Sovereignty and Free Will

 

 

Concerning Sovereignty

There is only One,

History has its Emperors and kings

But they are long gone.

 

Pseudo sovereignty

Meaning a mere pretense

But never having ultimate control

Whatever their intent.

 

The Emperors of Rome

And the great kings of Israel:

They all suffered irreversible defeat

In their final battle.

 

The Presidents of today

And Prime Ministers as well

Are destined to lose their life battle

After their spell.

 

Death is appointed

For both great and small

And when death dials our number,

None can stall.

 

Pseudo sovereignty

Is all that we have got

And whether Emperor or pauper,

Death is our lot.

 

God is the only Sovereign

And there’s not another,

Don’t you dare consider the devil:

That deceptive usurper.

 

 

 

Now man has free will

Given to him by God

Meaning he has limited choice,

That is all.

 

He is not sovereign

And this is so very clear

For he lives for a period of time

And then disappears.

 

Man may choose

Whether to live or die

And this must be seen in two ways:

One being suicide.

 

Or he can remain dead

In his trespasses and sins

And refuse the gift of salvation

God offers to him.

 

Man can choose to work

Or idle away all day,

He can choose to become muted

Or have a say.

 

He can choose a job

And build a nice career

Or be a recluse and from people

Stay clear.

 

He can have a family,

I mean of his own

Or having been born into a family,

He can go off alone.

 

 

 

A Myriad choices

Are available to all

But understand choice is unlimited

Only to God.

 

God sets the limit

On the choices of man

And we can accept or reject Him

If we so plan.

 

BUT

 

There are consequences

To the choices we make

And these can be very heart wrenching

Like here of late.

 

 

 

Choices by our leaders

And important others

That put harsh measures in place

And cause great bother.

 

Nations against Nations

In skirmishes and war

Choosing weapons of destruction

To show their power.

 

Taking another’s resources

By sheer brute force:

The animals’ survival of the fittest

Now man’s recourse.

 

Changing their gender

As though this is possible

And then actually agitating for it,

Though reprehensible. 

 

Man is not a robot

But then, neither is God

And because He is the I AM that I AM

He is sovereign of all.

 

 

 

Creating Adam and Eve

God gave them a rule:

It was His way or the other way;

They could choose.

 

Think of a world

Without restrictive choice:

Wherein are no rules or regulations:

No regulating voice.

 

No reason, no empathy,

Just all is civil anarchy!

Surely God did not create the world

For this to be.

 

Hence a Sovereign voice

With ultimate control

That can limit the despicably wicked

And put evil on hold.

 

Thus, the reason for death

And the limit imposed,

I AM that I AM is the only Sovereignty

And none other comes close.

 

We can do as we like

But not for as long as we like

For Almighty God is in ultimate control

And will set things right.

 

Free will is limited

And this is without doubt

So, to rulers of countries and nations,

So is your clout.

 

Stewart Russell © November 10, 2025

 

What A Lie!

 

 

The Devil is a liar

I have heard believers say

Yet Satan has had much success

In getting us to go his way.

 

I have entitled this poem

“What A Lie”

And soon it will be clear to you

The reason why.

 

Two contrasting positions

And only one can be true:

The Genesis account must be

And not the Big Bang view.

 

Nothing travels like a lie

Especially one that is huge,

It starts with some scientist

Making science its groove.

 

Reason is clearly absent,

Common sense? Not even near!

Irrationality is the clutch

And folly is put in gear.

 

 

And there was nothing…

Then came a huge explosion,

Big Bang had arrived,

Thus, the grand delusion.

 

Started by you know who,

It was the Devil himself

And then follow science books,

Maybe one’s on your shelf.

 

If you must tell a lie,

I recall hearing someone say,

Tell a gigantic one

Then step out of the way.

 

Long after it’s proven wrong

It’ll still make the rounds

Just like the Big Bang theory

Moving by leaps and bounds.

 

Big Bang is the biggest lie

That ever was told

And to tell such a huge lie

One has to be bold.

