All You Own Is Now

Grasp this reality

Life’s unpredictability

Given our frailty

And death’s inevitability.

But I have time

There’s much I call mine

I have great health

To go along with my wealth.

Life is now a breeze

I can take my ease

I can securely rest

Free of tension and stress.

Then I heard a sound

So I looked around

No one could be found

None where I was bound.

An incessant knock

Eyes upon the clock

Time slowly ticked away

Could this be the day?

I had much stored up

Now this bitter cup

What a horrid joke!

A dream I had dared to hope.

I thought of all I had

Possessions were my fad

My dream as a little lad

Now had all turned bad.

Now my every thought

Focused on all I’d bought

All I had accumulate

Responsible for my state.

My belongings: no use

My accumulations: refuse

My memories now distant

And wealth: added lament.


 

The knock was time to go

The clock said I told you so

Life now rearranged

Everything suddenly changed.

As for my inventory

Loads of useless money

Property no longer enjoyed

Reduced beneath all I employed.

Was at this very junction

I saw the real problem

I owned absolutely nothing

Zero, zilch, not a thing.

All I had was borrowed

Did not guarantee tomorrow

Couldn’t help in my sorrow

Admitted then in my horror.

All you own is now

Try to grab that now somehow

None of the cherished possessions

Will help in that great recession.

The clock hanging on the wall

Reminds us of that call

That comes to all of us

Then the end of all our fuss.

It’s then we realize

Not speculate or surmise

The hard facts of the matter

The emptiness and clatter.

“What’s the use?” I heard me say

At sunset on that final day

Of all I had achieved

Only to leave so very grieved.

Oh, I thought I possessed much

And lived in accordance with such

Only to find as I closed my eyes

Now is the moment before demise.

Learn the moral of this poem

Let not possessions be the problem

Earned today gone tomorrow

At most they’re only borrowed.

All you have is this moment

Please learn from my lament

All of this life is transient

Apart from now you don’t own a cent.

Stewart Russell © 2014

Compute the Following

 

Software and hardware

Upload and download

Uppercase and lowercase

Underline and bold

Online and offline

Twitter and Facebook

Safari and Firefox

Yahoo and Outlook

Buffer and surf

Freeze and crash

Google and view

Recycle bin and trash

Cut and paste

Insert and delete

Backslash, forward slash

Undo and repeat

Edit and format

Font and style

Tools and tables

Layout and file

Documents and folders

Text box and chart

Shapes and themes

Elements and SmartArt

Scroll box and scroll bar

Background and portrait

Megabyte and memory

Desktop and landscape

Log off and shut down

Spreadsheet and Excel

Sleep and hibernate

Apple, Samsung and Dell

Stewart Russell © 2013

Of Puberty and Purity

Puberty and Purity are clearly not one and the same,

In pre-puberty however, purity mostly reigns,

It’s with the advent of puberty that red flags become raised

As just around this time the sexes begin to liaise.

Puberty, O yes, this stage can be a troublous time

As the male after the female begins to pine,

All be it with a gangling frame and cracked up voice

And the female discovering her new body parts, rejoice.

Clumsiness creeps in and some spills from time to time,

Balance is a little erratic; there is less poise at the spine,

There is a bit of shyness too as covert glances exchange,

The boys a little more open bordering on the deranged.

Longer periods before the mirror as a lone finger traces

Trying to stimulate hair in the first hair promised places,

The females on the other hand turning from side to side

Examining developing body parts as before the mirror glide.

What beauty!  What finesse!  Willing movements of grace,

Swelling, appreciative appendages that accompany pimpled face,

And the boy’s manlike mannerisms, O so mesmerizing

Of dreams and mental rehearsals all day fantasizing.

High pitch squeaky voice giving way to the cracked version,

A stolen covert glance frequently utilizing his peripheral vision,

Attempting at first and discreetly so trying to get her attention

And hoping not to appear too forward and chance her rejection.

At first she appears not to even remotely notice his overtures,

She pretends no interest but hopes he would playact some more,

“Convince me,” she inwardly begs while intrigued with excitement

Hoping he wouldn’t view her behavior as disgusted resentment.

The bell rings rudely interrupting their thought process,

Signaling back to the classroom and with it the unwelcome stress

Of several disciplines with their analysis and synthesis

While at the same time dealing with this mind paralysis.

But wait a minute! It’s health and family life session,

While not the current desire maybe there is consolation,

Now is as good a time as any to make sense of these feelings

To discover why the opposite sex is becoming so appealing.

So many young people rush into an intimate relationship

And before you know it they make that careless slip,

Overwhelmed by these feelings that come with puberty

Unguided and reckless exploration takes away their purity.

At first there is the “WOW!” followed by increasing remorse

Especially the female shame and worry the likely recourse,

The male on the other has earned bragging rights

Especially if he is the first to have sampled her delights.

With their purity gone there is no way they could reverse

And start all over again to plot a different course,

The initial remorse and concern recede into the distant past

And still with childlike minds they enter the adult class.

