Psalm 66:18 If I had cherished sin in my heart,
the Lord would not have listened.

This is a fairly well-known verse, but I think it is understood and followed far less than it is known. Simply put, this is describing the opposite of repentance. Because the word for “sin” in Japanese has strong overtones of “crime,” the translation I’m using says “unrighteousness,” to make it clear that this isn’t just talking about stuff like murder. The important point to notice here is the matter of “cherish.” (The Japanese says, “hold close.”) This verse isn’t saying that only the sinless are heard by God, it’s saying that refusing to repent cuts us off from God. This is the point of Jesus’ famous story of the Pharisee and the tax collector in Luke 18:10-14. The tax collector probably had quite a “rap sheet” from the standpoint of the Mosaic Law, but he was humbly repentant before God, and Jesus said he was received by God far more than the Pharisee who ignored his sins. James points out that if we approach life from a legalistic standpoint, “whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.” (James 2:10) That’s why a repentant heart is essential! We aren’t to go picking at ourselves looking for things to repent of; that’s being spiritually neurotic. However, we are to ask and allow the Holy Spirit to shine His light on everything the Father wants us to repent of. God, being the perfect Father, isn’t going to dump everything on us at once, and He will never deliver blanket condemnation. That last is a vitally important point, because blanket condemnation is what the devil loves to dump on us. If we get the feeling that we’re hopeless and might as well give up, we can be positive it’s not from God!

This is something I’m constantly having to explain to people, because so many are oppressed by the devil’s blanket condemnations. However, as I express and explain God’s grace to others, I must not take it lightly myself. I must not cheapen grace by taking it for granted. I am to keep an open door for the Holy Spirit, not just for guidance and encouragement but also for correction and rebuke. I’d like to avoid that last item, but if I need it I need it, and I’d better receive it humbly and gratefully. I don’t want anything to get in the way of my hearing God or God listening to me.

Father, thank You for this reminder. You know the people I’m dealing with right now, and the lies they’re hearing from the devil. Help me speak Your truth to them in love, gently, strongly, and persistently, so that Your truth may penetrate their hearts and minds to set them free from the lies of the devil, for their blessing and Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!