Death Conquered

 

 

The phenomenon that is death

 We do not understand,

Yet its evidence is seen

All across the land.

 

Old and young, small and great, 

The rich and the poor too,

It matters not who you are, 

Some day it'll come to you.

 

But glory to God 

Who has removed its sting!

Of a glorious resurrection 

We can now sing.

 

The old and young, small and great, 

The rich and the poor too

Can take comfort in the Saviour,

This is true.

 

He died and so with Him 

We died as well

Thus, as He lives we live, 

His word tells.

 

That death may be conquered 

Once and for all,

Isn't it great that your loved one 

Answered His call?

 

So, weep if you must, 

Not like those without hope,

For in Christ Jesus 

You know you can cope.

 

By Lazarus' tomb He wept, 

Though not in vain

To assure you today 

He identifies with your pain.

 

Stewart Russell © 2008

What's Your Verdict?

  

 

The gold says King of kings,

The frankincense: High Priest second to none,

The myrrh, the death he would die

First advent of God’s Son.

 

Mary, his pregnant mother,

Was told by God’s messenger, Gabriel,

Joseph, in a vision while he slept,

Was informed by another angel.

 

They had to go to Bethlehem

As a Roman census required,

There they settle for accommodation

That was less than they desired.

 

An innkeeper made room in a stable

The animals gave up their trough,

Emmanuel, meaning God is with us,

Had come from heaven aloft.

 

The animals, they stood in awe

Their Creator had come to earth,

And, if only they could speak,

They would tell of Jesus’ birth.

 

 

The angels announced his arrival

The shepherds received their word,

The wise men had travelled from afar

Hence, Herod had also heard.

 

Simeon held Jesus in his arms

Anna’s waiting was vindicated,

The wise men returned another way

While jealous Herod waited.

 

A massacre of Hebrew males

Of just two years and under,

Herod’s attempt to kill the Messiah

And give vent to his livid anger.

 

Your Honour, I have presented,

A case for the birth of Christ,

The foregoing bears clear evidence

And should quite easily suffice.

 

But should you need more proof

Consult his written Word

Which he by the Holy Spirit authored

And by which many have heard.

 

 

I await your verdict, Your Honour,

What I have presented is truth,

I have confidence in your judgment

Given these reliable proofs.

 

And the verdict is, dear people,

Jesus did come to earth

And that is why for thousands of years

We celebrate his birth.

 

He had to be born to have lived

He had to live to have died,

He had to be entombed to have risen

And in his resurrection, I abide.

 

In as much as he died, I died,

In as much as he arose, I am raised,

And because of his Spirit that lives in me,

I cannot help but give him praise.

 

 

And the verdict is, I repeat,

Christ did come to save such as I

And in the light of such evidence

Only a fool would dare deny.

 

Stewart Russell © December 11, 2021

 

Not Out of My Mind

 

 

I’m not out of my mind

Only half way there,

Some call me half-mad

But I don’t particularly care.

 

I have been like this

For a good while now

But in a world of mad people

I have managed somehow.

 

Do I miss the lost half?

Not ever,

Would I seek after it?

No, never.

 

Why not, I hear you ask,

The answer is very simple,

I have half more than you

And most other people.

 

Out of my mind?

No, just the useless half,

I still have that part

That makes me laugh.

 

If you no longer laugh

You’ve lost the critical half,

You are a raft in life’s ocean

Without an oar or mast.

 

To lose this half

Is to lose all your mind,

This half makes you laugh

Even when you are in a bind.

 

Laughing at yourself

Is one of the evidences

And by the way, even in that bind

You can still rest.

  

Out of my mind?

How would you tell

If you have totally lost yours

And cannot be well?

 

Just imagine this!

The mad assessing the half-mad,

If that’s how we are operating

Then things are really bad.

 

Then the mad will rule

And the half-mad will serve...

Breaking News! That’s what it is,

The last news I’ve heard.

 

Now you’ve stop laughing

You’ve joined the totally mad,

No appreciation for a joke

That is very sad.

 

Stewart Russell © November 1, 2020

 

Que Sera Sera

What will be will be

It must be so,

What must be must be

Who are we to know?

It is its own evidence

It’s a historic fact

And that the fact occurred

We can’t change that

But “what-if” so an so

Is good for argument

But “what-if” did not occur

“What-if” is no event.

If “what-if” could happen

History would change

And most of what we know

We would rearrange.

I would go and undo

The things I have done

And my race would differ

From the one I have run.

A loved one that’s passed

I would bring back

And by using a “what-if”

That would be a fact.

But that can’t happen

For what will be will be,

Thank God Almighty

The future we cannot see.

For had we seen the future

What would we have done?

We would run the same

As we have run.

Prophecy changes nothing

It just states the fact,

The future becomes history

And we can’t change that.

  

What will be will be

Why can’t we see that?

The future must happen

History records that fact.

But the consolation is

We cannot see the future,

None but God does;

He sees the entire picture.

His Word admonishes

That we make the choice

Of taking Jesus as Saviour

And listening to his voice.

Some things will happen

The Bible is clear

But the born again child of God

Has no need to fear.

For prophecy is history

That is written down,

God doesn’t make it happen

It will come around.

The last verse is critical

Please understand

God does not do evil,

The future is not His plan.

Look the Bible through

And you will see

God has always countered evil

As shown in history.

What will be will be

That is very true

But you still have a choice:

There is something you can do.

It’s a choice for eternal life

And you can do it today,

Take Jesus as your Saviour

And follow in his way.

For you can’t change the future-

That you cannot do,

But if you take Jesus

God will change you.

What will be will be

Need not concern me,

I have taken Jesus as Saviour

And he is my destiny.

Stewart Russell © October 2018

Unpacking Romans 10 verse 10

Faith without works is dead

But salvation is of the heart,

Romans chapter 10 verse 10

Would be a good place to start.

It is evidential of an instance

When salvation actually begins,

There is a precise point in time

When one is saved from sin.

For with the heart

Man believes unto righteousness

And with the mouth

Confession is made unto salvation.

I make no claims to brilliance

And I am not a scholar of Greek

So while you may disagree with me

We must let the Bible speak.

For if I can’t trust what I read

From the pages of God’s Word

Then Christianity is a waste of time

And what we believe is absurd.

It is with the heart the Bible says

That a God-relationship begins;

When I believe the Gospel message

At that point I am saved from sin.

In Acts chapter 16, verse 30

Life’s vital question is asked:

The Philippian jailer clearly believed

That he had to perform some task.

“What must I do,” he pondered

“That I may receive salvation?”

Quite obviously from his question

Some action was his perception.

The answer was not anticipated

It was nowhere in his thoughts:

“Just believe.” the Apostle said

And salvation to him was brought.

  

No action initiates salvation

There are no indulgences or behavior,

Just believe on the Lord Jesus Christ

He alone is the Saviour.

For with the heart

Man believes unto righteousness

And with the mouth

Confession is made unto salvation.

The confession intrinsically motivated

By what has already been wrought

Compels the new believer to testify

To the deliverance that Christ bought.

A right relationship with God

Paid for with the Saviour’s blood,

Yes, a sinner believes unto salvation

And not by doing anything good.

But faith without works is dead

Maybe you have heard of stillborn,

If you have never confessed Jesus

This is your state so be warned!

For if indeed Christ lives within

Though one will occasionally slip

Evidence will be seen of this reality

In a believer’s life and lip.

Salvation is not sustained by doing

But rather on the fact of being

Faith without works is dead

If no evidence the world is seeing.

Stewart Russell © November 2018