December 4th

 

 

December 4^th is where we are,

How did we get here so fast?

It was like yesterday the year began

And 11 months have passed.

 

December 4^th is where we are,

And Christmas is drawing nigh,

The roads have become extremely busy

As the vehicles thunder by.

 

December 4^th is where we are

And the countdown is truly on,

Some have already started to shop

Unlike in years gone.

 

Back then was the excitement

In trying to cut it close

But perhaps being more youthful then

They could join the droves.

 

 

 

December 4^th is where we are

In a year of ups and downs

But with Christmas just around the bend

Smiles have replaced frowns.

 

There are chirpy good mornings

And excuse me if you please,

And the spirit of the festive goodwill

Brings temporary ease.

 

 

 

December 4^th is where we are

We give God thanks and praise,

It’s because of Him we are still alive

So, to Him our voices raise.

 

Thank you, Lord, for this day

And the blessed gift of life,

Fill our hearts with your Shalom peace

And protect us from strife.

 

Stewart Russell © December 4, 2025

 

God’s Divine Pleasure

 

 

In burnt offerings and sacrifices

God had no pleasure

But it pleased Him to bruise the one

He inestimably treasured.

 

Burnt offerings and sacrifices

Were required by the law

But in no way were these perfect

Rather, they were flawed.

 

God’s divine pleasure

Was demonstrated in His Son

And whose once and for all sacrifice

Was for everyone.

 

“Father, prepare me a body

That I may die for lost mankind”

Is not in the Holy Scriptures;

This you will never find.

 

“Sacrifice and offering

Thou wouldst not

But a body hast thou prepared me.”

Hebrews 10:5 is the spot.

 

In the death of His only Son

God has derived divine pleasure

And the sacrifice contained therein

Is beyond human measure.

 

 

Yet it pleased the LORD

To bruise him

And in this sacrificing of himself,

He became an offering for sin.

 

What a way to find pleasure!

In a way none of us would so do,

Not my precious son or daughter

And neither would you.

 

But it surely pleased God

As the Bible clearly points out

And that’s why Jesus is the only way

And this is without doubt.

 

And it surely pleases God

When we believe on Jesus Christ,

The Son in whom the Father delights

Is our atoning sacrifice.

 

God’s pleasure in His Son

Is to His children extended

And so, it is God’s divine pleasure

To save all that have repented.

 

 

Not one of them will He lose

That comes to Him by faith,

And who in His begotten Son believes

And takes hold of saving grace.

 

God was pleased to bruise him,

Jesus Christ His Son

That the “whosoever will” can be

Children of His kingdom.

  

Stewart Russell © December 5, 2023

 

Momentarily Distracted

 

 

When he learnt it was the master

His confidence began to grow

So out of the boat he stepped

And to the Master started to go.

 

He dared to prove the Master

When instructed to do just that

And so, putting fear aside

His assumption became the fact.

 

For he had rightly assumed

That if it were the Lord

He could go on the water to him

By just stepping out on his word.

 

What absurdity implied!

Stepping out on a word,

Who had ever seen such before?

This was really absurd.

 

That is the expressed opinion

The anticipation of the skeptic

Who after all that he has seen

Is still the doubting critic.

 

So let us put him aside

And deal with the matter at hand

As Peter makes his way to the Master

Guided by the Master’s plan.

 

 

He walks on the water to Jesus

Upon the raging sea,

It is no different from when he started

But he is distracted momentarily.

 

It is like the learner rider

Thinking that daddy is still there

But glancing back loses her balance

And wobbles because of fear.

 

O, she was doing quite well

Unaware she was actually riding,

Though he no longer held the saddle

In him she was still confiding.

 

However, she did not fall

Since daddy was still nearby

And his reassuring hand stuck out

And her falling he denied.

 

Such too was Peter’s case

When he became distracted

And momentarily looking at the wind

Peter fearfully reacted.

 

 

But Jesus was on the spot

And stretched out a reassuring hand,

Peter was rescued from the deep

And soon they were on the land.

 

Such too, is our daily walk

And often times we are distracted

But our faithful guide is ever present

And through him we are protected.

