Author: rkcdlitt

Paul writes in Romans: “For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.” For the first century Christians the writings of the prophets and spiritual leaders were considered sacred. Unless we know and understand what life was like for these early Christians, many in exile from the official church, we cannot truly understand the meaning that Jesus and his disciples really mean. Our translations over the centuries have been reworked so often that their original meanings many be truly lost.

We must accept that for these early Christians, their only society was spiritual and colorless. There was no bling. There was no physical structure called church. They looked to God and Christ as spiritual teachers and protectors. They understood that God’ Grace keeps all true believers in peace. All God asks is for us never to despise, condemn, or speak evil of anyone. I trust that we find these three simple requests difficult to do. I know that no matter how meditative I am I sometimes think wrongly about people I know. This is my sin.

I try to overcome this by entering my secret place of prayer and meditation.it is here that I expand my spirituality; it is here that like my early Christian ancestors that I struggle with the mortal loss and grief of human life. Through prayer and meditation, I try to unbind my spirit and let all thoughts of derision pass by me. I know that with God’s help, this is possible, as are all things.

Pray with me to be as the early Christians in our spiritual belief and acceptance of God and Jesus as our protectors, leaders, and comforters.

© Russell Kendall Carter

For God, all things are possible; we have heard and read this simple saying many times in our lives. It is when we feel lost that we must grasp this and know that we are safe. Jeremiah says: “Seek and ye shall find.” But Matthew brings this closer to our reality as he writes: “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.”

When we feel lost, we are in God’s hands; we cannot escape His loving embrace, for wherever we wander, God is with us; God is within us. I cannot put a number on the times that I have felt lost in my mortal life. At times, it seemed as if I was racing toward a bottomless chasm. When I turn to my spiritual leaders, I am invited to open my heart to the reality that I am always walking in the light of God. Not only that, but God also provides fellowship for me right here on Earth. My family, friends, and neighbors are here to support me when I feel lost.

Being lost is not a permanent state of mind; as I remember that through my faith, I am cleansed of all my sins and all my problems, regardless of how terrible I think they are. I walk on the path shown to me by Jesus, being the good Samaritan to all I meet. I greet you, my readers, whom I may never meet face to face with love and affection. You are my brothers and sisters, and therefore, I am never lost.

 © Russell Kendall Carter

God chose you and me to live in this world; it is a marvelous life. Is this a risk for God? After all, most of the time we are fighting each other in words or deeds. We read our Bible and are taught that we are the light of the world and live with the cherished love of Christ. Love is our capacity to relate in a tender and compassionate to each other. Love is the only thing in our lives that encourages hope in our sometimes-dangerous and overly contentious world.

I recognize God and His Love in all of the many people I greet each day. I am able to be with and experience life with those with whom I share this love. I practice the universality of God’s love in everything I do. I love you; can you love me? Our love is a prayer for God to hear. I pray for others so that I also can be loved. If I do not share love, I cannot receive love.

Our birthright is love. Once we recognize this, we can be hopeful, patient and loving in our community of prayer with God. In our shared afflictions, we turn to God for help; it is Love that comforts us. It is love that comforts us. We can heal only when we love as Jesus taught us in the greatest commandment. I pray: Lord God, give us your love; give us your spirit.

 © Russell Kendall Carter

_{Exodus relates Moses meeting face-to-face with God: “. . . the angel of the Lord app appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked and beheld the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed.” this reminds us that God’s fire roars into our lives burning the sin from our very beings. The fire that God brings grant us the ability to accommodate everything that we encounter whether it is sorrow, doubt, suffering, or pain. We all face this these material problems no matter who we are or where we live, and we know that God softens and comforts every trial that we face.}

_{God brings this in the form of love, God’s Love. The compassion within us that this love brings allows us to recognize its glory and offer it to others. We identify with the graciousness and preciousness; overall it is all that repairs the brokenness within ourselves and within others. We recognize that note no matter who our neighbors are we suffer together in an unkind world that only God can rectify. We all have places of fear and trauma. With others we have conflicting places as well; places where the truth of God’s Love rings; places where we can trust; places where we can hold dear to us. This is where we have faith that all of which we are invited to share with our neighbors with whom we are traveling on this sometimes dark and long, lonely road caught. . . called life.}

_{© Russell Kendall Carter}

When we begin a new direction or restart an old purpose in our lives, we are not led by anything external to us. We are led by something within us. Some call this the Holy Spirit; some call it the Kingdom of Heaven. Whatever it is, it comes from God. We should not and cannot reject or refuse this.

For years I did not listen to this inner voice; it was only when near tragedy happened that I changed direction and became a teacher. It is God that did the work within me which brought me and those I touched with good will and prayerfully good knowledge. As I followed this road that God placed me on, compassion and patience the unique characteristics of true spirituality grew within me.

I have learned to pray in the direction I want my life to go, the direction God wants my life to go. My compassion and patience grow within me and through prayer, I acknowledge all gifts of God that I share with others. I strengthen this daily by spending time alone in my mind and heart with only the presence of God as my companion.

 © Russell Kendall Carter

Our mortal lives are filled with disappointments and traumas. There is no question that we will feel pain be it physical, mental, or psychological. The loss of a loved one is especially traumatic. These are unavoidable painful times in our lives, feeling that our world is coming to an end. We turn to God, Jesus, or the Virgin Mary, depending on our faith. We are comforted by the presence of these holy and spiritual entities that remain with us always, especially in these traumatic hours. We give that’s to God for the goodness and love given unconditionally.

