Author: rkcdlitt

He Was Here a Moment Ago!

Will He return as He promised?

He spoke of Moses and the prophets,

He said we would understand.

He died, but yet He lives.

We witnessed this.

Can we believe this?

Must we believe this?

He wants us to go into the world.

What world?

And preach His word,

He said so many.

He said He will be with us,

But he just vanished.

Was He God?

Is He God?

I doubt, yet I believe.

He was so good to us.

He loved us.

We loved Him.

We will do as He asked.

We will spread His message.

He didn’t tell us where

We will find a way

Heavenly Gifts

Without our heavenly gifts, we are lost; we are unable to endure our lives without God’s Love. This world revolves around the Love of God, not our own small ideas and desires; we are not the center of the universe, nor is the Earth, as Galileo said in 1632. Anything glorious in us or fashioned by our mind, heart, or hands is the revelation of God’s Glory, not our own earth-mired minds.

We know that God loves us; in all ways, God grows into us, if we let Him. God draws us to Him and transforms us by His Holiness, His Love , and His Grace. This is the will of God; this is why He created us. In our moments of crisis, we have many fabricated options and one spiritual option. When we have to make an important decision, we can choose to enter a darkened path, created by our own inefficiencies, or we can accept the Light of God to lead us into the plentiful life that He promises. It’s the decision between a limited earthly future or an eternal existence granted by God’s grace.

It is difficult for all of us to accept God’s will over ours; from our birth, we are trained to stand tall and be individuals unable or unwilling to accept the help of others. Even the most highly educated people think that their so-called intuitive knowledge is their own. It is not! We try to emulate these important people but cannot progress to a spiritual purpose by ignoring the grace given by God.

Richard Rohr writes, “If you can trust and listen to your inner divine image, your whole-making instinct, or your True Self, you will act from your best, largest, kindest, most inclusive self.” This inner divine image, whole-making instinct, and True Self is God within us, as Jesus promises. All of us, from the richest man in the world to the hardest laborer, struggling to feed his family, has these qualities within. They are all gift of God, gracefully, willingly given to us by He who loves us.

We live in a culture where labor is no longer dignified. We are expected to rise above the fold and be better that a laborer. Yet, how many of us have a craft-like hobby. Mine is building furniture. Society has divorced us from the fact that we are crafted by God, the original craftsman. God creates, and when we create, we honor God; we imitate God, and participate in His divine love.

As one New Testament scholar wrote, “our soul, our consciousness, our love, and the Holy Spirit are one and the same concept, all belonging to God.” Think about this for a minute and add how Jesus changed this when he said that the kingdom of God is within us. Our very essence is of God. When we love someone, we are projecting God’s eternal love; when we are kind to someone, we are projecting God’s love.

Our love for each other is statement that we are living the life that God wants; we are sharing the light of his very being. Our love is God’s light for the world. I have to agree with Paul when he writes in Galatians 20 (KJV): “I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me.” When we love, we open the doors of our hearts, giving our most important asset to all, everywhere.

God’s Love dwells within us to share, not to keep hidden. When we are grounded in God’ Love, we open our lives to the goodness of the world, not the evils that surround us daily. We may not be able to stop the evil, but we can not let its effect stop us from living a life sharing God’s Love.

I began this meditation speaking of the righteousness of labor and then moved into God’s Love. Our labors are loved by God. He gives the talent to build to the people who have the creativity to so. Society does not often recognize the gifts that God gives people who labor. I write; I cannot write without the love and work of the people who built my home, or the computer I write on. The love of God is expressed through people’s labor.

Love all people, because all people are loved by God.

I cannot imagine what my life would be like without prayer. I try to live with this idea foremost in my mind: “Taste and see how God is in my life.” I find it easier every day to write and talk about God in my life. Perhaps, this has to do with age, but I like to think it is about my realization that what I have did not come to without help.

