REGRETS | Frank Becker

Week Forty-Two, 2024

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23).

We’ve all had them, and the older we get, the more they pile up. They are the regrets for the wrong decisions we have made. Often, they have brought lasting and painful consequences. Some were recent and some from a long time ago. Some may be family and social, some relationships and some financial. Some bring shame and guilt.

But remember, you are not alone. We all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. We all have made decisions we wish we had never made. Remember that God has a plan for forgiveness and restoration. Often the consequences of our wrong decisions will linger, maybe for a lifetime. But forgiveness and restoration is now.

Talk to God openly about your weaknesses, failures and mistakes. Repent of any wrongdoing. Repentance means you’re sincerely sorry and you want to make a change.

Overcoming shame and guilt is possible with Christ’s help. He has paid the price for our sins, even the worst sins that cause us to feel guilt and shame. 1 John 1:9 says when we confess our sins, he forgives us and purifies us. This means we do not need to let shame and guilt control us. Shame and guilt are tools of Satan!

Finding compassion and contentment in life is an inside job. No one else can give these things to you. Worrying is like paying interest on a debt that never comes due. It is never too late to be all that we can be. We can live in the darkness or fight our way into the light.

We have all traded what really matters for something that doesn’t really matter. We are defined by our choices.

Regret can draw us to salvation. Paul tells us that “Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation” (2 Corinthians 7:10) and that it is God’s kindness that brings us to repentance (Romans 2:4).

Regret is sorrow or remorse over something that has happened or that we have done. Regret can also be a sense of disappointment over what has not happened, such as regretting wasted years. To be human is to have regrets because making mistakes is a universal experience.

The Bible gives much instruction that, if followed, will result in fewer regrets. God’s commands and boundaries are written down for us in His Word, and the more we adhere to them, the less we have to regret. However, in God’s grace and mercy, He has also provided a way to deal with regrets when we have not lived as wisely as He wants us to.

Bring your regrets to God and He will lead you to a path of joy.

Sometimes True Stories

And Peter remembered the word which Jesus had said, ‘Before a rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.’ And he went out and wept bitterly (Matthew 26:75).

We live in a world where we often have only one chance to get it right. The shot at the buzzer to win the basketball game. Your final exam to get the degree you have been working for. The one opportunity to apply for that dream job. You think, if I could just have a “do over”, this time I’ll get it right.

Peter, as we sometimes do, thought that he really blew it when he denied Christ not once, but three times. He thought, as we do, that he wouldn’t get another chance for redemption.

Thankfully, we serve a God of second, and sometimes third, chances. “Where sin abounded, grace abounded much more.” (Romans 5:20)

That doesn’t mean we can keep on sinning. That means, like Peter, if we confess, we can receive forgiveness and restoration. (I John 1:9)

God’s love is limitless! Rich Jensen

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Quotes You Can Use

Strength and growth come only through continuous effort and struggle. Napoleon Hill

Where there’s hope, there’s life. It fills us with fresh courage and makes us strong again. Anne Frank

Sometimes the Lord brings us to the end of ourselves to grow us and to display His glorious power in our weakness. Believe! Pastor Edgar Aponte

In six months, you will have six months of excuses or six months of progress. The choice is yours.

The greatest wealth you will ever experience in your life is having a healthy body, a peaceful mind and the right people in your life.

We are living in a time where Satan doesn’t even hide anymore and the world still can’t see him.

In life, it is important to know when to stop arguing with people and simply let them be wrong.

The TRUTH doesn’t change just because you don’t want to hear it.

People don’t decide their futures, they decide their habits and their habits decide their future.

Blind belief in authority is the greatest enemy of trust. Albert Einstein

Satan’s greatest weapon is man’s ignorance of God’s Word. A.W. Tozer

We need leaders not in love with money, but in love with justice, not in love with publicity, but in love with humanity. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Before you argue with someone, ask yourself, if this person is mentally mature enough to grasp the concept of a different perspective. If not, there is no point to argue.

Sin should not characterize the Christian, but a life of freedom from sin and freedom for righteousness should characterize the Christian. Tony Merida

A goal is a dream with a deadline. Napoleon Hill

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