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Category: Marriage
Act Like Men: Stand Firm, Be Strong, Love Well – 1 Corinthians 16 – 2025 Day 251
Read through the Bible in 2 Years: Psalm 39, 1 Corinthians 16
We hear 1 Corinthians 13 read at every wedding. Love is patient and kind. Love does envy or boast. Love is not proud or rude. Isn’t it beautiful?
But love is also steadfast and firm, immovable and strong. Love is a mother telling her toddler, “No,” a hundred times in the same day. Love is a grown daughter telling her alcoholic mom that she’s got a problem. Love is refusing to stand idly by while pornography tries to ruin your marriage or homosexuality tries to steal your teenager.
Be watchful, stand firm in the faith,
1 Corinthians 16:13-14 ESV
act like men, be strong.
Let all that you do be done in love.
Love takes guts. Love takes strength. Love takes the stamina of a thoroughbred racehorse and the patience of Job. Love requires you to be willing to get battle scars for the sake of another because you believe they’re worth the fight.
Ladies, sisters, friends, act like men. Be watchful. Stand firm in the faith. Be strong. Let all that you do be done in love.
Heavenly Father, Your Son, Jesus Christ, is the perfect manifestation of manhood and love. Strength and humility. Stamina and kindness. Make us more like Him. Teach us, show us, how to love like He loves, how to give up our lives for another, to be willing to suffer to save someone else. We need You, Father. We can’t do it on our own. In the Name of Jesus Christ, the Lover of my Soul. Amen.
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The Love Chapter – 1 Corinthians 13 – 2025 Day 248
Read through the Bible in 2 Years: Psalm 36, 1 Corinthians 13
If I choose all the strongest verbs and most descriptive adjectives and write the most compelling blog on the web, but have not love, I am no greater than a tabloid writer or paparazzi photographer.
If I study the Bible every single day and night and tell every person I meet on the street all about the good news of the gospel, but have not love, I am no greater than a Pharisee or prosperity preacher.
If I homeschool all my kids and feed them organic fruits and vegetables with every meal, but have not love, I am no greater than Elmo or the Jolly Green Giant.
If I teach preschoolers every Sunday morning and women every Wednesday night, but have not love, I gain nothing.
If I volunteer every Tuesday at my local food pantry and march every Friday morning at the abortion clinic, but have not love, it profits neither me nor my neighbor.
“If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.
If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.
Love is patient and kind; Love does not envy or boast; It is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; It is not irritable or resentful; It does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.
Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.
As for prophecies, they will pass away; As for tongues, they will cease; As for knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways.
For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.
So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”
– 1 Corinthians 13:1-13 ESV
Heavenly Father, I love You, Lord, because You first loved me. You made the first move, the move of love. You pursued me while I hated You. Strengthen me to love others like that. Help me to love others as You loved me. Help me to love them while they are yet sinners, for that is how You loved me. You *are* love and all You *do* is loving. Make me more like You, for I am Your child. I want to live and move and have my being in You, that I might live and move and have my being in Love. To the glory and praise of Your Holy Name. Amen.
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TODAY’S PODCAST: To Marry or Not to Marry – 1 Corinthians 7
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To Marry or Not to Marry – 1 Corinthians 7 – 2025 Day 243
Read through the Bible in 2 Years: Psalm 31; 1 Corinthians 7
I’ve been married for over 30 years now. I got married as a 21-year-old baby Christian. I was clueless but hopeful. Marriage has been hard, but marriage has also been good. I’ve learned so much from my calm, easy-going husband, and I’ve learned so much about remaining faithful by being yoked “til death parts us.”
Sin crouches at the door for the unmarried and the married alike. Like Paul wrote here in 1 Corinthians 7, the married wrestle with distractions on every side, while the unmarried wrestle with temptations on every side. I’m reminded once again that life is hard, but God is good.
I want to choose to be grateful for my husband, to focus on the good rather than the bad and the ugly. Father, please help me!
