The Harvest USA Podcast

Help God! I’m Addicted to a Person and Can’t Stop by Ellen Mary Dykas

Are you caught in a friendship or relationship that feels like an unhealthy addiction? Intoxication, entrapment, love, hate, fear, romance, addiction—it’s a garbled mess that once felt wonderful, like life itself. But now this friendship, “bromance,” or “you’re my person” connection isn’t feeling so great. You’re neck-deep, attached, and dependent on someone’s affection, attention, touch, and need for you. You want out, yet you can’t let go. Maybe this relationship started with Jesus in the mix, but he’s not the one filling, fueling, or guiding it anymore. For those stuck in this kind of addictive relationship, today’s episode from Ellen Mary Dykas offers a prayer of encouragement and three very practical steps to help you wisely walk away from sinful dynamics in your relationships. Read along → https://harvestusa.org/help-god-im-addicted-to-a-person-and-cant-stop/ [https://harvestusa.org/help-god-im-addicted-to-a-person-and-cant-stop/]

A Case Study on Christian Conscience: Navigating Convictions about Marrying a Virgin by Keith Seary

You’re discipling a young couple who hopes to be married. In conversations about their sexual past, you learn that while he’s faithfully saved himself for marriage, she has a messy history of pre-marital sex and other sexual sins. She’s repented and has been pursuing holiness in the power of the gospel for several years, yet he now wrestles with his conscience as he thinks about her sexual past and their prospect of a future together. How would you counsel this couple? Today’s episode from Keith Seary offers five principles for church leaders to consider as they disciple young couples thinking through the issue of virginity, each other’s sexual past, and the prospect of marriage. Keith will help you think through caring well for tender consciences and how to ground these conversations in the Bible. Considering that waiting until marriage has been declining even for Christians, this article will help you care for young dating couples in your church well. Read along → https://harvestusa.org/a-case-study-on-christian-conscience-navigating-convictions-about-marrying-a-virgin/ [https://harvestusa.org/a-case-study-on-christian-conscience-navigating-convictions-about-marrying-a-virgin/]

What Jonah Missed: How to Stop Being Judgmental by Keith Seary

How do you see your sin? How do you see your salvation? The answer to these questions is critical to how we understand God, ourselves, and others. Today’s episode from Keith Seary contrasts the attitudes of Jonah and David as they were confronted with God’s mercy for sinners. He teaches us that refusing to bring our sin before God for grace opens us up to bitterness and judgment towards God and others. But when our own sin and God’s salvation are clearly seen, we are freed from these attitudes to become men and women who are filled with praise toward God, whose mercy is abundant for sinners. Read along → https://harvestusa.org/what-jonah-missed-how-to-stop-being-judgmental/ [https://harvestusa.org/what-jonah-missed-how-to-stop-being-judgmental/]

AI Dating and Chatfishing: Are You Dating a Robot? by Caitlin McCaffrey

Is it okay to use AI tools to assist me in online dating? What is chatfishing? How should Christians think about these things? Today’s episode from Caitlin McCaffrey explores the potentially harmful ways AI tools are being used in the pursuit of online dating, including the trend known as “chatfishing”. She shares biblical principles to help you think practically about how to honor God and love your neighbor in your pursuit of online dating. If you’re tempted to use AI to enhance yourself as a dating prospect, this article will point you to a more solid foundation in Christ. Read along → https://harvestusa.org/ai-dating-and-chatfishing-are-you-dating-a-robot/ [https://harvestusa.org/ai-dating-and-chatfishing-are-you-dating-a-robot/]

Am I Asexual? by Caitlin McCaffrey

Certain sexual desires are explicitly forbidden in the Bible, but what if I don’t have any sexual desires at all? Is it okay for a Christian to identify as asexual? Today’s episode from Caitlin McCaffrey will help you think through potential causes of your lack of desires, whether the lack of these desires is sinful, and why sexual orientation labels like asexual can distract us from our true identity in Christ. Read along → https://harvestusa.org/am-i-asexual-harvest-usa/ [https://harvestusa.org/am-i-asexual-harvest-usa/]