Pastor Bob’s Blog

For some time now, messages preached on Sunday have been available on our web site (theabundantlifetoday.org) a day or two later.  They’re still there, but you can now subscribe to a podcast and have them delivered automatically when you open iTunes on your computer.

The podcast is known on iTunes as The Abundant Life Today.  In iTunes, you can search for “abundant life today,” and look for a little picture of me (you might have to click on “see all” to find it).  When you find it, click on “subscribe.”  When you sync your iPod with iTunes, the podcast will be loaded onto your iPod.  How cool is that?  God’s word in a portable audio format.

Wouldn’t it be great if God had a podcast?  Each time I’ve read the accounts of God’s giving the engineering instructions to Noah for building the ark, and of His giving the instructions for building the temple, I’ve thought how overwhelming that would have been to remember all the details.  Or think what it would have been like to be one of the prophets who had to deliver a precise word from the Lord.  In any of those accounts, wouldn’t it have been great to sync your iPod and be able to listen to the instructions or the word all over again?

Michael Phelps is amazing.  He’s amazing not just because he won eight gold medals at the Olympic games.  He’s amazing because of his intense focus and hard work.  His mantra was “eat, sleep, swim.”  That’s virtually all he did.  But he determined that doing everything necessary to win eight gold medals was more important than parties, television, or anything else his friends were doing.

Jesus taught that the Kingdom of God is like a man who finds buried treasure in a field and sells all he has to buy the field, or like a merchant who sells all he has to buy a beautiful expensive pearl.  (Matthew 13:44-46).  Living in the fullness of the Kingdom of God always has a cost.  But Jesus also taught that every time we pay the cost, there’s a payoff – and that’s living in the fullness of the Kingdom of God.  (Mark 10:29-30).

How many of us are willing to pay the cost?  We get great teaching about the benefits of Kingdom living.  God really does want us to be healthy in our bodies, prosperous in our finances, and fulfilled in our families.  He wants us to grow daily in our fellowship with Him, to live free from sin and bondage, and to have peace in our minds.

But to enjoy Kingdom living, we have to pay the cost.  Are we willing to conform our lives to the Bible instead of trying to twist the Bible to conform to our lifestyle?  Are we willing to tithe and sow, and to forsake the world’s way of hoarding and going into debt?  Are we willing to forgive and love instead of holding grudges and taking offense?  Are we willing to spend time each day meditating on the Word of God and resting in the presence of the Lord?

Jesus told us to seek diligently the Kingdom of God, and that as a result of that diligent seeking, the Lord would supply all the stuff we need – and the desires of our hearts!  (Matthew 6:33; Psalm 37:4).  Are we willing to seek the Kingdom of God with as much fervor as Michael Phelps sought his gold medals?  If so, the payoff is huge!  It’s way bigger than Olympic medals – and it’s eternal.

Make a quality decision to pay the cost.  You’ll always be glad you did.