Heavenly Father, thank You for the gift of marriage. Thank You for my husband. Thank You for making me Your bride. Help me to have a grateful heart. Help me to be faithful, to persevere to the end with joy. Help me to fix my eyes and my heart on heaven and on what is excellent and praiseworthy. In the name of Jesus Christ I pray. Amen.
A song from my wedding:
A song from my oldest daughter’s wedding:
A song from my younger daughter’s wedding this summer:
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As For Me and My House – Joshua 24 – 2025 Day 236
Read through the Bible in 2 Years: Psalm 24, Joshua 24
“Now therefore fear the LORD and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the LORD, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.” …
“Then Joshua said to the people, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen the LORD, to serve him.” And they said, “We are witnesses.”
He said, “Then put away the foreign gods that are among you, and incline your heart to the LORD, the God of Israel.” And the people said to Joshua, “The LORD our God we will serve, and his voice we will obey.”
Joshua 24:14-15; 22-24 ESV
Heavenly Father, What foreign gods am I serving? Where is my heart not inclined toward You? Where am I still limping between the world and the Lord rather than fully surrendering all to You? Show me where I’m falling short, Lord. I don’t want to be blind to my own iniquity. I want to love You more, that I might serve You better, for You are worthy and good. I pray that my whole family will be surrendered to Your will and live for Your glory. In the Name of Jesus Christ who died in my place I pray. Amen.
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God Keeps His Promises – Joshua 23 – 2025 Day 235
Read through the Bible in 2 Years: Psalm 23, Joshua 23
God is faithful to keep every word of every promise. If He said it, we can believe it. We may not know exactly when it will come to pass, but we can trust that it will.
Like He said to the Israelites as they took possession of the Promised Land,
But just as all the good things that the LORD your God promised concerning you have been fulfilled for you, so the LORD will bring upon you all the evil things, until he has destroyed you from off this good land that the LORD your God has given you.
Joshua 23:15 ESV
Are we promise-keeping parents? If we tell our child that we will take them for ice cream if they finish all their chores, do we do it? If we tell our child that they will get a spanking if they do that ‘one more time,’ do we do it? Am I the only one who has an easier time keeping my promise of a treat than my promise of a punishment?
In God’s absolute sovereignty, omniscient wisdom, and omnipotent power, He is able to keep every promise. Let’s trust Him and cling to Him and try to be more like Him which includes not making random threats that we’re never going to keep, nor manipulating our children with promises of rewards that we don’t intend to give.
Heavenly Father, I’m so glad that I can trust You. I’m so thankful that You are honest and faithful, mighty and true. You are a promise keeping God. If you’ve said it, I can believe it. Grow my faith, Lord. Bury Your Word deep in my soul, water it with Your Spirit, bathe it in the sunshine of Your love, that it may bear great multitudes of fruit and bring You glory. I love You, Lord. Turn my heart, and my mouth, to sing Your praise and to speak Your Holy Words to others. In the name of Jesus Christ, the Words made flesh, I pray. Amen.
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The Rollercoaster Ride of Life – Joshua 13 – 2025 Day 228
Read through the Bible in 2 Years: Psalm 16, Joshua 13
See this rollercoaster? It’s called “Runaway Mine Train.” If you ever find yourself in St Louis, you can go to Six Flags and ride it yourself. The Mine Train is about the only rollercoaster ride that I’ll go on.
I don’t like rollercoasters that shoot you out going 100 mph. I don’t like rollercoasters that make you travel backwards or through endless dark tunnels. I don’t like rollercoasters that make you spin around in circles and leave you dizzy. I prefer a more sedate, predictable ride with just a few bumps and turns.
Over 25 years ago, we found out that the much-planned-for baby that I was carrying had passed away in my womb. Less than a month earlier I’d walked into my doctor’s office for what I thought would be a routine 12-week checkup, absolutely unaware that the entire course of my life was about to change. That day I had the first of a series ultrasounds which revealed that my unborn son had a fully obstructed bladder, followed by an amniocentesis to check for generic anomalies, and ultimately in-utero surgery. The rollercoaster ride I hadn’t signed up for came to an abrupt halt with the words, “I’m sorry, Mrs. Endraske. We can’t find a heartbeat.”
