Author: rkcdlitt

Jesus asks us to pray for one who does not pray, or doubts God, for prayer is an act of courage and love, and love is a lifelong commitment to humankind. Each one of us has had manor disappointments in life. These low times for us are painful and many times we react with anger, anger at ourselves and anger at God for allowing times of trouble. Jesus also teaches that when the rich in spirit and poor in spirit join, God blesses us as the true Father He is. God is the creator of all of us. We share in His bounty.

Living this life is not enough; what counts is what we do with our lives, what significance of our lives and others’ lives is as a direct result of what we do for each other. God works deeply within us whether we all recognize and accept this as reality. He more we take care of each other and pray for each other we are stronger in our relationships with God and all others.

Those who don’t pray, ask why we waste our time. My response is why do they ask that question. To those of us who pray, the answer is obvious. God is Love, and God brings His Love into us every day. God is strong within each of us, but only when we call on Him for help, only when we pray to him. We who pray call upon His help in truth, God’s Truth. This is why we also pray for those who do not.

© Russell Kendall Carter

How would you describe your conversations with God? I use prayer, for prayer is the first step to true wisdom and visioning. I am blessed to be given the ability and the words of a teacher allowing me to pass what God has taught me and share with others. I pray that the words of my heart are a comfort to those I reach.

One cannot have spiritual visioning without following the wisdom given by God, for God cherishes those who live with wisdom, the wisdom He offers us to learn, share, and practice.  My meditations are my prayers, and I believe that when those of us who believe in the Love and Goodness of God experience and share the great things that God gives us, we all are both loved and blessed.

This spiritual visioning is not magical; it is the loving gift given by God allowing us to recognize the pain of others and bring His love and comfort into their beings. This, as I pray, helps ease the burdens and discomforts of our brothers and sisters in Christ.

© Russell Carter

From isolation’s depth

your hand reached out to me, yet

I slapped it away,

my ignorance blinding me.

I reached for a different hand

that was not there.

Anger consumed me; being

soothed by counterfeit means.

From the depths of hate

I missed Your hand reaching, reaching

unable to respond, yet You lifted me

with a strength I did not know.

From the depths of solitude

You offered Your grace;

from trust of Your hand

You gave me new life.

©Russell K. Carter

“I said in the cutting off of my days, I shall go to the gates of the grave: I am deprived of the residue of my years” (Isaiah 38:10).

When we think of our short lives, this verse from Isaiah can be very daunting. But we must remember that there is no disappointment God cannot help you face, even death. But I get ahead of myself.

There are so many disappointments we face in our mortal lives that at times we can be overwhelmed by our personal circumstances and material desires. Let’s flip over the coin to think about what we inherit in our lives. We are all children of God and that brings great promise. According to God, we have everything we need to be what God wants of us. God gives us great resources in His name.

It amazes me how often we find ourselves thinking that we cannot fix our problems.  We say we love God; we say we crave His presence and His peace; yet we hesitate when putting our full trust into His methods and plans for us. Jesus renews these gifts when He says to come with Him; be strong and compassionate. So, let us rest in the arms of God and allow Him to calm our disappointments.

© Russell K. Carter

Let’s stop and concentrate on what Jesus meant when he said that the meek shall inherit the earth. Do we understand what meekness truly is? We are asked, or actually encouraged, to grow together and unify as a single body of humanity, not individual sects, or nationalities. Yes, we have differences which are minor compared to what we share genetically. Over thousands of years of human existence, there was no such thing as private ownership; all shared equally to keep tribes together and healthy. Only in the last few hundred years have we adopted private ownership of land, now called capital, and created the systemic growth of economic bondage.

Our selfish pride is potentially destroying humanity, at least the humanity that God created, where all share His bounty equally. God plays no favorites, only mankind does. When Jesus taught that the meek shall inherit the earth, he was speaking to those who are closest to God’s original plan, a plan of sharing, a support system where all share God’s blessings equally.

© Russell K. Carter

Think positively! Boundaries are not just limits; they can be loving contacts. We sometimes look beyond these boundaries and say the grass on that side is greener than on this side, completely overlooking the boundary. I try to avoid copying the cultural ideals and opinions that separate us, by renewing my mind to the loving fact that I have no boundaries, at least not the kind that society tries to place on me.

I read somewhere that our culture makes it easy to cultivate mediocrity because it costs us nothing. However, when I look for something greater than mediocrity and strive for excellence, my sacrifice is rewarding to me and to others who may want to limit me. Some want to harm me because they see me as a threat to their pride, when all I want is to include them in the happiness we all deserve.

I love the Bible passage, “be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind.” Think about this: if we accept that those who try to limit us (by creating boundaries) become our friends, then those boundaries fall; and it becomes unnecessary to ask whether someone we meet for the first time is an important person, because we are all important persons. Look to a boundary as a loving contact.

© Russell K. Carter

Sometimes, I think that we humans are cowards. We fear recognizing the neighbor that doesn’t look or talk like us. We see them as the other, different. Furthermore, we all believe that the other does not deserve the same as us . . . because, we are better!

When we refuse to love them as we love ourselves, the light that shines through us that comes from God dims. We cannot let this pure light die. Long before our parents brought us into this world, love that comes from the invisible world of God is lovingly wrapped around us. This love comes from the depths of our pilgrims’ hearts and is with us always if we accept it.

When we love all people as ourselves, like the buds on an apple tree, the fruit of that love grows within and without. Our hearts grow so that the love from that invisible world becomes visible to all. When we love forevermore, we love as deeply as possible for as long as life allows.

© Russell K. Carter

Agape love, the determination that no matter who a person is, no matter the relationship we have, no matter how they grieve us, we will seek God in their faces. It is the universal love of mankind. This is a resolve of the will that shines through our hearts. It is the love God has for all of us, love no matter who or what we are. The floods of the Earth cannot drown this love. The fires in our forests cannot burn this love from us.

Our eyes and ears are opened to the needs of these whom we do not know or are not close to us. This love is sincere; through the grace of God, it can be active in our societies. It creates the community that God wants for us. When we recognize and adopt agape love, violence comes no more. The light of God shines through us and engulfs our existence. Let us open our eyes, unclog our ears, and let our hearts shine manifestly.

© Russell K. Carter

There are times in our lives when we become very anxious; this could be from something very minor or something potentially catastrophic. We all pass through these stages of instability and uncertainty. Remember one thing: we hold the ability to cope with these times in our own hands. More often than not, these periods drift away on their own. So, we need not allow anxiety to alter the paths we have chosen.

Through all the turmoil Moses faced, God said to him “I will be with you!” As God protected Moses, God also protects us on our journeys. Jesus reminds us that according to God’s divine power, all things that pertain to life and goodness are given freely. We need not ask; we need to fear; we need not be anxious.

© Russell K. Carter

Our lives can be filled with drudgery if we just plod along without the joy of music in our lives. Those in society will tell us that we must chase after the brass ring to attain everything we desire in life. But the spiritual leaders of most religions remind us that God already knows what we need as is willing to give it to us. I trust in the vision that God has given to me, and I try to shine the light of His love into the darkness of others’ lives.

We sing in church; we sing in our schools. Some people sing just spiritual and religious hymns. Our young sing along with rock and rap. When young, I sang along with all the famous folk artists. God loves our music. Let’s play our music for the pleasure of God; let us join his marching band and play our instruments and sing our songs with honesty, love, and particularly with gusto!

© Russell Kendall Carter