Hardwired with Jeff Wickwire

Did you have an irrational fear of quicksand growing up? Most of us have seen at least one movie where our brave heroes find themselves sinking into a dangerous trap. But the way you sink in quicksand is by standing still. If you walk quickly and don't freeze, you can avoid the worst danger. In today's message, Pastor Jeff reminds you that you must keep moving when you're in a dark valley. You can trust in the Lord to make a way for you. All that He asks is for you to keep walking, one step after another.

Allowing offenses and grudges to become implanted in your mind will only lead to more negative thoughts. It becomes a great big feedback loop, as your mind spirals further and further into depression and despair. Well, Pastor Jeff reminds you today that God offers you a different way to live! In order to break free from the spiral, you must focus your thoughts on God! His grace gives you the ability to let go of the things that used to offend you, so that you can live in the freedom that Christ offers you.

One of the most important jobs of a farmer is to prepare the soil for the seeding of plants. Soil must be tilled, fertilizer must be added, and seeds must be carefully placed in the ground in a way that they can grow and flourish. Well, Pastor Jeff reminds you in today's message that the process of being born again starts with the seed of the Kingdom of God being planted in your heart. That seed doesn't take root at the same time for everyone, but the fruit it bears is always based on God's perfect timing!

Did you know that coffee can taste different when grown at different altitudes? As you go higher in elevation, the air becomes thinner, and the temperatures become cooler, creating a coffee cherry with more acidity and sugar content. Well, Pastor Jeff isn't trying to tell you that you're a coffee plant! But what he does teach you today is that when you're facing a season of pressure, it's not because God wants you to suffer! Instead, God wants to give you the opportunity to grow stronger in your faith!

Have you ever thought about how much work went into designing spacecraft and spacesuits? Outer space is in a vacuum, completely devoid of air, and mankind has developed ways to sustain human life in the most hostile of environments. Well, Pastor Jeff teaches you today that the Holy Spirit acts like a spacesuit to sustain you in the valleys that you face in this life. Without His protection, you wouldn't even be able to breathe! But with the Spirit's covering, you can thrive in the wilderness.

Have you ever met someone with a one-track mind? Once they've settled on a task, they will not stop until they see it to completion. Well, even though this trait can be a sign of stubbornness, it can also be a virtue to be admired! In today's message, Pastor Jeff teaches about the valley of Baca (BAH-cuh), and how it represents the sorrow that we will face in this life. But instead of being paralyzed by it, we are to fix our eyes on Jesus and treat sorrow as an obstacle that we have already overcome.

There is an ancient Japanese pottery technique called kintsugi, where a potter will take a chipped or shattered piece of ceramic and repair it using precious metals, instead of simple lacquer. The repaired piece doesn't hide its imperfections, instead they are highlighted in gold, silver, and platinum. In today's message, Pastor Jeff encourages you by reminding you that God has a plan for you, even when you're stuck in a dark valley. He can take that broken time in your past, and turn it into a symbol of hope! 

I'm sure you can think of a time when you've felt isolated from God because of your sinful behavior. Despite our best efforts, we as humans are prone to giving in to the desires of our flesh from time to time. But Pastor Jeff is here to remind us today that that separation isn't permanent. All that God asks of us is to repent of our sin and turn back to Him. Even if we are walking through a difficult valley, God will be faithful to turn that darkness into a wellspring of hope when we return to His loving arms! 

When was the last time you came across a street preacher or someone witnessing in public? Maybe you cringed inside as you walked past them, or tried to hide away from their gaze as you crossed their chosen street corner. But Pastor Jeff wants you to realize that those people understand the urgency of the Great Commission! No one knows the day that Jesus is going to return for His bride, but it is the responsibility of every believer to make sure that as many people as possible are saved before that happens.

The book of Ecclesiastes isn't just a book of lamentation and despair, but it has a narrative of its own! It leads the reader on a journey where Solomon has fallen away from his faith, but rediscovers it along the way. Pastor Jeff reminds you today that life isn't always a straight line going slightly up over time; there are setbacks and struggles that may require you to reset. But when you look back on how far you've come, you realize that God never left your side; He's always been there for you.

