Hair Is It

 

 

Of such breathtaking beauty

The women were sure to adore:

Of prestigious royal linage

And so much more.

 

Third son of his kingly father

And fairest of them all:

The apple of his father’s eye

The first name he’d call.

 

He had a beautiful sister

Whom a brother lusted after,

After she rebuffed his advances

He eventually raped her.

 

 

It took about two years

To avenge his sister’s rape,

At a party invitation

His brother took the bait.

 

There his brother died

But not by his own hand,

His servants were the assassins

In accordance with his plan.

 

Out of fear of his father

He ran away to Geshur,

There he stayed three years

Returning to Jerusalem after.

 

After two years of no contact

With his father he was reconciled

But this peace never lasted

As his father’s rule he denied.

 

He made himself a judge

And began to canvas the people

And promised them much

If he became king of Israel.

 

His followers grew steadily

And his father had to flee,

By treason he claimed the throne

But that ended in a tree.

 

  

While riding under a tree

 He was entangled by his hair

And while hanging from that tree

He was executed in mid-air.

 

David was king again

But great was his grief for Absalom,

His army’s morale was low

Though the battle they had won.

 

Much was going for Absalom

And he was flying high in the air,

However, pride goes before a fall

And his fall was his lovely hair.

 

 

Absalom’s hair was his glory

Samson’s hair was his strength,

However the problem for them both

Was not in their hair’s length.

  

Absalom’s eyes were out of focus

Samson’s eyes were forced out

But as to the cause of their blindness,

None of us should be in doubt.

 

It was not the hair but the eyes

Both of these men were blind,

Because they saw no further than self

They both ended up in a bind.

 

The moral of this poem is:

People may focus on your hair

But what you see is critical

Hence you need to take care.

 

 

Samson saw Delilah

Absalom saw his father’s throne,

The Bible is replete with similar;

These were not alone.

 

What is it that distracts you?

Conduct your personal quiz,

For you it may be something else

But for some, hair it is.

 

Stewart Russell © February 2019

 

Praise God Almighty!

 

 

You would probably recall-

But I most certainly do

When I skated across a platform

Right in front of you.

 

One month shy of two years

You would recall

I was called on to pray

When I encountered my fall.

 

I have not darkened a church door

Ever since that time

But I praise God Almighty

He has kept me in line.

 

For a while I could not walk,

I could only hop around

And there were times

When I felt especially down.

 

Pain was my constant companion

And so was discomfort

And just to do some simple things

It would really hurt.

 

Just a stretched Achilles tendon

Had brought all this tension

And plagued my everyday

With loads of apprehension.

 

 

Then when I had gotten better

COVID came on the scene

And physical church attendance

Has been only a dream.

 

But praise Almighty God!

He has been my stay

And through all my experiences

He has been every day.

 

There is just a little evidence

Of the injury I had,

Just a slight protrusion on the heel

Which really isn’t bad.

 

I can live with that

For the rest of my life

And praise God Almighty

For the support from my wife.

 

I went back to my riding

It was easier that even walking,

Now I have no problem with either

And I am not just talking.

 

 

 

For the photos in this poem

You must thank my wife

And for those who are jealous of me

Go get a life!

 

I have written poem after poem

Over these last two years,

On my blog you would have seen

Some of my concerns and cares.

 

I praise Almighty God

For how He has inspired me

And how He has opened my eyes

To show me much I did not see.

 

The more I have learned

The greater my deficit

But I have come to appreciate more

The enormity of the Holy Spirit.

 

God shows to me my frailty

And in such reveals his strength

And to do this for all of us

He went to enormous lengths.

 

The cross was the ultimate

With its ridicule and shame

But praise God Almighty it is worth it

In Jesus’ name.

 

I daily long to assemble

With the brethren without a mask

And I do believe deep in my heart

This is not an impossible task.

  

For the time being, however,

I shall enjoy my riding

And every opportunity God affords me

I shall continue my writing.

 

Praise God Almighty!

God deserves every praise

And as long as He lends me breath

His cause I will raise.

 

Stewart Russell © July 28, 2021

 

Understanding All

 

All is an interesting word

That we all confuse,

So much so, I must say

That I am often amused.

 

The word all is puzzling

If you see what I mean,

It has different meanings

That it is what I glean.

