Anyone who knows me even remotely well knows that I am in no way, shape, or form a morning person. I absolutely hate getting up early. Well, last night I was up entirely too late (because reading), and when I woke up early this morning, that was what immediately ran through my mind: “I HATE getting up early! I despise it! Why can’t I just sleep?!”
At that moment as I was turning over with a scowl on my face, I heard that still, small voice say, “If only you despised the sin in your heart as much as you despised the morning.”

Guys, my heart broke. 

It’s so easy to look at this world and the condition it’s in, while at the same time being so distracted by, well, everything that’s there to distract me, and forget the extreme sinfulness of my own heart. It is deceitful and desperately wicked. If I’m not vigilant, sin will creep in and set up house, and my witness and testimony will become ineffective.

It’s easy to fall into that trap of thinking our sin isn’t as bad as everyone else’s, but that’s a lie. I’m not going to start listing off different sins that most people would see as “bad” or “not so bad,” but I hope you get what I’m saying.

The sins I harbor in my heart while I sit on a church pew are just as wicked as the sins this world is shamelessly partaking in. 

Sin is sin and Christ had to die for all of it. 

It wasn’t that my sin wasn’t bad enough that He could have bypassed the cross. No beating would suffice. The sins of pride and covetousness were enough to require His death, just like any of the “truly wicked” sins. My sin is truly wicked. It’s all truly wicked.

I don’t know where you are today, but it would do us all good to examine our hearts. I don’t want to be guilty of harboring pet sins that would diminish God’s working in my life or my ability to bring Him glory through my life.

“Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” ~‭‭Psalms‬ ‭139:23-24‬ ‭

A friend of ours was preaching several years ago and said something that has always stuck with me. He said, “I know I’m going to fall and sin and mess up, but I don’t want to stay there. Lord, please make me a good repenter.”

That’s my prayer today. I want to be a good repenter.