But here's an even better truth: God knows you can't make it right. None of it. But He can. The day I took a good look at my sins—my real sins—was the day I discovered 1 John 1:9. 'But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.

Maybe that was the key-just because she'd made a mistake with her life didn't mean that God did, and it hopefully didn't change the way God saw her.

God will show up even when we've made a mess of things. Even when it's out fault - He will show up because that's Who He is.

We are accountable because we are sinful. The unfortunate truth is that Adam chose to sin, and so do we. But the good news is that God gives us a way out, through Christ. Accountability and forgiveness in one shot. All we have to do is accept it. It's pretty easy.

And maybe that was the reason God sent him up there-to take a good look at himself, at the raw, brutal facts, and remind him that whatever line he cut behind him, grace always lay before him. A pristine, white, unblemished future.

God's already forgiven you. You need to forgive yourself and let God love you. Be His child, and embrace His grace. You can't create your own heaven on earth. That's His job. If you try to do it yourself, you'll never experience the love of God fulfilling your wildest dreams.

It must be the full confession by Christendom of Christendom's specific contribution to the sum of human cruelty and treachery.

Grace releases people not only from sin but from shame.

Dear God, I know that my sin has put a barrier between You and me. Thank You for sending Your Son, Jesus, to suffer the penalty of my sin by dying in my place so that barrier would be removed. I trust in Jesus alone for the forgiveness of my sins.

Sometime in my ministry, I am going to gather up enough courage to have a testimony time where the only thing we'll share is our failures.

Own it all. Hold yourself accountable to God, and confess any sinful part. By doing so, you will have the necessary peace to make peace with your brother or sister. Do this, and you will leave a lasting positive impact on the people around you, even as a sinner.

You can live under the weight of your past or the weight of forgiveness. If you choose the former, you'll constantly be working off the guilt like someone who overeats at the holidays.