Next time you go outdoors, pause for a moment to stop and smell the roses. Look up, down, and all around, to take in all the miracles of God, which surround us every day in nature. Take time to notice the animals, the birds, the trees, the bushes, the flowers, the grass, and every living thing. God’s miracles abound in all the natural world we take for granted each day in our busy lives.

But you don’t have to look beyond the end of your own nose to see one of God’s greatest miracles. In all of God’s majestic creations in the universe, you are also an amazing miracle. Do not underestimate just how much God loves you. After all, He invested a lot of time in creating you. He knew you before you were born. David stated this fact very well in one of his psalms.

“For You formed my inmost being. You knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Marvelous are Your works, and I know this very well.  My frame was not hidden from You when I was made in secret, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all my days were written in Your book and ordained for me before one of them came to be” (Psalm 139:13-16).

I will not even begin to try to explain all the miracles within our bodies. You can learn all about body parts just by viewing the diagrams of the human body in a medical book and seeing how they miraculously interact with each other. However, I do know about the billions (at the very least) of moving parts in our physical world that had to come together just right, through God’s perfect timing, for each one of us to be here today. Let us consider some nuts-and-bolts facts to make my point clear.

According to A-I, if you go back 10 generations in your family, which accounts for up to 300 years in the past, approximately back to the year 1726, you have had, on average, nearly 2,050 unique direct ancestors. If you go back 20 generations of direct ancestors, approximately back 600 years to the year 1426, you have had, on average, around 2.1 million direct ancestors. That takes a lot of miraculous, Godly planning and coordination over that span of time to find you and me here today.

Absolutely every little thing in the lives of over 2 million of our direct ancestors had to go exactly right for each of us to be here in the year 2026. Only God could control daily events in that many lives over that long period of time to allow you to be you, and me to be me today. Those one million couples had to have children live long enough to have at least one child of their own over 20 generations of time. If any one of our 2 million individual family members had died prematurely—you and I would not be here today! Just pause and let that sink in for a minute. If any one of our direct ancestors had died from illness, an accident, in war, from an act of God, or for any reason before having children, we would not be here.

This sums up my case for saying it is a true miracle we are here at all. It seems to me it can only be by God’s divine, perfect planning and His grace that each of us is one of the approximate 100 billion humans who have ever lived, whom God has selected to grant us life here on planet Earth up to this time. We are each a miracle of God, despite the circumstances of sin, to be placed in this amazing and awesome but fallen world.

Each one of us is very special in God’s sight, and He does not wish to see even one of His children perish as the result of the sin which entered our world through the first human man, Adam. The first couple, Adam and Eve, spoiled for all of us a perfect earthly environment and perfect human bodies in which to live here on earth as a result of their original sin against God.

Adam and Eve were, you might say, the original Mr. & Mrs. Universe because they were uniquely created by God, in the image of God, as perfect human beings in every way. They represented the perfect couple of mankind, until they sinned against God and shattered the possibility of perfection for the rest of us in our human form. All the problems throughout human history, including our world today, stem from Adam’s original sin. This includes all the wars, corruption, depravity, killing, sicknesses, and physical death experienced by 100 billion people and counting.

Humanity was condemned by God to experience every kind of pain and suffering down through the ages, due to our sin. We should not be surprised, therefore, by our current sad situation in America and around the world. After the original sin, there has never been another perfect, fully human man or woman born.

So, if you feel down on yourself because you suffer from this or that, please do not beat yourself up. We all have felt that way at one time or another in our lives. But even though we are born sinful creatures, God still loves us and made a way for us to live with Him in our future, perfect resurrected bodies in heaven.

God the Father provided the opportunity for a blessed eternal life by means of offering His Son, Jesus Christ, as the perfect sacrificial Lamb of God, to pay the ultimate price for our redemption and righteousness in the sight of God through Jesus voluntarily suffering on a cross, shedding His blood, and dying for us, and then rising again to defeat death and pave the way for us to experience a perfect existence in heaven at the end of our physical life on earth.

