The Embers of 2023

 

 

It is Day number 365

Of the year 2023,

In the next fourteen hours or so

It will pass into eternity.

 

Never to return again

Like a moment that is passed,

Complete all unfinished tasks

For 2023 is going fast.

 

Within reason, of course,

Is wisdom’s way,

That which would take a year

Cannot be done in a day.

 

Herein is a wise thought

To take into the New,

When the time finally runs out

There’s nothing we can do.

 

 

It is like a raging fire

That finally burns itself out,

Not much the embers can do then

And this is without doubt.

 

Anything to be achieved

Must now be a daily task

For a year-long project at this time,

Is an unreasonable ask.

 

We are into embers now

Of a flame that burnt all year

And all we can carry forward

Are memories and fears.

 

No amount of fanning

Can reignite these final embers,

Like every year that has passed

This will be gone forever.

 

The greatest of plans

If by this time not executed,

They are like a sound no one heard,

They are forever muted.

 

 

Their embers are dying

Never ever to be awaken,

Soon 2023 will have passed

Though not to be forgotten.

 

Memories good and bad

Will battle on in our active mind

But regarding the year 2023,

It will be gone for all time.

 

Stewart Russell © December 31, 2023

 

Winding Down

 

As the Old Year winds down

With one day to go,

We give Almighty God thanks

For His blessings still flow.

 

A roller-coaster year,

I guess one can call it that

But God has been with us all

And this is a fact.

 

We may or may not live

To see the New Year dawn

For many that started this year

Are now gone.

 

A few this very month

Were suddenly whisked away,

Pretty all right in the morning

But didn’t last the day.

 

 

As this year winds down

With just one day to go

This very day could be our last,

We just do not know.

 

It pays to know though

Where we stand with God

And if we have not done as yet,

To answer His call.

 

Say yes to the Lord Christ

That gave his life for us,

Right at this very moment

Say yes to Jesus.

 

So, whether we live or die

We will be the Lord’s

And based on his Holy Word,

He will be ours.

 

As this year winds down

Consider your sin-sick soul,

Confess and receive Jesus now

And he’ll make you whole.

 

The year is winding down

But so too are our days,

Trust God today whate’er betide

And do exactly what he says.

 

Stewart Russell © December 30, 2023

 

Christmas Gone

 

Christmas has come

And Christmas has passed

And it seems to me this year

It did so quite fast.

 

For a friend I know

The count-down has restarted,

Christmas and she are so great

They cannot be parted.

 

I would not be surprised

If she is feeling a little down

For it is a once-a-year feeling

When it comes around.

 

Twelve days of Christmas

That’s what they say

But in Barbados it is just two

And it’s gone away.

 

 

Regular music is back

On most of the radio stations,

We’re going away from Christmas

That’s the realization.

 

It was nearing every day

Then rapidly came into sight

And then as quickly as it came

It was gone in the night.

 

Christmas has come

And Christmas has passed

And it seems to me this year

It did so quite fast.

 

Stewart Russell © December 27, 2023

 

Boxing Day

 

 

The rich have had their day

Today is for the poor,

Boxing Day is not about boxing-

Need I say more?

 

It was a day for servants

That worked all day Christmas,

These were in the employ

Of the rich and the famous.

 

Boxing Day could be said

To be poor people’s Christmas

Since on this particular day

They could have their fuss.

 

Gifts collected were boxed

And distributed to the poor

And these could enjoy themselves

Away from their usual chores.

 

So, today as you can see

Is really Christmas Day for me,

I should get my chance to celebrate

And have a Christmas spree.

 

Numbered among the poor

I eagerly anticipate my box,

You had your Christmas yesterday

But today I am taking the lot.

 

 

Cast off toys for the children

And a portion of your leftovers,

It would be really good, if you please,

To put in that ham shoulder.

 

That one from Christmas day

That was barely touched,

For my small household of eleven,

That’s not asking too much.

 

I will be back tomorrow

To do anything that you ask

But today that we call Boxing Day,

I’ll be away from such tasks.

 

Boxing Day was Christmas

But not for the rich and famous,

It was more for the lower classes

So they too could have a fuss.

 

 

Not so that first Christmas!

Those shepherds left their sheep

And they journeyed to Bethlehem

Where they found Jesus asleep.

 

The rich had no such privilege,

Theirs was two years later

Compared to the lowly shepherds

That saw him in a manger.

