Hopeful Harvest Acres: Recent Episodes
Abby Warden
As a wife, mother, friend, but most importantly believer, growing in my faith, I find the joy of working with my hands in the garden and around my home. “Trust God” is a simple statement to say, but when faced with trials of this life, will our faith stand? The greatest work we have as believers is to grow into the likeness of God. This is done through the sanctifying work of The Holy Spirit. In a culture that shouts so loudly against God's Word, let us stand together for truth and strive to carry His Word out each day in our own lives. My hope is that you will always leave here encouraged.
Welcome back friends as we dive into the topic of the filling of the Holy Spirit. As always, we will allow the Word of God to guide us. Our experience should never dictate truth. Rather we will let truth dictate truth. We will compare the Baptism of the Holy Spirit to the filling of the Holy Spirit and hopefully walk away with a better understanding of the two. This topic is important so we can accurately teach others and with the help of the Word and the empowerment of the Holy Spirit, successfully live out this truth in our everyday lives as believers. So friends, be being filled! It is a great command and you will be blessed!
Back for Week 5 as we unpack an important topic and ultimately reality for every believer in Christ, the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. This is a big topic and it takes a great amount of time to discuss it, so I have broken this chapter into two separate weeks. We will look at specific texts to understand what Baptism is. The scripture that Costi has us focus on this week is found in 1 Corinthians 12:13 where it reads, “For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body-whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free-and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.” What did this mean for the early church and what does this mean for us as believers today? Join me as we go to the Word of God to guide us through this subject and use Cost’s book, Knowing the Spirit, as our secondary resource. My hope is you walk away with a greater understanding of who the Holy Spirit is and why being Baptized in Him is the most important event that will take place in your life.
Back again this week as we continue on in Costi Hinn’s book titled, Knowing the Spirit. The last three podcasts, we discussed, Who the Holy Spirit is, How we encounter Him, and How He changes your life. Now this week we will compare walking by the flesh to walking by the Spirit. As believers, let’s not live by a list of “to not dos”, but rather let’s live with the mentality, “what we get to do”. May you be encouraged this week with the freedom you have in Christ to freely embrace the fruit for the Spirit in your life, because against such things, there truly is no law!
Welcome back this week as we move forward with Knowing the Spirit and jump into How The Spirit Changes Your Life. Costi Hinn has us do a word study this week in his book where we are focusing on the terms Regeneration, Justification, Sanctification, and Illumination. Once we encounter the Holy Spirit, you will be changed. It’s important that we understand the process of how this happens as we go about applying these biblical principles to our lives as believers. Join me as we discuss topics such as can a believer loose their salvation and can Christian’s reach a state of complete holiness in this life? My hope is you will leave here with a greater understanding of The Holy Spirit and how He truly does change your life.
Join me back this week as we continue on with Costi Hinn’s book titled, Knowing the Spirit. Every person will have an encounter with the Holy Spirit, but only those who demonstrate repentance will have the Holy Spirit dwelling within and have genuine saving faith. The Holy Spirit is a person, which means we can encounter Him as we live our Christian lives. He lives within us and we are told to Walk by the Spirit and not by the flesh. This week we will see how that is possible and discuss ways that He will bring about conviction in our lives that leads to real change. Let’s not seek to encounter the Holy Spirit through conference after conference or through emotionally driven music, but rather learn how to be obedient to Him in our everyday ordinary lives. May you leave here encouraged seeking to become a more fully devoted follower of Jesus as you grow in the Word.
Join me as I start week 1 of a 12 week series using the book, titled Knowing the Spirit by Costi Hinn. This week we are going to focus on Who is the Holy Spirit. As Costi states in his book, many have a false view of Him and many have grown up in churches that spoke very little of Him. Maybe you too will need to do some deconstruction from false beliefs that are not rooted from scripture and reconstruct so you can begin to understand who He is and what He is wanting to do in your life. Find me here each Friday for the next 12 weeks as we dive deeper into knowing the Spirit. My hope is you will walk away here with a greater understanding of God‘s Word and how as a Believer you can actively apply it to your everyday lives and live your life to the fullest in Christ.
On this week’s podcast, I will give you all some information about a new study I will be starting next Friday. The book titled, Knowing the Spirit by Costi Hinn will be the resource I am using to record a new podcast that I plan to release each Friday. Costi came out of the charismatic movement, where they promoted faith healings, slaying people in the spirit, speaking in unintelligible languages, and ultimately, profaning the name of Christ and the Holy Spirit. I do hope after our 12 weeks together, that you will walk away with a greater understanding of who the Holy Spirit is and what He is wanting to do in and through you as a believer in Jesus. In addition to discussing this new book study, I want to fill you ladies in on a ladies conference that I had the opportunity to attend over the weekend. I was greatly encouraged by the speakers and the individuals who put this day together for myself and so many other ladies. We walked away with a greater understanding of who we are In Christ and were strengthened to go out and serve the Lord. As always, my hope is that you walk away from here seeking to grow in the knowledge of Jesus Christ, to become a more fully devoted follower of Him, and seek to see others do so as well!
On todays episode I will update you all on our daughters birth, give a few book recommendations, and share where we are at with our sons cancer treatment along with a few encouraging stories that greatly impacted me these last few months. We continue to be blessed by so many of you who have supported our family as we tend to our son Walker who was diagnosed with leukemia in December. I do hope to pick back up doing a weekly study to record the podcast on each Friday, but for now, thank you for listening in this week as I share more life updates. As always my hope for this Podcast is that you will leave here encouraged to go out and serve our Lord Jesus all the more this day!