There are other pains that we can avoid. When we anger at others or hold a grudge against them for something they did or did not do to us. When we hold on to this type of unloving thought, we suffer with a different kind of pain that many times will not leave us for a long time. We keep score; we suffer we hurt. These are times when we must turn to God. The presence of the Holy Spirit in our beings is there, but we ignore this. We suffer! This is when we must turn to God, accept His Grace, and forgive. We thank God for the work He does in us and in all people.

 © Russell Kendall Carter

 After the Beatitudes, Jesus goes on to speak about breaking these least commandments. We are asked and invited by Jesus to do and teach them. When we do as asked, we lift our voices to God and receive his compassionate attention in our contemplations. Personally, I feel all the negativity we are subjected to each day by our society. also, with our teaching we tend to reduce the presence of mistrust, fear and, negativity surrounding us.

The love that we create secures our relationship with God and rebuilds our inner strength to spread this love between ourselves and one another. Jesus came into this world to wage a campaign against all evil and our goal should be to continue the work of our Christ. through our prayers and meditation, we stand at the doors of heaven knocking and if anyone hears our voices the possibility of a spiritual awakening for our nation and all nations opens our ears to hear the word of God allowing peace and understanding throughout the world.

Jesus asked us to open our own doors to allow the strangers to enter; together when we kneel in the presence of God, we ask for repentance for all the damage we do to ourselves, to others, and to the earth itself. God wants us to act in gracious courtesy and compassion to all of humanity, to all of the animals, and the vegetation and forests that God created for our benefit.

In my contemplations each day I pray that this be so.

 © Russell Kendall Carter

Laughter is a gift and when done in earnest goodness, it is very refreshing

and love spreading. Only when done in derision is laughing harmful.

I enjoy a good joke and I love a good comedy show of any type. I am told I have a belly laugh, which to me is preferable to a horse laugh. I laugh often because I look at life with humor and love. Although I laugh at funny things, I laugh most often at myself. And I believe that God laughs with me. One of my favorite sayings is: “When man makes plans, God laughs.” Yes, I believe that God laughs; if we are made in His image, then if we laugh God laughs.

When we truly connect with God through the Holy Spirit dwelling within us, we are gladdened by the change in our life. We smile, which is the mildest form of laughter, and it is initiated by the presence of God and Grace in our lives.

© Russell Kendall Carter

I am a spiritual person; I am a man of peace and a man of faith. I attend a Christian Church, but I am very familiar and have studied deeply the old Hebrew religion and the Islam religion. These were all created by the followers of Abraham and are similar in many ways.

I also have a semi working knowledge with some of these southern Asian religions, such as Hinduism and Sikhism. I respect all people of faith who love God no matter what name they call him. I criticize none for their practices even though I may disagree with them.

But I do have to say this: although I attended an Episcopal church, and I love the liturgy and many of the homilies, but it is most often the fellowship I love. Love is spread around the congregation by our rector, an Episcopal priest, an associate rector, also an Episcopal priest, and a curate, our third Episcopal priest. All are loving and kind people; all are devoted to their work. Although, I think that I have flourished in the Episcopal religion and it has broadened my scope of interest with an observation of religions all around the world, I come back to what Jesus said when his disciples accused a man of healing in Jesus’s name. Jesus said forgive him, forbid him not. What does that mean, forbid him not, if he is practicing in Jesus’s name. Need he be a priest; did he need to have studied for three years at seminary?

This is one of the only places where I disagree with organized religion. I believe that anybody who is a man or woman of faith can heal in Jesus’s name and bring God into others’ lives

A very good friend of mine had decided that he was going to remove himself from life-prolonging artificial means. He was worried that God would punish him for “committing suicide.” I told him that God loves him and probably put the thought in his head. I also told him that God forgives him for all of his sins. This is what Jesus taught us and died for.

I was very emotional that a good friend had opted for death, even though it would end his suffering. I drove to my church, asked to see the rector, and related the conversation to her. Instead of comfort, she rebuked me for telling him that God forgives him of sins, the reason, only an ordained priest can grant this from God. I left both disappointed and angered.

The Gospel reading this week tells the story of Jesus telling His followers that they should not rebuke someone who heals in His name. Jesus said, “Forbid him not!” I wonder why my rector rebuked me.

© Russell Kendall Carter

As each day ends, our time pauses. We sleep through the night and awaken the next morning to a new day and a new world. Our time is renewed. Personally, I begin each day refreshed by the morning Sun, cleansed of all of the problems and sorrows of the previous day. We are nearing the time of renewal and birth as we celebrate the birth of Jesus. We celebrate the new world with song and praise.

Through God’s Love, we are blessed by His Grace and protected by any dangers that come near; God directs us to the hidden treasures She places within us. Spiritually, Jesus holds my hand through anxiety and need. I trust He will also comfort me when I face the end of my time on Earth. Jesus’s resurrection demonstrates that there is no true end of life.

I know if I ask anything of God, She hears me. I also know that God will answer my prayers, but not necessarily in the way I want or expect. My time is not God’s time. My life is a projection of God’s Love; this love means that the end of time is a man-created concept, not God’s. All our hopes, dreams, and help come in the name of God. It is She who made heaven and Earth.

© Russell Kendall Carter