Flying On The Fringe

Okay, guess I was wrong. The revelations keep coming to me in God’s own time.

Maybe those of us who believe Donald Trump will lead the country in the wrong direction have the wrong idea. Maybe he’s a catalyst—an image so powerful that it’s designed to get us off our collective passivist asses and start taking action.

2017 is the year of peace. It isn’t going to seem like it, not this year, and it certainly won’t go down in the history books that way. I doubt anyone but God himself will see the reality of this year. But it becomes the beginning of peace on earth only if those of us who want to bring about the Kingdom of God on earth take action. We always have free will, and if we choose to sit idly by, the opportunity to change humanity will pass us by.

I am not advocating marching in the streets. From what I’ve seen, that only begets more violence. Peace begins with each of us individually, in how we treat those around us on a daily basis. Believe me, I struggle with this daily in my own tribulations within my own family. I have already learned a great deal through my own series of “revelations.” Not that I’ve conquered the demon of “frustration” that sends me into fits of anger. Not by along shot. But I hope I’m getting better.

Practice peace in all that you say and do. Refuse to be pressured into speaking or acting in harmful or destructive ways. Do not cave to the rhetoric of hate and anger. Do not hide your light under a basket. Live the example and let others learn from it.

This post is one of several that are the result of a powerful inspiration I experienced during the 2016 Christmas Eve service at my church.

I have already said things will not change instantly. It will most likely take more than a generation to achieve true peace. But think in these terms. Once we head in the right direction, as those who cling to violence die, more and more children will be born into a world where peace is a priority. We’re not talking about the Rapture here in the traditional sense, but the end result will be the same. Those who cannot change will leave, and the ones who are capable of living in the new paradigm will raise children who know how to live in it.

It will take time, generations even. But there has to be a starting point.

This is the last revelation I have for the time being. There may be more at some point, or there might not. I have no way of knowing. There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that the inspiration for these “revelations” came directly from God. I have been driven to action by God’s inspiration many times in the past, but never have I experienced anything as powerful as this was. It has not unfolded the way I expected, but then I have no way of knowing if it is over yet. God moves in His own time and space.

This post is one of several that are the result of a powerful inspiration I experienced during the 2016 Christmas Eve service at my church.

In the United States 2016 was a particularly contentious and frustrating election year. I don’t know anyone who actually liked either of the main candidates, and I know many who are terrified at what 2017 might bring. That would have been true no matter who won. We have a collective sense of impending doom. That is because we are at a turning point.

The truth is, for far too long we have depended on our government to determine our collective futures. No more. The government is patently incapable of doing what needs to be done. Government has throughout all of history, in all countries, been dedicated to serving the desires of the elite. It will never serve the needs of the masses. Time for us to take charge for ourselves.

Do not misunderstand me. I am not advocating civil disobedience. Far from it. Remember that Jesus said to “Give unto Caeser the things that are Caesar’s.” The meaning of that statement has been hotly debated for two thousand years. Pay your taxes and obey the laws, but your heart belongs to God. Do not expect the government to bring about peace, because peace does not serve the interests of the elite.

If every individual soldier refused to take up arms; if every military pilot refused to fly; if every tank commander or artilleryman refused to mount his weapon, how would our governments make war?

If you are a criminal who has committed an act of violence, what better time to get down on your knees, ask for forgiveness, and commit to a new direction? If you are an officer of the law faced with a violent situation, search for the peaceful solution first. Each and every one of us has a personal responsibility to seek the path to peace. If every individual commits to that, the government will be powerless to inflict violence.

Just when the voice of spirit in my mind had quieted, and I though maybe I had done all I needed to do in this quest to promote peace, I went to church this morning and heard a sermon that sounded like it was written just for me—or at me. Clearly, God is not done with me yet. The sermon was based on the concept of “chasing the lion,” going after that really overwhelming, scary, mission that God has set before you (me) and jumping into the pit with the lion, going on faith that no job that is too big for any one person is ever too big with God’s help.

The Lion Chaser’s Manifesto

Quit living as if the purpose of life is to arrive safely at death.

Run to the roar.

Set God-sized goals.

Pursue God-given passions.

Go after a dream that is destined to fail without divine intervention.

Stop pointing out problems. Become part of the solution.

Stop repeating the past. Start creating the future.

Face your fears.

Fight for your dreams.

Grab opportunity by the mane and don’t let go!

Live like today is the first day and last day of your life.

Burn sinful bridges.

Blaze new trails.

Live for the applause of nail-scarred hands.

