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Has anyone ever done something wrong to you, and instead of apologizing and making it right, she tried to correct her wrong by doing something nice for you?  How did that make you feel?  Really, you just wanted an apology, right?

Well, sometimes we do that to God.  There are a lot of people who believe they can work their way to heaven or that God will love them more if they do enough things for him.  They believe they’ll be rewarded because of their good deeds.  It just doesn’t work that way, and these thoughts will get people into trouble.  There are still others who take it to the other extreme.

These are the kind of people who believe they have to suffer just like Jesus did, so they beat themselves with whips, crawl across glass, and even hang on crosses for hours at a time in order to receive forgiveness.  Both of these ways are false.

“Only God can forgive sins” (Mark 2:7).  You can’t get his forgiveness from your parents or from the people you hang out with.  Sure, they can (and should) forgive your shortcomings by not holding them against you, but only God can erase them from your record permanently.  All you have to do is confess your sins to him and repent and- instantly -they’re gone forever.

Confess your sins to the Lord today.  He’s the only One who can get rid of them for you!
See for yourself: Matt. 9:6; Mark 2:10, 11; Luke 5:20, 24; Eph. 2:8, 9

Want to know more?  Find more devotionals in the Revolve Devotional Bible here!

Excerpted from Revolve™ Dream On: The Complete New Testament. © 2010 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Holy Bible, New Century Version. © 2005 Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used with permission. All rights reserved.

Fear or faith.  Which is stronger in your life?  Allowing fear to control your life is a prison.  Allowing faith to control your life is an adventure.

God has plans for you that will totally stretch you out of your comfort zone- plans that may even make you feel super freaked out at times.  If you allow fear to control your choices, playing it safe instead of trusting God, you’ll miss out on amazing opportunities.  But if you trust in a big God and decide to risk living on the edge with him, you’ll accomplish things you never dreamed possible.

Begin identifying things that rattle your world- failure, rejection, being alone, getting sick, being treated harshly, speaking in front of people, getting hurt physically or emotionally, trusting God with your future, missing out, or sharing your faith.  Next, replace fear.  Memorize Philippians 4:13 and Isaiah 41:10.  Repeat them each time you come to a challenge that seems too hard.  Also, make a list of the times God helped you through tough spots and ask really committed believers to tell you about situations when God helped them through fearful events.

Faith isn’t the absence of fear- it’s the courage to overcome fear because you believe in a big God!  So relax and believe that something you can’t see yet will happen- an awesome faith adventure where there’s no room for fear.

Want to know more?  Find more devotionals in the Revolve Devotional Bible here!

Excerpted from Revolve Devotional Bible. © 2010 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used with permission. All rights reserved.