The Little Child in Me

 

 

 

There is a little child in me

That long for Christmas time,

Months before this time arrives

Christmas is on my mind.

 

I have come to realize

It’s not so much about things,

It’s definitely not about parties

And getting to have a fling.

 

It’s not really about the eating

And looking kind of rotund

When all year I’ve been struggling

To get rid of the extra pounds.

 

It’s not about the Christmas lights

Well, maybe a little of that,

But it’s something more, I think,

That provides the crowning cap.

 

Definitely, the nativity story

Still stirs the heart and mind

As we take that Bethlehem journey

The wonderful Christ child to find.

 

 

Away in a Manger,

Once in Royal David’s City,

O Come to My Heart Lord Jesus,

These wonderful songs of nativity!

 

Coming closer to the point!

Yes, therein is the wonderful fact!

That this little child in me

Connects with that Divine act.

 

Bringing meaning to the lights

And to the bounteous food,

To this unique sense of goodwill

That goes with the Christmas mood.

 

So that it’s not any one thing

But an amalgamation of realities

That arouses that little child,

Yes!  It is the little child in me!

 

 

And it doesn’t matter, my friend,

That I am almost seven decades

For I have discovered the older I get,

The less this reality fades.

 

And so, like some people I know

The countdown is really on

And there is a sense re the fight of time

This Christmas will soon be gone.

 

So, from one Christ child to another,

Enjoy this festive season!

It’s the child in you and me that knows

Christ’s nativity is the reason.

 

While shepherds watch their flock

They saw a shining star

And wise men bow in great delight

Having journeyed from afar.

 

Two old ones past eight decades

Anticipated that Holy Child,

And the child in them became excited

When that moment arrived.

 

Like them there’s this child in me

That just longs for Christmas time

And months before December comes

Christmas is on my mind.

 

If there is one single regret I have,

It’s that the day passes so quickly

And just around the evening hours,

I feel profoundly melancholy.

 

 

Perhaps it’s what the disciples felt

When Jesus went away,

But he gave them the wonderful assurance

That he will be back someday.

 

And so, if my life be spared,

There’ll be another Christmas too

And that little child in me will rejoice

And hopefully in you too.

 

Stewart Russell © December 2, 2022

God with Man

 

 

Yonder in cattle stall

Lay a baby most fair,

God with man has come to dwell

Among the cattle there.

 

The shepherds as invited

Kneel before his bed,

A crude manger for his body

And dried hay for his head.

 

The animals low in tandem

Sometimes in unison too,

No harmony could be detected

But they never knew.

 

Wise men would visit later

But for now only shepherds came,

Having been told by the angels

In a glorious refrain.

 

 

Glory to God in the highest

And on earth, peace!

Meanwhile the wise men were noting

A peculiar star in the east.

 

When they finally saw him

The baby Jesus, I mean,

He was then resting in a house

This was not the manger scene.

 

I wonder what it was really like

To have been present at his birth,

What a wonder that must have been!

“God has come to earth.”

 

Today I remind my readers

It can be a dream come true,

For the Holy Spirit has come to dwell

In persons like me and you.

 

 

No, not in a manger stall

But in temples as we are,

So we can be near and dear to him

Just like the wise men that came from afar.

 

What a privilege for the highest

And the lowest of all the earth!

We can be one in Christ Jesus

On account of the “new birth”.

 

To be “born again”, as Jesus said,

In his discourse with Nicodemus,

Today that can be you and me

By simply accepting Jesus.

 

There is room for the simple shepherd

And for kings and wise men too,

God’s great gift was sent to all

And if you are a skeptic, even you.

 

Stewart Russell © September 2019

 

These All Saw and Believed

 

 

 

A few people saw baby Jesus

And all that saw him believed,

Whether in the stall or at the house

These persons were received.

 

First it was the shepherds

That rushed to the Saviour’s side,

It mattered not their lowly state

They were not to be denied.

 

 

There was the devout Simeon

Who eagerly anticipated the event,

As soon as he laid eyes on the child

Simeon knew he was God-sent.

 

Right then he was ready to go

For his eyes had seen God’s salvation:

To the Jew first and the Gentile;

The ushering of their redemption.

 

 

There was Anna, the prophetess

That served in the temple at Jerusalem,

She too, “coming in that instant”

Testified of man’s redemption.

