Author: rkcdlitt

     The LORD knew me before I was born, formed in my mother’s womb . . . to be His servant. He knows and will always know all of us by name. We are all called to be His servant: Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindis, and all people of faith all over the globe. We gain this through the power of Christ and the goodness of God. God gives us power; God gives us Wisdom, through the life experience of Jesus. It was He who showed us the Wisdom of God.
     We hear the voice of God; He speaks to us to benefit others, not for our personal gain. Our joy is received by hearing this and from the goodness we serve others in His name. Jesus shows us that there are no outsiders in this world; He leads us to accept that the only boundaries are those we artificially place before ourselves. God and Jesus know no boundaries. Let us tear down our artificial boundaries.
     Listen for this voice of God; it comes through our shared love, spoken our prayers, and our unspoken meditations. 


© Russell Kendall Carter

A blessed week is Easter tide . . .
great sorrow, then eternal promise.
Jesus leads us to love,
And opens our glimpse of paradise.

The promise of Easter is great,
God loves us, giving great comfort;
forsaken we are not;
Jesus rose and thus eliminated fear.

Nothing new under the Sun?
God is always with us;
God always is Love;
God always heals.

Nothing new under the Sun? Always . . .
Love God, be loved in return;
feal God’s renewed
Love and power to heal.

Imagine Jesus sitting with you,
washing your feet,
healing as only he can.
Everything is new under the Sun!


© Russell Kendall Carter

As a Christian, I pray that we will clothe the naked and minister to those who are homeless. I am willing to serve, regardless of who the oppressed are, what color they are, or what religion they practice.  I only need to feel the grace of God and have my heart and soul filled with love. God invites me to do this. And the invitation is for each person to share, the community, and yes, even the government. 

Individually we, the children of God, do fairly well, and many of our communities have programs to help those in need. I pray for the big businesses and the impersonal governments to not fall flat but to open the coffers of wealth to lift the poor and weak from their forgotten lives. I pray that we in the United States, who pride ourselves on being a Christian nation, will live up to this promise of God’s love. I pray that the corporations and governments will remember that Jesus did not serve the rich, those who hoard wealth and are a part of the top one percent. I pray that we will truly act as a Christian nation. My dream is that the war on the poor, on the people of color, and those who attend temples or synagogues will be declared over. Victory comes only when all of God’s children are lifted in praise. 

We walk in darkness most of our lives and
fear lifting the veil that shields us from doubt, from fear;
Nowhere is there help that we can see, 
When walking the path by the afflicted ; we lose 
empathy for those in need;
we turn our blindness to the sun,
saying all will be well,
when in fact, we are stumbling over our hidden -
prejudices and failures, 
ignoring the open graves of those we hate.

We turn to our churches and often hear
derision and exclusion; go away we don’t want you here.
To those we look down upon we say, 
“good riddance, you are different, we don’t need you infiltrating our church.” 
You are too dirty, living on our streets;
you are too brazen flaunting your screaming -
homosexuality in our faces.
Why do you think you belong here?
Go away, return to the camps of the lepers and
to the barrios on the edge of the cities.
This is where you belong; NOT HERE!

We learn from history and see that our forebearers -
held the same contempt of those we also persecute. 
We know we are correct;
our history tells us so; our white fathers tell us so!
Those not conforming should be shunned;
perhaps as in olden times they should be beaten, 
tarred and feathered,
forced to re-conform to society’s norms.
And, who sets these norms?
We do of course, we are the power; we are society.

Go away you leper; be gone you dark-skinned thief.
Crawl back in your hole you Nancy-boy; we don’t want to catch what you have.
You are no longer worthy of our love; you are not worthy of our aid.
You chose your life; we didn’t, so why should we pay for 
your sinful living when you choose to go against our rules?
It is not our fault you are gay, it’s not our fault you are black, 
or you have the slanted eyes of the foreigner, the snake, lurking, hidden in the grass.
Get away you heathens of the devil; you - are - not  -wanted - here.


But wait . . . what, you say?
I read my Bible; I study what God has said to us;
what Jesus has done for us.