 

On that first Christmas morn

No, not on the Boxing Day,

The shepherds before the magi

Found Jesus who is the way.

 

 

That gift so crudely packaged

And distributed to the world

Was none other than the Saviour:

The eternal Living Word.

 

 

For he that was dead

Is alive and lives forevermore

And makes no distinction ever since

Between the rich and the poor.

 

For any that will come to him

Must first believe that he exists,

Just come to him in childlike trust

And in his cause enlist.

 

Then go and tell the world

Be it Christmas Day or Boxing Day,

Jesus is the reason for the season,

He is the only way!

 

Stewart Russell © December 26, 2023

 

My Christmas Prayer

 

 

Father, thank You for Jesus

That first Christmas morn,

Thank you for the circumstances

Under which he was born.

 

The fulfilment of promise

That was made to Abraham

And through the Lord, Jesus Christ

It has come down to man.

 

We thank you today, Father,

For that wonderful plan

Implemented by Jesus our Saviour

As fully God and fully Man.

 

Glory to God in the Highest

And on earth, peace!

Peace in the midst of earth’s turmoil

That never seems to cease.

 

Thanks for this peace today,

This Christmas Day

For ‘twas on that first Christmas

You introduced the Way.

Come let us go even now

And see what has come to pass,

In essence, what the shepherds said;

These men of lowly class.

 

 

And so too the alert magi

That had journeyed from afar

Led by the light of a heavenly body-

That natal star.

 

The lowest and the highest!

This wonderful salvation is for all

That would respond to Jesus

As he graciously calls.

 

Thanks be to the Father

And to His only begotten Son

And thanks to the Holy Spirit

These Three-in-One.

A Christ-centred Christmas!

That’s my prayer for one and all

As we remember the second Adam-

The one that did not fall.

 

The one who came as Emanuel

Meaning God is with us,

The one we celebrate this day-

None other than Jesus!

 

Stewart Russell © December 25, 2023

 

It Is Christmas Eve

 

 

Today is Christmas Eve

And it happens to be Sunday,

Remember as you go my friend,

Jesus is the way.

 

There is a difference

Re a Sunday Christmas Eve,

It might only be for Christians

But that’s how we feel.

 

Church services are on

And some will go to church

Though attendance may be down

And I suppose that hurts.

 

Yes, it’s Christmas Eve,

There is still much to be done

But spare a thought I beg,

For God’s begotten Son.

 

He first thought of us

In his first advent to earth

Whence he lay in a lowly stable

After his unusual birth.

 

 

Born of a woman

Yet he was no seed of man,

The only begotten of the Father,

Yes, redemption’s plan.

 

Born of the virgin Mary

He lived a simple life

And unlike what some suggest,

He had no wife.

 

He lived and he died

By crucifixion, you’d recall

But understand my reader friend,

This is surely not all.

 

I used ‘is’ deliberately

For he is no longer dead,

But he is alive this Christmas Eve

Just like he had said.

 

 

On resurrection morn

The stone was rolled away

And history shows beyond doubt,

That day was Sunday.

 

That the day was Sunday

Is not the point I am making

But that he triumphed over death

And today he is living.

 

“Destroy this temple

And I will raise it up again.”

Death was ruthlessly defeated

And he forever reigns.

 

 

Today is Christmas Eve

And it happens to be Sunday,

Remember as you go my friend,

Jesus is the way.

 

Indeed, Jesus is:

The truth, the life, the way,

Yes, he is, on this Christmas Eve

Which is also Sunday.

 

Stewart Russell © December 24, 2023

 

Make Christmas Eve Today

 

 

I propose for your consideration

Today be Christmas Eve,

Since Christmas Day is Monday

This would bring some ease.

 

Do all running around today

Instead of doing so on Sunday,

Leave Sunday as a day of reflection

In the good old fashion way.

 

You would get a good rest

And enjoy Christmas Day in full

Thus, remembering its true purpose-

I am sure you would.

 

Traditionally, we used Sunday

As the day on which we reflect,

That was good for the entire system-

It was an opportunity to reset.

 

That has gone with the wind

Particularly for the most part,

And since enterprise has taken over

We have lost our heart.

 

 

 

The heart for our community:

Our family and our neighbor

And trying to get the next dollar

We’ve extended our labour.

