Teach us to number our days that we may gain a heart of

wisdom. Psalm 90:12 (NIV)

This scripture is what Number My Day is based on, learning to number our days so we may gain
a heart of wisdom.

When I first read this scripture, contrasting my life with eternity seemed pointless at first.

I can't truly understand what eternity is, I have never experienced eternity, yet this scripture tells
me that it is wise to number my days in comparison to eternity.

So understanding that my days are numbered here on earth forces me to focus on an eternal God
and His will for my life.

I have committed myself to learning how to number my days.

What does that mean in a practical sense?

I wake up and seek God through His Word, I strive to use my time wisely, I am more intentional
in building relationships with friends and family, I am cultivating the gifts God has given me (let
me be clear, this does not come easily and I don't have a perfect score but I keep moving forward
to seek God and He helps me learn and get better on the journey).

So let me ask you a couple questions...

What are you here for?

What specific gifts and talents did God equip you with?

Whatever it is, He put that inside you to build His Kingdom.

Think beyond what is right in front of you and focus on our eternal God.

So...how will you number your days?

Write this down on a piece of paper, or in your notes section in your phone, think about it, then
make yourself accountable and share it.

I would like to know.

Let's number our days together and live the life God intended for us to live.

A life with purpose.

What is standing in your way from a complete commitment

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to Christ?
24Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves
and take up their cross and follow me. 25For whoever wants to save their life will lose it,
but whoever loses their life for me will find it. 26What good will it be for someone to gain
the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their
soul? 27For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then
he will reward each person according to what they have done.

Matthew 16: 24-27 (NIV)

For us today, the cross represents Christ dying and rising in three days for our salvation.

At the time Jesus said, "...take up their cross...", the only thing the cross represented was
crucifixion.

IMMINENT DEATH.

Jesus wasn't playing around with our salvation.

He expects us not to play around with our salvation.

He wants us to pick up our cross and follow Him.

NO TURNING BACK.

Jesus already died to save the world, now He's asking us to live for Him.

Being a follower of Christ means we will have emotional, spiritual, and physical struggles and
attacks but Jesus already paved the way and gave us all the tools we need to get through them.

He gave us the Church (each other), the Word, and the Holy Spirit.

When we pick up our cross and follow Christ, we find our real purpose for living.

We gain direction, we gain meaning.

We live in an imperfect and materialistic world, don't we?

Just look at media, almost everything is about stuff and sex.

Cars, Clothes, Money, Jewelry, Sex.

Satan wants us/you to believe that the only way to be happy is to buy things and lust after
women who aren't our wives. Jesus tells us we can gain the whole world but it means NOTHING

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if we lose our soul!

 Now cars, clothes, money, and jewelry aren't bad.

 Loving them is.

 Don't lose your soul over stuff.

 One great thing about being a follower of Christ is that we already have victory and Jesus tells
us in verse 27 that He is going to come back and reward us.

 Let's focus together, pick up our cross, and follow Jesus.

What is causing you to doubt God's power?

22And Jesus answered saying to them, “Have faith in God. 23“Truly I say to you, whoever

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says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart,
but believes that what he says is going to happen, it will be granted him. 24“Therefore I say
to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they
will be granted you. 25“Whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against
anyone, so that your Father who is in heaven will also forgive you your
transgressions. 26[“But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father who is in heaven
forgive your transgressions.”] Mark 11:22-26

Jesus tells us we can pray for anything.

All things are possible with God and Jesus is telling us that if we do not doubt, what we ask for
will be granted.

WOW!

Just like a genie I can go to God, ask for what I want, receive it, and I'm not limited to three
wishes, right?

WRONG.

God doesn't serve me, to the contrary, He made me to serve Him.

IN ALL THINGS.

Even through prayer.

So, how do we gain access to this power?

1. We must be believers.
2. We must have faith in God. Focus on God not the object of our request.
3. We must not pray for selfish reasons.
4. Our request must be good for God's Kingdom.
5. We must forgive.

God has granted us power through prayer but He has also given us His Word to teach us how to
access this power and the Holy Spirit to guide us along the way. 

