Church Hoppers

 

 

Are you a church hopper

In search of a church

But just hopping all around

In a futile search?

 

Are you looking to get

Rather than to give

And then are horribly dissatisfied

With the life you live?

 

Some join a church

To see what they can get

Then they leave for another

With much regret.

 

“No food in there,

Just a whole lot of gossip,”

And church hopping for them

Becomes their habit.

 

 

“That church is real dead,

There is no life in there,”

And away they will run again

Looking for somewhere.

 

Then they come upon one

That appears high in spirit

And there they will remain

But just for a bit.

 

Before you know it

They will trudge off again;

A harsh word from a member

Caused them pain.

 

Criticism after criticism

A church hopper will find

To run off to the next church

With the last on their mind.

 

If only they could find

That perfect church

They would stop their hopping

And their futile search.

 

But wherever they go

There’s one disgruntled member

And invariably how they respond

Results from anger.

 

 

 

 

If they take a mirror along

That member they would see

And hopping around would cease

Immediately!

 

Each church I’ve hopped to

I have met me there

And the fact this will continue

Is my constant fear.

 

We tend to blame others

For the way we respond

While forgetting that self-control

Is in self only to be found.

 

Church hoppers, you see,

Take one member along

And that one member is to blame

For what they do wrong.

 

Stewart Russell © May 25, 2024

 

Any Ass Would Do

 

 

Easy there now, my friend,

No need to get upset,

Don’t think I am into expletives,

Don’t you dare bet.

 

I am into the Bible:

A narrative grabs my mind,

An event involving a man’s ass

Speaking at the time.

 

Now that you remember

You may think it special:

A talking jackass, if you please,

Not one that we tether.

 

There was nothing special

About Balaam’s jackass,

Not sure whether male or female

So, we can let that pass.

 

What we do know for sure

Is that it was an ass,

Check out the Bible for yourself:

That’s an easy task.

 

Numbers 22 verses 22-33:

Go to that location

And you will see what happened

On that occasion.

 

Like most jackasses

Balaam’s ass was faithful

But like jackasses he never talked

Because he was not able.

 

Nothing special, I reiterate,

About Balaam’s talking jackass

But like all hardworking asses

It was faithful in the past.

 

 

Well, except for that day

When its way was blocked,

It had noticed an angel in the way

Which Balaam had not.

 

God opened the ass’s mouth

And then opened Balaam’s eyes,

That order may have taken you

By mental surprise.

 

Balaam was mighty slow

Quite unlike his jackass

Which was far more alert than he

Of the blockage in the path.

 

Must have been special,

I note you are still adamant

But if you don’t know the Creator

You are gravely ignorant.

 

Let me therefore reiterate

My unswerving view,

Once in the hand of Almighty God

Any ass would do.

 

 

Such was Balaam’s ass

That yielded to God’s control,

Quite unlike his stupid master

Who was wrong yet bold.

 

Any ass would do

Doesn’t mean me or you,

Only asses like Balaam’s jackass:

Of the braying crew.

 

A talking jackass?

Nothing’s wrong with this,

God is the one who created the ass;

This we shouldn’t miss.

 

Stewart Russell © March 31, 2025

 

 

Where Is Paradise?

 

 

Where O where is Paradise?

I’d really like to know,

 I know that it must exist

For the Bible tells me so.

 

I can’t but believe the Word

Especially the words of Christ,

Two inferences I therein see

As he spoke of paradise.

 

Luke 23:43

 

The first is found in Luke;

The second in the Revelation

And both of these I noticed

Connect with our salvation.

 

Revelation 2:7

 

The first is about the thief

That with Jesus was crucified,

The other is about the tree of life

That is in the midst of paradise.

 

1 Corinthians 12:4

 

There is a third reference

And this is attributed to Paul:

He was caught up into paradise

And in the Bible, these are all.

 

Some cite Abraham’s bosom

As recorded in Luke 16:

Verses 19 to 31

Paint a picture of this scene.

 

Much is read into this passage,

Much is generally implied

And when there is speculation

In such I won’t confide.

 

The rich man, it is explicit,

Was definitely in torment,

He wanted Abraham to send someone

To warn his brothers to repent.

 

So, not much going here

To explain about paradise,

It’s not Abraham’s bosom for sure:

This is not even implied.

 

 

 Jesus assured the thief,

On the day he was crucified

“Today thou shalt be with me”

And he ends, “in paradise.”

 

What that fully meant?

