We Are A Republic

 

 

Today, we are a Republic

Now, what does this mean?

One thing for sure

We have no Queen.

 

Nothing wrong with this

We should be proud,

We have replaced the Queen

With one from our crowd.

 

President Sandra Mason

She’s now our Head of State,

It’s the 30^th of November!

Don’t forget the date!

 

Fifty-five years ago.

Yes!  It was in 1966

That we decided that night

We will steer our own ship.

 

We had still maintained ties

With the colonial master

Which is a constant reminder

Of slavery and disaster.

 

The memory will continue

But ceremonial ties are at an end,

As an independent country

We have turned the bend.

 

 

Today we are a new republic

We must chart a new course,

With Dame Sandra as President

And Almighty God our source.

 

For in Him are the treasures

Every country seeks,

Whether they know this or not

In Him they are complete.

 

They can do nothing

Without the strength He gives

And without His lifeline

None can live.

 

Today we are a Republic

Barbados is still our name,

And whatever the future

This must not change.

 

Whatever ties we determine

They must be unattached,

We must bury all umbilical cords

We must never go back.

 

 

We are past the natal stage

Puberty and adolescent too,

We must now forge ahead

And our efforts renew...

 

To build a better Barbados

For the old and the young

In which our weak is protected

By those that are strong.

 

Our People’s Republic

Ought to be our aim and goal

Under God our Creator

Inscribed in bold.

 

Today we are the republic

What ought to be our view?

A better Barbados for all Barbadians

It’s what we must do.

 

Today we salute Barbados

And our President:

Her Excellency,

The Most Honourable Dame Sandra Mason.

 

Stewart Russell © November 30, 2021

 

Buckle Down Buckle Up

 

 

When pressed hard to buckle

Buckle down to the task,

Gird your loins with the Truth

And make your buckle fast.

 

Buckling up in pain

May impress you to go under

But buckle up for the journey

And brace against hunger.

 

Buckle down and buckle up

Do not fold in or fold up,

Buckle your belt and hold fast

To the brighter outlook.

 

Buckle in and buckle tight

And expect a roller coaster ride,

Buckle your harness and keep the faith

Whatever may betide.

 

Faith in the God of the Bible

That strengthens us more and more

That comforts us in life’s challenges

And makes our buckle secure.

 

Do not buckle, I entreat you,

When buckling under seems best

But stand firm with your trust in God

And He will do the rest.

 

 

So, buckle up as in fastening

Not just buckle up in pain,

For where the physical loses ground

The spiritual will reclaim.

 

Keep on the buckle of Truth

With its insignia indelibly inscribed,

In no other one, I beg you,

But in Jehovah God confide.

 

Buckle down and buckle up

Buckle in and buckle tight,

The battle is not one’s imagination

But is, in fact, a real fight.

 

Not all buckles are desirable

Collapse and cave-in, despise!

Stand with resolve and unbroken spirit

And refrain from, I’d rather slide.

 

Stewart Russell © November 9, 2021

 

In the Beginning God

 

 

“In the beginning God”

Get the order right!

Don’t fall for the suggestion

This distinction is slight.

 

Four words!

No preface or preamble,

Now let us follow carefully

Without risk or gamble.

 

Satan is very subtle

In the way he brings his case:

“No difference between the two”

The argument is a waste.

 

Is there any difference

Between God and Creator?

Regarding this critical question

The Bible gives the answer.

 

 

But first let us address

The subtlety which Satan chooses,

“Hath God said?” he used with Eve,

Suggestion is what he uses.

 

He did it with Jesus too

In the wilderness temptations,

“God will give His angels charge”

Concerning your protection.

 

Putting God to the test!

That is what we daily do

And we know for sure that He exists

If he always comes through.

 

And we quote the Word

To convince God He must,

He must stand by what He says

If He is fair and just.

 

 

So, “In the beginning God”

Back to the point we come,

It is critically important

Though neglected by some.

 

From Eve to the Romans epistle

Chapter 1 to be exact,

Notice how mankind falls

To Satan’s well laid trap.

 

No distinction it would seem

Between the creation and God,

“You can worship them both”

The suggestion of King Fraud.

 

Professing themselves to be wise

They actually became fools,

They changed God for His creation

And thought this was cool.

 

No difference as in person:

God and Creator is the same,

Creator, however, speaks to function

But God is eternally His name.

 

God transcends His creation

After all He is God,

As God, He is the Blessed Trinity,

As Creator, He is maker of all.

