All Lies

 

 

If there is no truth

Then it is all lies,

Absolutely no distinction

Between spider and flies.

 

If there is no truth

Then no Jesus Christ,

No one lives

And no one dies.

 

If there is no truth

Then you are not here,

I don’t know where you are

And I don’t care.

 

 

If there is no truth

Then nothing exists,

No law, no rights

No threats, no risks.

 

If there is no truth

Then there is no sky,

And no birds or planes

That therein fly.

 

If there is no truth

Then there is no justice,

No backlog of cases

No such list.

 

If there is no truth

Then there is no judge,

No legal system

No grouse no grudge.

 

If there is no truth

Then there is no measure,

Nothing to determine

Work or leisure.

 

 

If there is no truth

Then no recompense,

No rewarding of labour

Not a single cent.

 

If there is no truth

Then there is no family

No purpose, no plan,

And no destiny.

 

If there is no truth

Then there is no God,

No angels, no demons

No devil, no fraud.

 

 

If there is no truth

Then no woman, no man,

No binary gender

No Divine plan.

 

If there is no truth

Then no coming judgment:

A current truth

Which most resent.

 

If there is no truth

Then there is no space,

Cyber or otherwise

No such place.

 

If there is no truth

Then there is no time,

 No beginning, no ending

No clock, no chime.

 

If there is no truth

Then there is nothing,

No such words

Like these I am typing.

 

If there is no truth

Then there is no eternity,

All lies!

No reality!

 

 

If there is no truth

Then there are no lies,

One defines the other,

I hope you realize.

 

Stewart Russell © October 2019

 

The Best Bible Commentary

 

 

If you are like me

I am sure you have a library

Filled with Bible commentaries-

Especially the ones that are free.

 

There are many Bible tools

You can find them on the Internet,

Tremendous Bible tools

And they are quite easy to get.

 

Some, you would need to buy

In other words, they are not free

But they are worth every cent,

I have quite a few, trust me.

 

Most of them are not expensive

And they can get the job done,

And what is even more attractive

There are quite a few to choose from.

 

 

There are prominent commentators

You can find in any library list

But here is something more important

That I don’t want you to miss.

 

Every commentator has his biases

Which impact his biblical views,

And sometimes we can be so mixed-up

We don’t know which one to choose.

 

But here is something I found out

And this was not very long ago,

I discovered the best Bible commentary

And I am excited to let you know.

 

 

I was tempted to make you guess

But this is too serious for that,

The Bible is its own best commentary

And I know for sure that’s a fact.

 

The Bible interprets itself

Better than any Bible commentary,

Just get a good cross reference facility

And in an instant, you will see.

 

Be able to trace any word

As it is used throughout the Bible,

Strong’s Hebrew and Greek Dictionary

Will make you better able.

 

 

No book interprets the Bible

As well as the Bible does for itself,

You have been reading all kinds of books

And forgetting it on your shelf.

 

These books are men’s interpretation

About what they read in the Word,

But what the Bible says about the Bible

Can never be proven absurd.

 

The Bible is its best interpreter

Scripture interprets scripture,

The Holy Spirit reveals God’s Word

And gives us the whole picture.

 

 

Jesus is the Word of God

The Holy Spirit is our Guide,

Concerning the best Bible Commentary

Now we all can decide.

 

Let me congratulate you

If you knew this fact before,

Let us both tell it to someone else

So they can know it for sure.

 

Stewart Russell © May 2020

 

Heaven Bound but Not Homesick

 

 

Heaven bound but not homesick

Prepared but not ready to go,

In a strait betwixt two

There are loved ones here below.

 

Cherished family relationships

Both immediate and extended,

Friends who love and are loved in return

And clearly a mission not yet ended.

 

A certain longing for heaven

But not yet fully ready to leave,

Assured of my calling and election sure

And that’s what I definitely believe.

 

I think of loved ones without the fold

And long to see them enter in,

Praying for God’s mercy on their souls

And miraculous deliverance from sin.

 

Knowing if they die without the Saviour

Without the Savior they will be,

And such will be their dreadful fate

Through the countless ages of eternity.

 

 

Heaven bound but not homesick

There is yet much to do right here,

To fulfill the purpose God has for me

Under His guidance and merciful care.

 

There be many that wish for heaven

But alas, they do not want to die,

Such a gateway they sorely abhor

And even the thought oft brings a sigh.

 

I too have carried that fear

Though with the years it has decreased

And I trust the Lord as I near the end

That fear will eventually cease.

 

The challenge to the born again believer

Is to be ever diligent in this life,

To appreciate the joy he has been given

And to be steadfast amidst the strife.

 

Bearing in mind that a time is set

For each life spring to finally unwind

And this may come at our demise

Or when God finally ends all time.

 

In the beginning, that’s when He started it

He has also determined its end,

And while it’s true we know not when,

It could be around the very next bend.

 

 

Heaven bound but not homesick

To say otherwise I would be telling a lie,

I must confess I am enjoying my life

And though prepared, I am not ready to die.

 

Stewart Russell © February 2020

 

Bear in Mind

 

I am staying the course

If life be spared,

How long it will take

Is not really clear.

 

In a sense though,

I don’t have a say

For having said yes,

It’s the course I must stay.

