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         Bob & Charlyne Steinkamp Founders
A RESTORED MARRIAGE
"For God does speak—now one way, now another— though man may not perceive it. In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falls on men as they slumber in their beds, he may speak in their ears and terrify them with warnings, to turn man from wrongdoing and keep him from pride, to preserve his soul from the pit, his life from perishing by the sword...."Yet if there is an angel on his side as a mediator, one out of a thousand, to tell a man what is right for him, to be gracious to him and say, 'Spare him from going down to the pit; I have found a ransom for him'- then his flesh is renewed like a child's; it is restored as in the days of his youth. He prays to God and finds favor with him, he sees God's face and shouts for joy; he is restored by God to his righteous state." Job 33:14-18,23-26 A RESTORED MARRIAGE
"My husband and I been through so many trials with family deaths and his illness, that changed both of us. I became an unhappy and unappreciative wife. My husband left. My relationship with the Lord was suffering. Him leaving was the best thing that ever happened to me. It woke me up. I started praying as a stander. But little did I realize that the Lord was going to reveal all the things in me that needed to change. 1 Peter 3 and Proverbs 31 are Chapters that helped me see the kind of wife I'm supposed to be. I repented and started seeking the Lord to change my heart and my husband's. I had to accept that I could not change my husband, only the Lord can do that. I went to my husband and asked for his forgiveness for all my shortcomings as a wife. I asked him to give me another chance. He is now home." (California) |
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Today's Charlyne Cares Devotional:
New For Dialup Users - "Fight For Your Marriage," Charlyne's 30 minute weekly teaching program is now also available by dialup. On our Radio page- http://rejoiceministries.org/stop_divorce_radio A Day Of Freedom!"But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom." 2 Corinthians 3:16-17 Happy July 4th! In the United States we celebrate Independence Day today. Will you join Bob and I as we pray for our Nation and all other countries who need freedom. We need to pray for God's wisdom, His will and His way for people around the world. Will you join us in praying for our upcoming election and the pray for all the men and women who will be running for political offices and for the two candidates running to be President of the United States? Let us pray for God's chosen people to win. Let us not forget to pray for peace and safety for our military, who are out protecting our freedom as well as fighting for other people's freedom. May we never take foregranted all the freedoms that we have in America that many countries do not have. "If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land." 2 Chronicles 7:14 Do you remember who wrote the Declaration of Independence? Thomas Jefferson at the age of thirty-three wrote the words that are so well known which are: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." -Thomas Jeferson Our American flag is up and an afternoon picnic is planned with our family. If you have your children with you today, please make this a special holiday of memories by taking them to some place that is fun and free. I hope you have a city that is close to you that have fireworks so you can enjoy in celebrating America's Independence Day. If you are home alone, go see the fireworks in your area, as you will not be alone there! John Adams wrote in a letter on July 3, 1776 regarding the signing of the Declaration of Independence: "I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward for evermore." If John Adam only could see how we celebrate our freedom now in 2008! God bless America! Bob has a unique way of writing fiction stories about marriage restoration, and includes teaching along with a story line. We want to share two excerpts from Bob's book, "A Day of Freedom," the story of the fictional Taylor family's of a July 4th restoration. We suggest this book, which includes 50 pages of teaching on spiritual warfare for families dealing with a prodigal's addiction to pornography. May this bless and encourage you on this Fourth of July!
