Pentecostal Prayer Day 8

Abrahamic religions must begin to see the light of the end of their adventures toward true enlightenment. If they are to believe that all humans are made in the image and likeness of one same Sacred Spirit, they must stop killing each other to appease this god. Abraham's hand was stayed as he attempted to offer his own son's blood as sacrifice to his god. Moses led the Israelites to peace, having been stopped from taking up a sword. Jesus reattached the severed ear of his enemy and started a movement that worked for peace on earth, as it is in heaven. Muhammad began as a man of peace.

All these religions seem to have gotten scared or impatient with their progress toward peace and took up arms. Has The Sacred Spirit ever actually asked for bloodshed? I think not. If peace among the Abrahamic religions was possible in the seventh century, we know that we can reclaim this brother/sisterhood. Perhaps we should all look to the peaceful protests of our own century, which did produce many martyrs. Perhaps we should follow examples of our twentieth century prophets who gave their lives and their blood to this endeavor.

I believe that Gandhi, MLK, and Moses were listening to The Sacred Spirit while leading us away from our own fears.  I pray that more prophets speak out against fear and accept that only respectful, responsible communication and compassion beget peace.

The flames of The Sacred Spirit burn deep in our souls, but they never burn up babies and the bedridden. My prayer for Pentecost is that we recognize the prophets and potential of peace "on earth as it is in heaven."

Deborah's Sacred Spirit

Deborah is physically dead after a life of almost unbearable physical pain;
The only explanation that I can accommodate in both my faith and in my brain
Is that her beautiful manifestation of The Sacred Spirit will live on
After all creatures that were touched by her courage are long gone.

I will see Deborah's face, hands, and smile any time I remember her;
This continuation of her manifestation of The Sacred is what I prefer
To the belief some share that we wait until the coming of The Christ
Before we can join our loved ones in continuing of their life.

I don't need a preacher to tell me Deborah shared The Scared Spirit;
It wasn't her tiny voice that spoke so that all could hear it.
It was the courage she showed in making every day of her life
A celebration of being alive, not a miserable martyr's sacrifice.

I don't believe it's in the dying, but in joyful living we become whole;
These are the parts of our journeys that inspire others' souls.
When we put too much emphasis on the pain of one's life's end
We lose the eternal promise and power of what it means to be a friend.

Deborah and her special sacred spirit will always live in me,
As it did when her frail body lived, and through all eternity.
Her laughter and her voice, her scent, and her generosity
Have become, for all eternal life, parts of the best of me.

Pentecostal Prayer Day 7

A reply that I received to one of my own comments on a post from a comparative religion site Patheos.com led to my doing further study on Islam. It seems that early on Islam was a religion succeeding in unity and peace with other Abrahamic brothers and sisters. 

In the Koran, "God" referred to "God" as "We," not as "He." In Muhammad's day, all Abrahamic religions were under siege; they bonded as people all seeking a common code of conduct and justice in a hostile world. Their practices were different, but they lived in the harmony that only respect can achieve.

This seems to also be the way with the early Christians. It seems the “Age of Enlightenment” actually brought on more darkness. I believe EVERY age has prophets, but we perish when we promote them to worldly "kings," leading storm troopers for the purposes of "conversion."

I pray that we are experiencing a new “Pentecost” in this “new age” of religious inquiry and threats of world annihilation through war. 

Pentecostal Prayer Day 6

I lived in a small town; out of respect I went to another;
This is the same reason I deserted my own mother.
To the values that connect them, I can't adhere;
They deny the essential values that I hold most dear.

From the time I was a baby, I'm told, I turned away
From any bullying behavior that came into play.
I would not look at my father who had beaten me;
I will not look at anyone in whom intimidation I see.

When societies are formed by agreeing to lies,
I must speak up about the abuses that I most despise.
The fact that I will not be a witness to martyrdom
Is the reason that I've, isolated from society, become.

Most people my age are looking for comfort and peace;
Any thoughts of protest have long ago ceased.
I don't understand this hanging on to physical life,
When each generation seems to accept more strife.

