Setting the Record Straight

Listen up and listen well

Let me tell you a little about me,

I may be a down right jackass

But I will settle for donkey.

A hard worker most of the time

Though some call me lazy,

A lazy jackass some will say

But I prefer donkey.

I am mentioned in the book of Job

At least, my female relatives,

She asses is the term there used

But donkey is less abrasive.

Five hundred of us are mentioned

Later we were one thousand,

God must have been very pleased

To double Job’s donkey band.

In Genesis chapter 12

When Abram left the Chaldees,

We were listed among his wealth

As asses not donkeys.

Then, it was he and she asses

Never the name jackass,

So please, if you must, call me donkey

And let the jackass name be past.

As you can readily see,

Donkeys permeate the Bible

And on at least one occasion

I acted wiser than people.

Let me tell you of that time

When I acted wiser than a man,

He was my owner and master

That man’s name was Balaam.

  

I was a faithful donkey

I had never done him wrong

But one day I was donkey-obstinate

For Balaam was wrong and strong.

I became a talking donkey

Though he was no ventriloquist

And had I not opened my mouth

He would be on the death list.

 

Even then he was still stupid

And was angry that I had talked,

He would have pushed his sword in me

Had not the angel bid him halt.

Though I was a foolish donkey

I saw the danger first,

The angel with his flaming sword

About to deliver the death curse.

Another time I was privileged

To transport a pregnant woman

All the way from Bethlehem

To Nazareth where she was summoned.

Her husband went to pay taxes

As decreed by Caesar Augustus

And the wonder of that journey was,

She was bearing the baby Jesus.

With Jesus was another encounter

Significant for both him and me,

That day as he rode into Jerusalem

He was carried by a donkey.

 

I was that celebrated donkey

That walked on clothes and palms,

I had become a visible player

In God’s redemptive plan.

I had never been ridden before

For back then I was just a foal

But the master chose me, a donkey,

To perform that important roll.

Twice I had borne the Master,

Yes, he rode upon my back,

Beast of burden you will call me

But you can’t do better than that.
 

I featured in “Animal Farm”

It was not in the best of lights

But being far wiser that all the others

I knew we would get no rights.

Call me stubborn and obstinate,

Call me ugly and grotesque,

But each time I carried the Master

I was at my supreme best.

I take no credit for such

I am a donkey not a jackass,

Too many humans have attempted that

And guess what? They fell fast.

King Herod comes to mind,

He attempted to take God’s glory,

As a result, he died a horrible death

Go to Acts 12 for the story.

Now that I have set the record straight

I will bid you all good-bye,

I am one of God intended creatures

And that you can’t deny.

Stewart Russell © March 2020

Another Closeup View

Yes, I was there, I’ll admit,

For all the world to see,

And yes, I was guilty, that I know,

As guilty as could be.

My vantage point was just as close

As anyone else’s could be

But unlike the other malefactor,

All I could see was me.

I’ll admit, though, I really must,

This man was truly different

But at that time, I wanted out,

I could never be repentant.

What I did I would do again,

That was the way of life for me,

I railed against him, you would recall

But I was being me, you see.

I knew of his exploits and miracles

Of his power and compassion,

And given the trouble we were in,

That was the time for action.

 

If you are the Christ, I called out,

Save yourself and us,

How I would have liked a miracle

From this man they called Jesus!

I was getting my just desserts

But this man had done no wrong,

All the more reason to act quickly

And from the cross get us down.

He did not respond to me

But an interesting thing occurred,

The other malefactor called out

And his request he heard.

 

It didn’t make any sense to me

What the other man requested

But upon the response of Jesus

He decidedly rested.

 

He referred to him as a king

And obviously, as having a dominion,

And asked to be remembered

When Jesus came into his kingdom.

in my desperate situation

I found that quite strange,

All of us in the same predicament,

That man had to be deranged!

You see, I too had a closeup view

But so very different from him,

His spiritual eyes were opened

However, mine must have been dim.

 

In this man, he saw something

That I certainly did not see

And in that enlightened moment

He believed it most assuredly.

The words were spoken with power

They spoke of that very day,

I wish I knew a little more

But that is all that I can say.

There was hope in the recipient’s eyes

Where before there was none

And even the Roman centurion remarked

That this Jesus was God’s Son.

Yes, I had a closeup view too

But that was to no avail,

While the other man was successful

It seems, I had totally failed.

Stewart Russell © April 2020

My Closeup View

There was a difference about him

Even as he hung there,

In spite of His discomfort

He still seemed to say, I care.

How could it be possible

That a man in such pain and anguish

Could think of anything other

Than a selfish wish?

A wish to be set free

Even if that escape route was death,

To be freed from this anguish

And enter the folds of sweet rest.

That was certainly my wish

And the wish of the other

But this man, O he was different,

His was another matter.

We were concerned with the now

But he looked to the future,

We were concerned with the me

But he saw a bigger picture.

His agony was obvious

But his words seemed unrelated,

It was though he were free

And his tormentors incarcerated.

“Father, forgive them,” he cried,

This got home to me,

This man was truly different

That I could definitely see.

He would have to be

To have uttered such a cry,

He was in a different frame of mind

Though we all were destined to die.

  

All around they mocked him

Even the other malefactor,

This man had done nothing wrong

But we both were transgressors.

Suddenly I saw my opportunity

And I grasped it with both hands,

I called out, not in desperation,

But in accordance with his plan.

I rebuked the other malefactor

Then confessed we had sinned,

Then I focused right on Jesus

And I said these words to him.

“Lord, remember me,” I cried,

“When you come into your kingdom.”

