereign grace. Jesus, you bore the rage of your own people and much worse – the wrath of your very own Father. You secured mercy and gave it to unnatural branches like me. Make me humble Lord – properly humble as one who was once disobedient but now has been shown mercy, which resulted from the disobedience of others. Let me not be, in any way, arrogant – especially toward those that have been cut off. Rather call me to earnest prayer that I would continue in faith, and that those who were cut off might be restored – for what shall such a revival mean but life from the dead!

Be exalted Lord Jesus. Come soon. Amen.

For three agonizing days Joseph and Mary searched for their precious Son. There have been a few times and places where I have lost track of one of my children. Those few anxious minutes felt like hours as the sickening feeling of anxiety welled up in my gut. How much more painful to lose track of a child for three days? Life need not deliver such extreme forms of distress in order to provoke my anxiety; its small doses produce dread and anxiety easily enough. My inner turmoil is a reflexive consequence of such circumstances.

Jesus taught, however, that I should not be anxious in view of the fact that my heavenly Father is sovereign – for not even a single bird falls to the ground apart from Him. All circumstances, including ones that cause me much anxiety are within His sovereign control – and He loves me and cares for me. Nevertheless, anxious circumstances invariably produce my anxious feelings.

God’s great power upholds His vast promises, and trusting in Him is the antidote to all my anxieties. While anxiety may be reflexive, it is also deadly, for it lives next door to unbelief – and faith in God is the cure for both. God’s strong promises will mitigate my worst fears.

It’s encouraging to me that even Joseph and Mary felt deep anxiety while looking for Jesus. After all, they had strong faith in the same sovereign God. Not only so, but they had specific promises concerning Jesus which should have upheld their faith in God. If I lose track of a child I have no specific promise other than God’s unconditional promise of goodness with respect to all circumstances. But Job lost all his children, and God was behind those terrible circumstances for good too. Faith in God kills anxiety, even in the face of the worst circumstance. So why didn’t God’s promises through Gabriel’s proclamation, or Simeon’s prophetic blessing, or Anna’s testimony, prevent their anxiety?

I’m sure God’s promises did strengthen Joseph and Mary over these three terrible days. They probably reminded themselves of these specific words over and over as they fought back thoughts of tragedy, shame, anger, and frustration. The point that captures my attention is that however successfully it they fought this fight of faith against fear, they still felt the affects of anxiety.

So then what is the difference between feeling anxiety and being anxious through unbelief? I think the difference is in what I do when I’m anxious, and the foundation for what I do with it. Anxious circumstances most certainly will arise, and gut wrenching turmoil shall accompany them. The tests of anxiety are eternal, faith-revealing occurrences that both humble me through my shameful failures, and bless me through Christ glorifying grace which sustains my faith.

What means might I use to avoid the shameful reproach of unbelief and uphold my faith in God’s promises during anxious trials?

1. O my soul, do not be arrogant, denying the presence of anxiety when it manifests itself in inner turmoil and troubled thoughts. You are no more immune to the affects of anxiety than a child is to the affects of tickling. The simple pressing of the right buttons will produce anxiety. Don’t add the sins of pride and self-reliance to the sins of unbelief.

2. O my soul, don’t rail against the circumstances that bring about your anxiety. Anxiety comes from within, not from without. God is in control of all circumstances – when such circumstances result in your anxious thoughts God is not at fault – you are. Don’t try to cure anxiety by fighting against the circumstances – especially when those circumstances delivered through the words or actions of other people! Such fighting might bend the circumstances, somewhat, to make more comfortable provisions for your flesh, but the poison of anxiety will remain.

3. O my soul, do cast all your anxiety on the Lord for He cares for you. God’s strength is glorified in His anxiety bearing capacity. Even if you could bear an anxiety yourself – which you can’t – your strength would then be exalted, not God’s. Don’t cast anxiety on the Lord only after you come to the end of your rope, as if you were almost able to bear it but needed a little boost. No, cast any and every anxiety on the Lord so that His faithfulness and His strength will be exalted through your weakness.

4. O my soul, by prayer and a petition make your needs known to the Lord. And be thankful – even for the desperate circumstances that have cast you upon the Lord for help. In such a way faith will have its work on anxiety, transforming it into the servant of your faith as it drives you desperately to the Lord, “When my anxious thoughts multiply within me, Your consolations delight my soul,” Psalm 94: 19.

5. O my soul, lift your eyes up unto the hills from where your help comes. Why else would your sovereign, caring, loving Lord bring the sufferings of anxiety your way – but to cause you to rejoice and delight in His wonderful deliverance?