Join me back this week as I give you all an update since our youngest son’s cancer diagnosis in December. I’ll give you an overview of his current and future treatment plan and news of our upcoming new addition in less than a week. Here I also have a few books to recommend that I’ve finished the last few months that I believe you will be blessed by. May you also be encouraged today to “Slow down and smell the roses” as I was encouraged to do a few years back. My how those words are really being put into action as my family and I take each day, each step at a time into the future that lies ahead. It was a pleasure to be back and I’m glad you are taking your time to join me. May you seek to grow in your relationship with the Lord Jesus all the more today and to trust what He is wanting to do in and through you during your short pilgrimage on the earth!
Join me this week as we continue on with Week 13 in the Excellent Wife Series! The Word is living and active ladies. Let’s not just read it to check a box, but rather to seek the Lord while He may be found. May we ask Him to search our hearts and find ourselves truly delighting ourselves in His Word and allowing it to lead us to obedience. May you leave here encouraged seeking to follow the Lord more faithfully and giving your devotion to Him because He is truly worthy of all our praise!
Hello ladies and welcome back to the podcast and to the first day of December 2023! As we begin to slow down in this winter season, let us find joy and cling to the hope we have in the Lord this Christmas for what He has truly done in sending His Son Jesus to the earth! Move aside Santa, because Jesus is the true reason for the season. This week on the podcast we will discuss submission. God has implemented different areas of authority. We see this within the State, the Church, and the Family. This is for our protection and isn’t to be viewed as a burden. As wives we are to submit to our husbands. It is the will of God and today we will look at four biblical principles concerning a wife’s submission and joy. Come along this week as we learn what this looks like and how it’s possible for us to live out His Word in our everyday lives. Let’s focus on loving our husbands, respecting our husbands, & as we will discuss more intentionally today, submitting to our husband’s. I hope you will be encouraged and leave here seeking to submit yourselves to the will of God finding joy in who He has created you to be as His chosen child, a woman, and as a wife to your husband.
This week on the podcast we will discuss six biblical principles regarding sex. God’s great purpose for sex in a marriage was for the procreation of life, but also for physical intimacy. Sexual intimacy is for the mutual giving and receiving of great pleasure and joy between a husband and a wife! Won’t you seek to agree with God that sex within marriage is indeed good and view it His way! This has been somewhat of an uncomfortable topic to openly discuss, but if you are anything like me, I believe this is rooted in the fact that I have believed the worlds lies about intimacy rather than going directly to God’s Word for truth. This week I hope you will walk away with a better understanding of Intimacy and that your marriage will be blessed as a result! May you seek to become a more fully devoted follower or Jesus Christ, leaning on His Word and the Holy Spirit as your guide! May you leave here encouraged.
This is a hard week, as it requires us women to do a detailed assessment in our lives. The topic this week focuses on respect and in Martha’s book, The Excellent Wife, she lays out five Biblical Principles a wife should be abiding in as she seeks to apply this truth in her life. The wife is to respect her husband. She also is to respect his position. A wife is to act to a respectful manner at all times. Wives should be reproving her husband respectfully and the wife who is disrespectful may experience severe consequences. Follow along as we discuss this difficult topic and take a simple self-assessment to see how we are doing in regard to respecting our husbands, which is the wife’s reverence. As always, I pray you leave here encouraged in your walk with the Lord Jesus and that you seek to make fully devoted followers of Christ as well.
We have a lot to discuss this week as we dive into Chapter 9 titled, Love- The Wife's Choice. The Bible has a lot to say about love as does the culture around us. Let's go to His Word to seek to hear truth, believe truth, and apply that truth to our everyday lives. We will discuss today 5 Biblical Principles in regards to the Love a Wife has for her husband. Love is a word that can be explained in many different ways, specifically in scripture, so we will look at how the word has different meanings and different applications. As women, lets put on love by letting go of selfishness, bitterness, and fear that will hinder making this possible. As our thoughts become rooted in biblical truth and as we seek to show biblical motives in our lives, our actions will in time with practice, patience, and reliance on the Holy Spirit, begin to reflect the Lord Jesus Christ. I pray you leave her encouraged and seeking to follow the Lord Jesus all the more today.
An unpopular opinion is the biblical call for women to be workers at home. Let’s dive into week 8 of the Excellent Wife Series and discuss what it truly means to be a worker at home and what this actually looks like. I once was turned off by this concept. However now I see the beautiful God has put in place through a wife’s job in being a worker at home. My hope is that through hearing my own personal testimony and through your own time in prayer and meditation upon God’s Word, you will see the beauty in this calling as well. As always, there will be situations that providentially hinder us in life, but I believe our families would be greatly blessed if a woman can find joy in the role of being a homemaker. May you leave here this week being encouraged to take steps in your own walk with the Lord and seeking to be conformed more into the imagine of Jesus Christ.
Join me back this week as we start part 2 of The Excellent Wife series. We are now looking at a wife’s responsibility. We will be tempted to look to false gods to worship rather the true God. The truth is we are always worshiping something or someone. Let’s identify what areas we may indeed be putting something or someone else on the throne of our hearts where God our Creator alone belongs. In addition to false gods, we also tend to look to false saviors to bring us comfort, peace, and joy in this life. All these false saviors will leave us empty and we will become slaves to what was never intended to truly bring us life. Let us look to the One who created us, loves us, redeemed us, and the One who made it possible to have a relationship with God our creator. Jesus Christ is forever to be on the throne that He deserves. Let’s look to God’s Word to tear down the false idols we are worshipping and seek refuge in the only One that can truly save.
