Don’t Embrace the False Gods of Liberalism

Posted by rahlisha

This commentary ran at the Visalia Times Delta on 12/21/2018.

Proverbs in the Bible says the beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord. Jesus in the New Testament say He is the truth. If these statements are true claims of a deity (and they are quite true) then that tells us that there is a true God and so false gods must exist.

It is Christmas.

This is the time that Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus who decided to pitch His tent among us for 33 years and then redeem us.

Since we rejected God in the Sixties our culture has become primarily that of false gods. Sometimes false gods are easy to see. The opioid crisis is an easy one to observe. People, because of one type of pain or another give themselves over to the opioid as a way of escape, or a transition from a milder drug, or as a way to deaden the pain. It is God’s desire to deliver people from such destructive devices. But the drug becomes a false god that demands everything. The results are tragic.

But the bigger picture is that our hearts are designed for worship. If that is too strong of a statement for some of you then let’s say that our hearts gravitate towards something that we put a good deal of time and energy towards.

The technical and Biblical definition of an idol is anything we put ahead of God, even if it is a good thing. The very first commandment says, “…You shall have no other gods before Me.” Just about everyone violates this commandment including Christians and it causes us a boatload of grief.

Liberals put self, government, sex and just about everything under the sun ahead of God. Republicans put power, position, a cheap and illegal workforce, and donations from Chamber of Commerce companies ahead of all other concerns including God. Often times pastors have congregation size and income as idols. Christians construct prosperity or morality as idols. The media have their share: power, ratings, the desire to control the narrative and liberalism in general.

These concepts are beyond important in understanding life. God has two claims on our existence. First is that He created us. Second is that Christ is a ransom. So when we reject these truths or in ignorance let something besides God Himself consume our energy and time, in other words occupy the affections of our heart then we go astray even if it is very subtle or hidden.

Timothy Keller explainsthis so well. Lets say that you say a white lie to save yourself from being embarrassed about something. Well, the obvious close up idol is that you lied in violation of God’s commands, but the far-off idol is that your desire to please people or make yourself look good which caused you to commit the sin. I know this sounds like gibberish to some people but that is because our culture so indoctrinated with moral relativism and delusions rather than God’s revelation to us.

Race can be an idol, as in the cases of Hitler, skinheads and Jesse Jackson – a sad thing considering all of us are made in God’s image.

Pelosi and Biden call themselves Catholics. But since they both support abortion their real and functional god is liberalism.

A fascinating point about idols, false gods, is that they can be deadly. Examples are suicide bombers, unabated alcoholism, immorality that results in AIDS, and many other things that when practiced lead to an early demise.

But many other idols are far more deceptive and hidden.

If at this point your skepticism is sky high, then consider G. K. Chesterton’s comment, “The riddles of God are more satisfying than the solutions of man.”

The big picture here is that our hearts are captured by the living God and the beauty of what Christ did to redeem us or our hearts are captured by something far less worthy. And since idols will always disappoint us because they are something infinitely less than the real God of the Bible, this might very well be the season to evaluate whether we have allowed these false gods to capture our hearts or if the Reason for the Season has a legitimate claim on our life.

Ron Hunnicutt

Visalia, CA

Masquerading as Righteous

Posted by rahlisha

This commentary ran at the Visalia Times Delta on August 22nd, 2018.

Last Thursday media outlets across the country tried to defend their legitimacy. But the en masse editorials opposing Trump’s accusations against them was hardly about journalistic integrity but everything about their hatred for Trump. While it might be that twenty percent or so of the media are true journalists, a lucid glance reveals that most are liberal hacks and operatives of the Democratic Party.

Sometimes evil is personified and easy to comprehend: Commodus in Gladiator, The Joker in The Dark Knight, or the sadistic Percy Wetmore in The Green Mile. But more often evil masquerades as good in a deceptive mode.

A woman’s “right to choose” masquerades as some sort of virtue but the evil is manifold: men want free sex without the responsibility inherent in sexual activity, the woman is put in a severe dilemma and so the holocaust of American lives in the womb continues… wholly sanctioned by the liberal media.

In the name of the good called equality all manner of evil masquerades as good where men defile themselves with men, bisexual men spread disease, and transsexuals attempt to redefine God’s obvious design of male and female. The liberal media forges deceptions daily regarding such matters.