 

Not only were there Jews

But some Gentiles had followed a star,

After about two years they saw the child

Proving they had come from afar.

 

 

Nativity scenes showed them in the stall

But this could not have been so,

Matthew said they saw him “in the house”

And surely Matthew would know.

 

Herod had decreed the slaying

Of all males two years old and under,

Matthew chapter 2 verse 18

Gives an indication of this slaughter.

 

 

The magi gave the Christ child gifts

Of gold, frankincense and myrrh,

This child born to be both king and priest

In a tomb would be later interred.

 

These all saw the Christ child

And no doubt they were filled with joy

And still today that opportunity is open

To every man, woman, girl and boy.

 

Let this Christmas be an opportunity

When you also will see and believe

That Jesus came to call the unrighteous

And hence, sinners he will receive.

 

 

Such is the status of every man and woman

Until they have been born again,

Jesus, sinners will receive

Let us raise this joyous strain.

 

Like the message of the first Christmas

It is still the message for today,

Were it not for that natal star

The wise men would have gone astray.

 

May this Christmas tide find you

Believing in the reason for Christmas

And like the magi that followed his star,

Seek out the Saviour, Jesus.

 

A Christ filled Christmas to all

Do not over-stuff yourself,

You will be needed again in 2021

So please stay in good health.

 

Stewart Russell © December 25, 2020

 

 

Just Once

There is no such star today

In the east or in the west

To guide the seeking traveller

In pursuit of his quest.

No angel song announcement

To shepherds in the field

Or light resplendent in the heavens

To guide wise men in their zeal.

No Simeon in the temple

To indicate the Lord has come,

No Anna, the aging prophetess

To confirm this revelation.

No inn in Judea’s Bethlehem

No Joseph and no Mary,

No decree from Caesar Augustus

No need to make that journey.

No baby in a manger

Surrounded by smelly animals,

No nativity scene in a stable

With just a few unimportant people.

No star standing watch above

Having led to Bethlehem,

No angry King Herod on his throne

Startled by the visit of wise men.

Though rehearsed and recounted

Up to and on Christmas day,

None of these events still happen

In this very same way.

No repeating of the history

Of that wonderful incarnation,

Once Christ came and once he died

To bring to us salvation.

However, wise men still seek

To be shepherded by the Christ,

Both the high and the low

Are saved through his sacrifice.
  

One price, once and for all time

One price for a soul’s redemption,

Paid for by the blood of Jesus Christ

God’s only begotten Son.

Once he suffered without the wall

Just once his precious blood did flow,

Once, he purchased our salvation

The Bible tells me so.

Let this Christmas time find you

Immersed in his wonderful love,

The Love that came down at Christmas

The Love that came from above.

To be covered for time and eternity

Just once is all you need,

Like the shepherds and the wise men

Haste to the Saviour, with speed!

Stewart Russell © December 2019

A Christmas to Come

A Christmas to come

Christ will descend

But so different from before,

Angels will be there

And there’ll be fanfare too

But expect a whole lot more.

No baby in a manger

No shepherds in a field

No wise men from afar,

But the King of kings

And the Lord of lords

He will be his own star.

The Light of lights

In splendid radiance

Lumens far exceeding the sun,

Coming this time

But not to Bethlehem

But to usher in his kingdom.

Planned in eternity

Before time began

Planned by the Godhead Three,

To be staged in the air

In that Christmas to come

When every eye shall see.

No room they say

In that first Christmas

No room for the little child,

During that tourist boom

In Bethlehem’s town

Room for Jesus was denied.

’Twas planned that way

In the first advent

But not in the one to come,

The world will know

Without a doubt

At the coming of God’s own Son.

  

A time of great joy

And exceeding sorrow

Depending on whose you are,

All who are redeemed

Will be with Christ

All others will be barred.

No sprucing up

And spring cleaning

No time to do all that,

In a flash

Like the speed of lightning

Prophecy will be fact.

As you celebrate

This yuletide season

The advent of God’s Son

Be prepared

In your heart and soul

For that Christmas time to come.

Confess your sins

And repent of them too

Invite Jesus into your heart,

Walk with the Saviour

Come apart from sin

And there you have your start.

For should that Christmas come

And you’re not saved

You’ll surely not be amused,

Pay attention now

To your heart’s condition

And on this occasion, don’t refuse.

Stewart Russell © December 2017