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We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed.1 corinthians 15:51-52The transformation of the body you have now into the body you will have will be instantaneous. What do we know about this new resurrection body? There will be continuity, but also changes.Your body will be imperishable: “So is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable” (15:42).Lazarus was raised from the dead (John 11), but the body he came back in was the same body, not a resurrection body, which meant that at some point he would have to go through the whole miserable business of dying again. But Jesus rose in the power of an endless life (Heb. 7:16), and He’s never going to go through death again, and neither will you in the resurrection. Your resurrection body, like His, will be a body that will never die.Your body will be glorious: “It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory” (1 Cor. 15:43).Think about the face of Moses, when he came down the mountain after he had been in the presence of God. His face was shining (Ex. 34:35). Why? Because he had been in the presence of the Lord of glory. Now think about the transiguration of Jesus (see Mark 9:2-8). He went up the mountain with Peter, James, and John, and their faith was strengthened with a preview of the future glory of Jesus. There will be a brightness, a radiance, and a glory, not only around you, but in you in the resurrection body.Meditate on the glory of the resurrected Jesus and how you will share in His resurrection.

Our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior. the Lord Jesus Christ. who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body. by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.Philippians 3:20-21The human body is lowly. The human body, at its strongest, is still fragile. Even if you are really fit, and you get hit by a truck, you will be in trouble. C. S. Lewis said, “When you are learning to ride they give you unimpressive horses. Only when you are ready for it are you allowed an animal that will gallop and jump.” Wait until you see your upgraded physical body!Your body will be transformed. The resurrection of the body is a truth that cannot be grasped apart from the work and the power of Christ. The credibility of this great truth is that Christ demonstrated His power to raise His people by rising Himself! Every Christian says, “Yes, the Saviour has given me a new heart.” But He will also give you a new body. It will be the completion of His redeeming work in your life.Your resurrection body will be like Christ’s glorious body. This means it will be a physical body. You will not be a disembodied ghost or spirit in the new creation. The reason you won't spend eternity floating on the clouds is that bodies don't float. Jesus said, “A spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have” (Luke 24:39). The resurrection body has "flesh and bones" because it is a physical body.What are you most looking forward to about your resurrection body?

We know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the irstfruits of the Spirit. groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons. the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved.Romans 8:22-24All religions have some belief in life after death. But the resurrection of the body is unique to Christianity. Only Christians have a risen Saviour.At the heart of our faith is the great truth that the tomb was empty, that the corpse of Jesus was raised to life, and that all who belong to Him will share in His resurrection.The resurrection of the body is the crown jewel of the Christian faith. It is a truth to be treasured and put on display for all to see. We should be proud of this and commend it to the world. It is a promise to excite our interest, a hope to anticipate with joy.The resurrection is the purpose for which you were created by God and redeemed in Christ. It is a tragedy that many Christians do not have a firm grasp on this wonderful truth.The redemption of the body is the hope in which you were saved. The great purpose of God is not to save a part of you (your soul), but the whole of you (your body/ soul unity). Christ made you—body and soul, and He will redeem you—body and soul. He will do it in this order: soul now, body later. All that God has made is good, and all that God has made He will redeem.On a scale of 1 (weak) to 10 (strong). how firm is your grasp of the resurrection of the body?

The Word became lesh and dwelt among us.John 1:14God became a man in Christ Jesus. The body of Jesus was like ours. He grew in strength—from a baby, to a child, to a man—and He knew what it was like to be hungry, thirsty, and weary.The first heresy, the first false teaching that the early church had to contend with, was not the denial that Jesus was God, but the denial that He was man. In that culture, people got to thinking, How could God, who is pure spirit, possibly get mixed up with something as base as the human body? There was a nervousness about the Son of God taking on human fesh, but that is precisely what the Bible teaches. That's why you find in 2 John 7: "Many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the fesh."If the Bible said, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word remained spirit,” we would have to limit God’s interest in our lives to the things of the spirit like prayer, meditation, and Bible study. It would mean that God was concerned with your heart but not with your home, with your spirit but not with your schedule, with your character but not with your activity.But the Bible doesn’t say, “the Word remained spirit,” it says, "the Word became fesh"! God entered the world of noisy kids and pushy parents, the world of overcrowded schedules and unscrupulous traders, the world of relentless pressures and unending demands. When Jesus went to the cross, He died, not only to save your soul, but also to redeem your life—every part of it!What are some areas of your life that you wonder if God is interested in? Why?

The LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life. and the man became a living creature.Genesis 2:7God made the body of Adam from the dust of the ground, and then He breathed the breath of life into this body.So, Adam was the union of a body and a soul. This is the reason that the Bible sometimes speaks about death as an “enemy,” because death is the undoing of our nature. It is the tearing apart of what God has joined together.If a mobile phone is not connected to a network, it cannot fulfil the function for which it was made. The same can be said for the network. The fact that there is a cellular network is of no value to you if you do not have a phone. It is the joining of the two together that makes this wonderful gift of telecommunication possible.Our bodies, as we experience them now, are very different from the bodies that Adam and Eve experienced as they were created by God in the garden. Their original bodies did not age, and they were not subject to disease, pain, or death. All of that came with the entrance of sin into the world. Sin has affected every area of our lives.Think about the effects of sin, personally, on your body and soul. Can you imagine what it would mean for God to redeem them?

"It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega. the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment."Revelation 21:6Here are two things to reconsider in the light of heaven: First, if you are holding back from full commitment to Jesus: However hard it is for you to come to Christ in repentance, however hard it is for you to look to Him in faith, however costly it may be for you to confess Jesus as Lord of your life, you cannot ultimately lose. No one in the presence of Jesus regrets following Him, not even those for whom it cost their lives! What are you holding onto now that is so good it would be worth missing out on all that the people of God will share with Christ in the new heaven and new earth?Second, if God is calling you to walk on a difficult path: John Newton tells the story: “Imagine a man on his way to New York. He is in a carriage drawn by a horse, and he is on his way to receive a million-dollar inheritance. A mile outside New York, the wheel on his carriage breaks, so he has to walk the last mile to get his million-dollar inheritance. And all the way to New York he grumbles because his carriage is broken. What would you think of such a man?” In Christ, you are on the last mile of your journey to inherit the new heaven and new earth, and you will find strength for the journey as you anticipate the joy that lies ahead.Do you need strength for your journey? Anticipate the joy that lies ahead for you, Christian.

I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.Revelation 21:2There will be no marriage in heaven (Matt. 22:30), but we will still be male and female, because that is how God created us and it was good. The gift of marriage was given to point to something greater that God has in store for all who love Him.Marriage, at its best, is a pointer to the joy that we will find in Jesus Christ and that Christ will find in His people in the new heaven and new earth. Even if you have an unhappy marriage, you have some sense of what marriage should be.Christ is the bridegroom, and He brings His people into union with Himself. This shared life will be with God Himself, and the joy will go on increasing. The joys you experience in life remain in your memory so that you continue to derive happiness from them.Jonathan Edwards says that it will be the same in eternity. Think about what that will be like when you have been in heaven for a million, million ages…. “Your knowledge will increase to eternity; and if your knowledge, your holiness; for as you increase in the knowledge of God, you will see more of his excellency (beauty), and the more you see of his excellency, the more you will love him, and the more you love God, the more delight and happiness you will have in him.”All your experiences of joy in this life point to the ever-increasing joy that will be yours in Christ for all eternity. This is an “Amen!” moment.

