Remorse, Regret or Repentance?

I was spending time in the Psalms this morning…reading devotionally…attempting to get “shushed-up” and trying to “cease to speak” so He might speak. In Psalm 55:12-14, we see an amazing prophecy concerning the life of Christ, revealed through the life of David. David talks of the pain of experiencing betrayal through a friend. This part of the Psalm is obviously a prophecy concerning Judas betraying Christ, written by David almost 1000 years before the fact! Bono sings of this betrayal in the song, “Until the End of the World.” Perhaps it’s a song that is only about Judas and Jesus…or, perhaps it’s a song where we are all able to come to grips with our little betrayals (or big) of Jesus during our lives. The problem with Judas is that he was filled with remorse and regret rather than filled with repentance. Remorse simply leads to shame and guilt and leaves one with no hope. Repentance is acknowledging failure before a holy God, but with the hope of mercy and grace through Messiah. Remorse is faithless repentance. So today, I face a choice as I stumble through the coming hours…will I walk in repentance leading to hope and joy? Or, like Judas, will I simply be filled with hopeless remorse and regret and experience death? In one of U2’s concerts, Bono walked past Larry and said of the previous song (I forget what is was at the moment), “That was Jesus.” Then he says concerning the next song…”This is Judas.”…and then the band played, “Until the End of the World.” I'm having trouble finding the video where Bono tells Larry, "This is Judas," but check out this video...its not so subtle!