More than a Collection of Books Volume 5

Romans is a clear exposition on the sinner’s lost condition

And God’s redeeming grace in providing eternal salvation,

New believers identify with Christ as the Holy Spirit enables

Mature believers gain ground in the doctrinal and practical.

1st Corinthians shows some problems in the early church

And the Apostle Paul’s handling in the Spirit’s light,

In this book as well is the greatest essay on love

As well as the gifts of the believers as given from above

2^nd Corinthians is generally perceived as a difficult book

Appearing rather personal and seemingly from the heart,

These difficulties do not obscure the essential basic truths

And once one decides to study he’ll learn that from the start.

The epistle to the Galatians fulfills a critical role

And clears the air between the law and the gospel of grace,

It is an effort to save Christianity from a sect of legalism

That renders it mere form with grace removed without a trace.

Ephesians is a sermon on how a believer should behave

Cognizant of the investment God made in him by Christ,

The riches of God’s grace, the forgiveness of his sins

And much more is the believer’s through Christ’s sacrifice.

Philippians describes the simplicity of the early church life

The hallmark of which is unity through humility,

Jesus is held up as the epitome of such an attribute

As he suffered death upon the cross in ridicule and agony.

In Colossians the Apostle Paul counteracts some errors

By highlighting the Person and work of the Lord Jesus;

Gnosticism, Legalism and Mysticism were rife

But Christ sufficiency in the believer was the essential thrust.

In 1^st Thessalonians unbelieving Jews accused believers

For having turned the world upside down

Sanctification, love and hope are some of its several themes

The Christian life and the day of the Lord are others that abound.

2^nd Thessalonians enlightens about the day of the Lord

And some believers then felt his return was imminent,

They had become idle and particularly fearful

And setting the record straight became Paul’s intent.

1^st Timothy is a classic manual for an aspiring pastor

And sets out the Christian’s standard for required behavior,

False teachers to be silenced and give thanks to God for grace

Apostasy and the love of money should not be taking place.

2^nd Timothy is the call to a life of enduring fidelity

This was the admonition given by Paul to young Timothy

For some had departed from the faith and also from the truth

So the Apostle saw the need to warn of the coming apostasy. 

Stewart Russell © 2017

More than a Collection of Books Volume 4

Nahum prophesied against the great city of Nineveh

That the God of the nations the Assyrians disclaimed

Was the sovereign controller of all human destiny

And even the greatest world power must submit in shame.

Habakkuk, known for ”the just shall live by faith”

Is perplexed that Judah is not punished for her iniquity

The Lord uses the Babylonians to punish Judah

Whereupon Habakkuk questions God’s use of the enemy.

Zephaniah tells of God’s determination to execute judgment

On Judah and Jerusalem because of idolatry,

His message to Judah is a call to repentance

But woe is pronounced on Jerusalem for its treachery.

Haggai’s call was for the people to rebuild the temple

Instead they were taken up with their own affairs

Again he encouraged them giving assurance of God’s presence

The glory of the future temple will be greater he declared.

Zechariah using highly symbolic language in his visions

Predicted the overthrow of the Gentile world powers,

He speaks of Messiah’s triumphant entry into Jerusalem

And his return when he makes Mount Olive his tower.

Malachi like Nehemiah highlighted similar problems

Like withholding the Lord’s tithe and intermarrying,

He records Jehovah’s last pleading with His people

Then the prophetic is silent until the Baptist’s coming.

Matthew is a portrait of Jesus depicting him as King

Hence we find a link to King David in his genealogy,

Greater than Moses or Solomon, Lord of the Sabbath

He who was called King of the Jews is King eternally.

Mark is a portrait of Jesus portraying him as Servant

Unlike Matthew’s genealogy his references did attest

John the Baptist, God himself and God the Holy Spirit

To serve and not to be served was what he did the best.

Luke paints a portrait of Jesus much alike that of a Man

Hence another genealogy going right back to Adam,

He wept as he stood before the tomb of a very dear friend

And showed his humanness in Gethsemane as the Father planned.

John, most difficult for some, portrays him as fully God

Consider Thomas’ acknowledgement: my Lord and my God

Base on the miracles he did and the very words he spoke

One of two verdicts remains; Jesus is either God or a fraud.