Before we came to know Jesus, our default human nature tended to be more selfish. Sure, we might have moments of sympathy and compassion, but our first impulses are usually to serve our own interests first. Well, Pastor Jeff is going to teach us today that when we come to know Jesus, we become filled with the same compassion that He has for us. Now we are able to share the love that Jesus first shared with us. Even the hardest and most stubborn of hearts are softened by His compassion.

In order to make pure gold, a refiner will heat impure gold, or gold ore mined from underground, to extremely high temperatures, and then use a chemical process to make those impurities float to the surface so that they can be scraped away. In today's message, Pastor Jeff teaches you that God doesn't put you through storms and trials to punish you for your sins. Instead, that difficult process is intended to strengthen you and to produce a purer faith. The Lord wants to make you stronger!

When we get into an emergency situation, we know that the first number to call should be 911. The longer we wait, the longer it will be before help arrives. Well, in today's message, Pastor Jeff reminds us that the same thing happens when we face a storm in this life. God is ready to guide us through the storm, but we need to keep our focus on Him to make it through. The sooner we can fix our eyes on Him, the sooner we can get out of the troubled waters. God is always ready to guide us to safety.

The Bible teaches us that the Holy Spirit is our constant guide and counselor. He is the one who speaks to us in the quiet and still moments of our lives. But today, Pastor Jeff reminds us that He is also there to help us in times of trouble. When we are facing a difficult storm, we are supposed to focus on what the Holy Spirit is trying to tell us. If we can drown out the noise and listen to His still, small voice, we will be able to resist fear. We won't get lost in the turmoil and chaos of the storm.

The most important person at any public pool or beach is the lifeguard. While they will spend 99% of their time doing nothing but watching the waters, they are always vigilant to save someone if they start to sink below the surface of the water. Pastor Jeff wants you to recognize today that God is the ultimate lifeguard for your life! When things get difficult, and you start to look at the waves around you and start to sink, He will be right there to pull you out. He will never let you drown in the storm!

Whenever you lay a trap for an animal in the woods, you need to leave some sort of bait to attract your target, or the trap may never be triggered. And just like a piece of meat is attractive to a wild animal, the pleasures of the world are the bait that the enemy uses to lure humanity into sinful behavior. But Pastor Jeff reminds you to be on your guard, because even though the temptation of sin has a sweet and pleasant aroma, it becomes dangerous and painful if you draw too close to it.

Have you ever seen a lightning strike? It can change the whole landscape around you in moments if it causes a fire or an electrical outage. And just like a lightning strike, the circumstances of your life can dramatically shift with no notice. Pastor Jeff teaches you today that you shouldn't wait for the right opportunity to do good deeds in the world; the time is now! Before you go to bed tonight, try and bless one more person, or do one more good deed to spread the love of God on Earth.

Have you built your life on the solid foundation of Christ, or is it built on the shifting sands of the world? Pastor Jeff reminds you today that you are inevitably going to face storms in this life. Maybe your career won't pan out in the way you planned, or you'll face a difficult illness, or relational strife. Whatever happens, it is better to be firmly rooted in God's Word, so that you can stay strong in the middle of the toughest situations. Jesus wants you to be able to stand tall in the midst of your storm.

When a bridge is being built, a team of engineers will usually perform a stress test to ensure the structure will be able to safely support the loads it is designed for. After that bridge is subjected to an increased load during the test, the engineers can be assured that the bridge is safe to use. Well, Pastor Jeff reminds you today that Jesus prepared His disciples in the stormy water, so that they could be ready to minister to a demon-possessed man. That storm was the disciples' stress test!

A good home inspector can be your best friend. While things may look good to you at first glance, a home inspector is trained to spot problems that may seem small at the moment but can quickly escalate and become massive headaches down the line. In today's message, Pastor Jeff teaches you that the storms you face in this life are meant to highlight areas that you may need to work on. You may be facing trials now, but God will give you the wisdom you need to patch up those weak points in your heart.

