The confession of evil works is the first beginning of good works.

No man getteth Christ with ill-will [on Christ's part]; no man cometh and is not welcome. No man cometh and rueth [regrets] his voyage. Letter 226

We have a strange illusion that mere time cancels sin.

Instead of living in the sunshine of God's forgiveness through Christ, we tend to live under an overcast sky of guilt most of the time.

Until we have met the monsters in ourselves, we keep trying to slay them in the outer world. And we find that we cannot. For all darkness in the world stems from darkness in the heart. And it is there that we must do our work.

Today I atone for the mistakes of my past.

we are punished by our sins, not for them. Your mistakes, no matter how bad you might think they were, did not emanate from your self as He created you. Thats why remembering who you truly are is the key to deliverance from the flames of self condemnation.

God forgives you. Your mistakes did not change the ultimate truth about you or alter the permanent nature of God's universe. Your ego is not that powerful. Truly atone for your errors, make amends where possible, and you'll be free to begin again.

Love can't cover over the sins we cover up…If you want God and others to cover over your sin, stop covering it up.

The church should not be an assembly of the self-righteous but an assembly of people who admit that they are not righteous apart from God's grace.

Discipling in the gospel means that sometimes you lead the way in confessing weakness or sin. By doing so, you demonstrate what it looks like not to find your justification in yourself, but in Christ. And so you live transparently and honestly.

All of a Christian's life is one of repentance.