Thank you for joining me for this spiritual update.

I have been thinking about something and I want us to consider it. Are you and I accidents? When you think about that, it controls a lot of decisions we make in life doesn’t it? Let’s think about it for a minute because there is actually proof that somebody loved us and made us.

My thought process goes like this. I look at four basic things that speak to the fact that God exists.

Look at this world. Look at the way it is made. I think back to our first grandchild, Joe Jackson, my namesake. I heard that little guy crying; they walked out from the delivery room and put my grandson in my arms. I can remember looking down at him and honestly his eyes went just like this to me. It was almost like he was saying “Coach, let’s get it on”. What a great feeling. Today when I see him he is 14 years old and I think about all the fun things we do. We were just at the beach. He is driving a jet ski for the first time. But the feelings I have for him and the fact that we have men and women who have the ability to love each other. We look at the plants that put off the oxygen that you and I breathe. All of these things say what to us? We have a marvelous world that is crafted and it is perfect in so many ways. When you stop and think about it, we can’t find another Earth like this anywhere. We are going to Mars and they tell me they are going to spend a billion dollars to get there. We are not looking for people. We want to find out if there is moisture on Mars. For me – I don’t really give a flip if there is moisture on Mars. So the first point is to say that a God exists. It took a God to make this. This can’t be an accident. The Earth cannot be an accident. The world around us I think is proof that God exists.

The second thing is what I have seen God do in other’s lives. I use as an example one of my best friends, Don Breaux. We got together coaching in 1967. We were both at Florida State and I take a look at Don’s life at that point and he was pretty much focused on himself. His language was not what you would say was wholesome language. The relationship with his wife, Harleen, and his children was not what it should have been. I had a chance to watch his life and watch him. We came back together at Arkansas after two years of being apart. Don’s life had totally changed – his language, his relationship with his wife and kids and his priorities in life. I asked Don “what’s happened to you”? He said “Joe, I gave my life to Christ”. I do not think as individuals we can change our lives that easily but I think God can. I think as I watch others who have given their life to Christ the dramatic turnaround is proof that God exists.

The third thing I offer to you that God exists is my life and my travels over my 71 years – what I have seen God do in my life. It was an easy decision for me at 9 years old when I had to make the first big decision in my life. In school I was being told I was an accident – that two amoebas happen to meet in a muddy puddle of water 2 billion years ago and I was the result. In church I was being told something totally different. My mother and grandmother had me in church and the pastor was telling me something totally different. There was a loving God who looked down and knit me together in my Mother’s womb. He made me special and different and He wanted to have a personal relationship with me. I got up and went forward in church and said “God, I know that I am not an accident. I know that you made me. I want to have a personal relationship with you. I want you to come into my life and forgive me of my sins and be my Lord and personal Savior. From that point on which is documented in my book, Game Plan for Life, my story is weaved through there. It shows you like in areas like finances where I had a real struggle. I had a struggle with my occupation and also health issues. I write about all of those struggles and all the things He has blessed me with. So as a witness to others when I give my testimony I tell what God has done in my life. That’s the third thing I think that proves that God exists.

The fourth thing is God’s Word, the Bible. When you think about this book and the fact it was written by more than 35 authors over a period of 1,500 years – is that possible? For 35 different guys to write a book 1,500 years and for it to be perfect from the beginning to end – Genesis to Revelations? This Book said that the world was a globe when everyone thought it was flat. This Book told us there was going to be an Israel when there was no Israel. This Book had hundreds of predictions in the Old Testament that came true in the New Testament. This Book is a miracle book and I think it is proof that God exists.

Let’s think about those four key things:

This world and the way it is crafted. Could that be an accident?

When I see what God has done to dramatically change the lives of those around me. Is it possible that they did that themselves or is it proof that God exists?

What He has done in my life is a testimony as I have seen Him work in all the different areas of my life. He has led me through adversity at times. He has blessed me with kids and grandkids and all the great feelings that I have for them.

Then, of course, His Word.

If we take a look at those four things, I think we have to come to a conclusion that there is a loving God. That to me is proof that God exists. I don’t think all of this is an accident. I think there is a loving God and if that is the case, I think the question for you and I is what? Is He the Lord of our life? Have we given our life to Him? Is there a loving God that is all powerful, all knowing and all loving? We need to let Him lead our life if that is the case.

That is what Game Plan for Life is all about. We believe there is a loving God We don’t believe we are accidents. We believe that there is a God who made us special and different and wants to have a personal relationship with us. He wants us to have a great life. What we are trying to do with Game Plan for Life through the website and materials plus through our speaking, we are trying to reach out to the world and let them know there is a loving God and He wants us to have a personal relationship with Him. If you invite Him into your life and ask Him to forgive you of your sins, you can have someone who is all powerful, all knowing and all loving leading your life.

If we believe God exists, we need to be studying His Word. I think back to Psalms 1:2. Basically, it says this: Our delight is in the law of the Lord and on His law we should meditate day and night. We should be studying His Word. So that is what Game Plan for Life is trying to do – spread that message and ask you “are you studying God’s Word?” Now as a part of that, we want to make it easy for you and we want to supply you with some materials. # 1 is we have a New Testament Study Bible. It is a NIV version that has 14 little topics in it and those topics are about God, Jesus, rewards, sin – all key topics you may want to know and read about. It takes you on a common-sense study on His Word. We would like to send this New Testament Study Bible to you free. If you contact us at gameplanforlife.com, you will see on there where you can sign up to receive one of these free.

We have also finished a Game Plan for Life Small Group Study. LifeWay has it in all of their LifeWay stores. This is for a group at your church or your neighborhood. It has 11 topics that were laid out in the book. I think it has some great video intros that were filmed here at the race shop based around racing and it is based around football.

The other things I want to make you aware of are two other printed materials that will be coming out in August. One of them is going to be a devotional. I think that you will enjoy these 40 individual devotionals that we have laid out about different times in my life where I had inspirational things happen to me. The other one is something we are really excited about. Both of these are being published by Zondervan. It is going to be a Game Plan for Life Bible. It is going to have excerpts from our Game Plan for Life book and it is going to be laid out in God’s Word, the Bible.

We want you to kind of share with us this great plan God has laid out for us. We want to make it easy for you by supplying you with some of these materials. We hope that you will go to gameplanforlife.com. I really appreciate you being with me today.

We have a God who loves us so much that he was willing to sacrifice his only son for you and me . He says He would have done that had it only been you or me on this Earth. Thank you for joining me.