Even the most talented musicians can play a wrong note every once in a while! But few things in life will ever be truly perfect, and that is especially true for us in our struggle with sin. Pastor Jeff teaches us today that we will slip back into sin every once in a while. But the sign of the Holy Spirit working in us is that even when we sin, we don't give in to a sinful lifestyle. We make a mistake, we pray to God in repentance, and then we continue following along in the path set before us, one step at a time.

There is a battle raging inside you every single day! Two natures are competing for control over your life: the sinful nature that you were born with, and the new nature that you have been given in Jesus. Pastor Jeff will teach you today that to fully embrace your new nature, you must put the old nature to rest. You have been freed of your slavery to sin, but you still need to immerse yourself in God's Word to break free of the last remaining shackles on your life and begin your new life in Christ.

Whenever God provides for your needs, He doesn't usually make that provision manifest out of thin air. Instead, He calls people and moves in their hearts to be generous and share the blessings they have received with the one in need. Pastor Jeff wants you to examine the blessings that you yourself have been granted and see where you can give just a little bit more to your fellow man. Is there someone in your life that is in need of a blessing that you are uniquely equipped to provide?

Who is the greatest athlete you can think of? What about the greatest musician, or the best writer? Well, no one becomes truly great at something without years and years of practice, because they understand that in order to be great, they must perfect their skills. Pastor Jeff teaches you today that being a follower of Jesus is a lot like being a person of great skills; you become better at listening to His voice the more time you spend practicing healthy spiritual habits, and the more time you spend in prayer.

Trying to control the Holy Spirit is like trying to control the flow of whitewater rapids. In the end, you will realize that you cannot control where the waters are going; you just have to let yourself be swept away by the current! Pastor Jeff teaches you today that you cannot control the Holy Spirit by your own efforts. But what you can do is allow the Spirit to guide you and direct you, even if what He is telling you to do isn't what you expected to happen. After all, His direction is always better than your own direction.

Sometimes we can forget that the Holy Spirit isn't a nameless and faceless force, but that He is a part of the Trinity, equally powerful as the Father and the Son! Pastor Jeff teaches you today that the power that Jesus had when He performed miracles on Earth is available to you now, and it is all because of the Holy Spirit living within you. That power has been given to you so that you can continue the ministry that Jesus began two thousand years ago. The task isn't over until all have heard the Gospel.

When you were first filled with the Holy Spirit, a flame was lit within your soul. But that first encounter with the Holy Spirit was just a spark. You need a continuous re-filling of His Presence if that flame is going to last in the long term. In today's message, Pastor Jeff wants you to learn about the importance of being constantly filled with God's presence, because the filling you received a week ago isn't going to help you get through today. You need a new outpouring of the Spirit each and every day.

No one ever has to go very far out of their way to find temptation. Much like billboards on the side of the road, there are temptations all around you, trying to distract you from your goal. In today's message, Pastor Jeff will remind you that avoiding temptation in this fallen world is impossible. What you have control over is which voices you allow to speak into your life. If you allow yourself to be filled with the Holy Spirit, He will speak into your heart and help you overcome the enemy's tricks.

Following after Jesus is hard! It's not just a one-time decision we make, but a series of thousands of tiny decisions we make every day. Pastor Jeff is here today with a message of encouragement. He wants to remind you that even when you slip back into sin, it's easy to get back on the right path. We as humans can't live up to God's standard of perfection, but what we are asked to do is just to strive to be more like Jesus every day. The change we are seeking in our lives will come slowly over time.

Sometimes you find yourself in a hole with no possible escape. When you're in that deep, dark situation, you need to look to the Lord to free you. That's exactly what Joseph had to deal with, because even though he did not sin against Potiphar, he ended up locked in prison. But Pastor Jeff teaches you in today's message that God can change any situation in the blink of an eye. Just when all hope seems lost, you may look up and see the beam of light that symbolizes the end of your trial.

