Getting God’s Results, Which IS ALWAYS Marriage Restoration
When we’re standing for the restoration of our marriages, there’s ONLY one certain way to get God’s results, and that’s to DO things God’s way. But when we don’t do things God’s way, and choose instead to rely on our own understanding and the ability and power of our own mind and flesh, and the way of the world, we will get the world’s results, which is divorce and the total and complete devastation and destruction of our marriages and families. And since none of us naturally know HOW to stand for our marriages, it’s very important to seek godly counsel and instruction, and to totally avoid any advice or counsel that is not grounded and verified in the Word of God. The Bible makes that very clear, and here are just a few verses demonstrating just how vitally important it really is:
Psalm 1:1-6
The Way of the Righteous and the End of the Ungodly
Blessed is the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful; But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper.
The ungodly are not so, But are like the chaff which the wind drives away. Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, Nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.
For the LORD knows the way of the righteous, But the way of the ungodly shall perish.
Isaiah 28:29
All this also comes from the LORD Almighty, wonderful in counsel and magnificent in wisdom.
Isaiah 47:13-14
All the counsel you have received has only worn you out! Let your astrologers come forward, those stargazers who make predictions month by month, let them save you from what is coming upon you. Surely they are like stubble; the fire will burn them up. They cannot even save themselves from the power of the flame. Here are no coals to warm anyone; here is no fire to sit by.
Proverbs 14:12
There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.
Proverbs 3:5-6
Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.
Luke 6:46-49
The Wise and Foolish Builders
“Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say? I will show you what he is like who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice. He is like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built.
But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete.â€
So when we’re serious about marriage restoration, we can’t afford to listen to and follow our own deceitful hearts, which Jeremiah 17:9 tells us are beyond cure, so we have to study and understand the Word of God instead and heed wise and sound biblical counsel; putting it into practice. So when we receive advice and counsel from others, we need to make certain that it is in full accordance with the Word of God, because anything else will not lead us to the end result we seek. But we CAN and WILL get God’s results by DOING things HIS way! So we are truly blessed to have access to the counsel of men and women like Bob and Charlyne Steinkamp; and Bob’s Charlyne Cares message from yesterday, which follows, certainly is powerful evidence of that.! And so are the following messages one of the FAM fellowship members brought to our attention from Focus on the Family, which were on their radio broadcasts this past Monday and Tuesday, as follow, and which I encourage everyone to listen to for encouragement and more godly counsel:
Letting God Mend Your Marriage – Part 1
Letting God Mend Your Marriage – Part 2
When we rely on the power and promise of God’s Word, He will “mend†our hearts and marriages, and we will truly be blessed and encouraged as we witness the full and complete restoration of our marriages and families, which is ALWAYS God’s result!
Now here’s Bob’s Charlyne Cares message from yesterday, which I strongly suggest copying and keeping on hand for frequent reference, because it is packed with godly counsel that will help get God’s results – the restoration of our marriages!!
“Today Bob Steinkamp shares his thoughts on the basics of marriage
restoration God’s way, twenty years and two days after his remarriage
to Charlyne following their divorce. If you are seeking a prodigal
perspective, combined with wise counsel on restoration, this is it.
FIRM FACTS ABOUT MARRIAGE RESTORATION
“Who is wise? He will realize these things. Who is discerning? He will understand them. The ways of the LORD are right; the righteous walk in them, but the rebellious stumble in them.†Hosea 14:9
Have you ever wished that you could learn, in only a few minutes, all about standing for the healing of your marriage God’s way? The best I can do is to share with you some of the firm facts about standing.
Not all these are what you might want to hear, but they are every one what you need to know, if you are serious about marriage restoration:
“My people are destroyed from lack of knowledge…†Hosea 4:6
1. Do not expect people to understand or to support your stand for marriage restoration. God has given to you, not to others, the assignment and the burden to stand with Him and to pray for your spouse. Because of this, you must always look to God, and not to people for your support.
2. The day that you promise God that you will stand for your marriage, you become like a lightening rod for attacks from the Enemy. Expect to be tempted in ways you never imagined. Anticipate the circumstances to become worse. Know that you and your family are now a threat to the work of Satan and the evil one, and his demons will attempt in every way to get you to give up. If you are a lightening rod for satanic attacks, Jesus Christ is your Ground. He alone can protect you from every harm.