The first time was approached with nervous apprehension

Thereafter it was mostly through spontaneous seduction,

With innocence long gone there is now little resistance

Opportunity coupled with desire breaks through token defense.

After a brief acquaintance with puberty her purity disappeared

Like a bee, off to another flower showed how much he cared,

The female after such a trip is regarded rather flippantly

Respect gone and worth devalued she gives in less reluctantly.

Purity is a virtue that should be treasured for the while,

Certainly during puberty it should not depart one’s lifestyle,

Puberty in itself is quite a challenge to be undertaken

And is not made any easier when one’s purity has been forsaken.

So young people guard your purity with God-given diligence

Ever watchful in your puberty and willing to take a stance,

Not giving into natural urges though stirred by a furtive glance,

Keeping yourself pure for your spouse and the ensuing romance.

Stewart Russell © 2015  

Change

The only constant is change.

It comes in all forms and fashion;

Sometimes normal, often strange,

Sometimes denying our every passion.

It is experienced in the weather,

It is seen on every hand,

Sometimes it’s a real bother

Going against our earnest demand.

It interrupts our life’s journey

And disrupts our careful plans,

Sometimes leaving us lonely

As though by some mysterious command.

It turns up without a face

And operates as though by design,

Then disappears without a trace

Leaving a spot of the pages of time.

It functions like the wind,

From where it comes we cannot tell,

It changes smiles to grins

And many hopes dispels.

Though faithful in its regularity

It still takes us unawares

While unleashing its severity

It can reduce strong men to tears.

We often sit and deeply ponder

How to rid us of its control,

But time and again we’re left to wonder

Why we can’t achieve this goal.

As you muse, don’t get me wrong,

Not all change is undesirable

But to the vulnerable and the strong,

This form appears most unavoidable

Who worries about change that’s good?

Nobody in his right mind,

But change that’s often misunderstood

Causes distress every time.

Change is rather unpredictable

And what is often deemed a good forecast

Thought by prevailing trends most probable

Rarely or seldom come to pass.

Predicting life’s trend is not reliable,

Human psychology is not exact,

Psychologists deal with minds indescribable,

Change doing its own thing is a fact.

I will tell you what, though,

If you will only incline your ears,

What you plant you will sow

It’s been that down through the years.

So that while change is ever constant

Some things remain the same,

Almighty God is ever present

And over His creation He reigns.

He shares His glory with none other

Than His Son and Holy Spirit,

Don’t you dare begin to snigger, rather-

Let Him change your sinful habit.

 He’ll help you make the turn

And change you through and through

Once His love you do not spurn,

His change will create a new you.

So there’s change that constantly changes

And change as in being transformed,

There is the change that Christ arranges

That change is different from the norm.

It's a change from evil to good,

A change from darkness to light,

It regulates our should not and should

And keeps us on the path of right.

Then we are better able to cope with change

No matter its form or fashion,

Whether it’s the normal or the strange

Let Jesus direct your passion.

Stewart Russell © 2015

Justice, Mercy and Grace

 

Justice is what we deserve

It’s really, simply our wage,

It’s all that we have worked for

No need to fly into a rage.

The soul that sins must die

For the wages of sin is death,

It was the law from the Garden of Eden

And well, we all know the rest.

We know how Mother Eve was deceived

And how Adam followed suit

How Satan cleverly worked his scheme

Now sin is the offshoot.

 

So as in the first Adam all die,

To all generations death was the wage,

Even if you live as long as Methuselah

Death will catch you at some stage.

Throughout the Old Testament phase

Animal sacrifices were made,

For the sins of all Israel’s people

A blood sacrifice had to be paid.

Of course the sacrifice of bulls and lambs

Could not wash away sin’s stain

But this was a temporary measure

Until Jesus, the Lamb was slain.

 

So that God’s justice was appeased

When Jesus hung on Calvary’s tree

God’s judgment was visited on His Son

When he died for you and me.

Justice was served on that Good Friday

The price of sin was paid,

Love so amazing and so divine

The mercy of the Father was displayed.

Mercy is not getting what we deserve

Death was our just dessert

 But God in His mercy smiled on us

When His Son experienced all of the hurt.

Not only do we deserve death

But mercy should not be ours to claim,

It took the innocent blood of Calvary’s Lamb

Who mercifully spared us such pain.

How could justice be carried out

When mercy intervened?

Well, justice was pressed on God’s dear Son

So that mercy could shield the redeemed.

 

I should have been crucified,

God’s justice rings out loud and clear,

But Jesus took God’s judgment in my stead,

Mercy now whispers in my ear.

So justice was the death I deserved,

But in mercy I was divinely rescued

The sin on Jesus was my own

But mercifully he paid my due.

Grace, grace, God’s marvelous grace

Extending what I didn’t deserve,

After rescuing me from a deserving death

Now a place in heaven has reserved.

 

In summary then, if I may

Let me put these three in perspective,

Justice, mercy and grace,

The first is death; the other two is why I live.

Justice is the death that I deserve,

Mercy rescued me from God’s judgment,

Grace gave much more than either of these,

The Triune God resides in my tent.

