At some level, every relationship is assaulted by an aroma of judgment - this sense that we will never measure up to the expectations and demands of another.

The deepest fear we have, 'the fear beneath all fears,' is the fear of not measuring up, the fear of judgment. It's this fear that creates the stress and depression of everyday life.

The Gospel declares that our guilt has been atoned for, the law has been fulfilled. So we don't need to live under the burden of trying to appease the judgment we feel.

My observation of Christendom is that most of us tend to base our relationship with God on our performance instead of on His grace.

I got my first tennis racket on my seventh birthday. And because we had a tennis court in our backyard, I played every day. By ten I was playing competitively.

Assurance never comes from looking at ourselves. It only comes as a consequence of looking to Christ.