Welcome back as we continue on with week 6 using the book titled, The Excellent Wife. Chapter 6 addresses roles of women. I hope you will walk away with a biblical view in how you can embrace who God created you to be as His Imagine bearer and specifically as a female, redeemed by God. Never undervalue the reality that man and woman are interdependent on one another. Women are to submit to their husbands and husbands are to love their wives as Christ loves the church. We won’t do this perfectly, but as we seek to honor the Lord, we will therefore seek harmony in our marriages. This is only made possible through the perfect work of Christ and as we rely on His Word to lead us into the truth, this harmony will become more evident in our lives. As we embrace the truth, learning to submit to the will of the Father and the promptings of God the Holy Spirit, we will have a greater sense of joy carrying out the roles God always intended for us! May you leave here encouraged and growing in your relationship with Christ Jesus.
Welcome back to the podcast. Week 5 we will be continuing on in the book titled, The Excellent Wife. Join me as we address a Wife’s Understanding of Marriage. The key word this week being oneness. As we pursue oneness in our marriages, we must be intentional and diligent to move forward. Sin must be addressed. Open communication must take place. A willingness to have reproof yourself and to give reproof is a must in your marriage as you seek oneness and for mutual sanctification to happen for yourself as well as your husband. Even if your husband is an unbeliever, you can still pursue oneness in your marriage by allowing the Holy Spirit and God’s Word to bring to light on areas where growth can take place. Remember our progressive sanctification is the process of being transformed into the imagine of Jesus Christ. Starting from the moment of your salvation in Christ and continuing until you are home with the Lord. As we put off the old and embrace the new, let us allow the work that takes place to transform us rather than to produce bitterness, strife, or anger in our hearts. God can soften the hardest of hearts if we are willing to repent and seek to change by His Grace! My hope is you leave here encouraged and growing in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus.
Welcome back to week 4 as we dive deeper into The Excellent Wife series! This week we will look at the relationship within the Trinity between God the Father, God the Son, & God the Holy Spirit. We will compare characteristics within their relationship to characteristics that tend to comprise relationships with fallen man. We have hope as believers in Christ that we too can have God honoring relationships! This is not by our own will or power, but according to the power at work within us by the grace that has been granted to us. We will direct our focus on our relationships with our husbands, but as we look at the Triune God as our example, we will see that their model to us will overflow into all relationships that we have. Whether that be with our parents, children, siblings, or other believers in Christ. Relationships were created by God just as marriage was created by God. He truly knows what’s best and we must not look to the world for how we can obtain these God honoring relationships, but rather to His living and active Word! May you leave here encouraged and seeking to grow in your own walk with the Lord Jesus!
This week as we continue on in the book titled The Excellent Wife we will address a wife’s understanding of sin. There are four characteristics of sin to look at. In addition, several examples are given of ungodly thoughts we should be putting off verses godly thoughts we should be putting on. This week I want to address the fact that if you are a woman in a sexually or physically abusive relationship, I encourage you to seek the local enforcement and biblical counseling, consulting an overseer at your church. While God has put important principles in place for us to follow, in no way does God expect you to sin allowing your body to be abused. The Gospel truly changes everything! May we find ourselves walking more by the Spirit of Christ and less by the flesh, taking every thought captive, seeking to do good to those around us, especially our husbands, and allowing God’s Word to transform us from within. Let us find our joy in Christ alone and be hope filled people encouraged to embrace our new identities as Gods chosen children. We are redeemed! We have been washed new! As always I hope you leave here seeking to become a more fully devoted follower of Christ.
Join me as we jump into Chapter 2 of The Excellent Wife by Martha Peace. Let us root ourselves in the truth that we are the created and God alone is the Creator. Therefore our view of life should be God-centered and not self-centered. In this episode we will discuss what wives need to know about God, what wives need to know about their works and themselves, God’s protective authority, and why a wife needs protection. My hope and prayer is that you will listen with an open heart, allowing the Lord to speak to you through His living and active Word. As always, I encourage you to search the scriptures for yourselves to see what His Word says on these different topics. May you be encouraged to go out and serve our Lord Jesus all the more and to lead others to Him as you go.
On a former podcast I mentioned that I would eventually address Biblical Submission. Well here it is! Join me as we start a new series. This study will take us about 21 weeks to complete. This will take us well into the New Year so let’s devote ourselves to being faithful to being in God’s Word daily. We come back together each Friday to work through each chapter. If you have the resources, I encourage you to purchase this book along with the study guide available as well. This book by Martha Peace has been so helpful to me in my walk as a Christian and I do hope it will be for each of you as well. Join me each week as we go through each chapter, diving into Gods Word in regards to The Excellent Wife from a biblical perspective.
Join me today as I do a quick review of what we discussed over the last several weeks pertaining to the Spiritual Gifts. Above all else, let’s seek to love the Body of Christ. Maybe we don’t know what our gift is. Let’s be the hands and feet of Christ and our gift will naturally be used as we are reading Gods Word, obeying His Word, and loving the Body as a whole when we gather together. This is a heavily debated topic, but one that we should continue to dive deeper into Gods Word to understand. As we do that though, let us continually remember we are a new creation with the Spirit of God to guide us into All Truth. He will lead us in the way we are to go if we trust Him with our lives in the way that He intended. We were created by Him and for Him. There is truly no one else in the world who knows us better than our Mighty Creator! Let us seek to grow with Him personally and the gift He has given you to edify the Body of Christ will become a natural part of who you are in Christ Jesus!