But, God.
God had different plans for me and my family. God had a different little boy in mind to grow up in my family. God was at work behind the scenes for who He wanted to be my oldest son. This journey, too, would feel like a runaway rollercoaster ride, but this time the ride included the prize of a beautiful little boy in my arms.
There have been plenty of situations in my fifty-plus years of life that I never would’ve chosen for myself. Twists and turns, highs and lows, that I wish I’d never taken.
But, God.
El Roi, the God who sees, is the One who has expertly laid out the tracks that my life has run on. Though my life has all too often felt completely out-of-control, the truth is that God has been guiding and directing my course.
- My heart had planned my way, but the Lord is who established my steps. (Proverbs 16:9)
- Many have been the plans of my mind, but it has been the purpose of the Lord that has stood. (Proverbs 19:21)
- The Lord’s plans have been for my welfare and hope, not for my harm (Jeremiah 29:11-14).
The roller coaster ride of my life has compelled me to seek God, rather than merely coasting down the paths I would have chosen for myself. He used this valley to equip me to start the “A Child of Promise” online ministry and write a book for parents continuing their pregnancy following a poor or fatal prenatal prognosis.
The LORD is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot.
The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.
I bless the LORD who gives me counsel;
in the night also my heart instructs me.I have set the LORD always before me;
because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices; my flesh also dwells secure.
For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption.
You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy;
at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.Psalm 16:5-11 ESV
How about you? Are you on a ride of life right now that you’re thinking, “I didn’t sign up for this?” Are you looking frantically for the escape hatch? What do you think the Lord is teaching you in the process?
Let’s pray.
Heavenly Father, Your ways are higher and better than ours. You hold my life, my future, in Your Almighty hand. You are on Your sovereign throne. Help me trust You. Even when I’m walking through dark valleys, help me remember that You are with me, holding my hand and guiding me in the paths of righteousness for Your Name’s sake. Give me strength to trust You to rightly order and direct my steps. In the Name of Jesus Christ, my Good Shepherd and the Captain of my soul, I pray. Amen.
Click here to hear my testimony of how God changed me from a pro-life atheist to pro-life Christian.
Facing Fear with Honesty and Integrity – Joshua 9 – 2025 Day 224
Read through the Bible in 2 Years: Psalm 12; Joshua 9
When Eve was afraid in the garden after she’d eaten the forbidden fruit, she hid from God. (Genesis 3:10) When Sarah was afraid since she’d laughed at the pronouncement of her upcoming pregnancy, she lied, denying that she’d laughed. (Genesis 18:15)
In today’s passage in Joshua 9, when the Gibeonites heard about what the Israelites had done to the cities of Ai and Jericho, they were afraid, so they concocted an elaborate scheme to deceive Joshua, insisting that they had come from a very distant country rather than from a nearby land.
Have you ever been confronted with something you’re ashamed of or embarrassed about? Maybe it was something as small as how much you weigh or how much you spent at the grocery store that day or how many cookies you ate from that enormous platter of cookies that was sitting out on the counter tempting you all day? Maybe it was something bigger like you’ve been caught speeding or cheating on your taxes or stealing something from work?
When you find yourself in one of those situations, are you tempted to lie? To bend the truth? To cover up or hide what really happened?
Do you say you weigh five pounds less than you really do or that you only ate two cookies when you know you perfectly well that you ate four?
Do you say you didn’t see the speed limit sign, even though you knew what the speed limit was because you drive that street every day?
Oftentimes our gut reaction to even the tiniest fear of embarrassment or shame will be to lie, hide, and deceive, even though deep inside we know we should come clean and tell the truth.
Let me encourage you, friend. Make your fear of God greater than your fear of man. Fear bringing shame to His name more than you fear bringing shame on your own. Remind yourself that God knows what is true and you can’t hide from Him.