The Acts of the Apostles as it is more appropriately called

Takes it from the life of our Lord in the Gospels

Through Pentecost and the miraculous birth of the church

And provides the link between the Gospels and the Epistles. 

Stewart Russell © 2017

More than a Collection of Books Volume 3

Isaiah, the New Testament book in the Old Testament

Fixes its gaze on the suffering of Jesus Christ

It cites Israel’s sin, judgment, repentance and restoration

And also details the extent of the Saviour’s sacrifice.

Jeremiah sometimes called the weeping prophet

Demonstrated concern for Israel’s spiritual decline,

He prophesied against the evil kings of Judah

And often his prophecies were accompanied by signs.

Lamentations is an expression of Jeremiah’s lament

At the fall of Jerusalem and the Babylonian intent

To make captives of its inhabitants and lay it a waste

And their eventual reduction to a state of disgrace.

Ezekiel prophesied of Jerusalem’s impending siege

Of a rebellious people subject to God’s judgment,

He used visual aids having been commanded to be mute

And prophesied of God’s promise to preserve a remnant.

Daniel was one of those who was carried to Babylon

That kept his identity in spite of his name change,

He took a firm stand against Babylon’s idolatry

And determined regarding God he’d never be estranged.

Hosea was commanded to take a wife of whoredom

To demonstrate God’s love for backsliding Israel,

This prophecy illustrates what words could not do

Concerning the amazing grace God extends to his people.

Joel prophesied the outpouring of God’s Spirit upon all flesh

To which the Apostle Peter referred on the day of Pentecost

The key phrase of the book is “the day of the Lord”

Reminding believers whatever the challenge all is never lost

Amos at God’s command left his flock for a while

To deliver a specific message at Bethel,

He ministered in an age of affluence and moral laxity

When superstition and idolatry were a way of the people.

Obadiah like Jude consists of a single chapter

That prophesies against the descendants of Esau,

They had rejoiced over the destruction of Jerusalem

And this disrespect for Israel seemed to be the last straw.

Jonah called of God to be a witness to the Gentiles

Was jealous that to Nineveh grace should be extended.

While fleeing to Tarshish he was swallowed by a fish

But God ordered it so that that was not where he ended.

Micah is quoted in the book of Saint Matthew

The Messiah would be born in Bethlehem Ephrathah

But against a dark and worldly background

He prophesied wrath against Israel and Judah.

Stewart Russell © 2017

 

More than a Collection of Books Volume 2

2^nd Kings continues along this track

And shows the spiritual decline of the leaders,

It chronicles the miraculous ministry of Elisha

And the captivity of Israel and of Judah.

1Chronicles starts out with the genealogies

From Adam to Abraham and Abraham to Israel,

Its focus is spiritual rather than historical

While appearing to repeat 1^st and 2^nd Samuel.

2Chronicles continues from 1^st Chronicles

With a coverage similar to 1^st and 2^nd Kings,

Of Judah’s nineteen kings seven were good

None of Israel’s twenty rulers for God ever stood.

In Ezra is the account of King Cyrus’ decree

To build a house for God at Jerusalem

Fulfilling the utterance of Jeremiah’s prophecy

Of the return of the exiles from Babylon.

Nehemiah highlights the rebuilding of the wall

And the registration of Jerusalem’s population,

The religion of Jerusalem is revitalized

As it undergoes a complete reformation.

Esther highlights an historic segment of the Jews

Found no where else in all of Scripture,

Her coming to the kingdom for God’s unique purpose

Improve the Jews’ lot and radically change the picture.

Job presents a tutorial in patient endurance

As he contends with his friends about his affliction,

Ignorant of God’s permission for Satan to test him

The experience gave him a Divine education.

The Psalms are often called the Psalms of David

But only seventy-three are considered Davidic,

The book may be divided into classifications

Which include History, Prophecy and the Messianic.

Proverbs differentiates between wisdom and folly,

It distinguishes the fool from the wise,

Its wise sayings came from God through Solomon

And such wise counsel we should never despise.

Ecclesiastes highlights the many vanities of life

And supplies instruction for living under the sun,

The foolish have their way and so too the wise

But the wise will be the victor when life’s day is done.