God's purposes behind blessing some people and leaving others wanting don't always make sense. You'll almost always be left wandering why someone wasn't blessed enough, or even why they were blessed too much. But Pastor Jeff wants you to understand that God rains blessings on the evil and the righteous alike, because in the end, those blessings will bring glory to His name. He will reward those who serve Him the greatest, but you may have to wait longer to receive your portion.

What would you think if the tomato plants in your garden produced grapes? Or if an apple tree at your local orchard started growing carrots? The fact is that a plant cannot produce fruit that doesn't match what it is designed to produce in its DNA. In today's message, Pastor Jeff reminds you that the fruit that you bear in your life is indicative of the state of your soul. The Fruit of the Spirit is an outward sign of the new life that the Holy Spirit has created in the depths of your heart.

It's important to be vigilant about the kind of people you allow into your life. What kind of fruit does their life produce? Are they really living for the Lord, or are they claiming to live for Him while doing the exact opposite? Pastor Jeff warns you today that one of the easiest ways to allow the enemy access to your life is to allow lukewarm Christians into your life. When you let your guard down, Satan gets the opportunity to work his way into your life and sow lies and false teachings in your heart.

If you ever feel useless, one of the best things you can do is recognize that God has placed you in your current situation for a reason. He doesn't make mistakes, and His plans for your life are going to look a lot different than the plans you may have for yourself. Pastor Jeff teaches you today that the world will try to make you feel unimportant and insignificant. But if you quiet your mind and listen to the Holy Spirit's voice, you will become aware of the peace you feel in the center of God's will.

Ironically enough, patience is a virtue that you build up over time. Especially in today's society, it's too easy to get anything you want exactly when you want it. If you look hard enough, that next thing you want or need is available with free two-day shipping. But Pastor Jeff reminds you that the patience that the Lord gives you is built slowly over time. Learning to follow Jesus is a deliberate process that can't be rushed. But the good news is that every day you stick with it, that process becomes easier.

Did you know that you have something in your heart that Satan wants? It's not something that he wants for himself; it's something that he wants to rip out of you and destroy. Pastor Jeff teaches you today that the moment that God's Word took root in your heart, you became the enemy's target. You may face demonic attacks in this life, because the enemy's goal is for you to allow the blossoming Word of God to die in your heart. It's something that you need to protect with everything you have.

Living life as a Christian in a world of sin is meant to be difficult. You're surrounded by people that aren't held to the same standard that you are, and it would seem so much easier to just give in to sin and follow a looser set of rules. But Pastor Jeff doesn't want you to trade in short-term relief and lose out on the long-term blessings that come with living a life pleasing to God. When you live a righteous life, God will reward you by inviting you into the eternal Kingdom that He is going to establish on Earth.

It's an unfortunate reality that evil reigns in the world as we know it. Everywhere we look, we can see how evil people have built empires for themselves, exploiting those beneath them without regard for anyone else's well-being. It can be discouraging for anyone, even a follower of Jesus, to see this kind of evil reigning unchecked. But Pastor Jeff wants us to realize that evil is only in control for a short time. When Jesus returns, He will cast down every evil ruler and tyrant and establish His Kingdom on Earth.

When the Bible says that God sets a table for us in the presence of our enemies, that means that He has already gone before us to prepare the way for us. Sometimes it can feel like we are walking through this life alone, like no one is watching out for us. But Pastor Jeff reminds us that we have a God who cares about us and is looking out for us. If you're feeling alone as you walk through a difficult season, it may just well be because God is preparing the path ahead of you to give you rest!

What would you do if you got a phone call from an attorney, letting you know that a distant relative left you an inheritance of ten thousand dollars with no strings attached? Even that amount of money can be life-changing in the right circumstances. Well, Pastor Jeff teaches you today that while money is a useful thing to have, it is not the thing that will bring you lasting happiness in this life. There are rich people who never seem to have enough, but the riches found in God's Word will satisfy your soul.

One of the three essential elements to building a strong spiritual root system is reading God's Word! The Bible wasn't just written for people two thousand years ago; it is full of wisdom that is relevant to you and me today! Pastor Jeff teaches us that we can never learn too much from God's Word. Every day that we open our Bibles, we are opening new opportunities to hear from our Heavenly Father. The Lord has already given us all of the tools we need to succeed in this world, and it starts with His Word.