“If you forgive anyone, I also forgive him. And what I have forgiven-if there was anything to forgive-I have forgiven in the sight of Christ for your sake, in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes.†2 Corinthians 2:10-12
3. Always remember that this is a spiritual battle, and spiritual battles are won with spiritual weapons. Your following someone’s secular program in hopes of marriage restoration is like going into war in Iraq armed only with a toy water pistol.
4. Your beloved mate has been taken captive by Satan to do his evil will. The words and actions that hurt you today are those of the Enemy, and not your spouses’s. Remember, Satan is the father of all lies, so do not expect to hear the truth from your prodigal spouse.
5. One way or another, your prodigal will witness or hear about your changed lifestyle when you start looking to Him alone to heal and to restore your marriage and family. Your prodigal, with their life in a tailspin, will be strangely attracted to the peace that you have, in spite of the circumstances. Claim that peace by a consistent, close, loving relationship with Jesus Christ. The peace that attracts prodigals comes from God alone, and not from any self-help or secular program designed to get your spouse back in the door.
6. Always remember, this is not about coaxing or manipulating your prodigal spouse back home so that you will be happy. It is a life or death battle for the eternal destiny of your prodigal’s soul. The end result will be life eternal, in Heaven, or a life in Hell, depending on what your beloved does with Jesus.
7. Your stand is about much more than you and your spouse. It is also about your family, your circle of influence, your future generations, and even people you may not even know who are silently following your example.
8. In most instances, your prodigal spouse is better off living in their home than outside. We understand there are safety and health considerations, but forcing them to leave the family home is often turning them out to Satan’s playground. As long as they are in the home, you can better detect your mate’s spiritual needs and thus pray for them.
9. Expect every area of your mate’s life to change as they silently seek relief from the torment the Enemy is bringing their way. Do not be wiped out by job changes, moves to distant places, new hobbies and attractions, or even an often-forced attempt to legalize their adultery by entering a non-covenant marriage to another person. If you are standing strong, God still considers you to be married.
10. Regardless of why your spouse left home, and in spite of what they are saying, most prodigals become involved with another person during their far country experience. Do not be devastated if that happens.
11. No matter what professional-sounding tag has been attached to your wayward spouse, the bottom line is that every husband or wife who has ever walked out on a marriage have all done so because of sin. Your beloved might have a sex, substance or selfishness problem. They might have been diagnosed, often by a professional who has never met them, with a chemical imbalance, bi-polar disorder, or mid-life issues. Regardless, they still have a sin problem. Marriages are healed when spouses stop making excuses with man’s terms and start dealing with their mate’s sin problem in the prayer closet. (Does it strike you as odd that someone can diagnose your spouse without ever meeting them?)
12. No other human can tell you the exact day your prodigal will repent and come home. We know of too many good standers who have been almost destroyed when someone traveling through town prophesies an exact date for restoration, and that date comes and goes without anything happening. The date is God’s business and not man’s. As a stander, you need to live every day as though today was your day of restoration.
13. Allow God to be God in bringing your prodigal home to Himself, and home to you. Be careful not to set stipulations for your prodigal’s return without seeking God for His will. Be wary of any individuals who want to help you set rules for a prodigal’s return.
14. Standing is not reciting a prayer, nor is it attending meetings, or talking the talk of a stander. It must become a way of life for you. That way of life is living like Jesus did. There must be no place for sin, in any form, in your life. If you call yourself a stander, you must want to see how far from the line called sin you can live, and not experimenting with what God will allow you to get away with. The sinful things of this world must be constantly dropping from your life, as they are replaced by the things of God. For example, developing a desire for Christian music; music that will give you answers, and help, and support instead of music from the world. Standing is not learned, nor is it mastered all at once. It is learned one step (or one mistake) at a time. God allows for mistakes in standing as you learn. I cannot tell you how many times each month a person who is serious about standing tells us how they have “really blown it†with their Lord God, or with their mate. No, you have not. God allows mistakes, and He forgives them when we repent. The only way you can “really blow it†is by giving up on God and on your prodigal spouse. Even then, God allows fresh starts. Somehow, he covers over all your mistakes, when we sincerely repent, like the tide washing across the beach. Every sign of imperfection is washed away.
