Forgiveness: the end of regret

Today, I have had cause again to dwell on the nature and the destructive power of regret. Lives lived facing backwards, full of what-if and if-only, are at best deprived of freedom and sapped of the fullness of joy. For all of which the Gospel offers a simple alternative: forgiveness. God takes your sins to…

Guilt and being guilty

I wrote some time ago about the difference between regret and repentance. This is connected to that set of thoughts. In pastoral care situations, I frequently hear people talking about how guilty they feel. It's an epidemic, especially amongst Christians whose consciences have been made tender by the work of God's word. At the same…

Leaving your gift at the altar

I grew up in Lutheran circles in Western Finland that can only be described as pietist orthodoxy. For many (most?) English-speaking Lutherans, that's supposed to be a contradiction in terms, but take my word for it, it isn't necessarily. My experience is of a rich, deep spirituality rooted in the Scriptures and the Lutheran Confessions.…

Get clean

HT: Pastor Peters