Let's look, for example, at Jesus in Mark 14:36.

Jesus is agonizing in the Garden of Gethsemane, preparing to be crucified.

Praying to God, He said, "Everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I

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will, but what you will."

"...Not what I will, but what you will."

The good for God's kingdom over my own.

How does God want to use you to build His Kingdom?

Pray to Him and ask what you need.

Don't doubt and get ready to see the power of God cast a mountain into the sea.

 
 

What can you do to hear the Word of Christ more?

So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. Romans 10:17 (ESV)

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Faith comes through hearing the Word of Christ.

How do we hear the Word? Who is faith for? Why is faith so important?

Let's explore these three questions.

How do we hear?

We know that faith comes through hearing, but how do we hear?

Let's look at Romans 10:14...

How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in
him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? 

We hear by someone preaching to us.

Today, there are many ways for us to hear the Word, the number one, of course, being your local
church.

However, we go to church once, maybe twice a week, and we should be studying daily, right?

We now have the privilege of having copies of the Bible, ready to read, every day of the week.

On to the next question.

Who is faith for?

Let's look at Romans 10:11-12...

For the Scripture says, “WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT

BE DISAPPOINTED.”  For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is
Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him.

Faith is for EVERYONE.

Our Lord created us all and is Lord of all.

HALLELUJAH!

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Now for the final question.

Why is faith so important?

Let's look at Romans 10:8-10...

But what does it say? “THE WORD IS NEAR YOU, IN YOUR MOUTH AND IN YOUR
HEART”—that is, the word of faith which we are preaching, that if you confess with your mouth
Jesus  as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;
for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses,
resulting in salvation.

Faith leads to our salvation.

What can be more important than that?

NOTHING.

Faith comes by hearing.

We hear through preaching and reading the Word of Christ.

Faith leads to our salvation.

And it's for everyone.

How will you acknowledge God in all your ways?

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways
acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3: 5-6 (NIV)

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More often than I would like to admit, I have leaned on my own understanding.
The result?
I'm sure you guessed it or have experienced it yourself.
FAILURE, CONFUSION, DISSATISFACTION.
Raise your hand if you have had similar results.
Okay, good, I'm not alone.
There have been several times when I've had a brilliant, foolproof, strong resolution to a
problem, and once executed, turned out dumb, foolish, and weak.
If only I had read my Bible more, or had more faith in God's Word...
I would have saved myself a ton of misery by acknowledging God, first, before making a
mistake and needing Him to bail me out.
It's like a man, standing at the edge of a lake, with the intention to jump in and swim to the other
side.
The problem is, he doesn't know how to swim.
No swim lessons, no life jacket, no raft.
If this man jumps into the lake, there's a good chance he is going to drown.
And I forgot to mention, this man doesn't see the crocodiles laying beneath the surface either.
Why do we think we can stand at the edge of the lakes in our lives, jump in, and make it to the
other side without acknowledging God?

A God that knows everything.

That created us.
That can teach us how to swim.
That knows crocodiles are waiting to pounce.

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That knows exactly what we need to get to the other side.

Need I continue?
When we look at it this way, it doesn't quite make sense, does it?
Moving forward, let's keep it simple and save ourselves a lot of time and heartache.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart.
DO NOT lean on your own understanding. Acknowledge God in everything. He will make your
paths straight.

What are you going to ask God for?

This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to
his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us--whatever we ask--we know that we

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have what we asked of him. 1 John 5:14-15 (NIV)

When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may
spend what you get on your pleasures. James 4:3 (NIV)

Pray with confidence!

A major reason God has given us prayer is to ask for what we need.

As a matter of fact, He tells us over and over in scripture to ask.

And you know what always comes before asking?

Confidence (Faith).

However, we tend to overlook a major factor in this equation.

GOD'S WILL.

We need to focus on God's will, not our own.

When we ask, we need to ask for what we need to advance His Kingdom.

Instead of demanding what we want, let's ask God what He wants.

He's the one that knows everything, including what's best for us, right?