What is it He is saying?
Why is it God that has chosen a poor shepherd boy to lead Israel?
What is the meaning of an outcast woman being the first to see, 
that the sacred body of our lord is missing?
Why is God choosing people who mean nothing to society?
Why is God always turning to the outcast to lead?
Why does Jesus care for women so much,
heal the lepers and those who are outcasts of society?

Those in power told Jesus “good riddance, we don’t need you infiltrating our Temples, our Churches, you are destroying the church it took centuries to build.” 
Why does Jesus tell us whoever wishes to be first among you must be your slave; 
just as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve?
If Jesus walked the earth today, He would love the leper;
He would love the homosexual; He would love the black man;
He march arm-on-arm with the transvestite.

Have we built our society on a premise that is wrong;
are we as wrong as those who hung my Lord on a cross -
to suffer and die because he too was an outcast? 
He too chose to go against society and its rigid ungodly rules.
Jesus loves those forgotten and oppressed by society; 
if I love Jesus, I must also love the oppressed;
those murdered in the streets by the guns that government has allowed to proliferate.

Jesus loves the little children of color, who are denied a proper education.
Our society is built on a big lie, but we ignore this big lie - 
and build more oppression and hate.
What is wrong; how far have we strayed?
We have to find housing for the homeless;
we have to clear the barrios and bring
our brothers and sisters to better homes.
We must turn our guns into plowshares - 
and build the earth to feed all people.
And we cannot forget about the greed of our large banks -
and even larger corporations that underpay our slave laborers 
to pad the coffers of the fat rich men on the top of society!

We are all different, but we are all one family - 
the family of man.
It is not impossible to bring the dream of God’s abundant creation -
to satisfy all - fulfill all people, to love all!
What Jesus did with five loaves and two fishes is truly a miracle;
we can recreate that miracle on our own shores,
by turning our faces toward the oppressed, not away; 
we cannot ignore our petty dislikes; we must correct them;
nor can we ignore our innate hating of those who are not us - 
those that our society turns from . . . and forgets.
It is time to fulfill the two commandments given to us.
To love God and love our neighbors as ourselves.
We must ask God for His forgiveness for accusing – 
Ignoring – oppressing – His children – our brothers – our sisters.
The time is now to bring all of the human family – 
Together – with joy – with song – with love . . . 
God’s eternal love.


© Russell Kendall Carter

We are of God!
Look beyond the day;
listen for the change.
The world is harsh;
loss, suffering abound,
yet God believes!

We are worthy.
We are of God!
We truly do not know . . . 
who we are, or
who others are;
God enlightens us to each other! 

The wilderness is all around,
yet we are safe.
We are of God!
We are ministers of God’s word;
not literally, but of the spirit.
Let us hold fast our faith.

Lord, awaken us;
help us make our world . . .
Your Garden of Eden.
We are of God!
We are here to shepherd . . .
his people, his earth.

We are of God!



© Russell Kendall Carter

Evolutionary Love

God is Love;
Love is God;
Love is Jesus;
Love is the Holy Spirit;
Love is eternal;
Love is spiritual;
Love is enlightening;
Love is personal;
Love is community;
Love is commitment;
Love is sharing;
Love is giving;
Love is receiving;
Love is faith;
Love is prayer;
Love is God;
God is Love!


© Russell Kendall Carter
    March 2021

God, silent, distant;
not really, God is within,
always with us.

We are never lifted to God;
He joins us in our peril,
In our suffering here on earth.
We cannot hear Him.

He is silent to us - 
unless . . . unless -
our souls are open,
our hearts are clean,
awaiting God’s perfect Love.

We listen, heeding, praying.
For Jesus healed by faith
He shares his faith, and
we listen, love, hope, pray.

Hear God as a little child;
have the faith of Abraham,
ready to sacrifice all.
And God is no longer muted.