 

Like his Father, he is faithful

And the Holy Spirit is faithful too,

And when we are momentarily distracted

They are there for me and you.

 

Stewart Russell © September 2019

 

Neither Is A Measure

 

 

Psalm 90:4

 

For a thousand years in thy sight

are but as yesterday when it is past,

and as a watch in the night.

 

2 Peter 3:8

 

But, beloved,

be not ignorant of this one thing,

that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years,

and a thousand years as one day.

 

Neither of these quotations

Was spoken by the Lord

Although it is a fact

They are both in His Word.

 

It is important, however,

That we treat to the context

And not for our own purposes

To read into the text.

 

Neither of the two verses

Relate to the return of the Lord

But some say we are in the last days

And to the same they refer.

 

Others use these verses

To redefine the days of creation,

Instead of six literal days

6000 years is their summation.

 

Regarding the truth of the matter

Both explanations are off

And as a consequence, I must add,

The real essence was lost.

 

 

In the first Scripture reference

Relating to Moses’s prayer

Moses notes man’s short lifespan

Cannot with God's compare.

  

Time will swiftly pass by

While eternity is forever

And while we reference the former

The latter we can never.

 

Man is soon cut off

And he flies away,

Obituaries are the regular news

Each and every day.

 

Yet God is from everlasting

And to everlasting is God,

Which of us can number His days?

That's not possible at all.

 

The Lord is not slack

Regarding any promise He makes

However, we badly falter

When we try to give dates.

 

 

The second Scripture reference

Is attributed to Peter

And is not meant to be a measure,

Not by this speaker.

 

Some, however, use it

To arrive at a specified time

And to which we are admonished

To keep on our mind.

 

They are date setters

And they like to speculate

Hence, they read the daily tabloids

And set erroneous dates.

 

They are not ashamed

That each time they get it wrong

But evaluate and adjust again,

The more headstrong.

 

Jerusalem was judged

In the first century A.D.,

And coming is another judgment

This time for everybody.

  

God doesn’t reckon as we do;

He need not reckon at all,

He transcends time and everything else

He alone is God.

 

Thus, neither is a measure

Of how God counts

And even if it were,

To what would it amount?

 

Stewart Russell © October 29, 2021

 

 

Of Ignorance and Arrogance

 

 

If we were true to ourselves

We would readily confess our ignorance

But alas, that would be too deflating

Since we are so full of arrogance.

 

Ignorance and arrogance

From all appearances walk hand-in-hand

Where ignorance is the default

And arrogance the product plan.

 

The outcome is precious little

But a litany of woes and failures,

The only success there being

The square peg in a round hole picture.

 

Ignorance we can understand

Everybody is to some extent

But what gives us all the creeps

Is ignorance with an arrogant bent.

 

We are all particularly familiar

With the term “wrong and strong”,

How oft have we had to use it?

Almost daily as we walk along.

 

It is rife among politicians

Especially them that have lost their way

But it is also prevalent in the church,

We see it each and every day.

 

 

Said the sparrow to the dove

Let me teach you to build a nest,

Said the dove to the sparrow

At that I am truly the best.

 

To this day the dove is nest-less

Unlike the sparrow of course,

Ignorance was the dove’s hallmark

And its arrogance made it worse.

 

It’s “not knowing that you know not”

But believing that you do

And making those that probably know

Believe that you know too.

  

Arrogance is a pseudo confidence

Or confidence in appearance,

It is the dangerous kind of ignorance

On account of its unsuspecting pretense.

 

It has toppled many a Government

And has caused many a defeat

Often to a less capable opponent

Whom the proponent did regularly beat.

 

 

Arrogance is over confidence

The battle is as good as done,

One’s ignorance of his opponent

Makes him feel the battle is already won.

 

Goliath, will you stop and answer?

Your name has just been called,

You under estimated a shepherd boy

And you experienced a horrific fall.

 

How often we are guilty of this!

Ignorant and arrogant too,

No need for another’s counsel

Considering we have a watertight view.

 

King Saul in the Bible comes to mind

He was ignorant and arrogant too

Consistently ignoring Samuel’s instruction

While blinded by his uninformed view.

