Hell Is Real

 

 

“Go to hell!” he angrily exclaimed.

“Where is hell?  Please… do explain.”

“Hell is here.  Don’t you feel the pain?”

If that’s so, what’s the Bible’s claim?

The Bible records there’s such a place,

For hope therein there’s not a trace,

Created for the Devil and his demons

And all who refuse God’s salvation.

Some scorn at the very thought,

Others mock reducing it to naught,

Many regard it with great contempt,

Following are reasons why they resent.

Of a loving God it doesn’t make sense,

For a short life span no fit recompense,

Such won’t be justice, just victimization

If God could stoop to such damnation.

What depth of evil could merit hell?

Somebody, please, I’m listening, do tell.

These are some, not by any means all

Reasons why hell’s a poor judgment call.

God must be vindictive to go to this length

To demonstrate His power and His strength

And then rate such as abhorrence for sin!

I wonder what could be the matter with Him.

How could God be loving and gracious?

How could God be merciful yet so vicious?

How could he be so holy and righteous?

How could an eternity in hell be just?

Listen up and I will tell you how,

Disabuse your mind of your ranting now!

Do not dwell on your semblance of truth,

Let’s go to the Bible and get the real proof!

The Bible does declare there is a hell,

In Matthew 13 we hear Jesus clearly tell

The wicked will be cast into a furnace of fire,

Later he spoke of torment that doesn’t expire.

  

The book of Revelation keeps us on track,

Revelation chapter 20 verse15 to be exact,

Read of God’s judgment concerning the issue of sin

And regarding all who object to be united to Him.

Hell really comes down to a matter of choice,

Choose Jesus and the reason to rejoice,

He that chooses otherwise is already condemned

Because he has denied the Son the Father did send.

Bear in mind what God placed on His Son,

Who died in our stead and that work is done,

He murmured not but in humility bore

Our sins on the cross and opened heaven’s door.

Hell need not be an issue for anyone

That will come to Jesus and be reborn,

For he that comes he will in no wise cast out;

Hallelujah to the Lamb!  That one can shout.

Just like heaven is, hell’s a real place too

But it was not created for the likes of you,

Jesus came to seek and to save the lost,

The evidence was displayed on Calvary’s cross.

Think if you may what Jesus went through

To prepare a way of escape for me, for you;

How will you escape if you reject the Way?

Choose Christ now!  Do it today!

“Go to hell!” may not be so bad today

But there is coming a time when Christ will say

I never knew you, depart from me!

And hell will be yours for all eternity.

A word to the wise is sufficient they say,

Turn to Jesus now and no longer delay,

Today may be the last chance that comes you way,

No more opportunity when in the ground you lay.

Opinion and feeling do not alter the fact,

Neither does diplomacy nor any amount of tact,

Once in hell there is no coming back,

My brother and sister, time to get off that track.

Stewart Russell© 2015

The Sequel to God's Magnificent Best

 

 

As sure as the day follows night

Sunrise always follows sunset,

One is sure to follow the other

How beautiful can a sunrise get?

I suppose it’s one’s preference

That determines the winner,

Or perhaps what really follows

That decides which we prefer.

There is a sense of emptiness

As the sun disappears from view,

But joy comes in the morning

As we hail the day, brand new.

But how might we compare

The colours and their hues,

Bearing in mind the spectrum

With its yellow, reds and blues?

For every sunrise is distinct

And every single sunset too,

God the magnificent Artist

Paints them with colours true.

Maybe it’s the sunset’s splendor

Contrasting with the darkness

Or a yearning for a longer sunset

Before the parting brightness.

  

Maybe it’s the coming light

With that great anticipation,

That heightens the sunrise

Reminding of God’s creation.

For while I’m urged to remember

The beauty of the sinking sun

The brilliance of the sunrise

Is gone before the morning’s done.

The impressions of a sunset

Often linger through the night

But the radiance of a sunrise

Is lost with the brilliant light.

So my vote goes to a sunset

For it is clearly obvious to me

No comparison between the two,

The sunset’s a thing of beauty

But where is the satisfaction?

Is the choice I made correct?

Where is the sense of justice?

What is this feeling I detect?

Could it be that we the judges

Are clearly out of our league?

Or our personal preferences

Cloud the way we perceive?

So back to the drawing board

And back to the stated question,

Can the beauty of a sunset

Eclipse that of the rising sun?

  

Is there additional evidence?

Tell me where I should look,

“Yes there is,” I heard Him say,

“Look into my Holy Book.”

That God is the only Artist

Evidence from the Bible shows

He paints the sunset and sunrise,

From His hand each one flows.

The question now before us is,

Is He better at one, can you tell?

Certainly not must be the answer,

For God performs all things well.

With His deft strokes and artistry

He paints each sunset and sunrise,

Ever since the beginning of time

They sing the heavenly reprise.

Tell me, can God out do Himself?

Does perfect have a comparison?

He is the designer of them both

So a ‘dead heat’ is the decision.