The Washington Post’s theme is “Democracy Dies in Darkness” but they advocate for socialism nonstop which is the script of most liberal media outlets. Like the Bolsheviksof the USSR they buy into the “supremacy of the state.” Leninsaid it himself, “the goal of socialism is communism.” Hitlerdid the same, promoting a “national socialism.” These “isms” that set the state above all, including communism in China, always fashion a frontal attack on Christianity. This aligns with liberalism which jettisoned God in the Sixties. The masquerade is pervasive.

How can the liberal media hold Trump accountable to a standard of truth when the lies they buy into are beyond measure? The Columbia and Berkeley Schools of Journalism produce these elitists who live in titanium bubbles where they pontificate about how Trump is pregnant with evil but the worse evil is that which resides in their very own hearts. The American people perceive it which is why Trump was elected.

Yet another pretty lie is the identity politics the liberal media saturate us with. Rather than promoting character, a healthy self-reliance, the Protestant Work Ethic and seizing the opportunities American capitalism affords the individual, they highlight inequalities, promote a victimhood persona, and incite a hatred for those who have more. It is a function of our base natures to steal from others rather than make our own way. I am not saying inequality does not exist or that capitalism does not have flaws. But it is the divine nature of man to overcome and find a way.

The very same zeitgeist that informed Lenin’s idea of , “telling less than the truth, misleading and lying” animates the liberal media of today. The all too common theme occurs when one rejects God, He then gives that person over to delusions and the nature of delusions is self-deception. Is there any question in the American mind that these delusions led to the last administration getting a pass on all manner of evil while this administration gets no pass whatsoever?

The media’s leanness of soul disqualifies them as any sort of petrichor that refreshes the American people.

The longer the subterfuge of the media lasts the more Americans will seek truth elsewhere. The truth does matter and in the greater scheme of things the only completely reliable purveyor of truth is Jesus Himself.

Ron Hunnicutt

Visalia, CA

Real Encouragement

Posted by rahlisha

The truth matters. That is where we have to start. Moral relativism is a strong delusion.

We are fearfully and wonderfully made – created. So, when things go wrong like ESRD then the issues get real complicated real fast. So, I have tried to surround myself with the best doctors, nurses, social workers and advocates I possibly can.

I feel fortunate to be encompassed by excellent doctors, nurses, social workers and a host of other people who keep me alive. But we have to realize man can only do so much. I had a GI bleed that went on for a whole year. I went through 5 different irritating procedures attempting to locate the bleeding. None of the procedures could locate the source of the bleeding. If we put our hope in man, even highly skilled doctors, eventually we will be disappointed. That disappointment can lead to despair.

So rather that succumb to the despair we are better off putting our hope in something far beyond ourselves.

In America today we have pluralism which is good because that gives us choices, seeming legitimate choices as to what we will give our hearts to. Nonetheless absolute truth exists. So when Jesus says, “I am the way, the light and the truth. No one comes to the father except by me,” then we are provided the opportunity to put our hope in the one who actually created us and knows us better than anyone..

The zeitgeist in America today obfuscates truth. Did you know that even doctors and nurses are committing suicide in record numbers? Why is that? Because we as Americans rejected God in the sixties. Now we look to Oprah for a type of spirituality, and we look to the government to solve our problems, and at the end of the day neither of them really have the power or ability to truly help us or encourage us.

I am encouraged when I read the Bible and then understand why God put me on this earth in the first place. I am encouraged when I read the Bible in the morning and see that the God who created everything we can see and behold loves me. I am encouraged when I read the Psalms and feel the discouragement David expressed but realize that I am encouraged as I put my hope in God, just as David did.

When my mother passed away our family really took a substantial hit. But my encouragement and consolation has always been that, since she was a Christian, and knowing that I also walk with God, and knowing that God prepares a place of bliss for those who accept His Son, that the sting of my mother’s death will not always be. I will see her again. That is genuine encouragement.

I am encouraged when I am very afflicted and my sister calls and she prays for me.

I am encouraged when my other sister writes me a card with encouraging verses out of the Bible – verses that helped her through a difficult bout with cancer.

I am encouraged when a friend of mine who is also a pastor calls and prays for me.

My kidneys failed in 1995. I was on dialysis for 3 years and then I received a transplant that lasted 17 years. Now I am back on dialysis.

It is not lost on me that for me to be a Christian and a father two people had to pay the ultimate price. First was Jesus on the cross. Second was the person that provided the cadaver kidney for my transplant. When I was on dialysis the first time a doctor said my wife and I would never have children because of my health. But the transplant fixed that. And so now my wife and I have two beautiful daughters who are absolute pearls in my world.