Trees can grow extremely deep and complex root systems! These roots help anchor trees to the ground, but are also useful to draw moisture from deep underground. These root systems can even stretch down hundreds of feet, depending on the environment! Well, Pastor Jeff wants to teach you in today's message that your faith in Jesus is a lot like a tree. With weak, shallow roots, your faith can be uprooted in a mild breeze. But with deeper roots, you will be able to withstand strong storms.

As a Christian, it is all too easy to look at the state of this world and be worried about the future of the faith. But Pastor Jeff encourages you to be hopeful today! There is a revival coming, where men and women, young and old, will be empowered by the Holy Spirit to spread the Gospel into communities all around the world! While right now it seems like the soil of humanity is hardened to the Good News, there are people whose hearts are ready to receive the message of hope that Jesus provides.

You are not guaranteed a single second more on Earth than the ones you have already been given. There are plenty of people who got out of bed one morning without knowing that they wouldn't be ending their day on this side of eternity. Pastor Jeff doesn't want you to waste the time you have on this Earth, which is why he quotes the book of Galatians to remind you that you should take every opportunity to do good on the Earth. You never know which good deed will be your last in this world.

Philosophy is one of the vehicles that mankind has built in an effort to understand reality on its own terms. Countless people have turned to philosophy to round out their own worldviews and attempt to fill the God-sized hole in their hearts. But when you realize that all of mankind's wisdom is eclipsed by the glory of God, you don't need to listen to those dead men and their thoughts about the world anymore. Pastor Jeff reminds you that you have a direct line of communication the Creator of the universe.

In C.S. Lewis' book, The Screwtape Letters, the demon Screwtape says that the easiest road to hell is a gradual one, without signposts or warnings along the way. In today's message, Pastor Jeff warns you how easy it is to harden your heart against God. Most people who reject the Lord don't do it in some big emotional moment; it's usually the result of many small decisions over a long period of time. But you can make small everyday decisions to open your heart towards God as well!

Allowing offenses and grudges to become implanted in your mind will only lead to more negative thoughts. It becomes a great big feedback loop, as your mind spirals further and further into depression and despair. Well, Pastor Jeff reminds you today that God offers you a different way to live! In order to break free from the spiral, you must focus your thoughts on God! His grace gives you the ability to let go of the things that used to offend you, so that you can live in the freedom that Christ offers you.

One of the most important jobs of a farmer is to prepare the soil for the seeding of plants. Soil must be tilled, fertilizer must be added, and seeds must be carefully placed in the ground in a way that they can grow and flourish. Well, Pastor Jeff reminds you in today's message that the process of being born again starts with the seed of the Kingdom of God being planted in your heart. That seed doesn't take root at the same time for everyone, but the fruit it bears is always based on God's perfect timing!

If you spend significant time in a foreign country, you may notice yourself slowly adopting some of the mannerisms of your host culture. It can be little things like expecting different weather patterns, or it can be something as significant as the way you greet someone for the first time! Pastor Jeff teaches you today that even though Joseph spent most of his life in Egypt, the most important part of his cultural identity remained intact. Joseph remained faithful to God, and God remained faithful to him.

Now, don't look directly at the sun, but picture in your mind how big that shining star is in the morning sky. From your perspective, it's not all that large! But in reality, the entire Earth can fit inside the Sun 1.3 million times! Pastor Jeff teaches you today that you are even smaller than that in God's eyes. The Lord can see everything that is going on in the world, and He isn't surprised by anything that happens to you. God doesn't need your help or guidance; He just needs you to be obedient.

If you were to get lost in a forest, would you rather have a hand-drawn map made by a child or a detailed map of the area with major bodies of water and nearby roads? Clearly, the second option would help you find your way out of danger and back to civilization, while the hand-drawn map would be inaccurate and lead you astray. Well, Pastor Jeff puts it bluntly today, when he reminds you that your heart is an imperfect guide for your life. If you want to navigate the world safely, you need God's map to be your guide.