“But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with ire and sulfur. which is the second death."Revelation 21:8Precisely when God is telling us about the new heaven and new earth, He also tells us that He will separate all that is evil from His people and from His creation—the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars. All these are descriptions of character. This does not mean that all who have been guilty of these sins will be excluded from heaven. But there are men and women who do not turn to God in repentance. They do not look to Jesus Christ for forgiveness and cleansing. They do not see a need for a Saviour, and so they die in their sins.Bishop Ryle says, “Most men hope to go to heaven when they die; but few, it may be feared, take the trouble to consider whether they would enjoy heaven if they got there.” Here is the tragedy of sin: The sinner could not be happy in heaven and cannot be happy in hell. Sin is a complete dead end. It leaves you with no place to go. Sinners will want to be out of hell, but they will not want to be in heaven.The new heaven and the new earth will be the home of righteousness: “Nothing unclean will ever enter it” (21:27). If it is the home of righteousness, and nothing unclean will ever enter, how could we be there? Only through the cleansing that comes from Jesus Christ.Do you see your need for a Saviour?

"Neither shall there be mourning. nor crying. nor pain anymore. for the former things have passed away."Revelation 21:4You will not spend eternity grieving over your past sins and missed opportunities. We will never forget that we were sinners because we will always be finding joy in the Lamb who was slain, the Son of God who redeemed us by the shedding of His blood. We will know ourselves to be redeemed sinners—not in a way that will bring pain or regret, but in a way that will cause us to magnify and glorify Christ for all that He is and for all that He has done.You will not spend eternity carrying baggage from difficult relationships with other believers. Even at our best, Christians are so far from what we will be that it is sometimes hard for us to imagine broken relationships completely restored and deep wounds completely healed. But God is able to do more than we could ever ask or imagine.In heaven, every Christian will be made perfect in repentance and perfect in humility. There will be, in all of us, complete ownership of all that is ours and complete repentance from the heart. At the same time, in heaven, every Christian will be perfect in forgiveness—there will be no grudges. There will be a giving and a receiving of forgiveness among God’s people that will position all of us for a life of harmony in the new heaven on earth.What are some past sins, regrets, or painful baggage you would like to be free from?

“He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away."Revelation 21:4Notice what will be gone, subtracted, taken away in heaven. All these things—death, mourning, and pain—are passing away. You will not find or experience them in the new heaven and new earth. Let’s consider them one at a time.Death: Nobody in the new heaven and new earth will ever die. No one will grow old. No one will become sick or ill. There will be no need for hospitals or for emergency services. You will never attend a funeral there.Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live” (John 11:25), and “Everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die” (11:26). Because there is no more dying, there will be no more mourning, no more saying goodbye.Mourning: Nothing in your future life will bring you sorrow, fear, sadness, or disappointment. When you share this life of joy, nothing will ever happen that would cause you to cry. What about tears from the past? There are tears on earth that even those who love us most cannot wipe away. But God will wipe every tear from our eyes.Pain: There will be no more aching bones. The resurrection body is made of fesh and bones (Luke 24:39). but the fesh will not wrinkle and the bones will not ache. Instead of diminishing, your resurrected body will be rejuvenated with new strength and new capabilities.Soak in these promises until they restore your hope.

"Behold, I am making all things new."Revelation 21:5Life in the new heaven and new earth will not be less than the life you have now. It will be more!The word "new" can be used in two ways. The first is to say, “I’m moving to a new house.” You are in a different place, and there is no continuity between your old house and your new house. The second is to renovate your house. It is an old house and everything in it needs to be redone. So, you do a total rehab, and when you are done you say, “Everything is new!” And that is exactly what God says: “I am making all things new” (21:5).Here is the great promise: When God has removed sin and all its effects from His people, He will then remove all the effects of sin from His creation so that the new earth will become a fit place for God's children to share a life of unclouded joy.Think about the joys of life in this fallen world—the joys of music, sports, the arts, science, technology, travel, food, and friendship. None of that will be less. All of it will be more, as you enjoy life in the resurrection body on the new earth. All that God has made is good, and when He redeems it, He will make it better than it was before.God is going to remake the heavens and the earth. He will merge heaven and earth into a perfect place that will be our home forever. This is the reason why we can speak of heaven when we talk about the new heaven and new earth, because heaven will fill the earth.How does the promise of a “new” heaven and “new” earth affect the way you think about the world around you?

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth.Revelation 21:1Satan’s master strategy is to have people think that what lies ahead will be far less than what we have now. He wants you to believe that your life would be less if it were in God’s hands.If you believe the life you have now is better than the future life you will have in the presence of God, you will be like a person who tries to hold onto sand as it slips through his fingers.People sometimes talk about “living your best life now.” But living your best life now is only possible for a person who is going to hell. For the person who is going to hell, this life is as good as it is ever going to be. But if you are headed for life in the new heaven and the new earth, how could you possibly live your best life now? Your best life lies ahead of you.When a couple plans a wedding reception, they go for a tasting. They taste the meal that will be served on the great day. But the tasting is only a sample. It is preparation for the great event toward which the bride and groom are counting the days. All that you enjoy in this life, and all that you have in Christ in this world, is just a foretaste of the joys that are to come.Have you been living your life as if the best is now, or as if the best is yet to come?

“Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory."John 17:24Will we see our believing loved ones in heaven? Yes. But here’s the bigger question: Will Jesus see His believing loved ones in heaven? Yes!When Jesus was preparing to go to the cross, He prayed this prayer: “Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory” (17:24). In other words, Jesus was saying, “I want them with me, and I want them to see my glory!”Christian believer, the greatest assurance you can have of heaven is that Jesus wants you there! He went to the cross to get you there. He lives at the right hand of the Father to bring you there. And one day, when you arrive in heaven, His prayer will be answered—you will see His glory.The apostle John says, “We shall see him as he is” (1 John 3:2). We will see Jesus Christ risen, triumphant, and victorious. That is why we will say with all the redeemed: “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!’” (Revelation 7:10).What is your reaction to Jesus’ prayer?

Seven witnesses from the Bible point to our knowing one another in heaven, and here are our sixth and seventh witnesses.Witness #6—Paul and the Thessalonians: Paul says that believers whom he loved and served on earth will be his joy and crown in heaven. So, the special relationship forged between Paul and these believers on earth will continue in heaven. He is saying, “You have been my joy on earth, and you will be a joy to me in heaven.”Jonathan Edwards takes up this theme: “The special affection that the saints have in this world toward other saints, who are their friends, will in some respect remain in another world.” Christians who knew and loved each other on earth will know and love each other in heaven.Witness #7—The reunion of believing loved ones: “The Lord himself will descend from heaven… And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore encourage one another with these words” (4:16-18).As you remember those who have died in the Lord, look ahead in hope to being reunited with them in heaven.