This triplet defines the nature of God,

A God of justice, of mercy and of grace,

A God whose arms are opened wide

Ready to rescue us from sin’s disgrace.

Stewart Russell © 2015

Hell Bent: Whose Decision?

Here are some questions that are puzzling to me:

Why would God send a person to hell eternally?

Why not stop that person from being born?

Why send him to hell as the punitive norm?

What evil could a man do in just a few short years?

How could he merit an eternal hell and utter despair?

How could such a God be gracious or even merciful?

Could He really be a loving God and yet be so terrible?

Well look at what he did to His Son on the cross

To save you and me from being eternally lost,

I guess you would argue that that does not add up

But Jesus really drank from death’s bitter cup.

And consider this; God has given man the choice

To choose heaven or hell as his eternal abode

It is man who chooses on his own to go to hell

Heaven could be his home if he chooses that road.

Note the progression of a man that rejects Christ

He scoffs at the Creator and the Son’s sacrifice

And professing to be wise in his very own eyes

Worships the created while the Creator he denies.

Open your Bible to Romans the very first chapter

And see how man is hell bent in his behavior,

See how he progresses on his downward spiral

Openly and blatantly disregarding God in his denial.

Don’t blame God when it is the man that refused,

Man had two clear options from which to choose,

Opting for the created while the Creator he abused

Man left himself without any worthwhile excuse.

Not only do men participate in these idolatrous sins

But they also approve of any other who does them,

While God-given consciences convict them of wrong

They pursue the broad way with the hell bent throng.

Jesus came in the flesh so that we all might believe,

Believe on the Son of God and God’s offer receive

So that in believing we may have life in his name,

Disregard this and we have only ourselves to blame.

  

Because Christ came to pay the price of our sin

God willingly accepts all them that come through him,

God allows people to be born to give them opportunity

To choose Jesus Christ and make heaven their destiny.

This may still be a difficult concept to grasp,

For some it may present a herculean task

But the real issue, do not allow anyone to mask

For it is a simple requirement that the Master asks.

Let’s cling to what we know about God’s nature,

Believe that His sovereignty and mercy work together,

Whatever He does or allows is for His own glory

And His love in Christ is towards you and me.

Almighty God is the Rock and his work is perfect,

All that he does is precise and accurate,

He’s the God of truth and without iniquity

A just, loving, merciful and gracious God is He.

Hell needs not be your destiny; heaven can be your home,

The choice of either of these is yours and yours alone,

Not a thread of truth that God will cause one to go to hell,

It’s the choice we make and to whom our soul we sell.

For there are two that are bidding for our soul,

To steal, kill and destroy is the devil’s only goal

But Jesus is come that we might have abundant life

And so avoid the second death and eternal strife.

Would God send you to hell?  Yes with your consent

For to reject the Son of God is to declare your intent,

No way you can escape if you neglect God’s salvation

For to do so is a one way ticket to your own perdition.

God spared not His Son but gave him up for us,

The sin debt we owed was paid in full by Jesus

As he hung there from that cross at dark Calvary

Hell was obliterated for all who would be free.

I will praise my Redeemer for hell is not a worry for me,

Having been washed in his blood I am eternally free,

His free choice to give up his life for all my sin

Is reason enough why I surrender my all to him.

Stewart Russell © 2015

He Will Come Again

 

He will come again

He said he would,

He may come today…

What if he should?

Would you be ready?

Or still making plans,

For another excuse

Why last time you ran?

He will come again

Unlike the first time,

In his own words

“For those that are mine.”

He knows them all

And they know him too,

To each one of them

He is faithful and true.

 

He will come again

Oh you do not believe!

But he came before

Let none be deceived.

The first time he came

His own received him not,

But all that came to him

Salvation was their lot.

He still extends today

An invitation to one and all;

Before he comes a second time

Why not answer his call?

In 1 Thessalonians chapter 4

In the word of God we read,

That descending with a shout

From heaven he will lead.

All they that are dead

Will rise in that first group,

And who remain and are alive

Will form a numberless troupe.

It is this to which we refer

As being the first resurrection;

The second will be for them

Who are still showing rejection.

 

He will come again

It’s in the Gospel of John!

That once he went away

He’d come again; be informed!

He went to prepare a place

Where we can be with him,

But to be able to enter therein

We must be saved from sin.

So the call goes out today

It is later than you think!

He’ll come again for sure

Quicker than the eye can blink!

For as lightning from the east

Shines even to the west,

So the coming of the Son of man

Will signal our eternal rest.

Today if you hear his voice

Harden not your heart!

Say yes to Jesus now

And be ready to depart!

 

He will come again

I know he will,

To miss this opportunity

Could be your bitter pill.

To feel you have time

Is an uncertain stance!

It’s the devil’s way

To make you take a chance!

Do not be fooled

Tomorrow is no guarantee,

This moment is yours

To prepare for eternity.

Jesus will come again

Like God he cannot lie,

It’s certain you will see him

Whether you live or die.

He will come again

He said he would,

He may come today…

What if he should?

Stewart Russell © 2014