16. If standing becomes “too hard†and you “can’t do it any more,†(whatever that means) and you give up standing, nothing is going to be any different about your life tomorrow. Your prodigal spouse will be the same, as will your circumstances. The only difference is that you have given up your hope and, in effect have bought into, “Some things are impossible for even God,†a statement that simply is not true. If you limit God in marriage restoration, you are also going limiting Him every time you need Him in the future. Nothing is impossible with God.
17. Another hard fact of standing is that you should stay away from, and not accept advice from people named “They.†We often hear how “They feel God has someone better for me,†or “They said I should get on with my life.†When “They say my marriage is hopeless,†we want to reply. It’s not about what “They†say, but about what God
says. You cannot be listening to “Theyâ€" and God at the same time.
“The heart of the discerning acquires knowledge; the ears of the wise seek it out.†Proverbs 18:15
18. You might have heard me say previously that if there had been an Internet and email 20 years ago, when we were divorced and Charlyne was standing with God and praying for me, I am not certain that I would be here today. If I, as a prodigal spouse, had read some of the things about me that even good standers post all over the Internet today, I would have run the opposite direction. It is almost as if today’s standers think they are having a private conversation with a friend, when they diagnose and disclose the mates faults and weaknesses online. There is Internet access in the pigpens of life also, and prodigals read the message boards and chat rooms-and additional damage is done to already troubled marriages. If every stander could give God half as much time as they are giving their computer for a six month period, we would see marriages restored in droves. Since some standers are addicted to the chat rooms and other online activities, I suspect that will never happen. Instead, they’ll keep limping along, typing, “You won’t believe what he/she did now,†and the soliciting advice, not from God, but from online friends, many whom they have never seen face to face, and some of whom are not even who they claim to be. Our standers will keep typing out prayers online, and calling it devotional time, instead of getting on their face before Almighty God, and crying out to Him. Before you say, “Nothing’s happening in my stand,†Charlyne and I would ask, “What’s happening in your prayer closet?â€
19. It is a hard fact that God is on your side. His Word has direction for every situation you will ever face. People may declare, based on human reasoning that, “It’s over,†but God never does.
20. Do not allow other hurting people to help “fix†your problems. If they can’t fix their own problems, why allow them to have input to yours? That is God’s job, and not one for other humans.
21. The prodigal journey home is filled with false starts. Please be prepared for these. Standers are being wiped out by, “He/She came home yesterday and left again today.†This is all part of the prodigal process. You must be aware of, and praying against, the
spiritual battle that is raging for your beloved. (As an aside, let me say that most prodigals who are on the way home are doing the very best they can, in light of their absence of spiritual weapons for this spiritual battle. That is why your prayers are so important.)
22. Prodigals do come home. We come home, not to people who are dabbling in standing, but we come home to spouses who are serious about their relationship with Jesus Christ, and serious about praying their spouse away from Hell. We come home to standers who are not blown away by the unexpected. We come home to praying spouses who have not set deadlines for God, nor for us. We come home to standing and waiting spouses who strive to cover our sinful nakedness in front of others, not sharing everything they know or suspect. We prodigals come home to spouses who are walking with God 100% of the way. May you start today to be the kind of godly stander that prodigals come home to (often suddenly).
Today you have been given a 22 point foundation, upon which you can build the bridge between the “far country†and home, (both earthly and Heavenly) for your prodigal spouse. I encourage you to make use of our online audio in “God Heals Hurting Marriages†daily five minute vitamins for standers, and also “Fight For Your Marriage,†a weekly Bible study for standers. Both of these, and scores of other helps are available to you at no charge, and immediately, from the Rejoice Marriage Ministries web site, at the address given below.