Seven witnesses from the Bible point to our knowing one another in heaven. and here are our fourth and fifth witnesses.Witness #4—Moses and Elijah: “Behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him [Jesus]” (Matt. 17:3). When Moses and Elijah appeared on the Mount of Transfiguration, they did not have the resurrection body. Even now, Jesus Christ is the only One in the universe who has the resurrection body. Moses and Elijah are in heaven with the rest of the believers, eagerly waiting for the resurrection body, which they will get when Christ comes again in glory. So, when Moses and Elijah appear on the mountain, they are spirits—souls made visible. We don’t know how Peter, James, and John knew they were in the presence of Moses and Elijah. But we do know that they recognized Moses and Elijah, even in advance of the resurrection body.Witness #5—The gathered souls in heaven: “You have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect” (Heb. 12:22-23). Hebrews reminds us that the church gathered on earth is at one with the church gathered in heaven. He speaks of “the spirits of the righteous made perfect,” that is, the souls of believers in the presence of Jesus. These souls are gathered in “the assembly of the firstborn." This is a description of what is happening in heaven right now: The spirits of the righteous made perfect are gathered. Gathered means community, and community means relationship, and relationship means identity and knowledge right now in the presence of Jesus.Refect and rejoice in this glimpse of what is going on in heaven right now.

Seven witnesses from the Bible point to our knowing one another in heaven, and here are our second and third witnesses.Witness #2—Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob: “Many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 8:11).Notice the clear identity of these men—Abraham is Abraham in heaven, Isaac is Isaac, and Jacob is Jacob. They retain their distinct identities. We do not become nameless, anonymous spirits in the presence of Jesus. Abraham is enjoying the company of his son and his grandson. Jacob is enjoying the company of his own father and his grandfather.Also, notice what Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are doing: They are reclining at a table. They are eating and drinking. You have identity, relationship, conversation, and sharing a meal. And many will come from the east and west and join them! In other words, many, many others will enter into the same joy and the same experience.Witness #3—Jesus and the disciples: “I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom” (26:29).Notice the same clarity here: Jesus will drink the cup in His Father’s kingdom with the disciples. The eleven, who shared the Last Supper with Him on earth, will drink the cup again with Jesus in heaven. These disciples are named and they are known.Refect on the unique identities of loved ones and rejoice that these will continue into eternity in the presence of God.

After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb.Revelation 7:9The distinct identity of every person in this vast crowd is maintained. They are from every tribe, nation, and language. The distinct individuality of every one of God’s people is preserved. What makes us different no longer divides.This speaks directly to the question: Will we know one another in heaven? Yes! You will still be you. We will all be like Christ. but each of us will refect His likeness through our own individuality.That means we will know one another in the resurrection. The disciples knew and recognized Jesus in His resurrection body. But even before Jesus returns and we receive our resurrection bodies, we have good reason to believe that the same will be true of us.Seven witnesses from the Bible point to our knowing one another in heaven, and at least some of them point to believers knowing one another immediately after death.Witness #1—David and his son: “Now he is dead. Why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he will not return to me” (2 Sam. 12:23).King David had a little boy who died in infancy. When the boy died, David said, “I shall go to him.” There’s more here than David saying, “I will go to heaven when I die.” He says, “I will go to the boy! I will see him! I will be reunited with him in heaven.” That is a wonderful assurance for every Christian parent who loses a young child.Have you ever wondered if we will recognize and know one another in heaven?

"They are before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence."Revelation 7:15God will shelter—literally, spread His tent—over His people. Imagine a massive piece of canvas that will be shaped into a tent. He shakes it out so that it falls over all His people, in a way that none of them are outside. It is the most beautiful picture of inclusion.Where do you feel completely at home? Where is the place you can say, “This is where I belong”? That feeling is a foretaste of what you will experience in the presence of the Lord. Some people struggle to feel at home in this life. Some don’t feel completely at home in the church or in their own families. Some don’t feel at home in their own bodies.Whatever your struggles are in this life, if you are in Christ, the day will come when you know that you are completely at home. When God spreads His tent over you, you’ll say, “This is where I belong! I was made for this place!”To be at home means that you will be yourself. In heaven you will find yourself saying, “I am more myself than I have ever been before.”In heaven, you will serve the Lord as you always wished you could. You will be at peace with yourself as never before. You will be at peace with all your brothers and sisters in Christ, and you will be at peace with God. You will be at home.Where do you feel most at home in this life? How might that be a foretaste of being at home in heaven with God?

Behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, "Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!"Revelation 7:9-10John sees a vast crowd—in the immediate presence of Jesus Christ—standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They are dressed in white robes that speak of complete purity. They have palm branches in their hands—a symbol of victory. These people are celebrating total victory, which they ascribe to God Himself.What they are experiencing there in heaven is very different from what we are experiencing here on earth. We live this life in a fallen world where God is dishonoured, righteousness is spurned, and evil casts a shadow of pain and destruction. We are up against the pull of the flesh. The direction of that pull may change, but the struggle it brings never goes away. And we have an enemy—the devil—who, though he can never finally succeed against us, will never give up.So, we continue to live a life of repentance and faith. Repentance, because we never get beyond the awareness of our own sins and failures. Faith, because we walk by faith and not by sight. We do this with the help of the Holy Spirit.The Christian life is a struggle, but it will not always be so. John sees believers in the presence of Jesus. They are celebrating victory. Their long struggle is over. Their battle has been won.How might this glimpse of eternity encourage you to persevere in faith today?

I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne. They cried out with a loud voice, "O Sovereign Lord. Holy and true. How long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?"Revelation 6:9-10There is a good-better-best pattern to the Christian life. To be in Christ is good. No matter how bad things get in this world, if you are in Christ, you are blessed with every spiritual blessing (Eph. 1:3). But to be with Christ is better by far than anything you’ve ever known, can know, or will know in this world. And for every Christian, even those who are in heaven now, the best is yet to come.In Revelation 6, the souls of believers in the presence of Jesus are experiencing the better. Yet these believers are crying out to God, “How long?” (Rev. 6:10). How long until the evils of this present world and the sufferings of God’s people are brought to an end? How long until King Jesus returns in glory, and we get to come with Him? They are told that they must wait (6:11).Herman Bavinck, the great Dutch theologian, has a fascinating comment on the experience of believers in the presence of Jesus: “They have a past which they remember, a present in which they live, and a future which they are approaching.”Jesus Christ will come again in glory. On that day, our loved ones who have gone ahead will be with Him, and we will be forever with the Lord (1 Thess. 4:17).As you think about loved ones who have died in Christ, remember that the coming of Jesus is getting nearer.

"They. are like angels in heaven."Mark 12:25In what way will we be like the angels in heaven? Angels are spirits without bodies, though they occasionally appeared to people in the Bible with a temporary body. God has given us life in this world through the union of a body and a soul. Death is the separating of the soul from the body.So, the activity of angels gives us a model for thinking about the kinds of things that believers can do in the presence of Jesus while they are waiting for the resurrection. Angels speak, and so do believers in heaven: “There was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!’” (Luke 2:13-14).Angels rejoice, and so do believers in heaven: “There is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents” (Luke 15:10).Angels worship, and so do believers in heaven: “The voice of many angels… saying with a loud voice, ‘Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!’” (Rev. 5:11-12).Angels inquire, and so do believers in heaven: “Even angels long to look into these things…” (1 Peter 1:12, NIV).As you think about loved ones who have died in the Lord, take heart that they are actively engaged in the presence of Jesus.