 

It is critically important

To get this order straight,

It is God first then Creator

Just as the Bible states.

 

Do not make light of this

It shows God is the first cause,

Creator shows He made everything

But before creation “He is God”.

 

“He is God” is not an error,

That is to be taken deliberately,

The fact He was and is and always will be

Is the first reality.

 

 

In the beginning God!

Notice “created” comes next,

He was God before Creator

That’s in the biblical text.

 

No need to interpret

And contend ad infinitum,

Stand on what the Bible says

And the job is easily done.

  

God transcends His creation

After all He is God,

As God, He is the Blessed Trinity,

As Creator, He is maker of all.

 

God was Creator in the beginning

When He created time

Then He created space and matter:

A trinity of a different kind.

 

Order is critically important

Particularly in this day and age,

Creator can refer to many things

Elohim is God at every stage.

 

Stewart Russell © November 27, 2021

 

If Here and Now

 

 

 

If here and now is all there is

And there is nothing else beyond

Then we are free to be what we want

Up to the time we are gone.

 

But this is only if we believe

That life is only here and now,

If, however, we have some doubts,

To God we had better bow.

 

If here and now is all there is

Then suicide is a great escape,

For there is no chance of accountability

Hence, no eternal fate.

 

But that is only if we believe

That the grave is the end of it all,

For if there is a God that created us

There is a need to heed His call.

 

 

If here and now is all there is

It does not matter what we profess,

For sooner or later it will all be ended

And with it all that we possess.

 

But that is only if we believe

There is no one to answer to,

Somehow, I believe those of this type

Are merely pulling a bluff.

 

If here and now is all there is

Then God truly does not exist,

Hence, right and wrong is a human thing

It’s time for the paradigm shift.

 

But that is only if we believe

That there is no supreme being

And all that believe such nonsense

Must surely be dreaming.

 

  

 

If here and now is all there is

There can’t be a God that does not exist,

For this is a contradiction of sorts

That many unbelievers miss.

 

But that is only if we believe

In contradictions of sorts,

For then we belie our innermost thoughts

That urge us this nonsense abort.

 

If here and now is all there is

From whence did it come to be?

It seems we are flirting with nihilism

In which reality is not reality.

 

But that is only if we believe

That we exist only for this time,

Now you see why weird orientations

Now fill the human mind.

 

One day I am this, next day that,

Third day, the right to change back,

And the only reason I need to give

Is the urge to satisfy my lack.

 

I can do all things through me

That strengthens my resolve,

I need no God to guide or provide

It is around me that I revolve.

 

 

If here and now is all there is

Let’s be whatever we want to be,

The strong will surely outlast the weak

That’s the current reality.

 

Nothing will change though it has

And all things will remain the same,

All of reality will be authentic illusions

And the insane will never be insane.

 

But that is only if we believe

That the grave is our final destiny,

If such is the case, what an awful waste

Of such human ingenuity!

 

Stewart Russell © November 25, 2021

 

All Things Being Equal

 

 

“All things being equal”

You say it and I say it,

But what do we really mean

Or is it a secret?

 

Does it mean one thing for me

And another for you

Or does it depend

On what’s currently in view?

 

It is my aim

In these next few lines

To briefly convey to you

What is on my mind.

 

Picture this, if you may,

This postmodern world

In which we are now so bright

We practise the absurd.

 

And picture, if you may,

The many things we say

That do not make any sense

But yet sense convey.

 

 

“All things being equal”

Is clearly one of them

And “in the foreseeable future”

I have a problem.

 

I have addressed the latter

Only recently

And the former I do so now!

Another impossibility.

 

There are no absolutes

Says postmodern thinking

But “all things being equal”

Shows how fast we are sinking.

 

Sinking in duplicity

Not to mention stupidity

And these nice sounding phrases

Expose our gullibility.

 

Some things are equal

And some things, definitely not

Hence, all things being equal

Is definitely rot!

 

When one makes a promise

On all things being equal

You can guarantee, my friend,

That’s a recipe for trouble.

 

It’s not likely to happen

You better not hold your breath,

You are likely to asphyxiate

Thus, causing your death.

 

 

All things being equal

Is a mathematics impossibility

Where equations are unsolvable

Given myriad eventualities.

 

All things being equal

 Is tomorrow that never comes

And so, with my point made

 I am definitely done.

 

Stewart Russell © November 4, 2021

 

The Foreseeable Future

 

 

 

There is a future we can see

And a future we cannot

Hence, foreseeable and unseeable:

Add these to the lot.