But I do feel like the man at the end of the movie, Saving Private Ryan. Because two people have had to die for me to live as a Christian man, husband and a father, it is my strong desire to me numbered among good men because of the very high price and sacrifice that has occurred on my behalf. “Tell me that I am a good man…” Private Ryan says to his wife at the end of the movie. It is a very strong encouragement to me to live the best life I can live.

Ron Hunnicutt

Nunes is Exposing the Rats and Weasels

Posted by rahlisha

This ran at the Visalia Times Delta on July 25th, 2018. The price I pay to get published is that my favorite lines get deleted. And usually the title gets changed. Ah… such is life. So, here I get to publish the original version. Still grateful to get the gist of my message out there.

I read the online version of the Times Delta daily and occasionally the print version. I have yet to observe a positive article about Nunes and his stellar efforts to expose the rats and weasels in the DC swamp. There are plenty of positive articles about Janz’ campaign to unseat Nunes along with plenty of articles about the so called “religious leaders” protesting Nunes. Nunes’ counterpart, Adam Shiff seemingly wins the day with his extensive boldface lies. It is altogether routine for the liberal media to act in concert with liberal democrats to demonize everything conservative. Even this editorial runs the risk of heavy editing. For conservatives the extreme and pervasive bias is clearly a matter of 5150.

A primary concept that America was founded on is the Rule of Law. Residents in Nunes’ district need to consider exactly what liberal democrat Janz brings to the table. First is the liberal construct of open borders. This affords liberals the subterfuge of constructing a dependent welfare entitlement-based voting bloc. But far worse is the invasion of drug runners, sex traffickers, criminals and terrorists. This is lawlessness. Since liberalism is such a strong delusion liberals have no idea just how destructive open borders are.

Next is the chicanery of a woman’s right to choose. Janz will no doubt support the murder of Americans in the womb. This is a holocaust of Americans and another form of lawlessness.

Next is the farce of sanctuary cities. If you are illegal and a criminal then Austin or San Francisco is your haven where you can freely defecate on the sidewalks and discard your used drug needles. As an added bonus you can participate in immoral parades. All of this is dysfunctional lawlessness. All of you out there who wish for Janz to turn Visalia into this type of utopian sanatorium/snake pit/abyss please raise your hand.

And if that is not enough who wants to align ourselves with liberal leader Jerry Brown who thinks it is wise to open the borders, import an increasing population of illegal aliens, never build a dam but limit people to a third world standard of 55 gallons of water per day. This is lawlessness swirled with nonsense. And as a liberal democrat Janz is aligned and committed to such folly.

Nunes is one vote out of 435 representatives in the House. He wields only such much power in bringing good things to Tulare County so it is real easy for opponents to highlight perceived deficiencies. Obama brought lawlessness to the DOJ, FBI and the IRS. Nunes is exposing the corruption so he has turned into a massive and despised target.

The New York Times states with a smirk on its face, “we set the agenda.” They do have their influence but outside of their Wizard of Oz bubble plenty of Americans see through all of it. Those Americans will keep Nunes in office because God is opposed to lawlessness.

Ron Hunnicutt

Visalia, CA

The Truth Matters

Posted by rahlisha

This ran at the Visalia Times Delta on Easter Weekend 2018.

read-holy-bible

The truth is the most powerful thing in the world. And as Churchill rightly mused, the truth is always tightly encapsulated by a bodyguard of lies.

It is Easter.

The greatest truth in the history of the cosmos is that Jesus Christ created and redeemed mankind.

You will not find much truth in the torrent of the media, nor in the chaos of our culture. Science, equality, sexual freedom, social justice, personal autonomy, liberalism and politically correct dogma are just a few of the many bodyguards that deceive us and manufacture a perceived reality.

God has to use methods and people to reveal Himself and His truths and America was formed for that very reason.

Did you know that George Washington routinely rose and spent from 5 AM to 6 AM on his knees praying and reading the Bible? Did you know he practiced the very same routine in the evening at 9 PM?

Philadelphia was named the City of Brotherly Love for a specific purpose. William Penn wanted Christians of all denominations to work together everyday of the week to advance the, “Holy Experiment,” The experiment was that of personal, religious and economic freedom according to Biblical principles.

John Adams wrote this to his wife, Abigail;

“The second day of July, 1776, will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary Festival. It ought to be commemorated, as the Day of Deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever.”

Of the 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence, nearly half (24) held seminary or Bible school degrees.

The end of our Declaration of Independence says this, “And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.”

