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Not having to live with regret
Express regret for having made a mistake, and a friend may remind you that everyone makes mistakes. Everyone does, that's true. But knowing that everyone makes mistakes isn't likely to make much difference to you if you're feeling miserable and ashamed, wishing with all your heart that such a mistake had never happened.
The inner fire of deep regret is a horrible feeling, a hell from which people want desperately to be saved. The good news is, they can be. They can be freed from feelings of guilt and self-condemnation, and be at peace.
The Apostle Paul was familiar with this mentality and made strong statements about it. But he also indicated the state of thought that saves us from suffering and brings life and peace. "To be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace," Paul said (Rom. 8:6). The first thing one might wonder is "But how can I become spiritually-minded? How do I work my way out of this terrible feeling of regret? After all, I did make a mistake." Maybe so. But even the worst of past mistakes can't prevent us from taking the proper steps right now toward reform and a life and peace of spiritual-mindedness.
Enjoy 1 free Sentinel article or audio program each month, including content from 1898 to today.
December 18, 1995 issue
View Issue-
Church and state: not opponents, but brethren
Beulah M. Roegge
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The foundation of good government
Allan Arthur Bradley
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Women's conference in China
by Kim Shippey
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God's family can't be dysfunctional
Beverly Ledwith
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The Christmas message about birth
Richard Biever
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Forgiveness is not merely an act
Evelyn Whitfield
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God's loving gift: the Ten Commandments
Jan Johnston
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The ten-mile hike
Julia Ann Westphal
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The blessing of seeing clearly
Mary Helen Tscherny
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Not having to live with regret
Russ Gerber
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Truth, not time
Lawrence T. Campbell
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Christmas in October
Mary Metzner Trammell
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Two years ago when my husband passed on, I was First Reader...
Ruth Dearstyne Carlson