Continuing on this week, I will be laying out the qualifications found in Scripture of an Overseer and reviewing again how several words can describe that specific role. The church not only needs Godly men who fit the criteria laid out for us in 1 Timothy to be leading the church, but Deacons to serve in other areas of ministry within the walls of the church as well. Now I realize ministry options are not just limited to the church body itself, as we know, there are numerous Christian organizations that are led by Believers outside the walls of the church. This episode however, with discussing first what a Deacon is, we will talk about how men and women alike can be leaders of different ministries within the local church bodies. These could include, but are not limited to, leading children’s ministry, ladies ministry, grief share ministry, life groups, and the worship team. We have several accounts in scripture where women are serving as deacons, so the conclusion is, these positions are not gender specific as the overseer roles are. As always, I want to encourage you as a Child of God to be a student of the Word, allowing the Holy Spirit to direct your path, illuminating His Word to understand it and formulating for yourself why you believe what you do. As we grow in His Word in understanding and application, may we as His Children be found as peacemakers, seeking to love people with extending grace, but never forfeiting truth as we go about being God’s ambassadors to share His Word.
This week we will continue on talking about 1 Timothy, but now we turn our attention to focus on Qualifications of an Overseer in Chapter 3. We will also address what the definition of an Overseer is and how there are several descriptions listed in the New Testament that are used interchangeably for this title. Those who are Shepherding our local churches have been gifted with the unique ability to teach and exposit the Word. These men are held to specific standards to step into these roles God has called them to. As we look at the specific qualifications that should be met before ordaining them as the overseers, let’s not forget that we are all held to the same standard as believers. The standard should be to always be pursuing holiness, putting off the old, and embracing our new lives as redeemed Children of God. As Saints we need to be checking our lives to see if they are lining up with what Scripture says should be the marks of true followers of Christ. As always I hope you leave here encouraged growing in your personal relationship with Jesus and also seeking to make more fully devoted followers of Him as well.
Many Scriptures can be interpreted in different ways, so I encourage you this week to find a church that lines up with your view of God’s Word. Paul addresses prayer twice in chapter 2. All of our governing authorities have been set in place by God. Nothing exists apart from God’s doing. Instead of grumbling about our nations leaders, let’s seek to be in prayer for them, especially in regards for their salvations. Jesus died for all and His death was sufficient for all, but not all will come to repentance and believe. This is known as Limited Atonement. God is patient with us beyond our human understanding and wishes for none to perish, however only those whom have been given to Jesus by the Father will be saved. We will discuss the roles of men and women in the church. Another heavily debated topic. How we view this truth will heavily influence the roles we take as men and women in the church. Let’s remember to never take scripture out of context and seek to evaluate the Word given the circumstances that the church was facing during the time the letter was written. Women at one time were deemed less than to men, so when the church was being formed, women were overstepping their boundaries given to them by God, causing conflict in the church itself. Paul addresses them by telling them to learn in silence, but in no way was he discouraging women from learning or from teaching in the right arena. I hope this podcast will be encouraging to you and that you will leave here wanting to search the scriptures more in depth for yourself and follow the Lord Jesus all the more.
It has been a blessed 6 weeks discussing the Spiritual Gifts in 1 Corinthians. Today we are going to turn our attention to the book of 1 Timothy, focusing on sound doctrine that Paul instructed Timothy to stand firm in. The early church was already being plagued with false teachings that Salvation was not by Grace alone, through Faith alone, in Christ Alone, and so Timothy was given charge to remove any individual who would seek to pervert the Word or God. Let’s look at these men known as Judaizers and what the truth of God’s Word says. We would do well to look to the Protestant Reformation in the early 1500s when Martin Luther sought to reform the church back to what scripture teaches and not what man says. Join me this week as we dive in and seek to understand God’s Word, but more importantly apply it to our lives!
As we continue on talking about the spiritual gift of healing, we will address today whether the gift is for the Church Body today. It’s always appropriate to do an overview of what we discussed last week, which was that the Apostles were able to do the same mighty deeds that Christ did as they were sent out to build the foundation for the Church today. In the name of Christ, the Apostles performed many mighty acts, such as casting out demons, healing men lame from birth, and even bringing dead men back to life. Nothing was done apart from the preaching and teaching of the Good News that Christ had died, rose, & ascended. His finished work brought forth salvation to all who repent, having faith, acknowledge that His death was sufficient for their sins, bringing reconciliation between sinful man and a Holy God. This is Good News! The work of Christ was accredited by many signs, wonders, and mighty deeds. As was the work of the Apostles accredited in the same manor by many signs, wonders, and mighty deeds. Unlike the Apostles, who were physically there when Christ began His earthly ministry at the time of His Baptism in the Jordan to the time of His finished work at Calvary, we were not there to witness this. Jesus tells Thomas, “Because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” As believers today, we didn’t physically see Him & yet we believe, because the Holy Spirit who dwells within each of us as individuals, we have confidence that His Word is true! The Spirit confirms this. So as we discuss whether the gift of healing is still active, we will use the scriptures to help us draw a conclusion. I hope you will leave here blessed and growing in your relationship with Jesus Christ!
