The Word Became Flesh

 

 

As words go

Here is simplicity

But as to the enormity

Here is immeasurable profundity.

 

The Word became flesh:

What does it mean?

I will share the little bit

That I have gleaned.

 

Not much I assure you;

Just a little grasp

For as to a full understanding

That’s an impossible task.

 

Genesis 1:1

In the beginning God,

Already as you can see

This is tall.

 

God and the beginning

Are not synonymous

But re all that came into being

There is purpose.

 

 

Without God

There is nothing

But with God

There is everything.

 

In the beginning

Was the Word,

Not another beginning-

Don’t be absurd.

 

Just one beginning

As in Genesis 1:1;

The same being reflected

By the apostle John.

 

The Word was God

So stated John 1:1

Suggesting to the reader

These two were One.

 

As to the words

There is understanding

But as to the profundity

It is baffling.

 

Moses: witness #1

John: witness # 2:

Both holding vantage points

That gave a clear view.

 

Moses

And the Old Covenant;

John

In the New Covenant.

 

In the Old

Christ was concealed,

In the New

Christ was revealed.

 

From the beginning

The Word was with God

But understand this, my friend,

This is not all.

 

Here it is:

The absolute rest!

The Word dwelt among us

In the form of flesh.

 

Herein is purpose

As mentioned before,

As the eternal God in the flesh,

The Word is the Door.

 

I am the door

Says the living Word,

It is situated at John 10 verse 9

In God’s Holy Word.

 

 

The Word became flesh

And dwelt among us

As the incarnate Son of the Father

And his name was Jesus.

 

His name is Jesus

Saviour of the world

Meaning: to every single soul

That believe on his Word.

 

God in Christ Jesus

Reconciling the world,

Revealed in His incarnate Son

Spoken of in His Word.

 

Denied by the Gnostics:

Nothing good in the flesh!

For them, Jesus the Christ

Was not real, more or less.

 

Antichrists they were

Regarding their lack of belief,

The fact that Jesus was in the flesh

Brought them no relief.

 

 

The Word becoming flesh

Was to their detriment

Thus, on account of their belief,

They could not repent.

 

Salvation and thus,

The redemption of man,

Is secured on one’s saving faith

In God’s redemptive plan.

 

He shall be called Emmanuel

Meaning God with us,

That one who came in the flesh

Is our Saviour Jesus.

 

It is a minimal grasp

Re what I have tried

But by faith in what I understand

Jesus I won’t deny.

 

Acts 20:28

 

God purchased the church

With his own blood,

The Son is essentially God and thus,

Only he could.

 

Through his blood

We are saved from sin,

He, therefore, is the only door

By which we enter in.

 

2Corinthians 5:19

 

To wit,

That God was in Christ,

Reconciling the world unto himself,

Not imputing their trespasses unto them;

And hath committed unto us

The word of reconciliation.

 

 

 

John 1:14

 

And the Word was made flesh,

And dwelt among us,

(And we beheld his glory,

The glory as of the only begotten of the Father,)

Full of grace and truth.  

 

Stewart Russell © November 15, 2024

 

Done With That!

 

 

You know the saying,

You’ve heard it oft

Though some look down on it

And they scoff.

 

Common in quarrels

That go nowhere

In which no one is advancing

And a stalemate is feared.

 

Often a waste of time

And energy too

And neither of the combatants

Sees the other’s view. 

 

 

In Bajan vernacular:

“I dun wid dat!

You could keep on if you wish

But I’ll not answer back.”

 

Could be a problem

You are seeking to solve

And having given it all you know

It can’t be resolved.

 

“I done wid dat!

Dat is a waste of time!

A set determination to finish

Before losing yuh mind.

 

Sometimes it’s a copout:

Unable to cope,

The opponent is too intimidating

And fear replaces hope.

 

Or a conjugal noise:

A fight for the last say

In which case a woman must win,

It’s the only way.

 

 

Yes, I am aware

The doghouse beckons

But that is the chance I’ll take

I reckon.

 

And besides,

I done with that!

If you’re not convinced by now,

Then it’s your lack.

 

Lack of understanding,

That’s what!

I wouldn’t dare take any credit

For the little you’ve got.

 

Please have the last say

In the space following,

I’ve already made up my mind

I cannot win.

 

 

Stewart Russell © December 6, 2024

 

Spiritual Growth

 

 

 

We have heard quite a lot

Concerning spiritual growth

And there are some among us

That make a boast.

 

They speak of many exploits

On the battlefield

As though their performance

Gains them heaven’s seal.

 

Some pray a whole lot

Certainly, more than I do

And they believe that much prayer

Is what gets them through.

 

And still others I know of

Are very steep in the Word

And they can explain most anything

Both heard and unheard.

 

But none of these, I tell you,

Though spiritual components,

Comprise a summary of spiritual growth

For the Christian adherent.

 

In my early years in teaching

I was introduced to the following

That “Learning changes behavior”

Was a fundamental maxim.

 

This became my pivotal lens

For observing student-progress,

It was manifested by their behavior

In their assessment tests.

