In this sermon, Basil E. Shlink shares a personal testimony of finding everlasting joy through recognizing and repenting of sin. He recounts how a friend inspired him to pray for a contrite and repentant heart, which led to a renewed awareness of his sins and a deep sorrow for how he had wronged God and others. Through this process, he rediscovered the joy of being forgiven and cleansed by God's grace. Shlink emphasizes the importance of continually asking God to reveal our sins and grant us a heart that weeps over them, as this gift of repentance brings true joy and transforms our lives.

God lives and works today. But maybe you don't feel that way because your life has become joyless. Perhaps you feel cold and hard towards God. Then today's meditation by Baselius Schling can help you to find the key to being happy again. A close friend of ours shared with us how she found a hidden treasure, the treasure of everlasting joy. It happened on her 31st birthday. She told us, I have a daily meditation book which gives a Bible verse for each day. I like to take the verse that appears on my birthday to be my special verse for the coming year. On my 31st birthday, the verse was Micah 7, verse 18, Who is a God like thee, pardoning iniquity? I sense that there was a note of joy in this verse which I didn't have. There was a time in my life when I did have this great joy. At that time, my heart had been filled with grief and sorrow over my sin, over how I had wronged God and my fellow man. Then I would often sing, There is a fountain filled with blood drawn from Emmanuel's veins, And sinners plunge beneath that flood, lose all their guilty stains. What a blessed assurance to be forgiven of all our sins through his blood. But during the course of time, I no longer took my sins so seriously. Whether I was saying unkind things about others or reacting harshly or having bitter thoughts, or whether it was drifting further and further away from Jesus and my prayer life, my conscience became dull. Therefore, the jubilant cry, Who is a God like thee, pardoning iniquity? had faded out of my life. This birthday became a turning point. I began to pray, Bring my sins into the light of your countenance. Let me recognize them. Give me a contrite and repentant heart. The Lord answered. He opened my blind eyes and I began to see and weep over my sins again. The jubilant shout, Who is a God like thee, pardoning iniquity? began to resound again in my heart and has increased more and more throughout the years. The Lord had shown me the key, the key to great joy, the recognition of sin and repentance. Yes, this great joy is waiting for all of us. We will find it when we ask over and over again, as our friend did. Lord, show me daily my sin and guilt towards you and others. Give me a heart that weeps over my sin. Yes, this gift of repentance will bring us true joy. Our whole life will become new. Sweet Lord of life, I will now strive no more to grieve you and burden your loving heart, sorrow laden. Repentant tears my Savior cheers, followed by praise and rejoicing. Love and my gratitude voicing. You shall be first, for this I thirst. Jesus, my dearest treasure, my joy and bliss beyond measure. You have been listening to a program written by Basilée Schlenk of the Little Land of Canaan. To learn more about how God lives and works today, visit us at our website, www.canaan.org. That's K-A-N-A-A-N dot org. If you contact us, we would be happy to send you a free inspirational booklet. If you do not have access to the web, please contact this radio station for our postal address. God bless you.