Meet Dee Taylor, a StanderAlthough it was a warm day, Dee headed down to her prayer closet of a furnace room and sought the Lord. On that day, He gave her verse after verse to reassure her that she was to be praying for Tony. Dee had been so blessed that she came up those basement stairs two at a time. That day, the Lord had revealed yet another area of her life where change was needed. She had gone before the Lord with her foremost concern being her daughter. The Lord had reminded her of how often she had been saying "No" to Deborah and John, when they wanted some little outing with their Mom. John, at 16, did have frequent access to her car, but Deborah's needs had been placed behind her Mother's stand, and her prayer partners. That evening, both of her children looked shocked when Dee asked they would like to go out to dinner. Apparently John made the decision, for they ended up at one of those famous West Kentucky Bar-B-Que places, a real treat for anyone. After they ate, Deborah asked if they could stop at "some places," and pulled a handwritten list from her pocket. The child's needs were being overlooked by her Mom, busy standing for her marriage, and Deborah was making a list of what they could do together, "after Daddy comes home." That evening was spent doing what was important to a ten-year- old: Returning an overdue library book, going to the drug store for a new hair brush, and window shopping at the Paducah Mall. Deborah wanted to look at windows with dresses for girls and puppies at the pet store. "I won't ask you to buy me anything," little Deborah had explained as Dee parked the car, "I know we don't have much money until after Daddy comes home." The comments about not asking for anything had stung Dee, as did Deborah's "after Daddy comes home." What would Dee have told her daughter if she had given up on Tony that afternoon? Dee did not know why a sixteen-year-old boy would welcome going to the mall with his Mom and little sister, until she noticed him slicking down his hair, so that he would look good for the teenaged girls. Dee's thoughts went back to John's confession about pornography. "One of these little girls will be thanking God in a few years for breaking the generational curse that Tony had passed on," she thought, observing her son trying to act "hot" for a pack of giggling girls. That special night ended with ice cream. Dee had no idea how much mother/daughter chat Deborah had stored up, until she began talking. For the first time in many weeks, that night she said prayers individually with each of her children, and tucked them in. That prayer including binding against the spirit of divorce that had been loosed on her family. Late that night, when Dee was doing her devotionals, she had to confess to the Lord that she had almost failed her children. "Lord, they lost their Dad, and I almost emotionally walked away from them also. Please forgive me." Dee prayed for many, many other people and needs that evening. Her thankfulness to the Lord began with her entire family. She concluded that night with, "Lord, I need some encouragement over the July 4th weekend so badly." The Lord heard her prayers.
Meet Tony Taylor, The ProdigalDee's contact with Tony had decreased, once again, since he had moved in with the new girl friend. She continued to hear reports of a pending wedding, although nothing was being said about a divorce. A few miles away, Tony Taylor sat in the elegant home of the woman with whom he was living, reading the church page from the newspaper. Now, wait a minute. Are you really that surprised that Tony was reading church news? You have already heard how double minded he was, and that war within him continued to rage. He had no idea why he had even picked up that page, but the Lord did. Tony saw that his favorite gospel group, a family from East Tennessee was going to be in Hopkinsville on Sunday night for a "Patriotic Concert." The three women and the man who sang together had always blessed Dee and Tony. Many times they had driven an hour or more when that family was in concert. "Patriotic Concert?" mused Tony. "That sounds harmless. Hopkinsville is far enough away that no one I know will be there. Think I'll go." Sunday afternoon, Tony made up some kind of believable lie (by now he was quite skilled at that), put on a suit and headed for Hopkinsville to attend a concert celebrating July 4th. Driving along alone, Tony looked down at his trousers. The suit that he had pulled out of Amy's closet was the one that Dee had always called his "gospel suit." He had selected it on his own for a church suit, but Dee had talked him out of ever wearing it to church. Hot dog mustard could have been dropped all over the front of that suit, and no one would have noticed. The best use for that suit was to wear it to Southern Gospel concerts, which Tony had done frequently. Tony dug around between the seats and dug out a cassette featuring the group that he was going to hear. Here it was July, and he had not listened to one of their tapes since last November, before he moved out. That tape sounded so great that he continued to rotate the volume until it was as loud as it would go. There went prodigal spouse and adulterer Tony Taylor, wearing his "gospel suit," on the way to a gospel concert, listening to gospel music as loud as it would go, and singing along with the songs, all of which he knew so well. For just a second, Tony watched the road ahead, and pretended that Dee was sitting beside him, singing her part of the harmony of a song, as she had done so often. Who can say that the Lord does not speak to prodigal spouses? God Bless,
Devotional Copyright© 2008 Rejoice Marriage Ministries, Inc. Scripture quoted by permission and are from the Holy Bible; New International Version® Copyright© 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Thank you for visiting Rejoice Marriage Ministries. We now offer two subscription options: the original daily devotional that you will receive in your Inbox seven days a week, and the new "Weekly Edition" that puts one of the daily editions from the previous week in your Inbox every Friday. Please enter your email address to subscribe or unsubscribe to Charlyne Cares or Charlyne Cares Weekly Edition (be sure to select which one you are subscribing to or unsubscribing from). Both come directly to your email box for free. Come back and visit us again soon!
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