Show Me in the Bible

 

 

Show me in the Bible

Is this too hard to ask?

When you give me your position,

Is this a herculean task?

 

Show me in the Bible

This is my benchmark

And it should be yours as well

From the very start.

 

Show me in the Bible

Not some commentary,

Commentaries were not inspired

And this we need to see.

 

Bible commentaries

Are scholastic positions

But they don’t replace the Word

In any form or fashion.

 

 

Show me in the Bible

Because unless you do,

You can talk all day and all night

And not alter my view.

 

The Bible is God’s Word,

The God-breathe Word

And to no other book I know of

Does it ever defer.

 

Some are very well read

In Hebrew and in Greek

But I dare to trust the Holy Spirit

Because I know he speaks.

 

He speaks in the Word,

He opens up the truth

And he uses this same very Word

To supply the needed proof.

 

Show me in the Bible

Not a denomination

For all denominational sects

Sit on interpretation.

 

 

Show me in the Bible

Both chapter and verse,

It’s not your opinion I am after

Or how well rehearsed.

 

Show me in the Bible

Just like Jesus showed

Those two distraught disciples

On the Emmaus Road.

 

Beginning at Moses

And all of the prophets

Jesus showed them the word

And himself in it.

 

I stand on the Word

For all else is sinking sand

But the Rock that is Christ Jesus,

Secures as only he can.

 

Show me in the Bible

And you should use it too

For the unadulterated Holy Word

Is the God's eye view.

 

It points us to God

And shows us who we are:

Sinners deserving of damnation

Adrift from God by far.

 

But there is a Saviour

From God the Father came

To redeem us from damnation

By his precious name.

 

John chapter 3 verse 16

See it in the Bible,

God’s love through Jesus Christ

Was offered to all peoples.

 

Yes, there is a Saviour

Who from the Father came;

From the dead he rose triumphant,

Glory to his name!

 

 

Show me in the Bible

And I’ll be satisfied

For like that shepherd-king of old,

God’s word is my guide.

 

Stewart Russell © August 28, 2024

 

The Conversation

 

 

I was privy to a conversation

Between the Saviour and Satan,

I am not writing about Job

So you need to really listen.

 

It is not recorded in the Bible

Actually, it is in my head,

That is why you need to listen

I will tell you what was said.

 

I am a struggler, as you know,

And I don’t often get it right

But there is one thing I can tell you

I don’t give up without a fight.

 

There is a chance I might give in

But don’t you dare relax

For once there is an opening

Be assured, I’ll be right back.

 

 

The conversation went like this

With Satan the first to speak,

He went to Jesus boasting

That I was still his sheep.

 

I was still doing wrong things

In fact, some serious sins, he accused

And I was really a waste of time

And God’s way I had refused.

 

He presented a very long list

Of commissions and omissions

And suggested to my Saviour, Jesus,

There was no fellowship or union.

 

He was long and very detailed

Not a sin he had omitted

Re my thoughts and re my actions

Quite a few I had committed.

 

 

To be very honest with you

Much that he said was very true

And if it were me that had to judge

Long ago I would have been through.

 

“Quite true,” Jesus said to Satan,

“You have itemized his deeds

But why haven’t you examined his heart

Ever since he first believed?

 

That is out of your league,

You judge by what appears,

But I know the hearts of all my sheep

And for them all I care.

 

I chasten them whenever they fall

But I restore them also

And remind them I’ll never forsake them

And daily this I show.

 

They know that they are mine

Even though they sometimes doubt,

They carry my brand of ownership

And you cannot rub it out.

 

This one that you accuse

Has come a mighty long way

And though he struggles more than most

He is not a permanent stray.

 

You judge him on his performance

But I appraise his heart,

In his heart he deeply loves me

And no one can tear us apart.”

 

With that Satan slunk away

His plan had definitely not worked,

However, I knew he would come again

Because that is how Satan works.

 

Isn’t it wonderful to know

That we are covered by Jesus’ blood,

Shed on that cross at Calvary

Beneath which his slayers stood?

 

Forgiven, pardoned and set free

And saved forever more,

Abundant life in the here and now

And so much more in store.

 

Stewart Russell © February 12, 2021

 

Jesus All in All

 

 

What does it really mean

Jesus our all in all?

Well, I will give you as much

As I can quickly recall.

 

And it is strange

Re the roles he fulfilled

For they are rather conflicting

Yet complementary still.

 

He is the shepherd

And he is also the sheep,

That he can be both of these

Is profound and deep.

 

 

He identified with both

As shepherd and lamb

And as to his care and protection

The ewe yet a ram.

 

He knew the sheep

Being a lamb himself

And as himself the shepherd,

He cared for its health.

