The couple chose an olive branch as their theme for the Jewish-Muslim union, and the ceremony under a wedding canopy combined readings in Arabic and English, and a traditional Palestinian wedding dance.

HT: Isalmicate

12 Ways Ephesians 1:3 Should Impact Our Marriage

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. – Ephesians 1:3

1. Jesus Christ is our Lord and therefore he is Lord of our marriage. All we do should be in submission to him.

2. God has already blessed us (it doesn’t say “he will bless us”). Therefore, we should cultivate grateful hearts.

3. This blessing is in Christ, therefore we should diligently seek to be found in him by resting in him and trusting him alone for salvation.

4. Because the blessings are in Christ we should not seek the “blessings” found apart from him, which the world falsely promises.

5. He has blessed us with every spiritual blessing. He isn’t holding out on us. There aren’t other blessings we need but don’t have, therefore we should be content.

6. Because God has given each of us every blessing we don’t need to (and should not) seek our ultimate happiness in each other.

7. Because God has given us every blessing we are free to return good for evil. We are free to give grace when sinned against.

8. Because God has given us every blessing we can be confident that he has given us all we need to live godly lives (2 Peter 1:3) and therefore we ought to.

9. Because we have every spiritual blessing we can be generous towards others knowing that we won’t lack anything.

10. Because we have every spiritual blessing we can trust God and continue to follow him even when he takes material or physical blessings from us.

11. Because we have every spiritual blessing we can be confident we will have unceasing joy in his presence and therefore seek this joy in Christ even now.

12. Our blessings are from and in the heavenly places and thus we will most fully enjoy them there. Therefore, when one of us dies the other will grieve, but as one who is full of hope knowing the other is experiencing the fullness of the blessing.

My wife could have responded with grace to help me see my anxiety and then to point me towards the truth that God meets all our needs according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus (see Philippians 4:19). Instead she responded in anger, rightly pointing out that I had not communicated to her my concerns about our finances. She sinned too. This highlighted more sin on my part because it showed how I was failing to lead my family by not communicating to my wife about my financial concerns.

Then I compounded my sin through more sin by feeling all kinds of self pity and self-righteousness as I dwelt on how my wife was treating me.

During this time our 4 year old daughter disobeyed in various ways and had a complaining heart. She was sinning too. At one point I despaired thinking, “This house is full of sin!” It seemed as thought only our 11 month old son was not walking in sin. Then it occurred to me how this sin had sucked out all the peace in our home. There was tension between my wife and I. There was annoyance from us regarding our daughter. There was no peace between us.

It was a vivid illustration to me of how sin destroys peace. It wrecks relationships. If my wife or I had chosen to hold on to our sin there would not be reconciliation and there would not be peace. I knew I needed God to humble my heart so that I would repent from my sin. I needed a Savior who would not only forgive my sin, but also cleanse me from all unrighteousness. I knew that I needed Jesus Christ.

After I put our daughter to bed I spent just a few moments thinking about what I would say when I went downstairs to talk to my wife. When we got married we promised each other that we would never go to bed angry. We have kept that promise for over 11 years now. As I reflected on that I thought, “When we go to sleep tonight we will not be angry with each other. We will be reconciled to one another before the night is over.” Then I thought, “Why not live in that future reality now? Why not put away my self-righteousness, self-pity, and anger (God had already mercifully set me free from the anxiety I had been feeling)?” So that was the attitude I took with me as I walked down the stairs to work through all that had happened with my wife.

As we talked I was able to confess my sin to her. She was able to confess her sin to me. We repented and we forgave each other. And praise the Lord, we had peace again.

Whenever friends get married and ask for a piece of advice, I always give the same counsel. Don’t go to bed angry. The Bible says, “Do not let the sun go down on your anger” (Ephesians 4:26). It is a pretty simple command to understand, but it isn’t easy to do it. Before Kellie and I were married we promised each other that we would never go to sleep angry. For 11 years we have kept that promise. But it hasn’t been easy. We have had some really late nights. Granted we don’t always come to a full resolution of the problem before we go to sleep, but we deal with our anger so that while we may not agree we do go to sleep at peace with each other.

It makes all the difference in the world when you wake up free from anger or bitterness. As we seek to live at peace with those around us, may we be sure to give all of our energy to living at peace with the one closest.