Jesus states, “You will all fall away, because it is written….” Peter strenuously objects, as do all the disciples. Nevertheless, as it is written so shall it come to pass. As much as Peter does not like it – and at the moment when he hears it he cannot conceive of it – he will, with all certainty, deny his Lord. It is impossible for it not to happen. It is written – it is in print, the ink has dried. Peter’s refusals and denials do not change the fact. It was ordained by God and recorded in His word. “I will strike down the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered.”

Oh, my soul, be sobered and encouraged. God Himself ordained in writing Jesus’ betrayal by Judas, and His denial by Peter. Yet God’s pre-design of my own sinful failures, betrayals, and denials removes none of my culpability. Nor does it lessen the “punch in the gut” impact of sorrow and shame that comes from my own sin. God can write beforehand that I will be a sinner and that I will sin. He knows and permits every detail of every sin I have ever committed, or will commit. And woe to me when I sin, it is to my awful shame when I dishonor my God.

But be encouraged, O my soul, because God has a superior pre-ordained purpose for permitting my sin – that is Christ, and the blood of His covenant. Those for whom Jesus died have perfect hope that we will be able to stand in the presence of His glory and not be destroyed for our sins. Unlike Judas who was ordained to eternal destruction – rather, like Peter, I have been ordained to repent, be restored, and receive eternal forgiveness. It has pleased our merciful God to lay my sins on Him and cure me of an eternally fatal disease. God’s glory displayed in such mercy is the only way I can understand how God would be willing that sins, such as those that brought Christ to the cross, and mine that dishonor Him daily, should exist. And in my own turning to His mercy, crying out for it in the light of my sinfulness, I discover why God allows, even pre-ordains my sins. If God writes my sins down in a book before they happen, my shame and my disgust of them is no less. Yet in the forgiveness of my sins my self-disgust can turn to Christ’s praise. O Lord, in view of such redemption I see that my terrible sins ultimately exist for your glory as mercy is displayed in and through the blood of Christ.

Lord I do not like the fact that, unless I die quickly, there remain sins that I will commit. Right now I want to cry out like Peter “Never! Even if I have to die with you I will not deny you.” Yet I humbly acknowledge my sin and accept with all the corresponding shame my inclinations toward sin. Keep me, O Lord, and preserve me – make me holy. In your preserving, sanctifying work, help me always confess every sin with sorrow and disgrace – yet also and even more, rejoice that in your mercy you have appointed Christ for my forgiveness and that I have been, and will be, cleansed by his blood. Be glorified in your mercy. In Jesus name. Amen.

Micah 2:3

The sovereign Lord is sovereign over good and evil. The problem of evil is something that has troubled mankind since the fall. Today people speak out against God, accusing Him of being powerless or absent when evil happens. But God is neither powerless nor absent, He is Lord over all, even over evil. As Lord over all He has intentions and plans for evil and calamity – without ever sinning or doing the least unrighteous thing.

The Lord ordained that evil be, and He has made glorious use of it in His designs for salvation through the cross of Christ. It was by the hands of sinful men that Jesus was put to death – and in His death and resurrection the greatest expression of God’s glory was made manifest.

That the world would accuse God of unrighteousness is no surprise – for those without faith, without Holy Spirit, are hostile against Him by nature. Much more dangerous however, is when God’s people resist God’s sovereignty over evil, seeking to excuse Him from any involvement when anything bad happens. This resistance is dangerous to the people of God and it is dangerous in my own soul. In seeking to excuse God from involvement in the bad things that happen we misrepresent Him, and His purposes for sending calamities, for our ultimate good, are short circuited. The scripture is clear that the Lord is Lord over calamity and ordains its existence using it to accomplish His sovereign plans (Psalms 107, Isaiah 45:7, Amos 3:6, Micah 1:12, 2:3). It is exceedingly dangerous to deny God His right to rule over life and death, over good and evil. Here in Micah the false prophets tried to use God’s own nature as a shield against calamity. How familiar to our twenty-first century evangelical ears are arguments like “Is the Spirit of the Lord impatient? Are these His doings? Do not my works do good to the one who walks uprightly?” God is good, so the argument goes, therefore calamity can certainly not be from Him. Premise – God is good; absolutely and gloriously true. Conclusion – calamity is not from Him – dead wrong. Only false profits deny God His sovereignty over evil and to try and use truth about God as a shield against God. God is perfectly good and He appoints calamity to bring about His ultimately and magnificently good plans.