Welcome back again this week as we continue to dive into the spiritual gift of healing. Our focus on the podcast for today will be on the Apostles and the work they were commissioned to do. As we look at the sermons they preached, the signs and wonders they were able to perform, and some of the not so glorious work that was God’s Will for their lives, we will get a better look at what God had in store for the early church. The Gospel was made available to all people. As we look closely at Acts 10 where Cornelius the Centurion comes to faith and Peters vision, we can see that the work predestined to take place by God the Father by the hands of the Apostles in the name of Christ was to accredit their ministry and ultimately point people to Christ and His finished work. May you leave here growing in your personal relationship with Christ Jesus and may you seek to make more fully devoted followers as you go. Have a blessed day!
As we continue on talking about spiritual gifts, this week we will start to address the gift of healing. Before looking at the Apostles and the healings they were able to perform once commissioned or addressing the question if the gift of healing is for today, let’s look at two different accounts where Jesus heals. One where a person demonstrated faith to be healed and one where the demon possessed man was healed despite faith, but later went and would become a witness for Christ. Let’s remember the importance of 2 Timothy 3:16-17, that All Scripture is God-Breathed. It’s useful to teach us, correct us, rebuke us, and train us in righteousness so we may be equipped. I’ll go over a quick guide through the key chapters in the Old Testament that set the stage for the coming of Christ and why Jesus taught in the way that He did. I hope as always that you will leave here encouraged with a better understanding of what it looks like to follow Jesus more intimately and striving to build His Kingdom!
Welcome back as we continue on talking about 1 Corinthians where Paul addresses the church in Corinth. Included in this letter is Paul correcting the church for their misuse of God’s Word over spiritual gifts. My hope is to finally get into the details of some of the gifts themselves. As always though, it is so important to first address the context as a whole rather than going straight to application. We will discuss the gifts of prophecy, speaking in tongues, interpreting tongues, knowledge, wisdom, & faith this week. Understand that all believers who are In Christ possess a spiritual gift that is to be used for the building of God’s Church and to edify fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. Gifts are never for the believer themself. Join me as we skim the service with a few gifts this week and enjoy studying God’s Word together and learning more about our wonderful Creator!
God’s Word is complete. When John received the Words of the Book of Revelation while on the Island of Patmos, Scripture would be completed. For those who add to God’s Word or to take away from God’s Word, they will have their names removed from the Book of Life. As we study God’s Word and seek to apply it to our lives, we must rely on the Holy Spirit to illuminate it. We are also blessed to rely on the faithful men, who by the power of the Holy Spirit, sat in the Lord’s Word many centuries ago. Their great work that is recorded is useful for us to gain greater insight into interpretation as well. Let us not be so quick to drawl conclusions, but rather through prayer, meditation, and seeking the Lord’s instruction, may we find Truth and then properly apply it to our lives as believers. As we continue to dive deeper into the text laid out for us in 1 Corinthians and to ultimately better understand Spiritual Gifts, may seek to do so to edify the Body of Christ. Let us not seek gifts for oneself, but for the building up of God’s Church. Doing the work that He prepared before hand for us to walk in.
Join me this week as I interview two of our children down at Oilbelt Christian Service Camp in Flora Illinois. Both our kids had the privilege to attend camps this summer and each of them have something to say about their experience. We are here today as I am helping out as the camp Nurse and I thought it would be a wonderful opportunity to speak about the camp. It is my hope to spread the word for the remaining camps that are still available to register your kids for this summer or to consider for next! May you all have a blessed weekend. We will pick up next week talking about Spiritual Gifts in the book of 1 Corinthians.
This week we are going to start a new study looking into the spiritual gifts that are laid out for for us in the book of 1 Corinthians. The church in Corinth that Paul was writing to was caught up in worldly passions and was misaligning the Word of God. Because of their corruption, Paul made it clear that they were not to seek Gifts for self glorification, but for the building of Gods Kingdom and to edify His Church. As we come to the Word, let us remember that all of Gods Word is inspired and is useful to us to teach us, correct us, rebuke us, and train us in righteousness. Let’s seek Truth and embrace that Truth so Gods true church can continue to grow and His People can grow all the more in the Grace of God. May you leave here encouraged and growing all the more in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
We have come to the last week of our Legacy Study and I hope you have been greatly blessed with what has been unpacked! I’m grateful for Worldview Academy for providing such an amazing resource and I do hope you will consider supporting their ministry and purchasing additional studies that they offer. Now that we have approached Week 9, our final week, let’s talk success. What does it look like to be successful in our daily lives as Christ’s Ambassadors? Should we see an outcome or should we focus on being faithful in the work we have been called to do? Let’s jump to this important topic as we finish up with this study. My hope is you will leave here encouraged and taking steps in your walk with the Lord!
Now that we know what a disciple is and are able to better identify who the disciples are, we can be seeking to answer the question, “‘Now What?” We have the foundation, so let’s build upon it with being intentional as we go. What goes in, must come out. As Christ Followers being filled with the Word, that Word should be overflowing from us. Friends that overflow should never be wasted! Let’s find people that the Lord puts in our paths to walk with, talk with, & sharpen. Those who will “catch” what’s flowing from us in hopes that what will flow from them will continue to be “caught” by others. The commission is great, the labors are few. Will you see to labor toward the greatest task you have been set to? I do hope so. May you leave here encouraged and growing deeper in Your Faith.