“And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ-to the glory and praise of God.†Philippians 1:9-11
Blessings,
Bob (and Charlyne) Steinkamp
Rejoice Marriage Ministries, Inc.®
Post Office Box 10548
Pompano Beach, FL 33061 USA
RejoiceMinistries.org
When we’re standing for the restoration of our marriages, there’s ONLY one certain way to get God’s results, and that’s to DO things God’s way. But when we don’t do things God’s way, and choose instead to rely on our own understanding and the ability and power of our own mind and flesh, and the way of the world, we will get the world’s results, which is divorce and the total and complete devastation and destruction of our marriages and families. And since none of us naturally know HOW to stand for our marriages, it’s very important to seek godly counsel and instruction, and to totally avoid any advice or counsel that is not grounded and verified in the Word of God. The Bible makes that very clear, and here are just a few verses demonstrating just how vitally important it really is:
Psalm 1:1-6
The Way of the Righteous and the End of the Ungodly
Blessed is the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful; But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper.
The ungodly are not so, But are like the chaff which the wind drives away. Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, Nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.
For the LORD knows the way of the righteous, But the way of the ungodly shall perish.
Isaiah 28:29
All this also comes from the LORD Almighty, wonderful in counsel and magnificent in wisdom.
Isaiah 47:13-14
All the counsel you have received has only worn you out! Let your astrologers come forward, those stargazers who make predictions month by month, let them save you from what is coming upon you. Surely they are like stubble; the fire will burn them up. They cannot even save themselves from the power of the flame. Here are no coals to warm anyone; here is no fire to sit by.
Proverbs 14:12
There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.
Proverbs 3:5-6
Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.
Luke 6:46-49
The Wise and Foolish Builders
“Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say? I will show you what he is like who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice. He is like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built.
But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete.â€
So when we’re serious about marriage restoration, we can’t afford to listen to and follow our own deceitful hearts, which Jeremiah 17:9 tells us are beyond cure, so we have to study and understand the Word of God instead and heed wise and sound biblical counsel; putting it into practice. So when we receive advice and counsel from others, we need to make certain that it is in full accordance with the Word of God, because anything else will not lead us to the end result we seek. But we CAN and WILL get God’s results by DOING things HIS way! So we are truly blessed to have access to the counsel of men and women like Bob and Charlyne Steinkamp; and Bob’s Charlyne Cares message from yesterday, which follows, certainly is powerful evidence of that.! And so are the following messages one of the FAM fellowship members brought to our attention from Focus on the Family, which were on their radio broadcasts this past Monday and Tuesday, as follow, and which I encourage everyone to listen to for encouragement and more godly counsel:
Letting God Mend Your Marriage – Part 1
Letting God Mend Your Marriage – Part 2
When we rely on the power and promise of God’s Word, He will “mend†our hearts and marriages, and we will truly be blessed and encouraged as we witness the full and complete restoration of our marriages and families, which is ALWAYS God’s result!
Now here’s Bob’s Charlyne Cares message from yesterday, which I strongly suggest copying and keeping on hand for frequent reference, because it is packed with godly counsel that will help get God’s results – the restoration of our marriages!!
“Today Bob Steinkamp shares his thoughts on the basics of marriage
restoration God’s way, twenty years and two days after his remarriage
to Charlyne following their divorce. If you are seeking a prodigal
perspective, combined with wise counsel on restoration, this is it.
FIRM FACTS ABOUT MARRIAGE RESTORATION
“Who is wise? He will realize these things. Who is discerning? He will understand them. The ways of the LORD are right; the righteous walk in them, but the rebellious stumble in them.†Hosea 14:9
Have you ever wished that you could learn, in only a few minutes, all about standing for the healing of your marriage God’s way? The best I can do is to share with you some of the firm facts about standing.
Not all these are what you might want to hear, but they are every one what you need to know, if you are serious about marriage restoration:
“My people are destroyed from lack of knowledge…†Hosea 4:6
1. Do not expect people to understand or to support your stand for marriage restoration. God has given to you, not to others, the assignment and the burden to stand with Him and to pray for your spouse. Because of this, you must always look to God, and not to people for your support.
2. The day that you promise God that you will stand for your marriage, you become like a lightening rod for attacks from the Enemy. Expect to be tempted in ways you never imagined. Anticipate the circumstances to become worse. Know that you and your family are now a threat to the work of Satan and the evil one, and his demons will attempt in every way to get you to give up. If you are a lightening rod for satanic attacks, Jesus Christ is your Ground. He alone can protect you from every harm.
