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What does biblical forgiveness in marriage really look like? In week 14 of our marriage devotional series, Aaron and Jennifer Smith explain that forgiveness is the necessary first step toward reconciliation, but it is not the same as reconciliation, excusing sin, or pretending the hurt never happened. Like water poured on a fire that still leaves char behind, forgiveness puts out the flames even when marks remain. We walk through Jesus' command to forgive seventy times seven in Matthew 18, its connection to Israel's 490 years in Babylon, and the parable of the unforgiving servant. We also share what a...

How pride damages marriage, and how humility heals it. In week 13 of our marriage devotional series, Aaron and Jennifer Smith define pride as self-worship, the very sin behind Satan's fall in Isaiah 14 with its repeated "I will." We name the everyday ways pride shows up between spouses: needing to be right, control, defensiveness, the silent treatment, keeping score, comparison, and jealousy. We look at why Proverbs 6 lists pride among the things God hates, and how pride blocks reconciliation, quenches the Holy Spirit, and deceives us into thinking we don't need God. The cure is humility: submitting to...

Armor of God for marriage: in part 12 of our marriage devotional series based on Husband After God and Wife After God, Aaron and Jennifer Smith walk through Ephesians 6 piece by piece and show why the armor is practical, daily protection for a Christian marriage. Our battle is not against each other but against spiritual forces of darkness, so we need to be strong in the Lord, not in our own strength, just as David refused Saul's untested armor and faced Goliath in God's name. We unpack the belt of truth that keeps a couple unified, the breastplate of...

Love languages and servant love with Dr. Gary Chapman, bestselling author of The Five Love Languages. Married 64 years and on the same church staff for 50, Dr. Chapman joins Aaron Smith to talk about his new book, The Love Language That Matters Most, which adds dialects and personality nuance to the five love languages. He shares the crisis in his own marriage when God gave him the picture of Jesus washing feet, and the three questions that changed how he loved his wife: What can I do to help you? How can I make your life easier? How can...

Money and marriage from a biblical perspective: in part 11 of our marriage devotional series, Aaron and Jennifer Smith talk about living according to God's economy. Citing a Ramsey study that names money as the second leading cause of divorce, we encourage couples to actually talk about their finances and to see themselves as stewards with open hands, not owners. Jennifer shares how a friend's simple gift of cupcakes and a verse during a season of postpartum anxiety told her she was worth it, and we share our own testimony of being prompted by Malachi 3:10 to start giving generously...

Spiritual warfare in the family: Aaron Smith sits down with Pastor Craig Thompson, author of Fighting for Your Family and pastor of Malvern Hill Baptist Church in Camden, South Carolina, to talk about fighting for your marriage instead of against your spouse. Craig names three fronts of spiritual warfare, the devil, the world and our own flesh, and explains why the battle he faces most is with the selfish man in the mirror. They discuss balancing ministry and family without sacrificing either on the altar of the other, why home should be a cross and not a castle, paying the...

Conflict in marriage and spiritual warfare: in part 10 of our marriage devotional series, Aaron and Jennifer Smith talk about what we're really fighting for. Scripture reminds us our battle is not against flesh and blood, so your spouse is never the real enemy; the fight is spiritual and against our own flesh. When we treat each other as the enemy, we turn to pride, accusation and insolence. We name the enemy's tactics of deception, accusation and temptation, talk about heart posture and body language like eye-rolling and crossed arms, and share practical ways to fight better: stop strife before...

Conduct in marriage: in part 9 of our marriage devotional series, Aaron and Jennifer Smith talk about how the way we behave directs the course of our marriage and leads those around us. Aaron unpacks the husband's call to protect his wife physically, emotionally and spiritually, loving her as his own body (Ephesians 5:28-29) and honoring her as the weaker vessel (1 Peter 3:7), and warns against leaving doors open to the enemy through secrets like hidden accounts or social media. Jennifer shares the testimony of a woman who prayed 30 years for her husband's salvation and teaches from 1...

Confidence in marriage starts with confidence in God. In part 8 of our marriage devotional series, Aaron and Jennifer Smith pair the wife's devotional on confident worthiness with the husband's devotional on bravery. Jennifer encourages wives to find their worth and identity in Christ alone rather than in self-reliance, fashion, family or even their spouse, drawing on Psalm 139 and Proverbs 31. Aaron challenges husbands to be spiritually brave, to fight the good fight of faith (1 Timothy 6:12) and be strong and courageous (Joshua 1:9) by opening the Bible and praying out loud with their family even when they...

Is marriage meant to make you holy? In part 7 of our marriage devotional series, Aaron and Jennifer Smith talk about sanctification, being set apart as holy, as both something that happens at salvation and a lifelong process. Using the pictures of tree roots that grow deeper through wind and drought and gold refined by fire, we share how trials in marriage bring hidden sin to the surface. Drawing on Gary Thomas's Sacred Marriage, we talk about how your spouse becomes a mirror that exposes self-righteousness and our habit of minimizing our own sin while maximizing theirs. We also share...