Confidence comes from seeking God's will and understanding that anything we ask for according
to His will, will be given to us.

Now let's explore why we don't receive what we ask for in James 4:3...

We don't receive when we ask for our own pleasure.

Why do you pray?

How do you pray?

Do you seek God's approval for your own plan?

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Do you ask God to fulfill your own selfish desires?

The only way to have a successful prayer life is to ask for what is in God's will.

If you don't know, ask Him.

Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. 1
Peter 5:6

God has created us to serve Him.

He has created you with a specific purpose to help build His Kingdom.

What is that purpose?

Confidently ask God for anything in His will and you will receive it.

Let's pray...

Lord, thank you for teaching us how to pray.

Thank you for the privilege of allowing us to communicate with you.

Thank you for your Word and the ability to learn and grow with others.

I ask that we will approach you with confidence, already knowing that we will receive what we
ask for because it is in Your will.

And I pray that we will seek You and not our own selfish desires.

In Jesus's name I pray, amen.

 
How will you praise the Lord?

1Praise the Lord. 

Praise God in his sanctuary;

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praise him in his mighty heavens.

2Praise him for his acts of power;

praise him for his surpassing greatness.

3Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet,

praise him with the harp and lyre,

4praise him with timbrel and dancing,

praise him with the strings and pipe,

5praise him with the clash of cymbals,

praise him with resounding cymbals.

6Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.

Praise the Lord. Psalm 150 (NIV)

The message of this scripture couldn't be more clear...

Praise the Lord!

Why should we praise the Lord?

Well, He created us to worship Him.

We are incomplete unless we serve the God who created us.

We praise Him because He is the greatest.

As a matter of fact, verse 2 tells us that He surpasses greatness.

How should we praise the Lord?

Praise Him through song.

Praise Him with instruments.

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Praise Him with dance.

Praise Him with your life.

Praise God how He leads you to praise Him.

Where should we praise the Lord?

Praise Him at church.

Praise Him everywhere else.

When should we praise the Lord?

As long as we have breath to praise, we should praise the Lord!

Praise Him when times are good or bad.

As believers, when we take time to sit and think about all God has done.

How He created the heavens and the earth.

Look at how beautiful this earth is.

Think about how He designed this earth to work, the cycles.

The atmosphere, The biosphere, The geosphere, The hydrosohere.

And how He created them to support our lives.

Think about how we decided to reject Him.

How we chose sin, yet, He sent His only son to die for our salvation.

Think about His Word.

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How He gave us an explicit guide on how we should live.

Think about the Holy Spirit.

How He gave us a comforter to help guide us through life.

When I think about His grace and how I don't deserve it.

There is nothing else I can do except praise the Lord.

Let everything that have breath praise the Lord!

Let's pray...

Lord we praise you!

We thank you for creating us.

For creating the heavens and the earth.

We praise you for your power.

For your surpassing greatness.

Lord, we praise you for everything because you are everything!

And as long as I have breath, I will praise you.

In Jesus name I pray, amen.

Paul and Silas were in jail, singing and praying to God.

About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other
prisoners were listening to them. Acts 16:25 (NIV)

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Let's look at Acts 16:16-24 to see how they got there...

There was a slave girl that made a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling.

The girl was following Paul and his group for many days, shouting, “These men are servants of
the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved!”

This finally started troubling Paul and he commanded the spirit to come out of her in the name of
Jesus Christ.

The spirit immediately left her. When the owners of the slave girl realized they wouldn't make
any more money from her fortune-telling, they dragged them to the authorities, got the crowd on
their side, and the authorities had Paul and Silas stripped, beaten, and thrown into prison.

What?

How did that just happen?

Paul and Silas were doing the Lord's work.

Preaching salvation.

And because of money, they were thrown into prison.

The slave girl's owners were so upset about the lack of revenue that they overlooked something
eternally more valuable.

SALVATION.

It was right in front of their faces.

Have you experienced something similar?

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So focused on earthly things that you missed godly things?

I know I have.

Now let's see what happens after Acts 16:25...

