Not one of them was among those counted by Moses and Aaron the priest when they counted the Israelites in the Desert of Sinai. Numbers 26:64

America does a census counting of all the people once every ten years. This is done for various reasons, though primarily for taxing purposes and to see how many people live in America and where they live.

Only those who live in America and are still living are counted in the census regardless of how young or old they are. Those outside the country are not counted at all, with the exception of some who are temporarily living outside the nation.

God had Moses take a census of the Israelites. None of those who were counted in the Desert of Sinai were counted for they were dead.

While nations take censuses on a regular basis, God will also be taking a census one day. God is counting the number of His children that will be able to enter His kingdom in heaven some day.

Just as with nations the number of people go up and down with each census, the number of people in God’s kingdom goes up and down. Every time a person repents of his sin and chooses to believe in and follow Jesus, the number goes up. At the same time, there are people who are deceived by the world and the devil and choose to walk away from God. This is when the number goes down.

Any believer who chooses to grumble and complain against God and decides to go the way of the world, refusing to obey God is leaving His kingdom. Salvation is guaranteed only when a believer continues to believe, obey God and repent when he fails to obey God.

Every believer must live in a way so that they will be counted when Jesus returns.

The moment you chose to believe in Jesus and repent of your sins, you became a citizen in God’s country. God began to count you as His child.

Do not hold this lightly or give it up to go back to the world, leaving God’s kingdom. Walking in sin and refusing to repent will cause Jesus to say He does not know you when He returns. You will not be counted as His child.

Ask yourself today if you will be counted as a member of God’s kingdom when Jesus returns.

Today I pray that you will know Jesus as your Lord and Savior; that you will repent of all sins before God; that you will obey God’s commands to you; that God will be able to count you as His child; and that Jesus will be able to say He knows you when He returns.