After the Burnout Fireworks

 

 

In almost forty-one years of marriage

I have had lots of time to think,

About the fact that some marriages succeed

And others just go over the brink.

 

Today I came across the following

That suddenly made me alert:

“Love is what is left,” it stated,

After the burnout fireworks”.

 

I was brought to a screeching halt

As I contemplated this love definition

And I was driven to soberly admit

It is a truly realistic realization.

 

At first one perceives of emptiness

That usually follows a long-anticipated event

Into which much planning went

With animated but detail intent.

 

Like for example: a wedding ceremony

And the accompanying reception

Regaling the attributes of the newly-weds

Like a marriage made in heaven.

 

But not long after when reality sets in

And responsibility comes a-knocking

And the fireworks display has all burnt out

Love is that which keeps us a-going.

 

 

After a time of romp and ecstasy,

After the thrill and the enormous height,

Love is what is left, if anything at all,

That will take us through the night.

 

Not the ash after the fireworks display

But the love that defines the two,

The raison d'être, if you see what I mean,

That sees not the me but the you.

 

If fireworks are synonymous with love

Then ash will be the residual end,

But if what remains after the display is love,

Then a lifetime together we’ll spend.

 

Yes, love is what is left

After the burnt-out fireworks

And augers well for the two involved

When life delivers a punch that hurts.

 

Old age and sickness are life realities

And they come if one lives long enough,

They take the fire out of the fireworks

And makes the road ahead quite rough.

 

 

Fireworks a marriage do not sustain

Though many may boast of the same,

But the truth be told, whatever they claim,

Without love their effort will be in vain.

 

Today I came across the following:

I trust that you are still alert,

“Love is what is left

After the burnout fireworks”.

 

Stewart Russell © May 12, 2022

 

I Am Adopted

 

 

You must have heard

Of the orphan boy

Whose classmates oft teased him

And with him toyed.

 

They had their parents

While he had none,

The fact that he’d been adopted

For them was fun.

 

One day he struck back

With a revelation

Finally shredding to little pieces

Their summation.

 

They had parents

To whom they were born

But with no choice in the matter,

No not one.

 

’Twas their only option

You were all they got

But do understand I was chosen

From among a lot.

 

“Yes, I am adopted,”

He had proudly voiced,

But your parents took what they got;

They had no choice.

 

 

 

I too am adopted

But I am not ashamed,

I was adopted into God’s family

And carry His name.

 

Not by biological birth

But He chose me

To be one of His special children

For eternity.

 

Drafted into the family

Some may want to say

But definitely not an afterthought,

No way!

 

Justified and sanctified

And to be glorified

So, please don’t put down adoption

Or despise.

 

 

 

God had a choice

Whereby he adopted me,

Predestinated in Christ Jesus

For His glory.

 

Repeat the last verse

And emphasize the ‘me’,

For if you have been born again

You are God’s eternally.

 

Adopted in His family

Before the world began,

I reiterate, not an after thought

But the original plan.

 

Ephesians 1:5-6

 

Having predestinated us

Unto the adoption of children

By Jesus Christ to himself,

According to the good pleasure

Of his will.

 

To the praise

Of the glory of his grace,

Wherein he hath made us

Accepted in the beloved.

 

Now you should see

What I mean

And why I chose “I Am Adopted”

As my theme.

 

Stewart Russell © December 30, 2025

 

Warriors and Worriers

 

 

 

“Why worry

When you can pray?”

“It’s easier said than done”

Is what we also say.

 

Warrior or worrier

Which of the two are you?

In whom do you really trust?

Answer me true.

 

Believers, if you ask me,

Are prone to worrying,

Yet they do pray incessantly

With much warring.

 

Warriors

They appear to be

But worriers

Is what we see.

Seems a very thin line

Between the two,

Prayer warriors are worriers;

Is this what they do?

 

Hamstrung by terms

And engrossed with titles,

Trust and faith seem lacking

But are so vital.

 

Ineffective worriers

Masquerading as warriors

Touting faith and resilience

From concrete towers.

 

Warring with the enemy

For victory already won,

Looking like beaten down foes

Terrorized and undone.

 

This is the image I get

Like watching a performance

Where the bark is extremely loud

But is down on resistance.

 

Where is the faith?

Where is the trust?

Why are the warriors, worriers?

Why this anxious fuss?