The Song of Solomon is the most exquisite song

And its refrain resounds with the theme of love,

It is said to represent Christ’s love for his church

Though preceding the time of his coming from above.

Stewart Russell © 2017

More than a Collection of Books Volume 1

 

The books of the Bible comprise one Book

Which is the God-breathed Holy Word,

Holy men wrote as God had inspired

Though many still consider this absurd.

How men think is not the principle thing

It’s still the Best Instruction Before Leaving Earth,

The Bible I mean; you had better get one

For in it you can find your rebirth.

Genesis is the book of beginnings

That tells of the creation of the world,

Of humanity’s fall and redemption’s plan

And ends with the death of a man.

Exodus is the coming out of Egypt

And a forty years trek in the wilderness

Arriving near Canaan after most had died

Only Joshua and Caleb had passed that test.

In Leviticus God gives his law to His children

To govern their sacrifices and festivals,

The Sabbath also is instituted

As the mark or sign of God’s people.

In Numbers there is an ordered census

Including the numbering of the tribes,

The Israelites had moved from Sinai to Moab

Where a second census was prescribed.

Deuteronomy is a re-statement of the law

To give direction to the new generation,

Moses passes on the leadership to Joshua

Then climbs Pisgah for his pending graduation.

Joshua continued where Moses had left off

And presided over the conquest of Jericho,

After a great defeat in the campaign at Ai

He conquered the lands where his feet did go.

Judges demonstrates God’s strength

Particularly in the light of human weakness

And each of these leaders that He used

Showed it was God who passed the test.

  

Ruth is the love story of a Gentile girl

Who was married to a prominent Hebrew man,

What is significant with this Old Testament book

Is Boaz and Ruth’s role in the redemptive plan.

1st Samuel chronicles the acts of two kings

King Saul is the first and king David’s the next,

It begins with Samuel’s birth and childhood

Then the acts of those kings both bad and good.

2^nd Samuel is dedicated to David the king,

Part one records his victories and conflicts,

Part two shows his defeats when out of God’s will

And his consequent punishment when he slipped.

1^st Kings tells of the close of king David’s stint

And of the golden reign of king Solomon,

The dividing of Israel into North and South

And of the successive kings of those kingdoms.

Stewart Russell © 2017

 

In the Valley of Decision

In the valley of decision

And you don’t know where to turn

Two signs along the way

Will help you the path confirm.

Some say there are three

But I believe there are only two:

Two answers from the throne

That come to me and to you.

You can disagree if you like

But read on and you will see

There are only two responses,

I repeat, just two and not three.

But how can we simplify

All of life’s hard decisions

And trivialized them as it were

Into two straightforward positions?

Well it is not so straightforward

But it comes right down to two

However difficult your decision

Concerning everything in your view.

Often there is a lot of clutter

That first must be cleared away,

Much of it is our own desire

And really not what God has to say.

But when we come to His perspective

And we put our will behind

It is only then that we realize

There were two answers all the time.

It is somewhat like the traffic lights

There are amber, red and green,

Three colours but just two options,

Aha! Now you see just what I mean.

Red says that you must stop

 And green says continue on your way

But what does amber say to do?

“Wait”, I am sure is what you would say.

  

But how would you wait at a stoplight

If the light was showing green

And then proceed if that light was red

You would just create a scene.

So when it comes right down to it

Only two options you need consider:

Should I go or should I stop

Whether it’s red or green or amber.

You see amber really means to stop

If you are there at the traffic light

And if it catches you on approach

Stop is the option that is also right.

So that in truth and in fact

Amber indicates that we should stop

And that reality re: the traffic lights

Also pertains to our life’s lot.

God has overview of life’s decisions

He sees the outcome before we do,

He knows the end from the beginning

All of life’s future is within His view.

When we perceive that He says, “Wait!”

That’s another way of saying “No.”

To consider such as the answer “Yes!”

Is clearly not the way that we should go.

There’s no need to belabour the point

The options are only “Yes” or “No”,

“Wait” is a figment of our imagination

When in the future we intend to go.

Remember God is the one in control,

He determines when it’s yes or no,

He has no need to say to us to wait

For He says a thing and it is so.

Remember too it is He who orders

The steps of the righteous man,

Commit your decision making to Him,

Let His “Yes” and “No” be your plan.

Stewart Russell © 2017