What a Tradeoff!

 

 

 

A tradeoff worth examining

But taken for granted:

Freedom and security

But towards the latter slanted.

 

Taking away my freedom

So that I can be secure

And this displacement making me

Less free more and more.

 

Because I am feeling scared

I would rather feel safe,

The emphasis being on feeling

Hence, a faulty base.

 

It’s like opting for shadows

The bigger the better,

My pretending it is oh so real

Makes me a trend setter.

 

Imagine you are a millionaire

What can you buy?

What can you change

Each time you fantasize?

 

Feeling truly matters

Only until the reality kicks in

And your reality is your reality

Not what you are feeling.

 

Freedom does not matter

If one doesn’t feel safe

And the Government runs free

With this as its base.

 

Enter taxes and restrictions

To give the assurance,

Government will take care of you

With minimum insurance.

 

Accountants and actuaries

Are brought on board

And with their professional stats

We begin to feel secure.

 

The banking system

They too get in on the act

And in their voracious vaults

Our little become trapped.

 

They show us no interest

Neither in money nor attention

And Government exacerbates this

By taxing our pension.

 

It is all for our freedom

As well as our security

And we daily sing their praises

In our absurdity.

 

What a wonderful tradeoff

We are all enjoying!

The chance to feel safe

While our freedoms are dying.

 

 

The vaccine, you’d remember

Was one such case:

As citizens we were free to take it

But forced to make haste.

 

It was not imperative

Since we were given two options:

Either take the vaccine

Or be severely sanctioned.

 

If you do you die

And if you don’t you’re damned,

That’s Hobson’s choice for you;

That was Government’s plan.

 

What a tradeoff that was

If you see what I mean,

The only thing better than reality

Are fantasies and dreams.

 

Can’t get money to buy land

But you could to buy a car,

Never for a business enterprise

Unless you’re already a star.

Birthright for a little soup

With no paddle up the creek

And the dubious tradeoffs continue:

Blessing lost via deceit!

 

 

Government in hand with

Insurance companies and banks,

And all we get in exchange

Is an inaudible thanks.

 

Stewart Russell © July 19, 2023

 

Until You Die, Live

 

 

The most we can do before we die

Is live,

The least we can do while we live

Is to squander what God gives.

 

Optimally, He gives us life

It’s given for His good pleasure

And when we refuse to live for Him,

We lose its hidden treasure.

 

As an explorer digs for treasure

We must explore what God has given,

There is treasure enough to explore

Hence, stay clear of the forbidden.

 

The talk of death and dying-

Is an obsession more or less

It is robbing us of the opportunity

To enjoy whatever life is left.

  

Daily we die before we reach

Death’s inevitable destination,

Making a waste of the treasure of life

Merely contemplating life’s termination.

 

Until you die, live!

That is the whole purpose of life,

Let your existence be of value

Be a hero amidst this strife!

 

To what purpose is our death

When we have never even lived?

Soon, we are forgotten

Have wasted what God did give.

 

To die and not live

Is like having never been born,

Such an unenviable achievement

To me seems rather forlorn.

 

Not far removed from some

Merely awaiting Christ’s return

Rather than the passion for souls

That in our predecessors burned.

 

It is an expressly horrible thing

To die before we live

And allow the window of opportunity

To slip through us like a sieve.

 

 

Heavenly Father, this I pray,

Help me to appreciate all Your gifts,

Not least of all, this earthly life

Which is our greatest natural gift.

 

To use it as an investment

As an instrument from your hand,

To live for you until I die

In accordance with your plan.

 

Help me until I die to live

Knowing that death is just a sleep

And in my sojourn here below

Let it be a heavenly peep.

 

To occupy until you come

Is what you have ordered for us

So, before we die so let us live

That we may honour Jesus.

 

Amen

 

Stewart Russell © April 2020

 

Be More Specific

 

 

 

Be more specific,

Please make it clear!

I am clearly not understanding

That which I hear.

 

I am not that daft,

Just break it down a bit,

All I am asking you, my friend,

Please be more specific.

 

Be more specific

And I won’t have to guess,

Be straight-up as you speak

And help avoid a mess.

 

Rhetoric is all right

And has a rightful place

But your verbal wanderings

I am unable to trace.

 

 

So, be more specific

And bring me some clarity,

So that as you are demanding

I can reply appropriately.

 

For as it is right now

I am hopelessly oblivious

So, I beg you most respectfully,

Bring me into focus.