In week 7 we now are going to discuss four ways that Jesus made disciples throughout the New Testament. He talked with them. He walked with them. He loved them and encouraged them. He also was sharpening them. Let us identify barriers that keep us from pursuing a discipleship relationship with someone. Could it be our unwillingness to humble ourselves? Maybe we lack the knowledge of what it looks like to walk along side others as they are growing in the Word. Maybe distraction keeps you from moving forward or could it be just pure laziness? Let’s jump in this week so we can grow as disciples and make more committed disciples of Jesus. As always, I hope you will leave here encouraged and growing deeper in your faith.
This week we are addressing being a disciple of Jesus. This is not a Salvation issue. It is a personal choice to follow the general crowd or to daily sit at the feet of Jesus. Many were following Jesus for a variety of reasons. Some to hear him teach, others to be healed, but just because they were part of the crowd didn’t mean they all continued to follow. Many stopped following Christ when it was too hard, especially when a difficult subject was approached. It was at that point that the crowd quickly fled, but Peters response is iconic. “Lord to whom shall we go?” As Christ Followers, but more importantly, as Disciples of Christ, we should continue steadfast under the teachings of Christ and Him leading us because He alone has the Words of Eternal life. He is where our hope is found. Four indicators for identifying yourself as a disciple of Jesus are to recognize that all is God’s, to be in pursuit of His Word, having a great love for others that’s elevated above your own needs and desires, and abiding in Christ sitting daily in His presence. Are you a disciple of Jesus? What would it take for you to be able to abide in Christ in a more complete way? My hope is you will leave here encouraged and pursuing to become a more devoted Christ Follower. Have a blessed week!
Last week we were focusing on the strategy of making disciples. Now this week we will pin point the who we are actually discipling. You can’t be a disciple of something or someone if you aren’t following them. You have to be “following” an Instagram page to be a “follower” and so it is with Jesus. We are called to evangelize everyone with the Good News, but as we are intentional with who we disciple, we need to be sure they are followers in the first place. You can’t model someone that you aren’t following, because they can’t have an influence on your life if you aren’t concerned with who they are and what they are about. Maybe you are into homesteading like me. I follow a few encouraging people to get ideas and model our farm off of those ideas that they have shown me. Once a new nurse I was being discipled in how to act like a nurse, think like a nurse, talk like a nurse, and to be a more devoted nurse with all areas that the trade required of me. So it is with followers of Christ. As we learn more about Him, the natural response will be to become more like Him in all that we do, say, and think. May you be encouraged this week to surrender Your life to the one who died for you. If you already have committed your own life to the Lord, may you be found growing all the more in His likeness and walking along side other followers of Christ as they do the same. Have a blessed weekend friends!
Intentionally is one of the words for the day as we discuss the strategy of building God’s Kingdom. Last week we addressed constantly reevaluating our motives and remembering that we are building God’s Kingdom and not our own. This week, as we jump into making disciples, let’s address the fact that our integrity matters! As Christ’s Ambassadors, we are speaking and acting on behalf of Him. Wow! Remarkable! In order to effectively make disciples, we must strive to be the same person in all aspects of life. What you do while you are alone within the walls of your own home matters just as much to the Lord as your Sunday morning church attendance. So “As You Go” about your day to day lives, may you be intentional about what you do. It all matters to the Lord! May you be encouraged this week to step out in faith in becoming a more fully devoted follower of Jesus.
Before we get too deep into Week 3, I want to encourage you with the first step, which is to identity what legacy you want to leave behind. Then you must evaluate your pursuits you are chasing after. Now this week, you have to constantly be checking to see whose Kingdom you are building. One for yourself or one for the Lord? We can’t do this unless we first evaluate the motives of our hearts & oftentimes, we may start off on the right path, but find ourselves drifting in the wrong direction. Laying the ground work for what our hearts desire, rather than what’s pleasing and honoring to the Lord. Join me this week as we jump into Week 3 and as always, I hope you will leave here encouraged. The Lords blessings to you this day.
“Life is but Vapor!” How about that one on the back of your car as a bumper sticker? If you are looking to make friends, maybe find a different ice breaker than this statement, because you may scare people off. I know this from first hand experience. However, as Believers, we should ever be meditating on the vainness of life when lived for the sake of self rather than the sake of the Lord. Just as Solomon in all his wisdom saw that life lived for the pursuit of pleasure was meaningless, we too must evaluate all things and our hearts intent of what we are truly seeking after. Is it the pursuit of wisdom just to show others you are wise? Do you live a righteous life just so others will take notice? How about working for the sake of retirement and building up your 401K? I’ll make it short and sweet just as Solomon did. It’s all meaningless friends. You are here for but a moment, so make your legacy one that will actual last and live it for the one who created you, loves you, and wants to bring you into eternity with Him! Pursue the Lord, it’s the only pursuit in your life that has any value. The only pursuit that isn’t meaningless. Join my guest speaker Stephanie and myself as we work through some tough questions and share some vulnerable areas where we have had to evaluate our own pursuits we were chasing after & seek Gods Word for direction.
Hello friends and welcome back to the Podcast! This is Week 1 of 9 for our New Study on Legacy. The study guide I am utilizing is from worldview.org and is an awesome quick read with thought provoking questions. The topic is on “Your Tombstone” and what sort of Legacy you are leaving after your life here is over. Everyone leaves a Legacy. That’s right, everyone. The greater question is will your Legacy stand the test of time? Join me as I jump right in. If you have a Bible I encourage you to have it available as a resource. Also, if you are looking for a church home I provide you with information for Our Churches two main Campuses located in Effingham & Flora-Illinois. Thanks for joining and as always, I hope you will be encouraged.