O how careful we must be when declaring what God does and does not do. How careful we must be not to use one truth about God as a shield against the whole truth of who God is. God is love and works all things together for the good of those who love Him. Yet God, in His love and goodness disciplines every true son – for their good, with things which at the time do not seem good (Hebrews 12: 9-11). If I were to reject “that which does not seem good at the moment” because it does not pass through the filter that “God is good,” God’s good purpose in sending “that which does not seem good” would be thwarted. Rather, I must receive from God good and “evil” as did Job, knowing that God works all things, including evil, to work for the ultimate good of those who love Him.

One of the wonderful things God gives through sending calamity is humility. “You will walk and not be haughty…” That God is the sovereign Lord over good and evil, such that he can use evil, without being evil, to serve His perfectly good plan, should cause us to fall on our faces and shut our mouths before the sovereign hand of God. Such a faith filled fear of God bears the perfect fruit of righteousness and delivers us into the places where all God’s sovereign power works for our good. Praise the Lord, that He is the Lord over all!

O Father, save me from the certain reproach that would come from misrepresenting you and denying your Lordship over all. Make me humble that I would not find you resistant to me, but rather find you drawing near to me and receiving me as I draw near to you. Amen.

Psalms 107: 42-43

This Psalm displays the loving kindness of the Lord through how He delivers His people in their distresses. Four different kinds of distress are described; hunger and thirst from wandering in a wilderness, the misery of being under the yoke of hard labor, suffering the affliction that results from our own foolish and rebellious ways, and the grave danger of being on a ship tossed about on high seas.

The loving kindness of God redeems and rescues them from these desperate conditions resulting in the joy and gladness of His people. The upright see His saving hand and are glad, but the unrighteous, in contrast, shut their mouths. What accounts for the difference between how God’s people react to calamity and rescue and how the unrighteous react?

It is common to hear the unrighteous blame God for calamities. There are, for every disaster, those ready to accuse God for His apparent absenteeism on behalf of those who suffer. They often charge Him for failing to stop the calamity. What would they say of God if they knew that the reason He does not stop such calamities, is not because He lacks the strength, the will, or the power, or that He is somehow absent or unaware, but because He is the one responsible for the calamity? If they rage against Him for failing to stop a disaster, what rage would result if they knew He Himself caused the disaster? (Amos 3:6, Isaiah 45:7)

In the four troubles described in this Psalm, God is both the one who rescues from trouble, and the one who brings the trouble in the first place. This bringing and delivering from calamity is called “His loving kindness.” In verse 23 and following God takes the credit for changing rivers and springs into deserts and thirsty ground. Verse 12 says it was God who humbled them with labor, and it was God who spoke, causing the waves to rise up, melting the hearts of those on the ship.

What do the unrighteous say to this? They say that the people of God are fools for rejoicing in how their God saves, because He only saved them from what He Himself brought. God could simply not bring the calamity in the first place. Why doesn’t He deliver us from our foolishness from the get go? If we were safe before God acted to bring a dangerous storm, why should we praise Him when He removes the danger, since He was the one who brought it in the first place? This is how the unrighteous view it, but the upright see it differently and are glad. Why?

The unrighteous would be happy to simply keep their lives free from trouble and safe from calamity. To have a safe and comfortable life, free of trouble is the best they can hope for. For God to act take away their comfort, only to then give it back, only disturbs the unrighteous, causing them to think of God as capriciousness. But the upright see it and are glad! Why? Because the upright, when they come through a God-given calamity, come out the other side with a clearer view of God Himself! In every calamity God works to draw His people to Himself by opening their eyes to how He is a God who can not only stop the calamity, but who, in Himself, so much more valuable a treasure than any comfort, safety, or good life that we may have had before the calamity came. The upright come to know that their lives, while perhaps more comfortable before a calamity, were not OK, but were without God and therefore hopelessly lost in trivialities. The upright come to recognize the awesome, merciful, loving kindness of God in bringing the trouble that awakened their hunger and thirst, their desperation, not just for rescue, but for God Himself! God brings calamity and He takes it away. For the unbelieving, this just brings them back to what they had in the first place, but having added a hurtful experience along the way. All in all such calamities are a negative transaction. But for the upright, they declare with gladness, “take away all my comfort, all my security and I will rejoice with gladness, if in the end I have an interest in the glorious loving kindness of the Lord!”

Father, open my eyes. Grant me a hunger and a thirst for you. Cause me to cry out to you to satisfy my soul with your beautiful, perfect, infinitely wise loving kindness.

In Jesus’ name. Amen.

