Exercising the Fruit of the Spirit

By: Anthony Martin

One of the best ways to grow together is by yielding to the Fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). This is God’s character and it always works. Allowing God’s nature to be the guiding influence in all of our marital interactions will produce success. It is important to evaluate the spiritual progress of your marriage regularly because this will allow you and your spouse to determine what areas need your attention. God’s desire for your marriage is no different than it was in the beginning, which is to be fruitful (Genesis 1:28). When you make godly character a priority in your relationship, it will build trust and security. The presence of God is in fruit such as love, patience, and kindness. These types of attributes develop strong cords of unity that can withstand the strongest tests.

Christian married couples are encouraged to take their instructions for conduct from the Holy Bible. It contains godly knowledge and wisdom for all situations and challenges in life. God’s Word is a solid blueprint for building healthy bridges and interactions with one another. Do you know from the beginning of your marriage God has been attempting to guide you and your spouse? He wants to increase your relationship on all levels. One way God does this is by encouraging submission to the Fruit of the Spirit. What better way to build a healthy foundation for your marriage then for godly conduct to be at the center? When it is in place, it makes all of the other areas such as romance, communication, and emotional bonding blossom. On the other hand, when strife, contention, and participation in the flesh are habitually harvesting, it creates emotional distance.

The Word of God admonishes us to not give place to the devil (Ephesians4:27). We are no longer are debtors to the former life; we now have the nature of God abiding in our hearts. We do not have to resort to mistreatment and hostility in our marriages. We can offer peace and gentleness as a means of diffusing any misunderstandings that arise. How you treat one another will determine the level of your connectedness. Everyone wants to feel safe and fulfilled in his or her marriage. The key is to make godly investments that will ensure this happens. May the love of Jesus Christ abound in your marriage and may you be good to one another.

Communication in Marriage

By: Anthony Martin

Our Heavenly Father gives us the opportunity to come before him to share our hearts concerning matters of life that are troubling to us. Although he knows us through and through, he still listens to our hearts. Do you give your spouse the same space for expression?

There is a lot you stand to gain by listening and being open to your spouse’s heartfelt words. For starters, it may open the door to more communication possibilities whereby you both feel safe in sharing your hearts. When you and your spouse are open, it keeps you both from arriving at conclusions before you hear one another’s heart. One thing that can shut down communication is speculation and prejudgment before listening to all of the information. This kind of thing happens frequently amongst married couples.

Are there times when you allow your mind to drift into a place of labeling your spouse a certain way without first getting an understanding? This creates emotional and communicative walls to form thus removing the possibility for a clear understanding. There is nothing more harmful to your intimacy than to defiantly and openly disregard one another out of heated or bitter exchanges. 

It is important that you take ownership for your part and in contributing to any marital discord that you may be experiencing. In addition to taking ownership it is important to consider the lurking attempts of evil forces to keep you and your spouse divided. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places (Ephesians 6:12).

God gives clear reasoning as to who is opposing your marriage. He starts the above passage off by letting you know who the actual enemies are. These forces of evil are hoping that you will blame one another during disagreements, so they can influence your minds toward unhealthy views. These evil forces want your communication to cease! They want you both to be distant, cold, and insensitive toward one another. Try taking your hearts to God and seek to use effective communication in your relationship.