My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better.Philippians 1:23Now, some have seized on the fact that the Bible sometimes describes death as sleep (1 Cor. 15:51) and have suggested that the souls of believers go to sleep when they die. Please remember that what sleeps is not the soul, but the body. The body is laid to rest until the resurrection. But the soul is very much alive in the presence of Jesus.Some people latch onto the idea of soul sleep because it is easier to imagine unconsciousness than it is to imagine the life of a soul without a body. But unconsciousness is not the promise of Jesus. Enjoying His presence is. Paul said, “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Phil. 1:21). In other words, Paul is saying, “I get more when I die, not less.”You are blessed in this life with every spiritual blessing in Christ. There is no way in the world that unconsciousness is better than that. What is better by far is that your faith will be turned to sight. Your pain, grief, failure, and persecution will be over. You will sin no more, and with your spirit made perfect, you will consciously enjoy the presence of Jesus.To be with Christ is better than all you can experience in Christ now. It is better than anything you have ever known, and anything you can know in this world. It is better by far.Do you feel that you will get more when you die? Why or why not?

Today you will be with me in paradise."Luke 23:43What was death like for the thief? And what does the experience of a Christian believer look like immediately after death? Jesus promised that the thief would be with Him, and He said that it would be today. In other words, Jesus was Jesus died before the thief, and He committed His spirit into the hands of the Father. So, when the thief died, he went immediately into the presence of Jesus. After all that he’d been through, there was no post-traumatic stress for him in heaven, no wounds from the past, and no fears for the future—only complete healing in the presence of Jesus.The experience of the thief is a prototype for the death of every believer. “We would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord” (2 Cor. 5:8). When a believing loved one dies and you wonder, “Where are they now?" your first answer should be: "With Christ!" You will draw great hope from the clarity of this answer. They are away from the body—that is why we lay the body to rest—and they are at home with the Lord.Have you (or has someone you know) recently lost a loved one?

"Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do."Luke 23:34Today the thief is in heaven and the reason is not that he was without sin or that he lived a good enough life. The thief is in heaven because Jesus paid the price for his sin and gave him eternal life. What Jesus did for the thief, He is able to do for you.But remember, there were two thieves, and while one was saved, the other was lost. Both of them had the same need and the same opportunity. Both of them were next to Jesus. Both of them heard Him pray, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”Now think about the difference between them: While one turned to Jesus in repentance and faith, the other remained at a distance. You may be thinking, I don’t want to make a commitment right now. I'll think about this later.If you make that choice, one of two things will happen: Either you will come to repentance and then wish you had come earlier, or your heart will harden toward Jesus, and you will never come to Him at all. So come to Jesus in faith and repentance now.Or maybe you fear that it is too late for you to turn to Him. Remember the thief on the cross. It was not too late for him, and it is not too late for you. The time for you to turn to Jesus, ask of Jesus, and trust in Jesus is now. Early is better than late, but better late than never.Lord, I confess that I am a sinner and that I do not deserve to enter your heaven. But I believe that you died on the cross for me, so I ask that you remember me and bring me into your kingdom. I trust your promise that those who come to you will never be cast out.

"You will be with me in paradise."Luke 23:43This is the promise of the Saviour to every person who places their trust in Him. So turn to Him, ask of Him, and take Him at His word.Trusting Jesus will involve trusting Him in three very challenging circumstances:Trusting Jesus in the darkness Immediate after the thief trusted Jesus, “there was darkness over the whole land” (23:44). This darkness came in the middle of the day and it lasted for three hours.Put yourself in the shoes of the thief. You have just trusted your hope of heaven to Jesus. Then you are plunged into darkness, and you hear Jesus crying out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46). The thief must have wondered, What in the world is going on? There may be times in your life when you experience great darkness. Don’t be surprised by this. You can depend on the promise of Jesus as surely in the darkness as you can in the light.Trusting Jesus in your pain The pain of crucifixion got worse by the hour. as wounds in the hands and feet widened, and as fever raged through the body. So, the thief experienced more physical pain after he trusted Jesus than he did before. Anyone who suggests that trusting in Jesus will lead to a pain-free life has not yet come to terms with what the Bible teaches. You will have to trust Jesus in the darkness, and there may be times when you have to trust Him in pain.Trusting Jesus at your death You will also have to trust Jesus, as the thief did, when the moment of death comes for you. The way to die is the way to live. Forget what you have done or failed to do for Jesus and trust wholly in what Jesus has done on the cross for you.Is there anything keeping you from trusting in Jesus today?

“Remember me when you come into your kingdom."Luke 23:42This was an audacious request. The thief did not say, “I know I’ve made some mistakes, but nobody’s perfect, and I’ve done a lot of good things in my life.” He said, “We are receiving the due reward of our deeds” (23:41).This man asked Jesus with honesty and humility. He faced the fact that he was a sinner. He had sinned against God and against his fellow man. And we are like him. We have failed to do what God has called us to do, and we have done what He has told us not to do.This is precisely why Jesus went to the cross, where He became the sacrifice and the substitute for sinners. 'The LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:6). Jesus carried sins into His death, so that you would not have to carry them into yours.We don’t like to ask. We prefer deals: “Here is something that I can do for you. And there’s something I would like you to do for me." And our first instinct when it comes to God is to think in terms of a deal. If I pray. If I go to church. If I'm generous. If I live a good life. God will get me into heaven.Asking means that you come to Jesus with empty hands, knowing that there is nothing you can offer Him. You are casting yourself upon His mercy and looking to Him for grace.What the thief did was deceptively simple. He began to fear God. He recognized his sinful condition. And he asked Jesus to save him.Have you ever tried to make a deal with God? Have you ever come to Him empty-handed?

The robbers who were cruciied with him also reviled him in the same way.Matthew 27:44One thief continued to hurl insults at Jesus, but a change came over the other. The Bible calls this change repentance. Every change has a beginning, and the story of the thief shows us where repentance begins.The thief had been hurling abuse at Jesus, but then a stillness came over his soul as he thought about what lay ahead: Why am I fighting against God? What sense does this make when soon I will stand before Him and give account for my life? Turning to the other thief who continued to hurl abuse at Jesus, he said,"Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation?" (Luke 23:40).The thief had some knowledge of God, but he had not given weight to God in his life. If he had, he would not have become a thief. Instead, he pushed away God’s claims on his life and went his own way. And the further he moved away from God, the less his conscience bothered him.But now he was on the brink of eternity, and the fear of standing before God gripped him. This fear is the beginning of turning to God and it leads to recognizing Jesus Christ as your king.Turning toward Jesus, the thief said, “Remember me when you come into your kingdom” (23:42). The thief recognized that Jesus is a king: If he is a king and he is going into death, maybe when he gets to the other side, he can do something to help me.To the person who recognizes that He is a king, Jesus says, “You will be with me in paradise” (23:43). How can you be sure of heaven? Turn. Fear God and submit yourself to Jesus as your king.Has repentance begun for you?