Join me as I give a brief overview of the speakers present at the Abide Conference 2023. Costi Hinn, Andrew Brunson, Gracia Burnham, Allie Stuckey, June Hunt, Heidi St John, Justin Peters, & a few other devoted followers of Jesus Christ were prepared to speak to 2,000 women. Women who traveled from all over the country to hear the Word of God spoken boldly and truthfully. I don’t know about you, but I don’t need any more fluff about “Becoming the best version of myself” or to “Live your truth”. Y’all I did that for too many years and it failed me. I need the true Truth and nothing but it. I need it to saturate every inch of my soul and body. The Lord Jesus didn’t come to the earth to die on our behalf so we could live our “Best life now”. That’s ridiculous and if your mind has been enlightened to the Truth I would hope you would agree. If you are searching for Truth, let me confirm to you that IT DOES EXIST and what great joy you will have when it SETS YOU FREE. Join me this week and consider checking out some of these Speakers Ministries. As always, I hope you will be encouraged and may you have a blessed week!
What better time to read from Genesis 6 & 7 than when standing in front of the life sized Ark in Williamstown Kentucky! In the time of Noah, the earth was so greatly corrupted that the Lord looked down and wished to destroy it all. But God found favor in one man, in which was Noah & provided a means of protection for Him and ultimately for the descendants to come after him. Through this man would come the Messiah of the World, the King of Kings, the Lamb of God who would take away the sins of all who would trust in Him for Salvation. To be at the Ark as it was raining gave me a spec of dust sized perspective of what it must have been like on the day God sent forth the global flood. The more we learn about God & value his attributes and character, the more we see our own sin and need to be made new! If we turn from our sin and trust in Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we can be made right with The Holy & Righteous God, Creator of all! What good news. We can have a relationship with our Heavenly Father and live on the earth with the hope that has been given to us. This hope is for a future Kingdom where there will be NO more sorrow or tears, but only eternal peace with the Triune God forever & ever. Amen! Ladies as always, I appreciate you taking the time to listen and support this Podcast. I pray that the Lord would use it for His Glory and people would hear the truth and that truth would truly set them free. Have a blessed day.
Ladies the time to sign up for the Answers for Women 2024 NOW!! Here is information directly from the answersingenesis.org. What is a woman?” We’ve all seen the cultural war on women escalate alarmingly in recent days. Judges can’t define what a woman is. Sports teams allow men on women’s teams because they refuse to acknowledge even the most basic differences between men and women. Terminology that was once exclusive to women is now inclusive (e.g., pregnant people). Men pretending to be women receive courage awards on special days designed to honor women. The privacy of women’s restrooms and locker rooms is violated in the name of gender neutrality. The message is clear: embrace gender inclusivity and erase gender distinctives or else.Yet this is contrary to the good Creator’s design for men and women. God created male and female in his image to display his glory in unique ways (Genesis 1:27). There are two separate genders—designated in the DNA as either male or female from the moment of fertilization—with distinct characteristics, roles, and responsibilities. As Christian women, we need to give practical, biblically sound answers to a culture that is quickly erasing what it means to be a woman. We need to raise the next generation to hold fast to the foundational truths of gender that begin in Genesis and continue throughout God’s Word.At Answers for Women 2024, you’ll learn how to reclaim God’s good design for women and overcome the war on women that threatens to overtake us. Engaging, passionate speakers who love God and his Word will equip you with biblical and practical answers to live confidently and courageously as women. Speakers include Ruth Chou Simons of GraceLaced Co. and its podcast; Jinger Vuolo, author of Becoming Free Indeed; Laura Perry, author of Transgender to Transformed; Louisiana congressman Mike Johnson and his wife, Kelly; Monica Cline, former comprehensive sex educator; Mary Kassian, author of many books, including The Feminist Mistake; pastor and author Costi Hinn; Australian lawyer and social commentator Martyn Iles; musician Michael O’Brien and his wife, Heidi; and Ken Ham and Dr. Georgia Purdom of Answers in Genesis.Women of God need to rise up, reclaim, and live out God’s good design for women for his glory. “A woman who fears the Lord is to be praised” (Proverbs 31:30). This conference is a wonderful opportunity to help yourself, your daughters, your granddaughters, and the women in your church to rely on God’s all-sufficient Word for womanhood. Register today.
Join me this week as we discuss farm updates and how God uses ordinary moments to transform us. New goats, tomato plants, and Bionic Billion Dollar Dog. We’ve slowed down as a family with sports coming to an end and my class finishing to enjoy the last few weeks of winter. Survivor has been our go to as a family show. Metamorphosis and transgenderism was the hot topic of our house, but more importantly, how God values ALL people, and the importance of Spiritual Rebirth. Lots of topics, BUT lots of Truth. My hope is you will leave here encouraged and growing deeper in the knowledge of God!
Our first guest speaker, my friend & Sister in Christ, Stephanie Pontious, joins me to discuss Speaking Truth even when it’s hard. Typical fashion for our conversations, we discuss a lot of topics that I believe all tie together. These topics I believe will equip us to share God’s Word and to help us ladies become more devoted followers of Jesus. A lot of ministries are mentioned during our time together. Living Waters, Save the Storks, Hannah’s Song, El Shaddai Women’s Home, Small Victories Pregnancy Outreach, and Answers in Genesis. Please check out these Ministries that have been so encouraging to us and consider supporting them and praying that God would continue to grow His Kingdom through what they are all doing. I hope you are blessed with the words spoken here and I appreciate you listening in!