“If you forgive anyone, I also forgive him. And what I have forgiven-if there was anything to forgive-I have forgiven in the sight of Christ for your sake, in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes.†2 Corinthians 2:10-12
3. Always remember that this is a spiritual battle, and spiritual battles are won with spiritual weapons. Your following someone’s secular program in hopes of marriage restoration is like going into war in Iraq armed only with a toy water pistol.
4. Your beloved mate has been taken captive by Satan to do his evil will. The words and actions that hurt you today are those of the Enemy, and not your spouses’s. Remember, Satan is the father of all lies, so do not expect to hear the truth from your prodigal spouse.
5. One way or another, your prodigal will witness or hear about your changed lifestyle when you start looking to Him alone to heal and to restore your marriage and family. Your prodigal, with their life in a tailspin, will be strangely attracted to the peace that you have, in spite of the circumstances. Claim that peace by a consistent, close, loving relationship with Jesus Christ. The peace that attracts prodigals comes from God alone, and not from any self-help or secular program designed to get your spouse back in the door.
6. Always remember, this is not about coaxing or manipulating your prodigal spouse back home so that you will be happy. It is a life or death battle for the eternal destiny of your prodigal’s soul. The end result will be life eternal, in Heaven, or a life in Hell, depending on what your beloved does with Jesus.
7. Your stand is about much more than you and your spouse. It is also about your family, your circle of influence, your future generations, and even people you may not even know who are silently following your example.
8. In most instances, your prodigal spouse is better off living in their home than outside. We understand there are safety and health considerations, but forcing them to leave the family home is often turning them out to Satan’s playground. As long as they are in the home, you can better detect your mate’s spiritual needs and thus pray for them.
9. Expect every area of your mate’s life to change as they silently seek relief from the torment the Enemy is bringing their way. Do not be wiped out by job changes, moves to distant places, new hobbies and attractions, or even an often-forced attempt to legalize their adultery by entering a non-covenant marriage to another person. If you are standing strong, God still considers you to be married.
10. Regardless of why your spouse left home, and in spite of what they are saying, most prodigals become involved with another person during their far country experience. Do not be devastated if that happens.
11. No matter what professional-sounding tag has been attached to your wayward spouse, the bottom line is that every husband or wife who has ever walked out on a marriage have all done so because of sin. Your beloved might have a sex, substance or selfishness problem. They might have been diagnosed, often by a professional who has never met them, with a chemical imbalance, bi-polar disorder, or mid-life issues. Regardless, they still have a sin problem. Marriages are healed when spouses stop making excuses with man’s terms and start dealing with their mate’s sin problem in the prayer closet. (Does it strike you as odd that someone can diagnose your spouse without ever meeting them?)
12. No other human can tell you the exact day your prodigal will repent and come home. We know of too many good standers who have been almost destroyed when someone traveling through town prophesies an exact date for restoration, and that date comes and goes without anything happening. The date is God’s business and not man’s. As a stander, you need to live every day as though today was your day of restoration.
13. Allow God to be God in bringing your prodigal home to Himself, and home to you. Be careful not to set stipulations for your prodigal’s return without seeking God for His will. Be wary of any individuals who want to help you set rules for a prodigal’s return.
14. Standing is not reciting a prayer, nor is it attending meetings, or talking the talk of a stander. It must become a way of life for you. That way of life is living like Jesus did. There must be no place for sin, in any form, in your life. If you call yourself a stander, you must want to see how far from the line called sin you can live, and not experimenting with what God will allow you to get away with. The sinful things of this world must be constantly dropping from your life, as they are replaced by the things of God. For example, developing a desire for Christian music; music that will give you answers, and help, and support instead of music from the world. Standing is not learned, nor is it mastered all at once. It is learned one step (or one mistake) at a time. God allows for mistakes in standing as you learn. I cannot tell you how many times each month a person who is serious about standing tells us how they have “really blown it†with their Lord God, or with their mate. No, you have not. God allows mistakes, and He forgives them when we repent. The only way you can “really blow it†is by giving up on God and on your prodigal spouse. Even then, God allows fresh starts. Somehow, he covers over all your mistakes, when we sincerely repent, like the tide washing across the beach. Every sign of imperfection is washed away.