Two others, who were criminals, were led away to be put to death with him.Luke 23:32The day you die may be a long way off, but nothing is more certain… it will come. One day you will wake up and it will be your last day on earth. What will happen to you then?The story of the thief on the cross tells us how we can be sure about heaven. We are not told much about this man, except that while he was hanging on the cross next to Jesus, he said to Him, “Remember me when you come into your kingdom.” And then Jesus said to this criminal, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise” (23:42-43).It is natural for us to think that people get into heaven by living a good life, but the thief had not done that. He was a criminal, and his crimes were such that he was sentenced to death.This man clearly had not lived a good life, and he knew it. The thief did not dispute the justice of his sentence, in fact, he said, “We are receiving the due reward of our deeds” (23:41).This contradicts the mindset that says, “In order to get in, I’ve got to live a good enough life to please God.” The thief clearly didn’t do that. So, how did he get in?The good news is that if it was possible for this man to get into heaven, you can too. The story of the thief shows us how, and it can be summarized in three words—turn, ask, and trust.Have you given much thought to how a person gets into heaven?

He was... a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. ISAIAH 53:3John Stott comments so helpfully on the sufferings of Jesus in a moving passage from his book called The Cross of Christ:I could never myself believe in God, if it were not for the cross... In the real world of pain, how could one worship a God who was immune to it?I have entered many Buddhist temples... and stood respectfully before the statue of the Buddha, his legs crossed, arms folded, eyes closed, the ghost of a smile playing round his mouth, a remote look on his face, detached from the agonies of the world. But each time after a while I have had to turn away.And in my imagination I have turned instead to that lonely, twisted, tortured figure on the cross, nails through hands and feet, back lacerated, limbs wrenched, brow bleeding from thorn-pricks, mouth dry and intolerably thirsty, plunged in Godforsaken darkness. That is the God for me!Many people who endured the First World War felt that they could no longer believe in God, but Edward Shillito went a different way. The horrors of war convinced him that a suffering world needs a suffering Saviour. He wrote a poem called, Jesus of the Scars, and in these (paraphrased) lines, he is speaking of the world of religion with all its varieties...The other gods were strong; but you were weak;They rode, but you stumbled to a throne;But to our wounds only can God’s wounds speak,And not a god has wounds, but you alone.The wounds of Christ are His credentials to a suffering world. And by God’s grace, He came through it, and by God’s help you will too. Do you feel your need of a suffering Saviour? Why or why not?Written by Colin SmithRead by Sue McLeish www.openthebible.org.uk

How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I take counsel in my soul and have sorrow in my heart all the day? How long shall my enemy be exalted over me? PSALM 13:1-2The mind of Christ was saturated with these psalms. He would have recited them in the synagogue. He used them. He experienced them. And He is with us when we pray them. So, what does Jesus know about this psalm? How does it relate to Him?Did Jesus ever know what it is to be in an agony of soul? Yes. “In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears” (Heb. 5:7).Did Jesus ever know what it was like to say, “How long?” Yes. He was a man of sorrows and familiar with suffering (Is. 53:3). In the garden of Gethsemane, He said, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death” (Mat. 26:38).Did Jesus know what it was like for the Father to hide His face from Him? Yes. He cried out from the cross with a loud voice, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Mat. 27:46).Jesus knows what it is to be in an agony of soul. That’s why He is there for you when you suffer. Christ is the Saviour for those who suffer because He is the suffering Saviour. Reflect on these things and ask God to renew your confidence in Jesus that He is, in fact, there for you when you are suffering.Written by Colin SmithRead by Sue McLeish www.openthebible.org.uk

I have trusted in your steadfast love. PSALM 13:5David is not feeling the love of God. He has been quite candid about that: “How long will you hide your face from me?” (13:1). Now, he moves beyond what he feels to what he knows: God’s steadfast love. This is love that lasts, love you can count on. God’s love for you had no beginning; it will have no end. God has loved you with an everlasting love.What David is facing shows no sign of going away, and so his question has been, “How long?” David dares to believe that God’s love for him will outlast the pain that he is enduring. David confronts the pain of his long-lasting sorrow with the reality of a longer-lasting love.There are times in the Christian life when the love of God is known by faith and feeling. There will also be times when God’s love is known by faith alone. There is a gritting of David’s teeth here in what he says. This is a courageous statement of David’s faith: “I have trusted in your steadfast love, however long this trial continues.”Then David says, “I will sing to the LORD, because he has dealt bountifully with me” (13:6). The singing is future. But when David says that God has dealt bountifully with him, he is leaning into what he has already experienced.David is a shepherd, and yet by God’s grace he had become a king. He is a sinner, and yet by God’s grace he had been forgiven. David is a sufferer, and yet by God’s grace he looked forward to a future filled with unclouded joy. David leans into this, and he says, “Not only have I trusted in your steadfast love, but you have dealt bountifully with me.” Take some time right now and lean into what you have already experienced of God.Written by Colin SmithRead by Sue McLeish www.openthebible.org.uk

Answer me, O LORD my God; light up my eyes...PSALM 13:3Suppose another Christian said, “I’ve been a believer for years, but it feels like God has left me. He doesn’t answer my prayers. Does God really care?” How would you try to help him or her?First, recognise the experience. If a mature believer like David (a man after God’s own heart) can feel abandoned by God, no one should be surprised when a brother or sister experiences this. Don’t assume the worst about a believer who feels that God has abandoned him or her. Remember, the dark valley is a part of the walk of the Christian faith.Second, discern the question. Not every sufferer is asking: Why? Some are asking: How long? Why? is about meaning; How long? is about endurance.Many psalms ask the question, Why? For example, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Psa. 22:1). But David is not asking, “How do I make sense of my suffering?” He is asking: “How much longer can I endure it?” It’s not a cry for wisdom; it’s a cry for strength. How do I get through the week?Third, ask for help. Notice what David prays here: “O LORD my God; light up my eyes” (Psa. 13:3). That’s a prayer for strength. When a person is in an agony of soul, as David was, she is not looking for an answer, and it won’t help much if you try to give one. What she is looking for is strength—a sense of the help and presence of God. That’s why the best way you can help is to come alongside in genuine sympathy and help her draw near to God in prayer.Has anyone ever said to you, "I've been a believer for years but it feels as though God has left me." What happened?Written by Colin SmithRead by Sue McLeishwww.openthebible.org.uk

How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I take counsel in my soul and have sorrow in my heart all the day? How long shall my enemy be exalted over me? PSALM 13:1-2Listen to the complete candour with which David lays out his struggle before God. He is not holding anything back. He is seeking an authentic relationship, and an authentic relationship can only happen with honesty.First, David does not hide his struggle with God: “How long will you hide your face from me?” (13:1). David begins with this because it goes to the heart of the problem. “Why does God seem so far away at precisely the point where I feel my need of Him most?” The Bible teaches us here that a godly believer can come to the place of feeling abandoned by God.Second, David tells God about the struggle going on inside of himself: “How long must I take counsel in my soul and have sorrow in my heart all the day?” (13:2). David’s thoughts are going around in circles: “What am I going to do? How am I going to survive?” There is never an answer, and the pain never goes away.Third, David tells God about the struggle with his enemy: “How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?” (13:2). David’s enemy has gained the upper hand. If you offered a seminar to David on “How to Live the Victorious Christian Life,” he would say, “That’s not for me. I feel defeated. I barely know how to keep going, let alone be victorious.”Speaking openly about your experience won’t solve the problem, but it’s critical to having an authentic relationship with Almighty God. On a scale of 1 (guarded) to 5 (friendly) to 10 (candid), how authentic is your relationship / prayer life with God?Written by Colin SmithRead by Sue McLeish www.openthebible.org.uk