The comfort and blessing I have today are grounded and invigorated by the presence of God in my life. Although I spend a good portion of my day in pain, I find comfort when I am praying with others, or, praying for others. In these moments I am taking my presence out of myself and placing inside those I pray for. The Bible tells us to ask and we will receive, search and we will find, and knock and the door will be opened. This has happened to me so many times in my life, that doubting God’s presence in my life is an absurd concept.

James tells us that when we draw nearer to God, he will draw us nearer to Him. I feel this in many ways. One of the ways is when I am in distress and I am surrounded by friends and family in prayer. This is God’s way of reminding me that His presence is with us. Even Jesus needed and felt this when he entered the garden to pray and asked his disciples to join him. The comfort of their presence was the comfort of God.

Prayer is the comfort of knowing God is with us. Pray often.

A prayer from Frederick Blumhardt:

Lord our God, Almighty Father in heaven, we stand before you as your children, whom you want to protect through the need of our time, through all sin and death. We praise you for giving us so much peace in an age full of trouble, and for granting us the assurance of your help. Even when we suffer, we do not want to remain in the darkness of suffering but want to rise up to praise and glorify you. For your kingdom is coming; it is already at hand. Your kingdom comforts and helps us and points the way for the whole world, that your will may be done on earth as in heaven. Amen.

We all face difficulties which test us; these are the outside force society puts on us. It is difficult to keep our faith in this unbelieving world. We also face difficulties within us; we are humans, not gods, and, as we age, we must face the certainty of death, the death of our human body. Can we be confident that this great test is not lost to our faith.

For me, what seems most significant is that Spirit, the divine indwelling of creation that is within us. God promises: “I will put my spirit within you, and you shall live.” If we have God’s spirit within us, we may lose our human form, but not what really matters. God guarantees this.

We worry about earning a living, making sure that we have money for our retirement. If we choose to be our own self-appointed god, then we will merely go enter our own trap, all of us, wealthy and poor. If we want to live without God in our lives, then we are imprisoned in these mortal bodies, which are self-made jails.

God’s Spirit never gives up on us. It’s God within us that loves all of His creation. When we are faced with our human frailty, it is to feel that we are alone. We can shed our concerns and turn God, who opens all doors for us, especially when we can’t see what our path of life is. It takes inner strength to believe in God’s Grace and live by it, even when we face problems.

I try to keep this positive face whenever I am our in the world. The difficult times are when I am alone in my house. I remember that I am only human, and I remember that God loves me.

God, the light of the world

the light of human existence.

His Word is in our hearts.

His Word allows us to rejoice.

when bitter times engulf us,

we rejoice, as the world rejoices

when His Will and His Word are within us.

God Protects us,

keeps us free in spirit,

allows us harmony

with Him and with ourselves. 

Jesus walked the desert, tempted,

always growing closer to God.

His life was disruption

to Israel’s society,

as it is with our society.

We cannot allow how society corrupts us,

leading us from the lighted path of God.

We are in our own desert,

tempted by forces beyond our control.

We can be as Jesus

resisting temptations to live without God.

In time of Lent, we

We may not realize an epiphany;

we may not realize God

working in our life,

not working to our expectations.

God is working within us,

purifying us,

as Jesus was purified in the desert.

As anxious as I am,

I practice meditation

to learn patience.

God is with me. I know;

I live this.

My serenity is my gift from God

it is what helps me spread Love

through my writing, the Love of God.

Every morning I awaken

to the sound of God’s angel whispering in my ear:

“grow, grow, you are in God’s glorious light.”

Being a miracle of life, I am,

like all of you

a part of God.

We carry a little piece of God

within us every day.

we spread God’s love to others.

We reach for those

In need of God’s help.

We bring them

to the light that is universal, 

the light that is meant to be shared

by all.

The most difficult task for us to be completely honest with ourselves. This fault is a natural part of the human experience, one of the ways we fall short in our relationship with ourselves, others, and God. We are told to go into a room alone to pray, to be with God; it is this time where we need to be the most honest. Maybe, what we should do, must do, is take an inventory of ourselves, either alone or with a trusted friend or mentor, to find what we need to correct or even purge from our systems, all to be honest with ourselves.