Don’t let what’s wrong with you keep you from worshiping what’s right with God.

Dare to fail.

Dare to be different.

Quit holding out.

Quit holding back.

Quit running away.

Chase the lion.

My “Lion” is helping humanity turn toward peace. Will you help me?

I had a very strange experience on Christmas Eve. During the service at my church, I had the strong feeling that God was asking me to have my congregation sing “Let There Be Peace On Earth” at the end of the service. No, I do not normally hear voices, and no, I don’t usually get messages from God, at least ones I recognize. But the more I resisted the idea, the harder God pushed. Eventually I could no longer deny what he wanted me to do. So I charged up to the front of the church at the end of the service and led the song.

Since then, I have continued to feel that God isn’t done with me. Day by day I get more pieces of a puzzle. The best word I have for the pieces are revelations. Like trying to work a jigsaw without knowing what the picture looks like, I don’t really know where this is going or what the end result will be. I only know I am supposed to tell people what I am being told. I haven’t figured out exactly how I’m going to do that, but for now, I’m going to start by using my blog. You can choose to read it, or you can choose to ignore it.

Please understand, however, that what you will read here does not come from me. Believe me, I didn’t want to do this.

Revelation #1: 2017 is a pivotal year.

It represents a “node,” a point in time where humanity can effect momentous change. This year, humanity could begin to turn toward peace—real peace, permanent peace, the end of violence in all its forms. On the other hand, we can also choose to ignore the opportunity for change and continue to march down the path we are currently on, the one that keeps leading us to more and more violence, more wars, bigger and more destructive weapons, and more violence on a personal level against women, children, and anyone who looks different, acts different, or believes different.

Of course, the change won’t be completed in a single generation, but it could begin here. It is up to us to make it happen.

Please think about this. If you want to be a part of the positive change, begin looking for ways in which you as an individual can foster peace. Begin with your own family and friends, and gradually expand to all those with whom you have contact. In every situation you encounter where you could react with anger or violence, try to do the opposite. Seek a peaceful resolution.

Spending a couple of days on Argus waiting for my next shipment. Today I spent a little time exploring the caves and some of the architecture. The people are quite ingenious. Many of the underground homes are carved into a soft limestone, creating a honeycomb of entrances. They have a system for piping light in from the surface, and have created well-lit and comfortable shopping and entertainment areas. Coming from a water planet of beaches and oceans, I was squeamish about spending so much time in caves. But I nearly forgot I was underground.

Marlon Tave, Captain

Arrived at Argus, a small planet with an extreme elliptical orbit around its star. It has two hot seasons when it swings in close to the star and two cold seasons during the more distant arcs, with temperate periods in between the extremes. Many of the commercial structures are mounted on platforms that retract below ground during the extreme hot and cold periods, when temperatures are beyond the range most life can tolerate, but most of the Argusian dwellings are permanently underground. I don’t think I would be very happy living below ground all the time, or having to remain below ground for all daily activities for half of every year.

It is the peak of a hot season now, and I had to fly into one of the massive caverns. I’ve never been in a cave before. Caverns on my home planet of Dagran are mostly below the ocean. The natural cave formations here are magnificent, but no less so than the beautiful architecture the Argusians have developed to contend with their fickle weather patterns.

Got my cargo delivered and am scheduled to pick up another shipment in a couple of their days. That will give me plenty of time to explore, since their day is thirty two hours, longer than the standard twenty hours.

Marlon Tave, Captain

One of the great advantages of flying solo is having ample time to study subjects I have long been curious about. My first choice is an anthropological history of the Master Race. The oldest known relics of the space-faring humans are from about 4.5 million standard years ago. The Mandrins are the oldest known Master Race descendants, but they are rarely seen off their home planet. Their evolution has resulted in a less-human appearance with enlarged craniums and smaller, weakened arms and legs. They have developed the ability to travel and communicate astrally and therefore have little use for commerce with other star-faring races.

There are only five known worlds in this sector that have achieved sentience without Master Race DNA, and those developed long after the MR had passed through. I can’t help but wonder what the racial makeup of space-faring planets would have looked like in my time if the MR had not been so egotistical. There are far more non-MR sentient species out on The Fringe of the Milky Way, and they include insectoids, amphibians and mammal-like species.

The bomacs of Rodinia already show exceptional intelligence and a social structure similar to many primitive sentient cultures. And what about the incredible architectural designs of the aradnia on Aradinia? Where will they be in a billion years if allowed to develop with no genetic manipulation? Where will the descendents of Master Race genetic manipulation be?

Marlon Tave, Captain