How long must I take counsel in my soul and have sorrow in my heart all the day? PSALM 13:2Maybe you have been carrying a heavy burden for a long period of time, and the strain is beginning to show. It may be physical pain or mental anguish, or it may be the sheer weight of responsibility that God has placed on your shoulders.God has sustained you, but as time goes by, you are wearing down. You find yourself saying “How long, O Lord? I’m not sure I can sustain this much longer.” If you’re not in one of these situations today, thank God, and remember that many of your brothers and sisters in Christ are.If all you’ve ever seen is a Christianity with answered prayers, and victorious faith, and abundant blessings, then you need to take this psalm seriously. We live in a suffering world, and Christian believers are not exempt from it. No one who takes the Bible seriously can conclude that Jesus promised His followers a pain-free life. We are followers of a crucified Saviour.God speaks to this suffering world, to life as it is. Romans 8 is one of the greatest chapters of the Bible. How does it begin? There is “no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (8:1). How does it end? “[Nothing can] separate us from the love of God in Christ” (8:39).But in the middle, Paul says, “We ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies” (8:23). Psalm 13 is a “groaning psalm” and God has placed it in the Bible because at some time all of us will need it. When did you first realise that following Jesus would not be pain-free?Written by Colin SmithRead by Sue McLeish www.openthebible.org.uk

You Are in an Agony of Soul How long, O LORD? Psalm 13:1Thank God Psalm 13 is in the Bible! We need it. We live in a suffering world, and a faith, quite candidly, that does not speak to human pain is not worth taking seriously.This psalm speaks to struggles that have no end in sight. Four times in the first two verses we find the question, “How long?” The hardest trials to endure are not the ones that hurt the most, but the ones that last the longest. This psalm speaks to those situations in our lives.Nicholas Wolterstorff went through the agony of losing his son (who was 25 years old) in a climbing accident. He kept a diary over the following year and called it Lament for a Son. It is a journal of a soul in agony, struggling to hold onto faith in the darkness of irreplaceable loss.Reflecting on his experience, 12 years later, Wolterstorff says,Often I am asked whether the grief remains as intense as when I wrote. The answer is, No. The wound is no longer raw. But it has not disappeared.That is as it should be. If he was worth loving, he is worth grieving over. Grief is... testimony to the worth of the one loved. That worth abides. So I own my grief, I do not try to put it behind me, to get over it, to forget it...I struggle indeed to go beyond merely owning my grief toward owning it redemptively. But I will not and I cannot disown it.Psalm 13 is a lament, so when you walk through irreplaceable loss, this psalm is for you. Are you going through (or have you gone through) a trial that never seems to end?Written by Colin SmithRead by Sue McLeish www.openthebible.org.uk

The upright shall behold his face. PSALM 11:7David is saying, “How can you say, ‘Flee like a bird’? God is on His throne. And whatever happens in this world, one day I’m going to see His face.”There’s a true story of a man by the name of William Montague Dyke, who at ten years old was blinded in an accident. While in college, William fell in love with the daughter of a high-ranking British naval officer, and they were engaged.Shortly before the wedding, William had eye surgery to restore his sight. If it failed, William would remain blind for the rest of his life. So, because the wedding was only a short time away, William insisted on keeping the bandages on until the day of the wedding. If the surgery was successful, he wanted the first person he saw to be his new bride.On her wedding day, the bride walked down the aisle, and when she arrived at the front, the surgeon whipped out a big pair of scissors and cut the bandages from William’s eyes. Imagine the tension! The congregation held their breath, waiting to find out if William could see the woman who stood before him. As he stood face to face with his bride to be, William’s words echoed throughout the cathedral, “You are more beautiful than I ever imagined.”Friend, one day you are going to behold the Lord’s face. Having walked by faith, one day the bandages that cover our eyes will be removed. The upright shall behold His face. And when you see His glory, it will be greater than you ever imagined. Let this sink in—whatever you are facing today, one day you will see Jesus face-to-face, and He will be more glorious than your highest and best thoughts about Him.Written by Colin SmithRead by Sue McLeish www.openthebible.org.uk

The LORD is in his holy temple; The LORD’s throne is in heaven. PSALM 11:4God is still on the throne. You may be experiencing fear or frustration, but God is not in a panic. You may not be able to put things right when the foundations are destroyed, but God can. You may not be able to deal with the wicked, but God can, and He will.David overcame his fear, his frustration, and his temptation to despair by fixing his mind and his heart on God. Here’s how he takes refuge in God. Here’s how he fixes his eyes on the Lord:The LORD is in his holy temple (11:4)The LORD’s throne is in heaven (11:4)His eyes see (11:4)The LORD tests the righteous (11:5)His soul hates the wicked (11:5)Let him rain coals on the wicked (11:6)For the LORD is righteous (11:7)He loves righteous deeds (11:7)The foundations of righteousness do not lie in a culture. They never have. The foundations of righteousness lie in who God is and in what God loves. God is still on the throne! Fix your mind and heart on God. Take refuge in God. Fix your eyes on Him.Written by Colin SmithRead by Sue McLeish www.openthebible.org.uk

Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens. HEBREWS 12:26What is God doing when He shakes the things that are familiar in our lives? He shakes the foundations so that “the things that cannot be shaken may remain” (12:27).Derek Kidner says, “The collapse of what is built on sand may be distressing; it can also be a beginning.” God shakes what is built on sand so that it might be rebuilt on a better foundation.Job was a righteous man and God had blessed him in many ways, but then one day the whole infrastructure of his life was hit by multiple disasters. Job’s flocks and herds were plundered by raiders. His home was destroyed by a mighty wind, and his children, who were inside, died.Suddenly all the good gifts on which we naturally depend were taken away—home, family, and business. It was all gone. Job’s wife said, “You’re a righteous man, but God has it in for us. What’s the use of faith and a righteous life? Curse God and die!” (see Job 2:9)Job heard fear, frustration, and despair in his wife, but he took refuge in God: “When he has tried me, I shall come out as gold” (Job 23:10). This man’s testimony reverberated in heaven and in hell, and even today, it brings strength to believers around the world.Peter must have had this in mind when he said: “Your faith is going to be tested with trials. When that happens it’s like gold being refined in the fire. Your faith will be proved genuine and it will result in praise, glory, and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed” (see 1 Pet. 1:6-7). Where do you see God’s hand in your testing right now?Written by Colin SmithRead by Sue McLeish www.openthebible.org.uk

They have fitted their arrow to the string to shoot in the dark at the upright in heart. PSALM 11:2Jesus was “upright in heart” and from the earliest days of His ministry He was the target of wicked men. At least twice, He had to challenge the well-meaning advice of His friends.Once, some Pharisees said to Jesus, “Get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you” (Luke 13:31). These well-meaning Pharisees wanted to warn Him of danger, but Jesus challenged the voice of fear and despair: “Go and tell that fox, ‘Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I finish my course’” (Luke 13:32). In other words, “I’m not going anywhere. I’m set on my course and I’m going to finish it.”The second time Jesus had to resist the well-meaning advice of a friend is much better known—when Peter confessed that Jesus is “the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Mat. 16:16). After Peter said this, Jesus began to tell His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, that He must suffer many things, that He must be killed, and then rise on the third day.Peter responded, “Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you” (Mat. 16:22). In other words, “I’m following you, Jesus, and this is the one thing that can never happen.” Jesus challenged the voice of fear and despair: “Get behind me, Satan!” (16:23). Satan’s temptation came in the form of the well-meaning advice of a friend who lacked discernment of God’s will. Is the love of a well-meaning friend creating a subtle temptation for you right now?Written by Colin SmithRead by Sue McLeish www.openthebible.org.uk