But if justice has been served,

Why is there still this feeling?

I feel there is something greater

That the Holy Word is teaching.

Father, show to me the lesson

I should learn from all of nature,

Every sunset and each sunrise

Teach to me to what they refer.

And then His sun begins to rise,

His light shines upon my reverie,

The Bible documents God’s work

And reveals about the Almighty.

Neither of these works is better,

The sunset stands not on its own,

In that sunset the Saviour died

But his resurrection is the dawn.

 

That sunset was really not about

The sun’s departing radiance,

But was meant to be the herald

Of the Son’s uprising brilliance.

Even God could never exceed

His glorious magnificent best

When Jesus went to Calvary

And our hopes upon Him rest.

And so from the grave He arose,

We echo that triumphant song,

The sunrise we look for is coming

To the heavenly, believing throng.

O what a sunrise it’s going to be

When Jesus returns for you and me,

Goodbye Old World I’ll be out of here,

Will you join me in the land over there?

More than a sunrise or sunset, you see,

They both speak of an eternity to be,

Many will scoff at this mystery

But the promise will be a reality.

  

The work of God some don’t accept,

They spurn His love, His Son reject,

Creation’s story not fit for a school,

To believe in such one must be a fool.

Whatever shadows obscure the mind

The refusal of God is no excuse,

Those who reject recreation’s story

Are also them whom God will refuse.

Resurrection power has been revealed

In the form of the empty tomb,

He is not here but risen in deed

And now He asks us, “Is there room?”

Is there any room for the Saviour?

He conquered death and the grave,

And now he sits on heaven’s throne,

Why not accept him and be saved?

Good Friday evening and Easter Morn,

The sinking sun and the crack of dawn,

The crucified Jesus and the risen Christ,

All speak of the Lamb and His sacrifice.

Stewart Russell © 2014

God’s Magnificent Best

 

 

 

Standing on the beach

Looking across the sea,

Feeling pleased as punch

As on a bun I munched.

The sun was sinking low

Setting the water aglow,

‘Twas a splendid sight

As the sky came alight.

My eyes held to the line

Separating sky from sea,

My mind on its accuracy

Showing God’s ability.

Artists try to illustrate

The beauty that they see,

But always falling short

Of God, His Majesty.

Yes, I was overwhelmed,

This work of the Supreme,

Captured my entire being,

This feast my eyes had seen.

 

It was absolutely fabulous,

Not that I could be a judge

Of the handiwork of God,

My eyes won’t even budge.

I stared in trapped oblivion,

I could not look away,

The view held my attention

There at the close of day.

I was frozen by its beauty,

In my mind I heard a voice,

Have your eyes seen better?

“No,” was my spoken choice.

My greatest desire that time

Was to be truly locked away,

With this rich phenomenon

I was viewing from the bay.

Then I attempted to analyse

This scene before my eyes,

I was aware of my limitations

And struck by God’s creation.

 

The many rulers it would take

To draw that straight horizon,

And the steady hand to make

It flow with such precision.

I thought of those great artists

Who then and in the past,

Had painted many a sunset

But this had all outclassed.

No doubt these artists too

Had given God much praise,

When in one such moment

Their eyes on a sunset gazed.

The colours were resplendent,

Their numbers I couldn’t count,

They cascaded in the ocean

And form a magnificent fount.

Even as the ripples danced

In the gentle evening breeze,

I stood transfixed in a trance

My attention God had seized.

 

Suddenly I wanted to scream

“God, you are so very great!”

But I contained my ecstasy,

Allowing reason to dictate.

Again came the inner voice,

“Must you dissect everything?

Won’t you ever understand

How much there is in listening?”

This was not for examination

But simply for me to enjoy,

I had wasted time in analysis

Now I felt like the errant boy.

In a moment the sun was gone,

The spectacle had disappeared,

And with it that thing of beauty,

At which I could no longer stare.

I knew I had missed that moment

When the sun had slipped away,

I had been caught in my analysis

That had worked to my dismay

 

But in my depths of solitude,

That voice had said to me,

“That’s not my magnificent best,

For that, just look to Calvary.

That was a sunset too you know,

The disciples sure thought it so,

They too had missed the beauty

Of the blood for sin that flowed.”

God’s Son was on that cross

And for our sins He did atone,

‘Twas such a glorious sight

And Jesus did it all alone.

For God so earnestly desires

To paint upon every heart,

That picture of the Saviour

Today you should let Him start.

 

Just view that greater Light

As you gaze upon that scene,

See where Jesus hung in agony

There, you and me to redeem,

At his back was the sinking sun,

God’s Son silhouetted in its light,

For the disciples a horrid sight

But God was displaying His might.

Many have wondered at this

And have called it a mystery,

In the midst of apparent defeat

God had painted the victory.

Jesus cried out, “It is finished!”

Many thought it was the end

But the painting was that sunset

Before the sunrise God did send.

 

  

“That was my magnificent best,”

God said, the painting yet unfinished

Was marked “to be continued”,

As the Light would be diminished.