 

If it is something I want

All is understood,

But if I must give up all

That is not so good.

 

So that all is defined

Re giving and receiving

And means different things

In our everyday dealings.

 

It is very unreasonable

When I cannot have all,

But it is small mindedness

When the all is your call. 

 

All and selfishness

Go hand in hand

So that in relation to self

We can all understand.

 

To give all is difficult

But to receive all, not so,

On one hand, all is my friend

On the other, all is my foe.

 

Jesus gave up all

And that all we appreciate,

But the all he expects of us

We continually berate.

 

Jesus is so unreasonable

To expect all from me,

And besides, I am human

I am sure he can see.

 

It is not as easy, you see,

When required to give all

As it is in receiving

When that all is our call.

 

Please note!

 

We have a difficulty

Understanding all

But God has

All understanding.

 

Stewart Russell © October 2019

 

My Household

 

 

My Household is now three

My daughter got up and left,

She found a man who married her

And now she feels at rest.

 

My son, my wife and me:

That’s the three that remain,

My son can stay as long as he likes;

On me he is no strain.

 

 

And besides, wifey is happy

To have two men around

Especially since the older man

Could soon be getting down.

 

He is pretty close to 70 now:

Considered a ripe old age,

No doubt she will need some help

To help him at that stage.

 

Already he is showing signs

That senior citizens display,

But they love and have much fun

Believing that is his way.

 

  

My wife, on the other hand,

She is pretty much like before,

She keeps very close tabs on me

Especially if I go near the door.

 

Old people do walk away

And then they become lost

So, my wife is taking no chances;

She protects me at all cost.

 

She is rarely not with me

Be it at home or on the road,

And if I am without her for too long

She always sends a code.

 

My son: he goes and comes

He is as free as a honey bee

But me, the older that I become

The less I can be free.

 

Wifey has some challenges

Mostly of a physical nature,

I am not one as you are thinking-

I trust you get the picture.

 

Old age pains, I assume

Since she too is getting old,

So, not to cause her anymore stress

I plan to do as I am told.

 

My son has a balding patch

At just thirty-eight years of age

I could still boast a full head of hair

Throughout my thirties stage.

 

Into my forties and fifties

No balding patch had I,

Check my photos for around that time

And you’d never say I lie.

 

It would be hard to find one

Showing the back of my head

But you know you could trust me

And take me at what I said.

 

  

Yes, once a household of four

Now a household of three

With an extra room I can sleep in

If wifey wants to be rid of me.

 

In the meantime, I give praise,

Praise and thanks to God

For all the blessings He’s given me

And because He is my all in all.

 

Stewart Russell © June 1, 2021

 

The Believer’s Covering

 

 

Every born again child

Is covered by the blood

Plus the Holy Spirit indwells him

And directs him for his good.

 

He needs no other covering

In this life or the one to come,

The Godhead is his covering

The Father, Spirit and Son.

 

If they three cannot guard him

Then pray, tell me who can?

Such protection is available

To every child, woman and man.

 

On a point of clarification

Let me make it particularly clear,

This is about the born again

And as such we need not fear.

 

A believer’s covering is in God

Not in somebody’s prayer,

Hence while prayer is important

We are in the Saviour’s care.

 

 

It is Jesus that died for us

And he that rose from the dead,

None among man could be found

To die in the sinner’s stead.

 

His life here is our example

But in heaven he’s our object

And as we look to him in prayer

He is our daily subject.

 

I do not mean prayer as a ritual

But prayer embedded in trust

Praying in consistent reliance

On our Saviour, the Lord Jesus.

 

He is the Shepherd of the sheep,

Of the sheep that are his own

And he has promised his sheep

Never to leave them alone.

 

Much hullabaloo is made

About deliverance after we’re saved

As though Jesus did not complete

The requirements his death had paid.

 

Hence there is many a deliverer

To whom we can go thereafter

Seeking complete deliverance,

Such is really a disaster.

As believers we must be careful

To trust in our Shepherd’s care,

To put all our faith in him alone

And never in anybody’s prayer.

 

Intent to listen to his voice

As his sheep are willing to do

And to follow wherever he leads

Keeping him always in our view.