How can you say to my soul, “Flee like a bird to your mountain”? PSALM 11:1The advice of David’s friends came from fear and frustration. “The wicked bend the bow; they have fitted their arrow to the string” (11:2). That’s fear. David, you’re going to get hurt if you stick around. “If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?” (11:3). That’s frustration. David challenged both voices: “How can you say [these things] to my soul?” (11:1).David doesn’t say, “In you, Lord, I take refuge.” It’s not a prayer. He says, “In the LORD I take refuge” (11:1). David is giving us a framework for praying when we feel like giving up. We can learn from him how to challenge the thoughts we find in our own souls.You find this kind of language in the psalms: “Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name!” (103:1), or “Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me?” (42:5).Martyn Lloyd-Jones said that one of our main problems in the Christian life is that we spend too much time listening to ourselves and not enough time talking to ourselves. We listen to the voices of fear and frustration when we should be “preaching the gospel” to ourselves.Challenge the voices of fear and frustration in prayer. Come into the presence of the Father with Jesus Christ beside you. Tell Him what you are feeling. Bring your worst thoughts out into the open: “Lord, here’s what I’m afraid of, where I feel frustration and despair.” You may need to do this with your own thoughts, or with the well-meaning advice that is sapping your will. Where do you need to challenge the voice of fear and frustration today?Written by Colin SmithRead by Sue McLeish www.openthebible.org.uk

Flee like a bird to your mountain. PSALM 11:1Perhaps this resonates with you. There used to be a Judeo-Christian consensus in our country: There is a God in heaven, and He gave us the Ten Commandments by which we should live. That’s not much, but it is a basis for talking to people about sin and our need for Christ.Much of that foundation has eroded away. In the minds of many today, “god” is whoever they want him, her, or it to be. “If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?” (11:3). What hope is there for the church to turn things around?Perhaps you are finding that it is increasingly difficult to live a righteous life at work. You’ve tried to maintain your testimony, but now it seems like everyone is against you. The arrows are pointed in your direction.You feel discouraged and you are regularly asking yourself, “What good is coming from me being here? Nothing I say or do makes any difference. What’s the point? Maybe I should leave. Does God want me to leave?”Sometimes leaving is the right thing to do. Jesus said, “When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next” (Mat. 10:23). John 8 starts with people ready to throw stones at a woman caught in adultery. But by the end of John 8, they are ready to stone Jesus too, and we are told that “Jesus hid himself” (John 8:59). When we face situations of difficulty or danger, we always have a choice: Should I stay or should I go?There are also other times we feel the pressure to give up, but we know we need to persevere. Psalm 11 is for these times. It’s about how to pray when you feel like giving up. Are you feeling the pressure to give up in some area? Are you asking if you should stay or go? Or do you know that you need to persevere?Written by Colin SmithRead by Sue McLeish www.openthebible.org.uk

How can you say to my soul, “Flee like a bird to your mountain”? PSALM 11:1Someone was giving David advice, and this advice went straight to his heart: “It’s time to move on, David.” Why? We are given two reasons in this psalm.First reason: “The wicked bend the bow; they have fitted their arrow to the string to shoot in the dark at the upright in heart” (11:2). There’s going to be trouble, David, and you’re the target.Second reason: “If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?” (11:3). David, you’ve done your best. There’s nothing more you can do.We are not told who gave this advice to David, but most likely these were the words of a friend who cared about him deeply.David had been chosen by God to replace King Saul. But Saul fought against this until the end of his life. Saul was given to fits of rage and on one occasion he threw a spear at David (1 Sam. 19:10). It would be very natural for someone who cared about David to say, “David, Saul has it in for you. His arrows are aimed at you. You are a righteous man, but you’re no longer safe.”This is exactly what happened. David was married to Saul’s daughter Michal, and after Saul threw a spear at David, she said, “If you don’t leave tonight, Saul will kill you.” Saul had already sent his agents to David’s house, so Michal let her husband down from the bedroom window and put a stuffed dummy in his bed to allow him time to escape (1 Sam. 19:11-13). Is someone telling you “It’s too late for your family, your marriage, your church. There’s nothing more you can do. Run away.”? How are you praying? What are you asking God to do?Written by Colin SmithRead by Sue McLeish www.openthebible.org.uk

O LORD, you hear the desire of the afflicted. PSALM 10:17Does God feel far away? Do you wonder if He has forgotten you? If so, this psalm is for you. God is calling you to stand in faith, and you can do that because Jesus will stand with you.Not only did Jesus endure wickedness, He triumphed over it. Peter said, “You crucified and killed [him] by the hands of lawless men” (Acts 2:23), but God raised Him up, and He is the King forever and ever (Psa. 10:16). Jesus hears the prayer of the afflicted, and that means He can “strengthen your heart” (10:17). And that strength will come to you, as you come like David did and pray.When Jesus comes in power and glory, He will “break the arm of the wicked” and “call his wickedness to account till you find none” (10:15). Jesus will have the last word over wickedness. That’s the great truth that is demonstrated in the resurrection. Jesus has risen. That means He sees. He is on the throne. But for now, His hand is raised, not in judgment, but in mercy.This is good news for every person, no matter how wicked you have been. Wickedness is going down, but you don’t need to go down with your wickedness. God offers mercy and grace today to you through His Son, Jesus Christ. Where do the wicked seem to be winning? Will you stand in faith today?Written by Colin SmithRead by Sue McLeish www.openthebible.org.uk

Arise, O LORD; O God, lift up your hand; forget not the afflicted. PSALM 10:12Jesus would have known this psalm. What did it mean to Him? What use would it have been to Him? Did Jesus ever know what it was like to feel that the wicked were winning? Or to feel that His Father was far away? If you walk through this psalm, you will see Jesus all over it.Jesus knows the greed of the wicked. He saw “the one greedy for gain” (Psa. 10:3), selling animals in the temple courts, turning the place of prayer into a market.Jesus knows what it is like to stand alone when the wicked seem to be winning. He said to His enemies, “This is your hour, and the power of darkness” (Luke 22:53).Jesus knows what it is like for the wicked to “lurk in ambush” (Psa. 10:9). “When I was with you day after day in the temple, you did not lay hands on me.” But now they had come to him “with swords and clubs” (Luke 22:52-53).Jesus knows what it is like to be in great darkness: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Mat. 27:46).Jesus knows what it is like to trust the Father in the face of overwhelming evil: “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit” (Luke 23:46).Jesus knew this psalm more deeply than any of us ever will. He has lived this psalm, and He is able to pray this psalm with you. You can pray this psalm with Jesus. Is there an injustice you have suffered? Do you have enemies lying in wait? Is there someone out to get you? Jesus will meet with you as you pray through Psalm 10.Written by Colin SmithRead by Sue McLeish www.openthebible.org.uk

