It’s Jesus for Me

 

Jesus for me was vilified

Jesus for me was crucified 

Jesus for me suffered and died

Jesus for me, none beside.

Jesus for me paid sin’s penalty

Jesus for me experienced the agony

Jesus for me tasted mortality

Jesus for me though I was guilty.

Jesus living for me is exemplary

Jesus crucified for me is substitutionary

Jesus dying for me is mystery

Jesus coming for me is a certainty.

Jesus for me is the greatest miracle

Jesus for me is my life principle

Jesus for me makes heaven achievable

Jesus for me makes this life bearable.

Jesus for me is my Saviour

Jesus for me is my Redeemer

Jesus for me is my Provider

Jesus for me is my Sustainer.

Jesus for me is my guide

Jesus for me is my scribe

Jesus for me is my enterprise

 Jesus for me for me is wise.

Nothing lack I with Jesus for me

He is my shepherd, my king, my all,

For me he is my assurance when it’s tough 

For me Jesus is always the first to call.

It’s Jesus for me; yes it’s Jesus for me

Every year, every month, every week,

Every day, every hour, every moment too

It’s Jesus for me even as I speak.

Stewart Russell April 2018

God’s Rest

Are you weary and heavy laden?

Is your back bent carrying your burden?

Are you crumpling under the weight of the load?

Come to Jesus and find rest for your soul.

For he has promised to you he’ll give his rest

Whoever comes to him no matter the test,

His offer of rest is simply the best

To take you uphill and over the crest.

The rest the world offers is void of peace,

Its relief is temporal and there is little release,

The mind clatters on even when the hands are done

And little rest occurs before the rising of the sun.

Then it’s back to the fray still feeling fatigue

Top of the list in the dissatisfied league,

A Disillusioned, depressed, disgruntle colleague

Doing fastidious labour for an employer’s intrigue.

 

But God’s rest is different from that of the world,

Much is said of this rest in His Holy Word,

Matthew 11:28 is one such scripture reference

That provides us with an exceeding better preference.

It is an invitation that is open to all,

Do not reject His offer when you hear Him call, 

For under sin’s burden you are likely to fall

Even though you are pretending to be walking tall.

This rest is highlighted in Hebrews 4 verse 9

And is unaffected by anything you and I opine,

To the people of God there is a rest that remains,

For those who come to Him such is their claim.

This is not a Sabbath day rest as issued by the Law

To a Jewish people overcome by sin and flawed,

This rest is eternal and only for the redeemed

Who have come to Christ and whom he esteems.

Let us therefore labour to enter into that rest

Being fully assured in Jesus we have passed the test,

For he succeeded where the first Adam had failed

And in the face of Satan’s assault triumphantly prevailed.

Rest from the disturbed heart in a troubled breast

Rest that is eternal, sweet refreshing rest,

Rest bought by the Saviour when on the cross he died,

Eternal rest in the kingdom over which he will preside.

That rest can be yours today, even right now,

Just come to the Saviour and penitently bow

Acknowledging, confessing and repenting of your sin,

Invite Jesus into your heart and put your trust in him.

Stewart Russell © 2017

Go and Grow and Glow

 

Don’t wait till you are ready

To do the master’s bidding,

Start from the moment you are aware

That you are spiritually living.

We have all been saved to serve

If in fact we are really saved

And from the moment we’re born again

There’s a change in how we behave.

The light is switched on to go

From then we begin to grow

And while at times it may be fast or slow

Our light is set up to glow.

Brighter and brighter it will beam

As we do the Master’s will

And the more we go the more it’ll glow

And we will be growing still.

Our light is never switched to off

It cannot possibly be,

The Master’s the one that switched it on

For the world around to see.

That’s what service truly is,

It is really about being available,

The Lord hath need of all of us

And He ensures that we are able.

It is a full time service

As long as you’ve been made alive

And with the Holy Spirit’s indwelling

That service will always thrive.

As humans it will sometimes lag

As our bodies become tired and weak

But God will give the strength to go on

If it is His purpose that we seek.

Service at home and service at church

Service everywhere you go,

That’s what believers are called to do

So do God’s service now you know.

Stewart Russell © March 2018

If Looks Could Kill

 

Have you ever thought about this?

Sir, Dame, Mister or Miss,

What is the standard for good looks?