 

My oratorical skills

Are not quite that refined  

So be more specific, if you please,

If you’ve got the time.

 

Your subtle innuendo

Offsets me quite a bit

And all I am asking you, friend,

Please be more specific.

 

Stewart Russell © January 11, 2024

 

Life's Vicissitudes

 

 

“Life is real drama”

Oh, yes indeed!

Oft I’ve heard this spoken

Especially when in need.

 

With its “ups and downs”

And its “ins and outs”

Sometimes so frustrating

We have to shout.

 

Looking for a constant

On which to plan,

Thwarted by constant change

Like an oscillating fan.

 

Seedtime and harvest

Life and death,

Periods of great upheaval

Times of rest.

 

 

Little time to settle

Changes, ever so fast,

An apparent open window

But will it last?

 

A near miss there

And an almost hit it here

Mingled with expectant joys

And ominous fears.

 

Was only last week

That we had a long chat,

Cannot believe she is gone

What a disturbing fact?

 

Yes, life is a drama

With many acts and scenes

Changing ever so rapidly

Like a fleeting dream.

 

The now quickly passes

But in a sense still remains,

The only constant realistically…

The constant of change.

 

 

Life is a roller coaster,

Unpredictably so

And the only future certainty

Is what we don’t know.

 

The vicissitudes of life;

The ever-changing times,

Sleepless nights of planning

To meet the daily grind.

 

“What’s become of him?”

“Oh, didn’t you hear?

He recently transitioned,

He is no longer here.

 

Stunned at another passing

A bright future ahead

Such no longer possible

As he is at present dead.

 

Death is a constant

But on such we can’t plan

Except to will our possessions

To our remaining clan.

 

 

 

“Taxes” is a constant

So too is its inevitable climb

Such that one actual dollar

Is now worth one dime.

 

Devaluation of currency

Each and everyday

Though still pegged to the US

But dwindling away.

 

Flies come out at night,

This is not the usual way

And sparrows build their nests

In strange places these days.

 

Cats mess and walk away

Forgetting to cover up

And on these very hot days

That scent just erupts.

 

 

Changes, changes, changes,

Yes, life’s vicissitudes,

And concomitant with change

Is the human mood.

 

Stewart Russell © July 20, 2023

 

Of Bread and Crumbs

 

 

If it tastes as good as it smells

It’ll take just a crumb,

Just a crumb or two to prove

My assertion is not dumb.

 

The crumb tastes no different

From the entire bread

And if I couldn’t have the loaf

I’d have a crumb instead.

 

Or maybe two or three

As they fall from the table,

After all, bread is the staff of life

That means, it’s a staple.

 

And so, she approached Jesus

With her critical request,

She wanted healing for her daughter

That was not at her best.

 

At first, he ignored her,

At least, that’s how it appeared

But she was persistent

About her daughter’s welfare.

 

The disciples were annoyed

And wished she be sent away

And the answer Jesus gave to her

Said it was not her day.

 

He had come to Israel’s house

And she was of the Greeks,

Most would have gone away

But she continued to speak.

 

 

Ignored the first time

Abruptly brushed off the second,

This time she knelt and worshipped him

Hoping something would happen.

 

The answer Jesus gave her

To me seemed rather harsh

And I must confess if it were me

I’d surely have gasped.

 

Did he call her a dog?

Goodness gracious, but why?

Then again, that he needed rest,

None would dare deny.

 

After all, he was human then

And could crack under strain

And people just kept on coming

Again, and again.

 

This may have been so

For the disciples and all others

But in the case of Jesus

It was a different matter.

 

 

A lesson was truly unfolding

For them and for us,

It was what great faith looks like

As one responds to Jesus.

 

This woman was focused

And to me this is clear

As she demonstrated to all and sundry

A faith greater than her fear.

 

The bread was not for her

The disciples would have said,

And Jesus mirrored their feelings

As the woman pled.

 

You would recall that they said

To send her away

But what hope would she have had

When Jesus is the way?

 

If they learnt the lesson then

I really cannot tell

But Jesus commended the woman

And made her daughter well.

 

She had had a demon

But didn’t we all

Until we put faith in Jesus Christ

And were drawn to God.

 

One way to God the Father

And it’s through Jesus the Son,

For both Jew and Gentile

In one predetermined kingdom.

 

Herein is the lesson

Re the lost house of Israel,

In Abraham’s seed all will be blessed

Meaning all earth’s people.

