Pray Rather than Worry

 

 

Pray rather than worry

Worry results from fear,

Fear is a plain case of unbelief

So is worrying prayer.

 

Pray rather than worry

Worry is unbelief,

Unbelief says that God is unable

To bring needed relief.

 

Pray rather than worry

Worry brings on stress,

Stress when not properly managed

Is feeling less blessed.

 

 

 

Pray rather than worry

Worry is double-minded,

The apostle James forbids this;

Please be reminded.

 

Pray rather than worry

Worry makes it worse

Whatever our problem is at the time

As though it’s a curse.

 

Pray rather than worry

Worry is not faith,

Search worry all the way through;

There is not a trace.

 

 

 

Pray rather than worry

Worry is frustrating,

You will pray for hours on end

Without ever receiving.

 

Pray rather than worry

Worry is a force,

If this is the reason why you pray

Then Satan is the source.

 

Pray rather than worry

Worry is not trusting,

Pray in simple faith believing

That God is hearing.

 

 

 

Prayer is often worry

That brings us false relief,

This is believing with much prayer

We will get release.

 

Put it all in God’s hands

Whatever is the matter

And dare my sister to leave it there

With a little less chatter.

 

Let not prayer be chatter

Going on and on and on

As though hoping for God to return

From wherever He has gone.

 

Gone on a long journey

With no return in sight

Just like how the prophets of Baal

Engaged in futile fight.

 

Slashing, shouting, striving

But to no avail,

The god, to whom they often prayed

Had repeatedly failed.

 

 

 

Pray rather than worry

But with childlike trust

To God the Father that indwells us

In the name of Jesus.

 

Stewart Russell © November 21, 2025

 

Seen in the Old Testament

 

 

My wife was barren

And we had not a child,

In the day that we lived

She was greatly despised.

 

But all that would change

When the angel appeared

Though for my wife

It was particularly weird.

 

She related it to me

What the man of God told,

To us having a child

Would be a joy to behold.

 

So, I intreated the Lord,

Let the man come again

And he answered my prayer,

It was not in vain.

 

I inquired of him

How we should order the child,

His instructions were precise

And we willingly complied.

 

I invited him to lunch

Which he politely refused

Then I asked him his name

But he was none too enthused.

 

He asked why I should know

Seeing it was a secret

So, I offered up a burnt offering

To show my respect.

What I saw next

Caused us to fall to the ground,

The man ascended in the flame

And was no longer around.

 

With that I knew

It was the angel of the Lord

“We shall surely die,” I said,

“For we had seen God.”

 

My wife disagreed

Since the offering was received,

And the things he had told us

We definitely believed.

 

We saw him too

We knew it was the Lord,

Face to face we saw him

Indeed, it was God.

 

In the form of His Son

As the Lord, Jesus Christ,

He appeared on to us

And that really sufficed.

 

One of the many times

In the Old Testament

We were privileged to see the Lord

And we were content.

 

If a man looks on God’s face

He would surely die

But Jesus is the firmament,

On him we can rely.

 

“If a man has seen me,

He has seen the Father.”

These words of Jesus convey

No need to bother.

 

 

Even as the firmament

Protects us from the sun

We are shielded from God’s wrath

Because of His Son.

 

They saw him too

Moses, Manoah and others,

And when they did

They also saw the Father.

 

Stewart Russell © February 2020

 

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 Child Is Not the Man

 

 

 

“He won’t be any better,

He will be just like his dad.”

And the way in which it was said

You know his dad was bad.

 

But alas, the prediction failed,

He was nothing like his dad

And even the ones that predicted ill,

They were also glad.

 

The reverse was also true

But still a difference in the trend:

A child who had a good father

Still found the druggies’ den.

 

The child is not the man:

This needs to be emphasized

And what is always expected

Is not always realized.

 

I have a very good friend

Who, as a child, was quite disgusting

But throughout his adult life

His achievements are amazing.

 

I would not take the time now

To spell out those achievements

But suffice it to be said,

Absent is that disgusting intent.

 

He is often misunderstood

And I think in some cases envied,

Some appear somewhat mystified

At their unfulfilled prophecies. 

 

The man these “seers” expected

That child has never become

Instead, contrary to their predictions,

He became a profitable son.

 

Many have known the child

But the man they do not know,

He does not fit in to their category

Re: the phrase “I told you so”.

 

For had he continued on the path

He trod in his childhood days

These “seers” would feel vindicated

In predicting another stray.

 

I once stood in his defense

On an occasion he was castigated,

The information that was relayed

Was clearly fabricated.

 

 

“You don’t know the man!”

Was my unreserved reprimand

For many may have known the child

But they do not know the man.

 

The man projected in the child

Is not the man the “seers” see

And they are extremely mystified

In the man he turned out to be.

 

As an educator for four decades

I have seen it go both ways:

Starting out bad becoming good

Or the good becoming strays.