 

I had not envisaged

It would be so tough

 But I must hang in there

Regardless of how rough. 

 

 

A light at the tunnel’s end

I see amidst my pain,

I just pray and hope

It’s not an oncoming train.

 

There is a huge outcry

Of anger and of anguish,

Tell us when, do tell us when!

When will we get our wish?

 

Our wish for a better life

Our wish for comfort and peace,

A little ease from the struggle

 And much needed relief...

 

“Where there’s life there’s hope”

I’ve heard the quote

But what is the use

When it is so difficult to cope?

 

“Where there’s a will there’s a way”

That too I have heard

But things are getting harder

And I am getting tired.

 

   

I must stay the course,

Something better is coming

But everything is going down hill

And little good is happening.

 

Hear my cry, please,

It’s the cry of the hopeless,

It is all coming apart-

What a terrible mess!

 

I could end it all

But that would make no sense,

It would only make bad worse

And be an eternal offense.

 

I was asked to stay the course

By the authority in the land

Who promised it’ll get better-

That’s the intended plan.

 

In the meantime, though,

I need some interim relief

Since, if I’m to survive,

It will take more than belief.

 

 

I am up to my neck,

In fact, the water has reached beyond,

I can no longer manage

Pretty soon I’ll be gone.

 

But I will stay the course

As long as I have life,

After all you had also promised

That there would be strife.

 

Some of our own making

And some otherwise

But I must confess a lot of it

Has come in disguise.

 

Like medicine, it was for our good

But I am not sure anymore

And a lot that is happening

Is vexing me sore.

 

But I will stay the course-

Like a loyal subject, I will,

But I want you to understand

That this is a bitter pill.

 

The truth be told

I am feeling quite rotten

But I hope when things get better

This sufferer won’t be forgotten.

 

 

It has happened before

And it can happen again,

It happened at some time

During each party’s reign.

 

I will stay the course

As long as I have life

But given the external indicators,

There is more oncoming strife.

 

Staying the course is a must:

Of that I’m assured

So, I will hang in there

And hopefully I can endure.

 

Stewart Russell © March 2020

 

It’s A Baton

 

 

You would recall the question,

“What is that in your hand?”

Nothing miraculous about the rod

But God used it in His plan.

 

The question was asked of Moses,

A huge task was up ahead,

He found all kinds of ways to cop out,

Failure was in his head.

 

“It’s a rod,” he finally responded,

Just a simple everyday stick,

But even in the hands of the Egyptians

They could perform a trick.

 

And so, God is asking the question

To all that are in His service,

What is that that’s in your hand?

It’s something we should not miss.

 

This time it’s not a rod

Like what was in Moses’ day,

But it is that critically important baton

Just like in the Olympic relay.

It must not remain with us

But we must pass it on,

From our hands to some else’s

Yes, we must pass that baton.

 

It is the knowledge of salvation

Of how Jesus came to save,

He paid the price for your sin and mine

And the road to redemption paved.

 

It’s the Word he gave to you and me

Placed securely in our hearts,

Making us children of the Light

Bringing us in from the dark.

  

It is the hope of a dying soul

Just like we once were

Until someone shared the Word with us

And our hearts began to stir.

 

 

That’s the instrument within our hands

And we too must pass it on,

Like the rod that Moses had,

Only this time, It’s a baton.

 

Stewart Russell © April 2020

 

 

Isn’t It Strange?

 

 

Isn’t it strange how we ignore life’s manual

And still expect life to work?

Isn’t it strange how we berate its Author

And trust in so-called experts?

 

Isn’t it strange how we shut Him out

And still expect His blessings to come in?

Isn’t it strange how we pulled the plug

And wonder why our light is dim?

 

Isn’t it strange that our schools are in a mess

And we wonder why this is so?

Isn’t it strange that we spend so much

And still have so little to show?

 

Isn’t it strange that we do everything right

And everything still goes wrong?

Isn’t it strange that we have the best minds

And our infrastructure is falling down?

 

Isn’t it strange that we know so much

And nothing that we know seems to work?

More Doctor This and more Doctor That

And more money-spending on experts?

 

Isn’t it strange we pour more money after bad

And our returns are growing less?

Isn’t it strange that we put our heads together

And still can’t correct the mess?

Isn’t it strange that even with the Internet

And the many writers there that exhort

We are still running around in circles

As though there is still one book short?

 

Isn’t it strange that this book has the answers

But we deliberately look elsewhere?

Isn’t it strange that we once consulted it

But these days we just don’t care?

  

Isn’t it strange that as we become more scholarly

There is a resulting proportion of misery?

Isn’t it strange that we say we are getting better

When in fact, we are growing worse exponentially?

 

 

Isn’t it strange that all day long

We sever the lifeline that is being extended

Because we are afraid that if we don’t

The earthly authorities would be greatly offended.

 

O, we might be sanctioned and vilified

Like many other countries that are marginalized,

In this gigantic ocean with its huge, towering ships

Our little Moses might just get capsize.

 

There is bully-ism all around,

The apparent weak must genuflect to the seeming strong

But when God our Creator makes His demands

We ostensibly think that He has to be wrong.

 

Isn’t it strange?

 

Stewart Russell © May 2020