Friday, June 29, 2018

Let The Master Steer




On life’s highway there’s no reversing
For its bends ahead there’s no rehearsing
But steer we must as we move ahead
Trusting in God who has capably led.

Check your speed; don’t go too fast
Thinking you’ve come this way in the past
A tight turn may take you unawares
So drive with the Master; let Him steer.

Trust me you’ve not passed this way before
Our Guide impresses upon us more and more
Though it seems familiar it’s not the same
You cannot reverse and come again.


Only one lifetime to get it right
But ample opportunity to drive in the Light
For in Jesus there’s light, no darkness at all
Just stay on cue and respond to his call.

Many a wreck you will come upon
But you need not be one if you follow the Son
And perchance you have an accident or two
Don’t despair he will take you through.

A glance in the mirror but just a glance
Don’t with past success become too entranced
Driving is forward not backwards I say
Too long in the mirror and you’ll miss the way.


Note the one-way sign saying Jesus is the way
Enquire of the Holy Spirit who’s in you to stay
Check your road map each and every day
And from the straight and narrow do not stray.

The rest of your drive might be steep or flat
Just remember easy street is full of traps
But I assure you if you allow the Master to steer
He’ll take care of all your threats and all your fears.

Stewart Russell © December 2017


Wednesday, June 27, 2018

The Haunting Past




It is a fact and you will agree
The past sometimes gets in the way
Even in the Christian’s life
It can loom like the present day.

No doubt it has happened to you
Like it often does to me
That rather than moving forward
You are caught in your history.

Do not get me wrong
Frequent reflection is a must
But when it arrests your progress
It is just like a virus.

It will make you sick
It will start its havoc in the mind
Next it will affect your body
This is the order every time.


Positive reflection is beautiful
Negative!  Get out of there!
For before you know it
Your past will drag you back with fear.

Isaiah chapter 43 and verse 18
Is instructive in this light
“Remember ye not the former things”
With such is not your fight.

“Neither consider the things of old”
For they are in the past
God is reconstructing your life
Now you are in a different class.

The truth of the matter is
We can do nothing to change our past
The present should be our concern
And shaping our future God’s task.


Look again at Isaiah chapter 43
This time focus on verse 19
“Behold I will do a new thing.”
Surely God is at your scene.

“Now it shall spring forth,” says God
“Shall ye not know it?”
In the wilderness He’ll make a way
This is God’s reassuring edict.

We can trust the Lord on this
As a matter of fact on anything He says
And defying the haunting past
March forward in all His ways.


God is faithful to His promises
In fact God can never lie
And whatever He has promised
Not even the devil can deny.

So “Feeling down on your luck?”
Forever haunted by your past?
Time to let it go my friend
For you God has a present task.

It’s the purpose he has always had
And He wants you to walk in it
Learn the lessons from your past
But make God’s purpose your daily habit.

Stewart Russell © June 2018


Monday, June 25, 2018

Unaware



Image result for images for Matthew 18:11

Unaware I was lost
Thought I had it all down-packed,
Unaware of the cost
And the burden I carried on my back.

Groping my way through life
But pretending to be bold,
Confronting the daily strife
With the challenge of my load.

Unaware of my plight
Since I was a normal guy,
Unaware of the light
And just kept passing it by.

I had done well in life
As far as my career was concerned,
Attending church with the wife
And two lovely kids of our own.

Image result for images for Matthew 18:11

Unaware there was better
I was the king on my throne,
Unaware of the loneliness
And the fact that I was alone.

What a peril to be in!
What a dangerous path to tread!
To be unaware that in sin
And trespasses you lie dead.

To be fooled you are alive
By the adversary of your soul
And while dead you think you thrive
Though stone dead and cold.

Unaware of the genuine
Satisfied with the constant sham
Unaware of the deadly sin
That causes your soul to be damned.

Image result for images for Matthew 18:11

Yes, seemingly happy and proud
As you journey on life’s way
But unaware of the death shroud
That hugs you every day.
  
A success in life as it were
A fair share of money on the bank,
A comfortable house for sure
And a managerial position to thank.

For what more can a guy ask
When he is sitting so smug
And when the perils of this economy
Off his back he can shrug?

For money answers everything
You must have heard that before,
In this life you can have a fling
And enjoy it to the fullest for sure.

Image result for images for Matthew 18:11

Unaware of a life hereafter
With its impending doom,
Here there might be lots of laughter
But there eternal darkness looms.

Unaware of the coming disaster
As propagated in God’s Word,
Made drunk by fun and laughter
Too drunk to be bothered or disturbed.

But where there is life there is hope
And the Word still reaches you,
In this life without Christ you grope
And blind man’s view is no view.

Being unaware is no excuse
It just means you are spiritually dumb
And each time the Word you refuse
Your heart continues to be numbed.

So now is the time to be aware
Of the need of your eternal soul,
Respond to the Saviour’s call and care
As he invites you into his fold.

For there is coming a time
When you will be more than aware
And in hell you will certainly find
There will be a lot of company there.

Image result for images for Matthew 18:11

Those you laughed and joke with
When confronted by the truth
Will miss what you also missed
In hell you will have that proof.

Nowadays it’s not politically correct
For some to preach about hell
And even in the church they reject
When some preachers this bad news tell.

But the good news begins at the bad
Concerning the issue of sin
And the receiver’s heart is made glad
As the good news is told to him.

What a contrast one gets to ponder
As one considers the good and the bad!
What a marvelous miraculous wonder
That in Jesus this good can be had!

Confession and repentance is key
And acceptance of the crucified Christ,
His offer is priceless yet free
For you he paid sin’s price.

You need not be unaware
That in Christ there is so much more
When you walk with him right here
And trust him for what is in store.

Stewart Russell © November 2017

Sunday, June 24, 2018

Neither of Us the Wiser



Image result for images for sharing knowledge

How oft have you been asked
A question you could not answer
And when you shared your ignorance
There was laughter as well as banter?

Your interrogator had expected then
That the answer you should know,
He may not have known the answer
But he never let it show.

If you had supplied the answer
He would have come to know it too
But neither of you became the wiser
Since he was trying to outsmart you.

Image result for images for sharing knowledge

If information was readily shared
We would be much further along
The path that leads to more knowledge
And you and I would both be strong.

But instead we pretend to know
Or hide that which we do
Then try to get what another has
With selfishness blocking our view.

The purpose of this poem is simple
And very short it will be
So when you hear the advice it offers
Adjust your thinking speedily.

Image result for images for sharing knowledge

If we share with one another
The knowledge that we have gained
We would all be the wiser for it
And the more knowledge we would retain.

But if we try to deprive another
Of the knowledge we possess
Neither of us would be the wiser
And we’d rob each other of our best.

Image result for images for sharing knowledge

So that next time you’re asked a question
And of the answer you are sure
Share it with the other person
And together you’ll be learning more.

Stewart Russell © October 2017