Meditating to Heal

I am disappointed with the society in which we live. I remember my father telling me that it is a dog-eat-dog world in modern business; this was in the 1950s. Many times, I feel that it has only worsened. I am gripped by fear when I walk into a shopping mall, and I see people with guns on their hips; It is like we live in an old-time western movie; one in which I do not want to experience; the OK Corrals at my local mall.

I remember the end of the movie The Electric Horseman when Jane Fonda asks Robert Redford where he would go, and his response was that he was returning to a simple life. What a dream! I want to live in a small town called The Lord is Here; where and when everyone lives by the simple law of love your neighbor. I want to give justice to the simple.

I am made by and fully known to God; Love is the simple word I live by; Jesus tells me to live for God in all that I do. This is simple wealth; the wealth of the unoppressed, the humble. By speaking with God, I create a place of simplicity, a place to cleanse my soul of the wickedness in the world, a place to open my heart to God in new and simple ways. The Lord is Here! From Proverbs: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit him, and he will make your paths straight (3:5,6). We are called by our names by our God of Love to live a life of love and generosity, a life of caring; a life of simple fellowship.

© Russell Kendall Carter

The easiest thing to do is to trust; the most difficult thing to do is trust. Basically, by trusting we give control to someone else. When we recognize the presence of God within us, it is easy to have complete trust. When we do not feel the presence within, we doubt! From Proverbs: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.” (3:56)

This does not mean blind faith or trust! In church, we hear the words of Jesus; we have confidence in what we hear; we know that the Word of God is alive and well within us. We have no doubts; we trust Christ; we trust God. Jesus asks that we see all as children of God. We then recognize and praise the image of God in all whom we meet.

This is the difficult part; we are blinded by what the person looks like or what he represents. “Turn the other cheek!” How difficult! This is when we embrace, the trust we experience in church, when love is abound in us.

When I first began practicing this, I stumbled often; but now it is something I do automatically. And surprise, surprise! I now see the face of God, the spirit of Christ dwelling within each person I meet, and they become friends.

Try it and feel as blessed as I am with each new friend I meet.

© Russell Kendall Carter

I study the parables of Jesus; I meditate and pray. I listen to the voice within me and listen for the voice quietly whimpering in the wilderness.

God is our life source; we live in a state of Grace, Love, and Communion with Him. As a companion, God gives us Mother Wisdom, helping us to reflect pure Love to all. I listen for the voices of Father God and Mother Wisdom; both accompany me throughout my waking hours, guiding me with the lessons of Jesus’s parables of Wisdom, asking me to share the very core of my heart; we all receive God’s Holy Love and guidance from Jesus.

Jesus asks that I give up all I have to walk in His lighted path. This is difficult, but when I make the conscious effort to leave my earthly practices and concentrate on what Jesus prophesied, I am a giant in the land, reflecting the Heart of God.

My prayer: Let my words reflect the Heart of God for His words are Truth. God lives within me and all people; He hears me when I cry out to Him in prayer. He listens; He hears; he responds. God is Love; therefore, I am love. May my words shine on all those I meet, opening their hearts to the love and understanding that Jesus preached in His parables.

© Russell Kendall Carter  

One of my favorite songs is “You’ll Never Walk Alone” from the musical Carousel.

We do not; we never walk through life alone. God is always with us; God always walks with everyone, day, or night, in sickness or death. He is with us, and Jesus lights our way. There is nothing lacking with God; God is our path, our life. God places people in our life who support us and love us, helping us day by day; these companions are His angels walking with us. God delivers us from all hardships.

One unreal thing I always see is how much we do not recognize God’s presence; we ignore Him all to often. God is patient and waits for us to come back to him. God is faithful to us, stays by us, and helps us. . . always. We must come to Him; He is our Holy Friend; His way is faultless. He knows us before we are born to our mothers, and He awaits our awakening.

© Russell Kendall Carter

We learn in John (1:38) that Jesus asks what we seek. I often ask myself that question. As Christians we seek the Wisdom of Jesus. We choose to seek God. Personally, I meditate and pray; I try to stay on the bright path Jesus teaches. It is not through my goodness that I live; I usually live in a weakened state of darkness, therefore seeking the light, God’s light.

I also immerse myself in love, God’s Love; this way is my delight, and it is pure love. My writing sings to God. I open my heart and arms to my fellow man. I do not turn away from him. Being a son of God I am tied to Christ forever. His word is absolute! His service to humanity inspires me to do what I can t serve others, to serve God.

Love is the best way to live my life; I strive to do this every day. I realize also that many of my brothers in humanity may not agree, but I love them anyway; neither of us is perfect, except in God’s eyes. This is what Jesus taught me.

Help me follow God’s lighted path. Help me celebrate our baptism in love; celebrate our lives in the enlightened Love of God. We are all tied to Christ forever!