16. If standing becomes “too hard†and you “can’t do it any more,†(whatever that means) and you give up standing, nothing is going to be any different about your life tomorrow. Your prodigal spouse will be the same, as will your circumstances. The only difference is that you have given up your hope and, in effect have bought into, “Some things are impossible for even God,†a statement that simply is not true. If you limit God in marriage restoration, you are also going limiting Him every time you need Him in the future. Nothing is impossible with God.
17. Another hard fact of standing is that you should stay away from, and not accept advice from people named “They.†We often hear how “They feel God has someone better for me,†or “They said I should get on with my life.†When “They say my marriage is hopeless,†we want to reply. It’s not about what “They†say, but about what God
says. You cannot be listening to “Theyâ€" and God at the same time.
“The heart of the discerning acquires knowledge; the ears of the wise seek it out.†Proverbs 18:15
18. You might have heard me say previously that if there had been an Internet and email 20 years ago, when we were divorced and Charlyne was standing with God and praying for me, I am not certain that I would be here today. If I, as a prodigal spouse, had read some of the things about me that even good standers post all over the Internet today, I would have run the opposite direction. It is almost as if today’s standers think they are having a private conversation with a friend, when they diagnose and disclose the mates faults and weaknesses online. There is Internet access in the pigpens of life also, and prodigals read the message boards and chat rooms-and additional damage is done to already troubled marriages. If every stander could give God half as much time as they are giving their computer for a six month period, we would see marriages restored in droves. Since some standers are addicted to the chat rooms and other online activities, I suspect that will never happen. Instead, they’ll keep limping along, typing, “You won’t believe what he/she did now,†and the soliciting advice, not from God, but from online friends, many whom they have never seen face to face, and some of whom are not even who they claim to be. Our standers will keep typing out prayers online, and calling it devotional time, instead of getting on their face before Almighty God, and crying out to Him. Before you say, “Nothing’s happening in my stand,†Charlyne and I would ask, “What’s happening in your prayer closet?â€
19. It is a hard fact that God is on your side. His Word has direction for every situation you will ever face. People may declare, based on human reasoning that, “It’s over,†but God never does.
20. Do not allow other hurting people to help “fix†your problems. If they can’t fix their own problems, why allow them to have input to yours? That is God’s job, and not one for other humans.
21. The prodigal journey home is filled with false starts. Please be prepared for these. Standers are being wiped out by, “He/She came home yesterday and left again today.†This is all part of the prodigal process. You must be aware of, and praying against, the
spiritual battle that is raging for your beloved. (As an aside, let me say that most prodigals who are on the way home are doing the very best they can, in light of their absence of spiritual weapons for this spiritual battle. That is why your prayers are so important.)
22. Prodigals do come home. We come home, not to people who are dabbling in standing, but we come home to spouses who are serious about their relationship with Jesus Christ, and serious about praying their spouse away from Hell. We come home to standers who are not blown away by the unexpected. We come home to praying spouses who have not set deadlines for God, nor for us. We come home to standing and waiting spouses who strive to cover our sinful nakedness in front of others, not sharing everything they know or suspect. We prodigals come home to spouses who are walking with God 100% of the way. May you start today to be the kind of godly stander that prodigals come home to (often suddenly).
Today you have been given a 22 point foundation, upon which you can build the bridge between the “far country†and home, (both earthly and Heavenly) for your prodigal spouse. I encourage you to make use of our online audio in “God Heals Hurting Marriages†daily five minute vitamins for standers, and also “Fight For Your Marriage,†a weekly Bible study for standers. Both of these, and scores of other helps are available to you at no charge, and immediately, from the Rejoice Marriage Ministries web site, at the address given below.
“And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ-to the glory and praise of God.†Philippians 1:9-11
Blessings,
Bob (and Charlyne) Steinkamp
Rejoice Marriage Ministries, Inc.®
Post Office Box 10548
Pompano Beach, FL 33061 USA
RejoiceMinistries.org
Let's lift up 
Let's lift up @AlexanderYondel's request for protection over his family. May the Lord watch over their sleep tonight.
And a general shoutout for everyone dealing with health issues or needing peace. We're with you! 
Hello everyone, let's gather in prayer! 