One little deception begets more deceit. That first lie will lead you down a path you don’t want to go down.
I wonder, has the Lord brought something to your mind as you’ve been reading this that you feel guilty about? Something you’ve hidden or lied about? Come clean today. Confess right now. God is quick to forgive. He loves a repentant heart.
Heavenly Father, You are the truth. It is impossible for You to lie. But for us fallen women, it’s often easier for us in the moment to lie rather than face the consequences of our actions. Lord, I pray that our fear of disappointing You would be greater than our fear of disappointing someone else. I pray that we would be women of integrity and honor because You are a God of integrity and honor. Forgive us for all the times we’ve taken the shortcut of secrecy rather than keeping carefully on the road of reality. I’m asking You to cleanse me of this sin in the blood of Jesus Christ. Create in me a clean heart and renew a right spirit in me. To the glory of Your Name I pray. Amen.
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Trusting God’s Goodness when Hidden Sins come to Light (Part 2) – Joshua 7 – 2025 Day 222
Read through the Bible in 2 Years: Psalm 10, Joshua 7
The Lord is perfect in His power and wisdom and knowledge. Nothing is hidden from Him. Nothing is outside of His control. Who are we to think we can hide from Him? He is so good to bring to light in His sovereign timing the things that are hidden.
Yet, even when things remain hidden, our actions have consequences. We might think that we aren’t hurting anyone in those little secret things we do. The truth is: that’s not true. Our sin impacts those around us, whether they find out about our sin or not. When we pursue – or remain – in sin, it changes our outlook on life. Our words and actions are affected by our inner thoughts and desires.
Little by little, those sinful desires inside us tempt us and lure us away from the Lord’s goodness. In today’s passage in Joshua 7, Achan’s sin began the moment he coveted the spoils of the town of Jericho. This coveting led to breaking God’s command to destroy these items, and that led to even more deceit and disobedience. Achan’s sinful choices led to the death of his children, as well as the defeat of Israel at Ai and the death of 36 of his countrymen.
Don’t believe the words of that lying serpent who says, “No one will ever know. You’re not hurting anybody. It’s no big deal. God is just mean. He is withholding good things from you.”
The truth is: God knows even if no one else ever finds out and your sin stays buried under your tent.
The truth is: You’re hurting yourself, and those around you, when you choose sin over obedience
The truth is: Every sin is a big deal when inspected under the blinding light of God’s holy perfection.
The truth is: God is good, very good, and He wants for Your good. Hidden sin will tear you up inside. It wreaks havoc on your heart, your mind, your family, your community, your church – even if you don’t realize it. The Lord knows that, so He’s protecting you (and your people) when He tells you to stay away from sin and when He brings into the light what you’ve been trying to keep in the dark.
And praise be to God, He is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast in love and faithfulness. He is a God of second chances. He wants so much to reconcile you back to Himself that He sent His own Son to die in Your place, that You might be forgiven and set free of your slavery to that sin that’s holding you captive.
- 1 John 1:6-9 ESV — “If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
- Acts 3:19-20a ESV — “Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord.”
- Romans 4:7 ESV — “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered;”
- Isaiah 1:18 ESV — “Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.”
- Ephesians 1:7 ESV — “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace.”
Heavenly Father, You have forgiven me so much. Time and time again I have wandered off the path of holiness and found myself again in the swamp of sin. Thank You for Your unending forgiveness and mercy. Help me to clean out the closets of my soul, to bring into the light things that I’d rather keep hidden, to unearth those hidden things I’ve tried to bury so no one would find out. Make me an agent of Your peace, an ambassador for Your kingdom, a messenger of reconciliation. May the love of Christ control me – and compel me – to preach the good news in any place, at any time, and to any one, because You, Lord, are worthy and deserve the worship of all of your Creation. In the Name of Jesus Christ, my Savior and Redeemer and Lord, I pray. Amen.
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