In my Patriots Bible there are, at the very least, 100 quotes from the Founders, business leaders, educational leaders, clergy and a host of others that point to God and His Providence regarding the founding of our nation.

The germane issue here is that what Easter represents is a very strong indicator of our heritage. While America has its sins like every other nation, our heritage is not liberalism, abortion, pot smoking, godlessness, and the promotion of immoral behavior.

Liberalism comes along and profanes everything it touches. But our country is sacred. Our lives are sacred. Our sexuality is sacred.

Hopefully we can remember the sacredness of the important things this Easter.

Ron Hunnicutt

Visalia, CA

Diabolical Liberals

Posted by rahlisha

This ran at the Visalia Times Delta in March of 2018.

The lawlessness of California is a malignant cancer.

On Tuesday, the Supreme Court hears (heard) a case regarding the State of California and its attempt to force pro-life pregnancy centers to install large signs that promote abortion.

It is not enough that Planned Parenthood receives taxpayer funds to kill Americans in the womb and then sell the parts. Liberals are so rabid to kill absolutely all of the Americans they possibly can that California passed a bill in October of 2015 in an attempt to expand the carnage to pro life facilities.

Those who consider sexual freedom the highest value in the cosmos will no doubt be offended at my rhetoric. But progressives who think they are open-minded need to consider that abortion is as barbaric as any other wickedness that snuffs out lives. How is it possible that liberals are aghast at the slaughter in Florida but then clap and shout with delight for the very same carnage in the womb? Surely modern liberalism is a strong delusion.

Thou shall not murder. A five year old can understand that concept. But lawlessness dictates that Putin murders his political opponents and liberals pass laws to murder in the womb.

By the way, Roe vs. Wade is by no means settled law. God always has the last word on all matters.

California politicians will have to answer to God for this depravity.

Crushed

Posted by rahlisha

What is obvious is that I am suffering.

otjim-soka-big

What is not so obvious is that I am being crushed like grapes so that I might become like new wine.

But I am not a martyr.

And I am not anything special.

I am not anyone special.

And allowing for self-pity just leads to defeat and despair.

So, it is what it is.

Please Lord, crush me so that I might become like Jesus.

The Dysfunctional Mess Called Islam

Posted by rahlisha

Girl

I am compelled to say something about this picture and this girl. We cannot look in her eyes without tearing up ourselves. Islam hurts little girls. Islam sends young boys to their death by suicide bombing. Islam turns men into oppressors. Islam turns women into the oppressed. Sharia Law oppresses anywhere it is enforced.

I am always in favor of freedom of choice and freedom of religion. Yet the truth matters. The only reason liberalism is sympathetic to Islam is because liberalism says man is the center of all things which means liberalism rejects God’s authority and Christianity’s primacy… so that Liberalism is opposed to Christianity just like Islam is and so liberalism and Islam have a common enemy… which is very easy to see in our culture and our media.

So, this young girl is caught up in the total mess that is called Islam and its constant warfare and fighting. It is a very sad thing. We are fools if we do not realize the chaos, dysfunction and obvious pain that Islam brings to people and nations

The caption for this picture reads, “A displaced Iraqi girl, who fled her home, cries during a battle between Iraqi forces and Islamic State militants, near Badush, Iraq, March 16, 2017.

If you insist that Islam is a peaceful religion then tell my why Jihad is in the Koran, and why Sharia Law is in Koran, and why is kill the infidels in the Koran? Plus a whole host of other oppressive statements regarding Christians are in the Koran.

In the end this young girl’s tears tell the whole story. She is innocent of all wrong-doing yet she suffers.

Answers When There Are No Answers: Las Vegas Massacre

Posted by rahlisha

If the media was not so deluded because they reject God and obsessed with attacking Trump then they would run Op-Ed pieces like this.

God wagers a great risk when He creates each and every human being. God refuses to violate our free will so the risk is that we will do significant evil instead of good. He also risks the fact that someone He created will never acknowledge His creating them nor the bridge that His Son provides.

And so we get both ends of the spectrum. A person like Mother Theresa chooses great good. And unfortunately a man chooses evil and the Las Vegas massacre happens.

Sin is a matter of violating the design and intentions of our Creator. God did not design one human being to take the life of other human beings in a wanton and malicious manner.

The Las Vegas massacre is a very nuanced matter. There are many factors to consider.