 

For me the consolation is:

The former out numbers the latter

For when the good becomes the stray

For society, this is a grave matter.

 

 

The child is not the man

However good or bad a child he be,

And when all is said and done

We can only wait and see.

 

Stewart Russell © May 26, 2021

 

If not Jesus, Who?

 

 

If Jesus cannot save his sheep

Tell me, who can?

Doesn’t it sound a little ludicrous

Considering salvation’s plan?

 

The preacher certainly can’t

Nor the dedicated pastor,

The evangelist can preach forever

But he is not the Saviour.

 

The prophet can prophesy

And the counsellor can assure,

The apostle may stir the people

But can’t open heaven’s door.

 

It is true Jesus waits to enter

And the sinner must open the door,

But it is the Father that draws:

No less and no more.

 

It is the Saviour, Christ Jesus,

That effects our salvation

And in concert with God and the Spirit

Completes our redemption.

 

None can come to the Father

Except through the Son

And them that come to the Son,

The Father draws every one.

 

 

 

So, if Jesus cannot save,

Tell me in all seriousness, who can

When it is Jesus that died

To effect redemption’s plan?

 

Nothing is impossible with God;

That is, nothing that He wills,

And anything that He has done

He is able to do still.

 

None that comes to Christ

He will ever cast out

And His word is eternally reliable

And this is without a doubt.

 

None that Jesus saves

Can in no wise be lost,

He paid sin’s price on Mount Calvary

On that middle cross.

 

There were other crosses too

One to the left and to the right

And one of the thieves hanging there

Received his spiritual sight.

 

 

Imagine him calling on Jesus

Minutes before Jesus died

And there receiving eternal life

From Jesus, the crucified.

 

If not Jesus, who can?

There is none other who can,

Only Jesus can unlock the gate

To let in a penitent man.

 

Such a one shall not perish

But has everlasting life

And the Father gives this assurance

On account of Jesus Christ.

 

  

Stewart Russell © February 12, 2022

 

Of Bread and Crumbs

 

 

If it tastes as good as it smells

It’ll take just a crumb,

Just a crumb or two to prove

My assertion is not dumb.

 

The crumb tastes no different

From the entire bread

And if I couldn’t have the loaf

I’d have a crumb instead.

 

Or maybe two or three

As they fall from the table,

After all, bread is the staff of life

That means, it’s a staple.

 

And so, she approached Jesus

With her critical request,

She wanted healing for her daughter

That was not at her best.

 

At first, he ignored her,

At least, that’s how it appeared

But she was persistent

About her daughter’s welfare.

 

The disciples were annoyed

And wished she be sent away

And the answer Jesus gave to her

Said it was not her day.

 

He had come to Israel’s house

And she was of the Greeks,

Most would have gone away

But she continued to speak.

 

 

Ignored the first time

Abruptly brushed off the second,

This time she knelt and worshipped him

Hoping something would happen.

 

The answer Jesus gave her

To me seemed rather harsh

And I must confess if it were me

I’d surely have gasped.

 

Did he call her a dog?

Goodness gracious, but why?

Then again, that he needed rest,

None would dare deny.

 

After all, he was human then

And could crack under strain

And people just kept on coming

Again, and again.

 

This may have been so

For the disciples and all others

But in the case of Jesus

It was a different matter.

 

 

A lesson was truly unfolding

For them and for us,

It was what great faith looks like

As one responds to Jesus.

 

This woman was focused

And to me this is clear

As she demonstrated to all and sundry

A faith greater than her fear.

 

The bread was not for her

The disciples would have said,

And Jesus mirrored their feelings

As the woman pled.

 

You would recall that they said

To send her away

But what hope would she have had

When Jesus is the way?

 

If they learnt the lesson then

I really cannot tell

But Jesus commended the woman

And made her daughter well.

 

She had had a demon

But didn’t we all

Until we put faith in Jesus Christ

And were drawn to God.

 

One way to God the Father

And it’s through Jesus the Son,

For both Jew and Gentile

In one predetermined kingdom.

 

Herein is the lesson

Re the lost house of Israel,

In Abraham’s seed all will be blessed

Meaning all earth’s people.

 

Of Jews, Gentiles and Greeks

And of Syro-Phoenicia too,

Like this woman and her daughter

And like me and you.

 

Jesus commended her faith,

It was of the persistent type

But understand Jesus did the healing

Not some emotional hype.

 

While faith is important

It does not replace God,

God must always be faith’s object,

Beware of Satan the Fraud.

 

 

The bread was for the children

But not merely the Jews

And this miracle sent this signal

Though many Jews refused.

 

They that come to Christ

He will in no way refuse

And it matters not their ethnicity

Be they Germans or Jews.

 

Despise not the crumbs

They’re the same quality as the bread,

I believe not a crumb was wasted

When Jesus thousands fed?

 

Jesus is the living bread

That came to us from heaven

And they that live by his every word

Are eternally forgiven.

 

Stewart Russell © April 29, 2024