This sunset was really not about

The sun’s departing radiance,

But was meant to be the herald

Of the Son’s uprising brilliance.

God’s magnificent best was no sunset

That adorned that evening sky,

Rather, it was the life that Jesus gave

As that Passover evening drew nigh.

Good Friday evening and Easter Morn,

The sinking sun and the crack of dawn,

The crucified Jesus and the risen Christ,

All speak of the Lamb and His sacrifice.

Stewart Russell © 2014

Not This Man

“Not this man” was the boisterous cry,

“Give us Barabbas but let Christ die!”

They preferred a robber to God’s Holy Son

Whom they mocked and ridiculed for their fun.

“Not this man”, they shouted with intent

Blinded to the fact they needed to repent,

Under the curse of the law, death their wage

“Give us Barabbas!” They requested in their rage.

“Not this man” who came unto his own,

Creator of the world having laid aside His throne,

He came to his own but they received him not

“Give us Barabbas; Barabbas is all we’ve got.”

“Not this man!” Pilate heard their refrain

As they shouted in his ears again and again,

“So what shall we do with him the Christ?”

“Crucify him! Crucify him for his blasphemous vice!”

“Not this man!” The then world had renounced him

As in today’s world urged on by their sin,

Jesus the Christ was reviled and bewailed

While Barabbas an insurrectionist was publicly regaled.

“Not this man!” They cried then as also today,

“Give us Barabbas!  Give us our own way!

His blood be on us and on all our children.”

Pilate yielded to their cry and gave into them.

“Not this man” was the choice made by man

And yet it fitted in well with God’s divine plan,

Planned before earth’s foundations were laid

That the price for man’s sin by this man would be paid.

“Not this man”, rejection and approval agreed in one,

The darkness of night would soon give way to dawn,

Man’s rejection of Christ and God’s approval of the same

Redounded to man’s benefit, Glory to God’s name!

If not this man then who else can there be?

Who else, tell me can rescue you and me?

“Not this man” was the rant of a misguided crowd

But today this heart beats for Jesus unceasingly loud.

Do you still say “not this man” when ever he calls?

Are you still goaded on by man’s applause?

“Not this man” could come back to haunt you some day

If you continually refuse to let Christ have his way.

 "Not this man", he could not have done what they said,

"Not this man", who healed the sick and raised the dead,

"Not this man", they said give them Barabbas instead,

For me "not this man's" precious blood was shed.

"Not this man" has become the man on my throne,

"Not this man" has made my heart his home,

"Not this man" will rent the clouds as he comes again

And though undeserving with this man I shall reign.

Stewart Russell © 2016

The Trinity’s Operation in Ephesians

 

“In one hope of your calling”; it’s in the Bible do read it

“Even as ye are called” there’s “one body and one Spirit”,

“One Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all”

“Who is above all and through all and in you all” the apostle recalls.

Verses 4 through 6 of Ephesians chapter four

Show three in operation; no less and no more,

One God, one Lord and one Holy Spirit that are co-equal

And are involved in much activity throughout the Bible.

The letter to the Ephesians is profoundly doctrinal

Written not only for them but also for us modern day people,

Throughout this epistle there is the Holy Trinity

Frequenting its message with unmistakable clarity.

Now turn with me to Ephesians chapter 2 and verse 18,

Time and again you’ve read this but had not really seen

That through Christ we have access by one Spirit to the Father

So that Father, Son and Spirit are prominently the theme.

 

Let’s look at other references for the Father, Son, and Spirit,

Ephesians chapter 1 verse 17 is a verse of such merit,

Paul prayed that the God of Jesus, the Father of glory

May give revelation and knowledge in the wisdom of the spirit.

He also prayed to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ

That he would strengthen us inwardly with might by His Spirit,

And that Christ may dwell in our hearts by faith

Being filled with the fullness of God would be the believer’s limit.

Go and check verses 14 through 19 of Ephesians chapter 3

And you will see the Divine three-in-one operate in unity;

The Father grants that the Spirit would strengthen the inner man

And that Christ may dwell in our hearts; this completes God’s plan.

Consider “whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption”

So “grieve not the Holy Spirit” as in Ephesians 4: 30 and 32

But “be ye kind one to another tenderhearted and forgiving

Even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you”.

“Be not drunk with wine”…”but be filled with the Spirit”

“Giving thanks for all things unto God and the Father” commit,

All this “in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” submit

Accordingly as Ephesians chapter 5 verses 18 and 20 depict.

  

The conclusion of this triune matter is so very clear to me,

It indicates God’s tri-unity in us and in Him our unity,

In the word of God we read of a magnificent mystery

But in our hearts, right there lives out a wonderful reality.

“One God, Father of all, above all” speaks of the Father above,

“He that is through all” speaks of the Son, God’s expression of love,

“He that is in you all” the Spirit once descended like a dove,

And there you have the Trinity indwelling us yet in heaven above.

Stewart Russell © 2015