© Russell Kendall Carter

There are references in many books of the Bible about shepherds, sheep, and flocks. The Old Testament prophets prepare us for the goodness to come in the New Testament. From Genesis to Revelation mankind awaits the realization that we are protected in all we do by the lovingkindness of God. Each one of us is held in God’s hand, even though He is very aware of our many shortcomings.

The Lamb of God, Jesus, went into the wilderness to be closer to God and to meditate on His purpose, gathering his flock, here on earth. For Jesus this was His place of rich and powerful growth in sharing His strength and closeness to God with all humanity. Through Jesus, we leave our own self-made wildernesses to grow in our relationship to both Jesus and God. We need not wait for His lovingkindness; it is already within us.

Through the Love of the Lamb of God, we are sons and daughters of God through the ministry and love of Jesus; this has been and still is God’ pledge of inheritance to us, for we are manifestations of God’s Holy Creation. Each morning when we awaken to God’s new day, we have nothing to fear; we are led out of our own personal wildernesses to honor each of us for our uniqueness. We are all different, but we are all the same in God’s eyes.

Let us forget our sins and troubles of the past and Love each other; we are all a part of our Holy Shepherd’s flock; we are all blessed by God.

© Russell Kendall Carter

I love poetry! I love writing poetry!

However, as a person of prayer, I shy away from the showy words I use when writing a prayer, even when writing a poetic prayer. God does not need to hear my poetic voice. He already knows I can use my poetic voice. God also knows what is going on in my life; I do not have to remind Him. My will need not be done; it is God’s will that is to be done. I need not use flowery words. My life, the lives of my friends, and the church that I attend are all possible only by the power of God and live in His presence through prayer. The poetry of our Lord’s Prayer is divine poetry.

© Russell Kendall Carter

I read and meditate on several Bible passages each day. I believe in the Trinity as promised. There is only one god! Therefore, God blesses all people. . . all people! God makes no distinctions. Jesus sent his disciples into the world to proclaim the glory of God. He did not say eliminate certain groups of people. Jesus wanted all people to hear the good news, what we call The Gospel.

Couple this with what we learn from the Wisdom of God, the Wisdom of the Holy Spirit, and the Wisdom taught by Jesus, we know that to serve God is to offer Wisdom to all people, to keep our hearts open to this Wisdom as we share it, as disciples of Jesus. God created Wisdom as part of His holy creation of which we are an essential part. He did not say that creation is available only to Christians, but to all peoples, regardless of what name they give God.

My life is blessed every morning I awaken to a new sun, a new creation, for each new day is a new creation in my life. I pray that my words and deeds will glorify God as Jesus taught me. I embrace this truth with all of my being, my mind, my heart, and my soul. I embrace this as a necessity, because if I do not, I am not living up to the life that God wants of me. I depend on God to help me do this and God depends on me to continue spreading his love to all people regardless of what church, synagogue, or temple they attend on their holy day.

My prayer for the day:

Heavenly Father, allow me and all people in your creation to follow the Wisdom you have taught us through the words of Jesus and the many other prophets we learned of from your teachings, whether they be in the Old and New Testaments, the Qur’an, or the many other spiritual books studied and prayed over all around our small planet.

© Russell Kendall Carter

Sometimes I think that we prefer rituals instead of down to earth mercy from God. Church is not complete without ritual. Some of the rituals and some of the liturgy is filled with fear, especially when reading the Old Testament, which is an integral part of liturgy. Deep within us we know that church is really not fear or trepidation. Church celebrates love, God’s Love. Fear brings with it a lack of trust, and trust is the basis of faith in God, especially in God’s true Love for us.

Love and compassion, combined with Wisdom, is God’s Creation, the order of life we follow. Wisdom is the pathway to God, and when we gather together,

God is with us. This is the promise of Jesus. Church can bring us out of the wilderness that we sometimes live in. Our congregations give us the support we need when we have trouble finding the truth. We search for this on our own, but many times we need the support of others . . . when two or more. . .

Individually or with church we are called to be grateful and trust in the Love of God.

Our church of many contradictions are a blessing we share with our brothers and sisters of faith. God bless us all for our loving congregations.

© Russell Kendall Carter

God has created us that we, His children, are made to live a life that does not have to endure the world’s expectations of greed and insincerity. Even though we face many times of trial, we will never be without His holy support. We do not allow ourselves to be affected by those who claim to be holy; only God is holy, only God’s words are holy. And His words are words of Divine Love.

In my meditations this morning, I kept thinking about the Love that Jesus taught; His parables demonstrate salvation, Grace, and compassion. Compassion (Love) is the key to God’s Love and God’s Grace! It is this compassion that we practice when listening to people who do not agree with us or are always complaining. We ignore the bad advice of these false prophets, those who say they know what is best for us. Often, these people are thinking only of themselves. I remind myself that God’s vision is much greater and much more glorious than anything they can offer, or I can imagine. There are no boundaries for God’s Love. We need to be as open, kind and loving as the Good Samaritan.

Prayerfully, my words of love can promote a holy common peace for all.

© Russell Kendall Carter