 

He is the fold

And the door to the fold

And to declare that he is both

Seems rather bold.

 

The born-again child

Becomes one with Christ

And since he is also the door,

This more that suffice.

 

 

Jesus is the door

As well as the enclosure

Sustaining the sheep in himself

As Shepherd and Saviour.

 

Jesus is the sacrificer

As well as the sacrifice,

And the shedding of his own blood

Doth more than suffice.

 

He sacrificed his life

And he took it up again

Having satisfied his own demand

As he took our blame.

 

The lamb without spot

In whom was no sin

As both sacrificer and sacrifice,

Now calls all to him.

 

 

Look nowhere else

For whatever you need,

Jesus, both shepherd and lamb,

Is our all in all indeed.

 

Stewart Russell © July 29, 2024

 

A Feeding Trough

 

 

Just a feeding trough,

Nothing glamourous

And in my immediate environ

The smell is obnoxious.

 

I attract animals

Only by what’s in me

And if you said their feed,

I’d say exactly.

 

You could well imagine

My great surprise

When I was the one chosen

To hold a child.

 

A special child

I soon came to find out,

As the Saviour of the world

I had no doubt.

 

 

I felt humbled,

As I was only a manger

And they selected lowly me

To bear the Saviour.

 

 

Crudely fashioned

Just like that cruel cross

That he would be crucified on

To pay sin’s cost.

 

Sin’s wages, his death,

Man’s redemption

Through Jesus’ death, burial

And resurrection.

 

 

And I, his birth,

The cross, his death,

Both of us playing a part

In God’s rest.

 

A rest for all

That trust in God

For their eternal salvation

After Adam’s fall.

 

 

I was transformed

Just like the cross

And elevated to much more

Than a feeding trough.

 

Most had their day

And so did I

On that first Christmas Day

When God drew nigh.

 

Stewart Russell © December 11, 2024

 

Shepherds Quaked

 

 

Out on a lowly hill

While their sheep attending

Shepherds quaked in great fear

Seeing angels descending.

 

“What could this mean?”

They thought to themselves

For surely it couldn’t be Santa

And his fairy tale elves.

 

Tales of Santa Clause

Was not back then rife

So why the presence of these angels

At this time in their life?

 

Fearing the worst

They huddled together

When words of the angels hinted

No need to bother.

 

 

“Fear not,” they said,

Stilling the shepherd’s fear,

And told to them the promise

We still hold dear.

 

For God so loved

That He selflessly gave

His only begotten Son, Jesus,

Our lives to save.

 

In a manger he lay

Right up the shepherd’s street

For unhindered they could go

And at Emmanuel peep.

 

I used peep for rhyme

But their eyes feasted

On the King of kings, Lord of lords

Whom they had visited.

 

 

With fear they had quaked

But not for long,

“Let us go and see,” they said,

Reminding us of a song…

 

A song we love to sing

At this yuletide season

About who it was that came

As well as the reason.

 

“While shepherds watched,

All seated on the ground”,

From heaven there came singing

As angels came down.

 

Shepherds quaked

At that wondrous sight,

When into this world of darkness

Came Jesus, the Light. 

 

To you, is born this day,

In the city of David,

The Saviour,

Who is Christ the Lord.

 

They had endured long

Expecting the Messiah

But in fullness of time he came,

Sing Alleluia.

 

Stewart Russell © December 9, 2024

 

The Law and the Life

 

 

The law said I must die

For the wages of sin is death

Jesus died that I might have life

Life in abundance and spiritual health

 

The law was my schoolmaster

That pointed out all my sin

Jesus was the teacher

That cleansed my soul within

 

The law was a mission impossible

I could never ever achieve

Jesus accomplished that mission

From its task I’ve been relieved

 

The law could show me my sin

But could not help me avoid it

Jesus filled my heart

And righteousness became my habit

 

The law was bent on punishment

For all that disobeyed

Jesus showed me forgiveness

And leads along life’s way

 

The law was an ancient document

Written on tablets of stone

Jesus is the law of my heart

For my soul his blood atoned

 

 

The law was to bring me to Christ

He is the Saviour of the World

Jesus is the only Saviour

And I take him at his word

 

The law could not sympathise

Every time I had fallen short

Jesus knows my every weakness

And me he calmly exhorts

 

The law was unable to save

Even though some in it did boast

Jesus is my eternal solution

And he saved me to the uttermost

 

The law could never satisfy

Even though frequently repeated

Jesus satisfies my every need

And for me that matter is completed

 

The law was unable to secure

My place in the heavenly throng

Jesus wrote my name in heaven’s book

After forgiving all my wrong

 

 

The law was merely a shadow

Just a sign of those things to come

Jesus became the fulfillment

And my entry to the heavenly kingdom

 

The law was just a type

It was not the end all of God’s dealing

Jesus is the only prototype

My salvation in the Christ revealing

 

The law dealt out death

But yet pointed me to the Life

Who for all of time eliminated death

Through his once for all sacrifice.