 

In the foreseeable future

I am hearing much of the time

And I ruminate on its meaning

 When it comes to mind.

 

Something will be around

For quite a while,

That is how we use to say it

But that’s out of style.

 

For a while is now foreseeable,

That sounds much better

And even if it doesn’t make sense

It is a trend setter.

 

I came along and heard

That we can’t see the future

But it appears that has changed,

There is a new picture.

 

 

A picture of a future we see

As distinct from one we can’t,

It is more than just imaginary

And it’s not by chance.

 

Well, what can I say

Other than knowledge has increased,

We are into the future

And the present has ceased.

 

The foreseeable future

Is like the seeable present,

We can see them both

And that shapes our intent.

 

If it appears I have rambled on

It is only because

This foreseeable future thing

Has made me pause.

 

So often we hear things

And they do not make sense

But to raise such as an inquiry

Would cause an offense.

 

 

So, there is a future we can see

And a future we cannot,

This COVID-19 pandemic

Has caused quite a lot.

 

It will be around

For the foreseeable future,

I didn’t mean to waste your time

Just to paint a picture.

 

It is like planning ahead

And I don’t mean planning now

But in the foreseeable future,

To that I say, WOW!!!

 

Stewart Russell © October 16, 2021

 

We the People

 

 

We the people

But the people did not vote,

That there was no public consultation

Is a matter we should note.

 

A people that were disenfranchised

For centuries even,

To the extent that even today

Many are still feeling threatened.

 

A people, let me emphasized,

That faced an uncertain future,

That had little or no hope,

So grim was the picture.

 

But a people, however,

That have come a mighty long way

That are politically enfranchised

And can now have a say.

 

 

Free and fair elections,

A seamless change of Governments,

A lot of hot air blowing

But with no violent intent.

 

Feverish and fervent campaigning

With everyone having a say

But finally abiding by the majority,

This is the people’s way.

 

I said all of that to say this

Regarding the proposed Charter,

Let us not renege on best practices

And become the butt of laughter.

 

Who proposed this Charter?

And where are the people in this?

What was the extent of due process?

There must have been a list.

 

Are the check boxes being ticked?

And where at present the process?

Is the document signed and stamped

With no possibility for redress?

 

Republic Day just days off

Seems like a foregone conclusion,

President elected, date confirmed

But “we the people”? An illusion.

 

We the Government, it should be,

The people had no say,

This proposed Charter could be law,

Is this the new way?

 

We the people?

No, we must wheel and come again!

In God I hope we still trust,

Let's keep Him in the frame.

 

Stewart Russell © November 20, 2021

 

Who Is Out of Step?

 

 

Who is out of step?

The Word or the World?

To many it is the former:

The outmoded Word.

 

To confess to something

Is to denounce something else

To commit to Christ Jesus

Is to denounce self.

 

The post-modern preacher

Is obsessed with being relevant

The scriptures must be retrofitted

To lure the unrepentant.

 

It is therefore necessary

To make the Scriptures come alive

And make the Bible relevant

If the church is going thrive.

 

The Word is out of step

And so too is the Church

And while the Bible is unappealing

The world has the experts.

 

The church’s predicament

Is caused by an advancing World

And its old fashion ideologies

Are now considered absurd.

 

They worked well for a time

But before the enlightenment,

Now the World’s eyes are opened

They are more resistant.

 

 

Who is out of step?

Clearly it must be the Word

With its archaic and ancient views

One is forced to concur.

 

Given all that went before

The Word will have to be adaptive

If to an enlightened World

It wants to be attractive.

 

No wonder it is being diluted

By the softening of its decrees

By many who should know better

Possessing academic degrees.

 

For every possible vice

Some leeway is found in the Word

To legitimize that specific practice,

Kudos to the World!

 

Now the distinction is indistinct

Re the church and society

The two have become one

And that’s an unholy disunity.

 

The church is out of step

And so too is the World

And what hope there was for the latter

Is by the former obscured.

 

Obscured by stark compromise

Due to scholastic intimidation:

“The fool has said in his heart…”

Therein lies the biblical injunction.

 

 

No need to make the Word relevant

It has been so for every age,

No one has to make it come alive

It produces life at every stage.

 

Counter to the initial folly

One is dead without the Word,

If you can show me a dead that is alive

Then kudos to the World!

 

Stewart Russell © November 15, 2021