Prodigals Do Come Home
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About this ebook
Bob writes this book based on Luke 15, the prodigal son. He writes to a stander as a prodigal who lived in the pigpen of life blinded and deceived. Bob shares from the Word, as well as practical suggestions, including personal "dont's" that you may be tempted to do to your prodigal spouse. This book is a must if you are wanting to learn "how to stand" for your marriage.
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Reviews for Prodigals Do Come Home
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- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Great insight and very inspiring. Really enjoyed it. Very good
Book preview
Prodigals Do Come Home - Bob Steinkamp
PRODIGALS DO COME HOME
Good News For Marriages In Trouble
Fourth Edition, Revised
By Robert E. Steinkamp
Jesus replied, What is impossible with men is possible with God.
Luke 18:27
~~~~
Prodigals Do Come Home
Fourth Edition, Revised
By Robert E. Steinkamp
ISBN 978-886045-08-8
Rejoice Marriage Ministries, Inc.
Post Office Box 10548
Pompano Beach, FL 33061
http://rejoiceministries.org/
All rights reserved under International Copyright Law. Contents may not be reproduced in whole or in part in any form without the express written consent of the publisher.
Some scripture quotations in this book are from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright 1984 International Bible Society. Used by permission. Some scripture taken from the NEW KING JAMES VERSION. Copyright 1984 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Published by Rejoice Marriage Ministries, Inc.
Smashwords Edition
Copyright © 2002 by Rejoice Marriage Ministries, Inc.
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
Dedicated to all of those beautiful people who have chosen to stand in love for God’s best…
-The healing of their marriages-
~~~~
Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In the same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church – for we are members of his body. For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.
This is a profound mystery – but I am talking about Christ and the church. However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself and the wife must respect her husband.
Ephesians 5:25–33(NIV)
~~~
Table of Contents
Then and Now
Introduction
Chapter 1 - The Prodigal
Chapter 2 - The Gathering
Chapter 3 - The Far Journey
Chapter 4 - The Prodigal In Want
Chapter 5 - Feeding The Swine
Chapter 6 - The Prodigal’s Reasoning
Chapter 7 - The Wise Prodigal
Chapter 8 - The Unworthy Prodigal
Chapter 9 - The Prodigal’s Family
Chapter 10 - A Worthy Welcome
Chapter 11 - Preparing For The Prodigal’s Return
Chapter 12 - After The Prodigal’s Return
Epilogue
Charlyne’s Prayer For Families
Meet The Steinkamps
The Greatest News
Ten Sources Of Help
Then and Now
The manuscript for the book you hold in your hand was prepared years ago and was my first book-writing effort. Despite many additional books, Prodigals Do Come Home remains our most requested. Each time my wife, Charlyne, and I consider retiring this book, something happens to show us clearly that the Lord is continuing to use this story.
You will be reading about divorce and our three children. They are grown now, with spouses of their own. Additionally, many grandchildren are now in the picture. We are thankful to God to be living within a few miles of all our children and grandchildren.
In the wee hours of the morning, when God first planted the idea for this book into my heart, we had been remarried for three years. There was no Rejoice Marriage Ministries, nor did either of us envision ever birthing a marriage ministry.
I had been called to preach in 1974. Our family moved away to Bible college, and I received additional ministerial education by correspondence. I began running from God’s call on my life, I reasoned that He had enough poor preachers and needed more tithing laymen. Even though I returned to funeral service, the Lord did not release me from His call on my life. In retrospect, I now understand that everywhere the Lord took me, including five years as a hospice chaplain, was in preparation for founding a marriage ministry.
Two months after our divorce was final God spoke to Charlyne and reminded her that He had not given up on me, but she had. On that same Sunday, my wife took a stand with the Lord, praying for our marriage restoration. Over two years later, her prayers were answered when I went to Charlyne’s office window and invited her to lunch. As I sat across from her that day, the Holy Spirit spoke to me and convicted me of the terrible mistake I had made. Our pastor remarried us that same afternoon.
While we were divorced, Charlyne had asked the Lord to allow her to help one other woman avoid the mistake she had made. God’s blessings to a wife who was faithful in her stand, has now expanded that one woman
she prayed to help into countless thousands. Her teachings recorded live at Rejoice Pompano Beach Bible Study are played by thousands around the world.
When Prodigals Do Come Home was written, neither of us had heard of email. Now, each day Charlyne Cares, an email of encouragement based on God’s Word, is sent to men and women around the world who are standing with God and refusing to give up on their marriages.
Looking back, I thought I was fulfilling my responsibilities to God and to other hurting families by writing the manuscript for this book. This was my answer for the divorce dilemma. Since we had no idea of being in ministry, the manuscript was assigned to Dr. Bob Christensen at Covenant Marriage Ministry.
Following the publication of Prodigals Do Come Home, Charlyne and I began to receive phone calls at home from people, many of whom had gone to great lengths to locate us, since only our names and some geographic references appeared in the Prodigals story. In fact, every Steinkamp in Florida began to receive calls. People only wanted to ask, Is it true? Are you still together? Is there hope for my marriage?
We began to correspond with people across the nation. One evening, a few months later, our first newsletter, two typed pages, was prepared. It was copied at eight copies a minute on a small machine that one of my hospice patients had donated to us. We only made sixty copies and probably have some of them still left.
That first newsletter bore the name Rejoice Marriage Ministries, the same name the Lord had given to both Charlyne and me while we were divorced. (I had thought that Rejoice Marriage Ministries was going to be a divorce recovery ministry, until Jesus came by!)
The rest of the Rejoice report is history, as God has led us, built His ministry and used it to lead thousands of couples around the world to marriages restored on the solid rock of Jesus Christ.
For eleven years, Dr. Bob, who we refer to as the "Grandfather of