However, this is only possible if you believe Jesus Christ lived, died, and lived again to blot out all our past, present, and future sins. Jesus died once for all and then rose again for the benefit of all who believe in Him. Accept Jesus Christ as your Savior today to experience perfection in heaven some fine day to come!

“And we know that God works all things together for the good of those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28).

It’s a miracle that happens every day, when God takes a rebellious sinner like you and me, forgives our sins, grants us the promise of eternal life, lavishes us with grace and mercy, adopts us as a child of God, and seals us for eternity—all because of Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection on our behalf. Praise the Lord every day for the miraculous gift of God’s salvation plan for us!

P.S.—Another miracle which could take place any day now is the Rapture of Christians from the earth, which is God’s miraculous plan to spare Christians from the coming terrible seven-year Great Tribulation time on earth, dominated by the anti-Christ. We will meet Jesus Christ in the air and miraculously be taken directly to heaven. We should all want to be part of that miracle!

The game of life is no game at all but a matter of eternal life or death.  From the moment we are born, we get a good ‘slap on the butt’ just like many athletes during competition.  Then we let out a cry of defiance just like many athletes do during a competition.  We are then off to the races in our hunger for food, love, TLC, and as much attention as we can attract from others.

Yes, once we are born, we enter every venue of competition, be it in our home, in school, or in a workplace.  In an alley, on a sandlot, on a field, in a stadium, in an arena, on a racetrack, in a coliseum, in a ring, or on a rink.  On the snow slopes, on a court, in the water, in the air, on grounds and courses, on ranges, in gyms and halls, on the radio, and on other media.  We even compete online, on reality television shows, and yes, on ever-popular television game shows.

Unfortunately, in all these fields of endeavor and competition, we open ourselves up to the pitfall of one of life’s greatest sins, pride.  The Bible says that pride goes before destruction and a fall (Proverbs 16:18).

“I [King Solomon] have seen something else under the sun. The fastest runner doesn’t always win the race, and the strongest warrior doesn’t always win the battle. The wise sometimes go hungry, and the skillful are not necessarily wealthy. And those who are educated don’t always lead successful lives” (Eccles 9:11).

Thus, we need to focus on the eternal prize—Jesus Christ.

“I press on toward the goal to win the prize of God’s heavenly calling in Christ Jesus” (Phil 3:14).

“Everyone who competes in games trains with strict discipline. They do it for a crown that is perishable, but we do it for a crown that is imperishable” (1 Corinthians 9:25).

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.  From now on there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but to all who crave His appearance” (2 Timothy 4:7-8).

“Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made the good confession [confessed Jesus Christ as your Savior] before many witnesses”  (1 Timothy 6:12).

“Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him” (James 1:12).

“I am coming soon.  Hold fast to what you have, so that no one will take your crown” (Rev 3:11).

“I am the vine and you are the branches. The one who remains in Me, and I in him, will bear much fruit. For apart from Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5).

There is nothing wrong with legal earthly games, although some games can be dangerous, and loss of physical life is a possibility.  We all take part in some sort of games during our lives. Just remember, those games can have eternal ramifications, so take the game of life seriously.

Don’t be distracted by all the games mankind devises in this life.  “Get your head on straight,” as a coach might tell you, and focus on the long-term goal of obtaining eternal life in heaven, just like all the Christian teammates have done you’ve ever played games with or against in this life.

No matter what games you are playing in this life, it is important to read the rule book.  The rule book in this game of life is the Holy Bible.  It is a big book, but it is easy to navigate through it to find the one important rule for living successfully and to obtain eternal life with our life coach, Jesus Christ.

The one and only rule you need to follow to be victorious in this life and gain eternal life in God’s heaven is made very clear in the Bible and summed up in a mere two biblical verses.

“For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that everyone who believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). “For if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9).

My best advice—believe in Jesus Christ!  Be a true winner and eternal victor in the game of life.

Just do it before you physically die or the Rapture takes place, so as not to forfeit eternal life.  There are no overtimes or second chances after you die to accept Jesus as Savior from your sins.

Don’t let pride get the best of you; remain humble, and give Jesus Christ all the glory and honor.