 

 

 

Goliath the warrior

Was felled by a stone

Where prior to this great victory

Israel did groan.

 

As cowardly worriers

They faced the Philistines

Until David with his sling shot

Arrived just in time.

 

Baal’s warriors warred

Against God on Mt Carmel,

But were reduced to losing worriers

When all of them fell.

 

Battles are not won

By how well Christians pray

But in unrelenting trust in Christ

Who is the way.

 

 

From hearts inclined to God

Is where the battle is won;

Not in anyone’s skillful rhetoric

With words cleverly spun.

 

It’s not how we beg

Or how we moan and groan

But out of our humble hearts

Reserved for God’s throne.

 

Warriors are faithful

To the written Word of God,

Not trusting in worldly armour

Like Israel’s King Saul.

 

Prayer warriors worry

Like the worriers of Baal

Where worry indicates unbelief

And worry spells fail.

 

Stewart Russell © July 6, 2024

 

Esther

 

 

The book of Esther is not about Esther

God would have us understand,

Rather, it is about God whose name is not,

And His wonderful redemptive plan.

 

God is not mentioned, that you can see

But He is definitely behind the scenes,

Behind every act and every scene involved

The God of the Bible can be seen.

 

Let us note the four principal characters

And the roll each one plays

As they negatively or positively portray

God’s miraculous power to save.

 

Many see it as just a great story

But it can be easily checked for its truth,

The event involves Medo-Persia and Israel

And history supplies the proof.

 

Over one hundred twenty-seven provinces:

From India to Ethiopia Ahasuerus reigned,

Such was the might of the Medes and Persians

Having risen to second world-power fame.

 

 

Haman is the villain as we all can see

And he solicits the support of the King,

His objective is to execute Mordecai

And genocide to all of Israel bring.

 

 

Mordecai on the other hand is a Jew

And he will not take this sitting down,

The King at this time desires a new queen

Hence, a ring and a wedding gown.

 

And here enters the beautiful Esther

A descendant of the Benjamin tribe,

Emerging top of the list of the prospective queens

Esther becomes King Ahasuerus’ bride.

 

This was the scarlet thread for Mordecai

As he put his rescue plan in place,

If he does not counter wicked Haman’s plot

Of the Jews there would not be a trace.

 

Hence, a dangerous job for the new queen,

Before King Ahasuerus she must stand

But in order for her to do such a thing

This must be at the King’s demand.

 

To do such a thing could mean her death

But Mordecai determined that she must,

If something was not done, and very soon,

Every Jew would lie in the dust.

 

Can you not see what that would mean?

There would be no promised Messiah,

Perhaps Mordecai also knew this

And that’s why he persuaded Queen Esther.

 

However, he was convinced if she refused,

Deliverance would come some other way

But that Esther had come to the throne for this

And King Ahasuerus she could sway.

 

 

If I perish I perish, were Esther’s words

And into the king’s presence she went,

He received her with such acknowledgement

You would think that for her he had sent.

 

The king had issued an irreversible decree

On information Haman had supplied,

He knew not that the information was false

And so, every single Jew must die.

 

However, Mordecai had saved Ahasuerus’ life

When he told of a plot to overthrow the king

And while reading his diary one sleepless night

The king came upon this very thing.

 

On this information he sent for Mordecai

And offered to make amends

But because the decree could not be retracted

He could not reverse that trend.

 

Instead, he made a counter decree

That allowed the Jews themselves to defend,

And with that a massive victory they won

That throughout the provinces extend. 

 

 

As for Haman, he died on his own gallows:

The one he had built for Mordecai,

Like Pharaoh, Herod and many others,

Any attempt to prevent the Messiah with them died.

 

So, Esther is not some fairy tale

Around which Hollywood movies are made,

But it takes its rightful place in the Canon

And deserves the highest grade.

 

It appears to be around the same period

As that of Ezra and Nehemiah

And clearly from these two prophets

That’s when the 70-year exile expired.

 

 

They were able to rebuild the temple

And repair the breeches in the walls

After King Cyrus in adherence to the prophecy

Suggested they should no longer stall.

 

However, not all the Jews had returned

From Daniel and Ezekiel’s time

So, Jerusalem was still under Medo-Persia rule

And this we must keep in mind.

 

Eventually, however, most did return

And the city of Jerusalem was reestablished,

The rituals and ceremonies were done again

Just like the devout Jews would wish.

