Hope - Where can we find it?

Now that the dust is settling on the mid-term elections, I have been reflecting on what has transpired since the contrast of the two Presidential candidates themes. Many in the nation felt the message of "Hope" and "Change" resonated with their personal themes. Now two years later many believe that the President did not deliver on these basic themes of Hope and Change. So much of the country has changed the "non-change" of the President. This is evident by the significant number of state's governments changing for the first time to the Republican majority since the 1800s. So I guess we can accurately say that the President brought change - just not the change I think he wanted or thought.

As I reflected on our nation's "change", I began to look at the "church" within the Christian "nation". What change needs to happen? This is where I remembered the other part of the campaign message - Hope! So much of teaching I have been listening to from many pulpits is what we are doing wrong. So much of what I'm hearing from young Christians is confusion and lack of direction. So much of what I read on Christian blogs is argument, some of it quite aggressive.

So much yelling, confusion, egos, and complete lack of mercy. The system is broke and need fixing. Where are the leaders that (to bring up an old axiom) "think outside the box"? It is time for us to listen to the young generation and give them Hope, give them an example, give them the truth, give them ethical behavior, give them a real answer not simply theory.

In John 8:32 is recorded a famous quote of Jesus Christ:

"and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" (NASB).

I find it interesting that John records this as "the" truth and again "the" truth. What is "the" truth? Ah a quest for me to discover the answer and the direction of this blog for the future. Suffice it to say as an initial thought, I would say that:

"the" truth is the Prerequisite of Freedom.

So as the mythical Luke Skywalker of the movie series Star Wars sets off on a quest to "learn the ways of the Force", I too am beginning my search for the Truth.

Image found at: http://descasa.i.ph/blogs/descasa/index.php?tag=shallow

C'ya
Eagle Driver
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Got to have a Plan!

Pilots have been taught from the early stages of flight school to have a plan to arrive safely at the destination, and to be ready when (not if but when) something goes wrong. Major plans are during takeoff, at cruise, and when landing. Simulators are outstanding planning resource where the pilot can hone his/her skills at reacting to mechanical failures. One of the nice options when I was flying fighters was the ejection seat. This feature always gave you an out as the flying was very irregular to say the least. The following photos clearly show the advantage of the ultimate option - a Canadian CF-18 pilot ejects at a recent airshow.


Ah, only if life itself was as easy as pulling up on the ejection handles and squeezing the triggers and have the parachute deploy allowing you to safely land back on earth. No life is more akin to the airliner in that you do not have an ejection seat and where you have to solve the problem in the air and then safely recover the airplane on the runway. Why, am I bringing this up? In the fighter jet it is just simply you, while in the airliner it encompasses much more: you, your crew, and your passengers. That is life - it is not just about you!

This flight experience has transferred to my life in general. The studying of history, philosophy, and theology have given me a learning perspective that I had lacked in my younger days. This perspective is now long-term as opposed to that of my youth with a devotion to the "now." The long-term has trained me not to panic but to persevere for I know there is a reward for working through the present hardship.

My plan is to continually ask these questions, of which sometimes I succeed and sometimes I fail:

How are my actions today going to affect those around me and the generations to follow? In other words are my actions honorable, ethical, praiseworthy - furthering good? If so continue developing, if not change it as I don't have much time.

What have I learned (good and bad) that I may pass on to those around me and the generations that follow? In other words have I the nobility of character that friends and family feel at home with and can they learn without being ridiculed? If so continue developing, if not change it as I don't have much time.

Where is my heart and mind? In other words are my thoughts and actions reflective of the standard or am I like so many - a hypocrite? If so continue developing, if not change it as I don't have much time.

Who do I serve - me or God? In other words are my actions reflective of a lifestyle that knows that earth is not the final destination? If so continue developing, if not change it as I don't have much time.

Why am I here? In other words do I believe in something/someone higher than me - Is Jesus Christ real and is the Bible real? (Many who attack the Bible have never read it from cover-to-cover they just grab a verse out of context or grab the Cliff Notes). If so continue developing, if not change it as I don't have much time.

My plan includes the study of the Bible itself, theology, philosophy, etc. so that I have the knowledge to successfully handle the next abnormal systems failure in the airliner of life. Additionally I will actively practice life and not sit back as a passenger and say "woe is me." The treasure of one's character must be invested in the future, by acting appropriately today. That is my plan, do you have a Plan?

"For our citizenship is in heaven..." (Phil. 3:20) and "... for they [the Pharisees] loved the approval of men rather than the approval of God" (John 12:43).

Food for Thought if You are Hungry
Eagle Driver
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"Revolt against Rationality"

As I am getting ready to fly a late night trip, I watched HLN to get up to speed on what is happening in the US. I was taken aback by the small icon in the lower right corner listing the number of days Lindsey Lohan has been in jail. Then I see the continuing news on Mel Gibson’s troubled meltdown.

What is going on that I need to know the number of days Lindsey is in jail? What is going on that someone on top of the world from the financial to the professional ranks has lost control of themselves? What is the example that is being set for American’s to view?

Back in the 1970s Christopher Lasch wrote a bestseller titled The Culture of Narcissism – American Life in An Age of Diminishing Expectations. In his section on The Eclipse of Achievement, Lasch writes:

“Self-approval depends on public recognition and acclaim, and the quality of this approval has undergone important changes in its own right. The good opinion of friends of friends and neighbors, which formerly informed a man that he had lived a useful life, rested on appreciation of his accomplishments. Today men seek the kind of approval that applauds not their actions but their personal attributes. They wish to be not so much esteemed as admired. They crave not fame but the glamour and excitement of celebrity. They want to be envied rather than respected.” (New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 1979, pg. 59)

This is the spiritual and moral condition of many in our American society. As James Allen wrote about in his famous treatise on “As A Man Thinketh”, thoughts crystallize into habits which solidify into circumstances. Noble thoughts cannot produce bad fruit.

Or better put: “So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit” (Matt. 7:17 NASB).

Mel Gibson’s road must not to be traveled by us or by our children and our road of life can/must be guarded with noble thoughts. Lindsay Lahan’s road is not to be traveled by us or by our children and our road of life can/must be guarded with proper actions not personal popularity. Why? Actions speak loudly. Jesus Christ spoke of the proper actions (not a concept well received today with the new religion of “tolerance”) in John 13:17, “If you know these things [those from prior verses 5-16], you are blessed if you do them” (NASB).

These things: server others, bear good fruit, etc. are mandatory to maintain a civilized society. Lasch concludes with the indictment of, “More than anything else, it is this coexistence of hyper-rationality and a widespread revolt against rationality that justifies the characterization of our twentieth-century way of life as a culture of narcissism” (pg. 248).

The time is now to study and regain a rational lifestyle.

C'ya

Eagle Driver

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