Hardwired with Jeff Wickwire

I remember seeing a viral video of a grocery store whose entire computer system went down. Instead of sending all of the customers home without their groceries, the manager informed the customers in the store that their groceries would be given free of charge. They couldn’t have paid for their groceries, even if they wanted to! Now, your salvation isn’t given to you by some cosmic glitch, but Pastor Jeff teaches you today that it is given to you as a free gift, and you cannot earn it by any other means.

There’s always going to be someone trying to buy their way into Heaven. They think that if they just give enough money and say enough prayers, Jesus will accept them into His heavenly family.  But Pastor Jeff is here today to remind you that none of those religious rites can earn Jesus’ gift of forgiveness! The Bible teaches that salvation only comes by grace through faith. Salvation is a gift, and the only thing you have to do to receive it is to allow Jesus into your heart and enter into a relationship with Him! 

In Old Testament times, the only way to receive atonement for your sins was to sacrifice an animal. The shedding of its blood was sufficient to atone for your sin, but only until the next time you sinned. God knew that this was an imperfect system, so He sent His only Son, Jesus, to be a perfect sacrifice! Pastor Jeff reminds you today that Jesus is the ultimate fulfillment of the Old Testament traditions, and His atonement isn’t temporary. It brings you forgiveness for the sins of your past, present, and future.

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 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.

Sometimes it feels good to receive a little bit of recognition! After all, you’ve been working hard, and it’s about time something went your way. But in today’s message, Pastor Jeff warns you against people who compliment you with ulterior motives in mind. A good spiritual leader is someone who will challenge you just as much as they build you up. Showering someone with praise without challenging them to reach higher can be an unhealthy practice if it encourages them to become stagnant in their faith.

Every action you take in this life makes a deposit in your Heavenly savings account. You can build up an account full of sinful actions, but eventually, you will have to answer for the balance when you face God on the day of final judgement. But Pastor Jeff reminds you today that if you build a savings account full of good and Godly deeds, the Lord will look on you with favor! The Bible reminds you that the things you sow in this life will one day be reaped. Are you planting good seeds today?

Have you ever watched Pinocchio? In that movie, Jiminy Cricket is tasked with becoming the titular puppet’s conscience, reminding him of right and wrong. But, spoiler alert, Pinocchio eventually chooses to ignore Jiminy Cricket, and he eventually faces consequences for his sins. Well, Pastor Jeff isn’t trying to make you picture your conscience as a cricket in a top hat! But he does teach you today that when you ignore your conscience, its voice will become more and more muted in your mind.

It’s much easier to do evil than it is to do good! After all, our selfish impulses are usually our first ones, especially if we didn’t grow up with self-control or discipline. That’s why Pastor Jeff reminds us today that the good works we do cannot earn our salvation, but they can be indicators of the transforming work of the Holy Spirit inside of our souls! We’re reminded that when we follow after God, we’re prompted by the Holy Spirit to set aside the desires of our flesh, and to instead do good works for His Glory.

Walking in righteousness is like painting something with spray paint. No matter how hard you try to stay within the lines, you will probably get some paint on other surfaces that you weren’t trying to paint. But Pastor Jeff reminds you today that when you drift outside of those lines, you’re supposed to course correct and get back on the right path! When you’re following God, you shouldn’t mistake His mercy for an endorsement of your sinful behavior. Instead, His grace is meant to drive you to repentance.