Despise Not Small Things

Despise not small things

With God they make the difference

The mighty are brought low

As the Lord runs through their defense.

The Bible is replete with examples

The following are but a few

The key is not what you possessed

But doing what God says to do.

What you have in your hand

May be insignificant and small

But in the hand of Almighty God

All that oppose will fall.

Jochebed’s Basket

 

Wanted dead not alive

Was Pharaoh’s command

But unknown to him

God had a different plan.

Given the name Moses

When he was pulled from the water

By the most unlikely person

As in Pharaoh’s daughter.

In a basket made of reeds

He floated on the Nile

A little moses carried Moses

As a tiny child.

Moses’ Staff

 

He was large and in charge

Or, so Pharaoh thought,

But Moses had a staff

That made him quite distraught.

  

There was none like Pharaoh

In the land of Egypt

But a rod blocked his way

And finally, he had to quit.

That rod in God’s hand

Was much too big for Pharaoh

And the Red Sea took his life

When it covered up the road.

The Israelites passed through

But the waters hurried back

And poor Pharaoh and his men

Drowned in the Red Sea trap.

Rahab’s Scarlet Line

Rahab hid two men

And in addition, she told a lie

But it was not held against her;

The two were Israelite spies.

They went to spy out the land

Jericho’s end was at hand,

In a little while thereafter

Joshua implemented the plan.

That little scarlet line

Saved Rahab and her family,

A reminder that the blood of Jesus

Was given for you and me.

Five Pebbles and A Sling

 

  

Five pebbles and a sling

But only one was needed

And a giant was rocked to sleep

Because the warning he hadn’t heeded.

   

It was just a little stone

And Goliath never saw it coming,

Before he could even react

To the ground he was already falling.

God had guided that stone

Although David was a marksman

And from the moment Goliath fell

His armies began to run.

Their head had been removed

With the removal of Goliath’s head

And the Israelites won the battle

As many Philistines lay dead.

Elijah’s Little Cloud

It was just a little cloud

But promised an abundance of rain,

At first there was nothing;

The servant looked again and again.

It was on the seventh time

That it arose from out of the sea,

It was shaped like a man’s hand

And as small as a cloud can be.

The servant was still skeptical

But Elijah sent the king a warning

To get down off the mountain

For the rain would soon be falling.

Elijah outran Ahab’s chariot

You could just imagine his speed,

The hand of the Lord was on him

And he was the first to Jezreel.

     

The Widow’s Last Meal

It was to be their last meal

For just she and her son

And after they both had eaten

Their sustenance would be done.

She had nothing more left,

For them there was no hope

But then along came the man of God

And this is worthy of note.

He asked for water and a cake

From the little she had left,

And then she and her son

Together could eat the rest.

It was not even enough for two

                But she gave to Elijah first

            And the oil and meal kept reproducing

           Until the Lord sent rain on the earth.

    Gideon’s Fleece

 

He was the least in his family

                                       They gave him the menial tasks,

It was a case of taking his place

 Since of his brothers he was the last.

But one day God called him

He was to defeat the Midianites

 But Gideon knew only too well

  That he was not one for a fight.

 But to be sure it was true

Twice Gideon put out his fleece

God honoured his request each time

Much to Gideon’s relief.

                                      With an army of three hundred

God took out the Midianites, 

The sword of the LORD, and Gideon

  Put the Midianite armies to flight.

                                        Samson’s Unusual Weapon
                                                                    
                                                               
                           

 

 What worth could be in jaw bone

Especially the jawbone of an ass? 

The best body to ask would be Samson,

Please get him here fast!

It was a new jawbone

 Perhaps placed there for Samson’s use,

Samson put forth his hand and took it

  And with it he let loose.

 Swinging left and swinging right

  The Philistines fell with each swing,

  When he finished a thousand died

   And only Samson was left in the ring.

One thousand slain that day

 With the Jawbone of an ass,

 One by one he slew them

 And piled them in a mass.

 Quite obviously, it was God

  That had performed this wondrous feat

   Alas though, Samson was tired and thirsty

  And not too steady on his feet.

                                           That new jawbone of an ass

  Became a brand-new water cooler

  As God hollowed out the inside

  And gave Samson a thirst-quencher.

  What an unusual weapon!