 

Christmas Eve is arguably

The most hectic day of the year

And with all the hustle and bustle

Comes my greatest fear.

 

The fear we won’t be around

To enjoy the very next day;

The very day we aim to celebrate

In our traditional way.

 

God forbid, but a fatality

In the home or on the road,

A love one gone from us for Christmas-

What a horrific load!

 

 

Maybe it is too late now

To have it enshrine in the law

And besides, we would still ignore it

Because it’s our human flaw.

 

The propensity to react

When we cannot have our way

Even if Christmas Eve Day

Happens on a Sunday.

 

However, the fact of the matter is

Christmas Eve is a Sunday

And no doubt the last-minute rush

That is most people’s way.

 

Please be cautious I beg you

As you go about your way

And if you can, I’m beseeching you,

Make Christmas Eve today.

 

Stewart Russell © December 23, 2023

 

Not Anxious

 

 

I’m not anxious for Christmas

As I usually am,

Let it take its time and come-

That is my plan.

 

Even as an adult

I would count down the days

But for some reason or the other,

This is no longer my way.

 

I absolutely love Christmas

Make no mistake,

But it is fast losing its impact

Here of late.

 

The merchants took over

And now it’s a buying spree,

People spend more than they have

And that is crazy.

 

You may be wondering

In what way they spend more

But they do hire purchase contracts

And these, in galore.

 

They owe on the sofa

And the flat screen television,

They change year old furniture

Without due consideration.

 

Everything’s about Christmas

And little about Christ

Except church Christmas morning

To hear, “You look nice.”

 

 

 

In outfits so splendid

To show off in Queen’s Park,

And to be displayed on Television

Really looking sharp.

 

Anxious about Christmas

Especially if rain is forecast,

Christmas morning in the Park

Is a chance to play mass.

 

It must be my age

Since I am seven decades now,

I am not anxious about Christmas-

No way, no how.

 

Not to mention the eating,

For I have seriously cut back,

Now my appetite is just that,

It’s certainly not slack.

 

If we eat a lot consistently

Our stomach will expand

But if a little, it will contract

On the other hand.

 

So, while I do like Christmas

I am not nearly anxious,

Certainly not like some I know

That like to make a fuss.

 

 

By the way, the lights are up

And the wife is very pleased,

I have done all that I intended

And I can take my ease.

 

I’d like a quiet Christmas

And to spend it at home

But alas, not so for this old man,

It will not be home-grown.

 

Invited out for lunch

To a home I will not mention

Having been sternly warned

Staying home is no option.

 

 

Once a man, twice a child,

Maybe I’m at the second stage

The second childhood I mean,

Maybe it is my age.

 

I’m not anxious for Christmas

At least, I am not so anymore,

I am much older now, you see,

I’m not anxious like before.

 

Stewart Russell © December 21, 2023

God’s Divine Pleasure

 

 

In burnt offerings and sacrifices

God had no pleasure

But it pleased Him to bruise the one

He inestimably treasured.

 

Burnt offerings and sacrifices

Were required by the law

But in no way were these perfect

Rather, they were flawed.

 

God’s divine pleasure

Was demonstrated in His Son

And whose once and for all sacrifice

Was for everyone.

 

“Father, prepare me a body

That I may die for lost mankind”

Is not in the Holy Scriptures;

This you will never find.

 

“Sacrifice and offering

Thou wouldst not

But a body hast thou prepared me.”

Hebrews 10:5 is the spot.

 

In the death of His only Son

God has derived divine pleasure

And the sacrifice contained therein

Is beyond human measure.

 

 

Yet it pleased the LORD

To bruise him

And in this sacrificing of himself,

He became an offering for sin.

 

What a way to find pleasure!

In a way none of us would so do,

Not my precious son or daughter

And neither would you.

 

But it surely pleased God

As the Bible clearly points out

And that’s why Jesus is the only way

And this is without doubt.

 

And it surely pleases God

When we believe on Jesus Christ,

The Son in whom the Father delights

Is our atoning sacrifice.

 

God’s pleasure in His Son

Is to His children extended

And so, it is God’s divine pleasure

To save all that have repented.

 

 

Not one of them will He lose

That comes to Him by faith,

And who in His begotten Son believes

And takes hold of saving grace.

 

God was pleased to bruise him,

Jesus Christ His Son

That the “whosoever will” can be

Children of His kingdom.

  

Stewart Russell © December 5, 2023