 

Gaining more ground

Than the tried and proven facts,

Oh, what a lie!

Big Bang is just that! 

 

 

What a lie!

And here in second place

Is another colossal lie

Staring us in the face.

 

That one is not what one is

At the time of one’s birth

Would at a time not long ago

Generate much mirth.

 

Genitalia was the decider,

Whether girl or boy

And that sex and that gender

Would be for life deployed.

 

But along came the lie

And oh, what a lie!

I can be what gender I feel

And thus, the truth, deny.

 

What delusions of grandeur

Doth clog up one’s brain?

What feelings of the heart

Causing the mind to be lame?

 

 

Big Bang, however conceived,

Can never be a reality,

Neither can this colossal lie

We call gender fluidity.

 

Big bang is about confusion,

It is nothing organized,

So too is gender fluidity

And thus, should be despised.

 

It is really evil,

I know this sounds horrible

But it denies the Creator,

Get it straight, people!

 

Male and female

The Almighty created man

And chose to call that first union

By the name Adam.

 

Out of man came woman

But this was only at the first,

Ever since that first woman

This process was reversed.

 

A man cannot give birth,

Certainly, not naturally,

And a sperm generating woman

Would never be.

 

She may carry sperm

But she was not the source,

Quite naturally it required a man

And his ejaculative force.

 

 

These are two colossal lies

That have divided the world,

Both denying God as Creator

And His infallible Word.

 

Stewart Russell © January 28, 2023

 

Why Not Today?

 

Have you considered this

That today could be your last?

Where will you spend eternity

When this life is passed?

 

Will it be with the Saviour

Who died to make you whole

Or will it be with the devil

Who wants to damn your soul?

 

What is there to hold you back

From making the decision now

To give your life to Jesus

And in penitence to him bow?

 

Now is the acceptable time,

Of the future there is no guarantee

And even if there is tomorrow

You might not be around to see.

 

Permit me to be a little morbid

And press the point right home,

Many have an appointment with death

Today may be your own.

 

Then again it might not be

But you and I do not know,

It is better to be safe than sorry

I feel the urge to tell you so.

 

 

 

Today if you will hear His voice

Harden not your heart,

Give Christ access to your soul

Before from this life you part.

 

The initiation is very simple

But certainly not the life,

Spiritual backbone is essential

For the devil will unleash his strife.

 

It is a deceptive fallacy

That Christianity is for sissies,

My brother and sister I assure you

It’s beyond your abilities.

 

But in God all things are possible

Even a successful Christian life,

Once you give to him your hand

He’ll take you through the strife.

 

The fact of the matter is

In this life there will be trouble,

It doesn’t matter whose you are

It comes to all earth’s people.

 

The plus on the believer’s side

Is that the Holy Spirit dwells within,

He will nurture that believer

And guide him through thick or thin.

 

 

 

You can obtain this assurance

If you do not have it yet,

Just confess your sins to Jesus

The sin price he has already met.

 

Confess he’s the only Saviour

And thus, he’s the only way,

His arms are open to welcome you

Just accept him today.

 

If there were only one sinner

Jesus would still have come

To bring God’s wonderful salvation

To that one undeserving son.

 

There’s joy up in heaven

Over one sinner that repents,

Today you could be that sinner

Accept the Son that was sent.

 

 Stewart Russell © February 2018

 

Position Is Not All

 

 

 

They both held positions

Of great authority

But having betrayed that trust

Now share the same destiny.

 

No name shall I name

And I dare add, no blame

For it is not really in my power

To make such a claim.

 

Suffice it to be said, though,

Notoriety is not fame

And while both are well known

Infamy is their gain.

 

Assigned by the greatest

Yet, each in his own case

Was by his own selfish desire

Brought to the lowest place.

 

 

Position is not all

It’s responsibility that counts,

If you run afoul like these two

Then nothing amounts.

 

The first in the heavenlies

The second, right here on earth

But neither would be satisfied

Given his greedy thirst.

 

One desperately sought

To dethrone the Almighty God

But failed in that mission

And was exposed as a fraud.