 

 

Solomon is an example of the opposite

His ignorance he readily confessed,

He yearned for wisdom and understanding

And God graciously granted his request.

 

The LORD is the source of true wisdom

And as such arrogance has no part,

Ignorance is progressively deleted

Which promotes an understanding heart.

 

Let us then be true to ourselves

And readily confess our ignorance,

Trust Almighty God to lead the way

And do away with our silly arrogance.

 

Stewart Russell © May 2018

 

 

That He Might Fill All Things

 

 

Ephesians 4:8-10

“Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high,

he led captivity captive,

and gave gifts unto men.

9. (Now that he ascended,

what is it

but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth?

10. He that descended

is the same also

 that ascended up far above all heavens,

that he might fill all things.)”

 

A tremendous scriptural passage

I am sure you will agree,

But what definitive instruction

Does it hold for you and me?

 

I had read it many times

And loudly proclaimed it too

But concerning its fuller meaning,

That escaped my view.

 

“He led captivity captive”

This had become a cliché

And when I wanted to make a point

It was a “go to” verse to share.

 

It showed the power of Jesus

Who had arisen from the dead

But regarding the captivity’s identity

There was much more as well.

 

I have a little more grasp now

I must admit

And so, please give me a moment

To share a little bit.

 

I had seen the Alpha

The Creator of the World

But the Omega was taking shape

Both the same LORD!

 

He that ascended had to first descend

Into the lower parts of the earth,

Hence his coming that first Christmas

When heaven celebrated his birth.

 

A Triune implementation

And the Scriptures clearly teach it,

It was from the Father via the Son

And through the Holy Spirit.

 

That seed in the woman

Was of the Holy Spirit,

Not the son of Joseph

He had nothing to do with it.

 

 

The seed of the woman,

The Bible said,

Shall crush the serpent’s head

And indeed, he did!

 

The identity of captivity

And no doubt death and the grave

And through this imperial victory

You and I can be saved.

 

A show of unquestionable supremacy

And unfathomable authority

Displayed in this triumph over Satan

For you and for me.

 

He led captivity captive

But it is more than this,

In the establishing of his Church

To men he gave gifts.

 

From his incarnation

Via his crucifixion and resurrection

To his glorious ascension

And his heavenly coronation!

 

For he that descended is the same also

That ascended high above all heavens

And this same Jesus is our Lord

Hence, we need not feel threatened.

 

Psalm 68:18

 

Thou hast ascended on high, said the Psalmist David,

Thou hast led captivity captive:

Thou hast received gifts for men;

Yea, for the rebellious also that the Lord might dwell among them.

 

“What is it?” The Apostle Paul asks,

What really is the purpose?

This vanquishing of our archenemy

So regally achieved by God’s Son, Jesus? 

 

The answer is given

And it is so crystal clear,

It was there all the time

It did not suddenly appear.

 

“That he might fill all things”

He who? Just in case you still do not know,

Turn to Colossians 1:15-17

Where the answer clearly shows.

 

 

Who is the image of the invisible God,

the firstborn of every creature:

16. For by him were all things created,

that are in heaven,

and that are in earth,

visible and invisible,

whether they be thrones,

or dominions,

or principalities,

or powers:

all things were created by him,

and for him:

17. And he is before all things,

and by him all things consist.

 

That he might fill all things

Being the Creator of all:

Jesus Christ our kinsman Redeemer

And the very Son of God!

 

All things were created by him

And for him:

And he is before all things,

And by him all things consist.

 

The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof,

The whole earth is full of his glory,

Not only the mountains and the oceans

But every pebble, every rock, every tree.

 

Jesus has overcome the world

And this is not in the future tense

But this is a done accomplishment

And that in every sense.

 

Nothing is left to be accomplished

Nothing was left to chance,

The unfolding of history will attest to this

As the Church advance.

 

 

Yes! He fills all things!

By him all things are maintained,

The sun on high cannot light up a day

Unless Jesus allows the flame.

 

Yes! He fills all things!

And he resides in you and me!

That’s why in the midst of the greatest storm

We can still be happy.

 

By whom…

Through whom…

For whom…

All things were made?

 

Jesus

 

Stewart Russell © October 25, 2021