With God’s help, we can discover our fully personal lives, including the immortal divine life, as well as the mortal human life. With the spirit of God within us, being completely honest with ourselves, opens us to receive ever-flowing love coming into our hearts. God brings us closer to him, allowing us to be closer to each other . . . if we are honest with ourselves; we then become honest with God and with others, giving us everlasting love.

God’s eternal love for us transforms us so that with others, sharing this love, we can transform the world to His goodness and grace. There is no stronger inspiration for us to be honest with ourselves and others, therefore, also being honest with God. And, since we have such a difficult task, God gave us the perfect example, Jesus, a human example to emulate, which does not mean we have to be physical crucified. Our task can be and undoubtedly is much more difficult, allowing ourselves to be spiritually crucified, therefore growing closer to God.

Honesty within is very difficult, but very, very rewarding.

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures; He leadeth me beside the still waters; He restoreth my soul; He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; Thy rod and Thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies; Thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely, goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

This was the first psalm I memorized, and it still is a great part of my life sixty-five years later . . . when I am in the moment. This psalm, along with the presentation of the Festival of Dedication in John 10, was the subject of our rector’s homily yesterday at church. The great question asked by the apostles was are you the one.

We all ask this, at many times in our lives. Reflecting on Psalm 23, the answer is yes, for me. We are doubters; remember Thomas’s doubts. When we doubt, we are not fully prepared for God’s love that dwells within us; we are not able to see what is within us and surrounding us. As our rector stated: If you are not living within the moment, the moment is not, cannot be within you. Something is missing.

I think back to something I said in a previous meditation; if we are not as present in the moment, the same way that a child is present, we are not fully accepting God’s presence within us. Just watch a child at play, while coloring, or reading. The concentration there is obvious; nothing can pierce the protective shell that the child has temporarily created while doing that one thing. Unfortunately, we seem to have lost the ability of a young child to be present in the current moment.

This is the way we can be when we remember that God is within us.

Too often, we live with the expectation of something greater than the present is waiting for us. Is not this our egos usurping our every moment? Can we let go of our self-importance to accept the presence of God within us? I find this very difficult at times, especially when I awaken each morning with the pains of old age.

However, when I am like and child and remember the words of David’s psalm, I can feel God’s closeness; I know that I am walking in His light. I know that when I am as a young child, I am filled with His love and His grace.

May you feel God’s presence today.

Are we perfect?

Our society does not treat us with respect; we live in a world that expects us to be perfect. If we fall prey to this expectation, we measure ourselves to all of the images we see around us, we feel something less than perfect. Often, we try to hide our imperfections and expend an enormous amount of time, money, and energy into measuring up, creating a psychological hollowness within us.

This results in us filling our self-image, our ego, with all of the artificial pressures placed on us by society. By doing this, we have no room for anything else. In a word, we are empty of what matters, but filled with artificial nothingness. This artificial nothingness can lead us into emotional and psychological feelings of superiority. Our ego takes over.

Society is not about you; it is not about me; it is about us. It cannot be about us if we are so pepped up by this false ego. Our ability to share is not how much we really have to give to society, but how empty we truly are.  We cannot receive the gift of giving with being able to receive.

This has to start with our relationship to God. To receive His grace, we have to empty ourselves of this falseness so that we can receive His Love fully in our life and let Him live His life within us. Jesus said that the Kingdom of God is within us; we just have to allow Him in. We have to empty ourselves of ego.

God is Life; God is Truth; God is Love; God is Perfect. I ask each morning for God to be within me as I live through my day.

I am immortal only because of my inner child

It is indestructible, emotional,

sometimes quick to anger, quick to accuse

it is often immature, intolerant, and unable to accept others.

It is playful, promising, dreaming,

sometimes wishing for the impossible,

hopeful with a positive attitude,

able to accomplish everything

with unlimited possibilities,

always willing to help others

when it reveals itself. I am

as young and immature as its imagination.

I am happy to live with this inner child;

I love when I look at the world,

seeing love, seeing God’s Grace.

With God’s will, I will be my inner child.