Paul and Silas were singing and praying in jail and the other prisoners were listening.

 A violent earthquake hit and the doors of the jail flew open.

The guard thought the prisoners escaped, drew his sword, and was going to kill himself.

Paul yelled out, "Don't harm yourself! We're are all here!"

Paul wasn't so focused on earthly things, and as a result, the jailer and his whole family believed
in Jesus and were saved.

Paul and Silas were singing and praying all night and the guard heard them.

But it wasn't until he saw the men remain in the jail, when they could have escaped, that made
him tremble and want what they had.

SALVATION.

We can pray and sing all day long, but to be effective disciples for Christ, our actions have to
align with our words.

Paul and Silas were innocent men and were let free the next day, God used a seemingly horrible
circumstance for His glory.

God will use the horrible circumstances in our lives for His glory as well.

Never stop singing and praying.

What do you do when going through difficult times?

Let's pray...

Lord, thank you for this example of Paul and Silas.

I pray that we will focus on you.

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Rather times are good or bad.

That we will never stop singing or praying because we know you are the God of everything.

Even our circumstances.

I pray that we will glorify you through our troubles and you will use our troubles to glorify you.

In the name of Jesus, I pray, amen.

Oh, how great God is!

1Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.

2Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs.

3Know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep
of his pasture.

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4Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his
name.

5For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all
generations.

Psalm 100 (NIV)

Let's take a look at a few keywords in this scripture.

Joy, worship, thanksgiving, and praise.

All of these words are a result, or a reaction, caused by how great God is.

First of all, God created us and we belong to Him.

He is good.

His love endures forever.

And His faithfulness never ends.

All the earth must shout for joy!

We must worship the Lord with gladness because that is what He created us to do.

We must give thanks and praise His name because He is good, He loves us, and that will never
change.

When I think about everything God has done for me...

He saved my soul.

He's shown me mercy.

He gives me grace I don't deserve.

He loves me unconditionally

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I can't help but to shout for joy, worship with gladness, praise His name, and thank him!

I must, God gives and gives and gives.

And I thank Him.

What do you thank God for?

Let's pray...

Lord you are great and we thank you.

We thank you for your everlasting faithfulness.

We thank you for your love that endures forever.

We thank you for being so good.

And we thank you for creating us.

We can't help but to shout for joy and praise your name!

I pray that we will never lose sight of who you are and what you do for us.

In Jesus's name I pray, amen.

Do you thank God in all circumstances?

Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. 1
Thessalonians 5:18 (NIV)

Always give thanks.

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It's easy to give thanks when all is well.

When we're on a roll, moving forward, accomplishing our goals. 

But this scripture tells us to give thanks in all circumstances. 

Yep, when we're moving forward and when we're stuck in a rut.

When we're succeeding and when we're failing.

When everything is going our way and when it seems like the world is against us.

 Keep in mind, we give thanks in all circumstances, not for all circumstances.

What's the difference?

 Evil doesn't come from God and we don't thank Him for it.

 Our circumstances may be from evil in this world or from our own poor choices.

 We don't thank God for that.

 However, we thank God in it.

Romans 8:28 says...

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been
called according to his purpose."

No matter what circumstance we are in, if we love God and are called according to His purpose...

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He works all things for our good.

Thank Him in all circumstances.

 He will work it for our good and He will be glorified.

 I have experienced both evil and my own poor choices.

Have you?

 I have been attacked.

 I have made bad decisions.

 I have sinned.

 And I must say, It's almost impossible to see how circumstances will turn out when you're going
through it.

 Difficult times seem like they will never end.

 But this scripture is very clear.

 It is God's will for us to thank Him in all circumstances.

Why?

 We already have the victory through Jesus Christ.

 Our God is greater than our circumstances and He will use them for our good.

 Thank God.

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Let's pray...

Lord, we know you are greater than our circumstances.

There is nothing greater than you.

I will thank you when times are good.

I will thank you when times are bad.

I know that you will work it all for my good and you will be glorified.

In Jesus's name I pray, amen.

 
 

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