Why does the wicked renounce God and say in his heart ‘You will not call to account’? But you do see, for you note mischief and vexation. PSALM 10:13-14The wicked person says that God has hidden His face and forgotten. But David says “No, you don’t! You don’t forget.” (10:14). Here are some core convictions that will help you pray when the wicked seem to be winning:God’s eye: “You do see” (10:14). David says, “You see everything. Nothing is hidden from you.” God knows every injustice that’s ever happened in the history of the world. He knows all that has happened to you. If you’ve been oppressed, mistreated, or taken advantage of, God knows all about it. It’s all written down.God’s hand: “Arise, O LORD; O God, lift up your hand... You note mischief... that you may take it into your hands” (10:12, 14). However dark the world becomes, it is never as bad as it could be, if it were not for the grace of God. The great gift of prayer is that we can ask God to intervene and give us relief (10:12) and strengthen us to stand against the evil we face (10:17).God’s throne: “The LORD is king forever and ever” (10:16). Faith looks to the throne of God. It remembers that the wicked, for all their arrogance, are like grass. Soon they will fade away. “In just a little while, the wicked will be no more” (37:10). But the Word of the Lord endures forever. So, stop thinking like the wicked. Start trusting God. Which of these convictions do you most need to strengthen?Written by Colin SmithRead by Sue McLeish www.openthebible.org.uk

[The wicked] says in his heart, “God has forgotten, he has hidden his face, he will never see it.” PSALM 10:11There’s a fascinating turn in this psalm. At the beginning, David prays: “Why, O LORD, do you stand far away? Why do you hide yourself?” God, you seem so far way, so remote, so uninvolved. You don’t seem to be doing anything at all!But at some point in the psalm it dawns on David: That’s what the wicked believe! David says: “Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?” (10:1). The wicked say: “He has hidden his face, he will never see it” (10:11). David realises, I’m discrediting God, and that’s precisely what the wicked do!It’s as if David says to himself, Wait a minute... I’m saying the same thing as the wicked! Something happens to David, and it happens to him as he is praying. He finds help. Strength and faith come to him as he prays.The turning point of the psalm is when David wakes up to what is happening in his own soul: “The wicked discount God. That’s what I have been doing and that’s why I have become so discouraged! David, stop thinking like the wicked!” Has this kind of thinking begun to creep into your prayer life? If so, take yourself in hand and tell yourself to stop thinking like the wicked.Written by Colin SmithRead by Sue McLeish www.openthebible.org.uk

Why, O LORD, do you stand far away? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble? PSALM 10:1It’s hard enough to pray when the wicked seem to be winning, because that’s really discouraging. But how in the world are you going to pray when God seems far away?At one time or another, we have all experienced this feeling of being far from God, so it is helpful for us to hear that someone like King David knew about this and experienced it too.The Holy Spirit was present and active in David, even when he felt that God was far away. This prayer is Scripture, so it was breathed out by the Holy Spirit through David. He was actually praying in the Spirit when he felt that God was far away from him.Here is a wonderful encouragement for every Christian believer: God is with you and active in you by His Holy Spirit—even when you feel that He is far away. So pray when the wicked seem to be winning and pray when God seems far away, because the Holy Spirit is with you and He will be active in you as you pray. Do the wicked seem to be winning? Does God seem far away? Will you pray and, by faith, trust that the Holy Spirit will be with you and active in you as you pray?Written by Colin SmithRead by Sue McLeish www.openthebible.org.uk

Why does the wicked renounce God? PSALM 10:13Wickedness is not a new phenomenon; it only takes new forms. In one generation, wickedness is clothed in hypocrisy. But in another generation, wickedness is clothed in defiance. Once you see this, it will help you in praying through the issues of our day.In 1980, about 11% of the UK population regularly attended church. Today less than 5% of the UK population attends church. This means that at least 95% of people, the vast majority, are now outside the church.Everything seems to be changing around us. And in one sense it is. But at another deeper level, it’s exactly the same. In the last generation, more people were resisting God while sitting in a church. Today more people are resisting God without ever bothering to show up in church.If we take the Bible seriously, there will be times when the wicked seem to be winning. Let’s not be naïve about evil, sin, and its power. As Christians, we say we believe that men and women are born sinners, hostile to God, and dead in trespasses and sins.If so, then why are we surprised when sinners want to sin? Sinners will always want to sin, and they will constantly find new ways of sinning. This is the world in which we live, the world in which we suffer, and the world in which we bear witness.Christians who understand this world learn to pray. The more we understand the nature of this world, the more we will not only pray, but we will long for the new heaven and the new earth, the home of righteousness, where sin will be no more. "Does the default position of the human heart—antagonism toward God—shape the way you pray? Ask God to help you long more for heaven and to better understand this world.Written by Colin SmithRead by Sue McLeish www.openthebible.org.uk

The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. ROMANS 1:18“What if there really is a God?” Most of the time, the wicked manage to suppress this disturbing thought. But the wicked can never really escape this question, and here’s why...Since the wicked are made in the image of God, and they live in a world created by God, this is not easy to do. It takes a constant effort of mind and heart because evidence for God’s existence keeps springing up. The wicked have to keep saying, “There is no God” to themselves, because their hearts within them and the world around them keep suggesting otherwise.We have seen that the wicked person is proud, foul- mouthed, greedy, violent, and godless. Whenever you see any traces of these things in your own heart, deal with them decisively. If these are the things that characterise the wicked, you do not want even a trace of them in you.How do you deal with one of these when you see it in your heart? First, confess it to God. Renounce it completely. Ask for the cleansing power of Jesus’ blood to be applied to this pride, this cursing, this violence, or this godlessness. Don’t mess with it. It’s deadly poison. If it takes root, it has the power to destroy you. Take some time now and ask God to apply the cleansing power of the blood of Christ to your pride, cursing, violence, or godlessness.Written by Colin SmithRead by Sue McLeish www.openthebible.org.uk

The wicked does not seek him; all his thoughts are, “There is no God.” PSALM 10:4God has given us a fascinating insight into the heart of a wicked person, who constantly tells himself or herself that there is no God. This is an active pattern of thought.We sometimes talk about preaching the gospel to yourself, telling yourself what God has done for you in Christ. But the wicked person keeps telling him or herself that there is no God. In order to live the way he wants to, the wicked person has to tell himself that there is no God.There is another strand of thought running in this person’s mind: “He says in his heart, ‘God has forgotten’” (10:11). Notice the contradiction that lies in the heart of the wicked person: “All his thoughts are, ‘There is no God...’” but notice: “He says in his heart, ‘God has forgotten, he has hidden his face... [God] will not call to account’” (10:4, 11, 13).The wicked person cannot quite convince himself that there is no God. Derek Kidner describes this as the “inner dialogue” of a wicked person. No matter how often he tells himself that there is no God, he can’t escape the sense of a divine being, so he resorts to an alternative argument. This is what lawyers do in the courtroom when they’re failing.Take courage from this when you are praying for people who are defiant toward God. There is an inner dialogue in the soul of the wicked. The Bible says, “There is no peace... for the wicked” (Isa. 48:22), and here is the reason: There is an inner battle going on over God. Have you been praying for someone who is defiant toward God?Written by Colin SmithRead by Sue McLeish www.openthebible.org.uk