God, Religion and The Human Soul

You were created to worship God, and it is through worshiping Him that you will find answers to life’s deepest questions, discover who you are and what you were made for.

– Clint Decker

Since our founding in 1776, most Americans have always been religious. This remains true nearly 250 years later. According to the most recent Pew Religious Landscape Study 40% of Americans are Protestant Christians, 19% are Catholics, another 19% do not identify with any religious group, 6% are agnostic, 5% are atheists, 2% are Jewish and 1% each are Muslim, Hindu and Buddhist. This means 62% of our nation’s 340 million people identify with some religious group. (Photo by Pexels.com)

Why are so many of us religious? Because we were made that way. The Bible says, “God created man in his own image…male and female he created them.” (Genesis 1:27) Since God Himself is a spiritual being, so are we. The evidence is found in our soul. It is said about Rachel, that when she was dying, “…as her soul was departing, she called his name Ben-oni; but his father called him Benjamin.” (Gen. 35:18) The soul lives on after our body returns to the way of the earth. But the soul is more than that. We ARE a soul and not just a body. It is written, “…those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.” (Acts 2:41)

Because we are these spiritual souls, we naturally ask probing questions. “Who am I?” “What is my purpose in life?” “Is there a God?” “Is there life after death?” “Why does God allow suffering?” All these and thousands more questions like them reflect our spiritual existence. Nothing else God created wonders about such things. The religions of the world point to this as well, for you were created to worship, and it is through worship you find answers to life’s deepest questions and discover who you are and what you were made for.

What is worship? The Bible says, “Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the LORD, our Maker!” (Psalm 95:6) To worship is to humbly submit yourself to something greater than you. That “something” is where you go for wisdom and guidance. It is where you go when facing times of crisis or when you are looking for meaning in life. Some worship through organized religion, while others may reject religion all together and even argue against the idea that God exists. But does that mean they do not worship? Stephen Hawking, a physicist and cosmologist once said “I regard the brain as a computer which will stop working when its components fail.” Hawking relied upon his own reasoning and his own mind for answering the questions of life. No matter if it is religion, nature, the universe or ourselves – our soul’s worship at the altar of something.

Considering that there are so many religions, and even those who reject God and religion; who is right? Since we were made to worship, is there one Being we were created to honor and submit our lives to above all others? The Bible says about Jesus, “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities — all things were created through him and for him.” (Colossians 1:15-16)

You were made by God and created to worship Him! He sent His one and only Son from heaven to earth to show you Himself that you might believe in Him with all your soul. And your soul has tremendous value. Jesus once declared, “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?” (Matthew 16:26) Jesus died and rose again for you. Your precious soul is of utmost importance to Him. Turn from your ways. Believe in Him with all your being. Come and worship!

A prayer for you – Lord God, in a world of so many competing religions and those who reject it all, show us the way. Let us see you high and lifted up above them all. Teach us your ways that we might understand and worship you with all our soul. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

A Message of Hate or God’s Amazing Love?

What people call “hate speech” because they are offended by divine truth, God calls perfect love. 

– Clint Decker

“Hate speech.” That is what one church attendee put on social media in response to my Sunday morning message titled, “The Destruction and Restoration of The American Family.” Then later it was censored by being removed from the church’s Facebook page. (Photo by Pixabay)

Since the 1980s the word “hate” started to become a politically and culturally charged word in the United States and around the world. Today we have “hate crimes,” “hate speech”, “hate groups” that have had a dramatic impact on our speech both in public and private.

What exactly is “hate speech?” Many public universities define this for students and faculty. Kansas State University, which is close to where I live states that, “Hate speech is speech that attacks a person or group on the basis of attributes such as gender, ethnic origin, religion, race, disability or sexual orientation.” Definitions like this should be concerning regarding potential bias. Can a man ever be a victim of hate speech due to his gender or only a woman? Can a white person ever be a victim of hate speech due to their race or only a person of color? Can a heterosexual ever be a victim of hate speech or only a person who is from the LGTBQ community? These are legitimate questions.

Policies and laws that define hate speech have incredible influence, but does that mean they are correct? Just because someone accuses you of hate does that mean they are right? Who is the arbiter of truth on this? I tell my nine-year-old great-granddaughter, “Pursue truth. Ask questions. Do not always take a person’s word for it – even mine. Look things up.” And then I teach her what is the source of all truth, the Bible.

Jesus spoke, “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies…” (Matthew 5:43-44) Hating means you detest or have a strong hostility toward someone, which is strongly condemned. Hate is also defined through contrast. Jesus says to love instead of hate. Love means having a longing in your heart for someone that is demonstrated through selfless sacrificial service, especially toward your opponents.

