"Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you; but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing" (1 Peter 4:12-13).

"And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors." Matthew 6:12

Thanks to Bruce Jenner's recent public "transformation," it seems transgenderism is front and center in American pop-culture. A missionary friend of mine who works primarily in New England sent me a picture this week of a transgender bathroom sign in Boston. He called it "a sign of the times."

How does God use our marriages to change us? To grow us in holiness? To reveal our sins and shortcomings and encourage us to look only to Christ for satisfaction? How can we gain clearer vision, that we might see God at work in our marriages and come to embrace the everyday grace of the gospel? How can my marriage be rescued from its primary nemesis - my own selfishness?

"You son of a perverse, rebellious woman!"

This past Wednesday, I got to see God's answer to Islam.

In honor of mothers and godly women everywhere . . . I offer up this second blog post in the series.

With Mother's Day on the near horizon, ladies dear to me are on my mind. My wife is amazing. She is my favorite mom and woman in the whole world. I mean no offense at all to my own mother, whom I love and try to honor. She brought me into this world! But I also know that God says a man is to leave his father and mother and cling unto his wife (Gen 2:24; Matt 19:5). So, I don't think my own mother would even expect me to say anything other than, "My wife is the best woman I know!"

Doctors take an oath to "do no harm." Pastors can empathize.