© Russell Kendall Carter

      Wisdom brings us from the darkness of despair and the fear of death. Wisdom takes us from the why the world is so stressed to what is causing the stress. Perhaps it is the internet world with instant misinformation that brings early demise. Wisdom overcomes Facebook. The wisdom of Sophia allows us to survive in this world of over information and a constant barrage of depressing news.
      All wisdom and discipline are from God, not from the news, not from our political leaders, not from the talking heads who always declare the truth. When we listen to this false prophets I am reminded of the wisdom of Solomon, “. . . (we) live in the constant warfare of ignorance and call this monstrous evil peace.” Peace does not come from mankind. We don’t know what true peace is.
      This evil overcomes us when we deny the authority and grace of God. It forces us to focus on that which is false testament over the Word that came to live with us throughout eternity . . . if we only listen. Proverbs tells us: “Wisdom will multiply your days and add years to your life.” Let us think about this in our daily meditation. I don’t believe that our days as mortals will necessarily increase, but the days we have are much richer and when we are born into the new world of God’s eternity, we will be better prepared for the glory and wonder, just as when we were born into this world, learning the glory and wonder that God invited us to.
      My goal in the time I remain mortal is to get closer to the true wisdom offered by Sophia, so that when I enter God’s glorious domain, I am not the uninformed man I am in this world.



© Russell Kendall Carter

      I am a rock; God made me this way. You also are a rock; God made you this way. Some may say that I am the king of my own self and castle, but that is wrong information and a wrong opinion. Through the wisdom given me by God, my spiritual intellect is enhance by the teachings of Sophia; and through Her I gain both temperance and prudence in all of my thinking, my writing, and my interactions with humanity and all of God’s creatures. As Jesus says in Matthew, we must let our light shine within and around us. This brings God into all of our lives and shows His goodness and glory to all humanity.
     I always ask myself whether we, as normal humans, can emulate and follow Jesus as his original disciples did. We have some of the power of Jesus to heal others. Of course, we do not do the healing, just as Jesus did not heal. Jesus brought the love and power of God down to earth; it was God who healed through Jesus. I wonder if it is possible for us to have the strong enough faith and commitment to God that Jesus shows us in his three years of teaching. Do we have enough righteousness of God’s word to bring His power of healing to others?
      I think we do! This is not an egotistical statement. This is asking for a solution to the needs of others in our conflicted world where everyone seems to disagree and even hate others. It is the love of Jesus that brought God into our lives, and I believe it is the love of Jesus that will get us out of our divisions. If we look for the face of God in all whom we meet, perhaps we can join in brotherly love to solve the problems and divisions we experience.



© Russell Kendall Carter

      I think of all my friends whom I haven’t seen in such a long time, and I think of those I am able to see through Facetime and Zoom. The one word I constantly hear is loneliness. This is such a tragedy for all my friends separated from children, grandchildren, and close friends. The sorrow in their voices is heartrending. 
      With little imagination, I can see people all around our tiny planet feeling the same desolation, sorrow, and in some cases terror. There is real terror in their voices; will I die alone, never to see my family and friends again. I know that we are probably nearing the end of our isolation with the introduction of the vaccines that will protect us from serious illness, but this feeling of isolation will be with many of our brothers and sisters for months even years to come. Many are unable to make up for the lost time, psychologically and emotionally, with our families.
      This is when I turn to God. I am fortunate enough to be able to visit my family. Saying this my true power has come from God. I know that I am in God and God is within me. This is most comforting. I know that my existence is in fact living in God’s heaven, and when living in heaven, I am not alone. I only pray that others will realize this. God keeps my memories alive and retells my story to others, as he does with all His children, all humanity. Our most comforting move is to take God’s presence into hour hearts and minds, remembering the story of God’s love for humanity as we learn in the Bible. Good looks at his creation, man, and adores us. Loves us as we are unable to love, until we fully immerse ourselves in His love, then we can truly adore others.
     Our interrelationship with the rest of humanity is the very lifeblood that God offers us. Through God, we are connected to all of humanity; we are loved by all of humanity; and we love all humanity. The second greatest commandment is this: Love your neighbor as you love yourself, and you will never be alone, never be abandoned. 

 
© Russell Kendall Carter