 

The dry bones had come to life again

Just like the prophet Ezekiel saw,

That these events were this prophetic fulfilment

Is the conclusion I now draw.

 

There are still a lot of questions

To which I do not have the answers

But the idea this will occur at some future time,

Now, that’s a different matter.

 

Stewart Russell © August 31, 2021

 

White Washed and Washed White

  

 

White washed

And washed white:

Don’t make them synonyms

And think you are right.

 

Look again

With a closer eye

And you will see the difference:

Come on, you must try.

 

Two were a praying

To Almighty God:

 One was extremely boastful,

The other, not at all.

 

One was different,

This had to be known,

Only his kind you must understand

Was in his zone.

 

He paid his tithes

And also gave alms,

There was absolutely no doubt

He was a godly man.

 

He merited salvation,

He was so good

And he kept the Mosaic law

Like he should.

 

He notified God

Re the good he did

As though God did not know

What he hid.

 

And to look at him

He was really clean,

So white washed on the outside

He actually gleamed.

 

 

 

The other one

Smote on his chest

But unlike the religious Pharisee

He was a pest.

 

A societal nuisance

Mostly to the Jews

As he yearly exacted from them

More than their dues.

 

Summed up in a word,

Publican to be exact

But meaning he was a tax collector

Of dubious extract.

 

He had been merciless

In his tax demands

But for mercy he had pleaded

As a sinner man.

 

He bowed his head

As he cried out to God

And thence he found satisfaction:

The other, none at all.

 

He was washed white

Unlike white washed

And all his many sinful infractions

Immediately quashed.

 

The other, white washed,

Was self-deluded

Thus, could not access righteousness

Which is imputed.

 

He did his own washing

Which was outward only

Just like the white washed tombs

Used to bury.

 

A form of godliness

But denying its power,

Somewhat like the first skyscraper

Or Babel’s tower.

 

Washed from inside

Spreads to the outside

But just white washed outside

Many sins hide.

 

 

  

A definite 'coverup'

Or 'swept under the mat'

And when self-deceit settles in,

It’s a deadly trap.

 

However, washed white

Is a daily routine

That’s enabled by the Holy Spirit

Who constantly cleans.

 

Stewart Russell © April 16, 2026

 

What’s Your Greatest Fear?

 

 

 

What is your greatest fear

If in fact you have any?

When I was much younger

I used to have many.

 

However, they are decreasing

As I get nearer my demise,

The fact I am more comfortable with death

Should come as no surprise.

 

Now into my seventh decade,

I don’t have as long to live

And to be quite frank, I must admit,

I don’t have as much to give.

 

Death used to scare me quite a bit,

It was my greatest fear,

However, it no longer is,

As a matter of fact, not even near.

 

Dying is now up there

In fact, it’s in the top three,

Losing my sight does make me shiver-

Yes, not being able to see.

 

 

Alzheimer’s is on the increase,

For me that’s another fear,

To be alive and not even know you are

To me is a humongous scare.

 

What’s your greatest fear, I ask,

What do you fear the most?

Or, are you the super fearless one

And make such your daily boast?

 

I used to fear being left behind

When the Lord from heaven return

But this no longer is a fear for me

For in Christ I am standing firm.

 

Hell holds no terror for me

Because no child of God will go there,

The Bible is clear on those who will

And as his child I need not fear.

 

 

 

There is something that you fear,

It’s the case with everyone,

Maybe it’s where you will spend eternity

For one day you’ll be gone.

 

Death is an end of sorts

But it is not the final end,

There is a death one ought to fear-

It’s the second death, my friend.

 

Two births and one death

Is what the Bible recommends

And not one birth and two deaths

As is the sinner’s trend.

 

You must be born again

To avoid the second death,

This should be your greatest fear

All you that speak in jest.

 

For hell is no fairy tale

Or horror movie as seen on TV,

It is a real place the Bible tells

Of torment and misery.

 

Heaven is real and hell is too,

Of them both, Jesus spoke,

Depart here without being born again

And of heaven there is no hope. 

 

If you know not the Saviour

Hell should be your greatest fear

And there is no other opportunity

After you depart here.

 

 

 

What is your greatest fear?

I ask this final time,

For after the white throne judgment

Hell is next in line.

 

Revelation 20:15

And whoever was not found

Written In the book of life

Was cast into the lake of fire.

 

Stewart Russell © March 20, 2023