 

With a steady gaze on him

Imperfect though that may be

But looking towards that day

When as he is, we shall see.

 

So in the meantime, a caution,

A caution we need to heed:

Put human leadership in perspective

We are born of incorruptible seed.

 

Trust no pastor or priest or Pope

For the covering that you need,

You already have that covering

If you are born again indeed.

 

Stewart Russell © February 2019

 

We Live What We Believe

 

We live what we believe

That is my view,

Stay with me a moment

Let me prove that to you.

 

Two main Worldviews:

I guess by now you know,

Creationists and Evolutionists

At times, a little mixture or so.

 

The issue of accountability

Is in the human domain,

Animals don’t regard this

My friend, do not be insane.

 

Animals move instinctively

It’s the survival of the fittest,

They kill only when threatened

With humans it’s not like this.

 

Let us look a little

At the idea of selfishness:

“Of all my mother’s children

I like myself the best.”

 

Number one is the “I”

All the rest line up behind,

It is me and my important others

Understand we are one of a kind.

It is down to my worldview

To which position I hold dear,

My belief determines my living

My goal is to make that clear.

 

If I believe I came by chance

Then chances are I’ll do anything,

Life is for living and merriment

By George, let me have my fling.

 

Let’s eat drink and be merry

For tomorrow we die,

Death beckons; that’s the end.

With Death we must comply.

 

You are fortunate to be here

Considering it’s by blind chance

So do all that you can do

To make Number One advance.

 

No accountability after this life

At the last breath that’s the end,

So end it if it gets too hard

There’s no hell to which to descend.

 

No judgment to anticipate

For after all there is no God,

Nothing and no one to fear

For the grim reaper ends it all.

 

But that is only one side

There is another side to consider,

If there’s an afterlife to come

Then death does not truly deliver.

 

If I am accountable to Someone

For the way I live this life

This would influence my behavior

To abstain from evil and strife.

 

Hence the one that believes in God

Lives the life that God dictates,

By faith he comes to know the Christ

And his former life forsakes.

 

His standing is in Christ’s perfection

Though his state is one of progress,

He stands on the account of Jesus

And God’s word to this attests.

 

Not in the righteousness of the law

But in the righteousness of Christ:

Such righteousness he avails to us

Through his redeeming sacrifice.

 

The life of the born-again

Conforms to the image of Christ,

He practises what he believes

Though his good works don’t suffice.

 

It’s not his works that saves him

But these works are the result

Of God’s glorious salvation

And not to be confused with a cult.

 

So we live out what we believe

I hope this clearly came out

And even those who don’t believe

Practise such without a doubt.

 

Stewart Russell © January 2019

 

 

Who’s Right?

 

Your right and my right

Cannot be right at any time,

Neither of the two is right

Neither yours or mine.

 

I know you are puzzled

By what I propose

But stop a minute, please,

And let you and me diagnose.

 

Notice what I said:

I said your right and mine

Not rights, please note,

At least, not at this time.

 

I make a proposition

And you oppose

And both argue our right

As though he alone knows.

 

Possession becomes the focus

As though we own the right,

“I am right and you are wrong,”

It becomes a verbal fight.

 

 

No one has the right

To own the right,

It’s a benchmark outside of us

To point us to the right.

 

So that when I become obsessed

As though it is my right,

It is at that time

I lose sight of the true light.

 

Often, we approach someone

That we deem should know,

“Would you please stop a while

And your view to us show?”

 

Enter right number three,

It’s more complex than before

And the asking goes on and on

Until someone closes the door.

 

One convinced against his opinion

Holds the same opinion still

So that when think you’ve won

It’s a misleading thrill.

 

No one owns the right

The right he cannot create

Even though in appearance

This is happening here of late.

 

I guess it’s really because

We confuse it with our rights

And so, we feel we have the right

To determine what is right.

 

There is a right and left,

There is a right and wrong,

The second is my focus,

Please don’t get me wrong.

 

 

The Bible is the benchmark

And who abides within is right,

It is God’s Holy Word

And the only true light.

 

All else is darkness

Regardless of whosoever's right,

If it has no base within the Word

Then that one is without sight.

 

The next time you argue

Remember, it is not your right,

Not your right or my right

But what God says is right.

 

Stewart Russell © March 2020