In today’s world we live and die by numbers.

7 lbs. 6 oz., 19” long, 10:16 am, 8/12/72

SSN  123 45 6789

Tax ID #

Amt of paycheck

Amt of grocery bill (chaching!)

Credit card #

Phone #

#’s in passwords

At the end, Death Certificate #, date and time

Scripture speaks of important numbers as well.

6 days of Creation (Genesis 1)

7 represents perfection: Genesis 1:31-2:3

40 is the number for fulfillment or completion; 40 days the spies scouted out the Promised Land (Numbers 13:1-25), 40 years the Israelites wandered in the desert as a result of the unwillingness to take the land (Numbers 14:32-35; Moses spent 40 days on Mt. Sinai and received the 10 commandments (Exodus 34:28); Jesus fasted 40 days (Matthew 4:1-11)

The story of Noah (Genesis 7) is flooded (pun intended) with numbers, 40 days and nights of rain, 2 unclean animals and 7 clean; 7’s and 40’s repeated throughout chapters 7 and 8 as well as other numbers.

3 represents the Trinity and therefore a wholeness; there are 3 angels named in scripture; Jonah was in the fish for 3 days; Jesus was set upon the cross at the 3^rd hour, and rose from the dead on the 3^rd day.

Lots of significant numbers in the Bible…But it comes down to only ONE important Number–“The One True and Living God who gave His One and Only Son so that you may choose to come to Him to receive the One and Only free gift of Salvation!

Have you chosen that ONE yet???????

Wake up, get up or hit snooze.

Wear this outfit or that one.

What should I have for breakfast?

Pack a lunch or go out with the gang.

Stop for gas or gamble that you can make it to work and back on less than a quarter tank. (for those who like to live dangerously! LOL)

Cook dinner or get take out.

Pay this bill or that one until payday comes.

Some choices are easy, some hard and need lots of thought, some are necessary.

We make choices every day for ourselves and our loved ones.

Our Father God made a choice more than 2000 years ago to send His Son to the cross for us.

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16

Jesus made a choice more than 2000 years ago.

He chose to go to the cross, suffer pain, humiliation, and finally complete rejection from the Father as He took all sin, past, present, and future upon Himself, and God could no longer look at Him and turned His back.

And yet, He chose to do that.

For us.

For our salvation.

For our eternity.

Now we have a choice.

We can choose Jesus as our Savior and His gift of salvation,

Or not.

Is there someone in your life who could use help?

You can probably think of at least one person, if not more, that could use a little assistance today; maybe a family member, a neighbor, someone at work, etc. They may be going through a difficult time, or facing a challenging life circumstance, or just be sick or tired.

Often times, when we speak with those who are hurting, we end our conversation by saying, “Let me know if you need anything” thinking we are being helpful. The problem with this blanket statement is that the person who is hurting usually can’t figure out what they “need”, so the request to let you know how to help is just another stress.

So, what do we do?

Just say, “Good luck with that” and move on? Do we NEVER offer to help?

ABSOLUTELY NOT!

But let’s be proactive in our offer.

Instead of saying, “Let me know if you need anything”, think of something concrete that you could do to help. Everyone eats dinner. Offer to supply a meal (even if it’s take out, believe me it will be appreciated!).

Or tell them you are going to mow their grass or weed their garden (no need to go in the house, so no stress on them to clean up inside.)

Offer to take their children for two hours one night next week so they can go do their grocery shopping without a circus.

Offer to drive them to an appointment, help with cleaning, wash their car, run errands, send emails, etc.

We need to “Serve each other, in love”, so let’s pull out the calendar and make a plan to actual do something!

Who are you ready to call?

Galatians 5:13b  For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.

Matthew 25:40   “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’”

“My heart rejoices in the Lord” 1 Samuel 2:1

Rejoice is to be filled with joy.  What things in your life fill you with joy today?

What makes your heart rejoice? 

Think about that.

This verse from the Bible was spoken by Hannah in a prayer she prayed to God after God had answered her prayer that she would have a baby. 

God answered and gave her a baby boy.  She was filled with joy that she had given birth to a son.  She was so full of joy that she prayed and told God how joyful she was. 

And then she did one more thing, she gave the baby back to God. 

WHAT???? 

Yep!!!  She gave her son to live at the Tabernacle in Shiloh to learn about God and grow up to live and serve Him.

When was the last time you were filled with joy and rejoiced in what the Lord has done in your life?

Maybe it is time to count your blessings and tell God that your heart is rejoicing in Him.

It is precious…

It is fresh…

It is exciting to watch the life of a newborn baby…

It is sometimes exhilarating…

It is at other times exasperating…

It can be short…

It can be way into the 100’s…

All of these things are true about life.  Plus, there are many more thoughts we could share to describe life—YOUR life.  But the most important description is ETERNAL.  Do you know that man was born with a spirit that will live on for eternity?  Hard for us to wrap our brains around that truth. 

The life this week that we are celebrating is the LIFE of JESUS as He walked this earth and then died on a cross for the sins of every human ever given life.  Then triumphantly He rose from the dead and is ALIVE now.  The truth is, if we believe in His work on the cross for each of us, then we are promised to have eternal life in Heaven with Him. 

Now that is REAL LIFE—with Jesus in Heaven for eternity. 

The only question here is, have you believed in Jesus Christ and received Him as the Savior for your sins?  If the answer is YES, then Praise God—you can describe yourself as having ETERNAL LIFE!!  If the answer is NO, please take this moment to talk to Jesus and tell Him you have sinned and you want Him to cleanse you from your sin and come into your LIFE.  Then you, my friend, will enjoy the description of having ETERNAL LIFE WITH JESUS IN HEAVEN.

“And this is the way to have eternal life—to know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, the one you sent to earth.”  John 17:3   (NLT)