 

Of Jews, Gentiles and Greeks

And of Syro-Phoenicia too,

Like this woman and her daughter

And like me and you.

 

Jesus commended her faith,

It was of the persistent type

But understand Jesus did the healing

Not some emotional hype.

 

While faith is important

It does not replace God,

God must always be faith’s object,

Beware of Satan the Fraud.

 

 

The bread was for the children

But not merely the Jews

And this miracle sent this signal

Though many Jews refused.

 

They that come to Christ

He will in no way refuse

And it matters not their ethnicity

Be they Germans or Jews.

 

Despise not the crumbs

They’re the same quality as the bread,

I believe not a crumb was wasted

When Jesus thousands fed?

 

Jesus is the living bread

That came to us from heaven

And they that live by his every word

Are eternally forgiven.

 

Stewart Russell © April 29, 2024

 

Ezekiel 38 and 39

 

 

 

Ezekiel 38 and 39

Where does it fit?

A prophecy yet to be fulfilled?

Not from where we sit.

 

A restoration of Israel

At the end of time?

In the light of Holy Scripture

Nothing of this kind.

 

A modern day battle?

It does not appear so

For when we take a careful look

It surely does not show.

 

Note the weapons used:

Not of modern day,

Chariots, horses, bows and spears?

Definitely not, no way!

 

This cannot be a war

To be fought in modern days,

Modern day weapons are far superior

In so many different ways.

 

They are more powerful

And much more accurate,

They are far more long range

And can obliterate.

 

There are some, however,

That attempt to convert

The ancient weapons to modern day

But this does not work.

 

Chariots may be tanks

Horses as horsepower,

Arrows and spears are missiles

A bow: a missile launcher.

 

Very clever I would say

But far from making sense

Since God is sharing with Ezekiel

Regarding Israel’s defense.

 

Notice too, the spoils:

Gold, silver, goods and cattle;

Not likely to be the spoils taken

In a modern-day battle.

 

If not in our future

Where does this battle fit?

A reading of the book of Esther

Should be adequate.

 

 

Taken captive to Babylon

Most of Israel not all,

But the Persian empire took over

After the Babylonian fall.

 

Seventy years in exile

The Israelites had been

When Haman, on becoming a prince

Tried to wipe them off the scene.

 

First Queen Esther

And her uncle, Mordecai,

Then all the Jews in the Persian empire;

Each one was to die.

 

Haman built the gallows

On which to hang Mordecai

Not knowing with a twist of fate,

On it he would die.

 

Esther 8:11-12

 

A decree was given

To slaughter Israel’s foes

And throughout the Persian Empire

They were taken out in droves.

 

Thus ended Haman’s plot

To commit genocide

When God intervened on Israel’s behalf

Miraculously turning the tide.

 

Compare Ezra 1 verse 4

With Ezekiel 38:13,

The exact same spoils are itemized

Implying the same scene.

 

In both, the same spoils:

Gold, silver, goods and cattle;

For sure these won’t be the spoils taken

In a modern-day battle.

 

Ezekiel 38 and 39

Have already passed

And the proof this is a future battle

Disappears quite fast.

 

Stewart Russell © July 20, 2024

 

Beyond the Mere Ritual

 

 

Heavenly Father,

I pray today

That my prayer

Would go beyond mere ritual,

And be not the complaints

Or the grocery list

As usual.

 

Help me,

Heavenly Father,

To appreciate you

Simply just for who you are

And to thank you

For supplying my needs

As you always do.

 

And to do so,

Heavenly Father,

Form a heart of gratitude,

Ascribing to You all glory,

And all honour,

And all praise

In the right attitude.

 

Giving thanks,

Heavenly Father,

For those necessities

I often take for granted:

Like the strength I use,

And the air I breathe

Uninhibited.

 

For the so-much

That is going for me,

Heavenly Father,

Rather than the focus I take

On life’s challenges

And making the same

A huge bother.

 

 

Help me today

And always,

Heavenly Father,

To go beyond the mere ritual,

Praying from the heart,

And that without ceasing,

It will be continual.

 

Help me, Heavenly Father,

To conform to the image of Christ

As I grow and glow,

And that the beauty of Jesus

Will be seen in me

As I live out in my life

Here below.

 

I pray, Heavenly Father,

That…

My walk will match my talk,

My life will match my lip,

My prayer would be mindful

And meaningful

And not just a daily habit.

 

Stewart Russell © February 21, 2022