 

The other was an accountant

Overcome with avarice

Whereupon to satisfy his greed

He took an unthinkable risk.

 

Both committed suicide

Though in different ways:

One challenged the “Most High”

The other ended his days.

 

 

Both await final sentence

One of them long in the grave,

The other pedals evil

As an unsuspecting knave.

 

One was to the Father

What the other was to the Son,

The latter’s time has ended

The other is still on the run.

 

The former moved the latter

To do the evil he did

And daily in the worldly market

For our souls he still bids.

 

His objective is to destroy

God’s elect if he can

But he will certainly fail again

According to God’s plan.

 

 

Position is not all

As these scoundrels found out

And concerning accountability

None should be in doubt.

 

Stewart Russell © September 7, 2021

 

Friend and Fiend

 

 

Friend and fiend

So look alike yet so different,

The former we adore

The latter we resent.

 

A friend we all need

Note the presence of the “r”,

A fiend without it

Simply means keep far.

 

A friend in need

Is a friend indeed,

A fiend in deed

Will take you out with speed.

 

Just a little coloration

Or discoloration, if you please,

And a fiend can look like a friend

While putting you at ease.

 

 

The outcome, however,

Would be none too nice,

That friendly pit-bull

Can grip you like a vice.

 

 

Friend and fiend

Like the colorful snake,

Reaching out to stroke it

You might become the late.

 

Look at the words again

And the single difference note,

The removal of the “r”

Is like “Murder She Wrote”.

 

That dastardly deed

Is often done by a friend,

Or, in fact, one that pretends

But is really a fiend.

 

Lord, teach me today

How to recognize a friend

So that I can tell the difference

Between a friend and a fiend.

 

 

The devil often appears

Like an angel of light

So that we won’t run away

On account of fright.

 

He is the fiend

That approaches like a friend

But he is not a friend

You will discover in the end.

 

One will fend for you

The other will offend,

One will be like a brother

The other will pretend.

 

 

They may look alike

But do not be deceived,

Look closely for the “r”

Or you may be aggrieved

 

Yes, they begin the same way

And they end alike

But a fiend is a terror

While a friend is a delight.

 

Stewart Russell © November 2019

 

The Bible Agrees???

 

 

 

The Bible agrees with who?

What do we really mean?

Or for that matter, with what,

Tell me what here is seen.

 

Perhaps you have not heard

This statement before

But follow me closely-

I assure you there is more.

 

Two engage in an argument

On a matter regarding theology:

One says, “the Bible agrees”

To establish his view firmly.

 

In other words,

“Check and you’d clearly see

That is, if you check carefully,

The Bible fully supports me.

 

The Bible totally agrees

With what I just said,

Thus, you have no alternative

But to agree with me instead.”

 

Kind of hitting below the belt

As the saying goes,

“I am the correct one here

And even the Bible knows.”

 

How to win the argument

Is what this is about

“And since the Bible agrees with me

I have the right to shout.”

 

Sounds kind of sound

Some will surely advance

But let me confess candidly to you

I take a different stance.

 

 

“The Bible agrees” implies

That it is not the primary source

But is dependent on another

As a matter of course.

 

This would be a person

Even if a what was implied,

And that God is relegated here

For sure could not be denied.

 

For since the Bible agrees,

God must essentially agree too,

After all, God’s Word is Himself

And presents a logical view.

 

So, we see the who

And the what one deems to be true

Using the agreement of the Word

To support his argued view.

 

The fact of the matter is

And so too is the Gospel truth,

The Bible agrees not with anyone

And is its own supporting proof.

 

 

God needs no support

Re our agreement or otherwise

For He is God Almighty

All-knowing and all-wise.

 

God is His own precedent

The only God uncaused,

Thus, all else was caused by Him

Even the Devil, king of frauds.

 

So, to say the Bible agrees

At most is self-aggrandizement

And for certain, in whatever case,

Is blatantly not evident.

 

Stewart Russell © July 16, 2023