 

Stewart Russell © June 23, 2022

 

Lincoln Harris My Friend

 

 

Saved by grace, saved by grace,

Lincoln Harris was saved by grace,

Thus, he has gone to be with his Saviour

Having completed his earthly race.

 

Lincoln, Stephen and Beverley,

What’s common about these three?

They are friends of mine only recently deceased

And have had a huge influence on me.

 

  

Another trio comes to my mind

That includes Lincoln Harris again:

Lincoln, Mark and Daniel:

In electronics they made their name.

 

It is here I single out Lincoln

It is here Lincoln became my friend

And it is only after he migrated to Cayman

That our constant meeting would end.

 

 

In the vicinity where I taught

I frequented two repair shops:

One was Olliver Webster’s motor mechanics

And Lincoln et al operated at this spot.

 

They all became my friends

And catered to all my repair needs

But Lincoln and Olliver went beyond

And both became friends indeed.

 

There were many and long conversations

From politics to sports and of life,

And at those times we disagreed

It was always without strife.

 

Lincoln’s main area was football

And about this game he knew a lot,

He had even played for a local team

Which was not far from the top.

 

How many goals he scored I do not know

Or even if he scored at all,

What I do know is he gave it his best

And seldom below this would he fall.

 

Lincoln was committed to what he did

He did so by lip and walk

And I can categorically state,

His walk had matched his talk.

 

He was by no means a hypocrite

But he was who he appeared to be,

This to my mind was Lincoln’s hallmark

And it was never difficult to see.

 

 

One of the things that thrilled me

Was when he became a “born-again”,

Of course, we know that when Jesus comes in

There is an obvious change.

 

Such was the case with Lincoln

From all the reports I had received,

It appears he grew by leaps and bounds

And these reports I believe.

 

He even reached out more to people

And no doubt especially to the young,

And he did this with the backing of church

And this helped to make him strong.

 

I am still very grieved at his passing

As I am for my other two friends

But I am assured by our blessed Saviour

That death is not the end.

 

This for me is a great consolation,

It brings comfort to my soul

To know that my friend, Lincoln Harris,

Is forever within Christ’s fold.

 

For having said yes to the Saviour

He is now and forever secure

And I believe we have that assurance

That we will meet on the golden shore.

 

Thanks to the blessed Trinity

For having given to us Lincoln

And praise and glory to Almighty God

For our eventual heavenly welcome!

 

I thank God for the wife He gave him

She too has become my friend,

I convey to her and the family deepest sympathy

From my wife and family at this end.

 

Stewart Russell © January 22, 2022

 

Not One But Four

 

 

I guess you must be wondering

What this title means,

Well read on a little further

And I will develop the scene.

 

Actually, I had seen this before

But it did not fully register

But this morning as I sat reading

I grasped the total picture.

 

Not one, but four miracles,

However, we usually focus on two

That is: Jesus walking on water

And Peter whom he rescued.

 

After feeding the five thousand

Jesus went into a mount to pray,

His disciples crossed the Galilee

This being at the end of the day.

 

An account is given in Matthew

And in the 6^th chapter of John

Mark also records the event

That occurred before the dawn.

 

 

In the midst of a terrible storm

Jesus came walking on the water,

The disciples were sorely afraid

Anticipating pending disaster.

 

Jesus calmed their trouble nerves

With his reassuring word

“It is I, be not afraid,”

These sailors had all heard.

 

“If it be you,” Peter challenged

“Permit me to come to you.”

Jesus agreed and Peter complied

So that he walked on water too.

 

As long as he looked at Jesus

His adventure went quite well

But suddenly remembering the storm

In his fear of drowning, he yelled.

 

 

“Lord save me!” Peter cried,

And Jesus took him by the hand

And as soon as they entered the boat

The winds ceased as though by plan.

 

A worship service broke out

“Of a truth this is God’s Son.”

This they acknowledged in praise

But the fourth miracle was to come.

 

Immediately they were ferried

From the middle of the sea to the land,

In the twinkling of an eye

Faster than the wave of a hand.

 

Jesus went to them on the water

Peter’s rescue was number two,

The winds and waves ceased their fury

As though they awaited a cue.

 

Number four is often missed

While two of the others are the focus

But instantaneous migration

Can only be done by Jesus.

 

His first coming was such a case

So will his second coming be

In spite of the distance heaven is

When he comes the world will see.

 

Not one but four:

Each miracle shows an attribute,

The Creator, Saviour and very God

Whom none can ever refute.

 

Stewart Russell © March 2019