Welcome back ladies. This week is an extension to our last episode. We are building upon the reality that, as the Lords Temple, being built up into a Spiritual house for the Lord, we are to offer Spiritual Sacrifices. No we no longer slaughter bulls, because Jesus Paid it all friends. However Sacrifices are to be offered and we would do well to seek the Lords Will for our lives for this important matter. As wives, God makes it clear that we are to be submissive to our husbands. Such an abused word today, but we can truly be blessed as the Lords people to honor Him by first and foremost, honoring our husbands. What does this look like? The Word tells us! God is so good to not leave us in the dark here. May we learn to not just be hearers of the Word, but doers. Let’s seek not for our will to be done, but God’s. For His Will is most certainly perfect in every way. As always I hope you will leave here encouraged and may our time together greatly bless you!
The more I study God’s Word the more I realize I don’t know much, but the more I spend time with the Lord in His Word, the more I see Him and learn His character! His Word keeps us humble friends, if we choose to allow it to penetrate our hearts exposing it for what is in it. Let us not harden our hearts today, but rather let the Word bring forth repentance, obedience, and ultimately joy. God’s plan for the temple has always been to make it within the hearts of his people. My hope is next week to address what that looks like in our lives as believers. I hope this knowledge will penetrate your minds and lead you to action! As always, may you be encouraged.
Ladies I’m in a tired season right now, but the Lord is faithful and will surely see me through! My prayer for each of you ladies is that you will make time for God. We need to study His Word to know Him and what He requires of us as His children. We are blessed by doing so when we spend time in His Presence! No matter what you are walking through right now, the Lord is near to all who call upon Him. Are you weary? Come to the Lord, for He alone can truly give you rest. May these words of mine encourage you and bring Glory to God.
Ladies welcome back to Hopeful Harvest Acres. Our God truly uses all things, even the pain we experience during childbirth can help bring to light what God is doing! His Word is truly alive and active. It is sharper than any double edged sword. Follow along with me as I discuss our four birth experiences, the beauty of natural childbirth, and how anticipated birth pain does indeed serve a purpose in bringing forth our babies and helping us understand God’s Word more clearly. What a joy to discuss such a near and dear topic to me and I hope you will leave here encouraged!
The internet can be overwhelming when it comes to all the resources we have available to us. Learning along side someone locally who has experience first hand can be one of our greatest tools available! If you are wanting to move forward with growing your own vegetables and meat, find a friend who has some knowledge under their belt and invest in a well wrote Homesteading book. Embrace the reality that you are learning and don’t get into the trap of comparing what you have to others around you, especially when it comes to the world of YouTube. Jealously can quickly snatch us up and steal our joy. As our family moves forward with Spring garden plans and upcoming projects we are planning to roll out, it is my hope that you will be encouraged to sow some seeds of your own!
As 2022 came to a close, I reflected back on all my dear Sisters who lost loved ones. Suffering is all around us, no one is immune. God’s Word is where we find hope. Our ONLY hope is in the Person and Work of Jesus Christ. When suffering is a blanket that’s heavy on our shoulders, God’s Word says that we are “blessed. Instead of repaying evil for evil, we are to “bless” those who persecute us. Words that do not ring well in the American Culture around us, but yet as Christ Followers these words should move us to rejoice! It was the suffering of Christ that brought us forgiveness and the hope that we now have to stand before our Creator. Follow along with me as I quickly go through the text on today’s podcast. I hope you will leave here being encouraged.
When we find ourselves in the land of motherhood, do we embrace it for all that it's worth? Oftentimes instead of responding with joy, I find myself with anger and bitterness. What? This should not be. The land is a beautiful place to be. If you find yourself grumbling as a mother instead of rejoicing like I often do, could it be that you need to ask God to search your heart and change your ways. Don’t let the thief steal the joy that has been promised to you. Take charge and be properly equipped with the Word of God so that you can FULLY embrace the land that was made specifically for you my friend.
As many of my social media friends make goals for books they would like to read for 2023, I want to tell you ladies about some books you should add to your lists! Some books were read in bible studies I participated in with other women, others I did on my own, and some were read to my children. We live in a world that is full of distractions that keep us from striving toward our long term goal, which is to dwell in the presence of our Creator. Let's put off all that hinders us and engage in deeper study of God's Word through picking up our Bibles and other resources that are available to us that allow us to grow in our faith. Join me as I talk about the Authors of these marvelous books and give you some information about the Answers for Women's Conference I will be attending this year at the end of March. I'm so glad you are here and I hope you will join me each week as I share with you what God is doing here on our farm as my husband and I raise our children, grow some food, and seek to Glorify the Lord in all that we do. My hope is that you will truly be encouraged! - Abby
Welcome to Hopeful Harvest Acres! I hope you will join me each week as I share with you about what God is doing here on our farm as we grow food and raise our children. We are so blessed with each new day the Lord gives us and the Hope that we have in His Son Jesus. My desire is to learn more about Him and to grow in His likeness. As we find ourselves oftentimes covered in mud, may we come daily to the Throne Room of Grace where we are fully forgiven by Christ's work, but in no way did God intend to leave us there in that mud. We are truly washed clean, however the process of coming more like Jesus can be slow and oftentimes painful. We are meant for community and fellowship with others who share a common goal in Glorifying God and to truly enjoy Him forever. As I discuss with you topics of motherhood, growing as a wife, believer, and a tiller of the land, I hope that you will be encouraged.