Hardwired with Jeff Wickwire

Are you good at walking backward? Very few people are able to walk as quickly backward as they are forwards, and there is more danger of tripping and falling since you don’t have eyes in the back of your head. But Pastor Jeff teaches you today that there are many people who follow God while walking backward, they are just focused on what they have left behind. If you want to have the faith of Abraham, you need to let go of the things you have left behind and fix your eyes on the better things to come.

Abraham is one of the best examples of faith in God that you could hope to follow. In today’s message, you’ll learn from Pastor Jeff about how Abraham gave up his life of comfort in his homeland to follow the new promises that God had given him. Although he didn’t know what the next several steps would entail, he trusted in the Lord to lead him to green pastures and springs of clean water. When God calls you to go somewhere new and unknown, will you follow His lead, or will you stay back in fear?

Have you ever been on an airplane and had to listen to the flight safety briefing? Even for a short, regional flight, you need to know where the life preservers and oxygen masks are located in case of an emergency. Well, Pastor Jeff teaches you today about how God used Noah to build the ultimate rescue device, the Ark. God told Noah to build a large ship, far from any major body of water, and it was because of Noah’s faith in God that he and his family were saved from the flood that destroyed mankind.

The great thing about Abel’s faith was that he recognized the significance of the shedding of blood. He recognized that sin had consequences and that the atonement of sin required a sacrifice. Pastor Jeff wants you to know today that from the dawn of history, mankind has carried the burden of the consequences of sin and that sacrifice is required. However, you can rejoice in knowing that your debt has already been paid by Jesus! His blood sacrifice can cover the sins of all humanity.

It’s safe to say that we’ve all drifted into sin at one time or another. It doesn’t matter if you’ve been a Christian for thirty seconds or thirty years, Satan’s temptations never cease. In today’s message, Pastor Jeff wants you to know that it’s impossible to be perfect and all you need to do is seek God’s grace. His mercies are boundless and your debt has already been paid by the sacrifice of His son on the cross. Wash yourself clean and start your day refreshed by accepting God’s forgiveness.  

We all face defeat. It doesn’t matter the amount of wins that we have, losing to our flesh stings worse and worse every time. Today in his message, Pastor Jeff wants you to know that if you want to buck the trend and live a life set apart from the pain of this world, give your heart to Jesus. There’s nothing that you have to do except simply accept His free gift of grace. Leave your burdens at His feet and kiss your mistakes goodbye. Stop trying to fix everything on your own and let God do the heavy lifting. 

When we get confused about what course of action to take, it can feel like the road ahead is cloudy and uncertain. But Pastor Jeff reminds us today that if we take the time to pray for guidance from the Lord, He will begin to remove the doubt and the possibilities that we’re not meant to pursue. Eventually, He will make the correct path forward clear and easy to follow. God doesn’t want us to take the wrong path, but He does want us to learn to be patient and trust in His timing, not our own.

Have you ever been stuck in traffic without knowing what caused the holdup? Maybe there is an accident up ahead, or a school bus dropping children off in their neighborhood. It can be easy to get impatient and frustrated, but you can also choose to be patient and trust that you will be on your way again soon. Pastor Jeff teaches you today that Jesus may have a good reason for making you wait. Sometimes waiting is part of the lesson that He is trying to teach you. He works on His own schedule.

The easiest way to know you are following God’s path for your life is when you see the obstacles in front of you fall away as if they were nothing. See, God isn’t just guiding your steps, He is also clearing the way ahead, like the leader of an expedition cuts away heavy brush with a machete. Pastor Jeff reminds you today that you can never venture too far away from God’s will. Oftentimes all you need to do is turn around and take a single step towards the straight and narrow path. God will do the rest.

When was the last time you drove somewhere new without using GPS or a map? If you know the area well enough, you can usually find where you’re going pretty easily. But if you’re in a new region, you need a guidemap to tell you where to go. Pastor Jeff reminds you today that God has given you the ultimate guidemap: His Word. If you want to know where you’re headed in life, you need to know the guidemap inside and out. You need to eat, breathe, and sleep with the Word of God on your heart.