Can true love cause offense? The pastor of the church I preached at decried my message when he texted me, “God’s love is for all.” We are so grateful for the blessings of Christ like the gift of forgiveness, the hope of heaven, realizing there is no more condemnation, being a child of God and so much more. These evoke feelings of love, joy and peace among all. However, when pastors only speak of the blessings of Christ to the exclusion of the cross of Christ, they mislead their congregations.

The cross is ugly. Jesus’ death and resurrection revealed how sinful we are, and the divine sentence of judgement all mankind deserves. When we speak of these things it naturally causes offense. Jesus expected this resistance when He said, “For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed.” (John 3:20)

What people call “hate speech” because they are offended by what heaven’s merciful light has exposed, Almighty God calls perfect love. John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world that He gave his only Son…” He lovingly gave His unique Son for the ugliness of our sinful disobedience, that we might humble ourselves, turn from our ways, place our faith in Christ and be spared God’s eternal wrath. Then in response, the marvelous blessings of Christ are lavished upon us without measure.

Let people call it what they choose but understand this. When you speak accurately about the uncensored truth of God’s Word, and do so with the right spirit, it is the most beautiful and merciful act of love you could ever do for a precious soul.

A prayer for you – Lord God, I pray you will search our hearts for any hate toward others or even toward the hard truths of your holy Word. Then cleanse us from this darkness and fill us with your amazing love that we would believe your truth, and love and forgive our opponents. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Valleys of Defeat to Summits of Victory

When you look beneath the surface of Coach Wooden’s winning resume, you can see he was not always a winner. He has known tremendous defeat.

– Clint Decker

College basketball fans live for March Madness. It is about this time a particular name is remembered each year – Coach John Wooden, the legendary coach of the UCLA Bruins. (Image by optimism.ucla.edu)

He is remembered for the coaching success at UCLA, that most sports historians say will never be matched or likely even rivaled. It is an untouchable set of records. The ones most well known are the ten NCAA national championships in 12 years, 88 consecutive wins over four seasons and 19 conference championships.

Many fans of Coach Wooden might say he has been a winner throughout his entire life. As a player, he won championships in high school and college. As a coach, he had an 81% winning percentage covering 40 years of coaching along with the UCLA championships.

However, when you look beneath the surface of Coach Wooden’s resume, you can see he was not always a winner. He has known tremendous defeat. During the state title game of 1927 for Martinsville (Indiana) High School, he missed a key shot and lost the championship. Wooden says, “Losing that game was the most disappointing thing that happened to me as a player.” He started coaching a few years later in 1932 at Dayton (Kentucky) High School. His first season was six wins and 11 losses. It took him 28 years of coaching through the high school and college ranks before he won his first title. Then at UCLA in 1964, he captured his first of many NCAA national championships.

Like Coach Wooden, before we stand on the summit of victory, we often walk through the dark and lonely valleys of defeat. We see this as a pattern in the lives of historically significant people, including the giants of faith in the Bible.

It is written about Noah that he was “…a righteous man, blameless in his generation. Noah walked with God.” (Genesis 6:9)

Noah was called by God to build a boat (called an ark) that would be large enough to fit multitudes of animals, along with his family. Then afterwards torrential rains would fall upon the earth and flood it as a form of judgment because of the wickedness of humanity.

Some scholars say it took Noah upwards of 75 years to build the ark, which was constructed during a

a lawless time. The Bible says, “The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” (Gen. 6:5) This meant it was a very long 75 years. For the world at this point had never seen rain, nor a boat, so when Noah explained what he was doing it was likely he faced questions, doubts and ridiculed by his godless enemies. Yet, Noah persisted through it all, “By faith, Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark…and became an heir of righteousness.” (Hebrews 11:7)

When God closed the door after Noah boarded the ark and the rains started – it was victory. Then 40 days later when the rain stopped, the floods receded and Noah walked out of the ark to become the father of a new humanity and a new earth – it was victory.

The journey of Noah was not easy. God had him walk through some dark valleys before he could climb to the summit of victory. Why does God operate this way?

One word. Faith. God wants us to depend solely upon Him. Consequently, He takes us through circumstances where we are forced into a choice: God-dependency or self-dependency.

We thank God for the cross of Jesus. He modeled for us God-dependency on His journey to be crucified. And when He rose again from the dead, He provided a way for us to do the same. When we turn from ourselves, while walking through the dark valleys, and trust in Christ alone – we are lifted up to the summit of victory by the grace of God.

A prayer for you – Lord God, you know the dark valleys we are walking through. Help us to stop trusting in ourselves and turn from self-dependency and toward God-dependency. We cannot, but only you can. In Jesus’ name. Amen.