But in the mix is this axiom to behold, “Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD,” which is a verse in Psalms in the Bible. And since these mass murders and terrorist attacks keep plaguing our country then that should give us great pause to consider why. It is false to say God would cause something like the Las Vegas massacre. But there is this dictum of God removing His hand of protection from a nation that has turned their back on Him. There is this deception and fatal consequence for a groupthink that supposes man can depend on his own righteousness, merit and self-sufficiency.

There is also this principle in the Bible, “yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.” So if Stephen Paddock’s father chose the evil of robbing banks, broke out of prison, was on the FBI’s Most Wanted list and had the diagnosis of psychopath, then we have a perfect and catastrophic storm brewing unless there is some sort of intervention.

Las Vegas and its surroundings are not known for producing specimens in right standing with God. So Las Vegas nurtures the son of a psychopath with the vices of gambling, “escorts” also known as prostitutes and alcohol. This elixir can produce nothing but evil.

As obnoxious and messy as they are, politics do matter, which is why we Christians keep proclaiming annoying but vital truths such as Second Chronicles 7:14, “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”

I am not saying Republicans have answers – they do not. I am saying God does. And modern liberalism is nothing but a strong delusion. Give no regard to the myopic subterfuge called “the separation of church and state” which is not in the Constitution. If you want answers that matter about the tragedy Las Vegas then ask the God of the Bible who gives wisdom to those who seek Him with all of their heart.

On Job and Suffering

Posted by rahlisha

I am not a theologian. The-Book-Of-Job

Job is a fascinating character on many, many levels.

His life was about 2100 years before Christ. That is to say Job lived his life without any revelation, as far as I can tell, of Christ.

And Job lived his life about 600 years before Moses. This means that Job did not have the Law to guide him or give him direction.

So, Job lived a very close walk with God not having the law from Moses and long before Jesus came.

That is pretty amazing.

BTW – not saying that Job didn’t need Christ’s sacrifice – he did. He just lived before Christ’s sacrifice and needed it just as we all did and do.

But this is still amazing to me. And is might bring a bit more insight to Romans 1 which says God attributes are evident through nature and men are without excuse regarding God.

I would guess that God gave Job all of the wisdom that he needed to live a righteous life, but also Job had a heart that sought God.

It is pretty amazing what God said about Job in Job 1 saying he was, “blameless, upright, fearing God and turning away from evil.”

Here is a second point I learned about Job from Timothy Keller. Not sure I can explain it as well as Keller despite the fact that I have lived it. The idea is that some say Christians serve God, love God because of what they get out of it. And some of that it true. I don’t want to end up in hell… so I seek God. BTW – yes I am saved by grace alone. But at one point Job lost everything, his health, his children, much of his wealth all because God tested him and Satan attacked him. So at some point you could say why serve God anymore? Everything is lost. Which is why Job’s wife says, “Why don’t you just curse God and die?”

But is the midst of losing everything Job still says, “Though He slay me yet will I serve Him.” So a Christian can lose everything that the world values, and that we all value, but Christians still know that God is still sovereign, That God is still out Creator, that Christ still died to redeem us, and even if our only consolation is heaven some day it is still right and proper for us to serve God and honor Him. We don’t serve God because He is a vending machine… even though there are things I might want or need.

So let me apply this to my circumstances. I have a chronic illness. I cannot work. I cannot live the American dream. I can’t really be prosperous. I am dependent on many, many people to stay alive and survive. I would guess that at least half of the people in the Third World live a better life than I do. I am not sure such a comparison is appropriate but I am just trying to explain my situation.

But, because I cannot get healed, or live a prosperous life, or work – which most men find their purpose in, does that mean it is pretty much useless to seek God or try and serve Him? Well I have to serve God for who He is and not because of what He gives me. At some point I have to serve God for who He is and not what I get out of it. And that is real Christianity. Satan told God that Job just serves God for what Job gets out of it. But that is a lie. And Job proved it was a lie and Job proved God right.

Yes I struggle greatly but there is no other ballgame. Jesus is the way, the light and the truth. So if I do not serve God then I will serve something false.

I hope I explained that in a way that makes it real.

Let me try this. Jesus said that He came so I would have life and have it more abundantly. I can promise you that most people look at my life and say geez… I don’t want to have to live like that. Chronic, never ending health issues… please spare me. But I am with Job… I have to be. And he was a really great man, I am not, but still, Job’s conclusion is the correct one. Though He slay me, though I have a chronic illness, though someone has cancer, though the disasters of life hit very hard, yet God is still God, He still created me, and Jesus still died for me and has a claim on my life, so against all odds, against all adversities, against all struggles, against anything that comes at me in this life, still I will serve God. And that is the very end of the matter.