Do supply me with your sources or books.

We refer to someone as good looking

And to another person as ugly

By what standard do we measure?

Or from where do we derive this authority?

Someone has beautiful eyes or teeth

Another has a nice looking nose,

She has a most angelic face

And he looks so handsome in his clothes.

Her face could launch a thousand ships

His would stop planes from flying

And we are adamant that we can tell the difference

So much so that it’s no use denying.

Love at first sight is a result of a face

A face that brightens up our space

And before long we are head over heels

All inhibitions vanishing without a trace.

And it appears to me as I analyse each case

That short men like me could never be handsome

For it takes a tall man to be classified as such

In a contest a short man has never won.

I remember too when long hair was the thing;

I don’t mean bought extensions and such,

A girl was as beautiful as the length of her hair

But these days she does not have to have much.

There was a time too when short hair was picky

And knotted up hair was a crime

But now these are considered glamorous styles

In this era or modern time.

The benchmark has changed from time to time

And all of us seem to comply

For the measure by which good looks are measured

None of us dare deny.

  

There must be some built in device

By which each and everyone tends to agree

For whatever classification one person decides

It appears it is what everyone else sees.

Well, I have come to that place

Where for me nobody God has made is ugly

But some will laugh me to scorn

Because I consider that every girl is pretty.

But what is the use if beauty is only skin deep

And you hide away when you wake up from sleep?

Why, you would be one pretentious creep

And would live to regret it when he has his first peep.

More often than not, it’s a face upon a face

That hides up the first one without a trace

And when the first comes off and the next is revealed

It’s a case of mistaken identity once concealed.

If looks could kill I would be dead,

I didn’t keep your secret; I disclosed it instead

And now you are mad at me I know

But everybody is beautiful; God made us so.

Stewart Russell © 2016

“CTLV”

I am a household name

Known the country wide,

Whenever I am mentioned

It is woe betide.

Very few people like me

Soon you’ll see why

I’m seen as a necessary evil

That most will defy.

I have been around

For thousands of years,

You could wish all you want

I won’t soon disappear.

As long as there is life

This terrestrial side of heaven

I will be criticized and despised

I will never be forgiven.

I come in different forms

And I have many names

But whichever one you call

People will still complain.

Sometimes I can be direct

But mostly I am indirect,

It doesn’t matter the approach I take

People will still fret.

I’m unmoved by their complaints

For I have a job to do,

I am not looking for friends

And I don’t care about their view.

Of course I am filthy rich

And filthy is the operative term

Not because of my enormous wealth

But how I make people squirm.

Whenever they hear my name

They become quite unsettled

And if they were coming forward fast

They suddenly back pedal.

  

I am worse than my bark

I am more known for my bite,

In many a big man’s heart

I will often caused him fright. 

I have a faithful group of friends

Oh, just a comparative few

They make decisions concerning me

But on their behalf too.

I would have mentioned before

I am known by many names

But never mind which one is used

It brings a constant drain.

I know I have you guessing

And you thought that I was Sin

But the chance of escaping me

In this life is pretty slim.

I am a household name

They talk about me all day

And I would be executed tomorrow

If some people had their way.

The most that they could do

Is to attempt to reduce my effect

But this day in which we live

That they certainly reject.

And so I get richer and richer

As I take from everyone,

The more you make the more I take

Sort me out before the money is gone.

Are you getting brighter now?

No, it’s not the Government,

Sorry if I misled you

That was not my intent.

One of my names begins with “C”

My surname commences with “T”

Another starts with the letter “L”

And even one with the initial “V”

That may have put you right on track

Or perhaps it set you back

But the list makes known the fact

Of names I have no lack.

Time to wind this poem down

I never intended it to be long,

Perhaps on this the twentieth verse

You would say that I was wrong.

You will find me in the Bible

Under a name beginning with “T”

There a group was very grateful 

For the benefits they derived from me.

The fact of the matter really is

I am greatly needed; that’s the truth,

Look around you at all I give

And therein you’ll find the proof.

By now you should have guessed

The name by which I am known,

Short or long you’ll know it’s me

Wherever you may roam.

I’m like a plague that some avoid

But all find me hard to shun,

They call me Tax for my shorter name

But I am really TAXATION.

Stewart Russell © November 2017