That day I was promised paradise

By God’s begotten Son.

Shortly after, all was dark

But I beheld a glorious light,

It was the light of sins forgiven

That instant my heart was right.

I heard the centurion confess

He was a righteous man,

I could not agree with him more

He was the sacrificial Lamb.

For a crime he did not die

But for a wretched soul like me,

It was I who had done him wrong

But yet he sealed my destiny.

Not death, the wages of my sin,

But life he freely gave,

In the closing moments of my life

He saved this worthless knave.

Mine was a closeup view

Just like those beneath his cross,

So was my fellow scoundrel

But yet he ended up lost.

To have been that close to Jesus

And yet reject his call

Is like having everything in life

And then to lose it all.

This need not be your lot today,

He beckons with outstretched arms

Bidding all to come to him

In the midst of their alarms.

So, follow my example,

I am one of the malefactors,

Run to Jesus this very moment,

Invite him to be your Saviour.

Stewart Russell © April 2020

God Needs No Consultancy

It is a biblical fact

God needs no consultancy,

No man or establishment

With whom to agree.

He is no man’s debtor,

Cannot be hung out to dry,

He, in fact, is the Creator

No matter how some deny.

There is a fallacy

That is making the rounds

That God needs permission

To work in this earth’s bounds.

It’s from the pit of hell,

Can’t be from anywhere else,

If you are thinking so

It’s time you check yourself.

Or better still,

Let God check you out,

His omnipotence and omniscience

Is without doubt.

When He said,

“Let us make man,”

It was not a consultation,

It was already a plan.

Conceptualized before

Earth’s foundations were laid,

The Trinity was in agreement

Before anything was made.

It was not a consultation,

Not even a discussion,

No memorandum or referendum

But a Trinity decision.

They did not talk it over

It was nothing like that,

God simply said, “Let Us.”

And the rest is fact.

 

I am sorry for those people

That feel they can wag God,

I would like to tell them

They are wagged by the Fraud.

Satan, the knave,

Has them believing this,

They are not on target

Theirs is a colossal miss.

Job 38 and 39

They should consult with Job

Via the book so named,

In every question God posed

Job failed again and again.

He didn’t ace his examination

More like he zeroed it,

Zilch was his score line,

It had become his habit.

He couldn’t answer a single question

That the Creator God had posed,

He didn’t have what it took

That’s what Job, himself, diagnosed.

We had better come to that conclusion

Before it is too late,

Many so-called intellectuals

Are at standing at hell’s gate.

  

The fear of the Lord

Is the beginning of wisdom

Even some attending church

Are lost and undone.

Whether they know this or not

It is not me to tell,

If they heed the Spirit’s counsel

I know they would do well.

God needs no consultancy

In this earth realm,

The earth is His footstool

His creation He transcends.

 

God does as He pleases

He has infinite insight,

A word to you intellectuals,

You are not that bright.

It’s time to admit,

Whether scientist or philosopher,

We are His creatures

God is the Creator.

Thus, He needs no consultancy

This is demonstratively so,

Don’t you think, that like me

It is also time you know?

Stewart Russell © April 2020

Negative the New Positive

Talking 'bout change...

This is really a change,

I don’t mean money back,

I mean rearrange.

It is particularly amazing

How we now behave,

What we once practised

Can land us in the grave.

Hugs and kisses

Are now forbidden,

Miss and hug a friend

You might not be forgiven.

Positive is now negative

And the reverse

And the terror upon us

Is the COVID curse.

Negative the new positive

After the COVID test,

When it is negative

It brings you sweet rest.

There’s a lot of change

And it overwhelms,

It is COVID-19,

Almost impossible to stem.

But in spite of all this

Some are still rejoicing,

These are the ones declared...

Negative after their testing.

The poles have changed,

That is a fact,

And I am not sure

It will ever come back.
 

Negative the new positive

See what I mean?

COVID-19 has changed

The entire global scene.

Stewart Russell © March 2020

Undeniable Evidence

We hear the argument, over and repeatedly

Jesus is not God,

Please tell me, if he is not

Then, is he a fraud?

“I am the resurrection and life,” he says,

Tell me, was he deluded?

Who else but God could make such a claim?

None else, I have long concluded.

He healed a paralytic on the Sabbath day

And forgave people of their sin,

He alluded to the fact that he was God

And the Jews wanted to stone him.

Was he a lunatic?  

Was he a liar?

Was he simply out of his mind?

Or, just a misguided conspirator?

Be careful how you speak up

For if your answer is “Yes”,

You are the one misguided

To that God’s Word will attest.

God, Himself, bore witness

That Jesus was His Son,

Surely at Jesus’ baptism

And at his transfiguration.

“I and the Father are one”

You can interpret that how you feel,

But it makes sense as Jesus declared it

And to me, that’s how it appeals.

On this remarkable day

When we celebrate his resurrection,

Let us take note again

That his rising seals our redemption.

  

What if Jesus had died

And he had not also arisen,

Tell me, what would have been the chance

Of our sin being forgiven?

He would have been no different

From the great men of the past

Who, after all that they had accomplished,

Still passed away at last.
 

But Jesus, who declared

That he would rise from the dead,

Demonstrated the same

When he left his grave clothes all neatly spread.

Risen indeed!  As only God could have done,

Risen indeed!  After earth’s course he had run,

Risen indeed!  Is God’s beloved Son,

Risen indeed!  In this heart he has won. 

Undeniable evidence!

That Jesus is God,

Undeniable evidence!

That Jesus is no fraud,

Undeniable evidence!

That will never fall,

Undeniable evidence!

Go!  Spread it abroad.

Stewart Russell © April 2020