 

 

Coaches use this too

To determine a player’s grasp

Re the coaching techniques employed

In a particular task.

 

This became more meaningful

When in the Bible I saw

Colossians 1 verses 9-11:

The Spiritual Growth Law.

 

You can go there now

And read the same for yourself,

Just dust the old Bible off

After you take it off the shelf.

 

I find especially these days

That dust is on the move,

In its movement and settlement

It can clog up the grooves.

 

In this scriptural reference

You will certainly find

A definitive spiritual growth cycle

You can use every time.

 

 

In verse 9 is knowledge

Which is a critical component

But which in itself means little,

If not used with wisdom.

 

You can recite the whole Bible

From cover to cover

But without Holy Spirit's wisdom,

You still won’t be clever.

 

It is knowledge plus wisdom

That brings about insight,

Yes, the aha moment, my friend,

That suddenly looms bright!

 

“I did not see this before!”

You are most likely to exclaim

When knowledge, the unexplained,

Meets wisdom, the explained.

 

But that’s not all there is

Re the combination of these two,

We have got some way to go

Before we can be through.

 

I used the word insight

Just about three verses above

And this word means understanding

Which forms the spiritual hub.

 

"And with all thy getting

Get understanding!"

The counsel of the wise Solomon

As he developed its meaning.

 

Proverbs 4:7

 

Wisdom is the principal thing;

Therefore, get wisdom:

And with all thy getting

get understanding.

 

With understanding, learning

And with learning, behaviour,

Behaviour that reflects the image

Of Jesus Christ, our Saviour.

 

That ye might walk worthy,

Worthy of the Lord and pleasing,

Being fruitful in every good work

And in his knowledge increasing.

 

Thus, the continual cycle:

Knowledge wisdom understanding,

A pleasing walk and fruit bearing

And back to the beginning.

 

Ephesians 4:15

 

But speaking the truth in love,

May grow up into him in all things,

Which is the head,

even Christ.

 

Colossians 1:9-10

 

Understanding brings learning

Learning changes behaviour

Behaviour evidences fruit bearing

That is pleasing to the Saviour.

 

This is spiritual growth

As we journey through the years,

Cyclic as we walk from day to day

Changing through life's gears.

 

Colossians 1:11

 

Strenthened with all might

According to God’s glorious power,

Unto all patience and long suffering

With joyfulness.

 

 

Thus, this is spiritual growth

Just plain and simply so,

More than what we boast about

Or even what we know.

 

Stewart Russell © November 14, 2022

 

Conversation with Moron My Husband

 
 

Narrator:    While sitting on the patio in the cool of the evening, Simpleton was having a rather mind boggling conversation with her husband, Moron.  They were in their second year of marital bliss.  Simpleton was audibly reflecting on the several things she had taught her husband.

Simpleton:  I taught you to iron.  I taught you to wash. I am going to teach you to cook next.

Moron:       But I have never eaten next.”

Simpleton:  But you do not understand me.  I do not want you to eat next, I just want to teach you to cook next.

Moron:       But I do not want to cook next because I have never eaten next.

What is the sense of cooking something you have never eaten and something that you probably would never want to eat?

Narrator:    She was so blown away by the moron that she paused thinking about what she should say to him. It was then that he asked her.

Moron:       What’s next?

Simpleton:  Ironing, you have learnt that.  Washing, you have learnt that too, now next is cooking.

Narrator:    Wow!  You actually have some cooking right now?

Simpleton:  What’s cooking?

Moron:       You said next is cooking.

Narrator:    By now she was at her wit’s end.  She shouted…

Simpleton:  That’s not what I mean.  I mean I am going to teach you to cook next.  You do not seem to understand, you moron!

Moron:       But I do understand.  Since you said next is cooking, I figured we could go in the kitchen and I could see how next is cooking.

Narrator:    By this time she was so exasperated, she asked him…

Simpleton:  What’s next?

Moron:       That’s what you want to teach me.  It is you that told me that you will teach me how to cook next.

Narrator:    She thought to herself, “What is this mess I have cooked up for myself?” He observed she was thinking and asked…

Moron:       What are you thinking now?

Simpleton:  I was thinking about the mess that I have cooked up for myself.

Moron:       Is cooking next such a terrible mess?  If it is, why do you bother to cook it and besides why would you want to teach me to cook it?

Simpleton:  Cook what?

Moron:       Next.

Simpleton:  What’s next?

Moron:       Something you know how to cook and something you want to teach me how to cook.

Simpleton:  I never told you that I would teach you how to cook next.  I told you that I would teach you how to cook next.

Moron:       Woman, what is it that you are really trying to tell me?  Let me see if I have it.  You are not going teach me how to cook next, you will teach me how to cook next.  Is that what it is?

Narrator:    It was then she countered in her most condescending tone…

Simpleton:  Moron, next is not something you learn to cook.

Narrator:    Moron looked his wife straight in the eyes and asked her…

Moron:       So why in tarnation would you want to teach me how to cook it?

Narrator:    In hopelessness and utter resignation Simpleton thought to herself, “Be off with you, you moron!”

Stewart Russell © 2013