Stop searching
it is not visible
neither high nor low
for the eye is blind.
The mystery is within
feel it, open your mind
to your loving heart.
The mystery is without
feel it as the leaves rustle
and the songs of birds.
The mystery encircles
a loving family
and generous neighbors
and distant unknowns.
The Kingdom is within
and all around.
We cannot see it
with our eyes –
we can only feel it
in our heart.
“The Kingdom is
inside you,
and the Kingdom is
outside you.”
©Russell Kendall Carter
Humanity needs saving;
we have abused all of God’s creation.
Our leaders speak of planet Earth
as if it is ours to rape and plunder at will.
We care not for our future or
the future of our children or grandchildren.
Our greed is destroying our very existence.
Our desire for the artificial dream of
wealth through money is leading us to destruction.
More is our prayer for the future.
The false God, money, or mammon
as named in the Bible, promises us
a glorious and fanciful lifestyle.
It need not be this way!
Reading Jeremiah, we note that Yahweh
withdraws aid to the people Israeli and Judah
for not following His will,
that the country if filled with false profits
and religious leaders,
pretending to offer the word of Yahweh;
He is tired of the leaders doing just
the bidding of the rich.
But this is only the Old Testament;
and our country is a Christian country.
We know this for our political and religious leaders
promise us that we are different
because we follow Christ.
Yet how many of our leaders spurned the will of God.
How important is wealth in this country.
The average voter is promised equality,
but all benefits go to the rich.
Our religious leaders support the big money
in religion and politics.
We are no different than the ancients in Israel and Judah.
Our actions condemn our words.
We vote for leaders who promise us the world
and deliver nothing to us.
We do this with every election.
The extraordinary tax cuts will not be rolled back,
because if the leaders do this, they will be voted out
because we will be convinced that the richer
the rich are, the better off we are. We do not learn.
© Russell Kendall Carter
Define stranger. One of the definitions is a person who is not a member of the family, group, community, or the like. In other words, a strange is an outsider. But we are all strangers in a strange world! There are no outsiders. No matter how far someone goes from his home nest, his place of birth, he is still part of the family of man and therefore cannot be a stranger, and outsider.
Can we do any less than welcome him as God welcomes us? Are not we all strangers in some sense, but always welcomed as a child of God? We are not outsiders; we belong to God and therefor to each other. When we vilify the other as a stranger, we are only inflaming conflict. And conflict always leads to war. I have had enough of war. God has had enough of war.
The human person is both body and soul; the important, eternal part is the soul, the perfect creation of God. Jesus taught us to see others as ourselves, to love others as ourselves. When we follow Jesus, there is no conflict; there is no war. They true way to right this problem to open ourselves and reflect God’s truth and love.
© Russell Kendall Carter
I am hopeful and do not drive on a road of continued despair. When I detour into depression or despair, my true hope is getting closer to God. Jesus said to abide in Him as He does in me. Jesus is not only a shield against troubles, but also a silent den in which I can meditate and pray.
Times of trouble are temporary by my becoming optimistic to God’s grace and love. I am not afraid to cry out to God in anger; He loves me and understands. As a believer in Christ, I am never alone in my struggles. My pain, confusion, and momentary sense of failure is surrounded and embraced by a compassionate God.
I thank God for the uncompromised presence within me. I thank him every day for walking with me, even when I doubt and am filled with anger. My prayers are initiated by God because His words begin all conversations. His silent voice breaks the silence of my heart. His light shines through me to enrich the lives of others.
© Russell Kendall Carter
I question what is in my mind that always keeps me on thin ice. Often, I feel that my world is near ruin; I long for something; I seek the unknown. Even though I know the Holy Spirit guides me, I long to awaken in God’s heaven and earth filled with His Grace. I long to repair the world humanity is destroying.
I pray that God, will fill heaven and earth with Grace and Spirit, allowing us to share in His bounty. But we can never know the mind of God; we are amazed at His mercy towards us, His forever forgiving us for our sins. We refuse to see our violence to our planet; the home God gave us. We destroy ourselves. I pray for the awakening of humanity to at least try to live up to God’s wishes for us.
We joy in the new life Jesus promises, yet we refuse to accept the wisdom that goes with it. My prayer today is for us to open our minds to accept the love that God shares in our hearts.
© Russell Kendall Carter
The fruits of the Holy Spirit are love, joy, and peace; three blessings God gives us. Meekness and tenderness are the results of these gifts. My lament is to encourage not enrage, remembering that as with others I have faced many traumas in my seventy-eight years. I feel the presence of he Holy Spirit in my life, transforming my heart and my relations with others.
I create space in my life for those that people call “the others.” God loves all His children, and, when I love others, God’s Love is stronger for both of us. We cannot live in peace and harmony without this Love. For me, this is a life-long journey of blessed light that spreads the good news of Jesus’s journey with us. I, therefore, encourage, not enrage, my actions and love towards those surrounding me.
© Russell Kendall Carter
beauty glorifying nature
a snow-capped palisade
a river-blessed dale
every inch exalted
a regal condor sharing its firmament
a wee garden gnat
an august elephant
trembling from a bee sting
a blue whale toe-dancing
atop a school of anchovies
every creature blessed
from the tiny atom
to the mammoth Jupiter
all share in being blessed
why do we destroy
a glory artistically revealed
© Russell Carter
It comes from far away, or maybe right next door. It might just be the wind or the greatest transgression of humanity, this quiet voice crying in the night. When we do not hear it, we lose all godly compassion for mankind. If we are truly followers of Christ, we must give ourselves over to God’s deep Love and Life, as He created it. After all, godly compassion is seeing others with deep love in our hearts, our souls. We need not know he language of our neighbor; we merely have to recognize him as also being God’s child and creation.
© Russell Kendall Carter
We have all floundered at some point in our lives. We have erred morally and honestly compromised our integrity. As humans we have this in common. When we do, we all respond better to compassion than we do to disparagement. Our disappointments can sometimes torment us with anger and frustration. As with our neighbors, we all need forgiveness.
What happens when you cannot forgive? Honestly, we let ourselves enter a shadow period and forego the grace and mercy of God in our lives. We do more harm to ourselves than we do to others. We show to the world our shortcomings, magnifying our own sins and transgressions. We may attend church weekly, but we are denying the presence of Christ in our lives.
In my experience, those who have hurt me respond much better with love and forgiveness than to anger and avoidance. No one ever wins when divided by anger. Love is the better way. By extending the frond of peace and love to those who hurt us there is no room for doubt or fear. When we expose the wounds of our hearts, love and comforting words bring friendship and the love and grace of God into all our lives.
© Russell Kendall Carter
Every morning, I awaken. . .
accepting God’s wisdom.
Dear Lord, let me share
this beautiful road
we call life.
© Russell Kendall Carter
Meditating to Heal 