“He sent a man before them,
Joseph, who was sold as a slave.
They afflicted his feet with fetters;
he himself was laid in irons;
Until the time that his word came to pass,
the word of the LORD tested him.
Psalm 105: 3-5, 17-19

Among God’s wonderful stories, which display His glory and make my heart glad by demonstrating His strength, is the story of Joseph in prison. I can imagine Joseph sitting in chains, unable to leave his cell or move about freely. His feet were afflicted in his fetters, he was in misery. Day after day, month after month, year after year he looked at the same dreary walls. His heart must have sunk within him. He must have cried out “Why?” “Why am I stuck here, why must I sit here, chained in this cell?”

Was Joseph trapped? Yes. Was he stuck? Yes. Could he find a way to escape? No. Yet Joseph was right where God wanted him. The prison part of this story is just as much a display of God’s glory as is its conclusion. Yes, Potiphar’s wife’s allegations brought him there, and yes his brother’s sinful actions put him in Egypt in the first place, but it was the Lord who sent him. It was the word of the Lord that tested him. He stayed in prison for the term set by God. God was directing his circumstances not only for the salvation of Israel, but also for the testing, refining, and strengthening of Joseph as well.

Now what about my circumstances? Do I have troubles, worries, and pains? Yes. Not nearly to the degree Joseph had them, but I feel my troubles far more poignantly than I do Joseph’s! Do I feel trapped by these circumstances? Yes I do, and in a sense I am trapped, caught, and unable to free myself from them. Until the word of my God has completed His purposes I will be kept in the circumstances He has sent into my life.

Will I groan under these circumstances? Yes, I will groan, but if by faith I can see and believe that God has sent each one for my ultimate good, and somehow for the good of His people, I can rejoice at the same time. If I see that God is glorious in His strength and in His wisdom in how He ordains every circumstance, both in their nature and in their duration, I can be glad and marvel at His wonderful sovereign purposes. I can look forward to His word accomplishing its purpose and to the time that has been set for their completion. What will the result be? God only knows, but I trust that in some measure, my small, God-given afflictions will work themselves out to an eternal weight of glory and a fruitful harvest of blessing for His people.

O my soul, when you feel trapped and find yourself groaning, remember your fetters have been put there by God. Remember his marvels, His wonders, and His judgments. Trust in His perfect timing His perfect purposes, and do not give into unbelief, but glorify Him by seeking the Lord of all strength. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

The God-centeredness of God, his self exalting purposes and works are clearly and constantly evident in Scripture. That God does all things for the praise of his glory is abundantly clear. Logically, it makes sense that God places infinite value on that which is infinitely valuable, that is Himself. So God is supremely and absolutely self exalting.


This does not usually sit well with us, for how can someone who is self exalting be loving? This question has already been answered thoroughly in Piper’s various books. What struck me in reading this familiar phrase, “Jesus is the one being for whom self exaltation is the most loving act,” was the notion of how intricately Jesus’ self exaltation is not just declared to be loving (because of who he is) but is actually, truly, fully, intimately, and profoundly loving. His self-exaltation manifests itself and bears the abundant fruit of its true character, infinite and beautiful love.

This connection, for me, is hard to grasp because I have no reference or model or example to see self-exaltation result in love. In me, self-exaltation is not love. It is sinful, evil and destructive. It is as far from the character of love, as I can comprehend. For man to be self-exalting is a horribly evil and unloving characteristic. The fruit of such self-exaltation in man is pride, boasting, selfishness, arrogance, oppression and vileness.

It is no wonder that we would stumble over the notion that self-exaltation (being so awful and distasteful in us) could somehow be the most wonderful, beautiful, sweet smelling, soul satisfying loving act in Jesus. Yet it is. It is in theological precept, it is in its representation in the Bible, and it is in the actual day-by-day expression and pouring forth of Christ’s love as we behold and delight in the glory of God in the face of Christ. As Jesus is exalted in my heart I receive the greatest, most joyful stirrings in my soul. There is a direct connection between Jesus opening my eyes to glimpse him in all his exalted glory and my feeling and being happy, blessed, and loved.

For me, self-exaltation would be like a sponge, absorbing and taking from others what I want, taking from them and storing it is up for myself. Jesus’ self-exaltation is like a fountain overflowing and pouring forth in waves of love. Jesus’ self-exaltation takes nothing, for it needs nothing, it only gives and gives, while I receive and receive.

O how unique is the character of Christ’s self-exaltation. How marvelous, that his self-centeredness results in perfect love. Only in Jesus (because He is perfect and without any distortion or corruption) does another’s self-exultation become our greatest pleasure and joy.

Thank you Jesus that your pleasure in being exalted, so perfectly express itself in love. Lord help me always to love your glory and savor all its manifestations of perfect love, especially when I see its ultimate expression on the cross.