The War in Heaven

 

 

 

The war in heaven

Took place at the cross,

All Satan thought he had gained

Was suddenly lost.

 

This might be difficult

To conceptualize

But cogitate upon its truth

Before you despise.

 

He once was the prince

Of the power of the air

But now the children of God

Have nothing to fear.

 

We sit in heavenly places

With Jesus the Christ

And Satan has lost his power

Since Jesus’ sacrifice.

 

 

It was war in heaven

But was visible on earth,

Jesus was earmarked for this

From the day of his birth.

 

For this cause

Came he into the world

As recorded in John 3 verse 16

In the Holy Word.

 

Satan’s last effort

To pull Christ Jesus down

Concluded in absolute failure;

Satan was the clown.

 

Fought in the heavens

Where Satan once was

Now he is permanently disbarred,

Eternally judged.

 

 

Once a daring prosecutor

Of notorious fame

Now he has been taken down,

Bless Jesus’ name!

 

It is finished

Was not a cry of defeat

But Satan was to be crushed

Under Jesus’ feet.

 

Three days hence

And Jesus would rise

And as prophesied in Genesis,

Satan’s demise.

 

Death is dethroned

The grave has no sting,

Satan is virtually powerless

And Jesus is king.

 

 

All Satan has left

Is a weapon of deception

Which is completely neutralized

By our great salvation.

 

He may war on earth

But not in the heavens

And all he can do to the believer

Is merely threaten.

 

Fear him not,

Neither his bark nor bite

For he merely thrashes around

Having lost the fight.

 

 

 

Jesus delivered to him

That fatal blow

That crushed his head indeed;

We assuredly know.

 

As in the fulfilment

Of Genesis 3 verse 15

Jesus is the blessed hope

Of the redeemed.

 

Stewart Russell © March 2, 2025

 

Unanswered Prayer

 

 

Someone said yes wait and no

Are God’s responses to our prayers

But tell me How can I know

To which one I should adhere?

 

Another person advanced

God’s responses are yes and no,

There is no wait in His replies

That is unbiblical say so.

 

“God answers every prayer.”

This is a position held by most

With some having a special line

Of which they daily boast.

 

Regarding unanswered prayer

There is never a case,

Nowhere in the biblical text

Can such ever be traced.

 

Yet we pray incessantly

About matters of great importance

And each time without an answer

But there is no admittance.

 

How do we know for sure

That God always answers prayer?

Can we attest to this?

Does it in His word appear?

 

Is answered prayer in proportion

To requests that are granted

Or whatever form the answer comes

Even if we are disappointed?

 

And if we do not hear from God

As is known to have occurred,

Would this not be unanswered prayer

Even if the answer is deferred?

 

What then is answered prayer?

Is it only when we get our request?

Is prayer only answered when we get relief

From some undesirable test?

 

It is definitely not as clear cut

As we had thought at first

Though the position we held on this

We once would never reverse.

God answers every prayer

That is my belief,

He points all to His Holy Word

In which we find relief.

 

We may not favour God’s answer

But His answer is always best

And once we follow the Spirit’s lead

We will conquer every test.

 

When prayer seems unanswered

As sometimes it will seem

We have an advocate with the Father:

We, meaning the redeemed.

 

Stewart Russell © December 19, 2021

 

Absent from the Body

I have an appointment with death

That is if Jesus my Lord should tarry

But whether I die or whether I live

It is to him I will be surely married.

As a member of his Bride, the Church

I am one of the precious redeemed,

Born again and cleansed from my sin

By Jesus I am very highly esteemed.

A lamb of his flock, a sheep of his fold

I have been on his shoulder laid,

A sinner redeemed by his precious blood

The ultimate price for me he paid.

One day I will die if he should tarry

And a funeral service will be planned,

Several will be there in attendance

But they will not see this man.

You can call it a boycott if you will

But I have no plans to be there,

I will not be interred in any stuffy grave

So my friends of that be aware.

No, I’m no different from anyone else

But I dare to believe God’s word,

At death I will be absent from my body

And only my body will be interred.

While we are at home in the body

We are absent from the Lord,

Check out 2 Corinthians 5 and verse 6

Read it for yourself in God’s Word.

It therefore logically follows

That in death we have left our body,

Something goes to be with the Lord

Since it’s only the body that’s buried.

Let’s look again at 2 Corinthians 5

And I draw your attention to verse 8,

Absent from the body present with the Lord

This cannot be a mistake.

I may not fully understand this

But there are conclusions I can make,

We leave our body, that’s clear to me

At death some kind of flight we take.

We are absent from the body

The Apostle Paul makes that very clear,

Hence I will not be at my funeral

So do not look for me there.

It will be my body there reposing

It will not be me, I must add,

At the instance of death I will have left

It’s your problem if you think I am mad.

Surely I will be absent from my body

And therefore present with the Lord,

But what all of that really entails

I am not so sure from the Word.

I would like to leave this in my will:

No long funeral service please desist,

In any case I will not be there

So please grant me my request.

Stewart Russell © January 2019