Author: rkcdlitt

Trust

“In God, whose word I praise; in God I trust and am not afraid.
What can mere mortals do to me?” Psalm 56:4

In my house there is a special room;

its name is trust.

It has many windows and doors,

allowing many people to enter.

Those who enter this room change . . .

forever.

Those who do not enter

spurn this room, for

a lack of faith disappoints them . . .

always,

and petrifies them . . .

always.

When opinions enter this room,

they decompose.

Ideas of faith are strengthened here;

Truth takes the prize, for

God blesses all true ideas;

Trust is their name.

Only the faithful remain!

Yet all are loved!

Go and Bear Fruit

“I chose you and appointed you that you

should go and bear fruit,” John 15:16

God gives us plentiful gifts:

Love, Life, Grace.

We live with these gifts

that enrich our lives.

These gifts allow us

to Be true followers of Jesus,

to be friends with Jesus.

But being thankful not enough;

we are invited to take these gifts,

share them with others, with all we meet.

This is what Jesus means,

when he asks us to

go and bear fruit.

As Jesus was, we are . . .

created in God’s image.   

When he looks at mankind,

He is looking into a mirror.

Seeing His wonder and grace in us,

our awe is magnified by His love.

This is why Jesus commissions us to

go and bear fruit, to allow

others to see our good deeds,

which come from and

glorify God, our Father.

We Listen, but not always Hear

Jesus responds in His time  

and in ours,

as does God, but

we are impatient, misunderstanding,

because we are human,

as the apostles were.

The apostles did not hear

the parables, Jesus’s lessons in listening;

Jesus always mentions their lack of hearing;

the answers given in the parables,

they may not have known the questions.

Faith and prayer are our listening times;

God answers but we always do not hear.

We are not ready to listen;

we listen but do not hear;

we are Jesus’s new apostles.

When lying in pain,

we are unable to pray.

God feels us in pain;

Listen and hear’

we receive God’s voice through hearing,

not just listening;

His mourning prayers are made for us.

Jesus’ parables contain the answers;

all we have to do is listen, and hear!

We Rejoice before You

“Rejoice in the Lord always: and again, I say, rejoice.” Philippians 4:4

We awaken to Your love

Our journeys are comforted by love,

pitted with highs and lows.

We bear the burdens of all who affect our lives;

both disappointments and victories are short lived,

when we awaken to our true relationship with God,

be that direct or through our churches.

Our journey is smoothed by His love,

less affected by external occurrences.

We can rejoice in God’s presence,

our everlasting Father.

Rejoice and be glad;

our reward is with God.

Image and Likeness of God

“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them.” Matthew 1:27                                                                                                 

Genesis says:

we are in the image

and likeness of God

to find God

we are in community

there is communion

in communion

His righteousness

Is in the joy

Of communion, of community

This is our hope

This is our prayer

God send us into community

To join together

We do not ask

Who to send

We go voluntarily

Because it is

The wish of God

We receive His spiritual gifts

That help us in all we do

We complement each other

Some are wise; Some heal the sick

Some teach the young; Some are prophets

These gifts are of God

As god is one body with many parts

So is community

One body with many complementary parts

Our community is a reflection of God

Made in his image

As we are.

The Voice of God

“I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and

 I heard behind me a loud voice

like the sound of a trumpet, . . .”  Revelation 1:10

We are blessed with spiritual gifts

Until we followed God,

We did not know this

If you follow God

Jesus will be your guide

Go into the world

Spreading his word

Help the lion hunt for its food

Protect animals in their dens

Feed the ravens and eagles

To satisfy their hunger

When you do these simple things

You Honor God’s name

Seeing your angels in heaven

Who watch over you

Protecting you with God’s unconditional love

Ripples

I believe in ripples!

Join a group of people, today!

Without a thought

change the recipe,

teach a child,

implant an idea.

change the world.

Like ripples on a pond,

our lives affect other people.

Continue to spread

God’s word to the downtrodden,

the forgotten;

bring His grace to ease their burdens;

pray with others;

join them in their suffering;

be with them in God’s light,

eternally.

I believe in ripples!

Russell Kendall Carter

2020

Born of God

“But as many as received him, to them he gave power to become children of God, to those who believe in his name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” John 1:12-13

We are born of God; we are good.

Humankind: God’s greatest creation.

We cannot forget this.

The Gospel of john begins:

“In the beginning was the word,

and the word was with God,

and the word was God.”

God is before all else;

there is nothing before God;

there is nothing but God.

The Solomon in Proverbs  reminds us:

“The Lord possessed me

in the beginning of His way,

before His works of old.”

God knows us before He creates us.

When he creates us, we are perfect.

God creates nothing but perfection.

Therefore, we are perfect in His eyes.

We can recognize this godly perfection

in all whom we meet. This is God’s will.

Society leads us from this lighted path.

Society cannot exist on a selfless God-given path

without setting itself as the main influence in our lives.

With God as the core of our existence,

 society has less hold on our daily lives.

Society’s norms are a nuisance that Jesus asks us to overcome.

As humans, we are not perfect; our bodies must die.

But our spiritual selves are perfect and live eternal lives.

Nevertheless, as humans, we must recognize God

in all whom we meet. This is God’s lighted path.

On this path, we are God’s perfect creations.

We see the perfect creation of God

in all whom we meet.

Are we filled with God’s Love?

The light of Jesus gives us the fulfillment

we need to live in God’s perfect world.

Jesus is our fulfillment.

Enemy-Occupied Territory

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.

Not as the world gives, do I give to you. Let not your hearts

be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” John 14:27

My spirit lives with God;

my trust is unwavering.

He strengthens my resolve.

Although my antagonists are great

and censure my faith;

I walk in His light,

not fearing the blindness of men.

I am blessed by His trust in me.

The desolate valley of my dwelling

I fear not, for my enemies are powerless

in the abundance of God’s grace.

I pray for the steadfast trust of Joseph,

recognizing God’s mandate

to live in safekeeping while dwelling

in enemy-occupied territory

What do we need? We are in the midst of two world-wide pandemics.

The Coronavirus has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives across our planet, not caring what color we are, how rich we are, or how important we claim to be. Science is rapidly creating a cure for this, but many more lives will be sacrificed to the terrible pandemic. Those in power seem to be more interested in the lost money than the lost lives, while scientists are saying that there will be a more drastic resurgence that will claim many more lives. I sometimes think that Mother Nature is fighting back and punishing us for all the damage we have done to the Earth in our search for greater wealth.  

The second pandemic noted by the demonstrations around the globe, but particularly in the United States; these are rebelling against the world-wide oppression of people of color. Those of us who are white have oppressed the people of color all around the world, again in search of greater wealth for ourselves. We have fought innumerable worlds throughout history to suppress opponents and their cultural lives, replacing their traditions with ours. The protests in the United States were begun over the murder of George Floyd, who as a black man was suffocated by Minneapolis police. Those around the world are in support of the American protesters, butt they are also raising their voices against the oppression in their own countries.

The common man long oppressed by the wrong type of governments serving only the rich and powerful are bringing up the long-lost truth of what life for all should be. Many governments claim to be guided by the word of God, no matter what name we call Him, but they put truth to death through all their actions. The people who are protesting and really care for the fate of those oppressed by police and governments are in search of some one person to step up and be the guide that we can all follow.

What we need is a strong, perhaps old time, prophet to lead us out of the evil we are now suffering.