Anything I can do to help my grandchildren succeed
In turning our society away from individual greed,
I will gladly do, including becoming a martyr,
If my death could move human compassion a bit farther.

The spirit of Jewish Jesus that was left upon the earth
Is the same Sacred Spirit which accompanied his birth.
Pray that The Sacred Spirit that was left at Pentecost
Will infuse humanity with the peace that we have lost.

Pentecostal Prayer Day 5

When we read the Bible from a family perspective, we see a pattern in humanity's continued failure to live in peace. Competition and jealousy continue to lead generation after generation to war, apparently to become "favorite children." We MUST STOP making "God" in the likeness of humans with all our fears and power plays. We MUST begin to believe in The Sacred Spirit that contains potential for continued greater power based on synergy. The more we cooperate, the more the universal, eternal Sacred Spirit accomplishes.

The more snow attaches to a snowball, the more power the snowball has, regardless if the snowball picks up sticks, stones, and other "foreign" matter. If we can stop fighting for ascendancy of one tribe over another, the snowball of faith in The Sacred Spirit of humanity would include the universe. 

The sun shines on all the earth, no matter the race color or creed of the inhabitants. On some it shines more briefly and in different cycles than in others. The trees that grow in my climate are not superior to yours; they are simply trees in other manifestations of tree life. Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could know all manifestations of life without judging each as good or bad?

I will never understand the immensity of the energy that manifests in so many forms of animal life and death. Neither will I ever understand the manifestations of what we know as life in the rocks, soil, and gasses of my earthly dwelling place. I will continue to seek The Sacred Spirit's presence in all of the bits of consciousness that I'm allowed to experience.

The Sacred Spirit was there before any physical manifestations. The Sacred Spirit is the gift of a Pentecostal presence. I pray daily for an earthly, eternal Pentecost.

Pentecost Prayer Day 4

I have some who are family to a relation of mine who take offense at my taking offense over things he says. "It's not personal," they say, even when he is addressing others about me, in front of me. I've not taken it personally that they don't defend me, but I do take it personally that they put personal pressure on me to change my reaction, rather than putting personal pressure on him to change his actions.

I will continue to take woman bashing personally as long as I, my daughter, and my granddaughters are destined to be women. I will continue to take Jew bashing personally as long as even one of my friends and Jesus are Jews. I will continue to stand with blacks as long as even one of the people who have loved me is of dark skin. Respect for all of humanity is personal to me; they may already be my friends or neighbors, or may, one day, be.

When we refuse to recognize the light in another's eyes, we, in my opinion, are denying our own humanity. These are the people I fear and attempt to avoid. They are nothing but animals seeking to create territorial tribes that they can control with their false explanations of the great mysteries of the universe. The light of being humbled by awe and wonder is the only truth that I recognize.

I take the honoring of the light that I see in Pentecost very personally. The peace that Pentecost could bring, if we all took it personally, is that for which I pray.

Pentecostal Prayer Day 3

I used to be very accepting of whatever life gave to me,
Until many insisted I see the god that they could see.
I believe a god cannot simply be my best friend
And be the being on whom my eternal life depends.

For four long years I've pondered my friends' visions;
I have finally reached my own existential decisions.
Any god who always insists on one face or one name
Is not a source of universal sacred power I can claim.

I understand we need common languages to communicate,
But the gods envisioned by humanity seem a bit second rate.
They all seem threatened by the strength of their children;
Is this the god with whom my earthly life will end?

If these gods had true authority, there would be no threats of pain;
Their children would do anything to, the parents' favor, regain.
Religions have diminished the image and likeness of god
To images of human leaders that, on this earth, have trod.

I am not interested in following the divine rights of kings,
And all the misery that, to their subjects, this brings.
I am interested in following those who lead by peace
Hoping that their examples will, earthly harmony, increase.

"Christians" have become warriors of Jesus' chosen nation;
Is there any way we can lay claim to a peaceful creation?
Pentecost is coming; will we accept a new vision of sacred fire
That changes, through peaceful protest, all of humanity's desire?