   And it was a water decanter too!

   Make do with whatever you have

     And God will surprise even you.

  The Plaited Basket

  

Another basket-rescue

This time in the New Testament,

Paul was newly converted

And to be an apostle was his intent.

The Jews sought to slay him

But the disciples would have none of it,

They let him down a wall

In a plaited basket.

Paul was able to escape

And set his sights on Jerusalem,

I guess like Moses, he was a basket-case

But not the kind that’s a problem.

A Little Boy’s Lunch

I am always intrigued by this one

And I will tell you why,

I can’t understand the disciples

However hard I try.

Two hundred pennyworth of bread

Was not sufficient, one had said,

But Peter announced

Here is a lad with some fish and bread.

I am puzzled by their mathematics

But Jesus surely was not

For after sharing the little lad’s lunch

Everybody got!

They got enough and to spare

There was subtraction and addition

Multiplication and division

And Jesus taught problem solving.

The Widow’s Mites

Let’s examine the widow’s mites

For me, it’s another favourite

I am particularly impressed this time

At Jesus’ brand of Mathematics.

   

The citizens were paying taxes

A percentage of their income

The rich gave out of their abundance

Making for a hefty sum.

This poor widow came along

And threw in her last two mites,

If you make that one hundred percent

This time you got it right.

She gave more than any of them

This was Jesus’ assertion,

For they cast in of their abundance

While she gave her entire life-portion.

One hundred percent she gave

That’s what Christ demands,

Her two mites were more than all the rest

She held nothing more in hand.

A Tax Bearing Fish

“Doesn’t your master pay taxes?”

Was what they posed to Peter,

His answer to them was yes

And then he went to Jesus.

But before Peter could ask

Jesus had read his mind

And asked him a related question

To which Peter rightly opined.

Of whom do the kings take tribute?

From their own or from strangers?

Peter’s response was strangers

And Jesus acknowledged his answer.

But though the children were free

Jesus acceded to their wish

Whereupon Peter went and took it

From the mouth of a waiting fish.

  

Thus, their temple tax was paid

Thank God for this obedient fish,

Though Jesus was not a stranger

The authorities still got their wish.

A Cup of Water 

  

A cup of water is nothing

It’s the least that one can share

And when it’s given a to child of God

God takes note; that is clear.

In the Gospels of Mathew and Mark

Jesus expresses this:

Once it is given in Jesus’ name

One’s reward he will not miss.

Just a cup of water

Given in the Master’s name

Shall never go unnoticed

And our reward is ours to claim.

Yes, just a cup of water

If nothing more you can give

Makes that simple gift significant

And helps that someone to live.

A Mud Salve

What does he think he is doing?

May have been the thoughts of some,

But at the end of that day

Another miracle had been done.

A spot deliberately chosen

To receive the Master’s spit,

To produce such a healing eye salve

For any physician would be unfit.

But he was no ordinary physician

Jesus was the only of his kind

And after an eyebath in Siloam’s pool

The man was no longer blind.

Reminds me of the first two religions

The Muddites and Non-Muddites,

With or without the mud

Both founders received their sight.

The Old Rugged Cross

This one I have left for last

The most insignificant of them all,

That is how it first appeared

But no longer to the called.

Nothing like these crucifixes

That are worn around the neck

But the means to crucify the Saviour

When they perceived a threat.

For the ordinary criminal

It was rough and crude and heavy,

For Jesus it was no different

And as he bore it, he became unsteady.

He fell beneath its weight

As he trudged the Calvary road

And the long distance he had to bear it

Seemingly increased the load.

He was despised and rejected

And was crucified on that cross

And none of his tormentors recognized

It was because they were lost.

So insignificant was the cross

And the person who hung therefrom

That they mocked and ridiculed the Christ

Taunting him to come down.

For me, for you, he died,

An eternal debt he paid

And now because of that wonderful cross

Thank God we are eternally saved.

The created had borne its Creator

A most incongruous sight

But when he said it’s finished,

From there issued a glorious light.

Tidings of great joy-

That cross became for us,

On it our Saviour bled and died

In the person of the Lord Jesus.

Despise not small things;

They accomplish the greatest acts

And if you’re not in the way of the cross,

It’s time you get on track.

Stewart Russell © June 2020