I surely do not know;

Jesus was buried that same day

Is what the Bible shows.

 

As a result, some conclude,

It’s a compartment in hades

Where the born-again believer goes

On the event of his demise.

 

There in spirit consciousness

He awaits the blessed resurrection

Which shall be on the last day

As recorded in Revelation.

 

“He that overcomes,” Jesus said,

“Will eat of the tree of life,”

And this tree, he continues,

Is in the midst of God’s paradise.

 

No hard and fast conclusion

As far as these references show

But if any of you has seen more

Please, I would like to know.

 

Stewart Russell © May 30, 2021

 

Lovingly not Grudgingly

 

 

Grudgingly is not lovingly

And an apology is not forced,

Both emerge from willing hearts

As a matter of course.

 

Whenever issues arise

As from time to time they will,

Keep a level head and calm spirit;

Let your heart be still.

 

Correct a brother in love

And let the love shine through,

Hostility and animosity, of course,

Will only block his view.

 

In disciplining a sister

Let love be clearly up front

So that the sister will never feel

You are on a witch hunt.

 

For none of us is perfect:

Neither the leader nor the led,

One often has to swallow one’s words

So be careful what is said.

 

 

Lovingly not grudgingly

Especially in the church,

Love is the optimal soothing balm

When a member hurts.

 

Live by the golden rule

As the Bible instructs to do

For a dispute is a golden opportunity

To let love shine through.

 

Love will mend a tear

But a grudge rents it wide,

And there could be serious fallout

When hostilities collide.

 

A grudge is like a sore

That will never ever heal

Unless of course, love intervenes

And with empathy we feel.

 

 

Grudgingly is not lovingly

And an apology is not forced,

Both emerge from willing hearts

As a matter of course.

 

Love and apologizing

Often go hand in hand,

In love we should accept apologies

For we are but man.

 

Prone to err like anyone else

And to do so repeatedly,

We must see ourselves in another

And respond accordingly.

 

Grudgingly is not lovingly

And an apology is not forced,

Both emerge from willing hearts

As a matter of course.

 

Stewart Russell © April 1, 2025

 

Because I Did You Can

 

 

“If I can do it

You can do it too”,

Fact or just a feeling?

What think you?

 

I have heard this

At least three or four times

And for the most part

It grabs my mind.

 

“If I can do it

You can do it too”,

And it does appear to me

It’s a popular view.

 

“If I can do it”

Speaks to the counsellor

While “you can do it too”

Refers to the doubter.

 

“If I can do it”

Says, I’ve been here before

But having triumphed then

I am here no more.

 

“You can do it too”

Says, as I have moved on,

You too can have the victory

And see a new day dawn.

 

But history has shown

This is not always the case

For we bring different skill sets

To the situations we face.

 

So, because one can do it

Does not mean another can

1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd are separate

From the also ran.

 

 

“All things being equal”

Will never be a fact

 Since there are inequalities

Within any given pack.

 

What enabled me to

May not be present in you

And so, because I did it,

Doesn’t mean you can too.

 

This is not a put down,

Only that we are different

And once we find our purpose,

It should be our intent.

 

To be who we are

And not try to be another,

Comparisons are necessary

But can be a bother.

 

Another person’s niche

Is not necessarily mine,

So, I must find my own niche,

And with it stay in line.

 

There is, however a sense

In which it can be true,

And this applies to life’s trials

Affecting me and you.

 

If I can recover from one

I believe so can you,

Especially if I come alongside

And walk along with you.

 

Stewart Russell © August 7, 2023

 

God Himself Our Pardon

 

 

 

God Himself

Became our pardon

And through His Son’s shed blood

We are forgiven.

 

‘Tis a mystery

We must all agree

And infinitely too wonderful

For any to see.

 

Three in one

As in the Divine Trinity:

The Father, Son and Holy Spirit

For you and me.

 

 

An infinite cost

To bring us salvation,

God, the sovereign facilitator,

Of our redemption.

 

In Jesus Christ

Drawing us to Himself

And in the Holy Spirit giving us

Spiritual health.

 

None good enough

To redeem human kind,

It took the Almighty Creator

To enter time.

 

Take heed

Therefore, unto yourselves,

And to all the flock

To feed the church of God

Which He hath purchased

With His own blood.

 

 

Whose blood?

God’s own blood

For none could pay sin’s price;

Only God could.

 

God our pardon

In his begotten Son

Gave Himself for His flock:

Every single one.

 

The church of God

Meaning to all the flock,

Purchased with God’s blood

Every single drop.

