Ps. 90:12 says “teach us to number our days that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” The Living Bible says it this way. “Teach us to number our days and recognize how few they are. Help us to spend them as we should. “

Someone a long time ago made this statement. “Only one life will soon be past, only what’s done for Christ will last.” When I think of that statement, it always leaves the same question in my heart “what am I doing for Christ, and am I doing alI can? For me the answer Is always the same. There is more to do, there is more to accomplish. I can be a better witness, I can have greater impact than I have. I discover again that I have not arrived yet, I have not reached the potential Father has placed in me.

I spent three days last week volunteering for Mario Murillo’s “Living Proof” tent crusade in Modesto Ca. I spent those days surrounded by people who, on a daily basis, do all they can to live out this scripture. One day it was handing out food boxes, sharing Jesus, and praying with people living in government housing, the next day spent helping out in an emergency homeless shelter. Every evening spent at the tent crusade watching people pour themselves out for the lost that came to Christ by the hundreds.

Why do these people do this? What compels them to give up their lives, their dreams, wishes and desires to do what very few people would choose to do? Why do they pour their lives out for the poor, the forgotten, the homeless, the addict, the gang member, the prostitute the unloveable? They are driven by the heart of God. They are driven by his desire to redeem the lost. They remember what it was like to be lost.

We must ask ourselves daily “Am I taking full advantage of the days I have been given? Am I focused on self, or on God’s purpose for me? Being a disciple of Christ is more than just being morally pure, or doctrinally sound. It is more than sitting in a pew every Sunday, or being able to quote vast amounts of scripture, or giving money. All those things are important, but if we are not motivated, compelled by the love of Christ to bring in the harvest, to win the lost, we choose to live far beneath the potential God has for us. We are not all called to preach to the masses, to hold crusades, but we are all called to go out and make disciples, to bring in the lost, even if it’s one by one. We must have hearts that remember how it feels to be lost, hearts that see every life as valuable to Christ, to see that no one is left out.

There has never been a greater opportunity to share Jesus with people. The are full of fear, hopelessness, despair and hungry for truth. I’m not speaking from some theory, I’ve seen this with my own eyes. Mario Murillo said one evening that the fish are “jumping in the boat.” They’ve seen what the world offers them and it has left them empty and used up. They want the truth, the truth of their spiritual condition, and the truth of the freedom and deliverance that Jesus offers.

Personal witnessing is not one of my strong points, but I have determined that I will be a soul winner. It will stretch me and most likely take me way outside my comfort zone, but I am determined to number my days and use them wisely. I challenge you today, no, Holy Spirit challenges you today to step out of your comfort zone and share Jesus with someone today. It’s as simple as telling them what Jesus did for you. Whether you just plant a seed or if you harvest a soul, you will do your part to number your days, to win the lost. There is no greater feeling than knowing that you shared Jesus with someone. I’ll close with two quotes that motivate me to be a soul winner.

“I can choose to be a Christian, but I cannot choose to be a soul winner. Christ made that decision for me.” (T.L. Osborn)

“If sinners be damned, at least let them leap to hell over our dead bodies. And if they perish, let them perish with our arms wrapped around their knees, imploring them to stay. If hell must be filled, let it be filled in the teeth of our exertions and let no one go unwarned and not prayed for.” (Charles Spurgeon)

Lord, teach us all to number our days.