Because we were all rebels against God and had sinned, there is often a sense of guilt over the time, money, and energy wasted in the past. Probably your sin hurt other people or influenced others to sin also. You may now be embarrassed and ashamed. The reason for this is that sin really is a shame . In that sense, the only real biblical view to have of those choices is, "I wish I had never done those things at all."

Paul wrote to the Christians in the city of Corinth and called this " godly sorrow ." He referred to some bad issues among them and said: ". . . now I am happy, not because you were made sorry, but because your sorrow led you to repentance. For you became sorrowful as God intended and so were not harmed in any way by us. Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death."

2 Corinthians 7:9-10

In other words, there is good guilt and bad guilt. Good guilt is the awakening of our conscience, prompting us to do what is right and to repent of what we have done wrong. Bad guilt, or "worldly sorrow," is just being sorry for the big mess we made and being sorry that we were "caught."

Good guilt comes from God before we were saved. It is called conviction . John 16:8 says that the Holy Spirit will "convict the world of guilt in regard to sin . . ."

Bad guilt is called condemnation and is not from God. John 3:17 says, "For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world." The devil and the evil spirits want to remind us of our past to make us feel guilty. If they cannot defeat us, they try to make us feel defeated.

Often people say, "I know I’ve been forgiven, but I just can’t seem to forgive myself."

We have those feelings because of our memories and the emotions attached to them.

It is important to understand that we do not need to forgive our self . Jesus Christ has paid the ransom price for our freedom. When we accept what Christ did for us at Calvary, we receive His forgiveness. If you still need to forgive yourself then you are putting your own forgiveness above God’s.

Instead, accept the pardon of the One who created you and who owns the world. Romans 8:1-2 says, "There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of Life set me free from the law of sin and death."

When God says "No condemnation," He means it!

Where did the sin go? Psalm 103:12 says, "As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us."

We read in Micah 7:19: "You will again have compassion on us; you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea."

He loves us! "As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him." Psalm 103:13

It is important that we see ourselves as God sees us:

God’s word declares that we are not the same as we were: "If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation, old things are passed away, Behold! All things have become new!"

2 Corinthians 5:17

God improves everything He touches. He has touched us and wants to improve our relationships also. Friends are important to us all and they are important to God.

Our friends also influence us more than we realize. They influence such things as how we think . . . what we think is funny or beautiful or fun . God wants to influence those things too. As we get to know Him better we discover He really is the very best Friend we ever had. "There is a friend who sticks closer than a brother." Proverbs 18:24

We may discover that many of the people we thought were our friends were not true friends. This is probably because they were living selfishly like we were. We may not have been a very good friend either. Proverbs 17:17 says, "A friend loves at all times."

God loves our old friends as much as He loves us and wants to save them also. Perhaps He will use you to share the reality of Jesus Christ with them.

However, if you are unable to influence them more than they influence you, you should

limit your time with them. This is especially true if they spend their spare time in sinful practices. It is important that we choose carefully the settings for such association so that our influence for Jesus will remain strong. The Bible warns us, "Do not be misled; ‘Bad company corrupts good character’." Proverbs 15:33

Now that you are a "new creation," it is understandable that you will also have new friends.

Go out of your way to make friends with godly people. How? Proverbs 18:24 says, "He who has friends must show himself friendly." To have a good friend, first be a good friend.

Your past is forgiven and your future is bright. Be grateful that you belong to God!