 

‘Tis a mystery

We must all agree

And infinitely too wonderful

For any to see.

 

But by faith

We believe the testimony

Found in the written Word:

Saved for eternity.

 

Acts 20:28

 

Take heed therefore

Unto yourselves,

And to all the flock,

Over which

The Holy Ghost hath made you overseers,

To feed the church of God,

Which he hath purchased

With his own blood.

 

 

‘Tis a mystery

We must all agree

But it’s not by the physical eye

Such things we see.

 

God our pardon

In his begotten Son

Gave Himself for His flock:

Every single one.

 

Stewart Russell © January 20, 2025

 

Spiritually Significant Mounts

 

 

Spiritually Significant Mounts

Is what I’ve named this poem,

Starting with the testing of Abraham

To the New Jerusalem.

 

Each mount is of significance:

Of a significance that is spiritual

And mostly speaks to some triumph

Re the children of Israel.

 

From mount Moriah to Sion

From Abraham to Christ,

The penultimate mount of Calvary

Where Jesus was crucified.

 

Called from a land of pagans,

I speak of Abraham,

His was to follow the lead of God

To the promised land.

 

 

But a crucial test lay ahead

To show him who held full sway,

On the way that led to the promised land

Mount Moriah was in the way.

 

The offering up of Isaac

The son that Abraham loved

And Abraham was definitely convinced

The command was from above.

 

There upon mount Moriah

God held back his hand

And provided a substitute sacrifice,

A foreshadowing of His lamb.

 

The lamb already slain

Before the foundation of the world;

The lamb, the Lord Jesus Christ

The written and living Word.

 

From mount Moriah to Horeb

From Abraham to Moses,

One of the greatest leaders ever to live

But Israel’s heads were like sieves.

 

A rebellious and stiff-necked people

Prone to quickly lose hope

Who, after witnessing God’s miracles,

Still found it difficult to cope.

 

 

Introducing mount Sinai

Where Moses received God’s law,

The mount that burnt with great fire

Forcing Israel to withdraw.

 

Now with the tablets of stone

Given to Moses on the Sinai’s mount,

The children of Israel had God’s law

That held them to account.

 

 

Required to depart mount Horeb

To enter the promised land,

The fear-struck children of Israel

Would ignore God’s command.

 

Just an eleven days journey

Would be turned into forty years

As they wandered in the wilderness

And died along the way.

 

Just two: Joshua and Caleb

Would enter of the original set,

The rest wandered in the wilderness

Until their deaths they met.

 

To mount Sinai, they came again

With Moses at the head,

Remember, of those he left Egypt with,

All but two were dead.

 

On the threshold of Canaan land

Now for the second time

However, Moses would not be able to enter,

He would be left behind.

 

 

God allowed him to view it

From mount Nebo's lofty height,

Up to the summit of the mount he climbed

And took in the lovely sight.

 

Fast forward to mount Carmel

Where a great victory was wrought,

Baal’s prophets versus the prophet Elijah;

The former were left distraught.

 

Baal was a definite no show

And his prophets miserably failed,

They shouted and even cut themselves

But all this to no avail.

 

Compared to the fuss they made

And with nothing to show,

Elijah simply called on the Lord

And the sacrifice was aglow.

 

It even licked up the water

That was in the trench around,

That unusual day on mount Carmel

The fire of the Lord came down.

 

 

And now to the mount of Olives

Where Jesus often sat

And from where he would minister

To the multitudes of their lack.

 

It was there He prophesied

About the temple’s pending destruction

And of many other tribulations

To come on that generation.

 

In Matthew, Mark and Luke

The details can be found

And all these events would be witnessed

By some standing around. 

 

 

Mount Calvary is next up

Where Jesus was crucified,

There his mission was accomplished

When for sinners he died.

 

From Abraham to Christ

From Mount Moriah to Calvary,

The plan of redemption culminating

In glorious victory.

 

“It is finished!” Jesus said,

The cry of the vanquisher,

The head of the serpent was crushed

By the Lamb of God our Saviour.

 

Next the glorious resurrection

Followed by Pentecost,

None indwelt by the Holy Spirit

Need not fear being lost.

 

 

This innumerable band

Known as the elect or born again

Is come to mount Sion, the city of God

Where the King of kings reigns.

 

Spiritually Significant Mounts

Dotting the road to redemption,

Starting with the testing of Abraham

To the heavenly Jerusalem.

 

Stewart Russell © May 31, 2024